Month: February 2018

Three days in Leipzig with Megs was a blast! We walked, bached (went to the Bach Museum), talked and indulged in many German treats (sausages, hefewizens, croissants and schnitzel).  The weather was very cold but that didn’t stop us from exploring the city and visiting one of Leipzig’s most famous attractions, the Monument of the Battle of Nations. The Monument was built in 1813 to commemorate Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig. We climbed 500 steps to reach the top where we were awarded with a panoramic view of the city. We saw all the sites and ended the visit with dinner at Auerbachs Keller which is the best known and the second oldest restaurant in Leipzig, Germany.   It was a wonderful visit; thanks for coming Megs!

Last weekend we took a road trip to Oberstdorf; a small town in the German, and to our surprise, Austrian Alps! This was Sabrina’s first time on skis and Cooper’s first time in Austria! As we were driving to the ski hill, we soon realized that we would be crossing into Austria. We didn’t have our passports and were pretty sure that Cooper was not allowed in Austria. We told Coop to keep his head down and drove across the boarder!

After an eventful time renting skis where hardly any english was spoken, we made it to the magic carper, ready to shreed some pow-pow. Sabrina’s first experience on skis was a success! Her face was a combination of joy and fear. When asked what her favorite part was, she promptly said hot chocolate! Sounds about right. Our accommodation was typical German style in a quaint European town called Pfronten. This town known for its beer and massive bonfires that ward away evil winter spirits.

It’s hard to believe that we have been in Germany for a month already! Time is going quickly! Everyday we are starting to feel more settled and are learning  the nuances of living in a foreign country. A couple things we’ve observed:

1) You always need cash; merchants do not like credit cards and when you try to use them, you get a dirty look followed by some grumpy German expression I don’t yet understand
2) Bread, pretzels, donuts and croissants are so cheap and available on every street corner
3) It’s cheaper to drink beer than water
4) Cyclists don’t use traditional arm signals when turning which creates some serious confusion during our rides
5) It’s a beautiful city with so much to do and see! We’re lucky to be here:)

Here’s a picture of my morning commute with Sabrina to her school and our Valentine’s breakfast cake (we tried to make a heart with raspberries:))!

This weekend was Carnival! In Germany, Carnival is a pre-lent celebration where people dress up, party, parade through the streets and enjoy traditional Carnival sweets (aka candy & donuts)!  At Sabrina’s school, they had a celebration where all kids needed to dress up. Of course we didn’t bring a costume so I got crafty! I was pretty proud of our Peppa the Pig! We decided to check out the local Parade to round out the experience. This included floats, candy, confetti, dancing, singing, and lots of shenanigans (both Adrian and I were hit in the head with  a pack of flying mentos):)

We also went to the Public Library. All the books are in Germany so instead of reading, Sabrina opted to rock out to some German tunes! The other fun adventure we had this weekend was baking! Germany has an odd baking powder/baking soda concoction which leaves a questionable after-taste. After some experimenting we successfully made pancakes and banana muffins! A little taste of home:)

Our day started off with homemade German Apple Cake (turned out surprisingly well considering the directions where in German and I was missing some ingredients), a river walk with random musical instruments hanging in a tree and a trip to a winter carnival.  Sabrina loved the heiße Schokolade and Adrian an XL Stiegl!