London Was Wicked

For my sister's birthday we spent the weekend in London. We were in for a treat as we went to see the changing of the guard. Over 1,100 guards were practicing for the Trooping of the Colors which is a yearly parade done for the queen. The actual parade wasn't until next week but we got to see the dress rehearsal...very cool. I took the girls to all the usual sites - Parliament Square, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Liecester Square, and Tower Bridge. I can say that I know where every public toilet that there is on that route since we had to stop about every 30 minutes. Also my mom and dad bought us matching maternity shirts so we decided to wear them - they are great shirts but honestly we looked like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. After a mishap where we almost lost Crystal on the Tube when the door started closing on her, I could say if we did lose her that I am looking for someone who looks just like me today. Saturday night we went to see an amazing musical called Wicked. It's an original story that tells the untold story of the witches of Oz. The seats weren't quite what the vendor said they were supposed to be but the place was packed that night and we were lucky to get tickets. The crowd was so into the show because it was the final performance for the main Witch of the West since she was heading off to Broadway - she was absolutely amazing.

The next morning we got up to the most beautiful days in England. We found ourselves some breakfast sweets and then walked up to St. Paul's Cathedral. Crystal was pretty pumped up to be in the same place that Di and Charles got married. Next we headed off to Harrod's to do some shopping. Actually we didn't buy too much because it was horribly expensive, but it was pretty cool to see some of the things they had for sale there. Crystal found a Oscar de Larenta dress that she dreamt about fitting in. If found a 250 GBP Dulche and Gabonna dress that would have looked so adorable on Addie. Our only purchases were a couple of books, some coffee, and tea. We did dine in the Terrace Bar which is very posh...a bit on the pricey side...but a once in a lifetime opportunity to have such a lunch with my Grandma, Aunt and sister. We rushed off to try and catch our desired train home, but with Tube stations and lines closing down, we missed our train, but we did get to sit and take a rest and enjoy some "American" lemonade and sweets before we headed home.We did make back in time for the girls to enjoy a wonderful English BBQ over at Simon and Sarah's house. Crystal got to tell them all about our time in London and how she met a pirate on the Tube who turned to her and said "Argh"...she simply turned back to him and said "Stop it" in her sly little voice. What a hoot!!!!

Quality Time with My Sis

On Tuesday, I brought my grandma and aunt to the airport so they could venture off to Barcelona to visit their nephew Tim who teaches at the university there. So as I dropped them off, Auntie Crystal got to spend some quality time with Addie. Crystal taught Addie how to put on makeup and spoiled her with tons of sweets, but that's what aunties are for. For the next couple of days Crystal and I just got to hang out with each other. I brought her a long to our ISE tea so she could meet all my friends. Also that night we got to enjoy some of Min's amazing homemade Chinese cooking as we celebrated Danny's birthday. Crystal was getting a lot of firsts this week - first time eating potato salad, eating salmon, and Tuesday she tried her first curry and other Chinese dishes.

Wednesday night we did a girl's night with Sarah and Min to watch "Sex in the City" at the cinema. Crystal had been dying to watch this movie and was going to miss the opening in the States because she was in the UK. We both laughed and cried and thought the film was great. She had to pee during the whole movie but didn't get up because she didn't want to miss a second and for those of you who have been pregnant you know how hard it is to hold on that long.

When Grandma and Aunt Barb got back thought we should bring the girls out to a great English meal at one of our favorite pubs - The Black Horse in Elton. Since Crystal's birthday was the next day and we were headed out to London early in the morning, I made a birthday cake for her. I knew she loved angel food cake but I couldn't find a mix for it so I asked what she'd like instead and she said white cake with white frosting. Since they don't have mixes for that as well here I reverted back to my homemade recipe that has gotten some pretty good reviews from the girls at our get-togethers. Well something happened and my cake totally flopped. Everyone was super nice and said it tasted good, but I finally got my sister to admit the next day that it wasn't very good.   She thought the thought was wonderful - it's that what sisters are for.

