June - Aunt Mary’s visit…the pre- during-post

June was a busy month…Family Visit, a 5 day trip (w/out kids) and Don traveling back to the states.

Schwetzingen Sommer Palace

  

One of the neat things about us moving to Germany is the anticipated arrival of my Aunt Mary Beebe, my mom’s sister.  Aunt Mary had plans to travel to Greece with a friend of hers and had decided to stay on a bit longer and detour over to Germany.  I was excited!  The last time I had seen Aunt Mary was at our wedding in 2002! 

I had some big plans for when she got here… there is really a lot to do and see in Germany, much of which we have not been able to see yet!  At first, she had planned to come for 6 or 7 days… with that we thought we might even do an overnight visit somewhere.  I through out lots of ideas and then Aunt Mary came back w/ a curve ball.

She offered to watch the children for Don and I while we took a little mini-vacation.  Oh my, what a gift!  Don and I have never been away from the children together for more than 2 nights…in their entire lives!  So Aunt Mary decided to stay 10 days to make sure there was enough travel time for all of us. 

Where did we plan to go?  Well, initially the ideas of Vienna, Venice, Portugal, Paris and London were all thrown around.  We wanted to go someplace that would not normally be a place for kids… I was really rooting for Venice… but we could not get the flights we needed.  So it was London.  More on London in a bit…

I picked Aunt Mary up at the airport in Frankfurt – thankfully her plane was late – b/c so was I!  The airport here is so not like the ones in the US.  It is difficult to navigate around, especially when you cannot read the signs!  There is absolutely no room for error – and if you park in the parking deck if you cannot find a slot in the “aisle” you turn into you have to go completely out and go back in – which again is not an easy feat! (Now- there may be and I have just not figured it out yet!)  I am still learning for goodness sakes!  J  There are only 2 terminals – thankfully…and finally figured out where she would come in at.  I paid for the 15 minute parking slot- and prayed that I would not go over.  I did… but thankfully they parking police, literally, had not made their way down to my spot!  Phew!  It was great to see Aunt Mary!  Great to see family!!  That is, and we knew it would be, one of the hardest things…not being around family or being able to be around family.

On the ride home I think I scared Aunt Mary a bit on the autobahn.  I have gotten very good at it – but if you are not used to driving or riding on the autobahn it is scary!  Firstly, it “seems” like people just whip in and out of traffic lanes.  Secondly, it is all very fast!  Well, both points are true, but there are rules and those rules are followed.  Some basics – you drive always in the right lane or right 2 lanes if there are 3.  If you need to pass you must pull into the far left lanes; but you must be very careful as cars speed up on you like you are sitting still.  It is against the law to pass on the right unless you are in an exit lane and actually exiting.  If you don’t follow this, you will be flashed by drivers coming up on you and you will be honked at.  The average speed on the autobahn is really only about 65-85mph.  In Germany, there are areas where there is no speed limit – but more and more motorways are posting speed limits.  Most of the time it is 130kph, which is about 85mph.  But, if the speed is not posted you can go as fast as you want – and many do.  That is another thing about the autobahn that is very nerve-racking… you are driving at a good clip of 85-90mph and someone will come up on you like you were at a standstill.  It can be very dangerous – so I have found myself to be a much more alert driver here.  When I picked Aunt Mary up I took Don’s car – he has a zippy little VW Jetta… 5 speed.  Love it!  Well, I can speed up faster and drive faster in his car… well, I took advantage of that!  Aunt Mary held on tight a couple of times – sorry!  I should have been more considerate! 

Sarah and Gracie Playing with Aunt Mary's shoes

We put her up in Don’s office on an air mattress, it is a small space, but private – much better than being out in the den.  She said she slept very well!  I hope that was the case and she was not just being sweet.  The kids met Aunt Mary the next morning b/c we didn’t get in until close to 10pm (and it was still light).  This is sadly the first time they have met their Great Aunt – but they hit it off pretty good!  Sarah especially really took to her.  We pretty much just hung out at home the first day – Aunt Mary slept in – and since we were leaving in a couple days I wanted her to get a “feel” for things and their routines.  I think it helped certainly that Aunt Mary is family and she certainly reminded them of Grandma and Aunt Cathy – both in looks and sound.  A nice comfort to them…and me. 

On Friday we went to a small town called Schwetzingen, it is a neat little town.  Here lies the Summer Palace, Schloss Schwetzingen, of the Prince Elector Charles Theodore and Palatine Karl III Phillip.  We did not tour the palace itself, the tours where in German and because nothing was in English – we only paid for the Palace Gardens.  We enjoyed our self guided tour though.  The Palace Gardens are a work of art in itself.  The Gardens were created in the second half of the 18^th century.  They have been remodeled over the centuries to reflect the changing tastes and attitudes.  It is basically separated though into 2 styles, the oldest portions are strictly formal while the newer ones have a more “natural” feel to them.  Throughout the entire garden though there is a feeling of unity and symmetry throughout.  There are several hundred sculptures throughout the garden; some are very simple while others are much more impressive.  Many of the sculptures have been replaced with replicas to further prevent degradation.  These are on display in one of the buildings, but again, since nothing was in English, we did not know this.  I would have liked to have seen these – maybe another trip. 

Grace, Sarah and Evan

Grace, Sarah and Evan... amazed they did not get wet!

View from the Apollo Statue

Apollo...

Exploring the tunnels under the Apollo Statue/bathhouse

Hey Aunt Mary!

Evan looking into the tunnels

Sarah and Aunt Mary

We walked the expanse of the Gardens – I think my favorite part was the Apollo Bathhouse and statue.  I think the kids liked the large fountains the best and I think they would have liked to have gone “euro” diving… Another part of this excursion was that the kids had the freedom to walk…and walk we did!  These Gardens were huge! 

