Vacay w/the Parentals: Day 3 (Linderhof Palace)

Okay, I'm totally realizing now that my parents left over two weeks ago and I'm only on Day 3 of their visit here.  I'm really way behind, but still...these memories are too great not to share.

On Day 3...we departed the Edelweiss. We took some cool pics before we left.

Sina & Grandpa in their rocking chairs.

Not sure if you can see it, but the Zugspitze is in the background.  This was taken right outside the hotel.

I thought this picture was cute.  Sina getting a ride from Grandpa.

Outside the hotel.  Bye Edelweiss!

Before heading home, we thought we'd stop by one of King Ludwig's other cool places, the Linderhof Palace, not too far from Garmisch.  However, on the way there we stopped by the Ettal Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery in the village of Ettal.  The abbey church was built between 1330 and 1370.  During that time, the church was said to be modest when compared to other churches in medieval Bavaria.  Ettal Abbey is also well known for producing liquors and beers on site.  I had a taste of some schnapps there years ago (didn't have any this time around though)...yummy.

This is within the abbey walls...the abbey church.

Looking upward at the church's domed ceiling.  What a gorgeous chandelier.  Modest?  I think not.

Sina and daddy were trying out some cool hats at a souvenir shop.

Malu and dad before making their beer purchase.

So we eventually make our way to the Linderhof Palace, which is the smallest of three palaces that King Ludwig built.  I believe it's the only palace he lived to see completed.  You see, King Ludwig died mysteriously at a young age...in his early forties. The cause of his death still remains unknown today.  He was said to be quite eccentric and was a devoted patron of German composer, Richard Wagner.  So much, in fact, that much of the scenes depicted within his palaces are those from Wagner's works.  I'd seen this palace before and was glad to go back.  The place is just magnificent.

We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the palace interior.  No biggie...it was beautiful enough outside.

This is the view from the front of the palace, looking out into the gardens.

Every now and then, the fountain starts flowing in the middle of the garden.  Pretty.

Our family in front of the palace.

Looking down at the back of the palace.  The park grounds are extensive and go up into the mountains.  It was quite a trek up there, but well worth it.

We definitely got a workout that day.  I took this picture from the other end of the park, looking down at the front of the palace.

We had lunch on the grounds and enjoyed some bratwurst and pomme frittes (fries). Yum!

 

On the way back to Stuttgart, our GPS took us on a different route...through Austria, as a matter of fact.  I was worried because we didn't know where we were or where we were going, but we trudged on.  Well, rest assured, we made it home.  But on the way, we happened to hit a lake.  A huge lake that went on for miles with crystal clear, blue water.  No joke.  We were at a loss for words.  We stopped by to take some pictures.

People were out there sailing and camping.  Malu and I made a mental note to get back there one day.  The lake is called Am Plansee.

Can you believe that we're only a 3-hour drive from all this stuff?  We are so blessed to have these experiences here in Europe and to be able to share them with family.

Next up...Rome!

Hope everyone's as glad as I am that this week is almost over.  It has been surprisingly and unbearably hot these last few days.  To think that I thought our summer was over.  We've had temps in the 90s lately.  There is no A/C here in most buildings in Germany, so everyone's just been dying at work.  Not cool.

Anyway...thanks for following along guys!

Vacay w/the Parentals: Day 2 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen & Neuschwanstein)

What a busy week this has been!  And I speak not only for myself, but for Malu too.  I've said it once and I'll say it again....this dual military thing is no joke.  We work 12+ hour days, get home, and are like...let's get to bed already.  Seriously.  Lucky for me, the work week has somewhat come to an end already.  My directorate has an Organizational Day all day tomorrow, so it'll be a day of fun and excitement with the people I work with, which I'll take over sitting in the office ANY day!

So on these days of my parents' stay here, we visited Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a mountain resort town just three hours away from here in Bavaria (southern Germany).  Not too sure if everyone knows this, but all servicemembers have access to five different Armed Forces Recreation Center Resorts around the globe.  Many are familiar with the Hale Koa Hotel in Hawaii (which I've been too many times) and Shades of Green in Florida.  Well, the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort is located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  There is also a small military post out there, which makes it a prime location for servicemembers to head for some relaxation and enjoyment.  As a matter of fact, my best friend Chrissy and I stayed at the Edelweiss within a few months of its opening years ago.  We were on R&R from our Iraq deployment. 

