Fairfields in Germany: March 19- March 29 Sister A's visit and Easter Break Part 1

Sunday March 19

Took LY and E to the Hauptbahnhof to get the Schnellbus to the airport. So sorry to see them go, but so grateful for the time they took out of their busy lives to come stay with us and see a little of our life here in Germany!

Home again and then to bed to nurse my cold! I've been feeling crappy most of the week and kept medicating and going on with our activities, pretending not to feel as bad as I did. Bleh. Today I can finally give in to the desire to just stay in bed! Plus VM lent me her copy of Downton Abbey so I have veg-out material! A pot of tea and box of kleenex and I'm set to escape my misery for a little while...

Monday March 18

Back to normal? Took GE to Kindergarten, big girls went to school, got my groceries and then decided I was feeling well enough to go for a short run. It's sunny and mild (go figure!!). I haven't been running nearly as much as I'd like between visitors and injury and illness, especially with the 1/2 marathon in 3 weeks! So, working back into it slowly so I don't injure myself again.

An otherwise "normal" day: kids came home, ate lunch, did their homework, went to their afternoon activities (MK to tutoring, ME to Irish dance), catching up on laundry and household (the blog!), and so forth. HR and GE played happily together after GE came home from Kindergarten--while E was here, she slept on ME's bed, ME in GE's bed, and GE in the middle between Mommy and Daddy. Now ME has asked GE to swap beds with her so she can sleep by herself. GE was tickled that she gets to cuddle (kushel!) with HR at bedtime! I love that my kids generally get along. Such a blessing.

Tuesday March 19

A quiet morning. The weather has turned to yuck again. Must remember to cherish the sunny days! But at least it's not snow again!

After Kindergarten GE's friend, K, came over to play again. ME was at her friend Y's house for the afternoon, MK has her long day, so it was just GE, HR, and K playing at our place.

After the kids were tucked into bed, J and I grabbed a bus to the Kino and went to see "Hansel and Gretel". A thoroughly trashy, entertaining fantasy-horror romp in 3D. Wouldn't recommend it further, but we had fun!

Wednesday March 20

Had Kaffee with my friend SL. We hadn't had a chance to get together since I took my sister RG there in February! She had been sick, I had visitors, then was sick myself, so we were happy to finally have a couple of hours to catch up and "quatsch" together again. In the afternoon I had tea with my Scottish neighbor, RP, while the little girls played with her boys. We hadn't had much time to talk lately either. A good day of rejuvenating conversation with my friends... In the evening I went to running group. It's raining again.

Thursday March 21

Cleaned the apartment (sister AG is coming tomorrow!) in the a.m. The girls had been wanting to see a particular movie that was opening, Ostwind. I thought it looked fun and it was rated G, so I suggested we all go to the 5 p.m. showing. ME had already made plans for a friend to come over so we invited her to come along (her response according to her mother: "Sie freut sich ein Loch in den Bauch!" Which literally means "She's so happy it's making a hole in her stomach!" and apparently this is an idiom for being ecstatic!). HR was supposed to go to a friends' house down the street, so we invited her to come too. So at 4:30, I took my crowd of little girls (my 4 plus the 2 friends) on the bus to the movie theater. I'd purchased a row of tickets ahead of time and packed some munchables and water. Everyone loved the movie (including me!) and we all cried at the end when we thought the horse was lost and then when he escaped and came home we cried again.

Friday March 22

This morning my oldest sister, AG and her son KH arrived! ME skipped school to ride the bus with me to the airport and meet them. Their travels went smoothly, so we didn't have to wait long. Picked up our rental car for our 2 week Easter break vacation while we were there. While they showered and napped after lunch I got some groceries with the car and picked up GE from Kindergarten. Then we all walked to the Klufterplatz for Eis! For dinner we all headed over to our friend's house, the D's, for some home-made pizza.

Saturday March 23

AG and I rode bikes to the bakery and picked up fresh Brötchen for breakfast. Then we went to my Laufengruppe! I'd tried to get my other sisters to come along, but for various reasons it never quite worked out until now. AG joined in with the circuit training and then we did a short run. Showers and some snacks then we headed into Bonn for lunch at a typical Deutsch restaurant, Im Südhaus, in the pedestrian zone.