By the time we finished all of us were ready to head home!  We stopped at a bakerei and picked up several loaves of bread – my favorite was a Pretzel Loaf – fresh baked and still warm!  We ate the whole thing before we got home! 

Because Don and I were heading out the next day, Saturday, we wanted to give Aunt Mary a break, so we hired a babysitter and took Aunt Mary to the Altstadt, old town Heidelberg.  We did not hike up to the Castle – maybe some other time.  She had a great view of it from where we parked, yay- my van fits in the parking decks of 1.8meters and up!  Before dinner we walked over to the alte Brücke (Old Bridge) – we got a great view of the Schloss and the entrance into Altstadt.  We walked a bit longer before we settled on a place to eat; it was a nice little restaurant called Zum Franziskaner.  We ate outside this night, again sweet Don “sucking it up”…but it was not bad.  There was no wind, it was not too hot or cold, and there were no bugs!  

For dinner we ordered a cheese plate as an appetizer.  When they brought it out – we thought it was a plate of potatoes and bread!  We have never seen cheese that looked like this.  It was strong, but very good. 

 Don ordered a cold plate dinner – thinking it was  similar to something he ordered in Holland – it was not and he was disappointed this time…but not in the beer (Franzinkaner Hefeweisen Dunkel)! J  Aunt Mary ordered Hähnchenschnitzel (chicken schnitzel – or hand battered and fried chicken breast – boneless) and a beer (Franzinkaner Hefeweisen), and I had käsespetzle (cheese pasta – German style) a salad and Coke Light.  Let me say – the chicken was divine!  And the käsespetzle was unbelievable!  Aunt Mary swore she hated macaroni and cheese…which this was – just German style…she was bold and tried it and we ended up sharing!  She loved it!  After dinner we walked a bit – checked out the few remaining market shops, sadly many sell the same items.  When you walk down the streets of Altstadt you really need to look up as well as in the shops…the buildings are hundreds of years old and very beautiful, the town was not destroyed during the wars.  Apparently Aunt Mary is not much of a beer drinker, but every once in a while she finds one she likes… this is certainly one that is top ranked for her).  I am not a beer drinker – but if you are and live in Germany for a bit of time you apparently become a “beer snob”… Don is there! LOL 

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Our Fine Server... spoke just enough English for us

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Aunt Mary and Dana...

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Cheese Cold Plate ...well, what is left :)

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Don and his Cold Plate Dinner

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Translates into Cheese Spatzle and Salad

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Wow... lots of Kasespatzle ...very good!

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Chicken Schnizle...very good too!

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Aunt Mary before the Alte Brücke

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Dana & Aunt Mary on theAlte Brücke
Notice the Schloss behind us 

We stopped in a little Eis shop (Ice Cream) and again sat outdoors looking at the beautiful Church of the Holy Spirit.  Aunt Mary ordered and thoroughly enjoyed a fruity Eis, myself a rich caramel Eis and Don ordered and also enjoyed a Lemonade Vodka Eis slushy.  Very nice!  Well, time just moved very quickly…the evening was very comfortable in temperature and in conversation. 

By the next day the kids were all ready for us to head off to London.  We left around 12noon – plenty of time – but I have been a ball of twine spun very tight! When we travel… I think it is because I am unfamiliar with not only the airports but the language and how long it takes to get from A to B and so forth.  I did not relax until we got on the plane – it was a mess…then it started all over when we arrived in London!  LOL!

More on London in another Post –

We decided to call and check-in with the kids and Aunt Mary in the mornings to avoid any weepiness at bed-time.  For the most part this worked out well.  There was only one night of crying and that was on night 3… not too bad!  The kids and I have never been separated for more than 1-2 nights so this was hard on everyone, but good for everyone too!  They got spoiled with parks and fruit salad!  But they enjoyed her and I think, even though they wore her out, she enjoyed them.  Each one of them has a unique personality and that is fun to get to know.

The kids stayed up to greet us on Wednesday night when we arrived home – boy they missed us!  The first thing out of Emma’s mouth was – what did you bring us!!  What?!  No I miss you…no I love you… goodness.  Well, of course we brought them each a little gift and Aunt Mary too.  It was good to be home and in time for Aunt Mary to get back to Greece.  She did great watching the kids!  They loved her too!

On Thursday we really just got things lined up for her trip on Friday.  She decided instead of worrying about traffic on the autobahn (which there is and it is unpredictable) she would take the train to the airport.  The process was very easy and very cheap too – only 24 euros!  We again took Aunt Mary and the kids out to the same restaurant that we went to the previous week, but sadly, the food was not as good – though the beer was.  Afterwards, we got the children a scoop of Eis, or I should say Aunt Mary did – she was very sweet and generous.  By this time it was getting late so we headed home.

On Friday we had a very leisurely morning, Aunt Mary had said goodbye to Emma and Evan the night before – so we let her sleep a bit later.  We got Aunt Mary off to the train station in time for her train and she made her flight with time to spare!  There was some touch and go concern on whether she would have to stay extra in Greece due to some protests and a possible strike of the air traffic controllers.  Thankfully, they did not strike and she made it home to the states as scheduled.

It was so very nice to have Aunt Mary here for a visit.  Should she come again during our time here we will have to tour down to the Black Forest or over to Strasbourg, France… Even since she has left I have learned of several local places that are making for nice day trips.      


Thank you again Aunt Mary for a wonderful visit and a most generous gift!   Love you!

Sorry about the change in type print... for whatever reason it wanted to change and for me to edit was a pain.  So I am leaving it...