Reflections

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013

This is it.  Our last day of our 11 week adventure in Germany!  Grampy and Grammy just left for the airport themselves, the girls went back to sleep.  It's quiet here on Sterntalerweg.  All I hear is the kitchen clock ticking (annoying) and the birds singing (beautiful).  The quiet Brad will have once we leave.  This little house is about to get much bigger for him!  A month without each other, it's unprecedented in our marriage.  But we can do it (talking myself into it.)  We lived in different countries for our first 4 years as boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancees.  True, we were about an hour apart by car, but still.  We can do it.

As I sit here in the quiet, I am reflecting on all the amazing things we did here!  We missed out on many, many things.  Things I was sure we would do here.  But I have NO regrets!  We have experienced more than most, and enough to last us a lifetime.  We are blessed and I am thankful.

Here are a few highlights of our amazing journey!

Our home, left side of the house.  Sterntalerweg 29, Augsburg

The ever-popular cookies at the Christkindlesmarkt

Augsburg Christkindlesmarkt

I couldn't get enough of the Christmas markets!

Bringing home our Christmas tree!

All decorated :)

The first of many dinners with friends!  (And dinners out!)  The Papsdorfs!

Schleissheim Palace

Christmas was a beautiful time to be in Germany!

Buying Lainie's piggie hat at a Christmas market

Karen!

Udo!

The Brotha's

In our neighborhood

Our Anne :)

The Millers: Jakob, Ursula, Anton and Anne

Beautiful stars at the Christmas market (yes, again!)

Sharing Christmas Eve with the Papsdorfs was so special!

A Christmas morning walk

Merry Christmas!

Christmas day drive down to the Alps...Oberammergau for lunch!

Dinner at Brad's German bosses house...his wife showed me how to make Knoedel...a traditional Bavarian/Schwabian dish

Visiting France (first time!) with the Schaefer's....Wissembourg

Philipp, Stefanie, Anna and Stefan

At Landeck...a very, very old fortress

Heidelberg Castle

Beautiful, old Heidelberg Castle

Combining 2 popular things for us here in Germany: dinner with friends and dinner out!

Silly kids :)

Raclette dinner!

Happy New Year!

Sparklers and fireworks

Anja and me :)

Ha ha!!  The workers.  "Workers."  Not sure how much work got done :)

Postcards for friends

Barbecue?  In the winter?  Strange ;)

At the City Market in Augsburg

Oh my.  Bienenstich...I will miss you!

German washer and dryer...I will NOT miss you!

Our 2 visitors, Emma and Linus!

German filled donuts, Krapfen, plus another Bienenstich.  YUM!

A day in Munich with Anne!

Train ride!!

The Rathaus (it was loud!)

At Anne's apartment

Lainie and her new friend Emma :)

Crazy wild dog in the woods!

They made waffles

Going to SCHOOL!

Eating cheese!!  YAY!

Being German

In one of many old, beautiful churches

Me -n- Ursula

On our way to Italy

The view from our balcony in Funes, Italy

The Dolomites, near our apartment

Visiting Brixen, Italy

Family time :)

A beautiful day at the zoo!

At the castle in Noerdlingen with Anne

Beautiful!

Great lunch!

Great company!

Feeding the deer down the street

  

Grandma T's in town!

Augsburg

In front of the Rathaus

On the train to PARIS!

At the Louvre :)

Amazing

Huge Ferris wheel!

On the Seine

I love the look of this city!

On the bus tour

Notre Dame

Ha ha ha!  Creepy dude who held Lainie's hand under the Eiffel Tower!

In the Eiffel Tower

Wow.

That was such an amazing weekend!  What memories we made!

An overnight trip to Oberammergau was beautiful and snowy!

At Linderhof Palace

Blizzard!

Oh.  That is very appetizing.

Newschwanstein Castle

The Alps were gorgeous!  Now on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber!

On top of the wall that has surrounded the city since Medieval times.  I want to build one around my house.  So no one can get me. 

The next day was a parade to celebrate Faschings, which is Carnival or Mardi Gras.  Wow!

Icy winter day

Costumes for the parade!

Fun and crazeee!

A Valentine party!

Grampy and Grammy arrived!  We visited a cathedral in Augsburg with Johanna :)

Barbecue again!

That really is a LOVE seat.

Visiting with the Schaefers, the Eraths and G&G

The Schaefers in Augsburg

G&G in the Rathaus

A visit to the Fuggerei

A walk by the river

Aw :)

Me with Stefanie

Saying goodbye :(

This looks familiar

Augsburg in the moonlight

A walk in the Altstadt

Now it's our last weekend, already.  2 going away parties and my 44th birthday!

Lydia, Emma, Lotta and Lainie

Grampy, Johanna, Andy, Markus, Manu and Grammy

The Amazing Americans!

Me and Johanna

Lea and Shawn

Aw we are so cute!

Maria, Thomas and Max

Lainie with Anne

Chris, Anne and Anton

Me and Anja

Oh my!

Ursula, Anton, Anne and Chris

The goodbyes were very hard!  So many loved ones we will miss.
Sunday was my birthday!  We visited our local theater, very beautiful!!

The next day brought a tour of KUKA and a fun dinner!

Yummy cheese

 Anne and Lainie spent the day together in Augsburg.  A very special treat!

Lainie was lucky to be able to spend time with little Antonia!

We had an incredible, amazing time!  I have no regrets as to not doing enough, not seeing enough.  We were so blessed to be able to experience all of these things.  And everything was made so much better by the loved ones we shared it with.

Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.
Benjamin Disraeli