The Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee D'Orsay, and Musee Grevin ... Oh, my!

The next day, we wanted to get to the Louvre just before opening.  We didn't quite make it, but were still early enough that the crowd in front of the Mona Lisa wasn't too bad.  Our strategy for this stop was to hit the highlights.  After all, there is just no way to see all of it in one day, especially with kids in tow.  Big Sis was able to see her Greek Antiquities and Devil Pup saw her Egyptian Antiquities, or at least some of them. 

After an hour or so, the girls were done with the museum.  It was time for a snack and our next stop.  We caught the Cars Rouge (a double decker hop-on, hop-off bus tour that is included in the Paris Pass) and went to the Cathedrale du Notre Dame on Ile de Cite.  The line to get into the cathedral was ridiculous.  And the main reason we were there was to go up the towers so we got in line for Tours du Notre Dame.  It was a long line.  And it was cold.  We ate lunch in that line.  Stretch found a vendor across the street and brought us hot dogs in baguettes with cheese. 
Eventually, we made it inside and started climbing the first tower.  Gargoyles and chimera on a gray day – perfect!  We also found ourselves inside the wooden bell tower after passing through a small door that the girls said looked like a Hobbit door.

Then it was back on the Cars Rouge to make our way to Musee d’Orsay.  Although renovations were underway and areas were closed, we were still able to see a number of works including those of  Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh, a favorite of Devil Pup’s. 
After that we reboarded the Cars Rouge.  We passed La Place du Concorde and the Egyptian Obelisk.  Then we passed the Opera and disembarked to make our way to Musee Grevin, a wax museum.  The girls had a great time posing with wax figures such as Jackie Chan, Naomi Campbell, Elvis Presley, Spiderman and Frankenstein’s Monster.

After dinner at an Irish pub nearby, it was back to our hotel.  We all slept well that night!

Bonjour, Paris!

For this trip, I purchased BahnCards when I bought our train tickets.  They paid for themselves in the first trip!  It was less expensive to buy the cards and get the 25% discount on the tickets than to simply buy the tickets without the discount.  I wish I'd known to do this for our earlier Berlin trip!

After a 4-hour ride on the TGV, we arrived at Paris' Gare L'Est in the early afternoon.  We bought day passes for the Metro and made our way to our hotel, Hotel Residence Foch.  After dropping our bags in our room, we set out to find lunch and the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up our 2-day Paris Passes.  Lunch was bought at a street-side stand on the Avenue la Grande Armee which was lined on one side with white tents occupied by antique and art vendors.  We ate while walking toward the Arc de Triomphe.

After taking a few pictures, we descended into the Metro and made our way to the Hard Rock (Metro line 9, exit at Grands Boulevards).  The hardest part of picking up the passes was getting thru the crowd of tourists in the store.  Nearby were covered alleys with interesting little shops.  One had a pink beret that had Devil Pup written all over it.  Since she'd been asking for one, she got the first souvenir of the trip.

After a bit of wandering in a drizzle, we wandered and saw the Eiffel Tower, L'Ecole Militaire and went back toward the hotel, looking for a place to eat dinner.  We ended up in a brasserie where we enjoyed our first dinner in the City of Lights.  When our meals arrived, Devil Pup, exclaimed, "Bon Appetit!"  After finishing hers, Devil Pup leaned back in her chair, rubbed her tummy and announced, "That was quite a meal...  A good meal, I tell you."  She'd had a hamburger (no bun) and rice.

Berlin After Action: Exploring Part 2

Berlin After Action: Exploring Part 1

North and South Korea

Belgium

 When we checked into the pension, the owner had mentioned something about bears and that it was fun for the kids to keep an eye out for them.  I wasn't really paying attention, but then we started walking around and found them.  Wow!  The kids loved them!  It was fun to see how each was decorated to represent a different country.  Big Sis wanted to find Greece and Devil Pup had to find Egypt.  For more info on the Buddy Bears, click here.

 We saw a number of street performers, but Big Sis was quite taken with this troupe of breakdancers (I was more taken with their advanced age -- one looked older than me and I'm sure that's way too old to be breakdancing or doing tricks on skateboards -- brittle bones and all that, y'know).  Of course, I found the way they ended the show to be the best part:  ABBA's "Money, Money, Money" blaring as they held out caps for their audience to place money.

