Time is almost up!

Just a few more weeks till we go home.

Now that we are well into July we have to earnestly prepare to go back to Virginia. The last few weeks have been full of graduations, parties and good-byes. On July 2, our youngest son's friends threw him a small party for his birthday and gave him a really cool remote control helicopter.

The next day I went on a walking tour of Münster led by someone from the Uni who studies German women's history. One interesting tidbit was the fact that a couple of hundred years ago one of the churches here in Münster unwittingly performed the first same-sex wedding.  Of course as soon as the couple was found out, he was burned to death and she was cast out of society, never to be heard from again.

As we were walking, we came across this tree which had Red Bulls tied to it, supplied by the student organization - would you guess that we are in the final weeks of school?

A few days later we travelled to back to Hannover to see the graduation of one of our exchange daughters. It was our last trip to Hannover and we were sad to say good bye to our friends there that have been instrumental in making our time here so wonderful.

We also finally made it to the Münster Zoo. We have had tickets all year, but wanted to wait till we had a nice day to use them. Since we ran out of time, we just had to use them and hope we were not rained on (we were, but not too much).

One of the restaurants had "American" style hot dog which included mustard, ketchup, French fried onions, lettuce, and pickles.

One of the many playgrounds at the zoo had this really tall slide.

We also found this awesome swing that swings like a dragon.

In one of the bird areas you could walk inside and feed the birds.

Even though we are in the middle of July, the temperature is in the 60's and it has been raining. We saw this wolf huddled against a fence.

The zoo is very proud of their dolphins. It is amazing how many animals this zoo has even though Münster itself is not a big city.

I am not exactly sure what this playground attraction is, but my son sure had a great time!

We have seen this style of swing a few times - fun for kids of all ages! 

We have created a life for ourselves here that we are really going to miss. Next week we'll take a trip to Norway via the ferry, then back home for a few days before we leave for our other home.

Quick Visit in Barcelona

Barcelona

Russell wrote a paper that was accepted at a conference in Barcelona. We figured that we should take this opportunity for all of us to see another part of Europe. Even though the boys would miss several days of school, we thought it would be worth it since we don't know when another chance will come along.

We arrived very early in the morning and decided to walk around for a while since we couldn't check in for several hours.

We took a bus from the airport to the central area of the city and then walked down to the harbor. We walked along the dock for a bit and then found what we were looking for.

Before going to Barcelona, I searched for things to do with kids. One thing I had in mind was the the aquarium. Many smaller tanks are spread out through the building, but the most impressive part is the moving walkway that takes you through a glass tunnel where the sea life swims all around you.

After the aquarium we stared to make out way to the hotel when we came across this art installation. Can you guess the artist?  

Roy Lichtenstein

In Germany, we always pack water with us when we go somewhere because there are almost never drinking fountains. Do you see that statue of the women holding up the lovely roof? That is actually a drinking fountain.

One of the most famous sights to see in Barcelona is Sagrada Familia. This was Gaudi's life work. He never expected to finish it in his lifetime supposedly saying that his client had all the time in the world. He started working on the Project in 1883, and it is still covered in scaffolding. The funding comes from private donation.

We would have liked to go inside, but the lines were incredibly long. We did walk all the way around it, even running across a stage where groups of dancers performed traditional dances.

Our next stop was Park Guell.  The park was pretty crowded as well, but it is so large that we could always look at something interesting. Barcelona starts at the sea and then goes up to the mountains. The park is situated in a part of the city that starts rising to the mountains. We were able to see all the way to the Mediterranean.

Art fills the park alongside nature

Hungry for some lunch, we made our way down the hill and came across this Busker.

And then we had lunch! Paella!

The next day the Russell was busy so we were on our own for the morning and afternoon. We stopped in Sarria-Sant Gervasi, a part of Barcelona know for its sweet shops.

We stopped in a lovely church we saw. 

Finally, it was time to head back to our hotel. I had been searching in vain for spanish hot chocolate. None of the cafes we ate in had it. We stopped in a coffee shop around the corner from hotel and finally found some. It was so good - almost like pudding. We went back the next day - and they were had none left!

The next day we went to Barcelona's science museum, CosmoCaxia. I was not sure what we were in for.The entry cost was only 8 Euros for the whole family, so I was a little nervous that it would be lame. 

I was completely wrong. If you ever have the chance to go to Barcelona, do not miss this museum.  We walked through it for 6 hours and never ran out of things to do. 

Now it is time to plan out next adventure!

Visitors and Visiting: Münster and Köln(Cologne)

Finally, Visitors!

Our time in Germany is starting to wind down, so we have been trying to make the most of our last few weeks. A few family members and a very good friend have been able to come and visit us. It was fun to show our friends/family around our little bit of Germany.

Another good thing about visitors is that you are more inclined to go on outings. We finally made it to Cologne (Köln)!  Love Locks are something we have seen in various places in Germany, but Cologne is famous for them. The lock tradition is relatively new in Cologne (less than 10 years). There is a bridge that crosses the Rhine. Safety panels, like the one below, are completely covered with locks almost the entire length of the bridge.

Directly next to the train station in Cologne is the Cologne Cathedral. It reminded me very much of Notre Dame in Paris. We were in Cologne for on a religious holiday, so services were taking place. We happened to be in the square when a service let out and were able to see an impressive procession.

For a relatively small fee, you could climb the spiral steps to the top of the tower to see a bird's eye view of the city.

By taking a small detour, you could visit the bell tower, complete with gigantic bells. 

