PARIS, FRANCE

Well, Paris is beautiful.  Also smelly, but no one seems to mention that part of the city, and it is easily forgotten with the beautiful sites on every corner. Brian and I took the train to Paris, and quickly figured out the Metro system in order to get to the apartment we were renting. After two security codes and quite a lot of stairs, we found ourselves in the most adorable one bedroom apartment with wooden beams and a lofted bed. I loved it immediately. Because we were only spending 2 nights and 3 days in the city, I wanted to make the most of our time, so we walked straight to the Louvre. The art museum is unbelievably large, and our plan to start at the top and work ourselves down was turned a hour later into finding the Mona Lisa and high tailing it out of there! I was so frustrated by the swarms of people around that one painting that I wanted to yell at everyone, “Stop shoving yourself to the front of the lines to take a picture, and look at the painting! Is anyone actually looking at this painting?!” I refused to take a picture of her, strictly out of spite.

The stairs leading up to our apartment!

the Louvre!

We walked along the expensive shopping streets, ate crepes in the park, and strolled by the Seine River in order to get to the Eiffel Tower. It was so strange to be in front of the symbol of Paris, which I could have recognized at the age of 5, thanks to "Madeline". To actually see with my own two eyes was hard to take in, so Brian and I laid on the lawn in front of the Tower for awhile, taking pictures and avoiding the strange foreign men selling miniature versions of the icon. That evening, we trusted our guidebook and ate at a fantastic outdoor restaurant serving typical French cuisine. Oh, and we also shared two desserts (aka I ate both of them), one being the most perfect, extremely wonderful, greatest chocolate mousse that I will ever eat in my entire life. 

Lovely, lovely Paris.

We found her!

Brian taking good pictures!

I love outdoor restaurants and great food!

On Thursday morning I woke up early, so I decided to wander the streets in search of breakfast. Where we stayed was so picturesque, and it was easy to find a bakery for croissants and a street grocer for fresh cherries. The New Europe Free Walking Tour was on the agenda for day two, and we really enjoyed walking around and learning all about the important sites, as well as the lesser known tidbits about Paris. We took a quick look at Montemare, the Parisian neighborhood where Picasso used to hang out, but we scared by the cheap, aggressive souvenir shops and headed back to our apartment for a rest before dinner. That night we went on a dinner boat cruise, and it was so fun to drink wine, eat a 5 star meal, and watch the sites float by. Our timing was perfect to go check out the top deck because we got to see the Eiffel Tower at night! I think I might like the nighttime Eiffel Tower the best!

View from our dinner cruise!

After cleaning the apartment and eating more croissants, we had a full schedule to keep for our last hours in Paris. Unfortunately, we didn’t factor in that every place on our list would have people lined up for hours outside. We tried to wait in a few of the lines, like outside of the Catacombs and Musée d’Orsay, but our impending train back to Germany made waiting in lines for hours not seem practical. We quickly changed plans, visiting the inside of the Notre Dame, wandering around weird interior the Pompidou, and grabbing a few baguettes before heading back to the train station. While Paris might have not turned out to be the “City of Love” for Brian and me, the little taste of the city was just enough to make me want to visit more! The French people were not rude and scary like Brian and I had predicted, of course the food is absolutely wonderful, and it was not so smelly all of the time.

Notre Dame

Cathedral in Montemare.

Yummy Eclair. 

Back in Germany, Brian was a great Au Pair assistant, and Mathis and I did our best to give him the real German experience. Once I slipped up and took Brian to see a movie in English, but a lot of times during his visit I would forget, turn to him, and say things in German, so I think it came out even in the end. We made one last American meal for the family (Sloppy Joes!), and on Thursday Brian was on his way back to America, hopefully without any E.coli. 

While you are waiting...

Hi! We are back from Paris and updates are on the way, but here is an adorable Mathis video to entertain while you wait!





More soon!

Strawberries and Rollar Blades - Erdbeeren und In-Line Skates

Lane took the trains all by herself back to Rheda-Wiedenbrück on Friday. After some shopping, we went back home and got ready for a fancy dinner that Christof and Sandra were treating us to that night. 