A Special Treat in Fillingham

My great aunt Barb passion is studying our family's genealogy and part of her quest was to search out where here late husband's family came from in England. We weren't sure where the Fillingham's settled in England, but tried for the village of Fillingham just 8 miles north of Lincoln because there was a Fillingham Castle there. We headed out Monday morning in search of the unknown. We found the village and walked around the church there and a kind lady whose family had bought the Old Rectory across the way told us where to find the castle, but explained to us that it was owned by the Rose family...the same Roses who partnered with Cadbury to make Cadbury Roses candies.

Since it was lunch time by then we searched out a pub to eat at, luck has it that every pub within a 5 mile radius of Fillingham was closed on Mondays...we seriously drove about 20 miles round trip to three different villages looking for a place to eat. Instead of treking all the way back to Lincoln we settled on the village store in Ingrahm and bought some buns, ham, cheese, some crisps (potato chips), fruit and some beverages and had a nice picnic in the village green under a beautiful oak tree.

We headed back towards where we thought the castle was (and actually its not technically a castle but a stately home she told us). We ran into a Christmas tree farm and drove back into a field in attempts to find the public footpath the lady told us about. No luck so we stopped at the office of the tree farm. We found a gentleman and asked about the castle...he asked if they were expecting us. Obviously we said no, but said my aunt's family name is Fillingham and she came all the way from the States in hopes to see the castle. He told us to hold on and then follow him. He drove out of the tree farm and to a gate that lead up a very long drive shadowed by thick trees. He was actually leading us into the private drive of the castle. The girls were going crazy. The gentleman explained that the house was occupied by his brother and sister-in-law...so we were actually talking to one of the Mr. Rose's. He took some pictures of us in front of the home and lined up the gardener to take us around the grounds. We found out that no actual Fillingham decedents actually lived in the house, nor did they probably every live in Fillingham as far as we could tell, but it was pretty cool what we got to experience and it brought my aunt to tears.

On our way back home we did stop in Lincoln so that we could take a look at the Lincoln Cathedral. We also had to make a stop in my favorite kitchen store and snack on some ice cream cones to get that boost of energy we needed to get home. The girls and I all got to experience some wonderful English hospitality in tiniest of villages in the heart of England today.

Cam it Up

Today we all headed to Cambridge (Kevin too) to show the girls the colleges and to go punting on the Cam. Interestingly enough we had to take two cars to take along all our our guests...a little precursor of what things will be like when Baby Boy Dea comes along and we have guests. Since we had figured out where to go when mom and dad where her in February, it was a little easier to get the girls around the city. We went to a Park and Ride station just outside of Cambridge which was great because you can park a little easier and its a quick bus ride into the city...dealing with parking in England is not a favorite activity of mine. We got to enjoy their first fish and chips at the Anchor pub located on the Cam next to the punting shop. As you can see, Addison is learning all sorts of new tricks. Auntie Crystal let her crawl on the table at home and now she's trying her new skill in new places. It was interesting going through the tour for the second time...it seems that each guide has their own take on legends and stories. Kevin and I had to fill in the holes of some stories since we thought our first guide was a bit better, but this chap did end up redeeming himself by creating a little drama. He evidently got his poll stuck and the boat kept going without him. He got it free but then had to run along the brick wall and under a low tree to hop back on our punt....jolly good fun!After a long day we headed home and the girls got to witness some of the neighborhood fun that we have. The kids started up a cricket game along with water fight. Evidently our house is a perfect target for cricket balls and streaming water.

Market to Market We Go

Today we headed out to the Stamford market. I thought this would be a great place to get the girls with one of my favorite activities in England. The Stamford market has loads of different things to buy from fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats to clothes to handbags to carpeting to jewelry and so much more. Crystal had been upset that her wedding ring didn't fit since she had started that wonderful "swelling" period of her pregnancy so we helped her pick out a beautiful "English" style ring that will be a great keepsake for her...I should have gotten one myself...maybe next time. Crystal also enjoyed some English hospitality when one of the local meat vendors posed with her...some English tummy rubbing for luck.

