The Heat is On

And NO, I don’t mean the Miami Heat.  I dislike Pro Basketball.  I mean the Germany heat.  And NO I don’t mean the temperature outside.  I mean our actual heaters…in the apartment as it is FREEZING here!  Brrr!

Stay warm for us!

Hamburg, Germany

C had bought tickets to the Lion King in Hamburg as a gift for CD’s birthday.  Unfortunately, C had to travel so CD and I went alone.

It was a relaxing trip and we stayed in a wonderful location. CD got to run around in the pedestrian areas that were just a stones throw away from the hotel.

We took the train on Friday, 21 June.

Waiting for the train

Waiting on the platform

Some entertainment on the train

CD did such a good job on the train.  He had a good time and it was a wonderful trip.  We were comfortable and had nice company to travel with on the train.

Once we arrived at the hotel, I knew that CD would need to get up and move since he had been contained on a train…with no nap for a little over 4 hours.  So we just quick threw the bags in the room and headed out to explore and run a bit.

Must…run…off…energy

Watching himself run in the glass

This was right outside the hotel.  There was a long path where CD could run freely and I felt comfortable.  We…I mean CD, did this for quite some time and then we moved on to explore some of the area around us.

CD running into the Welcome Center courtyard

CD at fountain

Self-portrait in the wind. It was windy all over the city.

Watching the ducks.

Fountain in the water.

It is WATER, but Conor wanted to drink out of the water-glass at the hotel restaurant so I let him.

22 June was the real reason we came to Hamburg: The Lion King show.  I was worried about nap time and the start of the show, but all worked out well.  In the morning we went to Miniatur Wunderland (Miniatur Wunderland – Wikipedia).  Conor enjoyed it and it was great for him.  They even had a baby change area…where they provided diapers and baby wipes, a kids theater with mini Ikea chairs, a play area with big bean bags, ladders, toys and paper and crayons to draw.  It was wonderful!

Outside Miniatur Wunderland

The bellman at the hotel gave us an umbrella, but CD thought it was his walking stick.  🙂

# of USA guests to the location

CD looking at a display in the educational section of the place

Miniatur Wunderland Trains – YouTube  Some of the video of the trains at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany.

Miniatur Wunderland Plane Take Off – YouTube  One of the planes taking off at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany.

Playground

Beer garden

CD is REALLY into cranes right now. He points out EVERY ONE he sees, so I took a picture of the ones here.

In the kids theater. In the mini Ikea chair.

Play area

Play area

Play area

Play area

Play area

Play area

CD playing with a lion. Little did he know that later that day we would be going to see the Lion King.

Riding in the toy train

The restaurant actually had these seats to sit in…like you were on a real train. CUTE!

CD snack

We then headed back to the hotel to get lunch, nap and prepare for the Lion King.

CD LOVED the water and SO wanted to get in it.

Instead, I took him to the hotel “pool” which was really a spa and had “kid hours” to not disturb the other spa guests.  We had a blast at the spa, but the pool water was too chilly, so CD had more fun in the shower.  🙂  Such a water baby!

On the ferry to the show

On the ferry to the show

The venue

The venue

CD’s head looking at the closed stage curtain

Waiting for the show to start

Waiting for the show to start

Waiting for the show to start

Watching the show

NO ONE took pictures and when I tried…the lighting didn’t make the pictures come out so we just sat and enjoyed the show.

Intermission snack time…and run time

Intermission snack time…and run time

The “cast”

The “cast”

CD watching the cast accepting the wild applause from the audience

CD enjoyed the show but only got antsy at the very end.  The show from start to finish was 3 hours.  He enjoyed ALL of the applause throughout the show from the audience and joined in on it.  He pointed out the giraffes and enjoyed when the “animals” came down the stairs and right past us.  He laughed at points when you really shouldn’t have laughed, but that is part of the joy of being a child…you don’t have the social ques to know that.  You are just innocent as a child…which is sweet.

After the show

Ferry ride after the show

Ferry ride after the show

Ship seen from the ferry

Ice cream after the show

Ice cream after the show

CD checking out a street performer

Street performer

CD playing the instruments that the street performer had for the children to play

CD playing the instruments that the street performer had for the children to play

CD Playing with a Street Performer in Hamburg, Germany – YouTube  CD playing the instruments that the street performer had for the children to play.  He loved it and it was a great idea for a street performer.  He knew his crowd and we for sure paid him since it was such a GREAT idea!