We all wore high heels! Well, not Christof.

The next morning we woke up, ate some cereal, and strapped on rollerblades. Yes, that is correct. Lane and I had planned on going strawberry picking on Saturday, but were thrown a curve ball when our bikes were in the shop. “No worries,” says Sandra, “You can take the in-line skates.” We were worried. After spending the greater part of the morning practicing and taking pictures in the backyard, we set off to the bank before skating to the strawberry field. Bad idea, seeing that the bank was located in Old Town Wiedenbrück, aka cobblestone galore. It also didn’t help that we were skating with a big purse and an empty bucket for our strawberries, but we made it to the bank with only two wipe outs. After sitting outside of the bank and removing our skates, we went in wearing socks, keypads, and wrist guards. Money in hand, we skated to the strawberry field, which was actually very nice and easy to get to, and picked strawberries for probably around 4 minutes. When our bucket was full, we went to pay. 3.17 Euros. We had triple that before our disastrous trip to the bank. Who knew strawberry picking was so fun and so cheap!? Plus, we learned that Mathis loves strawberries as well.

Blading is serious business. Safety is also. Please note the safety gear.

Finally made it to the bank!

Taking off our skates so we can go inside.

The cobblestones were problematic. 

We made it to the strawberry field!

Skating back with our strawberries.

We were proud.

Mathis and Lane excited to eat!

We babysat that night and baked a German chocolate cake for Martha's birthday on Sunday. They had never heard of it. Right as we were commenting how problem less and calm Lane’s trip had been, she just happened to check one of her flights which just happened to be cancelled. After some minor panicking they found her a flight an hour earlier and added another stop to her trip, coming to a grand total of six airports in 24 hours. We woke up at 3:30am and I drove (stick shift!) to Düsseldorf with Sandra. Man, I really loved having Lane here. I can’t wait to come visit her in Maryland when I get back to the States. 

Speaking of visitors, Brian is supposed to be landing in Düsseldorf on Friday. Here’s to hoping this volcano in Iceland doesn’t get in his way! 

CROATIA! - Part Two

Many steep hills later, we found Lapad, the subdivision of Dubrovnik where we were staying, but we couldn’t find out actual hostel. We parked on a street we could find, and hiked up the steep stairs connecting the streets that we would come to love. A friendly homeowner who could speak surprisingly great English pointed us in the right direction, and we found the hostel owner in the street waiting to greet us. We was busy at the moment, but told us her son would drive with one of us to our assigned parking spot. She called him, pointed over out shoulders, and we turned, expecting to see a gorgeous  and tan Croatian God like in the films.  Instead, a lanky smoker in his nascar hat shook our hands, asked furiously who the driver was, and I marched off behind him to the car, practically running to keep up. We ran out of things to talk about on the first set of stairs, but stopped often to have loud arguments with the neighbors. He asked for the keys, I sat in the passenger seat, and we were off. Only then did I remember how it isn’t the best idea to give your car keys to complete strangers, and then free willingly get in the car with them. Whoops. He had a lot to say when we started driving, though, and he made a big loop, shouting out all of the important things to see and know, in between shouting at people on the street that he knew or hated. I couldn’t tell. Lots of shouting.

Back at the hostel, I decided against all of the son’s suggestions except for food recommendations, which all were delicious in the end. After pizza and pasta for dinner, a trip to the Lapad side of the Adriatic, and a bus to the Old Town, we found quite possibly the most scenic bar in the world. Back alleys led us to a doorway through to the other side of the Old City Walls, and we enjoyed Croatian beer on rocks facing the Adriatic. A really fun jazz bar paired with drunken British men dancing about made for a great end to our first night in Dubrovnik. 

Clear Water and Sunset 

Lane's Idea to Get "In" the Adriatic

We woke up, ate freshly baked croissants, and made it to Old Town, which was a drastically different scene than the night before. A number of cruise ships had docked in Dubrovnik for the day and while the streets were completely packed, we immediately climbed up to the city walls, which felt much more secluded. They are said to be the best preserved ancient city walls in existence, and they provided a beautiful view of the red roofs and the clear Adriatic. 

