Our First European Vacation

Sorry for the delay in posting. It's hard to find the time to blog a whole week's worth of traveling. Hopefully this will redeem me a little...

Below is our blog from our first big vacation. I've tried to post a bunch of pictures, but we took many, many more. I'm trying to upload them to ofoto.com. If you're interested in seeing more pix, just e-mail me, and I'll send you the links.

Day 1: Brussels to Heidelberg
We left on Saturday for our first stop, in Heidelberg, Germany. We stopped at a rest station along the way and had our first German sausage. The bathrooms were spectacularly clean, and you had to buy a 50 cent ticket to enter the turnstile to the bathrooms. Worth every penny! The kids did great (and did so throughout the trip).

TJ enjoyed (putting it mildly) driving on the autobahn. I'm not sure how fast we were going (though I know it was fast), but the rules of the road in Germany are very orderly, and people follow them, so we never felt unsafe. The scenery was beautiful, and Jack was enamored with the big, modern windmills.

We arrived in Heidelberg early enough to do a little sightseeing. Our hotel (the Molkenkur) was high up on a hillside and had a beautiful view of the city. The hotel had a nice path weaving down the hill to the town, and we had a nice walk down. We got down and walked around a beautiful castle, walked by the river and, blissfully, found Starbucks. Tons of shops and restaurants, and even more gelato shops.

We had a nice 2 bedroom room, so the kids slept in one room and we slept in the other, giving me plenty of opportunity to watch Jurassic Park in German. The hotel was hosting a wedding reception, and we fell asleep to some great 80s tunes.



Day 2: Heidelberg to Fussen, Germany
We woke up on Sunday, had a nice breakfast (standard European breakfasts: bread, spreads, soft-boiled eggs, meats and cheeses, yogurt, muesli, and dark coffee). The kids were up pretty early because of the sun, but I guess that way, we get a quicker start to the day.

We started the drive to Fussen, where we were meeting up with the Wordens. Amelia was so excited to see Maggie. TJ again loved the Germany driving. We averaged about 160km per hour but no matter how fast he went (200km max) there was always someone going faster, much faster. To put it in US terms, at 100 MPH, we would be passed by cars going easily 150. WOW! We arrived in Fussen around lunchtime. Fussen is a quaint little town -- a lot of tourism based on the Neuschwanstein and Schwangau castles close by.

Our kids were thrilled to see Maggie and Tommy after lunch, and it was great to see John and Deb. We had a great German dinner, with ice cream after. The girls stayed up way past bedtimes, playing with Amelia's ponies.



Day 3: Fussen -- the Castles
The day started off very early. T.J. and I woke up at 6 a.m. to the sound of singing. We looked out the window and saw a procession led by a priest and followed by about 20 people. They were just walking down the street, singing. Even though it was super-early, it was a nice way to wake up.

We had tickets with the Wordens to go see the castles. We had great weather, and had a beautiful tour of Schwangau. Then we had a quick lunch (but not quick enough) and took a horse and carriage ride to Neuschwanstein. The ride was nice (especially because it was quite a long -- and steep -- walk), until one of the horses got a serious case of gas, followed by him taking care of business.



The castles were both spectacular, though Amelia was disappointed that the princesses were all gone. We all had a great Italian dinner, followed by more ice cream, and more playing with ponies. The kids were all fascinated with all the fountains in town, and we found one that the kids found especially appealing. Unfortunately, Jack chose to stick his foot in it, and then got upset that his foot was wet.

Day 4: Fussen to Salzburg, Austria
Another day of autobahn driving, so T.J. was excited. It was sad to say goodbye to the Wordens. We headed off to Salzburg -- with a stop in Munich for lunch. We got there a little after 11 a.m., which gave us some time to walk around before the Glockenspiel went off at noon. For lunch, we went to the Famous Hofbrau Beer Hall for some sausages (I had German meat loaf, which was essentially a small meatloaf-shaped hot dog -- but it was actually very good!) and giant pretzels.