Then we went over to the Beethoven Haus museum and went through that with the kids (hadn't been there since our vacation to Germany 3.5 years ago). We poked around the shops in the pedestrian zone a bit before heading home again for supper.

Sunday March 24

Burg Eltz! We hit the road as early as we could, wanting to get there in the morning so we could take our time once we were there (plus I was anxious to be able to get home early enough in the afternoon to pack for our 2 week vacation starting tomorrow). I'd stumbled onto a website mentioning Burg Eltz as a place to visit and boy, am I glad I did! Probably my favorite castle/palace I've ever visited--even more stunning than some of the chateaus in France. Partly it's the setting--couldn't get more fairytale-like than this!--and partly the history (has been in the same family for 700 years!). We walked the 10-15 min walk through the woods from the parking area. You can't see it until you round a bend near the end of the walk and then all of a sudden it's there, towering over of the creek (Elz) valley! Oh so cool. We got the English tour and then shopped in the store for some souvenirs. Our plan had been to eat lunch there but the seating was all outside and it was too cold, so we drove to the next town and found a Greek restaurant where we ate in comfort before our 1 hour drive home. Then packing and relaxing...

Taking the path through the woods from the parking area to the Burg. We thought we should be going uphill but instead it went down...

HR climbing on some rocks in the woods as we neared the castle.

(Photo credit to ME)

The large Elz creek below the path (the creek wound about like a snake in the valley below),

Then suddenly around a corner: this!

Waiting in the inner courtyard for the tour to start. Here are the 2 family crests because the family estate was divided between two and then 3 branches of the family Eltz. Each family then built their own homes within the castle creating the one we see today. There are some common rooms. One is particularly interesting: the Council Room where the families met to discuss business or disputes. What was said within the room could not be repeated outside and no weapons were allowed inside. The castle even had running water (rain water from the roofs funneled into the bathrooms and pulls for "flushing" the toilets!). Quite modern for its time.

Monday March 25

AG and I got up early to go for a quick run. The sun is already lighting the sky at 6 a.m. these days (but this weekend the time "springs" forward for Daylight Savings and it will be dark again). I took her along my favorite back street in Friesdorf and then along the woods towards Dottendorf. After quick showers and a light breakfast we loaded up the rental van (a VW Caddy with lots of cargo space this time. What luck!) and hit the road for the little village of Berndorf near Korbach. My mother spent a year in Germany as an exchange student between graduating from high school and entering college. She lived with a family and went to the 13th year of high school. This family, the B's, became her “German Family” and she maintains close contact with her German “sister” and “brother”. They were gathering, along with the brother's children and grandchildren for this week before Easter and we are joining them for a few days. Since the house is full with their children, etc., we got rooms at the Jugendherberge in Korbach.

The drive took about 2.5 hours. Kids did great. It was sunny (but COLD) and we had little traffic, so made good time, arriving about 11:15. After visiting a bit, we sat up to a lovely light soup and bread lunch. After lunch we went to the Jugendherberge, checked in, took our things to our rooms, made the beds, then headed out with the kids to an indoor adventure land, “La Le Lu,” similar to Piratenland in Bonn, where we met up with the extended B family again. The activities there, however, were geared more for older children (bungie-jumping, rope “jungle”), but also had plenty for the little kids to do too. Perfect for the afternoon after spending the morning in the car! We stayed for a couple of hours, letting the kids get lots of movement and exercise, before heading back to their home for Kaffee und Kuchen. We spent the rest of the late afternoon visiting, playing games, kids coloring, etc., then enjoyed a traditional Abendbrot. After dinner, back to the Jugendherberge and then to bed!

HR climbing the "volcano" to the giant slide.

MK and my nephew KH getting hooked up for the Rope Jungle.

GE (first one down the slide in pink) and HR (further behind) on the bumpy slide.

ME on the Rope Jungle.

This freaked her out more than she thought it would. Mostly because the rope attached to her harness wasn't actually taut, so it really does feel like you're doing the balancing without any help!

It's a long way down!

My nephew KH, back flip on the bungee jump.

ME practicing her back flips!

Can you see the joy despite the blur?! GE wanted to do this too, but she was 1 kg too light. She cried and cried.

My "cousin" M with son P. Her aunt, my "Tante" H to the right.

