In more than one way. Yes, we are moving back to the USA, but my blog is also moving right now. I have used up ALL of the space in this blog and would have to pay to continue using it…and I just can’t do it. So I created a new, FREE one here: Best, Wurst & In-between (Part 2) | Our adventures in Germany.
This will continue our story! 🙂
Since September we have not had part of a bathroom wall due to a leak in our building. It has FINALLY been fixed and now I have my shower curtain back up and can shower like a normal human. The funny thing? I had gotten so used to the shower curtain NOT being there that now it scares me when I go into the bathroom. HA! It has been such a long process because they had to get estimates from each person- drywaller, tiler, etc. Then have it approved by insurance and then come in and fix the wall in steps. When the day finally came for them to fix it, I found out that each person had apparently measured wrong and didn’t have the right amount of supplies. Now I don’t work in those fields but I think if I know the size of a tile and the size of the space that needs to be tiled, I could have easily measured CORRECTLY. AND THIS IS WHAT THEY DO FOR A LIVING!!! Anyway, they came back, wall is fixed, I can shower like a regular person, and hopefully tomorrow I won’t scare myself with the shower curtain. 🙂
The next part of this post? We have to end all of our accounts here- internet, tv, phone, insurance, taxes, etc. There is no way to complete any of this until you get your de-registration paperwork stating that you are leaving the country. This can only be done about 2 weeks before you leave. Well one of the items that we have to cancel needs the de-registration papers, then they review the account, mail something back to you and then you find out if you are ok. Ummm…all of this done in less than 2 weeks…right before a move? I don’t think it will happen. AWFUL.
I’m slowly starting to realize that I am not going to get to enjoy my last few weeks in Germany. I wanted to hit up all the playgrounds with Conor and spend time with friends, but it is turning out to be appointment after appointment. From bathroom repairs (multiple times) to showings of the apartment to new tenants to other random stuff (like selling of items and dryer repairs…yet again). Yes, our dryer has broken for the GAZILLIONTH time. I called to have it repaired again and got the info to “write an email” to complain. To tell you the truth, this just seems like it fits in with the whole efficiency matter of Germany. At least I’m keeping the call center people and repairmen in jobs. So I guess I’m stimulating the German economy. Let me tell you, I hope I don’t have to stimulate the USA economy in the same fashion. HA!
Good night to all and enjoy your USA efficiency! 🙂
Apparently eating a meal is quite dangerous. Case in point:
Helmet worthy meal
Helmet worthy meal
And to go along with Helmet worthy meals, check this out: they were told by men that women can’t create such technical products. You go GIRLS!!!! Invisible bike helmet
Aunt C and I had a Girl’s Night Out with my friends.
Mama and Aunt C
Girlies
Patio pool party
There was the Kids Fest at the Alte Oper.
Driving the car
And riding in the elephant
And then to the “Bobby” car
Now down the slide
Heading up the Main Tower with J and E
Aunt C snuggle time
Palmengarten – N in background
Fountain
Getting his feet wet
King of the…pump
Painting for C’s birthday
CD went with C to Rome, Italy for a week. We said our goodbyes to Aunt C and N. But told them we would be seeing them again real soon, as we are heading back to the USA in December for good.
When CD came back, I was happy to see him. He had a good trip with C and they had some male bonding time abroad.
Then it was back to the regular routine.
Applying deodorant
Traveling…by stroller
Hanging out with Alvin
And Bob the Builder
Driving fast Cars
Listening to our Fav Frankfurt band
Admiring ourselves in a lift mirror
Picking flowers for Mama
Looking SO DARN CUTE!
And re-fueling
Climbing stairs with O
Spinning the barrel with O
Licking the “plate” clean
Horse
“Klop Klop” That’s what the horse says! – YouTube
We had a baby shower for J.
Cupcakes by Mama
Favors
Boys bouncing
And the very next day I ran in another race. I was nervous as I was doing this one alone and the info seemed a little shady. I signed up for the 10km. On the way there it was raining and rained the whole time. I met some English speakers who took my picture and I took theirs beforehand.
Before
Then from the English info sheet online, it said that my race was to start at 9:50. I went to the start and watched all the people file in too. I thought to myself, “wow, they look like runners”. This event consisted of a marathon, a half marathon and a 10km. I kept trying to ask everyone around me what race this was and no one seemed to want to answer. HMMM. Then the gun went off. And I went. Shortly after we started I noticed that the other runners were booking it, running really fast. I said I could not worry about them and must go at my own pace. I kept trying to ask people what race this was and no one would answer. I finally heard English being spoken and turned to ask them, but went into shock as it was the people who took my picture beforehand. When they took my picture, they told me they were running the half marathon. Blood drained from me. I FINALLY found someone who spoke a “little” English and said “this is the 10km, right??” Her face went to dread. She slowly shook it and said it was the half marathon- about 13 miles/ about 21 km. I shrugged and said “oh well”. She turned behind us and said “there are still people back there”. I meekly smiled at her and let her go on her way. I was committed as there was no turning back or around. This course was all through the woods so it was not possible. It was also pouring rain the whole time! I will say it was not a great experience as I was not able to train for a 10km, let alone a 21 km. But I knew I would be ok. I enjoyed the “quiet time” I had and I just kept swimming. 🙂
I was even reminded of CD while running:
Klop Klops crossed my path
The sad part though? I did that all for nothing as my chip had me registered for the 10km so it never activated when I started for the half marathon. HA! I just chalked the day up to another running experience. One that everyone could get a good laugh out of when swapping running stories. 🙂
My motivation, you ask??? First was not to be left in the woods, as I knew there was no one to look for me as I was on a completely different course than the race I should have been running in…and for that matter they didn’t even know I was running as my chip never activated. 