View from the Walls 

The bar outside the city walls from the night before.

Red roofs of Old Town

Loving every minute!

After some wandering and souvenir shopping, we ate Bosnian food for lunch before jumping on the ferry to Lokrum, an island and nature reserve 15 minutes from Dubrovnik. Possibly the best decision of the day. Once we were off of the ferry (where we saw the guitarist from the jazz bar the night before!) we walked onto the trails and away from all people. The island felt so secluded and we found the most picturesque places to take pictures. After a peacock almost ate me, we found the perfect “cliffs” and bravely jumped into the freezing Adriatic. It was so unbelievably scenic that it was hard to really feel like we were there, but we have the jumping pictures to prove it!

Lane and I climbed up to these towers!

one million jumps later!

Told you it was a big rock! That's me in front, swinging my arms in terror.

After eating shrimp, squid, two types of fish, mussels, and mini octopus. 

Early the next morning we drove to the airport, I parked our lovely stick-shift car in the rental lot, and the weight of the world was lifted off of my shoulders. Then it all came crashing right back down on me when the Styx guy found a scratch on the back right side of the car, but we had insurance! Thank goodness for the insurance. Our flight to Berlin was relaxing, and after a short 6 hour stay in Germany’s capital, which included currywurst, a excellent free walking tour, and wonderful artist squat, we set ourselves on the train and tiredly headed home. 

CROATIA - Part One

Whoever thought that renting and driving a stick shift car in former Yugoslavia was a good idea should never be trusted again. Oh wait, that was me. And that is exactly how we managed to see the country of Croatia almost entirely in 4 days and 3 nights. 

Lane flew into Germany the week before, and I had such a great time showing her all around Rheda-Wiedenbrück. A few long walks with Mathis, who was very afraid of Lane for awhile, provided a great way to see the whole city. On Tuesday we took our bicycles on the train to Münster and saw all the sites via biking, even a beach bar on the harbor! After the gentle “warming up to Mathis” process, he stopped crying and running away from Lane and they became good friends, sort of. 

Trying to take pictures while riding bikes in Münster

Early Thursday morning, April, Lane, and I flew to Zagreb, where I got my first ever stamps in my passport and attempted to pick up our rental car. First problem: I printed the wrong sheet, one without the name of the rental car company, so we had to run down the aisle of 16 companies asking if they had a reservation for Virginia Bridges and then wishing them a good day. Second problem: After finding our man, we were asked to pay a huge deposit we weren’t prepared for, as well as confronted with additional insurance fees. Oh, the joys of renting a car.  A short fight with the GPS later, we were on the road, I was driving stick shift, and the Plitvice Lakes were only 2 hours away!

Things started to get hilly once we turned onto smaller roads, and after one monumental time of burning more rubber than in movies, we found our adorable guesthouse. A few minutes later we were driving to the park, and things got extremely beautiful. The Plitivice Lakes are a Croatian National Park as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and they are made of hundreds of waterfalls, pools, and lakes of the most extraordinary shades of blue and green. I have never seen a place like Plitvice in my whole life, and I especially loved the wooden pathways that led over the entire park.  Around every turn there was another place that was as beautiful if not more beautiful than what we were just looking at. Sadly, the park closed, forcing us to leave. Even though we got stuck at the exit gate in a position impossible to get out of with my current stick-shift skill lever, a nice attendee opened the gate for free for us!  We ate at a delicious Croatian restaurant, took showers, and finished the day outside on our guest house's brand new picnic table with cheap wine, dark chocolate, and some of the best cheese I’ve ever eaten.

One of the first views of the waterfalls!

So lovely. 

Loved the walkways.

Falls everywhere you look. 

View from our guesthouse

Wine, cheese, chocolate, and plans.

