BODENSEE

We arrived from our night train into Constance at 10 in the morning. It was sunny and the beautiful autumn weather evoked something powerful from this very old city that we felt lucky to be a part of for the day.
There were huge churches and large statues places strategically all over this city—of course all of the information is always in German—but we think that they are beautiful and it is fun to try and decipher their meaning and relevance.
The buildings are typical of southern Bavaria—they are painted with beautiful stories and tales from the city’s history.
This is the statue of a woman at the end of the dock where you enter onto the ferries that take you across the lake. For your enjoyment let me tell you that it is not just a statue, it is also a weathervane and it spins, you might count yourself quite lucky that you got to see the backside of this very anatomically correct weather instrument in our picture.
It was about 45 minutes on the first ferry to Friedrichshafen—it was a beautiful journey on the catamaran over the water.
Once in Friedrichshafen we took a long walk along the lake, we drank coffee, and just enjoyed the gorgeous view on a gorgeous day.



At the end of the walkway around the lake is a church that is HUGE—but the most breathtaking part of the church was this grounds. This gazebo was tucked back in the corner and I just couldn’t resist taking a photo trying to capture the peacefulness that the setting brings to person standing there.

The red building in the middle is our very sweet hotel. It was so nice to have a comfortable bed (ours in Hamburg was actually broken when we got here because the guy we rent from didn’t have time to get it fixed). It was a wonderful place tucked into a neighborhood and it was run by a sweet old couple who gave also gave us a great breakfast!
On Sunday we took the bus around the lake to Meersburg…a medieval city that climbs up and around a hill and has a castle at the top. It is precious and the foggy weather only added to the history and charm.



So…it doesn’t get any better than a RENAISSANCE FAIR in a medieval city, does it????? After much deliberation David and I decided that yes, we must enter into the festival taking place(it only happens once a year and it was while we were there) and so we joined the lines with all of the people dressed in their medieval clothing (furs and swords even) and watched wide eyed as a whole new world was opened to us.
At the festival we enjoyed music and food and people watching…and more people watching…and some more people watching!
Before we left Meersburg we went to the winery in the center of the town and enjoyed a little German wine tasting. It was a wonderful way to bring the weekend to an end before we got back on the ferry to Constance.
After we departed this ferry we are on in Constance, we took the 10 hour train ride back home. We returned today to our Monday morning bright and early…it was a good start to the week: David has now started studying for his exams, I can’t believe that they will be here next week already, while the kids and I enjoyed an outing to the park to enjoy the autumn sun while it lasts.



This weekend we traveled to the southern region of Germany to a place called Bodensee. Bodensee is the term for the entire area that surrounds Lake Constance (Germans spell it Konstanz). There are several countries that border the large lake and our plan had been to take a ferry into Switzerland but when we reached this area we decided to change our plans...

Our first day was spent in the city of Constance. From there we took a ferry to Friedrichshafen, this is where we stayed the night. In the morning we rode the bus that drives along the lake and through German vineyards to the town of Meersburg. Then we took a ferry back to Constance to head back to Hamburg.

It was a wonderful weekend and we had a relaxing time. It was really neat to see a new area, new landscape, and have a fun time on the water (it reminded us a great deal of Seattle).

The weekends may be quick for us, but we truly are packing in as much as we can in the short period of time that we have, and having a wonderful time while we do it!

AN AUTUMN DAY OFF

This is the view out of our living room window--it is so beautiful!
He is a the best pumpkin carver, does anyone remember the UofO logo last year on his pumpkin?
Don't eat it yet David!
Reading, watching movies, and relaxing--is there anything better in life?
There is nothing like warm soup on a cold day!


Yay for German Reunification Day—David and I had the day off from everyday life (everything is closed for the holiday, just like Sundays, so we planned our day accordingly and we decided to do nothing)! It has been a wonderful day of relaxation, rest, and coziness in our warm apartment, a respite from the wet and cold fall that is pervasive all around us outdoors.

We started the day by sleeping in late and then making a pact to stay in sweats all day. David carved our first pumpkin of the season (because canned pumpkin is VERY expensive here) and gutted it—then cut it in half so it would fit in our oven.

I cooked the pumpkin in the oven and then from the insides of the pumpkin I made homemade pumpkin soup. While the soup simmered David and I read our books, watched a movie, and watched the replay of the vice presidential debate on CNN.

