Munich Feis

Stefanie & Julia

Stefanie competed in the Munich Feis this weekend and had her biggest successes at this higher competition level yet! She came away with two second place finishes and a fifth place. We think her friend Julia was a good luck charm. Julia wins best friend ever status after spending 12 hours "feising" with us. She was the ultimate supporter!

Happy Father's Day In Austria!

Missy, Dominic, Steve, Stefanie, Rachel, AJ

We celebrated Father's Day weekend spectacularly. One of Steve's favorite things is Formula 1 racing, we have been watching it for over 20 years. When the Austrian Grand Prix fell on the same weekend as Father's Day we decided it was the perfect way to spend the weekend.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Our friends Vanessa and Abel are also BIG fans so along with their boys Abel and Alan they joined us.

The guys wanted to be there EARLY for the qualifying so they took one car and left around 5am. The girls weren't quite as eager so we left at a leisurely 730! The guys had a great time at qualifying even though it was quite wet for most of the morning and afternoon.  When we arrived it was pouring so they told us to hang out in the car, after a little while they told us to bail and head to the hotel and they would meet us there.  The weather was icky, we didn't need to be told twice!!

Dominic, Abel and AJ - Steve's camping tarp came in handy!

Dominic & AJ - to be fair the weather did clear up!

We found our hotel on the sweet little Thalersee (Thaler Lake) and had lunch and naps! Rachel and Alan's 8th grade boat cruise was the night before, we were tired! Afterwards while we waited for the guys we walked around the lake and realized that we were in the same town where Arnold Schwarzengger is from.

Stefanie

Thalersee

The weather had cleared nicely and by the time the guys had arrived we were sitting outside watching a rainbow having drinks. We all had dinner because they were starving. That night there was a wedding at our hotel but the restaurant was still open so we enjoyed the festivities too. The band was really good and at one point two of the waiters did a dance to the same song Uma Thurman and John Travolta dance to in Pulp Fiction. It was hilarious! We found out later they were brothers and they entertained us all night long.

Alan, Abel, Rachel, Stefanie, AJ & Dominic

Abel & Vanessa, Missy & Steve

Sunday was race day and we left early to secure a good spot. We sat in general admission since we had the kids, this way we had more room and the ability to move around a lot.

Kids are ready for a race!

It's never too cold for ice cream!

AJ & Dominic

Missy & Vanessa

Abel, Steve & Abel

It was a good race and we had fun celebrating the dads while watching the race. Of course we all got tricked out in Ferrari gear.  Ferrari is Steve's favorite team so it's ours too!

Rachel's 8th Grade Celebration

Steve, Rachel & Missy

Another big milestone in our house! As Rachel finishes 8th grade we finish with middle school. Rachel has done much to make us proud this year so we were excited to celebrate with her.

Stefanie, Dominic, Rachel & AJ

The 8th grade celebration is three hour boat ride around the Starnbergersee (Starnberg Lake). There is dinner and of course dancing for the kids. Just parents and 8th graders attend, siblings stay home.

She's going to high school!

Rachel was of course off with her friends from the moment we got to the dock. The girls were all dressed in their best party clothes.

Once on the ship Steve and I connected with our friends while Rachel hung out with hers. My friends and I did of course sneak away to get one or two pictures of the kids!

It was a chilly night out on the lake, but at least it didn't rain so we could be outside some of the time on the boat!

Steve & Missy

A Visit with a Gillie

Pizza Night - Stefanie, Dominic, AJ, Chris & Rachel

Chris has been friends with the boys since he and AJ started cub scouts together. He came to spend a week with us after he and AJ were done with high school, Dominic was here too so it was a fun week for all of them. There was lots of activities to enjoy with AJ’s friends. Imagine how much fun a bunch of high school graduates who are all considered legal adults at 18 can have in a city.

Getting ready to head home - Rachel, Dominic, AJ & Chris

They also managed to squeeze in a few cultural activities too. They visited Dachau, Neuschwanstein and of course toured Munich, although how much of that was site seeing and how much was biergartens we’ll never know.

Norwegian Girls Weekend

I was lucky enough to escape with some friends to Norway for a girls weekend. My awesome friend Tordny invited us to spend the weekend at her cabin in Holmsbu. What a beautiful place! Her lovely home is, by the way, much more than what an American pictures a cabin to be, it’s a lovely well planned out cottage by the sea, sitting on a hill overlooking a beautiful fjord. The area reminded me a little of the finger lakes area but was yet different. What was most amazing to our group was that when we arrived at 3am it was twilight. In the summer it is light nearly all the time in Norway.  

3am!

10am!

Our first day we spent in Holmsbu exploring the sweet little town, visiting galleries and a lovely museum built in the forest. We stayed up late talking and relaxing and just enjoying our time together.

We may have needed a little rest along the way!

We spent one full day touring Oslo. We met Tordny's mom first and she is inspiring. She walked with us to the tram and we were working to keep up with her and she is 80! As we got near to the stop she thought the tram was coming and took off on a run just in case. Very impressive stuff! A really great example of why we need to keep moving as we creep along in years!

In Oslo we visited to the Munch (pronounced monk) Museum. Wondering why you know the name Munch? He painted The Scream. When he wrote about the painting he talked about watching the sunset and how it was like a scream of nature. This made the painting more beautiful to me, sometimes knowing what the artist was thinking is really helpful. There was a great exhibit comparing Van Gogh to Munch, they progressed through their careers at the same time trying and learning the same painting styles.

The walk through the center of Oslo was interesting, it's a pretty old city. At the end of these beautiful flowers is (I think) the Parliament building.

