Deutschland!!!

We spent the past 11 days in Germany visiting Daddy Bear's family and I wanted to share it with you while we were there. I probably would have had the time but for some reason Blogger wasn't very efficient on the family's computer so now that we're home I'll tell you about our trip two or three days at a time.

We slept very little on the 8 hour airplane ride over, but we caught up in the first couple of days and adjusted fairly quickly to the 7 hour time difference.

Soooo sleep deprived we were as we faced our first day in Germany. After lunch at the house and an afternoon nap with Little Bear we started on our first of many outtings. We had dinner at a nice salad bar/buffet style of German restaurant and then explored the fountains and park found at the center of town. It was a beautiful start to our trip.

On Friday we headed to the military base where Oma teaches elementary school and went to the Commissary (for those who don't know, the grocery store found on all bases,) for diapers and a few groceries. We also visited Oma's classroom and saw her materials for teaching GERMAN Immersion schooling to 1st and 2nd graders. The students come into the class speaking only English and leave fully bilingual. Amazing program! Maybe that's what I should do! (I mean, attend her 1st grade class, not teach this myself!) The afternoon meant, of course, a nap for Little Bear, meanwhile Daddy Bear and Mama Bear went for a nice run through town to the nearby vineyards. B-E-A-Utiful! The sweet crisp 70 degree summer air was absolutely perfect weather for a run! That evening we ate a quick dinner, cleaned up and then drove to a Catholic Church in a town not too far away to celebrate Mass for the feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Although it was difficult for Little Bear to sit still that time of night, being held by his Oma and Opa made it bearable for him, and Daddy Bear whispered translations of the homily to Mama Bear so that she could enjoy herself as well.

Saturday brought a morning trip to a very old little town at the top of a hill where we visited some ruins from a castle. You will see that we visited a few castles during our time in Germany and if I'd had it my way we would've visited many more! The romantic in me loves the idea of knights and fair maidens once occupying these amazing structures! And there seems to be a castle in nearly every town in Germany!

Opa and Little Bear on the castle wall

Little Bear checks out the view from the top of the castle

We left the castle and had lunch at a quaint restaurant in the middle of the wooded hills and then headed back to the house for Little Bear's nap. After the nap, Daddy Bear, Little Bear, and Mama Bear headed back to the vineyards to show LB, who's never seen a grapevine, and more importantly, for him to see the model airplane park that's nesteled right in the middle. He appreciated the grapes,...

...but he LOVED watching the airplanes take off and land and zoom through the air.

Memories of my precious dad came flooding back to me as I watched these fathers and their children "pilot" their model planes. Every trick loop or roll brought me back to my childhood of watching my dad pilot his own numerous model airplanes and then the fulfillment of his dream to build and pilot his own REAL airplane! I sometimes find it difficult to remember details about my dad since I was only 14 when he died, but this was a moment where my memory of him was as vivid as ever and he was deeply missed. My sweet Little Bear would think him a hero!

We went back to the house and spent some time with Uromi (which means "great grandma" auf Deutsch). Little Bear had a great time playing with her while we were there. They got along GREAT despite the language difference!