Germany.

One month ago today I arrived in Germany. I had no idea what to expect about life here. I think I showed up pretty naive about how life would be over here. Living in Europe: it would be glamorous and full of expensive shopping trips and travelling from country and country and in between those trips I would sip hot cocoa with my new best friends in a cozy cottage in the mountains ... right!? Okay, maybe that image is a little far fetched, but, I always imagined life in Europe to be more than normal life ... if that makes sense. A little extra spunk. But, in reality, it's just like any other ordinary life ... I just wake up to church bells and green German hills instead of the cow next door and the Wasatch mountains. 

When I first got here, I will be honest with you, my first two weeks were hell. I was exhausted. Even though we were sleeping normal German hours, I don't think our bodies had caught up to the 8 hour difference. Me + lack of sleep = horrible (horrible) combination. Plus, Brad was gone all the time. Okay, yeah he has a job right? But, welcome to Army life because your husband is going to leave at 4:45 every morning and won't get home until 6:00, if you're lucky. Talk about a shock of reality. I just wanted to spend time with my husband, and I couldn't even do that. Then ... we didn't have a second car for me. (and the car we did have was stick shift and well ... my learning curve for that skill is pretty pathetic.) I sat at home, stir crazy, with an equally stir crazy little 5 year old and we drove each other to our insanity, or close to it. We tried to do things within walking distance but, the swimming pool and the park and the markets can only be visited every so often. On top of all of that, I was missing my friends in the states. I didn't know anybody here yet and if I had met them, I didn't feel like I could impose on them to entertain me on my horrible days. I was missing my close knit group of friends in Utah. The ones I called family. AND ... as petty as it sounds, I didn't have all of my stuff that I shipped over (ie: clothes, kitchen stuff, "comfort" items) and I wasn't feeling complete. I felt off. I don't think I had very many good moments in those first two weeks. I was pretty miserable. 

But ... then, we got adjusted to the time difference. We bought a new car for my sanity. I got somewhat accustomed to my husband working 13-14 hour days. Kason and I found different ways to entertain ourselves. I was blessed with a couple friends that I would feel comfortable imposing upon ... even if they don't want me to! My stuff from home showed up (only 3 weeks late!) and things just seemed to have a way of working themselves out. Funny how that happens ... 

So, now, I live in Germany. 

And I am okay with it. I don't hate it here anymore. I'm not miserable. In fact, I love it. I love the opportunities I have been given. I love the different culture. I love the change in scenery. Yeah, I still miss things back home. Like my family & friends ... REAL Mexican food ... Target ... stores that are open past 7:00 and air conditioning but, I wouldn't change this experience for the world. 

It's funny how a month can feel like forever. I feel like this is what I have always been doing with my life. I have always been an Army wife. I have always lived in Germany. I have always had to adjust over and over and over again. But, perhaps that phenomenon is the Lord's way of telling me that I am exactly where I need to be. Perhaps He wants me to realize that He wouldn't have placed me in any other situation if He didn't know that I could adjust and be okay with this new life. And for that I am grateful. Because I wouldn't have adjusted without His help. I wouldn't have gotten here without Him.

He blessed me with my new friends.
He blessed us to be able to have 2nd car.

He somehow managed to fight the postal system and get my packages here.  

He blessed me with an amazing son.

He blessed us with a wonderful, stable job for my husband.
And SO much more! 

So, yes ...

I live in Europe.
Reality is, I'm not shopping in Paris every weekend and I don't drink hot cocoa in the Alps but, I'm okay with that. Because this is my life, and it's a beautiful life. 

Legoland

Friday after leaving Nuremberg we drove down to a little town called Burgau which is just 15 minutes from Gunzburg. In Gunzburg there is ...

LEGOLAND!

We wanted to surprise Kason by taking him there so we didn't tell him what we were doing down there. We stayed at the Hotel Pension Futterknecht Friday night and it was adorable. The breakfast the next morning was delicious. I think we are going to have a hard time adjusting back to American breakfast's in the states! 

This is our hotel front. Isn't it adorable? It was perfect for being in the German countryside. I love the old dresser with the flowers planted inside. So charming! 

This hotel was great, we had our own balcony and they catered to families with young kids BIG time. They had this little playground plus other little things to make it more convenient to travel with kids. SO stinkin' nice! 

On the way to Legoland we had Kason cover his eyes so we could surprise him. We carried him to the front entrance and then told him he could open his eyes. His reaction was horrible and it took him about 30 seconds to comprehend the reality of where we were. After that ... he was excited. 

