The quirkier side of Germany

Here are a few parting images of Germany that give a broader view of how we spent our time and include a small taste of German kitsch in the shot of my parents' hotel room in Rothenberg.

Germany part II--scenery and castles on the Rhine

We stopped in the village of Bacharach, where we caught a boat up the Rhine to St. Goar. There were castles on the hillside at nearly every turn in the river. We toured the ruins of Ellsburg castle before heading home to Maastricht.

Oktoberfest in Germany with Grandparents--Rothenberg

The first week with Grandma and Grandpa was mostly about becoming Limburger Dutch, something that's not too difficult to do. In no time at all they were biking around with Ellie and me, navigating bike lanes and our own bike traffic lights, cheese sampling, drinking fabulous coffee, eating ubiquitous apple tarts, munching on chocolate, running to the bakery for fresh bread daily and having a glass of wine once evening rolled around. Dad predictably sought after the apple treats and waffles sold on the street. Mom favored the bread and wine. After getting that routine down, we decided to vacation a bit. We had a great next weekend in Germany boating on the Rhine, climbing through castles, touring the medieval city of Rothenberg. We started in Rothenberg, in the center of Germany, one of the few medieval cities left standing after WWII. (Apparently the commander of the U.S. forces in the area had a cuckoo clock in his childhood home that said "Made in Rothenberg, Germany", so it was spared the bombing that most cities received.) Again, fall in this part of Europe is spectacular. Ellie was her adventuresome self, traveling with her potty chair always on call and ready to explore gardens and old walls and ruins. Traveling was also made far easier by Grandpa Bobby always ready to read a book or play a game. We toured the museum of medieval justice, which would be more aptly called the gruesome torture museum--I was already fighting a nasty bug, but that was a stomach turning experience. We ate cozy German food and had a sampling of German beer, once served coincidentally by a woman whose father is a Minnesotan and works at my dad's favorite shopping destination, the super-sized Cabellas in Owatonna. We strolled the city and gawked at the tourists gawking at the sights (notice how people open their mouths when staring? why is that? do i do that too?) before heading up the Romantic Road to the Rhine.

Grandma and Grandpa Bobby arrive!! Blueberry Party!!

Then on Sunday, the long-awaited, often talked about arrival of "Bobby and Nana" finally arrived. We said tearful good-byes to our friends and hopped in the car to Dusseldorf, where we scooped up Grandma and Grandpa for three weeks of fun. The fun started when the suitcases opened and there were bunny crackers and new books. We soon moved on to the party that we'd been waiting months to have . . . the no more nursies and no more diaper party! Ellie had been weaned for a while, but wanted to have her blueberry cake party with her first guests from home. The no more diaper thing was a more recent addition to the party's festivities that actually started minutes before getting into the car to head to Luxembourg with an announcement that she was finished with diapers. (That trip was made more interesting by pulling over to the side of the road and setting up the little blue potty chair for frequent pit stops!) And so we had the no more nuries and no more diaper party, with Jennifer and Grandma and Grandpa in attendance celebrating a big girl.

Maastricht in fall with cousins

The following weekend Jeff and Rita came from Portland and found Maastricht in its sweet autumnal state. We went boot shopping and beer drinking and enjoyed the warmth outside with everyone else who lives here, savoring the company and change of seasons. It was good to see them. There was a bit of bittersweetness in the air as that Sunday morning Gretchen, Mike, Kai and Emerson headed home for Minnesota. As we've had guests since they've left, I'm still not sure what a "normal" day with Ellie looks like without them. Gretchen and I used to spend our mornings hunting for kid fun punctuated by cups of cappuccino and croissants. I know that when the time comes when I'm not happily hanging out with friends and family, there will be a big gaping loss. I'm including a picture of a bike parking lot so you can get the general idea of how Maastricht folks get around.

Enchanting and Chanting in Luxembourg

Do you remember coloring maps in elementary and middle school, when you had to make every country a different color? You'd line up your colored pencils thinking that you had Europe all figured out and then, halfway through, whoa, there was another tiny little country--Andorra maybe, or Luxembourg--then you'd have to go and find another color and your entire scheme was sadly in shambles. Who lives in Luxembourg--and who goes there? Well, now you have the beginnings of an answer, straight from us--tourists of Luxembourg. Early September, right when the leaves were beginning to turn, we hopped in the car with our friend Jennifer from down the block and before that St. Paul, and headed through Belgium to Luxembourg. It was a breathtaking little place--full of hills and the soft mountains of the Ardennes, valleys with rivers winding through them, old forests, castles in various states of upkeep or decay, good food and fine folks who speak German and French and are/were quite Catholic. We hiked through 2 ruined castles and a bit in nearby woods, went to Clairvaux (Clervaux?) and saw monks holding mass with Gregorian chant (until Ellie tired of being quiet). It was a fine day.

Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and France, grandparents and cousins . . . oh my!

We've been very busy--while excursions and visitors have provided a month's worth of distraction from e-mail and blogging, I resolve to catch up! Here are some teaser pictures of (in order) Luxembourg, Germany (that's the Rhine), Brugges (Belgium) and Monet's gardens in France. Lots more soon.