Tired baby

Sunday morning (23 June) came when we were going to be packing and getting ready to leave by early afternoon.  I woke up early and so did CD, but I just rolled over and so did CD.  At 8am I moved around and started to pack.  Then 9am I opened the curtains and turned on the radio.  Finally, at 9:30 CD popped his head up in the crib.  This had never happened, but was great….besides the fact that I was STARVING as I was unable to get dinner Saturday night….long story.  We quickly shuffled off to breakfast, where I lost most of my meal to CD, but he had a hearty breakfast after a great sleep.  🙂

Hard boiled egg

Baked beans…English style

We then relaxed and headed to the train station for our trip back to Frankfurt.  When we got to the train station…UGH!!!  DOUBLE BIG UGH!!!  The escalators up to the train station were not working so I had to pick off passer-by people to help lift the stroller and bag to the upper level.  Then when we got there…DOUBLE UGH AGAIN as there were only stairs and escalators down to the train tracks.  After a fumble and recovery…of luggage, not CD, we made it down and actually ended up chatting with the lady who we almost knocked out with our luggage.  She was sweet and had grown boys of her own.   THANK GOD for the sweet traveler!  P.S.  I ALWAYS pretend I don’t understand if someone is yelling or scolding me.  HA!  Then I given them a sneer and walk away.  She was sweet though.  🙂

When we got on the train, it was already full, someone took our reserved seats and refused to move, so I brushed it off and it actually worked to our advantage as we got one of the special “Quiet” cabins ALL to ourselves.  We traveled for a long time in there where CD was able to move around, read, eat snack and chat at all the things he saw traveling by through the window.

Quiet cabin car on train…with hotel stuffed sheep they gave us!

Quiet cabin car on train…with hotel stuffed sheep they gave us!

The next group to join us in the car was a mom and a 6-year-old boy.  CD and the boy had a BLAST with each other.  They kept saying “boo” to each other.  CD shared his Ipad and snacks and had a great time with the entertaining boy.  The mom and I were able to talk too, which was nice.  They didn’t stay on the train too long, but it made a chunk of the travel pass by with fun.

That now ends our trip to Hamburg, Germany.  What I took away from it:  CD LOVES: the water (which I kind of knew), cranes and entertaining travel partners.  😉

CD’s BD

Happy Birthday CD!  You are now officially 2 years old!  I can’t believe it.

We had his birthday party on 15 June as everyone was going away for holiday.

Invitation

Obviously, I did the Bert and Ernie theme!  🙂

Some decorations. I made the Bert and Ernie faces.

CD’s bedroom door

CD BD Decorations – YouTube.  This is when CD is let out of his room to see the decorations for this birthday.  Each time he stands still, he is looking at the big Bert and Ernie faces I had on the wall.

Bert & Ernie Cake. I made it.

Cake

The cake turned out well.  I was pleased with it and happy that it actually looks like Bert and Ernie.  It took some time…a few hours, but I loved doing it.

Notice my Ernie themed colored dress. I made C wear a yellow one for Bert. 🙂

Wow.

CD Birthday Candle Blow Out – YouTube  We had practiced blowing out the candle because I did not want CD to have stage fright when everyone sang and was staring at him.   This was the result of practice.  I guess practice makes perfect.  🙂

CD Actual Birthday Cake Candle Blow Out – YouTube  This was on his actual birthday.  I saved a piece of cake for him to have on the real special day.  🙂

Birthday boy plate, bowl and cup.

Drink containers- sticking with the orange and yellow theme.

The spread- some apps, potato salad, mac n cheese, baked beans, hamburgers, hot dogs…and other stuff I can’t remember.

CD’s Guitar

Birthday shirt I had made.

The boys just couldn’t wait to open presents. 🙂

Slide fun

Look, I can climb WHILE holding my ice cream!

Almost the full crew

Another crew picture…with almost everyone.

Favor bags that I made.

It was a great time.  Everyone had fun and the kids enjoyed another “play date” with a bit more excitement.

Side note:  I can’t find shoes to fit CD’s feet here… or that he will wear.  It is really hard to “fit” them without putting them on his feet.  He would only wear a pair of shoes that we had to buy in London after we lost a shoe there in January.  He wouldn’t really wear any other shoes.  I FINALLY found a pair here that worked for him.  They are the ones in the photos here.  Finally he now has shoes that fit his feet!  YIPPEE!

New shoes

Happy birthday dear boy.  We love you more than you know…or you do know.  🙂   ❤

Trier, Germany & Luxembourg

May 21 and 22 CD and I traveled.  We went to Trier, Germany and Luxembourg.  It was a quick little trip, but a lot of fun.  We lucked out for one as it only rained while we were driving.  Never once while site-seeing!  🙂

For one, I rented a MANUAL car to drive.  I wanted to do it with no one around and that allowed me to work at my own pace.  Plus it is A LOT cheaper to rent than an automatic.  I studied up on it, just because that is what I do and really my only fear was reversing…for some reason.    I decided I would only have to worry about that AFTER I had driven for a while.  I WAS WRONG!  When I went and found out where the car was located, it was not in the usual parking lot.  It was in an underground garage where they had special parking for moms.  Ugh.  For ONCE I wished moms did not get special treatment.  Then I thought, maybe no one will be around.  WRONG AGAIN.  They had men working on repainting the lines on the ground so I was a little flustered, but I managed to back it out ok.  Not the best, but ok for a beginner.  Then onto the road we went!

