That’s all I’ve got for now.

So…

yeah.

Maybe something exciting will happen for me to blog about tomorrow. 

We first flew to Munich and dropped off some bags we wouldn’t need in Spain.  Then we went to Spain and hopped on a train to Costa Dorada and spent some time at the beach.  We didn’t take any pictures there, sorry, we walked everywhere and never remembered to bring our camera.  We decided to leave Costa Dorada early to give ourselves more time in Barcelona.

Even though our time in Barcelona was short, we got a pretty good whirlwind tour.  My colleagues had given me a book about Barcelona as part of my going away present, so we were well prepared.

We first walked along La Rambla, hopped on the Metro and saw La Sagrada Familia, the cathedral designed by Gaudi that has yet to be finished.

We saw some other sights, including the Magic Fountain that wasn’t on (sadly), and went out to a place one of Jason’s German friends had recommended called La Champagneria.  This place was ridiculously crowded, and the only thing on the menu was a bottle of Spanish champagne that came with 2 tapas.  We were told to get what amounts to a bacon cheeseburger, made with Iberian ham.  They were huge, I couldn’t even finish mine.  Jason loved it while I got a little chlostrophobic.  We were planning to go out to dinner afterward, but we couldn’t have eaten any more if we had tried.

Casa Batllo

The morning we flew back to Munich we stopped and saw another Gaudi site (Casa Batllo) on the way to the airport.  Back in Munich we stayed in a hotel that was actually in Freising located near the Munich airport.  We had been to Munich plenty of times, and wanted to spend our last night in Germany someplace new.  We walked around town and had dinner at a brewery that claimed to be the oldest brewery in the world.  I don’t know about that, but it probably at least has claim to be the oldest brewery in Germany.  We liked our Altstadthof Brauerei beer in Nuremberg better, though.

Then we flew back to the States, and that’s the end of our time in Germany.  I’m sure we’ll go back someday.

More pictures of our time in Barcelona here.

The first weekend we went down to Fuessen with them. Jason and I walked around the lake near there while my parents took the castle tours.

Back in Nuernberg, they got to explore a little more and learn more about the history. Below is a picture of my dad turning the ring on the Beautiful Fountain in the main market square of Nuernberg. You’re supposed to get a wish if you turn the ring.

A couple days later my parents made their way to Rome while Jason and I stayed and worked. They did the major sights and even found the restaurant Jason and I recommended to them, although it was closed for that time of day.

We met them in Venice for the Easter holidays (we got a couple days off). We toured the church and the museum there, and had a lot of fun finding restaurants and little wine bars to try out. Jason and I especially loved the Asiago cheese that just isn’t the same anywhere else in the world.

We drove back and met them at the airport for our last night together in Nuernberg. Luckily, we were only about a month and a half away from being home for good.

As always, more pictures available in our gallery.

They flew in to Munich, rented a car and drove up to Nürnberg to meet us. The first day we took a nice long walk and showed them a bit of the city. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants, the Häusbräuerei Altstadthof, which is an awesome microbrewery and German restaurant right outside our door. 

The next day we drove 4 hrs down to St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria, rented our skis, and checked into our hotel.  The apartment we stayed in had 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a balcony.  We were able to cook for ourselves a lot which was really nice.

Our first day of skiing was Monday.  Before this point I had only done 2 half-days of ski school in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  We went up the lift and decided to ski over to another lift.  Problem was, I was definitely not ready.  Looking back, more ski school would have been a good idea.  I freaked out (maybe I’m a little afraid of heights?  definitely of losing control and falling of the side of the mountain) and fell A LOT.  It was painful and tiring, I gotta say.  When we got over to the other ski lift, they broke it to me that were just on a red trail.  Red trails, by the way, are NOT the easiest trails.  Granted, they’re not the hardest, but I had never even done a blue trail yet.  No wonder!

I took a break at the restaurant there and let the others ski a bit without me.  They met me back there for lunch and we had an awesome view of the mountains.  After lunch we went down part of a blue trail, and while I still freaked out, I made a lot of progress.  I think it would have been a bit easier, though, had I not fallen a million times already. 