I was excited to take mom and dad there.  Now they can add this resort to the two others they've been to--Hale Koa and the Dragon Hill Lodge in Korea.  The resort is nestled in the mountains; among them is the Zugspitze--Germany's highest mountain.  This is the view we woke up to our first morning.  It's so beautiful there.

That morning we left for a tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle--the same tour I'd been on years before.  The entire day was rainy, but it didn't put a damper our moods at all.  We were just to enthralled by all the sights.  Because the weather was so crappy, my point-and-shoot camera immediately fogged up and my pictures didn't come out as great as I would have liked.  The weather did get better by the end of the day, but bottom line:  I'm absolutely going to get the good camera I've been wanting ASAP.

On the way to the castle, we stopped by the Wies Church.  Although not too aesthetically appealing in its exterior, its interior is one of the most brilliant I've ever seen.  This was the first church my parents got to see on this trip and they were in complete awe.

See?  I told you it rained.  Like cats and dogs.  We remained damp a good portion of the day.

There was a service going on at the time.  We did our best not to make noise while taking these pictures.  Isn't it beautiful?

I made a Wordless Wednesday post with this picture of the church ceiling a few years ago.  It's still as beautiful now as it was then.  Malu and I have seen several church ceilings like this and I'm always beside myself thinking about how difficult it must have been to paint these masterpieces; most of the artists old in age.  Unbelieveable.

During the tour, our guide took us to a cafe near the church where they served up these homemade sugar donuts.  They were sooooo delish!  We also had some coffee and hot chocolate to warm up, as it was a little nippy out.  I swear, I'd drive all the way back there just for these donuts!

King Ludwig II of Bavaria built many castles in the state during his reign from 1864 to 1886.  One of them was the Neuschwanstein Castle in Hohenschwangau, which is said to be the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland.  Since it was raining cats and dogs, we decided to take the shuttle up to the castle.  I was grateful.   I'd taken the walk up there before, so I was glad to get a break!  Oh yeah...it was really foggy up there, so pictures are kinda crappy.  The castle sits on a hill above Hohenschwangau, directly across the Schloss (or castle) Hohenschwangau, which was Ludwig's childhood home.  Even with the shuttle ride, there was still a short walk to the castle.  On the way there, we stopped on a bridge that gave a marvelous view of the castle.

Darn foggy lens!

We stopped to take this picture on the short walk to the castle.  And, in case you're wondering, Malu never wears jackets unless it's super super cold out.

Awww.....BFFs together again.  I love my mom!

The castle door.

I thought my dad was standing up there when I took this picture.  We're almost entirely inside the castle.  They don't allow you to take pictures of the interior, but if you're curious, click on the link above.  They've got pictures.

Out of the castle and heading back down to the village to link up with our tour group.

Me and my mini-me.  A true sport the entire way through.  I think she enjoyed being a princess for the day :)

On the way down, we found these and fell in love.  We forgot the name of it when we got back to the tour bus, but I think they're called quarkbaellchen.  Whatever they were, we tried to find them here in Stuttgart after that day but to no avail.  I want some right now!

We met our group in a restaurant in the village.  Not this one, one further down the street.  I just wanted to take a picture of a typical Bavarian building (with murals and flowers).  And what a beautiful view of the castle in the background!

We all passed out on the way back to the hotel.  Well, not the entire way.  Our bus driver didn't think it was necessary to slow down on the way down the mountain and just about scared us silly.

When we returned to the hotel, we took Sina to the pool for the first time.  I'll never forget it!  Malu, mom and I went back and forth from the pool to the outdoor hot tub.  Relaxing!  And we closed the evening with dinner at the hotel.  We were too tired to go out into the town, where there was a beerfest going on!

Next...the Linderhof Palace near Oberammergau, Germany.  If you want to see more pictures from this trip, you're gonna have to go to my Facebook page.

Oh, Friday, I'm so ready for you!  Hope you all have been enjoying the week.

Vacay w/the Parentals: Day 1

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!