Baby M

My "cousin" M's son P, 2 years.

My "cousin" M's eldest daughter.

My sister AG, her son KH, and GE looking at pictures from when my sister lived with them in Germany for part of a summer (I think that's right).

My "cousin" M and her little guy, M, 9 months.

My German "cousin" M's son (there are 2 children of my mom's "brother": a daughter M and a son A. The daughter has 4 children, 2 teenagers and 2 little ones. The son has 2 sons.)

Abendbrot fixings! The bread's not out yet...

Tuesday March 26 (J's 39^th birthday but he's still in Bonn working today and will join us by train tomorrow morning.)

We slept “late” (as in 7:30 rather than 6:30), got up and ready for a leisurely breakfast at the Jugendherberge: fresh (still warm!!) Brötchen and whole grain bread, jams & Nutella, cereals, fresh fruits, tea and coffee, yogurt, meats and cheeses! Around 10, HB (my mom's German “sister”) met us downstairs and we all walked into the Altstadt of Korbach. A beautiful little town with many parts of the old stone wall (the city is more than 1000 years old!) still intact and many many Fachwerk houses maintained in wonderful condition. Some of the houses even shared a rear wall with the city's wall! We went shopping for some souvenirs and gifts for my sister's family and to give to our next hosts: our former exchange student's family. It was sunny but quite cold.

Outside the Jugendherberge (DJH) in Korbach.

The old Fachwerk building next to the DJH.

A close-up of the building above: "Gebawet 1606" (built 1606)

Part of the old city wall with a house built right in!! Imagine your house having a thick stone wall as it's back!

The square next to the Rathaus. Beautiful old buildings!!

The crooked church steeple in the background! (My "Tante" HB in the foreground.)

The girls found a sculpture. ME found the puppies in the man's pocket. Is he a hunter? A shepherd?

Another gorgeous crooked old house.

Written above the main door: "Diderich Kappel and Elisabet his married wife have trusted God and built this house, year 1693 the 30th of May. All who know me, those should God give what they would wish me to have."

"God give all those who know us even more than what they wish for us." (I think that's about the closest translation I can figure out.)

Playing back in the DJH room while we relax before going to meet the others at the Wildtier Park.

View from the DJH.

Another view towards the city wall.

The rest of the day's plan: to meet for lunch at a Wildtier Park (wild animal park) on the Edersee (a dammed lake about 30 minutes away), then go to watch the Greifvogel (birds of prey) show at 3 p.m. (in between checking out the different species of Hirsch, foxes and wolves, lynx, and other wild animals). The children played a bit on the playground after a light lunch in the restaurant and then we walked to the bird show.

My sister AG and our "cousin" M.

My sister and our "Tante"

All of us together!

The cousins negotiating a game on the playground.

Feeding the Hirsch.

This was taken before the bird show when she got cold! After that, she was not nearly as cheerful.

The show took place at the edge of a peak overlooking the lake and here the wind was blowing quite fiercely! We had stayed warm before, playing in the sun, and walking around, but here we were sitting and the wind was so chilling that the little kids were quite miserable by the time it was over. We tromped bravely on to the warm shelter of the welcome center and let the kids warm themselves up again before heading back to the cars and on to B's home in Berndorf for another round of Kaffee und Kuchen (this time the B's son, A, was there with his wife and 2 little boys).

Trying to stay warm while waiting for the show to start.

Getting to pet the owl after the show.

The kind of the show! A Bald Eagle.

A rousing game of UNO with all the "cousins" thrown together.

Visiting with our "cousin" A and his wife.

The whole family! My "Tante" HB front right, her brother my "Onkel" GB and his wife EB. Back row, right to left: me, AB's wife and AB, M's husband H, M and my sister AG.

We ate a late supper of Wursts, Kartoffelsalat, Pastasalat, pickles, and bread. At 8 p.m. we said our good-byes and packed the kids into the van...

