Archive for the ‘Flashback Fridays’ Category

Flashback Friday Brussels 2002

Posted in Belgium, Brussels, Flashback Fridays, Travels on Friday, 18 August, 2006| 2 Comments »

During our trip to Brussels, we endured what seemed like a never-ending stau:

We went to the Atomin, via the Metro, and got caught in a big rainstorm. It was unusually cold and rainy for August.  The Atomin was built in 1958 for the World’s Fair and reminds me of something out of “War of the Worlds” ~ I thought it was pretty strange looking and it was even more weird inside. My stomach did a flip-flop in the elevator on the way up. If you are a fan of art-deco, this is the place for you:

We explored the sights of Brussels:the Grand Place, Sablon Square, the gorgeous, gothic St. Michael’s Cathedral, the Cinquantenaire Arch & Park, and one of my favorites, the cute Manneken Pis. From what I hear, there are several different stories about this statue of a little boy taking a pee, but the one we heard was he was relieving himself in the yard of a witch and she turned him into stone.

We took a day trip to Waterloo and climbed the 216 stairs of the Lion Memorial (which looks towards France). FG and FM are at the top of the memorial looking out at the battlefield:

Before we went to Brussels, I had heard from other people and had read about the delicious chocolate. I’ve got a sweet tooth and have had more than my share of chocolate so I couldn’t imagine that it could be much better than other chocolates.  Chocolate is chocolate, right? Wrong! The chocolate I tasted at the Marcolini chocolate shop at Sablon Sqaure was beyond yummy. Oh, the decadence… from then on, anytime someone said they were going to Brussels, I’d put in my order for more delicious chocolate.

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Luxembourg 2005

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Luxembourg, Travels, tagged on Friday, 11 August, 2006| 3 Comments »

Shortly after moving to Würzburg in Germany, we left the unpacked boxes behind and headed out to Luxembourg City for the weekend. It was a whirlwind trip but we were able to cover the highlights. Throughout the city, there are lots of memorials, museums and monuments. French and German are the two official languages but we had no problem conversing with most people in English. Thankfully, we could count on our daughter who doubles as our German translator.

We took a trip to both the American Cemetery and the German Cemetery. Both cemeteries are impressive but especially the American one. The grounds are beautiful and so well-kept. It’s a fantastic and honorable way to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

We took the “round the city” tour on a double-decker bus which is always a good way to get an overview of a city. Then, we went on a little train (could not have been more touristy) down to the old town and that was a little strange…there was a very stinky, ugly dog sitting right next to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love all animals but…

The shopping was superb and, as we walked along, we grabbed a bite at Chi-Chi Restaurant. It was pretty bad but that’s what we get for thinking we might get good Mexican food in Luxembourg City:

Thankfully, our other restaurant choices for the weekend were much better. It was a good way to spend a couple of days and I’m glad we made time for this short, but fun, getaway.

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Flashback Friday: Move to Würzburg 2005

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Germany on Friday, 4 August, 2006| 3 Comments »

Ironically, our household goods were delivered here in Guam exactly one year to the day they were delivered to our house in Würzburg ~ 25 July.  As I look around on this Friday, I feel the same way I did a year ago, a bit overwhelmed with all the boxes that still need unpacking. We moved to Würzburg knowing it would be for less than a year and the impact it had on FG was heartbreaking. She hated saying goodbye to all her German schoolmates and leaving the only house she remembered living in. In hindsight, we could have done a better job prepping her but, in reality, both FM and I were also a bit in shock. He was suppose to stay in Vilseck for another year but that all got changed when 3rd BDE went away.

One of the biggest let downs of the move was quitting my job. I enjoyed working a lot and was challenged by it. Never was one day the same as the next. FG loved her nanny, Nadja, who helped her with German school work after classes and basically doted on her until I got home.  Sure, there were tough days at work and some less than my favorite people were around, but the good people made working worthwhile: like Ann, one of my favorites, who is now the head honcho and can move mountains when necessary. 😉

Living in Würzburg felt more like a vacation to me since I was always aware of how soon we would be leaving. On the positive side, the town is gorgeous and I loved being in a larger German city for awhile. There was always something going on around town and in the spring/fall we got to enjoy more than one winefest. We explored as much as we could and I will never forget the beautiful Christmas Market in December. Our little town of Rottenbauer had another advantage which was the strassenbahn (streetcar) line into the main city ~ no need for a designated driver. It’s the little things we appreciate so much.

