Bringing up Boys: the musings of a military wife: 2013 in review

We've just finished our first year in Germany, that is, the 5 of us all together in the same time zone. The new year always begs me to stop and reflect not just to formulate new resolutions or revisit old ones, but also to really savor the memories. We've met some wonderful people, traveled to some interesting places, made some great new friends, kept old friends close thru the wonders of technology…the following is a recap of our adventures.

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Mike was our first tour guide and excited to share his experiences with us. He helped us find a taste of Christmas before the markets all closed in January with an adventure to Metz, France. King's Cakes & Glühwein for Epiphany!

9 Tirol, Austria: thanks to new friends, our first trip took us to a beautiful country and a great weekend of skiing…. but even better, spending a day in Innsbruck and eating Kaiserscharrn!

8 Birthdays and long weekends made for a perfect opportunity to run up to Bruxelles, Belgium. Why all the fuss about the peeing boy statue, we'll never know. We enjoyed the arches, Atomium, waffles & chocolate!

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In April, Jennifer came to visit and off we ventured to the Netherlands! There were no blooms in Keukenhof, just acres of dirt, so our imaginations filled in the blanks. Haarlem was a delightful little gem --we wished to rent bikes and stay there longer! Amsterdam was where surprise met our eyes --we found the Van Gogh exhibition when the Anne Frank line was too long.

top of the spire, Köln Cathedral

6 April far from over, Spring Break travel took us for a quick 2 night trip to Venice, Italy. We enjoyed watching the gondolas, walking thru the bridge of sighs, listening to dueling orchestras (but learned not to order food in the piazza!) and discovering the greatest gelato ever!

5 As soon as we could shake the dust from our school books, we were on a plane to Faro, Portugal. The week split between 2 great places --Seville, Spain and the beach resort at Faro! The bullfight ring tour beckons our return for a real fight, the cathedral in Seville -a monstrosity; the Roman ruins in Carmona and a B&B stay in the countryside awesome; sailing trip along the coast of Portugal to see Columbus's view followed by swimming, picnicking and sandcastle building at the beach. Hard to decide what we liked most!

Faro, Portugal

Carmona, Spain

4 Next Vienna, Salzburg and Budapest! SO many wonderful things--staying with Edith in Vienna where the breakfast conversation was remarkable; the playground across the street, Vienna Woods, dinner with Leonard's family, Klimt museum, Schönbrunn Palace…..

Budapest was a magical city--Olympic pentathlete host, dinner and sightseeing with good friends, markets, the shoe sculpture, Parliament at night and did I mention amazing Hungarian food?!

Budapest!

The tour continued with a mountain/lake retreat at Lake Wolfgangsee, Austria. Home to Mozart, Sound of Music and just a stone's throw to Salzburg. Favorites included the Salt mine tour, zug to the highest peak, another awesome playground, beautiful hikes and boating on the lake. Actually enjoyed the country so much we never made it into Salzburg!

3 The events from mid July thru most of September were not on the "original plan" --a last minute trip to Iowa for me to help dad move to assisted living. While there, the mayor dedicated the bandstand to dad for his 60+ years of bringing music to the city. It was a difficult, stressful time sprinkled with a few comical moments, Ragbrai, good old Iowa cookin', renewing friendships from long ago and most of all spending time with dad. The 5 of us were together in Iowa for dad's funeral in September for this picture. Who would've thought the USA would be on our list of countries visited this past year?!

Fairfield, Iowa Central Park "Ron Prill Bandstand"

2 I actually returned from Iowa for a few days in early September and together with friends, our family enjoyed the winefest and parade at Bern Kasel Kues!

Mike has never enjoyed a parade. Until now.

1 In mid October I journeyed without the family to Poland for a little Polish Pottery therapy. It was a wonderful experience with some new friends --great food and new dishes for our table!

0 Zach discovered we didn't need to go far from home for excitement --walking the meadows and fields around our village we found miniature horses and even sheep using our main street to find greener pasture!

Finally, finished up the year celebrating the Christmas season with concerts: Mike's band, Alex & Nate's band concerts, Zach's Nutcracker performances, Christmas Markets and a beautiful holiday in Canterbury area and London!