T.J. tried more German beer, while I had a mix of beer and lemonade which, again, I thought was quite tasty. I was convinced to spend 20 euros (don't tell T.J. it was that much!) on a Hofbrau Horse for Amelia. It's very cute, and it even came dressed in lederhosen (sp?).

After lunch, we headed back to the car for a quick trip to Dachau (Nazi Concentration Camp) for me to run around to the memorial site. Since Dachau is just a Munich suburb, I found it hard to not go. It was, of course, a very sobering visit. T.J. stayed with the kids while they napped, and I did literally run around the whole site. I would have liked to have stayed longer to have learned more, but we were running short on time, and we wanted to get to Salzburg.

Off we went again. Shortly after getting on the highway (still technically in Munich), we came to a standstill. Completely. Totally. And it started to rain. So we sat and sat and sat and wondered what was going on (of course, we understand nothing on the radio so didn't even bother). Engines off, people getting out of their cars, men running wildly to the trees while the women crossed their legs.

One fellow traveler got out of his car and started juggling.

So it's around 4, and it's a 1.5-hour drive to Salzburg. We have to check in to the hotel by 7, or they start charging fees. They don't let you check in past 10.

Then it's 5 p.m. And 6. Natives are restless, but surprisingly patient. Luckily I have some granola bars and chips and water and juice, but nothing of the dinner variety. T.J. offers the couple behind us some granola bars, and they give us some bananas. We find out that there was a truck on fire a few kilometers ahead, and they closed the highway.



Poor Amelia has to use the potty, but of course it's raining. We finally convince her to get in one of Jack's diapers, and she did so, but she wasn't convinced. She was afraid the diaper would leak all over her seat. She finally took advantage of the diaper, and thankfully hasn't made mention of it again!

We've called the hotel already to tell them we're stuck and will be late and promise to call with updates. 7 comes, then 8. Finally around 8:45 or so, things start moving. We make a frantic call to the hotel, saying that we would be there by 10:30, and they agree to wait.

So after all that time, we finally make headway. The kids really did great, and the DVD player held its battery for most of the trip. I was really proud of the kids.

We're about 30 minutes outside Salzburg, it's 10pm and the kids are exhausted. Amelia starts to nod off, Jack tries but wakes up screaming. Which wakes Mia up, and she starts screaming. They both stop crying, nod off, and start the whole racket again 5 minutes later. Meanwhile, it was pouring down rain, pitch dark and we were driving through the mountain highways of Austria. If the trip to Fussen was T. J.'s all time best driving experience, this was easily the worst. It was a long, long drive, but we finally made it.

We got to our room around 11, and then the kids were wide awake, of course. But we all crashed hard and had a good night of sleep, happy to be out of Munich!

Day 5: Salzburg
We all slept late, after our big day the night before. We had another great breakfast and then headed out for some sightseeing (we were actually staying in a town about 10 minutes from Salzburg. We were supposed to go on Fraulein Maria's Bicycle Tour of all the Sound of Music hotspots. Unfortunately, we were running late, and I thought the tour met at a different spot than it actually did. So instead we walked around, found more fountains, and walked through a beautiful Mirabell Gardens.

We took a horse and carriage ride through town, and then we took another cog train up to the castle. On our way to the cog train, there was a stand with a bunch of different kinds of pretzels -- cinnamon sugar, bacon and cheese, regular. So very tasty! The castle was beautiful -- fun to imagine what it must've been like hundreds of years ago.



In the afternoon, we headed off to the Salzburg zoo. It was truly the most scenic zoo I've ever been to, with the mountains and snow in the background. The zoo itself was right up against a hillside, and it was really neat. HOWEVER, I totally understand why there are so many reports of animals killing zoo goers in Europe. The barriers are minimal, and in many cases, you could touch the animals if you really wanted too. Some children were picking long weeds and feeding the capybaras ("Mom, why can't I feed them? Those children are..."). Even by the lions, there was a posted sign warning of getting, uh, sprayed. Note in the picture below of Amelia on the right, and the lion on the left.