All in all, the move to Würzburg was another adventure I don’t regret. We were much closer to France and ended up taking multiple trips there which was fabulous. I have to say though, there was more than one occasion in which FM and I would say What if we had stayed in Weiden…

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Flashback Friday: Prague (July 2001)

Posted in Czech Republic, Flashback Fridays, Prague, Travels on Friday, 28 July, 2006| 3 Comments »

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In our five years in Germany, our only visit to Prague was in July 2001. You would have thought we’d have visited more often since we were only a 2 hour drive away but there was so much to see in Europe and we never made it back to Prague. Too bad because it’s a wonderful city with so much history. July is the busiest time of year and there were hoards of tourists out and about. We splurged and stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel. Much to our surprise, we were upgraded to a suite upon arrival. I love it when that happens. Problem was, we didn’t want to leave the comfy suite but we did and spent all our waking hours roaming the gorgeous sites of Prague.

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Flashback Friday: Thrown out of School July 2003

Posted in Favorite Girl, Flashback Fridays, Germany on Friday, 21 July, 2006| 1 Comment »

In July 2003, FG was thrown out of kindergarten ~ literally! It’s a great tradition they have at the German kindergarten she attended in Neunkirchen. FG started kindergarten at age 3 and learned to speak German fluently. Good thing because she became our translator 😉

When it’s time for the kindergartners to move up to the first grade, usually at age six or seven, the teachers host a sleep-over party in the school with pizza, french fries, hay rides, lots of games and music. While on the hayride, they stopped at the house of the 1st grade teacher. That was the fun thing about the school ~ everyone lived in the same small town. The morning after the sleepover, the teachers threw the children out onto a mattress ~ symbolically letting them know they were no longer part of the kindergarten:

It was FG’s first sleepover and I knew she was in safe hands with her favorite kindergarten teacher, Lisa. Here is FG (with Lisa) cuddled up in her bear sleeping bag and holding ‘Opus’ the stuffed animal she STILL sleeps with:

Needless to say, there were more than a couple of tears shed by both parents and teachers. After 2 or 3 years, the teachers had developed close ties with the students. For the parents, it was another reminder of how fast children grow up.

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Flashback Friday: July 2004

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Germany on Friday, 14 July, 2006| 1 Comment »

FG took ballet classes for 4 years in Germany. Her official dance recital was held in July 2004 at the Max Reger Halle in Weiden. FG was so excited to actually be on a real stage where we had seen several professional shows. I forget why they were covering their ears ~ it was a song about the Elefanten-Tanten (Dancing Elephant).

FM was not able to attend since he was out of town but I did drag my neighbor, Stephanie, since she only has boys and probably wouldn’t have many chances to attend a dance recital. It was a fun night and the only problem was I sat in the center of the second row and FG saw me as soon as she walked on stage. She froze for a minute but thankfully she didn’t wave and yell “Hi,Mom.” Her teacher, Kathrin, was so energetic and fun with all the girls in the class and they loved her. FG had such a positive experience that now she wants to be up on the stage all the time.


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Flashback Friday: July 1989

Posted in Dogs, Flashback Fridays, tagged , , on Friday, 7 July, 2006| 3 Comments »

I’m going way back on my flashback today. It was 17 years ago that my beloved dog, Cosby and I were staying at my sister’s in Memphis & getting ready to move to the island of Lanai in Hawaii. I had been offered and accepted a fantastic, too-good-to-turn-down job on a management team for a new resort called The Lodge at Koele. I sent all my goods to Lanai ~ which amounted to a whopping 5 boxes of mostly photo albums. I graduated from college the year before, lived in a furnished house and would be moving to a furnished house. Traveling light was easy then.

Life was good ~ moving to Hawaii and a great new job ~ what could be wrong? It seemed that whenever my professional life was going very well, my personal life was in some sort of turmoil.

The team in Lanai wanted me there in June but I put them off a few weeks because my sister was pregnant and due in early July. I really wanted to see her baby before I moved so far away. Unfortunately, my now-17 year old niece had other plans. I was scheduled to fly on 10 July at 6:00 a.m. Wouldn’t you know it, at about 1:30 in the morning on 10 July, my sister woke me up to tell me she couldn’t drive me to the airport because her water just broke. What crazy timing.