For lunch, I brought them to Prezzo, one of my favorite Italian places. They loved the food, especially the desserts - sticky toffee pudding and toffee cheesecake. Funny thing happened...we started out being the only people at the restaurant and then walked in my friend Jenny with her boys and her brother and his family who was visiting...how funny!!!

Best Surprise Ever

Today I received the greatest surprise ever. Addison and I drove down to Heathrow to pick up my grandma and great aunt from the airport...this was my first time driving this far by myself in England so I was hoping everything would be okay.  I was very excited to have visitors and not many of my friends can say that their grandma and great aunt could make the trip over. Addison and I anxiously awaited for them and as they walked out I noticed they didn't have any luggage and I got pretty concerned...lost luggage...uggh. As I walked up to them, they didn't say anything, but they parted ways and there stood my 32 week pregnant sister. I instantly started screaming and my screaming turned into tears and then Addison started crying because she got scared, but I couldn't stop hugging my sister. She planned out this whole surprise and was actually able to keep this huge secret from me...she didn't even tell Kevin so it was a great surprise for him as well. It was a lucky thing though that Kevin didn't come with me to the airport because we wouldn't have had enough room in the car. Also it was a good thing that I decided to back out of going along to Barcelona with my grandma and aunt because Crystal would have been home alone for 3 days. Another funny thing was that Crystal's plans almost got cancelled because her doctor didn't clear her to fly until the morning that they left...how crazy.

Words honestly can't explain how excited I was to see my sister. Ever since I found out she was pregnant I was psyched up to be there for her because her due date fell just around our yearly home leave. Then I found out I was pregnant and due just 3 weeks later, so that foiled all my plans to be with her and her with me.  God certainly works in mysterious and joyous ways!  I do have to thank Heath, my sister's husband, for letting her come over especially in her fragile state....thanks bro!!!

Crusin' Greek Style

Six cities in three countries in seven days while riding in-style on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship....ahhh...living in Europe is AWESOME!!! For our first cruise ever, I have to say that we got to see some amazing places, had some wonderful experiences, and we really enjoyed our whirlwind tour of the eastern Mediterranean. This holiday was our combination relaxation and adventure, but we found that there's not much time to relax when you are trying to entertain a 15 month old on a big boat.

We really enjoyed cruising with Royal Caribbean because we got to enjoy an international crew with an American twist - American classic tunes playing on the deck, breakfast and lunch buffets with loads of food, real lemonade (not the fizzy stuff that tastes like 7-up), paying for drinks in US dollars. Addison had a great time smiling and waving at everyone - the staff seemed to adore her and I think everyone on the ship knew who she was by the end of the cruise. It's nice when people help entertain your child to a point, but it's also hard to tell people to leave her alone so she will actually eat something.

Our boat ported out of Venice, Italy and we spent our first full day cruising so we enjoyed life pool side and catching up on sleep from our early morning flight. Our first stop was in Athens, Greece where we made our way to the top of the Acropolis and got a great view of Athens while walking around the Parthenon. It was pretty cool to finally see the actual structure that I tried to reconstruct out of cardboard as a grade school project when we studied Greek mythology.

Tuesday we tendered just off the coast of Mykonos. We did some shopping around Mykonos town and made our way to Ornos Beach where Addie had a blast playing in the sand (more like very tiny pebbles, but she loved it). We also got to see our first "Bourne" site as the windmills on Mykonos island are featured at the end of The Bourne Identity when Jason Bourne walks into Marie's shop and says "Is this your shop?" Pretty sweet!!!

Next we ported in Katakolon, Greece which allowed us to do a quick trip into ancient Olympia to see the site of the first Olympic games. We were told that in the first games that men competed in the nude...that had to be pretty interesting.

