Over the River and through the Woods....

We have much to be thankful for this year. I was just reading this morning in Deuteronomy 2 about how "He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing." We've only been in Germany for five months - nothing compared to the Israelites. And Germany is far from a wilderness. That being said, there are many times that we feel like we are in a wilderness. Only in our apartment do we not feel like outsiders. These verses were an encouragement to me that God has been and will continue to be with us every step of the way. And that includes holidays.

It didn't feel like Thanksgiving week last week. It didn't feel like Thanksgiving day last Thursday. That is until everyone arrived for the meal. We were blessed to have four other families join us for a Thanksgiving meal in the late afternoon. Some of the families we have gotten to know just a bit through our church, and some of the families we met that afternoon. Each family offered to bring a part of the meal, one that is a family favorite from home.

The week of Thanksgiving, I had a few of the boys help me with making name cards for the table. We mixed paints for brown and orange and had a little assembly line going to make them all. Then the day before Thanksgiving, I sent Josiah and Noah out after school with a bag and asked them to fill it with anything that looked like Fall to them. I used what they brought home to make the centerpieces for the tables.

The overflow table for the younger kids. This
is our living room coffee table.

We used one of the school desks to add more
places for all of the adults and toddlers.

Josiah and Noah found plenty of fallish looking items.

The Brown family has been in Germany over two years already while Ken is working on his PhD. They just had their fourth child a few weeks ago. Andrea figured out how to make green bean casserole from scratch last year for Thanksgiving so offered to bring that dish along with a couple of pies. It was the best green bean casserole I've ever tasted! (Apart from my mom's, of course.) So I'm looking forward to that recipe. Andrea's fresh pumpkin pie was incredible and served as a very tasty breakfast Friday morning after the kids went to school. Diane, Andrea's mom, was in Germany helping with baby Hannah for a few weeks so we were able to get to know her that evening as well. She was a great help to me in the kitchen as I made the turkeys, potatoes and gravy. I didn't have a meat thermometer and wasn't about to buy one for a single event so she helped me determine the right time to pull them out of the oven. Them - yes. Germany doesn't sell much of anything in large sizes or quantities so I ended up buying two turkeys to feed us.

~ Andrea with baby Hannah ~

~ Miss Diane making the gravy ~

Susan Bobb was able to come with her son, Ben. Her husband, Jamie Clark, had to attend a work function that evening in the south of Germany so ended up not being able to make it. He did enjoy the leftovers though. I got connected with Susan prior to moving to Germany via a mutual facebook friend from our Penn State days. Susan has been very helpful in answering any and all questions that we've had...including a recent call asking where the ER is located! Joel broke his shoulder playing soccer and needed to be seen the Monday night before Thanksgiving. That is one of those things that we probably should have figured out before we really needed to find it! Just thankful it wasn't ambulance worthy. Susan made the best chocolate chunk walnut cookies e.v.e.r....along with yummy sweet potatoes and a few other things. Notice what I enjoyed most??

~ Susan and Ben ~

Justin and Jenna just moved here recently from the Princeton area where he recently completed his Master's. They have one cute little son, Isaac. We basically met them Thanksgiving Day though I had briefly spoken with Jenna about Thanksgiving one time in late October. They are in a state of determining how long they will be here and what is next - he is on a Fulbright this year but is hoping to possibly do PhD work in the Munich area. Jenna made the stuffing, or dressing since it wasn't really stuffed. And it was incredible! It had cranberries and sausage in it making it so very tasty. I already got that recipe from her. :)

~ Ken and Andrea on the left are talking with Justin and Jenna ~

Nicola and her daughter, Cecilia, joined us for the evening as well. Nicola is British and is married to a man from Brazil. So why Thanksgiving with us? While growing up in Brazil, Gabriel's family got to know some American missionaries and ended up celebrating Thanksgiving with them. Gabriel became a Christian partly through the ministry of this American couple so he holds their traditions dear and enjoys taking part in Thanksgiving celebrations as a result. The afternoon of Thanksgiving, Gabriel ended up having to take a train to a job interview and missed the evening with us. We sent enough leftovers though so hopefully he still was able to enjoy the meal. Nicola brought bread that was so light and fluffy - I heard that it comes from a Turkish market in the city center. I will need to find that market soon as it was very good. And the boys are still enjoying all of the various drinks that Nicola brought to share.