1-Year Appt & Some Firsts

Warning:  This post is picture-heavy and um...quite long.

I've been in a blogging funk lately; mostly because I'm still recuperating from my leave.  Although my parents' stay was AWESOME, those ten straight days of traveling just wore me out (and Sina as well).  I immediately returned to work and it compounded the fatigue.  I'm still exhausted.  But I digress.

Sina had her 12-month appointment yesterday.  Every time we enter the clinic, she knows she's in for something bad (i.e. shots).  It's so reminiscent of me taking Lucy into Pet Smart.  As soon as she enters the store, she takes a big whiff, turns around and makes a beeline for the door (and that's only because the first time I took her to Pet Smart the lady who clipped her nails, clipped them too far and gave her a bloody, sore paw).  As soon as we entered the clinic, it was complete silence and dread.  As soon as the doc reached out to touch Sina, she started screaming.  In the midst of her wailing, we got her stats:

Weight: 21 .32 pounds (50th percentile)

Length: 29.92 in (71st percentile)

Head Circumference: 18.11 in (73rd percentile)

The doctor says she is doing wonderfully in every aspect of her development, which is always great to hear.  Here are some other tidbits I'd like to mention for documentation purposes:

~Sina has transitioned to whole milk and did so without any problems.  Yay for no formula and not having to prep bottles anymore!

~Sina is now on the sippy cup, which still gets messy from time to time, but she's definitely getting the hang of it.  She primarily uses the sippy cup at school anyway.

~Sina moved to full-time daycare on the post we live on, which is AWESOME!  We got the slot while I was on leave.  You guys can't imagine how much easier it is to have her so close during the day.  We simply have to walk her to "school" on our way to work.  It's about a 10 minute walk there and about a five minute walk from her school to our office building.  Love it.  We can even visit her for lunch whenever we want!

~She's been walking for months now and gets faster every day.  She keeps us on her toes.

~Her vocabulary is increasing by the week. She now says grandma and grandpa. Both sound like "ta-ta".  Dinner is called "na-na".  Actually, dinner is all food.  So whenever she's hungry she says "na-na".  She says her name, Sina, as "tee-ta". She says it whenever she sees herself in the mirror.

~She has picked up waving to people and does it everywhere to anyone whether they are looking her way or not.  She even waves to things (i.e. trees).  It's so cute.  She had everyone in St. Peter's square in Rome entertained.

Now for some firsts....

First Swim

While in Garmisch-Partenkirschen, Germany, with my parents (there is an Armed Forces Resort, called the Edelweiss, there), we took Sina for her first swim.  She loved it, especially when daddy took her around the pool.  Thanks to Great-Grandma Lema and Great-Grandpa Jim for her cute bathing suit!

Here's Sina and Grandpa Mati getting ready to head to the pool.

As soon as she got in, she immediately started kicking and splashing around excitedly.  She loved it.

Malu was trying to get her under the fountain.  She was scared of it, but at least he enjoyed it.

Family fun!

Having a snack with Grandma Ruby at poolside.

First Haircut

Grandma Ruby was also around to witness Sina's very first haircut.  For months, Sina was sporting this tangled nest of curls on the back of her head.  No matter what I did, it was a dry and tangled mess.  I finally decided that we needed to chop it off.  We didn't want to take anything off the top, just the backside.

There isn't much that Sina does not like.  She thoroughly enjoyed her first time in a beauty salon.  She loves standing and looking at herself in the mirror, but had never been seated in front of one and in a cool chair and cape, no less.  As soon as she sat down, she started laughing at herself.  She turned her head from left to right just checking herself out.  It was hilarious.  Even the stylist got a kick out of it.

Making funny faces at herself :)

She was so excited, we practically had to pin her down to keep her still.

"Aw, why do you guys have to spoil my fun?"

I am so glad my mom was there to see it!

"I'm done, you guys!"

"My fresh new curls!"  No tangles :)

Next update and appointment will be at 18 months!  Holy cow, that'll be half way to your 2nd birthday!

We love you Vaiosina!

So, I owe you guys posts and pictures of our traveling adventures.  I promise to do it soon!

Happy Friday and have a fabulous weekend.