Ask Me in Six Months

Ever since we learned we were going to move to Sarajevo, I have been reading the blog Brits in Bosnia about a young family that recently moved to Tuzla, BiH. The mother did a guest post for another blog, summarizing her feelings and experiences about the move. It's a great read and expresses exactly how I think we'll be feeling about it after we've settled in a bit. Here it is if you'd like to check it out.

A Very Merry unBirthday

Kiddo is officially 1 ½ years old!

To celebrate his day, we had a dinner of some of his favorite German fare--rindswurst, corn on the cob, fresh rolls from the bakery down the street, and cake for dessert. The occasion also made me reflect on the life my little boy has had.

He has always been a happy, mellow, loving little guy, and usually more than willing to go on crazy adventures with his nomadic parents--which is great, considering our track record.

In his 18 months of life, Kiddo has:

lived in 5 different apartments
in 3 different states
and on 2 different continents.

Aside from the above, he has visited 10 other states
and been to a total of 5 countries.

As well, he has never lived in the same place for more than 6 months.

Regardless, he has dealt with it all like a champ -- packing, moving across countries and continents, traveling for hours on end, not seeing his grandparents on a regular basis, etc. I hope our future moves (the next of which will be in 3-4 months) will go as smoothly.

He loves dancing, music, pizza, fruit, animals (especially birds and dogs), and cars -- there are some days when the first and last word I hear him say is either "cars" or "trucks."

He gives great hugs, very nice kisses, and has the cutest laugh.

The past year and a half has really flown by! We love you, Kiddo, and are so grateful for you!

A Pit-Stop in Trier

Trier is Germany's oldest city and quite beautiful.
The great gates into what used to be a Roman city are still standing...


...as well as the basilica built by Constantine I.


The Trier Palace is oddly reminiscent of St. Petersburg...


...although I don't remember seeing this guy when we were in Russia!

Life-long Dream Fulfilled

Everyone has a mental list of places they want to see before they die. Luxembourg is one of mine. Admittedly, it's not the typical country one would think of, but ever since I did a school project about Luxembourg during junior high, I've always wanted to see it for myself. And since it is only a few hours away, we went to check it out!

I can't help taking too many pictures of the buildings. And then sharing them with the unsuspecting public via blog.




But we took a few pics of other things, too.




(Kiddo almost made the palace guard crack a smile!)

We also went to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, which is the final resting place for more than 5,000 American soldiers who died in Luxembourg during WWII.



(Kiddo and I in front of General George S. Patton's grave)

It was a fun, albeit long, day in Luxembourg. However, we couldn't drive all the way home without at least stopping at...

Vive la France!

We started out going to Worms, Germany on a little day trip. We picked the town because of the name (hey, it's called Worms!), it's reputation for making the döner bread fresh when you order, and it's close proximity to where we live.

Of course, H fell asleep in the car within minutes of reaching Worms. Rather than wake the poor boy, we decided to keep driving and pick another town to visit.

Destination: Metz, France.

That's right. I said France.

Of course, Kiddo woke up a half hour before we hit the border, so we stopped for lunch at Saarbrücken because German sausages are a must even if you are going to France.

Trust me on this.

And then--oh, and then!--we crossed the border into the magical kingdom of France! Since I know much more French than I do German (I knew watching Good News so many times would come in handy someday), I was the designated speaker during all of our French encounters. Conversely, Brandon is the default German speaker, since he took a whole semester of German in junior high school.

But I digress.

After visiting the ancient French churches and sampling the delectable French pastries, I am more than convinced that we need to visit our neighbors again soon.

C'est magnifique!

It's like Trekkies for Medieval Stuff

At BYU, there are medieval clubs. Their members are often seen on campus dressed in medieval garb or practicing their sword-fighting (fake swords, of course--actual weapons are not allowed on campus). Or if you were lucky enough to work at ILL like I did, you would see them when they came in to pick up books on historically accurate medieval recipes.

In true Quill and Sword style, we channeled our inner peasant this weekend when we went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber to catch their annual Imperial City Festival. One weekend a year volunteers dress up and play the part of medieval villagers. And for good reason. Rothenburg is the best preserved medieval city in Europe.

So, without further adieu, here is a sample of Rothenburg:










This last guy wasn't dressed up for the festival--he was actually a part of a tour group we passed. You know, just in his everyday lederhosen.

Look here and here for more on BYU's Quill and Sword. You're welcome!

RIP

Last night as we were about to turn off the lights to go to bed, Brandon and I heard a strange hissing sound. Upon investigation, we found this:



Brandon's shaving cream committed suicide. Or something like it.

Apparently it didn't like Germany as much as we do. He will be missed.

We bought Brandon a replacement can, but on closer inspection we're not sure if it's shaving cream or hair mousse.

This is where knowing German would come in handy.

More Bad Homburg

We'd yet to go to the White Tower or the part of town it is in, so after dinner we walked down to take a look.