Wednesday March 27

A and I got up early for one more run together, a zig-zag through downtown Korbach, then got our kids up and rooms cleaned up, etc. before enjoying one more lovely breakfast together at the Jugendherberge (this time there were chocolate croissants too!!). At 9:15 HB picked up A and my nephew, K, to go to a train station in another town so she could take the train to visit her friend from graduate school. I saw her off and said final good-byes to HB and her brother, GB, then tromped back up to our room to finish getting our things together. The girls helped me carry everything out to the van and then we headed into Korbach again for a little window shopping before picking J up from the train station at 11:15. Luckily his trains were all on time (he had 3 different ones) and his last train arrived in Korbach a few minutes earlier than expected, so we were on the road shortly after. The sun was shining again (still freezing cold though!) and we made good time, arriving about 3 p.m. in Isenbüttel, stopping only for a light snack-style lunch and some bio-breaks. Our former exchange student, JS, and her family greeted us warmly and ushered us in for another gorgeous Kuchen spread! (Oh dear, thank goodness I'm running and doing my strength circuits almost everyday or I might not be able to fit into my pants much longer!) We so enjoyed having JS live with us 2 years ago and it's incredibly fun to be here and see where she's from, meet and get to know her parents (M & A) and sister (A), and so forth. I've been looking forward to this all year. MK and ME picked up right where they left off with their “big sister” and are sleeping there while J and I and the little girls are at a nearby Pension, MeyersHofcafe & Pension. They've planned some lovely outings for us...

J with our former exchange student's dad, AS.

A game with J (on the right with HR) and her sister A.

Thurday March 28

Got up early for a run (that 1/2 marathon is just around the corner!). At first I thought it wasn't terribly cold, until I turned around to head back and realized I'd had the wind at my back the whole time! Brrr! It snowed the whole time...

The S family took us to Braunschweig where we met a tour guide for a walk through the downtown and Altstadt areas. Lots of interesting stuff! ME recognized a fun house design as being one from an artistic that her class studied last fall (the 4th graders all designed their St. Martin lanterns to look like this architect's buildings!). We ate lunch at a Pizzeria and then went to the Schloss that's been turned into a shopping mall for a little shopping with the girls.

Meeting our tour-guide, Fr. Z (left)

ME with the Happy Rizzi-Haus in the background.

Our tour-guide telling us about the Rizzi-Haus. J and her mom M.

Entering the Magniviertel, a remainder of ancient Braunschweig, lined with cobblestoned streets, little shops and cafés, centred around the 13th-century Magnikirche (St Magnus' Church).

Snow: way more interesting than a tour-guide!

The Rathaus.

Looking at the claw marks in the door frame--legend says that when Henry the Lion died and was laid to rest in the church, the lion wanted in to its master and clawed at the door frame to be let in.

The replica of the Brunswick Lion in the plaza. The original is in the museum (we went in to see that too--up close you can see that the artist had never seen a lion before! It has a pig nose and human shaped ears!)

No real signs of spring here, but these were awfully cute!

When we got home we had Kaffee und Kuchen and then J's mom and I went to the store for groceries. She wanted me to make a salad for the Abendbrot meal since she has read my blog with interest and seen all my fancy salads! After supper J took the kids back to our Pension and I stayed to hang out with J and her mom, watching T.V. and "quatsching".

Fixing the salad for the Abendbrot. Added sheep's feta, cherry tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Friday March 29

HR is 7 years old today! MS decorated her spot at the breakfast table with 7 LED candles, a birthday hat, balloons and streamers. She even got a little mini cake with 7 candles on it to blow out. She opened the presents from her sisters and then we ate a leisurely breakfast.

Oops, they started again! Magic candles...

Happy Birthday my little HR!

Our outing for the day: the VW Autostadt--a combination work center, factory, car store, and museum. We even ate a fabulous lunch from one of their cantinas!

AS works for VW. Our former exchange student, JS, will start a practical "Ausbildung" (apprenticeship) there this summer.

JS and her sister A.

This was ME's favorite car--and then she read: it wasn't even ever driven!

ME has been quite busy with the camera I got--far more interested in using it than MK.

Our birthday girl!

She's also our "model" and loves to pose...

In another building people could get into the different VW models. The kids thought this was the BEST form of playground. Even the radios worked!

After lunch the kids got their "drivers licenses" before we headed home.

At this exhibit the kids could design their own car and print it out.

Back to their home for Kaffee und Kuchen (this time a Marmor Kuchen for HR's birthday that JS's grandma had baked). AS's parents (JS's grandparents) arrived later and joined us for Abendbrot.