Corfu Island was our next stop and the port was beautiful. We really enjoyed the shopping in the markets of Corfu town, but it decided to start raining on us half way through the morning. It turned into a torrential downpour as we ate lunch and we got pretty bummed out because we were packed up to head to the beach after shopping. Also by now we lost both of Addison's passies and we were in desperate search to find some replacements. Kevin searched out three pharmacies and we actually found the same silicon Nuks that she likes (it was a long shot finding one because I've only seen them in the States). We decided to walk back to the boat thinking the rain would let up, but it didn't and we got soaked. On the bright side I stubbled across our missing passy laying on the ground where Addie dropped it on our way into town. I know I should wean her off the whole passy thing but it has been a life saver when we get in some pretty sticky situations.

Our final port was Split, Croatia which is a beautiful city. We stumbled upon a fresh fish market, a crazy-busy food market, and everything-else market...it was insane on how busy they all were. We attempted to find a beach to hang out for the rest of the day but the city beach was a little shady and we didn't feel like stranding ourselves on a beach 20 km away with only a few hours left before our ship left.

We got back into Venice early Saturday morning and wanted to make the most of our last few hours our holiday. We hopped on a water bus and continued with our trend of whirlwind tours into Venice city centre. We got to spend about 1 1/2 hours seeing some sites. We got pretty scared waiting for the next bus to show up because you feel a bit helpless when your only mode of transportation between two points is a small boat. We did end up making it to our "land" bus with about 5 minutes to spare.

When we made it home, we were very glad that we had two days over the May Bank Holiday to recover because we were pretty tired. It was a great trip and we look forward to doing it again...next time with two kids we'll look at bringing along our babysitter to help us out. (By the way...I had a really awesome mini-movie put together to show you all more pictures but it must have been so good of a production that Google wouldn't post it because they thought it was copyright infringed.)

Mother's Day

It is so exciting to celebrate my 2nd Mother's Day being a mom of one with another on the way. I do have to say that I have a very sweet little girl and wonderful husband who treated me like a queen on Sunday. We woke up to a glorious day and made pancakes for breakfast. Then we went on nice walk and took some pictures by one of the close by canola fields. The walk sure reminded me of how pregnant I am...Kevin usually has to ask me to slow down and this time I had to ask him to slow down for me. We then went into Peterborough city centre and had a wonderful lunch sitting outside at Pizza Express (one of my most favorite brick oven pizza places). Then Kevin and Addison brought me to the mall and had me pick out something special...and I choose a beautiful sterling silver bracelet. When we got home we Skyped our moms to wish them well. My mom was pretty jealous of our super nice weather since it was about 35F and rainy in Iowa. That evening we were invited to the Wong's for an Asian BBQ which consisted of grilling out sausages, burgers, ribs, satay chicken and beef, fried noodles, fried rice and lots of other goodies. It was awesome...kind of funny that we had an American BBQ, a traditional English roast and and Asian BBQ all in the same week.

Not Quite OSHA Approved

Ever since we've moved into our house, we've noticed that our back hedges were way out of control and needed trimmed. Several months ago Kevin bought an electric hedge trimmers and managed to shave down the sides of the hedges, but our trusty ladder wasn't tall enough to get the tops hacked off. One option was that we could go buy a really tall step ladder but with the lack of a larger vehicle to haul it home we haven't bought one yet. So for a more resourceful solution we took our patio table, loaded it up with some boards and topped it off with our trusty ladder. Kevin armed himself with the electric trimmers, the hedge clippers, the hand shears and extend-o shears that our neighbor lent us, while I steadied the ladder. The whole endeavor took about 3 1/2 hours since we had to break a few times to feed and play with Addie. We had a few friendly visitors to share their concern about how crazy we were with our set up but it worked out pretty good and the hedges look a heck of a lot better.