We were able to sneak in to the back of the cathedral, but they wouldn't let anyone go to the front unless they were attending the service. It is hard to appreciate how huge this Cathedral is.

Ice cream Break!

After spending a bit of time looking at Museum Ludwig, we were ready for a bit of a rest. Museum Ludwig is a fantastic modern art museum with the largest collection of Picassos in Europe.

Remember the story of the shoemaker and the elves?  Well, in Cologne those elves are called Heinzelmännchen, and they also helped finish the Cologne Cathedral. The Heinzelmännchen are especially beloved in Cologne and even have their own monument that you can see part of below.

Below, those talented elves are making sausage from scratch.

I have mentioned before that memorials of the war are sprinkled everywhere. Often, a building is left in its bombed out state while all of the buildings around it are rebuilt. This sign is in an old church. It translates to, "Waiting for the prisoners to come home".

Here is the interior, bombed out and not restored.

By the time we finished looking at the church it was time to make our way back to the train station. We stopped for just a moment at this water play feature.

The next night, some friends of ours had invited us to share a special dinner. After dropping our nephew off at the train station for his trip to Berlin, we hopped on a bus to meet our friends.

Our friends wanted to share the springtime tradition of eating Spargel (Asparagus)! Spargle is something the Germans look forward to with great anticipation. The typical way of eating Spargle is covered with hollandaise sauce and served with potatoes and a delicious smoked ham. Spargel is white rather than green. To get Spargel to be white, they cover the asparagus shoots with earth so that they don't get any sun. We also learned that there are certain farms that are better than others, and that to get the best taste, they first boil the peels, then use that water to boiled the peeled Spargel. This was so fantastic.

Be jealous! Of course, where you live it is probably warm and you can see the sun!

Günzburg and Legoland Germany

Legoland

A few months ago we asked our kids where they would go if they could go anywhere in Europe. I thought they night say "Paris" or "London". What was their answer? 

Legoland.

We looked at school and work schedules and found a few days where no one had to work or go to school. I booked the hotel, bought the train tickets and tickets to Legoland and then....

I said nothing.

A few days before our trip we told the boys we were going on a surprise trip. It wasn't until we stepped off the train (Minus one ipod touch to the great dismay of one boy) that the boys realized we were in Legoland territory.

Legoland is about 10 minutes outside of a beautiful town in Bavaria called Günzburg.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, as well as a holiday (Pentecost), so almost everything was closed. Of course, you can always find an ice cream cafe.

After a long day in several trains we relished to 2 kilometer walk to our hotel, the Hotel Goldener Löwe   (Golden Lion Hotel).

The next morning we caught the shuttle to Lego Land!

Here is a Do-It-Yourself ride where you have to help to pull yourself up and let yourself drift down.

Lego Adventureland was full of interesting creatures.

There was even a magic show. Again we were reminded of how tight laced we Americans can be. One bit of the show involved one of the magicians pulling down his pants because one of the women in the audience clapped a little too hard when he took off his vest. The magician below is about to throw his hat behind a table and pretend to put out the fine  - with his built in fire extinguisher. Really. Complete with a huge cloud of steam .... then for the finale, placing the extinguished hat on the head of an audience member.

Somehow, Lego Land imported the lost, sunken city of Atlantis, complete with sea life! 

The whole central area of the park is devoted to famous cities and sites made entirely out of legos. Everything is miniature, down to (live)trees and (blooming)flowers

Very popular with my boys was the Star wars section - again, completely made out of Legos.

This innocuous-looking ride seemed like it would be a relaxing end to our day. A little Lego train that goes in a circle. Kiddy ride, right?  Except that this train only travels at warp speed, mercilessly compressing your organs and the person next to you. And just when you think the misery is almost over it begins again, but this time it goes backwards.

Luckily, we were not rushing to the next restroom, but we did find the sign amusing.

Time to go, and on our way out we notice this Lego statue that we missed on our way in. This doesn't seem like something the owners of Legoland would joke about.

Back in Guunzburg we were ready to look for a place to eat dinner. We ran across this pair of Kiepenkerle.  These are people who wander city to city, generally by foot, doing odd jobs to make ends meet. We notice them occasionally, especially since there is a famous statue of a Kiepenkerl here in Münster. Their clothes are a type of uniform and the cane goes along with the job as well.

As we walked to the old part of the city, we took a detour to the Frauenkirche. Russell said it was supposed to be worth seeing. As we approached the church I must say I had my doubts as it was very plain on the outside. As soon as we stepped inside even my jaded children were awed.

If you ever go to Günzburg you must see this - you will not regret it.

We found a lovely German/Greek restaurant close enough to a fountain that we could finish our meal in peace as the boys played.

Walking back to our hotel, we saw this bewitching museum. Besenwelten - Broom World. Sadly, it is only open on Fridays.

We were almost back at the hotel when just happened to read a plaque we noticed on a church. (By the way, this church is only about 200 feet from our hotel and has a bell that rings every fifteen minutes, and ALL NIGHT LONG. Of course if the weather is cool, you can just keep the windows closed.)

In any case, this was one of those moments when history stares you down. The text says, "Zum Gedenken an den Fliegerangriff an 12.9.1944 auf Denzingen".

In English is means, "In remembrance of the bombing of Denzingen on September 12, 1944". There are reminders all around of the impact the wars had on the people who lied here. This one was especially sad because Denzingen is just a little farming dorf out in the middle of nowhere, but there was apparently a munitions train parked at Günzburg train station that made the area a target. For something that happened so long ago, tension still lies just under the skin of those who live here.