So while my sister was having a baby, my dog and I were jetting off to Hawaii. To this day, I wish the timing had been better. My sister understood why I wasn’t there for K.’s birth and, as for the resort in Hawaii, it was one of the best & most rewarding jobs I ever had!

Happy 17th Birthday, K. ~ sorry I’m not there once again to help celebrate but I’m thinking of you and hope you have a great time!

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Flashback Friday: London 2003

Posted in Flashback Fridays, London, Travel, Travels, United Kingdom, tagged , , on Friday, 30 June, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Visiting London was a great way to spend the 4th of July weekend! We were experiencing the hottest and driest European summer in years so my memories of London will be one of hot and dry rather then the stereotypical cold, foggy and wet.

We crammed in as much sightseeing as we could in 3 days and with a 5 year old in tow. The highlights for me were:

* The Tower of London ~ the Beefeater tour guide, a former British Army soldier, was cheeky as could be and well worth the price of the tour.

* Boat Ride on the River Thames ~ again, a hilarious narration of the city’s history. I love British humor.

* The London Eye ~ it took the first half of the ride for me to stop hyperventilating, but then I enjoyed the fabulous views of London and wanted to go again.

* Trip to Greenwich ~ as in Greenwich Mean Time.

* “Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang” ~ a play in the West End, fun for young and old alike.

* Hyde Park ~ FG was fascinated with water fountains at this time and loved the ones all over the city. This photo of FG is in Hyde Park:

We took the Tube everywhere we traveled and the only time I felt unsafe was our attempt to find a Lonely Planet recommended vegetarian restaurant in Notting Hill. As we left the Tube station, and ventured toward the address, the neighborhood got more than a little sketchy. Once we finally got to the door, we found it boarded up. Good thing we are early eaters and it was still light out. Lesson learned: we ALWAYS call a restaurant when going by a travel guide book, regardless of how new the book is.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July weekend!

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Flashback Friday: Germany Volksmarching 2001-2005

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Germany, Travels, tagged , , , , on Friday, 23 June, 2006| 1 Comment »

We started going on Volksmarches soon after arriving in Germany. Every Thursday, the Stars and Stripes lists upcoming Volksmarches in the travel section. Since Logan was only three when we started, we would partake in the 5k walks and the dogs came with us. As years passed, FG could handle the 10k but the dogs were getting too old for such a long walk.

If you are living in Germany, I highly recommend participating in a Volksmarch whenever you can. I have to admit, I was a fair-weathered walker but I went as often as I could. The walks are very well organized. The start/finish area always has good food & beer awaiting you.

From the first walk with our good friends the Drakes in 2001, with the Lows in 2003 to the last one with the Sharp family in 2005, I have very fond memories of walking through the towns and wooded areas of Germany. It was always a good time!

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Flashback Friday: Venice, Italy June 2001

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Italy, Travels, tagged , , on Friday, 16 June, 2006| 3 Comments »

Logan and I moved to Germany in late May 2001. John had already been there a month, the car we shipped had arrived and John was itching to start exploring Europe. First long weekend trip: Venice, Italy. We drove from Germany to Venice on Father’s Day weekend. It took a little longer than expected due to a Friday afternoon stau. Stau is the German word for “I don’t know why but traffic has come to a complete stop on the autobahn.”

It was a whirlwind visit but I’m glad we started traveling soon after I arrived because, even after living in Germany for 5 years, there is still so much left to see and do in Germany, let alone the rest of Europe.

At the time, Italy was still on the lire (it was about $1.00 to 2, 189.84 Lire) and, since I am math-shy in public, John did all the calculations for us. Ah, back when the dollar was doing well and traveling Europe was ‘cheap’.

Nothing I can say here about Venice that hasn’t already been said a million times. Yes, it is lovely, crowded, has an interesting history and a sinking future but I do hope everyone has the chance to see it once in their lifetime as it is a place like no other.

We were too cheap to take the Gondola, or as Logan called them Banana Boats, so we took the water taxi which had a much more local feel to it:

venice-italy-on-a-water-taxi-june-2001.jpg on-rialto-bridge-in-venice-italy-june-2001.jpg

It’s easy to get turned around among the canals and I was so worried Logan would fall into the water. Good thing I could still carry her ~ barely.

I only went to Venice once but John somehow managed to visit two or three times ~ something about it being work-related. Interesting how that worked out.

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