It's Getting Warmer

The weather in England has been amazing the past several days...mid to upper 70's all week and no clouds in the sky. Addie loves to be outside, so much that she has been throwing pretty bad fits if she doesn't get to go out. We do get out a lot but I have to load her up with sunscreen when we stay out for too long.   She loves playing in her little car or riding on her tricycle when mom and dad go on walks.  She as also become very fond of the game of golf at least she likes to drag her clubs around.  And yes folks she does have a diaper on....we're not in Iowa....and yes, for those of you not from Iowa, it's something we do in the summer time...run around naked to keep cool on those steaming hot, humid days. 

A Picnic in London

It's kind of funny to say, "Hey, let's go to London for the day", but we've done it a couple times now. Even though it is starting to sound normal, we find a new adventure each time we make the trip. This past Saturday we decided to have a picnic in Kensington Gardens. We packed a few bits to bring with us like a small blanket, fruit and goodies for Addie, but for our main lunch we planned on Subway sandwiches. In order to fullfill this craving I searched out Subway locations in London on their website...did you know that there are 107 Subway stores in London? I happened to find one not to far from the park and our Tube stop. The park was packed so we walked around a bit but then found a perfect spot next to the Round Pond just east of Kensington Palace. Addie loved watching the swans and ducks in the pond and she got to play "football" with daddy. Kevin and I even tried tossing a frisbee, but it wasn't a very good one and it was a little breezy. Plus it's pretty funny I'm sure for observers to see a pregnant chic chasing after a "flying disc." After lunch we circled the grounds of Kensington Palace and I fell in love with the Sunken Garden. Kevin's got high hopes that I can re-create such beauty when we return to Illinois. We stumbled upon the Albert Memorial which was absolutely amazing. Queen Victoria built this memorial in honor of her husband...sorry Kevin, I don't think I can afford something this extravagant for you any day soon. We continued on to Hyde Park where Addie and I shed our socks and shoes, and we dipped our toes in the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. We ended up our day with a stroll through Green Park where Kevin and I got ice cream cones and a big New York Style Hotdog...it's those crazy pregnancy cravings I tell you. The city was so busy and there were people everywhere, but the sun was shining and it was an absolutely perfect day. Again Kevin and I had to pinch ourselves to make sure we weren't dreaming and we thanked God again for giving us this wonderful opportunity to be here.

A Visit From Diana

After getting back from our trip to Germany we got a wonderful visit from our friend, Diana Hopkins. It is so amazing to see a familiar face from home sitting in your own living room and carrying on a conversation like we were sitting back in Washington, Illinois. Diana was actually over on business to attend a dealer conference in Peterborough...ahh, it's pretty cool to have some of your greatest friends work for the same company because somehow they all get connected even if it's half way around the world. Not only was it great to see Diana, but she also came bearing gifts...9 containers of Crystal Light packets. They looked so great when I put them up on our pantry shelf. Thanks again Diana!!! It was great seeing you.

It's Pretty Easy Being Green

Since we've moved to the UK we've noticed that their is a pretty strong push to conserve energy and to follow the three R's - reduce, reuse and recycle. So we have decided to take on some new habits that hopefully we can have a good influence on our kids.

Reuse - All the grocery stores offer their own reusable bags and often give you credit for bringing in your own bags. I picked up the Small Green Bag from Tesco the other day. I now keep a few other plastic bags inside and bring them along now when I go grocery shopping. To tell you the truth it's a lot easier using used bags to pack your own groceries than mess with trying to open up new bags...especially when you've got a 15 month old trying to climb out of the trolley these days.

Recycle - Also we do a lot of recycling...half of our rubbish actually gets thrown in our recycle bin. We have three large bins out back...one for garbage, one for recycling and one for yard waste. We had to start putting the recycling bin up off the ground once Addie started walking because she would play with the pop cans...I have horrible fears of her cutting her fingers. You've also heard me talk about some of our trips to the local waste facility...there are tons of huge containers that are marked for separating out your junk so that it can be recycled accordingly. You park your car and start chucking things in the right bin...pretty cool, but watch out for bees...ask Addie!

