Pisa!

                                   

PISA! We started a trip through Italy today so I'm trying blogging from my iPad. We'll see how it works! 

                                      

Our first stop was Pisa to see what else? The Leaning Tower! We were not disappointed and I was thrilled that there were still tickets to climb to the top - I had missed the 8 day window for pre-ordering tickets! I really wanted to visit this site and I really wanted to climb to the top, I've mentioned before it is a thing that my family just tolerates. 

We wound up climbing as the sun was setting which made for a some great photos. Which by the way only the easiest to share will be here, we took lots of photos!

          

         

After our hike to the top we headed into the town of Pisa to find dinner. We were a little early, most restaurants didn't open until 8pm but no one was in the mood to wait so we found a pizzeria for a pizza in Pisa, then we stopped for gelato on the way back. We are in Italy after all! Once the kids were settled in their rooms we headed out for some more photo shooting. Steve was using his wide angle lens...I'm not really this tall!

                                       

Frohe Weihnachten!

Rachel, Missy, Steve
Dominic, Stefanie & AJ

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends! We had a wonderful day celebrating Christmas. The kids let us sleep until about 7:30 which was great. We had a leisurely morning of breakfast and present opening. The weather was beautiful here, not white, so we took a walk and the kids had a great game of basketball. We had a fabulous, relaxing afternoon, a delicious dinner and a fun night of drinks and desserts with friends.

Santa Came!

Stockings are full!

AJ, Stefanie, Dominic and Rachel

Merry Birthday!

Rachel, Missy, Stefanie, Dominic & AJ

I had a terrific birthday today! Everyone spoiled me and made it a special day for me. It was so very nice.

Steve made a wonderful brunch to start out day. Then he and I joined some friends for pre-Christmas drinks in Starnberg - they even sang Happy Birthday - which is of course embarrassing to me - but oh so very sweet.

It was a beautiful day today and the views of the mountains were fabulous.After drinks we switched into Christmas Eve mode and made our traditional dinner. We went to mass at 9pm at our local German church, it was lovely even thought we still can't understand most of it. The church was decorated with six lovely trees and when they played Christmas songs we knew, we sang in English. After church we had cake!

Christmas Shopping in Munich

Dominic, AJ, Stefanie & Rachel

It's the start of Christmas break for our family! The kids are off from school and Steve is off from work. We spent the day in Munich enjoying the Christmas markets and doing a little shopping too. We took the kids to lunch at Hans im Glück, a fun burger restaurant. Burgers aren't big here in Germany so it was a big treat! And it was delicious.

Missy, Stefanie & Rachel

Stefanie, Rachel, AJ & Dominic

AJ, Dominic, Steve

We took the kids to Ambach, a little town on the lake that was hosting a Christmas market. The views of the mountains were pretty incredible. It is a beautiful place where we live!

Nuremburg/Nürnberg

There is a wonderful mom at our kids' school that plans fun outings for moms. Often they are museum tours which is great for me because I tend to not get to those on my own. This month it was a trip to Nuremberg to visit the Christmas markets and take a tour of the city.

While the weather was miserable, the company was fabulous and the tour was interesting. The market was actually smaller than I had anticipated. I didn't do much shopping but it is always interesting to look and of course we sampled the glühwein. We also had lunch at a sweet Gasthaus that overlooked the market square and the church.

My favorite sites were the Neues Museum tucked behind the town wall. Standing near the end of the building makes for a great picture in the reflection of the mirrored wall of the museum.

I also liked the Schöner Brunnen, a 14th century fountain in the town square. The fountain is made up of 40 different figures that represent significant people from throughout the church's history. There are two brass rings on the fence surrounding the fountain that bring good luck to you if you spin them.

The castle above the town and the view from above were also cool. And of course the Frauenkirche and its sweet little glockenspiel are worth a stop.

GO BUCKS!!!

We had a little party for the Ohio State Michigan game. It was mostly fun to watch the game with friends. I say mostly because it was WAY too close for my taste. But it was fun to have a great group of friends over and to introduce them to Buckeye football and Buckeyes!

The kids recreated my favorite photo of them for us before the game. Things have certainly changed since 2003!

