Christmas in Germany 2012

Another amazing year in Germany is now behind us. We are about to enter into our last year overseas. It's likely we'll be back in The States sometime between February and July of 2014 so we are trying to check off the remaining sites still on our list. We know that the likelihood of getting back here is slim to none and we don't want to return home with any regrets....like oh man, I wish we would have gotten to see...! So, our vacation calendar is starting to fill up for the upcoming year. It must seem like we have a bottomless pit of money allowing us to travel all the time but the truth is we are bargain shoppers. I belong to a Facebook page called 411 Travel Through Germany! Yesterday someone posted that Ryanair was having flights to London in February for just €30/person round trip. You can't beat paying just $158 for your entire family to fly to London so we booked it. I also started a Bloggers in Germany Facebook page where I get ideas from other Bloggers on where to stay and what to see. We are constantly on the lookout for good deals. Sometimes it feels like a part time job :)

Anyway, enough about travel. Onto to Christmas. I'm not gonna lie...I'm a little bummed that there's no snow AGAIN this year. As much as I love the heat, summer and all places warm, if I'm going to live where it's cold I want snow. 2 Reasons. 1. It feels more like Christmas when there's snow. It's what I grew up with in Wisconsin. I don't remember a Christmas without snow. 2. Kids can't play in the rain when it's 48°F. This makes for a LONG 2 week winter break. I can't kick them outside to play when there's no snow! We are not an "indoor family"...we like fresh air and playing outside. Talk about cabin fever!

But on a positive note: We have been able to get out and enjoy a couple of Christmas Markets. Having Grammy with us in Rothenburg was definitely a highlight of the season. We tried our best to keep her here for Christmas but we're unsuccessful...we get it...we have to share :(

Another obstacle when living here in Germany is the postal service. There is a longer wait time for sending and receiving packages. That's understandable...we are 6000 miles away. Last year I didn't get my Christmas cards until mid-December so everyone got them late. This year I made sure to order them by the first week of November. Well, then Hurricane Sandy rolled through and somehow my cards got lost. I finally got them December 22nd. I sent them out anyway....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Milo (our Elf on the Shelf) was a little less ambitious this year. Pretty much just moved from one room to another or from the tree to the stocking. He did do a zipline again this year and "pooped a peppermint" in our bathroom (don't ask), made a sugar angel and had one last party with popcorn before he went back to the North Pole but other than that...nothing too exciting.

Under our tree on Christmas morning the boys received news that we are going on a Disney Cruise this year. A Mediterranean cruise with stops in Spain, France and Italy. I may be more fired up than they are...lol!

For Christmas I got these...I desperately needed a new pair. If you run in Vibrams then you know why! Only so many washes actually take.

Gabe decided for the first time in 41 years to try to grow a beard. He managed to keep it for about 2 weeks but then couldn't take it anymore. He surprised us all by shaving it on Christmas. Merry Christmas to me! Although I really do think he looks handsome either way :D

Well, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and wish you all a Happy and wonderful New Year! I know we'll be busy :D

Christmas Time in Rothenburg, Germany

My mother-in-law, Ginny was coming for the 3rd time to Germany. This was the first time she'd be visiting in the winter so I wanted to make sure she got to experience one of Germany's many famous Christmas markets. After almost 2 years here we still had not made it to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Red fortress above the Tauber). I've heard from more than a few people that this is their favorite German city no matter what time of year.  I was able to book a room at the Pension Becker for about €135 (includes a modest breakfast). It was a nice room that sleeps 6, just a few blocks from the market square and we could bring Mia (our dog).

After settling in we walked to the market. This is a very charming little city, rich with history, beautiful buildings and friendly people.

The market was very similar to other markets we've been to but this time we had glüwein made with white wine instead of red and the boys got to meet St. Nikolaus. 

Ginny and I enjoying our glüwein

So many decisions

The boys with St. Nikolaus

Ginny and the boys got cold so we went back to the hotel and dropped them off. Gabe and I went back out for a little while...it was great...we never get to do that!

Here we are...out! (without our kids)

The weather wasn't looking good the next morning so we decided to head home but first we took a short walk along the famous wall that surrounds the city...

It was a wonderful place to visit. I'm glad we chose Rothenburg to show off winter in Germany. I hope we get to make another trip to see it in the spring.

Family Hike ~ Umleitung!

Gabe and I have a love for hiking. It's such a great way to spend family time together, get some fresh air and see something new. The weather is getting colder and the leaves are falling fast so we wanted to get one last fall hike in before the snow comes. After many web searches and numerous discussions we decided to go with the "Old Stand-by" and head down to Annweiler. It's a favorite of ours and although we've been there multiple times we have yet to hike the castle. Link: Annweiler Castle Hike (2.5 hours) I was really excited to check it out. It appears to be a fairly easy family hike with amazing views and it's only about an hour from our house.

We pack up and head out. We finally get to the road that leads to the castle and start the windy drive to the top.  A few miles in we see our second favorite sign in Germany (insert sarcasm): ROAD CLOSED

Second only to the "Stau" sign....which means "traffic jam"....the sight of this sign can almost immediately bring one to tears. It is NOT a suggestion. This does not mean PART if the road is closed and you may be able to SLIP through. This sign means EXACTLY what is stands for. The road is closed and you must now turn around. Now in the U.S. a road will be closed and an there is an alternate route made to your destination. In Germany, however, there may or may not be an alternate route and if you don't speak German there is no way to ask. So, unless you see our 3rd favorite sign: UMLEITUNG...you can throw your initial plans right out the window.

"Umleitung" means Detour route...one sign feels more like this ^^^ though

German's seem to LOVE putting these signs up in THE most inconvenient places and you encounter them at THE most inconvenient times! We have seen these on the way to the airport...you know, when time is already precious and you have no way of knowing any other route other than the one that is showing up on your GPS. I will now make a suggestion so that you do not find yourself in a panic...NEVER drive with less than 1/2 tank of gas because there is a really good chance you will encounter this situation on your way to the gas station and end up driving an extra hour longer than you intended to (this happened to my neighbor a few weeks ago going from our village to the base). 

We did not see the "Umleitung" which meant there was no alternative route to the Castle so we went with Plan B. It wasn't a total wash but it ended up being a hike we had more or less already done before. We did get some nice photos....even though it was a bit cloudy. 

Gabe showing the boys a cat-tail

Love these little guys!

Burg Trifels in the background

Big "D"

Out of focus but the only decent picture of Mia

My "FlyGuy"

Again, not in focus...I was worrying more about my camera's battery life :(

RyRy, Moi and DMan

My camera battery was dying but right before it did I got this shot. I was so proud of myself. I set up camera (on manual), placed it in a rock (I forgot my tripod), got the boys situated and set the timer :D

So, even if the hike didn't go as planned we still made the best of it and for me, getting this picture made it all worth it.