We have been on the road quite a bit lately, so we will try to update you on our travels.
First, we got to spend two weeks in Europe! It was a great vacation! Danica got to catch up with many of her old friends and Robert got to go skiing in the Bavarian Alps. We took tons of pictures, so get comfy, grab a snack, and follow us on our journey!
The day we landed, we visited with Danica's host parents. We took a trip to beautiful Baden Baden. The cool air and walking helped keep us awake after not sleeping for a couple of days!
We enjoyed our visit with Peter and Ingeborg so much and we hope to see you again soon!
We enjoyed our visit with Peter and Ingeborg so much and we hope to see you again soon!
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The next few days were spent with Danica's friend Frank. We did a little wandering in the Black Forest.
We saw the cutest little horses! By the way the little yellow sign next to Robert feeding the horses says 'Please don't feed'!
Frank's mom, Inge, treated us to delicious Pflammkuchen in France. That translates into 'flame cake', which sounds weird, but it is mmm mmm good!
Frank lives around the corner from the castle in Karlsruhe (imagine being able to say that!).
It was great to meet Frank's friends and experience a day in his life.
Thank you Frank and Sabin for your hospitality!! (And we hope you feel better! : )
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Next stop: We travelled by train from Karlsruhe through Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is a stunning little town nestled in the Bavarian Alps. Robert went skiing with Dad, Denny, and Kris, while Danica hung out with Heidi to see the sights.
While Rob was skiing, he could hear dynamite being dropped to prevent avalanches! That sounds safe!
Germany has such wonderful foods. We enjoyed so much delicious tea, coffee, chocolate, cheese, bread, and on and on.
And ice cream! Kris polished this one off by himself!
A couple of Denny's friends went skiing with him and kept us all laughing.
We even got to see traditional lederhosen dancers!
Heidi and I and a few other ladies visted one of Crazy King Ludwig II's castles, the Linderhof Palace. It was so extravagant and incredibly beautiful. I think I could live there!
Dad, Heidi, and I came across a tiny, rickety, old gondola and decided to ride it up a snowy mountain one afternoon.
Dad and I didn't really know that Heidi was afraid of gondola rides!!
Next, we took a nine hour car ride with the family back up to the Netherlands. Aahh, road trips!
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We went to the big beach, Scheveningen. It was gorgeous, but I think it would be a little nicer in summer!
Despite the wind and cold, there were a lot of people out and it was beautiful!
Heidi took Robert and I on a trip to Amsterdam. We took a canal bus tour (highly recommended!), which let us see all the highlights of this historic city.
There are so many sights to see in Amsterdam. Here Heidi and Robert are waiting on the canal bus in front of the Anne Frank House and the Neuwe Kirch.
Did Robert's job even follow him across the pond?! (For those of you who don't know, he works for KPMG.)
We spent a day in the Hague, another beautiful city. It was nice to see where Dad works. We visited the Moritz Haus, a small art museum very much worth the stop.
One night we watched Denny and Kristofer practice rugby, but it was really just too cold to be outside for long! Only Robert braved the weather for the two-hour practice. Dad, Heidi, and I ended up inside sipping hot tea!
Is that my 'little' brother with that mini beer?!
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Next stop: We took another train ride from the Netherlands back down to Stuttgart, Germany where we visted with Danica's host sister Anke and her husband Volker.
Stuttgart is a really neat city. It is very much a meeting of old and new. Much of the city was destroyed during the war because it is a very industrial area. But so much has been rebuilt around what remained.
We visited the Mercedes Benz Museum, which was so interesting. I'm not that into cars, but even three and half hours wasn't enough to see everything. Highly recommended stop for anyone visting the area!
There is a ton of history behind Mercedes. They actually build the first ever engine, so there were prototypes of the very first cars...
Up to the very modern and fancy.
Did you know there are even Mercedes race cars and trucks?!
And I think this is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's old cars!
Anke took us to the cutest little old town of Esslingen.
Around this town with tiny, crooked streets, part of the original fortress still stands.
And of course we had to go check it out!
The view from the top.
We had such a great time and wish we could have visited longer.
It was so nice to meet you, Volker! And we can't wait to meet your little one!
All in all, our first European vacation together was amazing! Thank you to everybody for helping us make such wonderful memories. You all are the ones who made it so special for us. We hope to see you all again very soon! Love, Danica & Robert