After our first night's dinner of sushi (YUM! and the girls liked it, too), we wandered around a bit and ended up going down a sidestreet we later decided wasn't quite in the right direction.  However, if we hadn't gone down that street, we might never have seen this.  And what is it?  Well, it seems to be a restaurant suspended by a crane:  Dinner in the Sky!  Neither of the girls thought this was a good idea.
DP:  "What if you fall?" 
me:  "There are probably seatbelts."
BS:  "What if the crane breaks?"
me:  "Hopefully, that wouldn't happen."


Our first night in Berlin, we really didn't have time to do any of the tourist sites so we spent the evening wandering the main thoroughfare near our hotel-pension.  It was fun and relaxing, despite getting rained on at the end.  Oh, well, that was a good excuse to get back to our room and get everyone showered up and ready to really see Berlin the next day!

Berlin After Action: Train and Pension

 Stretch had a 3-day weekend, so we decided to test out the rail system and go to Berlin.  The weekend before I booked our rail tickets via the Deutches Bahn webite.  I played around with it a bit to see how much tickets would cost using different configurations, i.e. with or without the various BahnCards which provide discounts of 25-50%.  In the end, we decided to forego the BahnCard for this trip, using it as a test trip instead.  For 2 adults and 2 children in a 2nd Class compartment with reserved seating, I paid 457 euro (including the extra 5 euro for the reserved seating).  I may have been able to find better deals if I'd planned a bit further in advance, but didn't think it was too bad for last minute.  It was certainly far cheaper than flying and much more comfortable than driving!

I also booked us on the ICE train (fast train) that had no connections and would get us to Berlin in roughly 6 hours.  The first picture shows a 2nd class car and the second picture is the area with compartments and WC (toilets) where we were seated.  Each compartment had 6 seats, small table and places to hang jackets and a place to put luggage overhead.  We could control the lighting and temperature inside the compartments as well.   Once we got to Berlin (the Hauptbahnhof there is HUGE!), it was a matter of finding a bite to eat and then finding the local public transportation to take us out to Charlottenburg (the neighborhood where our accommodations were located).  We took a U-Bahn (making only 1 connection) to Adenauerplatz and then walked a few blocks to the Hotel-Pension Bregenz.

When we checked in, one of the owners immediately gave us a map with suggestions of things to do with the kids.  She marked routes for us and showed us the bus and U-Bahn routes.

 Then, she showed us to our room.  It was spacious, clean and had an ensuite bathroom.  While the shower was a bit tight sizewise, it perfectly suited our needs.  Everyone had their own bed and none of us felt cramped.

The breakfast the next day was also lovely.  Each table in the breakfast room was set with blue and white china.  The buffet was more than ample, offering cereals, yogurts, breads, meats, cheeses, fruit, and coffee cakes.  Tea, coffee, milk, orange juice and water were also available.  I was finally able to get fresh brotchen and liverwurst with fresh coffee for breakfast ... so good!  If we get a chance to go back to Berlin (there was so much we didn't get to see or do!), I'd definitely stay here again!

Also, we could buy the tickets for public transportation at the hotel.  A family pass for the day was 15 euro.

Home Sweet Home?

Don't get excited.  We're STILL living in a hotel.  But last week, I was able to get a peek into the apartment we will eventually be moving into.  The furniture is loaner furniture but here are a few pics:

Living room from the front door

Living room, looking at front door, dining room and kitchen

From living room, looking into dining room and hallway to bedrooms

The kitchen is smaller than last years but bigger than the hotel!

Love the shelving in the laundry room!

Master closet!  This might make up for last year's closets!

The kitchen overlooks a playground and more apartments

Schloss Ludwigsburg

We wanted to go and do something on Saturday but it couldn't be too far a drive.  And it had to be something the kids would be interested in as well.  So we chose Schloss Ludwigsburg.  It should have been about a 30 minute drive but I managed to mess up the GPS directions and then parking was, um, interesting until we found a parking garage about a block from the palace.

Once there, we realized there was a small fest of some sort taking place that day.  Which worked out fine for us as it meant there were people in period costume, performances on a stage in the courtyard and, most importantly, food and beverages available! 

Our first stop was the Kinderreich, or Children's Realm.  For 2 hours, children (of all ages!) could dress up and get a taste of what life in the palace might have been like.  It all began in the ulitmate dress-up closet room:  Lots of clothes for boys and girls, wigs, hats, jewelry.  Big Sis chose not to dress up (being too old and cool for that sort of thing now she'll be starting middle school) but Devil Pup had a grand time of it.  She loved sitting on the throne, looking regal.  She learned to curtsy and had to approach the "king" (one of the dads was recruited for the role), curtsy and make a request.  Then we were shown a miniature theatre where the kids were shown how to change the scenery, change the lighting (including making lightning), use a wind machine (to make the sound of wind), and make thunder.  Then they got to get up on stage and put the skills to use.  After that, we were taken into a dining room, set with real china.  There the kids were taught about royal dining etiquette.  Since Devil Pup had seated herself at the end of the table, she was the "queen."  She quite enjoyed making everyone else pick up their glasses to "drink" everytime she did!  Then it was time to return the dress up clothes.

