Koln, Germany

Im extremely behind on my travel updates. Way back in December we took a little road trip up to Cologne, or Koln as it's known here in Germany. (Yes, Im just now getting around to blogging about this!) We'd never been before and wanted to see the town as well as their many Christmas markets. It was M's first road trip and she did really well. The car ride home sucked, but at least she was good while we were there. 

We stayed at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel. We were very impressed with the hotel. It was very international, clean, everyone spoke English and the bar made a very tasty pineapple mojito. We had a corner room and it was a bit cramped with the three of us plus all of the baby crap we have to haul around when we go anywhere, but it was nice. I was disappointed that there were only three English speaking TV channels. Breakfast was an outrageous 25 euro/person, so we skipped that and instead ate at the Starbucks down the street. 

We loved Cologne. It is a beautiful, vibrant city full of international flair. As with any city we travel to, we were most concerned with the food. Your taste buds will be satisfied whether you want Brazilian, Japanese or even New Orleans Cajun. They have it all. On our first night, we went to a local restaurant called Pfaffgen that brews its own beer. The beer was so delicious and the food was artery clogging good. We ate at a Portuguese restaurant on our last night. Amazing tapas and beer. 

cute trash cans

Great locally brewed beer

"What killed Elvis"- J

A little taste of home....

Finally found some good sushi!

We had a great time and would love to go back in WARMER weather! =) 

What's Been Going On

*It seems like this past month has been busier than ever. M is such a good baby, so much happier these days, which makes it easier for me to get out of the house with her. I actually enjoy going places with her now that she doesnt have an epic meltdown every time we're in the car. Seriously, she hated the car and carseat passionately (and loudly), but about a month ago decided it wasnt so bad. Im relieved since we are traveling people.

*Speaking of traveling, we have A LOT of it coming our way. In fact, we're booked every weekend from now until July 4th. Craziness. We are trying to see it all before we PCS next summer, but I know that's impossible. We'll never be able to see everything we want to see over here. But we're going to make a darn good effort to do so while we can. This month we're taking a few day trips to places that are less than 2 hrs from us. We went to France twice in the last month. We're headed to Holland for a weekend to see the huge tulip festival and parade next month, plus more day trips. Then we head to the States for a whole month! I am SO excited about that trip. Both of our families will get to meet M, Ill get to shop and eat my way across the country and J will be in training for the month. Seems fair right?
After that, we're off to Normandy for a week for the D-Day reenactment celebration and later than month, we head off for our 10 day Baltic cruise. In the months following that we're planning a four day trip to Rome, one to Barcelona, a week long trip to the Romantic region of France and the French Riviera, and who knows what else. Whew! Im exhausted just thinking about it all, but super excited too. Luckily, M is a great little traveler. She's never been on an airplane though and I am incredibly nervous about all the flying we'll be doing soon. Any tips on flying with a baby?

*We had family photos/M's 6 month photos taken last weekend by the same photographer who took my maternity shots. The photos are AH-MAZ-ING!!! I cant say enough good things about them. M was a doll and so, so good during the photo shoot. I cant wait to get the CD of them all.

*We're on a great schedule now. M is sleeping in her room at night, which was going well until she got her first cold. That set us back two weeks, but she's over it now and Im hoping we're headed towards good, restful nights again. She's using a sippy cup and eating solids like a champ. Im starting the weaning process today from breast feeding. She wasnt impressed with her first bottle of formula. We'll keep trying. Id like for her to be weaned completely by the end of next month. Hopefully that's not unrealistic.

*The weather here in Germany has actually been rather nice, a surprise and huge difference from last year. We've been getting out in the sunshine as much as possible.

*Im in love with the app Draw Something. An artist, I am not, but it is so much fun to try. Everyone's drawings are hilarious! My username is kmack143 if anyone wants to play.

*I have some news regarding my professional situation. Ill write a separate post on that lovely situation.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber

A couple of weekends ago we took a weekend trip to
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a walled medieval city here in Germany/
We've been planning to go here for the past year, but due to J's work schedule changing,
we've had to cancel our previous two trips.
Thankfully we were able to get away for this weekend trip this time!
Rothenburg is a very charming, beautiful city.
I just wish the weather would have been as beautiful.
While the entire USA was sweltering in heat waves, we were freezing our bums off in
the 50 degree weather and ice cold rain.
Thankfully we had brought sweatshirts and an umbrella. In most of our photos
our noses and cheeks are red from the cold!
Despite the crappy weather, we had a fantastic time, loved our hotel- Hotel Rappen,
ate some delicious food and drank some yummy drinks. We saw everything
that we wanted to see this trip and we know we will definitely be back.

The main entrance

Where we ate lunch

Mushroom cream soup... Mmm, so good on a cold day! 

Where we had dinner

St. Jacob's church

The town hall or Rathaus
You could walk up to the very top, up many, many flights of steep stairs to the bell
tower. I made it maybe halfway, but J went all the way to the top. It is quite a
climb, but the views are beautiful. I just wish it would have been a sunny day!

The beginning of the looong way to the top....

View from the top of the town hall tower

I wish I would have taken a photo of these things... Schneeballen means "snowballs" in German.
There were several cafes and shops in town selling these pastries. They were actually
invented here. They are sold at most of the local festivals and markets.
Basically, they consist of leftover baking scraps- the dough that doesnt get used.  It all gets rolled
together and then baked and usually dipped in something like
chocolate or sugar with toppings. They had many different flavors, but I havent actually ever tried one.
Ive been told they arent very good and frankly, they dont look all that appealing.
Maybe Ill try one at the next festival we attend. 

My favorite store in town- The Teddy Store!
We had so much fun looking at all of the stuffed animals.
They were surprisingly really reasonably priced too.
Of course we had to buy the baby a few things! 

It is such a cute town! 

We went to the Criminal Museum, which is four levels of torture devices,
documents and paraphernalia from the medieval times.
It was very interesting, but it was mostly documents, drawings and books.
We actually liked the torture museum in Prague much better. 

In the stocks

We had lots of hot chocolate (heisse schokolade) and cappuccinos to keep us warm. 

This was my dinner. It was one of the BEST meals that we have had in Germany!
Between the two of us, we devoured the entire thing (plus the side of potatoes that you
cant see!). It is beef with a horseradish sauce and homemade cranberry sauce.
Absolute perfection. 

This was J's dinner and was also very good- pesto stuffed gnocchi with parmesan
and rucola. (We ate all of it too!)

Umm...what?
Seriously, what is this and would someone actually ever buy it?! 

One of the highlights of our trip was the Night Watchman's Tour. At 8pm they
have a tour in English. The Night Watchman tells you about his job in the medieval times
and gives you a very interesting history lesson of the town, from it's beginning to WWII, all
while leading you around the town. He was very entertaining and spoke perfect English.
 It was a very interesting and fun tour and I would definitely
recommend it to anyone visiting the city. 

When we passed by this restaurant, he said "Welcome to Hell".
Apparently, this restaurant is called Hell and according to the night watchman,
it's a great place to eat!

We toured the castle walls before we left. You can walk along the top of the walls
all the way around the city. The people of medieval times werent very tall- J had to duck
everywhere we walked! 

More delicious hot chocolate and cappuccinos! 

 Happy Monday!!!