I'm finally getting around to posting about my 10-day vacation with my mom and dad. Part of the reason why it's taken so long is because I've got a zillion photos that I need to go through and I'm trying not to overload each post with them. The other part is that I've been way too lazy. In any case...what a vacation! It totally went by in a flash and, as I mentioned the other day, I am still trying to recover from it. As a matter of fact, I informed my boss that I needed leave from my leave! I mean, when your parents only have 10 days in Europe and there are bunches of places you want them to see, it can make for an exciting but exhausting time.
I mean, the day that they landed, we hit the ground running. Seriously. They arrived in Stuttgart at 0900...and off we went. After the airport, we dropped off their bags at the house and Malu too, because he had to go back to work. I immediately rushed them off to Panzer Kaserne to get them registered as visitors and then stopped by the PX for a few things. After that, I figured that since we were nearby, I'd take them to Ritter Sport Chocolate Factory so that mom could stock up on the chocolates she wanted to bring back home with her.
Here we are at the entrance to the Schokolade (or chocolate) store...
My mom reacted kinda the same way I did when she entered--like a 5-year old going to Disney World for the first time. She seriously didn't know what to do and it was funny because there were a million flavors in there, but she seemed to kept picking the same flavor in all sizes (hazelnut). I had to help her throw some others in her basket.
Um...I don't think she went overboard at all.
There's a cafe adjacent to the store with outdoor seating and lovely landscaping. We had to stop for a few pictures in front of the pretty flowers. My parents were lucky. Pretty much their entire stay in Europe we had beautiful, sunny weather. Sunny days are a rarity, in Stuttgart at least.
No kidding...that evening, we departed for Garmish-Partenkirchen--about a 3 hour drive away. We took off after Malu got off from work, but first stopped by for dinner at our favorite spot (where we love to take our visitors)--the Schonbuch Brau Brauhaus.
We wanted to kick off their visit with a fabulous German dinner (Swabian style). This restaurant serves a fantastic dinner-for-four, complete with steak, pork, bratwurst, oven potatoes, sauerkraut and cheese spatzle (cheese noodles). They were impressed and we totally chowed down!
Here's my daddy enjoying his first beer in Germany (well, first one in a long time. The last time he'd been in Germany was in the late 70s when he was stationed here.)
I had to play with this photo just so you guys could see us. It was kinda dark in there. See our buffet-style meal? Yummy!
Right after that gigundo meal, we were on the road. Thanks to my dear hubby, we made it to Garmisch safely and in good time, considering how late our trip started.
As I'm closing this, I'm missing my parents so badly and wish that their stay didn't come to an end so quickly. But I have tons more great moments to share with you guys.
More on Garmisch next time!