We also visited the Nobel Peace Prize Center. It's a beautiful building with large exhibits for the most recent winners and small displays for each winner. 

We had a lovely lunch and ice cream by the water. 

And then headed back to the cabin for a wonderful evening and a traditional Norwegian meal - open face shrimp sandwiches. These were delicious.  You start with a piece of bread, add a sour cream aioli, shrimp, avocado, tomato and then repeat as many layers as you would like. It was absolutely incredible!

Our last day we had a leisurely morning at Tordny's cabin and then headed into Oslo so we could see the famous Opera building that that is meant to look like an iceberg melting into the fjord. My picture does not convey that!!

Stairwell inside the opera house

On the roof!

It was a wonderful girls weekend with long lunches, lots and lots of talking and eating and sightseeing. Absolutely fantastic!

Rachel - gold medalist and MVP!

Rachel had some great success on the track team this year. She tried discus and shot put and did particularly well at the discus. She competed at the JV level and she won a gold medal at the International School Sports tournament. Then at the end of the season sports award ceremony she was named Most Valuable Player! She wasn't there to receive the award because she was having fun at the Maroon 5 concert but she still won!

Letty & Claire!

Letty & Missy at Lake Starnberg

What a fun, fun, FUN weekend!  One of my BFFs from college, Letty, came to visit with her daughter Claire. We had a fabulous, fabulous quick weekend together. 

Missy & Letty at Andechs

They arrived Saturday afternoon and we of course took them to Andechs Monastery, Steve's favorite place to have a beer!  And we joined some friends out for another drink and to watch some soccer or football as it's known here. 

Rain was predicted on Sunday so we got up early to tour Munich.  We did a complete walking tour of the city and English Gardens and then had lunch on the terrace of Spatenhaus overlooking Max-Joseph-Platz and the Residenz.  So much for rain, it was a perfect bavarian blue sky day!

Claire and Letty at Spatenhaus with the Residenz behind them

We enjoyed an awesome evening on our deck catching up and then Letty and Claire were off late morning on Monday.  It was a wonderful two days together!!

Auf Wiedersehen Granny & Grandpa Teddy

Dad & Mom at Lake Starnberg

My mom and dad just ended a great two week visit. As always we were super busy while they were here plus they had a week touring Poland first, so they were really busy. We are so lucky that they could make the trip and like Kay be here for the girls Confirmation and AJ's graduation.  Not everyone is fortunate to have family visit them when they live so far away. We are glad ours are able to visit. We know they'll be back before we move back to the US!

Dominic's Home!!!

Woohoooo! Plebe year is on the books! One year down and three to go! What better way to celebrate then lunch at Andechs!

Bon Voyage!

Grandma just left after a two week visit! We are so lucky that this is the third time she has visited us in Munich. It was so great that she could be here for both the girls Confirmation and AJ's graduation. Will she make it four for four next year? Four visits in four years? Only time will tell! (She reads the blog so this is my way of encouraging her)

AJ Graduates!

AJ - receives his diploma and gives his trademark pose!

AJ is a proud graduate of the Class of 2015!!! We are so excited for him and that he has successfully completed high school. Now we look forward to Bowling Green State University, the honors program and an intended study of Middle School Education.

Everyone who knows AJ thinks this is a perfect fit for him.  He really enjoys kids and they REALLY like him. He's been assistant coaching middle school volleyball for the past three years and it has been a great experience. We are very excited to see what the future holds for him.

Stefanie, Rachel, AJ, Missy & Steve

Graduation is a big celebration here. First there is a formal graduation ceremony at the Prinzregenttheatre, a fancy theatre here in Munich. That is followed by drinks and hors d'oeuvres. And yes the teens all have a glass of wine or a beer in their hands.  It was a beautiful afternoon sitting out in the garden with friends and enjoying our graduates.

Steve, Kay, Stefanie, AJ, Missy, Rachel, Granny & Grandpa Teddy

Stefanie, AJ & Rachel

Granny, AJ & Grandpa Teddy

AJ & Grandma

We had a dinner planned with 8 of AJ's friends at the Sofitel Hotel in Munich but not until the evening.  After graduation since there wasn't enough time to go back home we hung out at the hotel and had a little private party for AJ.  Presents and cake and a little indoor Bocce. 

Our dinner party was great fun! Each family had their own table but in between courses the kids and adults could mingle and chat. A perfect way to celebrate.

JC, Josh, Luka, Patrick, Jack
AJ, Maxi, Julian, Riley & Alex

Luka & AJ

Granny, Steve & Grandma

Traditionally after dinner the kids and their parents then go to the P1 (P eins) club in the Haus der Kunst. This is a chic club in a cool art museum. The Haus der Kunst was built by Hitler to house the art that he approved but since it was one of the few buildngs not destroyed in Munich it was used as the Allies headquarters after the war. Hitler cleverly built it on the edge of the English Garden and covered it in camouflage to hide it which is why it survived. The P1 club was also the officers club after the war.  The party there was of course fun although we started to feel like we were crashing the kids party after awhile so we didn't stay too late. AJ on the other hand, like all of his friends, closed the place down.  They all take the FIRST train of the next day home. Such a different world than the one we came from.

AJ has had a great three years here at the Munich International School. He's done well academically, he's made lots of new friends, he's learned about traveling the world, he was captain of the varsity volleyball team, played basketball at the jv and varsity levels, tried jumping in track and even gave rugby a try coming away with an all star nod this year. We are so fortunate that our kids have this opportunity to try so many different things and see what life is like in a culture different than the one they grew up in.