Edelweiss & Dover trip

For Easter break, we travelled to Edelweiss, an armed forces resort in Bavaria, in the heart of the German Alps. This was the view from our room!

The first day there we had lunch on top of Aspspitz, a nearby mountain. The boys loved checking out the skiers.

The next day we took the cogwheel train up the very, very steep tracks to Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany.

Of course we had to take a family picture at the top!

Miss Christie joined us for part of the trip, and held Noah to see how high we were off the ground when we took the super-high, super-fast cable car back down. I couldn't see out the window, which was probably a good thing.

We spent Easter there, and got this family photo outside the hotel after church. Beautiful scenery!

We spent lots of time, money, and calories tasting German cuisine. We went on a apple strudel hunt, trying it everywhere we could find it. This was in Oberammergau, which is the cutest town ever!

The next day we visited the fairy-tale made reality Neuschwanstein Castle. It was a really, really long walk up the hill to it, but it was amazing to see. It was built for the "Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Apparently he was just a little on the eccentric side. It has a manmade cave inside of it. Yes, a cave. And apparently the castle was designed by an artist, not an architect... so it was a challenge to build!

It started to snow on us while we were waiting to get in, but it made for some really cool photos.

After our tour of Bavaria, we stopped back up at Ramstein to stay with Christie for a couple of nights. We found this amazing rock wall in their super-mega fancy BX-mall, and of course we had to try it out! N loved climbing, and was awesome. He climbed up over a story until the grips got too far apart for him to reach. Such a monkey!

Daddy climbed too. They had fun.

Then we drove back to England, stopping to spend the day at the newly reopened Dover Castle. The great tower had been completely refurbished to look as it did during the 1100s, and it was really, really neat. Plus the weather was absolutely perfect for photo taking... so I took lots!

This roman lighthouse is the oldest part of the ever evolving Dover Castle complex, it is thought that it was built around 100 A.D. 100! Wow!

I couldn't resist the combination of yellow daffodils (no one does daffodils like the English... wow), a castle, blue sky, and cute kids. I love this picture!

And of course, no trip to Dover would be complete without seeing the white cliffs!

It was an amazing family vacation. We put 1700 miles on the van over the course of 8 days and 4 countries (England, France, Austria, and Germany if you're counting). I love(d) living in Europe!

Go Reaperettes!

It's ladies crud tournament time again, my favorite night in the bar... all year. Here are my girls... everyone did awesome! We didn't win... but we did have a lot of fun. (Clearly!) And as a plus, I didn't rip my jeans this year like I did last year!

Just Me and my Brother.

Hampton Court

This was just one of those days. I was really looking forward to going to Hampton Court. I'd been there before, and remember really liking it, so I was excited to go back and take the boys. But it just wasn't happening this day. I think we were all a little tired of touring, we were out of food e could eat in the packed-three-days-ago picnic food that I was also sick of, and all C wanted to do all day was eat. So to sum up, we had hungry C, hungry e, and probably most dangerous... hungry mom. Recipie for disaster. And to top it off, it was a little chilly out, so the indoor cafes were packed. So much so that there was no way I was going to be able to find a spot to sit in there and enjoy a scone while feeding the baby.

So I spent the majority of my day in the "nursing room" which was nothing more than a folding chair in the corner of the non-heated, windowless bathroom, right next to the rubbish bin where everyone was throwing their babies' dirty diapers. Fantastic. The worst part about it was that everyone else seemed to think that it was great that they even had a "nursing room." Again, a folding chair in the corner of a bathroom is not a nursing room. But I digress.

While I was feeding the baby, or trying to find dairy-free food for e, everyone else was off touring the beautiful palace. Here is the little bit of the Tudor kitchens that I saw. Good cooking boys! Keep it up!

Hampton Court is a palace with a split personality. It was built in the 1500s, for Cardinal Wosley a favorite of King Henry VIII's... eventually he fell out of favor, and the king took it for himself. So part of the palace has a distinctly Tudor feel. Then King and Queen William and Mary took it upon themselves to give the palace a major baroque renovation about a hundred years later. Unfortunately they ran out of money about half way through their project leaving a palace that is "Baroque-Tudor." Get it, broke-Tudor. Ha, ha. OK, I stole the joke anyway. Here Grandma and e look out on the 17th century courtyard.

The boys enjoyed the hedge maze on the property, eventually finding the middle.