My other motivation was the following pictures:
FREE Beer!
Reese’s that I had in my bag. This was a treasure as you can’t get them here in Frankfurt. I bought it on one of my outings with Aunt C and N when they were here!
I then had to get back to chasing CD the very next day. 🙂 I enjoyed this much more than the cold, raining and LONGER race that I ran. (I went back thinking that I got the times messed up for the start of the race, but nope….the English page was wrong, but the German page was right. Go figure!)
Klop Klop on the way to the park
Digging trenches
Soccer
Water play
Train time
Riding with O
Super Baby!
Super Baby! cape
Pretzel time at Rewe
This ends August 2013.
Here I am again…with ANOTHER post! …And just more pictures…so many to pick from for all of July!
Birthday decoration fun
On the way back from his 2 year picture
Daily staple: Ice cream 🙂
Shopping trip
Portrait picture by CD
Joe Cool or CD Cool?
I took part in a Women’s Run in Frankfurt. It was SO much fun.
Women’s Run
Yes, I know…I’m eating watermelon…YUCK!
On a walk to take a train to get special lotion for CD.
I take a subway to take a train (about 45 minutes to 1 hour one way) to get lotion that works for CD’s skin. There are no harmful ingredients in it and it is all natural. I will DEFINATELY miss this in the US…but not the service…right Aunt C??? I took Aunt C with me once while she was visiting with N so she could experience it. We went to a little bodunk town, where the pharmacist got angry because I didn’t speak German, when I know that he speaks English because of his degree and he had spoken English to me before. Then we weren’t served drinks on a hot day. I was glad not to had my cash over to the bodunk townies! 🙂
At the pharmacy where we get the lotion
Outside the pharmacy
Bubbly treat at end of trip
I had wanted to make a trek to Ikea since we had gone to Hamburg, Germany (Hamburg, Germany | Best, Wurst & In-between) since CD had loved the kid’s theater Ikea chair they had at the minuture wunderland there. I convinced some friends to join in on the journey.
Ikea Playtime
Exhaustion sets in
We managed to make it there and get a bunch of stuff. We helped J carry things back to their place and that was a struggle but SO much fun. At a few points we thought we broke her stroller by carrying all the stuff. 🙂
Fruit of my labor…the chair 🙂
We headed to the outdoor pool a lot too as it was warm and a nice relief from the heat with CD.
Pool party
Pancakes for Breakfast!
CD is such a good help in the kitchen. I love baking and cooking with him. It is good for him to learn how and where his food comes from and the process it goes through.
Palmengarten Pose
So excited
Playground play
Slowly losing CD’s clothes as we learned from the last experience 🙂
Slowly losing CD’s clothes as we learned from the last experience 🙂
Happy train ride
Shopping cart stroll
Happy Bday Uncle TS
Popsicle Party Partner
CD & O train time
We had met a little girl who lives in our complex who was about CD’s age. They had a great time playing and it was meant to be as she had the girl’s version of CD’s boys shoes. On Friday’s during the summer the landscaper would have the sprinkler out for the lawn and flowers. We took advantage of it MANY times as CD’s LOVES the water.
Wizard magic skills
Sprinkler play
Sprinkler play
Sprinkler play
18-22 July We went to Switzerland and France with L and her family. It was great to see where they had lived and experience other countries with CD!
Rest stop play
I will not say what this pic reminds me of: tank top on a boy in a souped-up truck 🙂
Gorgeous playground that I found out they almost got rid of and built a building. I nearly fainted at the thought of it!
Trash can bear…all the kids were more intrigued with it than the parents wanted them to- as they stayed near the trash. 🙂
Captain of the ship
Slide time
Merry-go-round
Water spigot
Naptime
25 Month Picture
Lake Geneva fountain at night
Building
Building
Building
Building
Lake Geneva fountain above the building
Knocked out nap
Street
Klop klop
Klop klop
Playing
Taking Big O’s scooter
Merry-go-round
Merry-go-round
Merry-go-round
Bike Merry-go-round
Bike Merry-go-round
Bike Merry-go-round
Sandpit
Lake Geneve was pretty cool. You could actually swim in an area of it. SWIM you say? Who heard that???? CD was all ears even though we did not have our bathing suits. There are absolutely no pictures of this because I was in the water with CD too! They had a slide that went into the water and CD got SO excited he just could not contain himself. I am definitely the kind of Mama who will let her hair down and get her hands dirty for some fun. We all know CD is my excuse to have fun, and I take FULL advantage of it. 😉 We literally had to pull him out of the water to go and get some dinner.