Here is the other thing.  Manual driving is ok on the highway.  It is getting out of the cities that is the tough part…and of course that is where we had to start.  HA!  I managed keep my cool and continued on.  🙂

Waiting to go to Trier and Luxembourg

We made it to our destination unharmed and it was quite a nice drive.  Then trouble hit.  The hotel was on a hill…going down.  I parked the car to see if we could check in with thoughts that I could just ease out of the spot and go down the hill to turn around.  Basically do a big circle.  Well, that was not going to happen.  The road led to a dead end at the river.  I had to reverse up a hill, around a curve all while managing the manual…or roll into the river.  I chose the first choice.  The thing that broke the tension and made me not panic too much was that when we got to the bottom and I found out that we could NOT loop around, CD said “Uh-oh” from the backseat.  I smiled and that gave me the confidence I needed to back all the way into a parking spot…where I left the car until we checked out of the hotel.  🙂

We settled in and then went exploring in Trier.

Hotel- River view room!

If anyone wants recommendations for hotels in Tier, I give the one I stayed with 5 stars!  They were great!  Good staff, good food, great location…and the AWESOME blackout blinds that I need and want.  🙂

Karl Marx House

Karl Marx House

Grasshopper Water Fountain

Trier had a very nice pedestrian zone so as soon as we got there, CD got out of the stroller to run and play as he had been in the car for a little while.

Toy Store

Can you spot the “famous” Bert and Ernie???? CD did IMMEDIATELY…and they were hidden on the other side!

CD’s gift. Thought it was a lollipop. Upset and then found out it was a pencil and eraser! AWESOME!

He didn’t want any souvenier that was related to the town.  Just the pencil.

Market Square

Market Square

Market Square

Market Place

Searching for Snacks- with St. Peter’s Cathedral in the background

Must…Find…Snacks

Found the snacks!

CD did find the snacks and ended up making a friend here as they shared the snacks in front of St. Peter’s Cathedral.

St. Peter’s Cathedral

I thought it was beautiful.  It was my favorite thing in Trier…besides CD…and one other thing you will find out about later in the post.  🙂

Outside St. Peter’s Cathedral

Inside St. Peter’s Cathedral

Inside St. Peter’s Cathedral

Inside St. Peter’s Cathedral

Inside St. Peter’s Cathedral

Inside St. Peter’s Cathedral

St. Peter’s Cathedral Bells- Trier Germany – YouTube

La Porta Nigra

La Porta Nigra

CD Outside La Porta Nigra with Mini- Karl Marx Statues

“I see”

There was a little exhibit where you could purchase the mini-Karl Marx statues…for around 400 Euros a pop!  They also had these dogs, which CD loved…until we spotted my 2nd favorite thing in Trier (1st was CD, then this, then the cathedral).  Look below at the next pic for my 2nd fav thing……

Statue PUGS!!!!!!

I would have bought all of them except I know there is NO substitute for the real thing…LOVE YOU BROTHER BEAR!

We then did a train ride that took us to all the major areas.  Pictures didn’t really work on it, but I can say we saw them.  Just no “captured” memories.

Train Ride

Evangelical Lutheran Church

Imperial Roman Baths

CD with my IC (Ice Cream)

And that was the end of the sight-seeing tour.  We then headed back to the hotel to settle in for the night.

Waiting while Mom gets ready for dinner.  Just chilling with Charlie Brown.

Looking out the window with Bert and Ernie

Now Bert and Ernie were supposed to be his “new” things on the trip, but while I was packing, he obviously spotted them with his sonar-Bert-and-Ernie-ability.  So he technically got them before the trip…but still loved them just as much!  🙂

I had made the executive decision to eat at the hotel instead of out at a local restaurant.  It worked out wonderfully as the staff was awesome, the food was fantastic and the company, both CD and the men around us, were hilarious!  I ordered the same thing for CD as I was having- fish, however he ended up wanting my meal instead, so we shared.  We even got a special dessert that was good!  Yum!  Then off to bed for another day of sight-seeing!

Drinking from the cup

Desert Sparkler

Desert

Desert happiness

The next morning, we woke up and went to breakfast at the hotel.  It was yummy too, but pretty standard German hotel breakfasts.

Breakfast

Man, this boy can eat!  I think he had 2 rolls, 3 plates of eggs, some fruit chunks, dry cereal, my juice, and who knows what else!

Then off to Luxembourg!

Welcome to Luxembourg

Flag at Pont Adolphe

Wind-blown

Now, we didn’t get any rain, but it was really windy in Luxembourg.

Monument of National Unity

Traveling Band

National Library of Luxembourg

National Library of Luxembourg

Grand Ducal Palace

Grand Ducal Palace Gate

Grand Ducal Palace Guard

Grand Ducal Palace Guard

Sleeping…So windy I put on the rain cover!

Building attached to The Grand Ducal Palace…Just can’t remember what it is.

Narrow Passageways

Narrow Passageways

Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumunster

Casemates du Bock

NOT happy with the wind.

So I let him do the following:

Explore! Checking out Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumunster.

And run.

Run…away.

And back to me. 🙂

Scenic Overview with Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumunster to the right

Chilling by the banister

We then headed back to the car and had a nice drive back to Frankfurt.  Where, even though I had fun driving a manual, I was happy to return it to it’s rightful owner.  🙂

That was the last BIG thing we did.  Next BIG thing?????   BIRTHDAY BASH for a 2 YEAR OLD!!!!!  Wow, how time flies!