Happy Birthday Steve!

 Wednesday was Steve's birthday and we were all happy to be celebrating another year. Everyone
had a busy day, Steve with work and the kids and I with school. So we all met up at AJ's first basketball game of the season. As
an added present his team won!

Afterwards we headed to a favorite German restaurant in our town for a cozy, delicious, Bavarian dinner. Once home we did presents and cake - at nearly 11pm. A long day of celebrating for us all!

Fall Sports Season

It was another great fall of sports at our house. Everyone had a fantastic time on the field or the court. Some teams had more wins than others but we were happy to see our kids playing and having fun with their teams. They also got to visit some great new places.

Dominic continued on the varsity rugby team. We didn't have as many opportunities to watch him play with less home games this season. He still loves the physicality and challenge of the sport. I still watch with my hands over my eyes half the time. He traveled to Switzerland and Regensburg and will head to Frankfurt in March for the International School Tournament.

AJ played varsity volleyball again this year. He has really grown as a setter and was rewarded for his hard work at the International School Tournament this year. He and his teammate JC were selected as All ISST's players, two of ten students chosen from the eight teams in the competition. His team traveled to Vienna, Budapest and Düsseldorf this year.

Stefanie also played varsity volleyball again this year. She too has improved her skills and acted as captain during several matches. Her team struggles to win many games, they are always so close, but Stefanie is a fantastic motivator and positive spirit amongst her teammates. Stefanie got to travel to Zurich, Vienna and Athens.

Rachel played soccer again this fall. She and her teammates are playing in a higher age group this year so it was a much more challenging season. Rachel had fun out on the field and with her teammates, their friendships are wonderful. Middle school teams don't travel as much as the senior school teams but she did get to take a trip to Zurich for the end of season tournament.

Jed Visits!

How fun for us. Jed had business in Germany and was able to squeeze in a weekend with us at the end! Jed and Steve went to Cornell together.

We met Jed at the main train station in Munich and then went out with some friends of ours. He got to see Munich from the rooftop bar of the Bayerischer Hof, a swanky hotel here in Munich then we had dinner at Hugo's, a cool pizza restaurant.

Saturday, we did our traditional Bavarian breakfast of weißwurst, pretzels and bier. Then we took him to Oberammergau and Ettal Monastery It had been foggy and overcast all day but as we got back to Starnberg the skies had cleared so we took Jed to the lake to see the mountain view, we got there a little late...

Sunday found Steve and Jed at Andechs for most of the day. A great way for two old friends to spend the day. Monday they flew back to the U.S. together after a fantastic weekend!

London Calling

Dominic, AJ, Stefanie & Rachel

Last January AJ realized that NFL teams would be playing in London this year. He wanted to go! So we told him, find out when the games are, how to get tickets and if it works with fall break we will do it. AJ was motivated and quickly worked out that indeed one of the games would be played the weekend break started, so we bought tickets and planned for London.

The kids were all really psyched since London was high on everyone's list, plus as an added bonus, they speak English there!! We were all a little shocked when we had a super chatty conversation with the first waiter at the pub we went to for lunch when we arrived! We aren't capable of being "chatty" with anyone in German!

Stefanie, AJ, Rachel & Dominic at Big Ben

After lunch we took a double decker bus tour to get a good feel for London and where everything is. Also, it took us to Trafalgar Square where the NFL pregame rally was being held. AJ was thrilled to see the players as well as the Jaguar cheerleaders and a bunch of ex-NFL stars. Later we got back on the bus to finish our tour of London. Due to the rally, traffic was S-L-O-W so we stopped at the Tower of London and although it was too late in the day to tour, then we took the canal boat back up the Thames. The river boat captain's schtick was informative and entertaining!

Stefanie, Rachel & Aj - with the Jaguar team behind them.

Our second day in London was mainly about the NFL game but we did have time to visit the Churchill War Museum first. This is an amazing place to visit. The museum is located in the underground bunker that Churchill and his staff used during WWII. You get to view the rooms as they looked during the war and there is an interactive museum about Churchill's life. It was fascinating.

