Regardless, Liam and I have been able to spend much more time outside and he just goes crazy over it. Hates to be brought back in. Awhile back we discovered a small play area back behind one of the houses across the street. It's a nice alternative instead of the playground just down the road which is jam-packed with hooligan children whenever it's warm out. So I like taking Liam back there sometimes, he's usually the only one. They have this woven rope swing that's about twice as big as this one and Liam LOVES it.
A couple days ago I took him out to the backyard and he had a blast. Since we're at the end of the building our "yard" is kinda the whole area around the end of our house so it's a pretty big area. Our place from the back:
He just took off and I thought at any moment he was gonna stand up and start singing the theme from "The Sound of Music," twirling and all.
This past Monday I went to the ACS-sponsored "Welcome to Bavaria" class. It's sort of a cultural adaptation class. It was supposed to be 3 days, the first day in a classroom and the following two days going around the area learning where things are. I only ended up going to the first day. Between dropping off Liam at daycare that morning and having him bawl his eyes out when I was leaving him (the first time that's happened by the way) and picking him up late in the afternoon realizing he hadn't taken a nap, I didn't feel comfortable leaving him there all day for three days in a row. I was still glad I went. Very informative. It was taught by this German lady "Ursula"... how awesome of a name is that!?
The biggest things I took away from that day I think was that A) my family is SOOO German. I mean, they joke about it a lot. I heard that a lot growing up. Blame all your negative yet hopefully endearing qualities on your German heritage. At least that's what I got out of it. But really! I think it's pretty accurate. Quirky, sarcastic, odd sense of humor, blunt, straightforward, very opinionated, big beer drinkers, having the appearance of being stern, if not just a bit cranky at times, very devoted to their Catholicism (well, at least Bavaria)... yep, it's all there. Awww... it's all making sense now.
B) Don't drive in the Czech Republic. Or Poland. Or Romania. Or any of the other Eastern Bloc countries. In fact, I've been wanting to go to Poland and the Czech Republic, which is about an hour east of us, but I'm not in such a hurry anymore. Let's be honest, I know very little about these countries, I think most Americans know about just as much too. But let me summarize how little I'm actually working with here: A) Pope JP II is from Krakow. That is in Poland. B) There's a place in Poland where some fantastic people have built a cathedral into a salt mine. Looks awesome. C) Polish pottery is from Poland. D) The Czech Republic used to be part of Czechoslovakia, a former favorite word of mine to say. For fun. The End.
So that's it. That's what I know. Also, just like most Americans, my idea of things I know nothing about comes from Hollywood. So I'm envisioning a very lite version of "Hostel."
But also something like "Everything is Illuminated" which I think was actually set in the Ukraine.
So yep, I got nothing. I knew in the past these places were known to not be the safest places on Earth. But shortly after we moved here I started hearing horror stories about people getting drugs slapped underneath their cars after crossing the border, policemen, or people dressed as policeman, pulling people over, finding out their addresses and after returning home after a couple days' vacation, finding their home cleaned out. Poland and the Czech Republic are within a drivable distance so a lot people go over there for shopping in particular. Prices over there are miniscule compared to Germany. But I don't think they're anymore safe now than they were when they were under communist rule.
So during this class Ursula's going into all this detail about these things she's heard about. The fake policeman thing actually happened to someone who took the class a couple months ago. Recently I was reading about people being targeted after crossing the border, having people flash their lights at them, tailgating and harassing them on the road to try to get them to pull over. Let's see, there was also an active-duty service member, who actually went to Poland with a group and was nearly kidnapped. I guess the trick was to not trust the nice, old Asian lady. Also I think something about not buying cigarettes over there got brought up. Cartons of cigs are the equivalent of $10 over there but people have died from whatever was in them.
All the horror stories aside, she recommended definitely going to Prague, it's such a beautiful city. How can you not when we're only a 3 hour drive from there? But you just have to be more careful than usual in those countries. So a word of caution to anyone throwing around the idea of traveling to the region, it's not gotten any safer than what you've previously heard. Just be aware of your surroundings, go in a group and always take the train instead of driving. Ranger that! No human trafficking in my future, thank you!
In brighter tourism news Will and I reserved a room at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch this week! We'll be going for a week during his block leave and I can't wait.
As you can see, it's just below the German Alps. It's run by the American Armed Forces Recreation Centers so it's geared towards service members. Rates are prorated by rank so I guess sometimes it does pay to be enlisted! It really makes it very affordable. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be able to afford it if this was run by Germans. They have spa services, day trips to Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Munich, the Eagle's Nest, and Zugspitze (Germany's highest peak) among other things. The awesome thing is that there's an Army post there too so daycare is available through their on post daycare centers as long as your child's already registered. Will and I would like to take at least one day trip. Neuschwanstein Castle isn't far from there but I've heard it's not very kid-friendly. There's a 45 minute hike uphill to get there and then the tour inside is long and the castle itself has lots of stairs and is not stroller friendly. I've just heard from most people that they don't recommend taking small children.
Next up: my earnest, if not comical, attempts at impersonating an amazing, expert German gardener.
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