They also followed around costumed characters reinacting King Henry VIII's wedding day with his sixth wife. I hear there is a great picture of e with King Henry, but we don't seem to have it on our camera. So if you do have it (hint, hint Grandpa) I'd really like a copy! I'm especially bummed I missed this, because I really enjoyed the little bit I heard. But I didn't think Henry would appreciate the screaming baby at his wedding celebration (off with his head!)

Evantually, after feeding C for the fourth time... he seemed satisfied and we were able to walk around the gardens for a bit. They are beautiful and quite intricate!

It's too bad we were still too early in the season to see any flowers, but we did get to see this massive 230 year old grape vine. Very impressive!

Yup, we made it. Three major London tourist attractions in three days, with three little boys. We were tired out, but for the most part, it was a good trip!

Greenwich Mean Time Anyone?

Our second day in London with Grandma and Grandpa, we decided to head on over to Greenwich. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't thrilled with this idea for a couple of reasons:

1) I'm not a huge fan of museums. I know, it's not what an educated mom is supposed to say. But it's true. I generally don't like museums. And there were two in Greenwich.

2) I like to look at architecture... castles, towers, cathedrals. Not arbitrary lines drawn in the Earth. It just isn't my cup of tea.

3) Greenwich is on the far east side of London. We were staying at Heathrow which is on the far west side of London. London is HUGE. I knew getting from one side to the other was going to be an ordeal.

But, surprisingly, it isn't all about me, and we went anyway. Plus, Greenwich is known for it's huge multi-cultural food market. And we all know I do like food.

Well, the trip there was an adventure... but it was actually really fun. We first drove to the closest tube stop with free parking. (Although the website neglected to mention that 2/3 of this parking lot would be covered with an outdoor market on a Saturday. Ooops.) After much circling and people stalking, we finally found a spot. Then we loaded everything up... literally. We forgot to bring the stroller on this particular trip... so everything had to be carried. Including the baby.

We took the tube into central London, and then boarded a boat that took us up the Thames to Greenwich. The boat ride was so much fun, and we got some awesome views of the Tower Bridge!

After getting off the boat, the first stop was the food market to get some yummy lunch. This proved to be quite logistically challenging as all four adults were wandering around a very crowded market trying to find food. It took us FOREVER, but eventually we all got something yummy to eat. And yes, I let N have a banana and nutella crepe for lunch. I intended to share it with him... but that didn't happen. I don't know why I thought it would!

In the meantime... we had a little issue. The baby exploded. In the Bjorn. While daddy was wearing it. There may or may not have been poo on daddy's jeans. Daddy does not like poo... especially on his jeans. Daddy was not happy. I didn't bring any spare clothes for the baby. The visitor center was closed for renovation. So I changed a very dirty baby on a park bench. The baby wasn't happy. It was cold. I used all the wipes I had brought with me for the day, and had to put him back into a wiped up as best as I could snowsuit and Baby Bjorn. We threw the onesie away in the nearest rubbish bin. It wasn't worth saving. The people around us weren't happy. Good times.

After lunch we headed for the very non memorable maritime museum... and then on to the main attraction, the observatory. Which is that building on top of that hill.

I know it doesn't look like it's a huge hill, but trust, me it is. Especially when you're three and your legs are short and your mom has to carry you the last half of the way. Or when you're dad and you have to carry 40+ pounds of little boy up the hill.

At the top of the hill, we found it. The magical line in the ground. The prime meridian. Where the east hemisphere meets the west. Right in Greenwich, England.

While waiting in line to stand in two hemispheres at once, I plotted this picture in my brain. It alone made the day worth while. One of my favorite pictures of us, we're all in two hemispheres!

Then more forgettable museum time... (there was a whole room of clocks, painful!) and back down the hill we went. And if you're lucky, Grandpa might just give you a piggy back ride!

We completed the day with a walk under the Thames before beginning our long return journey back across London. Not my favorite outing, but I got a good photo!

God save the Queen (and her castle...)

Grandma and Grandpa B came for a visit in March, and at the end of their stay we all piled into the minivan (people carrier) and drove down to London. We actually found a hotel on the outskirts, near Heathrow, and took the tube in for a couple of days. It let us do a lot of London sightseeing in a short amount of time! But first we drove to Windsor and spent the day there visiting the castle and the local area. Here is the gang before going into the castle.

It was still a little chilly and rainy out, but we survived. We had good company that day... the Queen was home! The flag flying is the royal flag. It flies wherever the queen is. Apparently when she's in London, she stays at Buckingham Palace during the week, but likes to get away from the hustle and bustle and go out to Windsor for the weekend.