Reduce - Most recently we've decided to help reduce the amount of rubbish we see around us. We've started taking a grocery sack with us as we go on family walks and pick up rubbish along the side of the road. Yesterday we picked up a whole sack full. It's seems like there are some places in the UK that there isn't much concern over littering so we thought we'd at least clean up our little part of the world. We met a new neighbor while doing this and he actually thanked us. We felt pretty good about representing some values we picked up in the US.

Also we're trying to reduce the amount of fuel we use...when we came to the UK we bought diesel vehicles because of the fuel economy. The price of diesel these days in the UK is now 1.18 GBP per liter (used to be 96 pence when we moved here). There are 3.85 liters to a US gallon so that equates to about $8.90US/gallon of fuel....so all of you in the US complaining about $4.15 diesel...stop it!!! We both get about 35 miles/US gallon and with Kevin being so much closer to work he only fills his tank once every three weeks...lots better than filling that monster 4 door pickup truck we used to own.

Our Holiday in Munich, Germany

To sum things up, Germany was amazing!!! The food, the people, the sights, the good times spent together as a family. On Friday, we got up around 3:30AM so we could make it to the airport by 6AM. It was only an hour and 20 minute flight to Munich and we flew AirBerlin so it was interesting having all the announcements in German then in English. We took the S-Bahn train to our hotel, The Exquisit, which was located just 10 minutes walk from Marianplatz, the big central square in Munich. We started out our day by hopping on the U-Bahn train up to Olympic Park where the 1972 Olympic games were held. The grounds were awesome and it was a beautiful day. We walked to the top of this huge hill so we could get a scenic view of the park and overlooking the city of Munich. We checked out the Aquatic center, the stadium, Olympic Hall, the Olympia Beirgarten (beer garden) and had a beer and bratwurst at another beer garden. The BMW factory is right next to the park so we walked through their "show room" and Kevin said he could have spent hours in there marveling over the cars and the engineering displays they had set up. I thought the coolest part was the cars they were bringing up in elevators for people to either test drive or they were new cars that just came off the factory floor that people had purchased and were picking up. Next we headed to the English Garden where in part of the river the are huge waves created by an underground tunnel so people can actual surf in the river. I believe its the only the place in the world you can river surf.

Saturday morning we woke up to rain which was kind of a downer but it set the mood for our visit to the Dachau Concentration camp. Dachau was definitely an eye opening experience and one I'm glad we did so that someday when Addison sees the pictures we can share what we learned with her. We had a tour guide that walked us through the camp and explained a lot of background on how the camps came about and some of the unknown stories not told in the history books. We walked all over the grounds and through the main work building, the prison baracks, the roll call yard, and the crematorium where they actually used gas chambers to execute people. It was very sobering to be there, but what made it really real to me was the conversation I had with Jewish woman on our bus ride back whose grandparents were sent to Auschwitz. The rest of the day we spent tracking around Munich and checking out Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), Viktualienmarkt (city market), Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), Neues Rathaus, (New Town Hall), Neuhauserstrasse (main pedestrian street that leads to Marianplatz). We also got to see the Glockenspiel at work that evening where figurines dance around at the top of the Altes Rathus under the clock.

Sunday we took a 2 hour train ride to Fussen, Germany to visit the Schloss Neuschwanstein castle. It's sometimes nicknamed the Cinderella castle because Walt Disney modeled the castle at Disney World around this place. King Ludwig II built many of these stately homes all around Germany and spent the family billions and put them in millions in debt when he died at the age of 40. It was an amazingly beautiful day and we could see the foothills of Germany lead into the Alps in Austria. To get to the castle you could take a bus of the fiercely steep hill or you could walk it...well of course we decided to walk...yes we were crazy, but we love a challenge. We walked 1 1/2 miles uphill pushing a stroller with a 25 pound baby in it while either carrying a 20 pound backpack (Kev) or me being 5 1/2 months pregnant. It was all worth it because the view was amazing. The castle has 80 rooms but only 20 of them are finished because construction stopped after Ludwig died and after going through what was finished you could see why they ran out of money...the rooms where very elaborate. This is a definite must see for everyone, but I would recommend taking the bus.