Day 6: Salzburg to Lucerne, Switzerland
Another travel day. It was a holiday so nothing was open. We stopped at Innsbruck for lunch and had a hard time finding something that was open. We finally stopped at a place in town where everyone else seemed to be eating. There wasn't much to do, so we didn't linger long.

We traveled through many tunnels, and between them and the rainy weather, we didn't get to enjoy the scenery much. But we arrived safely in Lucerne, and the children were delighted to see that our hotel had a playground and ponies and goats to pet. Success!



Day 7: Lucerne
We walked around the city, and got our obligatory Starbucks. We had an enjoyable boat ride, and we even sat across from three young folks from Fairfax.

We had also gone to see the lion monument and the nearby glacier park (Jack was thrilled to see all the big rocks).



We drove to Zug in the afternoon and took another funicular ride. It was a beautiful view, and we had a wonderful dinner (I had fondue that was fantastic).

Day 8: Interlaken
We drove to Interlaken for the day. We kept seeing parachutists floating around -- the kids were fascinated. More walking around town, and another funicular ride. There was a big slide that the kids loved and a few other bits of playground equipment.

We had another great dinner (more fondue for me!) and a few more Starbucks for good measure. It's not even the Starbucks iteself that I wanted -- just the takeaway coffee that I miss.

Amelia insisted on buying a cow bell (why do all the Swiss cows and goats wear bells?) for Stripey the Zebra, since she forgot to bring him on the trip. She chose not to bring him, but then she spent the last 3 days of the trip constantly asking when she would see Stripey.

Jack woke up with another case of pinkeye. (Seriously, does ANYONE know how to get rid of this? I've been washing hands and using hand sanitizer on everyone like crazy, but I can't seem to kill the bacteria.)

Then Jack woke up around 10 that night with croup. Then around 2 am spiked a fever. Luckily, I came prepared with meds. Jack was as happy as can be, but he sounded like a beached seal, poor guy. At least we were getting ready to head home!

Day 9: Lucerne to Brussels
We had a long day of driving ahead of us, but it went smoothly. We stopped at McDonald's for lunch (only because it was convenient, not because we craved it) and then passed through Strasbourg, France (where the Neunreiters are from). We also drove through Luxembourg (our motto: Where the country is short but the lines are long). There were 2 rest areas, and the lines for gas were 5 or 6 deep. The parking lot held a few hundred cars, probably, and it was PACKED. Apparently they have cheap cigarettes and booze there.

All in all, we logged 2500 km and 7 countries without ever showing a passport.

Returning Home
We had a great visit, but we were ready to get home. But have you ever been away from home and thought, "Man, I just can't wait to get home where all the food is normal and everyone speaks English?" That was the hard part about returning. It's good to be home, but I still would like more English and more recognizable food. A road trip just isn't a road trip without a big bag of Cheetos.

New Things I Miss
Shredded cheddar cheese. You don't know how much you miss it until you slice open a knuckle after hand grating it....

Instant mashed potatoes. I actually found some and made them for dinner the other night. They were awfully yellow and not especially tasty. Can't hold a candle to Wal-Mart's Loaded Instant Mashed Potatoes.

Other Things
The sun is coming up earlier and earlier -- it's light outside around 5 now, and it's still dusky at 10 at night.

I have become a Belgian biker. Jack and I are doing bike rides to market in the morning. I have a basket for the front of my bike (and plan to get saddlebags for the back) and fill it with flowers and food. Jack has been enjoying it, and I've enjoyed riding. I even took a ride the other night at 9:15 at night when it was still perfectly light.

The neighbors got a trampoline and set it up right on the other side of our fence. So all day long, Amelia is begging me to go let her jump. Sigh. I foresee disaster. She has also discovered the joy of asking "Why" after everything I tell her. So we had a 10-minute conversation in the car the other day, and everything was "why? why?" I better become really smart, really fast.