And who could blame her! She did not, however, seem to want to let us in... again, who could blame her? The area behind these gates are her personal apartments... we obviously didn't get to see those!

We did however, get to tour the grounds, and then the very formal state apartments. Very formal... like I probably shouldn't have my three year old in here please don't touch anything on this very long tour of rooms filled with very expensive, very breakable things. Thank goodness for the audio guides. The boys are still fascinated by them!

About halfway through the tour, e announces he needs to go potty. Great. "Um, excuse me Your Highness... I don't suppose we could use the loo?" Luckily Grandpa was on hand to hurry e through the rest of the tour and headed straight to the restrooms so the rest of us could continue the tour. Impressive doesn't even begin to describe it. My favorite parts were seeing the extensive China collection (you know how I love dishes), dining room, and the new St. George's Hall with a display of King Henry VIII's armor... let's just say it was obvious by looking at the side of the suit of armor that the man ate well!

In November 1992 there was a huge fire at the castle which caused wide spread damage to the state apartments, and may artifacts were lost. Obviously the cost to repair such major damage to such an ornate building would be high. To help pay for these costly repairs, the royal family opened the inside of Buckingham Palace to tourists for the first time. (We took advantage of this when we toured Buckingham two years ago.) I visited Windsor in the Spring of 1993, and we did not go into the castle, I'm sure now that was because the restoration was taking place and the castle was not open to the public yet! Here are the outside of the restored state apartments that we toured.

Yep, it was only a matter of time before we would need to break out the umbrellas.

The moat.

St. Georges's Chapel.

The Royal Gaurds. This was all the closer N was willing to get. I was surprised they would let me take a picture at all!

At the end of the day, the rain clouds finally started to break and I got a good photo opp! You have no idea how long I stood there waiting for all the people to move and the sun to be just in the right spot to get this shot...

The only problem with Windsor for me was that there is nowhere to sit down inside the castle grounds... no public cafe... which is an issue if you have a hungry baby to feed. Plenty of options right outside the castle walls, but to leave and come back in is a huge pain, you have to get your ticket punched, your hand stamped and go out the right gate... all really enjoyable with a screaming baby, two preschoolers following, and three other adults all with their own agenda. We figured it out, the baby stopped screaming and then we headed back to our hotel. It was a fun day!

The London Eye

We always enjoy taking a day trip into London, so when we got a sunny day in March, we decided it was time for C's first trip in. We hadn't taken the boys in the London Eye yet, and we thought this might be a good winter time (lines not as long!) activity!

It was still a little cold out there. (You should have seen us getting on and off the tube with all the coats, hats and gloves, the stroller, the bag, and the baby. Quite the sight!)

Once we got to the Eye, the boys had so much fun checking it out with their Happy Meal toy binoculars. Perfect!

After a bit of a wait in line, it was our turn to get on. e was all smiles immediately. He loved it! He just kept looking, and seemed to have no fear of heights. N on the other hand, was a little more unsure. About a quarter of the way around (the whole trip takes 30 minutes) he got into it, and they both really started enjoying the view! They turned it into a giant game of "I spy." It's amazing how many trains and red double decker buses you can see in London from way up there!

After our trip, we decided to walk down the Thames river to St. Paul's Cathedral. Which is 1.3 miles away... in the cold and the wind, with only the stroller for the baby. And for some reason it didn't occur to us to walk on the sunny side of the river. Parents of the year we are not. Here we are in front of the Millennium Bridge (after we crossed to the sunny side... duh!) I'm still amazed no one is melting down. It was a long cold walk for all of us, especially for the boys' short legs!

So before going into the cathedral, we stopped for some tea and hot chocolate and to thaw ourselves out.

Unfortunately, while we were thawing, the visitor hours for the cathedral ended. Urgh! But, when we went to the front we realized we really lucked out, and that there was an organ recital about to start! We weren't sure how three tired out little boys would handle sitting quietly through a concert... and neither were the people around us. But they did awesome (I think the people sitting next to us were pleasantly surprised!) It was so nice to see and hear the cathedral! The pipe organ is quite impressive, and we all really enjoyed the concert.

Afterwards we got a picture on the famous steps. "Feed the birds, tuppence, tuppence!" Yup, these are those steps!

Then it was dinner, back on the tube for an hour, then an hour car ride home. It was a long but fun day... e couldn't even make it up the stairs when we got home!