In Legoland they have their "mini" cities that are ALL built out of Lego's. They are really impressive. Most things were from Germany with a few other cities in Europe. I guess we don't need to tour as much of Europe as we originally thought since we've already seen them! 

I wish I could remember what city this was ... maybe Munich? 

Here is the replica of the Allianz Arena in Munich where they play futbol. This was cool ... it was filled  with thousands of little lego people. Pretty impressive. 

And, the famous Neuschwanstein Castle ... 

This Legoland has a Star Wars section where they recreated scenes from every Star Wars movie ... it was really cool! Plus, it wouldn't be complete without these guys: 

pretty sure Kason has some jedi powers ... all he needs is a cloak and his own light saber! 

Thankfully most of the rides there were geared towards the little people so, Kason got to ride mostly everything that was there. 

This was right after the water ride, Brad & Kason sat in the back, hoping they would get less wet than the front. Well, they actually ended up getting even MORE wet in the back. (hehe ... ah the irony!) 

I am pretty sure Brad's face says it all ... "seriously woman, stop taking pictures of me!" HA! I sure like him a whole lot! 

Kason climbed up to take a picture with the shark and he wanted to act like he dead ... in case you didn't get that from the pose. 

This fountain was really cool ... it was playing music and then they had little squares in front of each instrument and you could step on them to activate the fountain on that instrument. It was entertaining! 

And this ... was just hilarious. We laughed pretty hard when we saw it. Good times in Legoland. 

That was our day! We had a blast and we were all worn out at the end of the day but, it was well worth it. I don't think we'll ever be too old for Lego's! 

Nuremberg

This past weekend Brad had a 3-day weekend (I love his 3-day or 4-day weekends ... LOVE them.) So we decided to get out of town for a couple days and see a few sights close to us. Friday we headed to Nuremberg, Germany. It's only about an hour from us but, it's the second biggest city in Bavaria. It also has one of the biggest shopping districts in Europe ... (that's happiness right there!) 

I am always so glad that Brad drives during our excursions because driving in Europe can get insane! After maneuvering through traffic and construction and one-way streets we finally found a parking garage. As soon as we walked up stairs we saw this beauty. This is is St. Lorenzkriche. It was by far the coolest church we saw that day. Brad loves looking in the churches and seeing all the details. They are incredibly impressive and it's always fun to see the different styles of each church. Anyway ... St. Lorenz: 

The detail inside this church is what made it stand out from the rest ... I think we went in 5 or 6 churches and this was by far the family favorite. They had 6 or 7 windows of this stained glass that were equally detailed ... it was gorgeous! 

I'm not sure what these benches were for but they outline the entire church. 

Some of the benches had detailed little faces on them ... they were pretty cool! 

(his face creeps me out here!!) 

We decided to just wander downtown and see what we could find. We hadn't really mapped out any specific plan. (we're great travelers, I tell ya!) But, we came across this and I found out after we got home that this is called Hellig-Geist-Spital or The Hospital of the Holy Spirit. It was built back in the 1300's for the elderly. I guess at one point, the Crown Jewels of the Empire were stored here. This river  is the Pegnitz river. It was such a peaceful spot, despite the street vendors trying to convince us we needed their souvenirs.  

Further up the hill, right across from Frauenkirche, there was a farmer's market. Doing things like, shopping in a farmer's market, instantly make me feel like I am living the European life. I don't feel like a tourist when I do the things the "locals" would do ... and I love that feeling. It's a feeling of belonging and being comfortable with the life we're living. 

Just next to the farmer's market is Shoner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain) ... I don't know that I would necessarily call it beautiful but, it was definitely interesting! It was built back in the 1300's by Heinrich Beheim. It was originally constructed with sandstone but, those began to corrode away so they were replaced by shell lime figures. This fountain represents the world view of the Holy Roman Empire: the bottom row has allegorical figures symbolizing Philosophy and the Free Arts, the middle row has the Evangelists and Latin Church Fathers and in the third row, the seven electors and nine heroes. At the very top there is Moses and the seven prophets. It definitely stood out in the little marketplace! 

Next up: St. Sebald (see ... I told you we saw a ton of churches! they are everywhere!!!) This is one of the older churches built back in the 1200's. The outside was pretty neat but, the inside was just ... "eh". 

The next several pictures were up at Kaiserburg ... the castle in Nuremberg. I wish I had gotten a good picture of the walls and the castle because the walls had to be at least 15 feet thick. The castle was pretty cool to see and it was fun to imagine life back in the olden days when people lived and worked around the castle. Apparently it was one of the most important imperial palaces during the Middle Ages. During a span of 500 years all Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire of Germany lived here for at least some amount of time. 