Afterward, the families were given a tour of the king's and queen's chambers of the palace.  Due to the fact that all of this took a little over 3 hours, we made a huge tactical error in not feeding everyone before-hand.  As soon as the tour was over, we made a bee-line for the food stalls!  There we found bratwurst in brochen and Big Sis found heaven in meat on a stick.  While we ate, we watched a sword fight between some Musketeers and villains followed by various little girls performing on the stage.  By the time we were done eating and ready to explore the gardens, there was a pirate act performing. 

 Then it was time to explore the Marchengarten, or Fairy Tale Garden.  The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, the Magic Mirror from Snow White, Ali Baba, and more were to be found here.  And of course, as you can see by this picture, one had only to shout, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel,... Let down your hair!" and down came the tresses from this tower that overlooked a baroque garden.

We spent almost 7 hours at the palace and in its garden and I'm sure we didn't come close to seeing it all.   Even though I know we'll be living here for the foreseeable future, I can't help feeling that there's so much to see and do and so little time!

Tourism: The Eagle's Nest

Today's adventure took us to Kehlstein, otherwise known as the Eagle's Nest.  We boarded the USO bus a little before 5 a.m. -- yes, that was a wee bit painful!

We had a large group so we split into 2 smaller groups with one going up to the Eagle's Nest first while the other group toured the Dokumentation center.  After lunch, we switched places.

We were lucky enough to be in the first group to ascend the mountain via bus to the tunnel that led to the elevator that took us to the Eagle's Nest perched on top of the mountain.  The skies were pretty clear and the views were amazing!  I was particularly grateful for this since the forecast had called for a 70% chance of rain!  I'm not sure how much of the history the girls absorbed but Stretch and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It was clear enough that we could see Salzburg, Austria, in the distance.

Later, we toured the Dokumentation center with audio guides in English.  While familiar with World War II and the atrocities committed by the Nazis, it was still a horrifying and sobering reminder of what occurred.  The tour also included exploration of a bunker system under the center.  Frankly, the place gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Our adventure continued after we left the area.  Clouds began to move in and it finally began to rain as our bus made it's way homeward.  And we got to experience our first stau, or German traffic jam.  I was particularly grateful that neither of us were driving and we could sleep through it!  As a result, our return was later than planned but it was still a great trip.

1st Week in Country... Come On, Weekend!

It's Friday!  And what a full week it's been!  Since arriving on Sunday we've managed to check off the following items from our to-do list:

• Check in with Housing
• Procure Housing
• Entered our IDs into the local system so that we can enter US installations here 
• Unlocked Stretch's phone and have a local number with prepaid minutes
• Start the check-in process (Stretch), which has included a lot of classes for Stretch
• Register kids with Child and Youth Services (CYS)
• Sign kids up for School Age Services (SAS) for 2 days next week so I can attend Stuttgart Newcomers Orientation (SNO)
• Enroll kids in school (this involved going to 2 schools at 2 installations), including the eldest at middle school for the first time.  This mama is still having a issues with that one!
• Stretch passed his drivers' test (I'll take mine next week)
• We have our vehicle!  Albeit with temporary registration but that will be rectified next week.
• Attended a local festival downtown Monday night with our sponsors
• Spent an afternoon moving rooms (while Stretch was in class, of course) because our first had sprung a leak, while simultaneously doing laundry.  Of course the laundry rooms were not on the same floors as either our first or second rooms.  But while my gremlins have struck again, I got the last laugh.  They moved us to larger accommodations allowing the girls to sleep in a bed instead of a sofa-bed and also giving us 2 bathrooms (hey, this is important for a family of 4!)



Water on the floor of our room from the leaking A/C unit




• Ventured out to a local Italian restaurant (it's German serving Italian fare and was the only one we'd heard of within walking distance of our hotel!) where we practiced our non-existent German and enjoyed a lovely meal that was NOT fast food!

(at right) Big Sis peruses the phrasebook while Devil Pup decides whether to try Dad's sparkling water or Mom's spezi first.  She tried both and decided the spezi was tastier.  Mom agrees!  It tasted just as good as I remembered from my childhood time in Germany (when my dad was stationed in Bavaria).