Mama, I want to be in the water.
Mama, I want to be in the water.
Happy!!! Some water!
There is the slide CD went down into the lake.
Ice cream at Lake Geneve. The fountain is to the left of the picture.
Ice pop time
Lake Geneve fountain- with the moon!
Ferris wheel at one of the big festivities in Geneve
The lights each have the phrase “welcome” on them in different languages
Since L found out just HOW much CD loves water, we decided to go to the fountains at the UN and let the kids run through them.
Fountain fun
UN
Fountain fun
Fountain fun- waiting for water to shoot out
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Exhibit outside UN
Fountain fun- LOVE CD’s face
Fountain fun
Fountain fun- my little Sumo wrestler
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
UN
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Fountain fun
Relief from the heat
Relief from the heat
Château de Divonne
I also got to experience Laduree Macaroons. They were SO tasty and are now probably one of my fav treats. A later trip (to Paris) I got to experience the Pierre Hermé Macaroons- also fabulous! Yum!
24 July: We headed back from our trip with L only to greet and host N and Aunt C!!! I was so happy to see them!
N and Aunt C!!!!
Cooking with N
Building with Aunt C
Riding the Frankfurt Tour Bus
We headed to the North Sea (Ostend, Belgium) as this was something I had always wanted to do, but never had company to do it with…until now. We had a great time and I will forever remember it as where CD was introduced to “Klop Klop” for the horses. 🙂 Thanks N!!! 🙂
Not the “real” Klop Klop
Watching the water with N
Checking the water from a different angle
Bicycles…out of the water!
One of my all time favs
N and CD
Watching the water
Aunt C and CD
Dansende Golven (Dancing Waves)
Mama and CD footprint
Bikes again
We joined the “polar bear club” and hopped in the water too. Aunt C, CD and I took the plunge. CD LOVED it SO much!
Are they real?!?!
Every time we passed these babies, CD stopped to stare at them. He was very intrigued by them and remembered where they were on the street.
Obviously this is not all of the pictures, but just a little taste to remember and share. On to August…and right about now I’m in a feud with my computer and WordPress as they both don’t seem to want to help me. Taking forever to load pictures. UGH!
We have not chatted in a while. Things this summer have been a bit nuts. I feel like the summer came and went and now we are already preparing for our journey back to the USA for good. Yes, that’s right. We are heading back to the USA and packing up in Germany. Due to that, I feel I need to finish my online journal journey of CD growing up in Germany.
Now as some time has passed from these events until now, I will most likely just post pictures with a little description. Plus, I have just been too exhausted and drained lately to do it…and there is a lot to do! I would rather spend my time hugging CD and playing with him. 🙂
We left off at the end of June, right after his 2 year birthday party. Wow. That was a lot of fun! Now we move on to other things. 🙂
26 June:
I had tried to get a play group started with kids who were a little older than CD as he was feeling like he was the “big kid on the block” and taking advantage of the younger friends he had. I kept telling him that he will have no friends if he keeps treating them like that. Of course he did not listen. We did manage to meet an older boy and have some meetups at the park, but it was tough with the summertime holiday (vacation) schedules. On one occasion, the boys were all about the trucks at the park. One worker was kind enough to let the boys sit and play in the truck.
Park Truck
Driving the Big Truck
27 June:
We had some play time at O’s. The boys love looking out the window and seeing the cars go by on the street below. Thanks O for teaching CD to say “car”!
Look…a car!
28 June
We celebrated Aunt C’s birthday by unwrapping some fun toys ourselves!
Cookie Monster and Elmo!
Eating a good meal
And topping the day off with some ice cream at Vapianos
29 June
A day of who knows what…looks like more eating and a trip to the train station.
Mama’s Little Helper
Pineapple
Egg
Snacks
Ice Pop
Ice Pop
Train Station
Flower Fun
30 June
Looks like a day of a little University and Palmengarten fun.
Bike Time
University Bike
University
Running
Running
Music Time
Palmengarten
Palmengarten
Palmengarten
Palmengarten Water Play with Mama’s Umbrella
Palmengarten
Palmengarten
Palmengarten
And then came the “accident”. CD fell into the water pit and came up soaking wet. He then refused to wear any clothes so the compromise was this:
Walk of Shame 🙂
Walk of Shame 🙂
And he refused to sit in the stroller with the blanket on his legs. So our only thing to do was a walk of shame home. 🙂 People thought it was hilarious and CD did not care…so I did not care. 🙂 The joys and non-restrictions of being a kid. No adult would be fine walking home mid-day in their underwear. 🙂
So that brings us through June…now just July, August, September, October and part of November to go!
Off to bed to rest up for another post tomorrow…hopefully!
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!
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. 😉
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. 🙂 ❤
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!
Best, Wurst & In-between 