Strasbourg

We had breakfast at a cafe near our Air B&B. The kids were impressed with all of the kinds of bread offered.

This was what impressed Ken and me!

Hot chocolate with a heart - does it get any better?!

Owen was quite excited to buy strawberries from the stand outside the cafe. Of course, he needed more money than he had, so here he is trying to convince me to give him more money...

Our first view of downtown Strasbourg, France - such cool looking houses!

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg

As we stood there staring at the cathedral, Ken heard some Mongolian music. Sure enough, we found this Mongolian guy playing music on a morin khuur, the traditional Mongolian instrument. He and Ken chatted for a bit - between the two of us we can communicate in almost anything BUT German :)

We climbed up one of the towers to get these magnificent views:

The cathedral was just as impressive inside!

Ice cream stop!

I would go into every one of these flower shops if I had the time.

We stopped to grab some pretzels for a snack at this cute shop.

We picked out a bench and feasted on the snacks we'd brought through out the day.

This picture here summarizes the grand success of this first outing into France!

Hohennagold Castle

We used our first 3 day weekend to go to Strasbourg, France, which is a short 2 hour drive away. I still can't believe how close we are to so many different countries! Ken likes finding a castle to break up our road trip, and we had a lot of time to explore.  First stop: Hohennagold Castle, right by the Black Forest. 

The kids would have stayed here for hours longer!

Barbarians are attacking the castle!

Fortunately for the castle, their climbing skills are not that threatening!

There have been SO many wasps since we got here. Apparently it is illegal to spray for them... Owen, having been stung several times, gets quite jumpy around them. He did think it was cool to see one up close on the camera screen though!

We found a monastery that looked worth checking out. 

Wasserfalle Allerheiligen, in the Black Forest. Colby spent the entire drive here chanting "Dark Forest!" over and over, even though the other kids kept correcting him. There was a little bit of disappointment from the kids that the trees weren't actually black, but we promised next time to find a spookier, more fairy-tale-looking section (i.e. a gingerbread house with a witch...) 

Lots of steps to the waterfall!

The beautiful sunset as we drove around FOREVER trying to find our Air B&B...

Warnings on Water

After this week, I've decided the water here needs to come with warnings. More specifically, ones I can understand! Perhaps a few more weeks in my German class will help... 

We sent the kids to school with disposable water bottles to take for lunch the first day. Unfortunately for them, we sent bubbly water. Let me just say no one was amused when they returned home! I now religiously scour the labels at the store, trying to make sure I'm buying the "right" water. When you're not expecting bubbly water, it can really throw you off!

The 2nd water mishap was mine alone. I found this bottle of cherry water at the store and bought it because I thought it was a really cool bottle. Future cutesy craft use, right?! I know the word for cherry, and the word for water. Checked the label to make sure I wasn't buying alcohol, because I don't drink and really don't want to start now... I thought I was in the clear. Did you know that "kirche" is cherry and "kirsch" is brandy?!? Cause I sure did the moment I started to drink my fancy "flavored water!" Ken still laughs at the memory of me spraying it out all over the kitchen sink. But hey, at least I got to keep the bottle! No more flavored water for me. 

Ode to a Garbage Disposal (among other things)

One thing that has slapped me in the face (sometimes more gently than others:) are all the differences between the countries we've lived in - it feels so foreign here! I knew it would be like this initially, until we get used to it, but it is still a hard adjustment!

Some of the difficulties include:

• The lack of a garbage disposal. Never have I missed it as much as I do now!
• The recycling/garbage system here. So many different colored bins and rules for sorting, I'm almost afraid to throw anything away...
• The fact that we live on the 3 floor of the apartment building. No elevator. Bringing the groceries in suddenly becomes an aerobic exercise!
• The teeny sized washer and dryer. We can't even fit one day's worth of all our laundry in one load! And the loads take quite a while to run...

BUT, before I get carried away, we've been so fortunate to find things that make us happy, or make it feel a little more like home. Here are a few:

We still have access to Amazon. Which makes mail day SO exciting!

Tyler joined the school soccer team - new friends, and an activity he's good at!

A giant park close enough to walk to, where we can play soccer and other kids join in

We found a store carrying all of the school supplies Owen needs for his weekly "forest day" at school - rain boots, rain pants and a rain jacket

The local grocery store has the best little plant section - I may not have enough dishes for everyone to eat on without washing them before every meal, but I have a new selection of house plants to brighten up the house :)

The apple juice - my number one favorite drink, and the stuff here is AMAZING!

The shop owner at a nearby pizza place is an Arab who speaks both Arabic and Spanish - we were so excited to have someone be able to understand us we talked his ear off for a while. He'll be getting a lot of business from us! 

The TV tower near our house (which reminds us of a mosque minaret) which means I can't really ever get lost going home - just follow the tower! Those of you who know what an "awesome" sense of direction I have know this is a blessing...

And the fact that every single one of these beautiful people are trying their hardest to stay upbeat during this transition! I'm glad to have such a great family.