I'm tired... bring on the weekend!  And our tour of the Eagles Nest on Sunday!

Dragonfly has landed in Deutchland!

We arrived Sunday morning and have tried to hit the ground running.  Well, as much as possible while still jet-lagged!

Our first stop Monday morning was the housing office, where we updated our status and were given the possibility of an apartment on Patch Barracks, our first choice!  We were given keys to look at a similar apartment in the same building but the one we were offered is still occupied and will be until the end of the month, so we'll be in the hotel for at least a month.  Stretch started his check-in process and we got all 3 ID card holders entered into the system here. 

In the afternoon, we took the bus to Patch to check out the new neighborhood. The kids fell in love with the apartment (we kept reminding them that it was NOT the one we'd be in!), the neighborhood and the post.  And we kind of liked it, too!  Afterward, we wandered the post a bit before meeting our sponsor who took us to downtown Stuttgart for the Fish Fest.  While fun, it made for a late night (well, late for those dragging with jet lag!). 

That was just our first day and a half in country!  We are already signed up to take our first USO tour this weekend and hope to have at least one licensed driver and our car by next week.

My record with housing difficulties continues to hold (and I'm not even in housing yet!).  We had a leak in our room due to issues with the A/C unit and its drip pan.  Stretch is finally a believer in my gremlins!  I'm not complaining, though, as it led to us being moved to a larger room!

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Xmas Card 2010

I'm running late this year.  I finally ordered our Christmas cards today.  By this time, I usually like to have all our cards ready to mail, stamped and addressed!  What can I say?  It's been a busy year!

Cool Peppermint Dots Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Boys and their toys...

Stretch bought this for himself today:

He and Devil Pup have already broken it out of the package and started playing with it.  My mother-in-law would be so proud.  When I was pregnant with Big Sis, I remember her suggesting that if we had a boy, perhaps we could not allow him to play with guns.  Yeah.  While living on a Marine Base.  That would work. 

Well, we didn't have a boy.  We had two girls.  And they love to play with toy weapons: swords, nerf guns, whatever.  To be fair, she only mentioned keeping the toy guns away from a little boy.

The Marine and both Devil Pups fend off zombies.

Thank you to all our Veterans, past and present!

Happy 235th Birthday, Marines!

Team Marine has raised more than twice what we set out to raise!  But let's keep it going because our Wounded Warriors are growing in numbers and the need is great.  Click on the button in the upper right hand of this screen to donate to Valour-IT.

"Journey Home: A Marine Tale"

This is a story written by our newly minted 10 yr old (Big Sis) at school.  I haven't corrected her misspellings or grammar but I have highlighted a phrase she wrote.

I saw the ship that had taken me here, Iraq, 1 year ago.  It would now take me home.  To my family and home.  It had been a long year.  I was ready to go to my abode.

I stepped on the ship uncertain it would survive the trudge west.  But hopefull to return to my kin.  I was given a room key for my cabin, below deck.  My number was 303 .  The blue paint forming the numbers were nearly completly chipped off.  I instantly pictured the room dank and sad, with spiders and cobwebs.  I got half right.  It wasn't gloomy, but it was cobweb filled. 

For the first couple of days it was splendid, but then a storm hit.  I felt like I needed to abandon all hope, of seeing family and living.  The boat rocked uncontrollably.  Passengers were throwing up and screaming.  Two waves so high you'd think their water mountains, hurled them selves on deck.  One wave had caused a hole and the Captain was plunging lifeboats into the angry sea.  (which wasn't bright if ya ask me.)  I threw myself into the murdurous sea, trying to escape the yelling and the rocking of the boat.  That was a big mistake, 'cause I fell unconcious.

Next thing I know I'm bobbing along in a calm sea... above water.  I'm a top 3 planks of wood from a ship, perhaps the one I was on.  I look around  my compass is broken and I'm wandering in the ocean.  What could be worse?  Oh, great.  I see a fin, it's proboally a shark.  To my surprise it's a dolphin.  I take the rope around it's tail, and I glide after it.  Dolphins are popular in FL where I live.  There just might be hope, again.

Finally, I saw the shore.  My luck must have been with the dolphin, because this was the beach that was 2 mi. away, from my house.  Unfortanantly, it's a long walk, and would be tough without shoes.  My luck ran out.

The hot sand was burning my feet as I walked toward the wooden ramp.  I braced myself for the tiny, pointy, rocks in the parking lot.  The pain was standable, though it stung.  My feet were red, cut, and bleeding.  But, I continued walking.  When your a Marine, you learn to stand the pain and think about what's important.  In this case reaching home, I continued walking.

