First day of school

Today is the first day of school. Brian's sweatshirt indicates it is a bit cool for August, but everyone is very relaxed and happy for this second year at MIS.

Welcome home

Coming back to Germany was quite interesting. Everyone seemed to have some level of mixed emotions returning to Munich after seeing so many people over the summer. Daph and I enjoyed thinking back to our first hours and days here last year and how amazingly clueless we were. (We couldn't count to 10 in German - now at least I can).

Watching the kids closely for problems, we found none. Julia announced she liked her Munich school better than the NJ school and looked forward to seeing 'friends'. David later remarked that he likes German food better than American food and he couldn't wait to have a "real schnitzel". Brian was a bit more reserved but said it was good to be home.

Daph and I discussed things we missed from the US (friends and family, space for the kids to play out of earshot, a yard, large capacity washer/dryer) and things we enjoyed coming back to here (nice new friends, a family-centric lifestyle, "real sausage", the feeling of adventure and travel for the kids).

In discussing the blog, I said maybe it was time to call it a year but Daph wanted to keep it up for our memory. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as Daphne and I do.

PS - George came back from the vet with a cut on his nose and an ear infection. The kennel claims he had a great time but he did need to go to the vet for a visit. Poor George. The upside - he was delighted to see Julia and the family. Alles gut.

Back to business in Germany

Our first weekend back, we decided it would be great to get back to the mountains. In spite of cloudy weather forecasts and Wii obsessed children, we aimed to visit the mountains of Berchtesgaden and Obersalzberg. Obersalzberg was also known as Hitler's Eagle Nest on top of the mountains.
We never made it.
After a huge traffic delay and load of clouds, we decided to stop along the way at Germany's largest lake, Chiemsee.

The lake is outstanding with many sail boats and an island in the middle. King Ludwig II built a huge palace on the larger island in 1878 in the style of the palace of Versailles. There is an old steam locomotive that still is operated by the Deutsche Bahn that serves the town.

Daph packed a lunch and the sun came out for 30 minutes for us to enjoy the lake.
Daphne has really adapted. Each time we go out (to a biergarden, park, hike) she notices what the locals bring/pack/prepare and then hunts it down. Here, you see she not only packed lunch but brought a huge blanket that folds into a handbag. She's often seen carrying her backpack full of useful tools/food/clothing.
The kids found some mini-golf and were able to keep up their summer tradition.

Back in the saddle again. The towering peaks of the Eagle's nest and the salt mine tour of the area (right near Salzburg) will have to wait until another day.

Summer fun

Well.. we are back. Daphne and the kids finished their adventure all across the USA
and had plenty of fun traveling, going to the beach, and especially visiting friends and family.

Here are some pictures.

Munich versus Germany

Munich is a very clean and pretty city. One complaint in Germany is that Munich has more money than many other regions. I don't know if this is true, but I will say, they love to beautify their city. Here is a large statue undergoing a major renovation outside of my office. They erected a protective cover while work is going on for several weeks. If you look closely, they still paid to plant hundreds of flowers around the base of the work site to keep the city beautiful.

It's nice in my opinion.

The circle closes...

August 9th last year we left the USA for a new adventure in Bavaria.
Today marks the end of one chapter with Daph and the kids heading back for a short summer visit.

When I dropped them off at the airport, Daphne and I couldn't believe it has been a year here in Germany. When the kids come back in 4 weeks, they will begin school again just as we did in 2009.

You can see from the pictures that they were in good spirits and looking forward to some familiar sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of their previous life. (you can also see my wife purchased a 7Euro bottle of courage before the flight.)
My wife is becoming more sentimental as well. She took the kids to the pizza place across the street from our apartment for lunch before I drove everyone to the airport. This is the same place we went for lunch when arriving on day one last year. She wanted to bookend her year in Germany. She's come a long way. We all have.

It's been fun sharing this roller coaster of a year - but it's been more fun to live it. All the while, our family getting closer and learning about what's important.

Czech it out...

4th in the Prague!

We spent the 4th of July weekend in Prague, Czech Republic. Prague offers us many things: close via car at only 3.5 hours, very English friendly, wonderful local beer, and many,, many great tourist sites dating back 1200 years. Some of the small downsides: no Euro accepted, Germany was playing in the world cup during the weekend.

Daphne was really looking forward to this trip and arranged most of the weekend. The kids were not impressed until they learned the hotel had a pool. Youth.
Daph hired a personal tour guide for the first day who walked us around the city and showed us most of the sites and provided historical context. She helped us with architecture, history, religious topics, recent history... everything.
When visiting the largest castle in the world (by some measures) we learned about the Catholic bishops being thrown out the window to begin the bloody 30 year wars in Europe. We also learned about Prague being the capital of the Holy Roman Empire when some pretty bad things were done by the Catholics. We went to the Jewish Ghetto to see where the 110,000 Jews did not survive 1945 and the Nazis.
The kids were having some trouble with all this. The guide then mentioned that only 5% of the population goes to church regularly and the population is the largest atheist population in Europe. Julia said she understood.


As usual - our gang had their own interpretation. Julia was happy that they had "American Malls" with 200 stores in one huge building. Dave liked learning that the king would come to church in his pajamas. Brian liked the pool. 4 swims in a 2 night stay.
We even did the changing of the guard at the castle and took our picture with the guard. Somehow, powder blue is not threatening.
Great trip.