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Sunday, April 20, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Mom & Pop's Birthday Visit
Jody turned 40 this year....Mom and Pop were able to visit after being in Portugal. Perfect timing. While they were here we went to see the Rembrandt Exhibit at the Schwetzingen Schloss. It was a rainy day and we were the only one's in there. The collection of Rembrandt's work included pen and ink drawings. Simply magnificient. The next day we drove down to Dachau. It was the first concentration camp of its kind in Germany. When people asked us what we were doing while they were visiting and we said that we were going to visit Dachau. Their response was almost always, "why would you do that?" Very interesting. I personally feel sad for the contemporary German culture in that I think they feel shame when it's not their job too anymore. Apparently, all German schools have written into their curriculum that the kids (High School) visit a concentration camp. It's a good thing and we were inundated by many school age kids. (I don't think they were able to actually grasp how deeply meaningful the exhibit was.) Mom didn't feel good at all that day. I wonder how much was internal and how much was emotional. It was a very good learning opportunity. Maybe at the end of our visit here we'll be able to expose Zane and Tab...not yet, not yet.
Easter Break 2008
Heidelberg International School LOVES breaks. We love that they love breaks. It gives us a chance to check out, travel and see the European world around us. Jody up to this point, has been extremely busy with work, but gave us his blessing and let us make some short trips. He was missed very much, but we really had a great time. I think we will eventually go back to these locations so that he'll have the opportunity to visit them as well.
Our first visit was to Amsterdam. Our friend's the Graf's were gracious enough to host us. We had such a GREAT time hanging out with them in the evenings at their incredibly neato house. They fed us and made us feel comfortable. The boys were sad that Kelton and Branson had school and that they had to site-see with me. :o) Each night however, the boys had a blast rough-housing, having gross farting competions and basically laughing alot. It was so good to see them having such a great time. During the day we got to visit Anne Frank's house, The Van Gogh Museum, and the I AM-sterdam sign. We rode the tram all over town...(thanks Chelsea & Sydney for all of your help). At one point I told the boys to keep their eyes open for tourist shops so that we could buy patches for their jackets. (They are collecting them at all the different places that they have visited.) Zane spotted a shop by the tram and as we approached it, I noticed that it had many rainbow flags and crude things. I was attempting to steer the boys away when Zane noticed a huge black and white photo on the outside of the building. He said, "Hey mom, look at those two men...their tongues are stuck together." YIKES! I promptly redirected his view and said we'd have to find patches elsewhere. Oh sweet innocence!!!!! The next day on our way out of town we went to Haarlem, where we got to take the Corrie ten Boom tour. We were the only one's to show up. It was very neat. What a lady...what a testimony.
The following weekend was Easter. Jody was able to join us for a trip to Lucerne, Switzerland. We stayed at the Waldersee Hotel right by the train station. We were able to ski at the nearby Titel Ski Resort on Eisenberg Mountain. The first day was beautiful. The Swiss Alps are beautiful...different beautiful. Being used to the Colorado Rockies, Jody and I decided that the mountain ranges should trade names. It's very rocky in the Alps. We've also decided that I shouldn't be allowed to ski with the guys on the first day...ever...never...ever. It seems I slow everyone down. I keep thinking I'll like it more, but I never do. I seem to have a very short term memory problem. Anyway, the guys had a blast and the second day, (when I graciously said that I'd let them do their own thing) and I'd go snow-shoeing with Lolli. Simply beautiful. The last day we visited the town of Lucerne. Their was much to see. Old bridges. A beautiful carving of a lion, right into the mountain to honor a martyr or something like that. (Ask Jody, he knows all the historical details.) It was great.
The last weekend of the break we travelled to Prague in the Czech Republic. Some of our friends, Greg, Rachel, and Bayley went with us. They stayed in a hotel, while we stayed with our new friends Craig, Sarah & Isaiah. What a blast. Rachel and I ran in the Prague Half Marathon. It was truly the best way to visit and site-see all over the town. It was windy, but other than that...a lovely day. We had so much fun. Prague was beautiful but seemed a little sad to me. We stopped by a Czech Beer Company on the way home. Beer, beer and more beer. Unbelievable!
Our first visit was to Amsterdam. Our friend's the Graf's were gracious enough to host us. We had such a GREAT time hanging out with them in the evenings at their incredibly neato house. They fed us and made us feel comfortable. The boys were sad that Kelton and Branson had school and that they had to site-see with me. :o) Each night however, the boys had a blast rough-housing, having gross farting competions and basically laughing alot. It was so good to see them having such a great time. During the day we got to visit Anne Frank's house, The Van Gogh Museum, and the I AM-sterdam sign. We rode the tram all over town...(thanks Chelsea & Sydney for all of your help). At one point I told the boys to keep their eyes open for tourist shops so that we could buy patches for their jackets. (They are collecting them at all the different places that they have visited.) Zane spotted a shop by the tram and as we approached it, I noticed that it had many rainbow flags and crude things. I was attempting to steer the boys away when Zane noticed a huge black and white photo on the outside of the building. He said, "Hey mom, look at those two men...their tongues are stuck together." YIKES! I promptly redirected his view and said we'd have to find patches elsewhere. Oh sweet innocence!!!!! The next day on our way out of town we went to Haarlem, where we got to take the Corrie ten Boom tour. We were the only one's to show up. It was very neat. What a lady...what a testimony.
The following weekend was Easter. Jody was able to join us for a trip to Lucerne, Switzerland. We stayed at the Waldersee Hotel right by the train station. We were able to ski at the nearby Titel Ski Resort on Eisenberg Mountain. The first day was beautiful. The Swiss Alps are beautiful...different beautiful. Being used to the Colorado Rockies, Jody and I decided that the mountain ranges should trade names. It's very rocky in the Alps. We've also decided that I shouldn't be allowed to ski with the guys on the first day...ever...never...ever. It seems I slow everyone down. I keep thinking I'll like it more, but I never do. I seem to have a very short term memory problem. Anyway, the guys had a blast and the second day, (when I graciously said that I'd let them do their own thing) and I'd go snow-shoeing with Lolli. Simply beautiful. The last day we visited the town of Lucerne. Their was much to see. Old bridges. A beautiful carving of a lion, right into the mountain to honor a martyr or something like that. (Ask Jody, he knows all the historical details.) It was great.
The last weekend of the break we travelled to Prague in the Czech Republic. Some of our friends, Greg, Rachel, and Bayley went with us. They stayed in a hotel, while we stayed with our new friends Craig, Sarah & Isaiah. What a blast. Rachel and I ran in the Prague Half Marathon. It was truly the best way to visit and site-see all over the town. It was windy, but other than that...a lovely day. We had so much fun. Prague was beautiful but seemed a little sad to me. We stopped by a Czech Beer Company on the way home. Beer, beer and more beer. Unbelievable!
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