It was a day that was both restful and rejuvenating for our souls.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

On the bus ride to Copenhagen you get to jump on a ferry boat and enjoy the beautiful water.
On our walk of the city Allan and Jen took us to these grounds that are military training grounds and when they are not in use they are open to the public.
A picture of the Copenhagen port with windmills in the background.
The Mermaid Statue, Copenhagen was home to Hans Christian Anderson, and this statue is a major landmark in the city.
Jen, Allan, and David in the courtyard of the Queen's main home. The home is protected by the guards, but the yard is open to the public, her house in directly behind them in the picture.
This neat street runs along the canal and there are ships docked along in the water--it was a relaxing and fun atmosphere to sit at a cafe or bar and catch up with dear friends.
The striking new opera house that was recently built. It is very different from almost every single building in Copenhagen, because all of the other buildings...ARE OLD!
Our AMAZING friends in their beautiful and charming new apartment.


We have just returned from a wonderful weekend visiting Jen (one of my roommates from college) and Allan (her boyfriend) in Copenhagen, Denmark. We feel so lucky to have such fantastic friends who treated us to a perfect time in their city.

We were able to see the sights, relax in their wonderful apartment, experience Danish culture, and walk through the beautiful streets in the sunny autumn weather that we were blessed to have the entire weekend!

It was just a 6 hour bus ride from Hamburg and now we are home ready to begin another busy week bright and early tomorrow morning.

OKTOBERFEST IN MUNICH

The front entrance to the fair grounds—this photo was taken at 7am when we got to Munich and people were already flooding into the grounds to wait in line.
David with beer at 7am in front of one of the 8 large beer tents and next to a carnival ride (the grounds are like a state fair---food, rides, and then these big beer tents stuck in random places).

Because we were there on the first day of the Oktoberfest there was a parade that went into each tent—this one was waiting to come processing into the big tent that we were standing inside.
Does life get any better than this? We enjoyed our time sitting in a this “small” tent…we were very lucky…within 10 minutes of when we sat down here this whole area was packed with people!
There was music, beer, and pretzels…it was wonderful.

Our waiter and our neighbors who were sitting next to us at our table—all 3 of these men were dressed in wonderful traditional German clothes and all 3 of them were a riot!
1/2m sausage on a baguette—again David’s version of heaven.
The inside of a big beer tent.
Our last and final small beer garden of the day--turned out that we ended up staying for 5 hours chatting and enjoying steins of beer with these crazy boys from northern Italy and an older Canadian couple who were camping their way through Europe…it was very fun and a little bit wild for everyone involved.
We made it through a wonderful day and we fell fast asleep on the 9 hour train ride home, only to get into Hamburg at 7am and go back to bed until noon! What a wonderful life we have!


We went on a night train to Munich and enjoyed a day filled with beer, German sausages, wonderful costumes, and lots of new things to see! We had a blast and we got back to the train station just in time to get on a night train to come home!

It was a once in a life time experience and we will never forget it—we hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed our weekend.

KATE CAME TO VISIT

Kate, Noa, and Noel feeding the very eager ducks and swans in downtown Hamburg.
The Alster Lake in the middle of downtown...very fun to shop while surrounded by water and boats!

The kids and I by the fountain in the parliament building, our daily outings keep us happy and joyful (can't you tell from Noel's tired little face?)
Noa took this photo of Kate and I--pretty impressive for a 3 year old?!?!
Prost (cheers)!
David with his plate of mixed sausage links and a beer--his favorite meal!
Saying good-bye to Kate outside of our front door.


Sorry we have been a bit slow in our communication this past week…we have had such a nice treat…a visitor from home…Kate Wilson. She is in Europe with her mom for 2 weeks on vacation and took a few days out of their trip to catch a quick flight from Amsterdam (where she left her very sweet mom looking at museums) to see our lives here in Hamburg.

Kate and I took the kids to downtown on the Wednesday to feed the swans and ducks in the Alster (the big lake in the middle of Hamburg) and we enjoyed the Chinese festival that is happening this week—Hamburg has a different festival happening EVERY weekend—it is amazing how enthusiastic these Germans are about anything and everything that you can think up! After Chinese food we ventured into the parliament building and found a fountain and atrium in the middle—it was pretty impressive.

For dinner David and I took Kate to a true German restaurant to eat sausage and drink beer—it was very yummy food (we finally ate some wiener schnitzel) and really strong beer—it was a terrific evening.

Then today Kate and I took the kids to the Harbor. It is the second largest port in Europe and it was very impressive. No pictures because we forgot the camera—oops—but we will be going back there and we will send pics because it was great fun for all of us.

Then our 2 short days were over and very sadly we sent Kate back on a plane to meet her mom so that they could explore the world of tulips and clogs. It was wonderful to have someone from home here and to have a familiar face to laugh with…of course we were never laughing at silly things that Germans do…of course that would never be the case!

Tomorrow night (Friday) David and I will be boarding a night train (thanks Nonnie for making it possible) to go to Munich for the official Oktoberfest. Should be a blast and we will have photos and crazy stories up on the blog next week.