This tunnel was INTENSE ... I wonder how many feet long it was? And how on earth they built it back in the day? It was pretty impressive! 

That's the Sinwell Tower ... 

And us ... try to excuse the sweaty faces and the hair that's been destroyed by the humidity (okay, really it's just me ... those boys look fine!) ... it was hot and humid and we had to climb up 95 stinking stairs to get to the top of that tower! It was worth it though ... the views were awesome! 

See? Can you see all the church steeples?!

Uh ... deep in thought?  

There's all 95 stairs in their glory ... it wouldn't have been so bad if there had been a breeze in the stairwell but, it was hot, and humid, and the air was still. Yuck. Kason took 'em like a champ though! 

The castle was the main reason we stopped in Nuremberg so, after we did that, we headed down the hill back into the city. We did a little shopping (I had to experience some of the greatest shopping in Europe!) But, I will admit ... after a couple hours, even I was exhausted of shopping. It was TOO big! The center of the shopping district had at least 5 levels, plus a good 4 or 5 streets lined with various stores. It was crazy. While we were walking around we passed a bakery. They had these in the window ... they were pastry's? or cupcakes? something. I was tempted to buy one, but, I'm sure they weren't cheap. 

This is the "Marriage Carousel" with the picture taken from an awful angle but, it was built in 1984 with reference to the poem "Bitter-Sweet Married Life" by Hans Sachs. I guess it talks very dramatically about love and the struggles faced during marriage all the way up until the death bed. Hmm ... I guess it caused a lot of controversy when it was first built, I can kind of understand why! 

This guy was standing outside one of the churches ... take a picture, pay him a euro (or two or three ... whatever you want. Think Vegas style sidewalk entertainment). I wonder how much he makes in a day?  

We saw a lot more in Nuremberg but, it was a lot more ... and probably kind of insignificant. We did stop in at a bakery/deli and bought some of their delicious bread along with salami and some stinky cheese. (It really was SO stinky! But ... YUM! The saying is true: the stinkier the cheese, the better it tastes. The salami here is delicious, too.) We loved Nuremberg and I sure this won't be our last visit there!

Veldenstein Castle

On Wednesday, we went with a group of people from the ward to a castle close by in the town of Neuhaus. The Veldenstein Castle! This was mine and Kason's first trip to a castle, there was a playground in the courtyard and a Rupunzel tower to climb. It was a blast and it wasn't 95 degrees outside!

Apparently, rumor has it, that during WWII, Hitler's right hand man used this castle as his little hideout. He built the bunker on the back side of the castle and lived down there. His bunker had it's own electricity, oxygen and water supply. That guy knew what was up! And ... supposedly, he left treasure somewhere in the castle. The American Army went in after the war to search for the treasure but, it has never been found to this day! All the kids were going to crazy trying to find the "Hitler treasure" ... 

We climbed to the top of that tower. The stairs were crazy skinny and some of the rooms had no windows. I am sure glad I live now instead of way back then! But ... their construction is amazing, to think that these castles are still standing after hundreds of years! 

There were doors like this all over the place ... I felt like I was in the Secret Garden or something! 

Kason at the "look-out" point: 

The views were absolutely gorgeous! The castle sat up on top of the hill overlooking the entire city ... 

I am thinking we would have been the city thugs. Yep, definitely. 

This house was adorable. So, now some family owns the castle and they have a majority of it as a hotel. But, there are also areas that have apartments. I am guessing this was an apartment? I don't know for sure but, how cool would it be to say you live at a castle!?! 

Kason has already made some great friends in the ward!!

(this boy is so freaking adorable ... I kind of want to keep him.) 

After the castle Kason and I stopped to get some ice cream. I absolutely love the ice cream over here (that would probably explain why I'm not liking those numbers on the scale!) But ... the erdbeere ice cream (aka: strawberry) is my FAV. I am lame and never branch out, so, I get it every single time we get ice cream ... which is at least once a week. But, hey for only a euro or two ... who can pass it up!?

Anyway ... the place we stopped had a fun river next to it. We sat there and ate our ice cream ... I love this country! 

(apparently the water was pretty cold, I didn't dare put my toes in there!) 

On the drive home we drove through a super cute little town. I don't even know the name of it but, we saw this group of people on the side of the road so we decided to park and investigate. I still don't know for sure what was going on but, I'm willing to bet they were some sort of funeral processional or something of the sort. They all filed in to the town church and all the guests we saw were wearing black or white. 

One thing I am in love with over here? Cobblestone streets. LOVE them. 

Such a perfect day ... it's lots of different ways!