Yes, I see my house!  I wanted to run, but my feet were too sore.  I was laughing and celebrating.  As I knocked on the door and embraced my family.  For the first time in a year.


****
The need is great. Dig deep and support the Marine Team for Valour IT by clicking on the button on the upper right of this screen.  And tell your friends and family to do so, as well!

Devil Pups rock!

First off, we live on an Army post.  In an apartment building made up of mostly Army folk. 

The other day, I brought our USMC flag in because of the wind and the fact that it looked like the bracket was about to come out of the wall.  This morning, Devil Pup decided to take it downstairs for a one-girl parade.  She later talked our neighbors' little girl to join her with their USMC flag (we are the only 2 Marine families in the building).  She tried to get our other neighbor's daughter to join her but was told, "I can't:  We're an Army family!"

So there she was (and she's back out there again as I type), marching around with a Marine flag that's bigger than her.  And probably freezing her little patootie off, too.

If a 6 year old has that much Marine Corps spirit, how can you refuse to donate to the Marine team in our efforts to support Valour IT?  Click on the button in the upper right part of the screen to donate and support our Wounded Warriors!

Nice to know we're still needed...

Last night, we found our 10 yr old sprawled out in our bed.  Usually, it is her younger sister who tries to invade us in the middle of the night.  We're lucky if Big Sis asks to cuddle at bedtime, so it was something of a surprise to find her in our room.  And it was clear that she intended to stay the night since she'd brought her alarm clock with her.

Big Sis used to regularly join me at night in 2003 (she was just 2 yrs old at the time), during Stretch's first war-time deployment.  But in recent years, she's been quite the independent type and she's never been a particularly touchy-feely child. 

Last night, I know she was feeling vulnerable for a few different reasons.  So when we found her in our bed, we left her there despite the crowded conditions (she's almost as tall as me now!).  It was nice to know that she still needed us.

And she'll always be my baby.

"Don't talk about it!"

The Devil Pup lost her first tooth 2 nights ago.  It had been loose all summer and her permanent tooth was already coming in behind it.  Every time I tried to wiggle it, she would clap her hands over her ears and scream, "Don't talk about it!"  It all came to a head 2 nights ago when she brushed her teeth.  The tooth was SOO ready to come out that she started bleeding when she brushed it.  Which completely freaked her out.

Oh, the wailing, the screaming, the hysterical caterwauling!  She covered her ears and screamed and cried.  After her bath, we continued to try to calm her down and convince her to let us remove the tooth.  Finally, she grudgingly allowed me to try.  My first and second attempts to get the floss around her tooth were both unsuccessful except the second time, it came close enough that she had to spit her tooth out.

I've never seen anyone transform so completely, so quickly.  Instantly, she was talking about how cute her tooth was.  She was so proud and happy and showing everyone her tooth. 

Oy!  Hopefully, the next tooth will be easier...

Worst housing karma. EVER.

Seriously, people, I have to have the worst housing karma.  In Monterey, our house was literally condemned.  It was going to be torn down after we moved out to build new housing.  But before that could happen, we lived in it.  And had a major leak in our master bedroom.  Over our bed.  Through a light fixture. 

Then there was the house in North Carolina.  I refer you to our lovely indoor waterfall and the rockin' party for of maintenance men I had in my house.  This house was reroofed not just once but twice while I lived in it.  And I only lived there for 16 months.

Now, while we are really enjoying our new duty station, my housing karma has struck again.  Just yesterday, we discovered a problem with our air conditioning.  It really is a problem with the heat and humidity we've been experiencing.  Two maintenance guys came by and determined that our compressor was kaput, they'd have to order a new one, and would get back to us about it.  In the interim, they installed 4 window units.  Then, today, we had a pretty heavy rainstorm.  Afterwards, Stretch discovered that we had a pretty bad leak in our master bedroom (hmm, this sounds familiar somehow).  He put a bucket under it and called housing.  Every time I go in there, it looks worse!  Now it is going across the ceiling toward a corner, sprouting new leaks AND in the corner, the wall and corner are completely wet.  Someone has come by and they're "working on it."  But they can't do anything to the roof until tomorrow.  And then they have to wait for everything to dry out before they can repair our ceiling. 

On the bright side, I hadn't gotten around to hanging anything on the walls in that room yet.  And this time, the maintenance guy tried to exorcise the devil from our apartment.  Yes, I'm serious.  I couldn't make stuff up like that.

*sigh* 
Yay, me!