And I put both the kids on antibiotic eye drops after Jack came down with the last Pinkeye round last Saturday. They finished their course on Thursday -- yay! But, then, I got it on Friday. SERIOUSLY. I need help.

We're Not a CNN Crawl

I took the kids to the circus yesterday, all the while wondering what would happen if tigers got loose and terrorized us and the Carrefour.

We bought our overpriced tickets (Mine was 14 euro; Amelia's was 10. Jack, thankfully, was free.) I opted for the cheaper "banken" seats -- bleachers as opposed to plastic deck chairs. Partly because I'm cheap, partly because the kids could see better if they were up high, and yes, partly because the folks in plastic deck chairs would be mauled by runaway tigers first.

All the animals were outside -- the goats, camel, shetland ponies and other livestock were under one tent.



Amelia was immediately disappointed, as the posters for the circus depict TWO camels.

Just across the way was the trailer housing 3 tigers (again, some explanation was necessary, as the circus poster has only one tiger...). Man, those are BIG animals.



We got inside, and selected some nice seats close to the exit (can you tell my paranoia is setting in? one glance at the "ring," and I was really worried about our proximity to the wild animals. Clearly, this would never happen in the U.S.



We got our cotton candy (note: cotton candy is messy on a good day, but just try eating it on a rainy day. Even under a tent, it lost it's fluff quickly from the moisture.) and sat down. I was surprised at how few people were there, but it was still a decent crowd.

It was overall a really enjoyable time. A small staff of circus folk, but the kids enjoyed it. A guy who looked like the namesake of "Weekend at Bernies" was the resident juggler/acrobat. He did some fun tricks. Though he did one of his "acts" while acting as a drunk sailor -- although his nautical hat said "Marines" on it. Guess it wasn't the US marines!

Surprisingly, it wasn't the tigers that Amelia became frightened of. When Bernie did a balancing act while supported by 2 sets of 4 drinking glasses, Amelia started crying "I want to go home!" When I asked why, she said she was worried that the glasses were going to break.

Of course, now Amelia wants to go every day. Luckily, driving back and forth by the animals twice a day seems to be sufficient for now.

Not Again....
Did I mention in the previous blog about how there were carnival trucks near our house? Well, we drove down to Place Dumon (in Stockel) to buy a road atlas, and we discovered that the latest carnival (and a BIG one at that) has taken root in Stockel's square. Wonder how long THAT will last.

The Cost of Literacy...
I stopped by the local bookstore/stationery store in Stockel to pick up a road atlas for Europe. While there, I noticed they had an English book section. I was pretty excited, as I've torn through 2 books in as many weeks and am already missing having some trashy reading. But I looked at the prices, and an 11 dollar paperbook from the US is 24 euros (33 bucks!). Pretty exorbitant, huh?

Today's Accomplishments
Today, I filled my gas tank for the first time, took pants to the cleaners for the first time.... hmmm, I thought there was something else of note that I did today, too, but I can't recall. And besides that, I got through the whole cleaners transaction without English (well, without French, too). Luckily, I understood her enough to pay and know when they would be ready. And Jack got a cookie.

Now I'm off to watch some taped TV and feel re-Americanized!

The Neunreiters Storm Brussels! And Then the Camels!

A great time was had by all when my mom and Susan came to visit nearly two weeks ago. They were both a little overwhelmed by jet lag (and I was more than happy to experience sympathetic jet lag and nap right along with them) for the first day or two, but they were real troopers. Of course, they had little choice, with Jack and Amelia up early every day and jumping on the "magic bed" (the sleeper sofa) to rouse Sugar.