Nicola and Cecilia are in the bottom left of this photo.

The kids' table - Ben on the couch, Micah Brown and Noah at
the front of the photo and Samantha and Josiah off to the left.

Knowing that we would have a lot of young kids and not many toys, Tracy and I asked Josiah and Noah to help entertain all of the kiddos. Joel was out of commission for helping and Micah has taken this role so many times previously that we thought the younger two are getting old enough for this, too. By the end of the night, Noah asked to go to bed. He was plum worn out!

Josiah and Noah used their bedroom as a place to entertain. It
is conveniently located right off of the kitchen so was close to
the rest of us. Andrea brought their computer for the kids to watch
 a movie at one point. This was a helpful tool for Joj and Noah!

One of Susan's Thanksgiving traditions each year is to make a gingerbread house at the end of the festivities, a kick-off of sorts for the upcoming Christmas holidays. She brought everything with her to make one with the kids, and I can safely say that it was a highlight for all of them.

~ the initial assembling of the house ~

~ patiently waiting for all the "cement" to dry ~

~ Noah Brown and Cecilia ~
These two were precious to watch - someone would give them
a piece of candy to put onto the house but inevitably it would
end up in their mouths.

Susan very patiently helped each of the kids add to the design.

~ a photo to show how much all of the kids were into this activity ~

~ The Masterpiece ~

Though we would have preferred spending Thanksgiving with our cousins in Pennsylvania, which is where we usually are for this holiday, we did enjoy the evening with these new friends. It's interesting how quickly a strong connection is formed with other Americans when living in a foreign country. We all shared stories of our adjustment to Germany and laughed over things that we have done that aren't normally noteworthy, such as the pronunciation of German names. This Thanksgiving, we were thankful to celebrate with new friends and enjoy wonderful food together.

Our last few days with Grandpa and Grandma

Wanting Dad and Mom to have a chance to relate with a couple their age, we invited Fred and Marta (and their granddaughter, Eva) over for dinner one evening. We met this couple through our church and have had quite a good time getting to know them. What a treat to hear stories of their childhoods, learn more about Germany and basically enjoy an evening of fellowship together.

The boys made a card tower with Eva while the adults talked. I
forgot to take a picture of Dad and Mom with Fred and Marta....
guess that means they'll just have to come back!

Halloween is not highly celebrated here. It is on the rise though, much to the chagrin of the older generation. Because we knew the boys would be disappointed about not trick-or-treating, we opted to buy pumpkins and carve them on Halloween instead. Grandpa got into it just as much or more than the boys! Noah's pumpkin carving was modeled after one that we saw in Rothenburg - using the stem as the nose.

These were the only four pumpkins we could find to carve!
So glad there were at least four to be purchased!

We proudly displayed our pumpkins on our steps and as a result,
we got a few trick-or-treaters. Dad and Mom had enough quarters
to give to the first set of kids. We didn't have anything to give
to the next set of kids so we decided to move the
pumpkins inside for the night - with that many pumpkins, people must
have easily concluded that Americans lived here! (Notice Grandpa
in the background of this photo - he's reading the news on the iPad!)

That evening, we allowed the boys to watch a movie while the four of us went to St. Jacobi's church in the City Center for a worship service celebrating Reformation Day. The program was based on Psalm 116 which shares about our salvation and response to God as a result. The music was absolutely beautiful - a combination of an a capella choir, hymns accompanied by a pipe organ and a few soloists. We sang along with the hymns as best we could...though we didn't really grasp much of what we were singing. This is the case pretty much every week at church though. Slowly we are making sense of it all. It's been a longer process than anticipated.

I didn't have my camera for the evening
so snatched this photo off of the Internet.
It was a packed house for the worship
service - we barely were able to get seats!

Our last day together happened to be my birthday, 40th no less! Wanting to make another memory, we decided to take the train to Hann. Münden, which is short for Hannoversch Münden. A friend recommended this little town as it is close by and yet is known for its black and white timbered houses, as some Germans call them. The town has over 600 houses that are the Fachwerk (half-timbered) houses. It is also where the  Fulda and Werra rivers meet to form the Weser.

Looking down a typical street in the town.

Our crew checking out all of the Fachwerks.

We could see some castle ruins on a hillside.

A beautiful old church right in the center of town.

