Dachau-Munich

Words can not describe this experience. Above are a few pics of what we saw, but the true meaning is the feeling and the horrible unbelievable pain that took place here.

New Year 2008!!

Happy New Year!!! Mine was spent on the floor of the bathroom with Hayden. We rested between bouts of throwing up :( Hayden began the flu for us all.... 3 hours before G and J were scheduled to leave for Paris, Hayden threw up all over G and our couch! We insisted that they go on to Paris. The first night in Paris G got the flu, then the day after that I got it, then Andrew, and Joey finally decided to join in the fun the night before they flew back to the US. Thank goodness we have a microfiber couch! It was the hardest experience I have had with a child. Not being able to comfort him because I felt as bad as he did and not being able to give him the food that he felt he wanted. I felt like a failure. But I gues what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
This is my second illness this year. The last time was congestion of the sinuses etc. which turned into something bacterial and required antiobiotics, actifed, tylenol, and cough syrup (all free from the clinic :) ).

Rothenburg Walled City (Wuerttemberg)

We took another trip today....we visited Rothenburg. It has a stone wall surrounding the whole city. The town was spared in WWII. It was a fun day wondering around all of the old buildings and streets. We enjoyed some treats at the bakery and a yummy Chinese lunch. Rothenburg is the town you see in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when they are in the glass elevator.

Neuschwanstein

Yes, we walked all the way up to this thing! This castle was amazing. It was snowy and cold out, but worth the trip. It took 45 minutes to walk up through the slush pushing the stroller. We took turns pushing and we definately got a workout. It was a short tour, but was amazing to see inside. Even the outside was amazing! The castle served as the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland. The down walk was a bit easier, plus we purchased some snowballs (donuts) on the way. I even found a keychain with my name on it!!!

Christmas Eve/ Christmas 2007

On the night before Christmas, we headed to the Eve service at the church on base. Along the way, lovely Aunt Ingrid slipped on the ice while carrying Hayden. Fortunately, Hayden remained off the ground, BUT I bruised and skinned my knee. I can't remember the last time I tore a pair of tights by falling on cement. I think I can handle never doing it again. The church was packed. We heard music from an African group, a classical solo, and we sang many familiar carols. We even lit our candles from a candle from Bethlehem. After the service we took a few pics and opened a couple presents. We also ate a bunch of appetizers. Hayden also got to play a bit at the park behind my apartment.

Christmas morning we all slept in. We awoke to a tree full of presents and the smell of caramel rolls. We opened our presents and emptied our stockings. We ate ham and all the fixings for dinner. It was a nice relaxing day. Tomorrow, we head to the Neuschwanstein Castle.

Stuttgart Christmas Market

Today, we went to the Christmas Market in Stuttgart with Joey and Hayden this time. We bundled Hayden in his tights, warm fleece suit, and winter coat. The Stuttgart market is much bigger than the Dresden one. It was another chilly day!! So, we only covered a small corner of it. It was a chore to get the stroller through the crowds, but we managed. We ate many more German items today. Joey was a huge fan of the Gluhwein (warm wine). I can't handle the strong smell let alone the taste, but you do get to keep the glass if you don't want a refund. We ate rote wurst instead of the brat. We got a few things at the market and than headed home.

Dresden

We got up at 1:30 for Gretchen and I to catch the USO bus to Dresden for the Christmas Market. The bus wasn't full so we each got two seats!!! We stopped along the way for breakfast. I managed to order some yummy eggs and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Dresden was FRIGID!!
Dresden was bombed and mostly demolished in WWII. Many of the buildings were restored to their original grander after the war. They even used a lot of the pieces of the old buildings they found to rebuild. In the pictures, all of the black on the buildings were stones replaced or columns or sections of buildings burned and still standing and used to rebuild after the war.
After the tour we had 6 hours to shop and wander through the market. On a different day we would of appreciated the free time, but it was soooo cold we could barely stand it! Gretchen and I bought tights at the Christmas Market because our legs were freezing and numb! We walked around the market for a while and tried some different foods. We tried a strange pizza. It was pretty good. We also tried grog to warm up. It is a warm eggnog with alcohol in it. It was soooo bad we had to choke it down.

Then it was off to the mall to look around and get out of the cold. We still had 3 hours to burn so we spent it between 2 cafes. We got on the bus at 6 and headed home. We arrived home at 1:30 am and were glad to hear Hayden got some much needed sleep and the guys took a little tour of Stuttgart while we were gone.