After that run I decided I was probably close to being done for the day.  We all rode a lift up together and I went down the mountain on the gondola and met up with everybody else at the bottom. 

The next day I decided to do ski school after the insane chaos that was Monday.  I joined a class that had been together for two days and it was the perfect level.  We started at the bottom doing obstacle courses and gaining control, and then went up on the bunny slopes.  I started feeling really confident and got a lot of skiing in- I only fell twice, and that was in line for the lift cause it was slippery.

While I gained a lot more control, it was more with direction than speed, which I discovered after I met back up with everyone after ski school.  We decided to ride the lift up and ski down to one of the restaurants on the mountain.  I was doing pretty well, but still going a little faster than I would like.  Then we came to a really steep part, and I kinda started to freak out again.  I made it down, but it was more shimmy-ing than skiing, and it was very slow.  I was so exhausted that I started falling a lot, and decided I better quit while I don’t have any broken bones.

Wednesday we drove over to Lech, which is a ski town on the other side of the mountain.  I took a book and my iPod and walked around the shops while the others went skiing.  We met up for lunch and then I rode the cable car up to Oberlech, a town on the mountain with a lot of hotels and restaurants that you can ski in and out of, and read in the sun.  It was a nice, relaxing day.

Thursday Katie and I went to the fitness center while the boys went skiing.  We exercised some, had lunch, and went swimming.  We met up with the boys when they returned their skis and had dinner back at the apartment.

Friday we drove to Munich.  We ate at an Italian place for lunch, and it was really, really good.  Best tiramisu we’ve had yet.  After lunch we walked around the market and then by Theresienwiese (the Oktoberfest fields).  We had to show Katie and Ryan the Hofbräuhaus (one of the big breweries in town) and then ate at an awesome restaurant that Katie found in the Rick Steves book. 

All in all it was a great trip! We really enjoyed having visitors and being able to share our experience here with our friends. More pictures available here. 

The writer for one of the blogs I read posted her surprisingly accurate results to one of those personality tests.  I decided to take it since I’ve got the time, and I would say it’s about 95% accurate.  So, if you’re interested…

I’m a Peacemaker (#9)

Peacemakers are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

• -If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don’t like expectations or pressure.
• -I like to listen and to be of service, but don’t take advatage of this.
• -Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit.
• -Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It’s OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally.
• -Ask me questions to help me get clear.
• -Tell me when you like how I look. I’m not averse to flattery.
• -Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings.
• -I like a good discussion but not a confrontation.
• -Let me know you like what I’ve done or said.
• -Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life.

What I Like About Being a Nine

• -being nonjudgmental and accepting
• -caring for and being concerned about others
• -being able to relax and have a good time
• -knowing that most people enjoy my company; I’m easy to be around
• -my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator
• -my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now
• -being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What’s Hard About Being a Nine

• -being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
• -being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
• -being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
• -being confused about what I really want
• -caring too much about what others will think of me
• -not being listened to or taken seriously

I would say Jason is probably an Achiever or Asserter/Leader. 

More pictures are posted here.

We met Ben and Gina in Frankfurt and rode the train back to Nürnberg.  They spent a couple of days here, where we did the tour of the city and the castle.  We also visited the Christmas Market and some of our favorite restaurants.  Gina took some awesome pictures at the Christmas Market that she could totally sell to Hallmark for Christmas cards.  Then they went off to Prague for a couple of days while Jason and I had to work.

That weekend we all headed off to Austria.  Our first stop was in Vienna, where we toured the palaces, saw the Vienna Boys’ Choir, and went to the Opera (those standing seats in the back where you can just stay for a little while and you don’t have to dress up, of course).

Next stop was Salzburg.  We toured the fort there and rode a cable car to the top of the Untersberg mountain for some incredible views.  Everything white and snowy after that just sort of paled in comparison.

From Salzburg we went to Innsbruck where we only spent 1 day.  That was probably a good thing, considering Vienna and Salzburg were so cool.  Innsbruck would be great for skiing and other outdoor activities, but not for touring.  For instance, you could see mountains all around you from the Christmas Market in the middle of the city.  We also had some “Original Nürnberg Glühwein”, which was kinda funny, cause we’d already had it in Nürnberg.