The next morning I woke up before the alarm, already worrying about which gear I should be in to back out of the steep driveway, but of course it was fine. We were headed to Split to take a look around, and then to park the car in Dubrovnik that night. All day I just kept thinking, “You don’t have to drive tomorrow.  You park the car tonight and forget about it. There’s no place like Dubrovnik. There’s no place like Dubrovnik.” Lane even helped drive a little on the highway. After a hilarious stalling out/toll road/toll attendant/round-a-bout incident, we switched seats in Split so I could drive in bumper-to-bumper, crazy, market day traffic. It was difficult but we found a great spot to park with only a small hill, and only a minor scratch on the side of the car. No worries - we got the insurance, remember? Split was bustling with the market, but the old town was peaceful and reminded me of Venice, with its winding alleys and the plants growing on the side of the old Roman walls. We ate wonderful fish and gelato inside of gates of Diocletian's Palace, took some quick pictures, and hoped to soak it all in before dashing to the car for the last leg of our road trip. 

Market in Split. 

Old Square in Split

more to come!

JUIST, GERMANY (and Easter - Ostern!)

I might have had a hard time remembering the name of the island we were going to visit the week before Easter, but now I know I will never forget.

Example #1 of Covered Wagon

Juist was a such a cute place! Most of all I loved that it was car free. Christof, Sandra, Mathis, Ilse, and I arrived midday after a 3 hour car ride and 1 1/2 hour ferry trip. The first thing I noticed: covered wagons. There were so many covered wagon taxis on this island, and since I had never imagined covered wagons existed outside of American pioneer stories from the 1800’s, I was loving it! There were horses everywhere, including a garbage cart horse. Our apartment was great, and I got a whole bunk bed to myself. 

I couldn’t wait to get Mathis to the beach for the first time, so Sandra and I walked to the water immediately upon arriving. The beach was incredibly close. The water, not so much. I had never in my life seen a beach span so long from the dunes to the waves. I swear it is a couple of football fields. Also, the North Sea has so many mussel shells! The long kind that are pastel colored, that I used to covent when I was a kid. 

Mathis before.

So many mussels!

Trying to see Norway.

Mathis after.

The five days went by very smoothly. We took Mathis to his first restaurant, and then took him to two more, since he was so well behaved. (I’m sure all of the patrons thought it was as funny as we did when he made a loud “MMmmm” sound every time he had new food in his mouth.) I walked on the beach with Mathis. I walk to almost the end of the island with Mathis. I got a massage without Mathis. My first ever massage and it was way too short. 

In our beach basket. 

Sunset and Beach Baskets

I was so lucky to be allowed to come along. These people spoil me I swear. Juist was great, but the green apple soft serve was especially great. Sounds gross, tastes like heaven. 

Not as good as green apple soft serve, but Mathis is enjoying it.

Speaking of heaven, Easter was on Sunday! We came back with just the right amount of time to dye some Easter eggs and for me to make a four layer Easter cake, the poor Germans. On Sunday, after finding some candy in our garden (thank you Easter Bunny!), Sandra made us a wonderfully tasty brunch including melon with prosciutto, a new favorite food! Soon the entire family was over eating my too sweet cake, while the little boys ran around naked with intentions of using the 2 feet x 2 feet inflatable pool in the backyard. When no one except Mathis wanted to swim, Sandra set up the sprinkler and I think Sandra, Julia, and I were the only ones to run through it. Before Christof made a wonderful steak dinner to close the deal, I got to talk to my parents and Grandé on Skype, and the whole Niemeier/Kückmann clan waved “Hello!” or “Hallo!”. In Germany, they build giant bonfires to burn on Easter in order to smoke out winter and make way for spring. That night Sandra and I rode bikes to meet up with everyone, and after a short photo shoot with Ben and a tractor, we all enjoyed beers and watching the fire. 

I need to practice egg dying. 

It's supposed to have Easter Eggs in the middle.

Easter Fire!

Germany's Next Top Model 

Boys and Fire

Tom being hilarious in his stroller.

Then the Tractor of Death came and gathered the fire together. 

Missed all of you at Easter and can’t wait to make up for all of these missed holidays together next year!