I quickly introduced them to the joy that is the bakery, and they were happy to have lots of chocolate bread and other goodies. I took Susan to Carrefour, where she marvelled at the entire supermarket aisle devoted to chocolate and variations thereof. I think her favorite was the "Sexy" chocolate bar. We're not sure what makes it sexy, but with chocolate, how can you go wrong?

I went with them to Bruges on Saturday (T.J. stayed home with the kids), and we had a great time. I had been to Bruges about 12 years ago, just for the day, but it was NOTHING like I remembered it. It was a really bustling place -- lots of shops, tons of restaurants and even more tourists -- but when I was there on a tour, we were in a very quiet, green section of town. They had failed to take us to the main part of town. It was very pretty -- several canals and gorgeous old buildings. Susan and I enjoyed a huge cappuccino...and big waffle. We took a canal ride and did some shopping. Bruges is famous for its lace and tapestries.

On Sunday, we took them to downtown Brussels and walked around. We lunched at a pizzeria and had crepes and waffles at a place where T.J. and I had gone every morning when we were doing our househunting tour (and where he had been several times without me, when he was doing business trips). Surprisingly, the waiter recognized us. He let Amelia help scoop her own ice cream.

We also encountered our first plumbing problem during their visit. The pipes from the master bath were clogging somewhere, and water was overflowing on our terrace. We jokingly referred to the flood every morning and tried to see who could create the most overflow. Luckily, a bottle of Belgian Drano seems to have taken care of it.

They headed south toward Italy after visiting with us, and had a great time there. So much so, that Susan's luggage opted to stay an extra day in Rome. Luckily, it showed up back in St. Louis only a day late.

Persistent Pinkeye
We're still battling pinkeye. One week after Amelia got it, Jack got it. One week after Jack got it, I got it. So off I trundled to our doctor yesterday, who thankfully gave me one prescription for my eyes, and gave me another prescription for the kids, as I can't seem to get rid of the virus. Despite my best sanitizing effors and repeated laundering, it seems to persist. I'll be glad to get rid of it, as I haven't enjoyed having to wear glasses...

Circus Time
It seems like it's never-ending activity here. First the "carnival" then the puppet show. (That disappeared over the weekend, thankfully. Even though Amelia didn't understand one word of it, she kept insisting that she wanted to return. And poor Jack still doesn't get that the carnival is gone. He says "ride" everytime we head up to Ste. Alix, and is disappointed when he sees the rides are gone.)

But signs started popping up 2 weeks ago that the circus was coming to town, and it would be set up in an empty field across the street from the Carrefour (and directly on our way to school every day). The circus starts tomorrow, and when we drove to school today, we saw them setting up tents and we saw all the trucks. Under one tent, we saw some horses and some camels. Apparently, there will also be tigers involved. I'm noticing that things are much more lax over here in general (roof contractors drinking beer on the job; moms leaving babies in cars while taking their kids up to school), so I'm admittedly a little nervous about how they're going to corral tigers. (Especially because I think things will be in a tent .... across the street from major shopping.) You all had better keep an eye on CNN. I see us being a crawl in the near future.

But of course I will take them to the circus.

How Times Change
We just found out that one of T.J.'s coworkers -- and whose wife provided me with all sorts of valuable information as we were preparing for our move and was a true godsend -- is being transferred back to Houston effective June 1. Surprisingly, my first thought was "They must be devastated" rather than "They're so lucky to be returning to the U.S." Quite a change from me sobbing on the phone to my parents that I didn't want to leave. Truly, the hardest thing about being here is being so far from family and friends. But I really am loving daily life over here. I mean, they'd never have a circus across the street from Wal-Mart in the states -- at least, not without some sort of class-action lawsuit first.

I am now also equipped with a child seat on my bike (and also a nice removable wire market basket on the front), so the whole family can go for excursions. We took a nice ride to Stockel on Saturday morning for pastries, and T.J. took Amelia out on Sunday for more. I've taken Jack out in the mornings after Amelia goes to school, and it's been very nice. To be able to not have to drive everywhere is wonderful, and the bike ride is easy. I only wish Amelia's school were a little closer, where we could walk or ride.