Monday we headed to Salzburg, Austria for the day. It definitely isn't enough time by any means, but we got a sneak peak. I'm a huge Sound of Music fan so we did get to see some sights from the famous movie - the park you see here is where they sang the "Do, Re, Mi" song. We saw the fountain where Maria splashed the horse when singing "I Have Confidence in Me," and we saw the cemetery where it was depicted that the family hid from the Nazi's at the end (but really those scenes where shot in Hollywood). Salzburg is also the home of Mozart so we saw his birth place and boyhood home. We rode a tram up to the Salzburg Fortress (Hohensalzburg) and got to see some amazing views down on the city and the mountains even though it was a pretty hazy day. One fun thing on this day was that on the train, Addison befriended a group of Greek highschool students. We ran into them again at the fortress so we had to get a picture of them while they sang, "If You're Happy and You Know It" in Greek. Since we only had a few hours in the city we didn't get to see all the Sound of Music sites, nor did we get to spend much quality time at any one place so we will have to go back for sure. We took some time to pick up some souvenirs...Kevin picked out a beer stein, we got a set of porcelain dolls in traditional dress for Addie, and I picked out a charm and Christmas ornament...all things we are going to be collecting from each country we visit. By accident we came across a game store which we popped in to see if they had a cribbage board (we've been searching everywhere for one), but I remembered that our friends the Westphalen's had picked up a fun German card game called Bohnanza (we affectionally call it the "Bean Game")...we asked about it and sure enough they had it. I was elated to find it and now while we are away from our friends Mark and Amity we can still practice our mad trading skills for when we move back to the States and drum up the fierce competition once again.
On our final day we finished up seeing some sites in Munich that we hadn't gotten to. We started out at Odenplatz Square which is famous for the Feldherrnhalle - Field Marshal's Hall where Bavarian police fought off Nazi protesters lead by Hitler. After Hitler took rule, he made people salute him as they passed in front of this hall. To avoid doing this people would walk on the street behind the hall and is nicknamed "Dodger's Alley". Next door is the Residenz Palace was the official home of Bavaria’s monarchs. Out front are bronze lions with bright shiney noses. People who supported the monarchy during the take over of Hilter would walk by these lion's and rub their noses...this practice is still done today as we saw many passers-by do the same. We ate lunch at the world famous HofBräuhaus (Royal Brewery) and Kevin drank a 1 liter beer. Afterwards he wanted to pull an old college trick of taking the mug with you but I wouldn't let him. We headed out to get some more souvenirs and almost ended up with an unwanted one. We were looking through a very small shop and as we were leaving the stroller caught a small table and things went tumbling...including a glass vase that didn't break, but also a very ugly painted tin tree thing. The shop people claimed that we damaged it and it was looking like we were going to be buying a 128 Euro ($200US) ugly painted tree. To our luck they didn't want to deal with calling the "Chief" and they let us leave...it's totally one of those moments that just make you sick to your stomach. We found another doll for Addie, a Germany/Munich beer stein for Kevin, and I found a Bavarian cookbook to take home.

Munich is a wonderful place. The city is clean and people are very friendly. I was very nervous for our trip at first beacuse I haven't been to a country where English wasn't the main language. Funny thing is that pretty much everyone we met spoke English...they start out in German but then after we apologize for only knowing English they switch tongues and speak perfect English. I feel so ignorant only knowing one language...but I feel it just isn't emphasized in our US education system to be more worldly. I'm sure Addison enjoyed the morning cartoons in German...familiar ones like Mickey's Playhouse and Cailou. Kevin and I would watch poker or snooker in the evenings...it was all in German but you didn't need to understand what they were saying. Overall Germany has to be one of the top trips I've been on...I think what made it most special was experiencing it with my family.