Since it's shamefully overdue, I enlisted the help of my mom in writing this post covering the first part of their trip over here in February:
"...no we didn't time travel in a phone booth collecting historical figures,
but we did feel like we stepped back in time to Storybook Land as we've
heard it called. It was so wonderful to walk through the airport and
see Emily and Josh waiting for us (in person not on Skype!) for the
first time in about 10 months. The adventure began immediately as we
drove to their apartment and then out for a walk in the cold weather to
walk off jet lag. We were awed by the beauty of the old town and seeing for
ourselves castles, churches and cobblestone streets dating back
hundreds of years. Em and Josh were wonderful hosts, tour guides, and
interpreters for us. We did venture out by ourselves once or twice that
first week with very detailed instructions on how to get to our
destination and return on the tram/streetcar (we did it!). I learned
how to say "Next stop" in German on the tram, we
heard it a lot! It was an interesting, and at times humbling, experience to have our child take care of us instead of us taking care of
her..................by the way she did an incredible job. Nuremberg,
Munich, Bamberg, Prague and Rothenberg that first week, Excellent!
THEN, we started on the road trip. More on that next time, of course..."
Jan, aka Mom
She's so sweet! And it was so incredible to spend time with them over here. It made me miss them even more. Fortunately, their visit over here went so well that they want to come back for round two, Oktoberfest 2013!
Since it was my Dad's first time ever in Europe, I didn't quite know how he would react and I was a little concerned that he would find it frustrating. Fortunately, he took to the German lifestyle almost immediately and was even using German within 24 hours after arriving. Of course, there always a few bumps along the way: the most entertaining was his struggle with almost every door lock we encountered. At one point he locked himself and my mom in a hotel room in Salzburg. This was after a few days of having problems with locks in other locations and his frustration level was rapidly and audibly increasing. He also overheats quickly and this was about the warmest building I've ever been in, so he was starting to sound a little panicky about being trapped inside. Josh and I were trying to give instructions to him from the other side of the door, but it's difficult to do so when one is doubled over with laughter. There were serious tears were streaming down my face. It's how we show love in my family - laughing at one another's non-tragic misfortunes.
Anyway, I want to share a few photos of their first week in Europe.During that time, we based ourselves out of Nuremberg for day trips and also took the bus to Prague for a quick 24 hours. Between the all pictures that my mom, my dad, and I took there was an overwhelming number to sort through. I tried to make the focus more on pictures of us for this post rather than what we saw. I hope you enjoy!
The first couple of days in Nuremberg:
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| Walking off jet lag. It was about 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Welcome to Deutchland! |
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| Gift exchange: He brought us west coast brews and we gave him a German drinking horn. |
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| It tastes so good once it touches your lips. |
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| Dad and Josh in Nuremberg |
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| In Nuremberg |
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| Mom really wanted to be the gatekeeper. |
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| Interesting platform support in one of the Nuremberg churches. |
The requisite trip to Munich:
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| The boys on the frozen canal leading to the Nymphenburg Palace. |
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| The Munichers playing on a sunny Sunday. There were mini-hockey rinks and curling lanes set up. |
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| Action shot |
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| Dad the Bridge Troll...but what the hell is going on in the right of this picture? |
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| Glühwein (Mom's new favorite beverage) and sausages make a perfect snack. | |
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| A lesson in bowing to the king at the Nymphenburg Palace. I was very surprised that my mom opted to take a picture instead of joining them. Very unlike her.... |
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| In central Munich |
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| Frozen fountain |
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| Gargoyle auditions? |
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| I feel like the looks on each of our faces say a thousand words. |
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| At the Hofbrauhaus. Is Dad excited much? |
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| I think yes. I would like to point out that this was pre-beers. He's just that happy about finding beer heaven! |
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| He's so cute. |
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| Mom had a great knack for getting the staff to pose for her pictures. She also became besties with our waitress and got further many drunk men ever have at the Hofbrauhaus...they exchanged email addresses! |
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| She's so cute. |
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| How does it taste? |
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| Pretty good. |
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During the week we let Josh work while we went to Bamberg:
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| Why is everything so much prettier in the snow? |
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| I had them try some Bamberg's famous smoke beer. |
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And we braved more cold weather in Prague:
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| We had the cutest little attic apartment. |
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| Fun door handle |
We finished out the first week by going to the little town of Rothenburg:
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| I'm a sucker for small stone cafes. |
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| Great sign |
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| The town is almost entirely enclosed by a fortified wall that you can go up and walk on and in. |
Again, it was so amazing to spend time with my parents exploring the surrounding areas. It was also nice just have meals together again. I grew up sitting down with my family every night for dinner, and it was great to be able to provide that experience abroad and in my home.
I hope to have pictures up from the road trip we took to Austria and Italy soon!
