Hippity Hoppity!

Easter's on its way! Clearly, our March has not been all that exciting, as I have not posted anything lately. We have enjoyed the nicer weather, and Jackson has enjoyed sitting on the porch watching the birds.

This morning, we went to JFC Brunssum, which is one of the bases in our area, for their Easter egg hunt. Jackson really enjoyed picking up the eggs and putting them in his basket. He also met the Easter Bunny, and didn't cry!



The entire event was actually very nice. It was a NATO event, so there were people there from different nationalities, and it had a carnival atmosphere. So, there were lots of European fest rides for the kids and a pancake breakfast. Very nice indeed.

We are going to have a quiet Easter weekend next week. Chris will have a long weekend, so we will probably have a couple of day trips to record. Otherwise, we will just be enjoying this gorgeous Spring weather that we have here in Germany!

Wind Storm!

I just came inside the house after spending too long outside picking up sticks, both miniscule and gigantic (actual tree branches). I did this right alongside my German neighbor, who was using brooms of all sizes to also clean up specks of dirt from in between the bricks on her driveway and from the gutter on the sidewalk. I was lucky to just get the branches off of the lawn.

Anyways, what prompted this desire to go outside and clean with the Germans? Don't worry, I wasn't trying to compete. Who can do that with Frau Dirt Pail living next door?

First of all, Jackson and I were pulling into the driveway after going to a music playgroup run by some British ladies (it was fun!), and as my neighbor was out clearing the clutter, I decided I might as well put in an appearance.

You see, we had a MASSIVE wind storm yesterday. It was quite scary. And, that's saying something since this area is known for being windy.

We were leaving Wiesbaden yesterday, and experienced this crazy wind for the entire two-hour trip. Signs were flying off of sign posts, trees were being uprooted, trailers were being overturned. We saw more emergency vehicles during that trip home than we did a few weeks ago when we drove through a snow storm.

The wind and rain were fierce back at our house. Our Sunday School group was cancelled for the evening, and we were just starting to figure out what we would make for dinner, when I heard what sounded like a tornado siren. Chris ran outside, verified that was what he thought it was too, and we bolted down to the basement. Living in Oklahoma will make you nothing if not prepared for a tornado.

Ultimately, we're not entirely sure what the siren was for. It might have just been a severe storm warning. But, we do know that we had lots of wind and lots of sticks in the yard. And, you can bet that the Germans were out early making sure that we Americans felt beyond incompetent in making sure the yard was back to perfect only hours later.

Wiesbaden & Easter Market

As soon as I read the words "Easter Market", I knew what our plans would be for this past weekend. This particular market supposedly would feature Easter eggs, baskets, springtime decorations, and chocolate, so I was on board. The market was going to take place in Kloster Eberbach, a monastery on the Rhine River. We decided to make a little trip of it, stay in Wiesbaden, and take in the traveling Titanic exhibit.

We left on Saturday during what was a gorgeous sunny day. Our GPS even took us on a route that crossed the Rhine River on a ferry! We arrived at the gorgeous monastery, and things were looking promising. Unfortunately, though, the Easter Market was pretty disappointing. I didn't even take pictures, because it was not all what I expected.

Sure, there were beautifully painted Easter eggs. But, nothing really compares to the most spectacular Easter egg store in the world, Easter in Salzburg. This store (obviously located in Salzburg, Austria) blows you away with the wide range of gorgeous eggs. I recommend buying your eggs there.

So, we decided to just head to the hotel. I had read the following from Rick Steves regarding Wiesbaden: skip it. The spa town is known for its thermal baths; its culture center, Kurhaus; and its proximity to the Rhine River wine region. I was determined to prove Rick wrong. Wiesbaden was going to be worth it! Unfortunately, I was wrong.

It was a fine city to hang out in for a few hours, but Rick was correct. Wiesbaden is lovely, don't get me wrong. And, it had not one but TWO Starbucks! There really wasn't that much to see, though.

The Titanic exhibit was great, though! I highly recommend going, if you ever get the chance to go. The whole exhibit was led by an audio guide, which I have decided is the best way to see exhibits. You get all the important information and can move as quickly or slowly as you would like.

Although it was a bummer of a location for the weekend, we decided it was nice to go out and see somewhere new.

Happy Birthday, George Washington!

"Two centuries ago, King George III was told that President George Washington, who had eight years earlier turned down the opportunity to be the king of the United States, was planning to give up the presidency at the conclusion of his second term and return to his farm in Mount Vernon. The astonished monarch, who had lost a war to General Washington, said, 'If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.' Washington did, and he was. Does anything more clearly illustrate how far we have fallen in 210 years?" --columnist Burt Prelutsky

Bruges

I am going to write a book. [If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you're probably thinking, "Yeah, right. You've said that for a long time."] But, seriously, I found a topic and everything. It's going to be written under the working title Europe: Don't Travel With Children.

It's not that Jackson isn't a joy as a travel companion. In fact, he's pretty good about traveling. Europe, on the other hand, is starting to be a miserable travel companion. Maybe it's just Europe in the winter.

