Stapleton Ausflug

OK, so I know I officially made a post about this trip to southern Germany already, but we have some distinguished guests gracing us with their presence this year, and I'd like to convince them to do the cool things and not the not-as-cool things.   If I have a little time later, I will put details of everything and links to the websites and stuff so that the trip may be easily copied.  A good trip is worth a second try.

Füssen:

 Neuschwanstein:

 Tram up to Kreuzeckhaus:

 Hike to Höllental:

 Little hut on the way:

 Kreuzeckhaus where we stayed the night (awesome view of Alpspitze):

 Base of Alpspitze:

 Hike across base of peak:

 Partnachklamm:

Conversation with Aaron Age 3:
"You like oatmeal?"  (Aaron)
"Yeah"                     (Mom)
"And Timmy also?"
"Yeah"
"And honey also?"
"Yeah"
"Ha!  That's funny because honey doesn't has a mouf!"


"Bubbly diss mom!"  (He wants me to boil his hand warmers)

"I want to pway wiff cowered potatoes"  (colored potatoes are play dough)

Almost Home

We passed the 8 month mark this January, since our move here to Germany.   I have been realizing lately that I am starting to feel at home.   I remember when we moved to Michigan, and how it took about one year to feel like our home was Michigan, and not Utah anymore.

When we left there last year, we left a huge part of our hearts there, and felt very much, after living there for nearly 5 years, that we were leaving our home and family.  We still miss our family there!

After 8 months the feeling that Michigan is my home is still there, but fading, and Aachen is starting to become my home. When I have felt far from home, I have been remembering that even in Michigan it took me about a year.  We're getting there.  I know my way around pretty well now.  At least I don't get lost trying to drive around the area anymore.

I found this email to a friend today from 2011:

"I'm getting really nervous that I will have a hard time.  I think it's inevitable.  Currently, we are looking at moving to Aachen, Germany.  We've always wanted to live in Germany for a short time, but even so, I already know that it will be an adventure, in every sense of the word....including the hard parts!  The church is small there, and it is difficult to get friendly with people there.  My only hope is that I will meet some nice people....probably through preschool.  Right now, I think that is the only way I will meet other young families.  Maybe one or two families from church too.  We won't know for several months if that is where we are going, but I'm spending a LOT of time thinking about it....getting excited.....AND scared!"

Well, I was right to be scared.  It's been very hard, in some ways, but we have also been very blessed.  And it's also been a lot of fun!

My guess about the church being too small to have close friends was WAY off.  Despite the fact that we don't live next door, we are very close to our friends at church.  After living at Northwood, and having friends and neighbors at arms length, I could not imagine being close friends with people who lived further than....on my street. :)  But we are!

My assumption that people would be hard to get to know was also pretty "off."  People in Aachen have been very friendly.  I am lucky to have some really great friends and neighbors here, who have been unbelievably supportive and kind to us.  The kids teachers' at preschool are so great with them, and our co-workers have also been really friendly.

We are lucky to call Aachen "home!"

You know you're in Europe if...

...the local spa has the following announcement about the sauna and pool posted on their website :

Changed swimming costume day 

From June 2012 the swimming costume days are every Tuesday instead of every first and third Tuesday of the month. Thus, our guests can enjoy the facilities with swimwear more often.

Night Lights

A few fun things we've done lately.  Beginning of December, we opened up a new wing of the building at work.  The outside panels are made of a cool concrete panel that was first developed at our institute.  The concrete is poured in layers, and there are glass fibers in between the layers.  You can see on the left a picture of the panel with a flash.  This is how it looks in the day.  When it's dark and there is an LED panel behind the concrete, the fibers light up and look like the picture on the right.  For the grand opening, there were a few talks and some dinner, then they light up the panels to music.  It was pretty awesome!

Timmy was pretty into it.  He was rockin out with all his little might.  Future Disco King?  We can only hope.  W e   c a n   o n l y   h o p e.

Second cool thing was New Years.  Here, New years is the time of fireworks.  Everyone buys fireworks.  They can only be sold sometime between christmas and new years, and they are in practically every store.  And people can buy some pretty major fireworks at the store.  The thing that makes it cooler than 4th of July is that everyone lights them at the same moment.  It must be the same feeling as being in England during the Blitzkrieg, except with less destruction and cries of glee rather than the other types of cries.  I guess it's not really a good example, but you get the idea.

Since KTs parents needed to leave at 4am the next day, everyone was in bed but me.  Of course everyone woke up, but they weren't as excited about it as I was.  Awesome.  I got  this video like 10 minutes after midnight out our back window, so it was facing away from the city rather than in the city.  I'm sure it would have been much cooler in the city, but we didn't have a good view from our place.

I know in Utah the restrictions on the 4th are pretty huge because of all of the fires.  I asked what the situation is in Germany, and I got the feeling that it's too humid and cold for fires to be a problem, but dumb kids loosing fingers can be a problem.  What do we really need all ten for anyway?

Another funny thing about New Years in Germany: it seems to be everyone's moral obligation to wish you happy New Years.  It's weird, you'd think that by the 9th or 10th of January people would be over it and looking forward to the next holiday, but the Happy New Years wishes do not slow down.  I think that you get charged a fine for every individual who was within a 10 meter radius of you and was not the recipient of your well wishes for the new year.

While I'm on it, the same goes for lunch.  It cracks me up.  They have a greeting "Mahlzeit" that they are obliged to say between 11 and 2.  Mahlzeit means "mealtime" literally.  At some time, it was "have a good mealtime" or something like that, but the lazy modern man just says "mealtime".  It doesn't matter if your done eating, you haven't eaten yet, or you are in the act of eating, you will be told by anyone who happens to pass by that it is mealtime.  Being the rebellious convention-breaker that I am, I've been working on some more situationally-appropriate greetings.  If the individual is at a table drinking coffee, I wish them a good "Kaffeezeit" (Coffeetime).  If a few collegues are gathered and talking, "Sprechzeit" (talktime).  If, as is more often than not the case, someone is just sitting at the computer, than they get to enjoy the wonderfully appropriate greeting "Rechnerzeit" (computertime).

So, to you I wish a good "Blogzeit".