Back to Neunreiter
I've learned that in Belgium, I go back to being Julia Neunreiter. When I go to the doctor, that's who I am. When I sign things for school, it's all Neunreiter. I'm not sure why they do it that way, but it's taken some getting used to. Let's just hope Aetna can keep it all straight when I submit medical claims!!

Happy Mother's Day
I don't think I'll post again for a while, so happy Mother's Day to everyone.

Pinkeye, Puppet Shows and Other Musings

A case of Pinkeye has been going through the kids. Amelia had it last week; it's Jack's turn this week. Amelia was very good about eyedrops; Jack, not so much. Then, to add insult to injury, he was up every hour Tuesday night until I finally gave him Tylenol around 3. Then I had to wake the poor guy up at 8:20 Wednesday morning so we could take Amelia to school.

I'm suspecting an ear infection (I've been reading that they same viruses and/or bacteria that cause pinkeye can also cause ear infections.) I've just dosed him with some Motrin before bed tonight, so I'm hoping tonight goes better. Both the kids have an appointment with the pediatrician Thursday for vaccines (one of which I got at the pharmacy today and now have in my fridge), so we'll know for sure about any ear problems then.

At the pharmacy, I also got some Arnica Gel, which the ER doctor had recommended we keep on hand. Apparently, it's an herbal gel which is used to treat bumps and bruises (to keep down swelling). Given our bad luck with heads lately, we'll see if it helps.

And on our way to the pharmacy, we noticed that the "carnival" FINALLY left. Hooray. Of course, it's apparently being replaced by a Guignol (puppet show) that will go Thursday to Sunday. With luck, this will be much less expensive for us!

Doctor's and Puppet Show Updates
Luckily, no ear infection for Jack. They made it through their shots with no problem. Getting their shots was a bit of an adventure. On Wednesday, one pharmacy had only one dose of the meningitis vaccine but said they could get another dose for me by Thursday morning. So Thursday, I go back up and they don't have the vaccine (1 hour before the appointment). So I had to trek to the other pharmacy, and luckily, they had it. It was funny to have their shots sitting in our refrigerator...

We went to the puppet show last night (Thursday). I don't know what I was thinking. It was 6 euros for each of the 3 of us, which I thought was a little pricey. We go in the tent, and the "stage" was actually a lift-up window on the side of a winnebago-like trailer. So we were all sitting there (we went with our neighbor and her two little girls) in our plastic lawn chairs, waiting for the show. It finally began, and DUH, it was all in French. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking. Did I really think it WASN'T going to be in French? Oh, well. I got some kettle corn, and Amelia got a giant cotton candy on a stick (which Jack loved as well).

The kids didn't really seem to mind TOO much that it was all in French, but they were a little bored by it all. It lasted an hour (too long), interrupted by one intermission during which they started hawking plastic flags and light up sparkly things and big punch balloons. We escaped with just purchasing the food.

At least we won't have to return to the puppet show. But a circus is arriving in a few days across the street from the Carrefour. Luckily, it's not walking distance, but we will drive by it every day on the way to school. I expect to visit it at least once. Apparently there are tigers involved.

Biking Across Belgium
Well, that's a bit of an understatement. We'll be lucky to bike across town. T.J. got his bike tuned up and he got a child seat installed. The kids are loving it, and it's good exercise for us. Unfortunately, we've discovered that there are a lot of big, gradual hills around town. Great for the downhill ride, but a killer to go back up.

There are lots of bike lanes and trails around town, so it's easy to navigate around town. I took Jack to the market today (Friday), where we picked up a fresh quiche, some wonderful Belgian strawberries (they're smaller and sweeter than normal berries) and raspberries.

Off to get Jack who, apparently, is not going to take a nap this morning. The next post, which I will try to write soon, will cover Mom and Susan's visit to Belgium.

Have a great weekend!