Anyways, I saw on Chris' work schedule awhile back that there was going to be a three-day weekend, so I jumped on making travel reservations for Bruges, Belgium. A romantic place for Valentine's Day, I was thinking.

Well, it didn't occur to me at the time that this holiday weekend was not in celebration of Presidents Day - it was actually NATO's holiday for Rosenmontag, or Carnival Monday. So, strike one for us, since we missed out on the Carnival stuff all weekend in the Netherlands and Germany. Belgians apparently don't do Carnival.

Here's something else they don't do - anything travel-friendly for people with strollers. Just as one example of the non-stroller-friendly madness: we searched for a long time through the streets of Bruges on Sunday for a cafe, restaurant, fast-food place, anything, where we could change and feed Jackson. We searched high and low and could find nowhere that the stroller could make it in the doorway or around tables. Nowhere.

So, we sat outside on a freezing cold bench to feed our poor baby. We sat contemplating the situation. Would it have been better to haul Jack around in the Baby Bjorn all weekend? No, ultimately that would have also been a disaster. No restaurants that we saw had high chairs, so even if we could take him inside easily, there would have been no place to put him once we got to a table.

All that aside, though, we really had a nice trip. Bruges was beautiful, even during the winter. The canals were iced over and the swans were walking around on the ice. There were a few other high points:

1. Our bed and breakfast. Gone are the days where you hear about a really great deal that just seems impossible to be true. I think a lot of that disappeared with the arrival of the euro. But, we actually found one. We stayed in a quaint little apartment a short distance from the city center that was (you'll never believe it) 55 EUROS PER NIGHT. Seriously. And we had an awesome breakfast included in that price. We couldn't believe it. AND, the owner welcomed us with a Belgian kriek (cherry) beer that was to die for.

2. Shopping. We found great stores, including one that had lots of ornaments for different holidays. I'm a sucker for this type of place. In fact, they had something completely genius - a Carnival tree. I had always thought to buy some beautiful masks in Venice, but never knew what I would do with them. And, this store had a gorgeous tree set up, covered in Carnival masks and other ornaments. It was spectacular.

3. Meridian restaurant. Every guidebook and Belgian told us not to eat in the Markt square. It was considered touristy and gauche, overpriced without great food. If you have a child, though, disregard such advice and eat all your meals at the Meridian restaurant in the Markt square. At a certain frustrated point, we peered in the window and saw a navigable table for us. As soon as we got the stroller in, we were greeted with such hospitality. They offered us spacious seating upstairs with use of an elevator; the food was incredible and beautifully presented; and the waiters loved to come up to Jackson and talk to him. We were so mad that we found this on our last day.

Ultimately, we had a nice weekend, and were happy to visit Bruges. We just want to go back in warmer weather, and this time we'll know what we're in for.

Alaaf!

This morning Jackson gave us the best surprise ever - he slept in until 8:00 a.m.! He had one minor bump in the road, waking up around 1:00, but who would have thought he would sleep so late! So, we did what most parents would do. We threw a parade in his honor:



OK, well, the parade wasn't to celebrate our sleep. We went to Sittard today for the Children's Carnaval Parade. It was pretty amazing. The town was decked out in red, yellow, and green streamers, flags, balloons, confetti, and a whole array of other things. Children were dressed in all kinds of different costumes, as were their parents and grandparents.

We made our way to the market square where there were food booths and the parade route set up. Being that we came straight from church, we got some soup from a vendor for lunch. A Dutch man came up to us, laughing, and said, "Oh, you went straight for the soup!" We stared at him quizzically, and he said, "Well, you should start with beer!"

At the children's parade?

We really had a good time watching the colorful floats and bands walking by. It's a great start to Carnaval! Alaaf! [Don't know what that means, but I'm assuming it's similar to the Greek "Opa"!]

Oil Change or Blood Money?

Today I tackled a chore that I have been putting off for awhile. I took our Dodge Charger in for an oil change/12,000 mile checkup. I was avoiding this for a couple of reasons, and the situation lived up to the hype.

I was dreading the possibility of sitting there for a couple of hours with Jackson (check, it happened) and the temper tantrum that would come from being there for awhile (check and check).

In order to maintain our warranty, we are required to take the car to a dealer. This is incredibly easy to handle in the United States, but Europe isn't exactly crawling with Dodge dealers. In fact, people literally stop on the street to stare at our apparently alien looking car.

Fortunately for us, there is a Dodge dealer in Schinnen. So, that's where I went today. The people there were very friendly, but I was in a lousy mood. We were experiencing snowfall and serious wind just when I was trying to get the stroller into the non-stroller friendly stair/doorway scenario they have going on, all while trying to keep my little angel asleep after we had already gone to stroller fitness and done errands for the day. Please keep sleeping, please keep sleeping.

So, typical long wait, screaming tantrum American baby, and they finally tell me very pleasantly that the car is ready! And, I go on up to the counter to find that I owe them 233 euros! That's about $360. For what was basically an oil change, tire rotation, and a washer fluid fill-up.

Is it that expensive in the United States, or is this just crazy European price gouging?? I expected the oil to be expensive, but honestly.