Rachel, AJ, Stefanie & Dominic headed into the bunker

Then we headed to the NFL game, although we had to go back to our hotel first because I FORGOT the tickets. I still can't believe it! We made our way to Wembley Stadium and the pregame tailgate party. The kids enjoyed walking around sampling the "American" food for sale and watching the goofy pre-game show. AJ was thrilled because he got to see Joe Montana. Finally it was gametime. It was the San Francisco 49ers vs the Jacksonville Jaguars. The seats we had were great and it was fun to watch the game even though the Jaguars got slaughtered. The kids had a blast. Heading back to London from Wembley via the Tube was a challenge after the game. The crowd is continually stopped along the walk to the station to wait for there to be room!

Dominic, AJ, Stefanie & Rachel at Wembley Stadium

Rachel, Stefanie, AJ & Dominic

Steve & Missy

Game Time! AJ, Stefanie, Rachel & Dominic

Monday started as a day of site seeing and shopping. We walked past Buckingham Palace and saw a mini changing of the guard, that happens every hour. This was not the official guard change with all the pomp and circumstance but the kids decided it was enough for them.

Buckingham Palace

Changing of the guard

Next, we toured Westminster Abbey which was of course impressive and beautiful. But the kids felt it was much more like a tomb than a church. There really are lots of people buried there! We had lunch in Trafalgar Square and spent some time on Regent Street.

Then it was time for the other BIG highlight of our trip. The Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour. Our kids are huge Harry Potter fans. We've all read the books and watched the movies multiple times. The studio tour is amazing. The sets that are in place include The Great Hall, Griffindor Common Room, Dumbledore's Office, Snape's Classroom, #4 Privet Drive and the Knight Bus. There are heaps of costumes and props and wonderful audio and video guides to go with the whole tour. We also got to taste butterbeer which everyone enjoyed. It was butterscotchy and frothy. The tour ends with a scale version of Hogwarts castle that is amazing and a wand shop. Rachel also did a very cool thing, she rode a broom. It was green screen magic but it was fun for her and the video is fantastic.

AJ, Stefanie, Rachel & Dominic

Dominic outside The Cupboard under the Stairs

Rachel & Stefanie in The Great Hall

Rachel, AJ, Dominic & Stefanie

Rachel riding over the Quidditch Pitch

Butterbeer

AJ

Hogwarts Castle

The next day we explored the Tower of London which is quit an impressive site as is the Tower Bridge next to it. The Tower Bridge by the way is the one you think of when you think of London, not London Bridge. We took a Beefeater tour and learned a little more about the (gory) history.

Beefeater Tour

Dominic, AJ, Stefanie & Rachel - Tower of London

Tower Bridge

The following day was also busy. We visited Covent Garden, did a bit of shopping and street performer watching and the kids had shakes from The Shake Shack. The street performer particularly impressed the kids when he laid down on a bed of nails and had someone stand on him. Then we visited Regent Street for one last look and a visit to Top Shop, after all Duchess Kate shops there! Then we headed to the river to ride The London Eye. I was worried that I would be terrified the whole time since ferris wheels are not my thing, but that was so not the case. It was like riding an elevator. We were lucky because we had a beautiful, gorgeous days and could see forever.

The London Eye

AJ, Rachel, Stefanie & Dominic

Rachel, Stefanie & Missy

Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey from the London Eye

Rachel, AJ, Steve, Dominic & Stef - Ice Cream treats after the London Eye

Our day ended with a performance of Wicked. It was fantastic and we all really enjoyed it - yes all of us! I'm so glad it met our expectations.

Rachel, Dominic, Stefanie & AJ

Our last day in London was Halloween. Since the kids would be missing Halloween here in Germany we had trick or treat surprises ready for them.  Who isn't thrilled to get a bag of candy for a plane ride home? We spent our day at Kensington Palace, walking through a bit of Hyde Park and visiting Harrod's before heading to the airport. Kensington wasn't a favorite of anyones. It's not as exciting as many of the other places we visited and no one was as interested in the museum. Still, now we've seen where Kate and William live!

Stefanie, AJ, Rachel & Dominic - Kensington Palace

We really had a fabulous trip and enjoyed London immensely!