 

 

From Innsbruck we took the train to Reutte where we had to get off and then ride a bus to Füssen.  Reutte is a nice small town, but we had bigger and better things in mind: meeting Eric and Heather in Füssen!  And, of course, seeing Neuschwanstein (the basis for Disney’s Cinderella Castle). 

We spent a few days in Füssen, toured the castles, ate some great food, and the guys went to a Hockey game. 

 

On the way back to Nürnberg, we stopped in Munich for the afternoon.  We walked through the main square and then went to the Hofbräuhaus (a brewery).  There was a guy sitting at the VIP table, dressed in Lederhösen, who wanted everyone to sing and dance along to the band every time it played one of the traditional songs.  We tried to teach Ben, Gina, Eric, & Heather a song Jason had learned at Oktoberfest, and they picked it up pretty well, although I think the band was loud enough it didn’t matter if you got it right.

Once back in Nürnberg, we showed Eric and Heather around a little bit and got settled in.  That Sunday we took the whole crew to church with us, which they really enjoyed.  Some of our friends invited all 6 of us over to dinner, so we made plans to meet up and then went off to tour the Nazi Documentation Center.  Dinner was really fun, and we were glad our German friends and our American friends got along so well!  Eric especially got along with one of the younger brothers of this family.  But that’s a whole other story involving “Teelichter” and matches and standing out in the cold, which I am fully expecting Eric to outline on his blog with pictures and diagrams (ahem).

The next day was Christmas Eve, and the last day of the Christmas Market.  We went and stocked up on our Christmas presents and souvenirs for people back home and then Jason and I made our first attempt at cooking a turkey.  It’ll be better next year.  On Christmas morning we had to send Ben, Gina, Eric, and Heather off to make their way to their friend’s wedding before heading back to the States.  But never fear!  The day after Christmas we were invited by our friends (same people we had dinner with that Sunday) to go play ice hockey on a frozen lake.  I was kinda bummed we didn’t take our camera.

Not long after that it was New Year’s, and then we were back home to visit for a week!  Our next trip will be yet again back to Austria, but this time for skiing. 

Fighting for Kisses

Not something I would let my kids download and play, but a clever concept nonetheless.  Apparently the actual game is not very high quality.  And apparently I’m behind the times- since this article is from September.

Jason:  http://www.thethingsiwant.com/ardell/list/jason’s%20wishlist

Shane: http://www.thethingsiwant.com/shaneardell/list/shane%27s%20christmas%20list/

We met some a cappella folks in Raleigh, NC for SoJam, an a cappella conference/competition.  While there we got to see a couple of my cousins who live there and have dinner with them.  My sister and our old friend Jon, who we sang with for a while, were there, too.  So much fun!

Then we flew to Atlanta and had a whirlwind of a week.  We had plans every night with friends and family- culminating in an early Thanksgiving dinner.  We flew back on Sunday/Monday and actually went to work for a few hours… man were we wrecked.

We weren’t quite sure how it would feel to go home after four months of being here.  We do enjoy Germany and living here sure has some great advantages- we like using the public transportation and walking everywhere, and we love being only hours away from all sorts of destinations.  But it only took a few hours at home to realize how nice it is when everything is so familiar.  We definitely revelled in it all- the warm weather, the close proximity to family and friends, even driving a car again.

We were somewhat wary of leaving again and had reminded ourselves that it was only 3 weeks before my sister came to visit, and after that only a couple of weeks before we were back for another visit at home.  So we headed back to Nürnberg fully prepared to anxiously await those events.  We were surprised to find a sense of “normalcy” compared to our week at home… we’ve established a routine here- we’re used to our apartment, our grocery store, our offices, our trains… and it only took a few months to establish.  We didn’t think we would, and we actually hadn’t yet realized we did, but we missed it.  I can already tell you there will be some reverse culture-shock come May…

Our one conclusion is that, given enough time, you can feel at “home” anywhere in the world-  the rain falls the same, the sun rises and sets the same- it doesn’t really make much of a difference.  We will always be able to grow accustomed to being in, or away from, different places or things.  But we’ll never be accustomed to being away from people we love spending time with.  I think 9 months will be about the right amount of time, and then we will be ready to be “home” again.