Of course, a trip to a new town wouldn't be complete without
stopping by the local bakery! On our walk, the boys found a
really cool park and wanted to go back to it. So the adults sat
and enjoyed a nice chat while the boys ventured off to the park
before we caught the train home.

We caught a late afternoon train back to Göttingen just in time to bike from the train station to Zum Szultenburger for the best German Schnitzel that we have experienced yet. We forgot when we left the house that it would be dark when back home...and so forgot some of the lights for our bikes. As a result, we kinda walked and kinda rode (if such a thing is possible) to the restaurant. You can be fined for riding without a light, plus it's just not safe to do. It is fairly common to see people riding on one pedal off to one side of the bike so as to quickly hop off should a Polizei come along. I have not mastered this "method" of ride-walking and am not sure I'm going to give it a try either! The rest of my family can quite effectively ride this way. It does take a bit of balance.


Zum Szultenburger offers about 25-30 different Schnitzel dishes.
We all chose Schnitzels baked with cheese and other
toppings. It sure was nice to have these leftovers the next night
when I returned from the airport. So yummy!

Cheers! Prost! Grandma and Grandpa could not leave Germany
without trying a mug of dark beer. Grandma's favorite!

On November 2nd, we all walked with Grandpa and Grandma to the train station. I then rode with them to Frankfurt to catch their flight. We had enough time to get in one last bakery before they departed! After they went through security, I headed back home on the train not even realizing that their flight was delayed out of Frankfurt for three hours. The airplane needed mechanical work. I'd say a pretty important reason to delay! This delay caused them to miss their connecting flight at JFK - so they ended up spending the night on cots that Delta provided. Due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, it was too difficult to get a hotel so cots were the next best option. I can only imagine how tired they were! I'm sure home was a sight for sore eyes by the time they finally got there.

For our family, Saturday was a sad day for all of us - we so enjoyed our time with my parents and it was hard to see them leave. Plus we did so many fun things together that to go back to the normal routine of life seemed boring in comparison. Yet we are so thankful that they made the effort to come for a visit and are very glad for the memories.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Road trip! We rented another vehicle from Sixt....the only place that rents a "bus," as Germans call them. This is our third rental since arriving. The first two rentals were quite an experience as they didn't have leg room nor storage so we were all prepared to sit on each others' laps! Below is a photo of our spacious and comfortable bus - what a pleasant ride.

We have heard from many people, mostly Americans, that Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a must see. We have also heard from just as many or more, mostly Germans, that it is a tourist trap! We decided shortly after arriving that we didn't care if it was a tourist trap, it is a beautiful city filled with all sorts of charm and character. It really was quite magical!

This shot is from our walk along the wall - looking back at

the main section of the city.

One of the pedestrian entrances to the city - there are
only a few entrances through the 14th century wall.

Walking the wall Saturday afternoon - Rothenburg is one of the
few cities that has its wall intact. Only a small portion of the
wall was destroyed towards the end of WWII. That portion was
repaired though so you can walk the wall in its entirety - about
a mile and a half or so.

Rothenburg's City Center - the Rathaus, Town Hall

After checking into our hotel, The Gasthof Butz, we ate our picnic dinner in one of our rooms while we waited for the Night Watchman Tour to start - well worth the wait! Our tour guide shared many fascinating stories from the medieval city and helped us to not romanticise the harsh realities of life in a walled city. The part the boys talked about often is the dumping of the chamber pots into the streets below each morning.

He dressed the part!

We were very excited to see that many of the buildings still had out their flower boxes - I really wanted my parents to see this as it adds so much to the feel of a German town.

The blankets on the beds are folded into thirds; making beds
is much easier in Germany than in the U.S. The boys want to take
these kinds of blankets home - the blanket is covered with a
washable case so there are no top sheets. A bed can be made in
less than five seconds!

 

 

After our picnic dinner, we walked around the city doing a bit
of window shopping. Even in a tourist town, the shops still
all closed by 6:00p.m. We were all getting a bit chilly so opted
to stop at this restaurant for something warm to drink.

This is how the hot chocolate was served! And good hot
chocolate at that! The coffee was served on the same silver trays.

Schneebälle (snowballs) are popular pastries in Rothenburg - this
one was a cinnamon and sugar one. We also sampled one that
was chocolate and one that was covered in powdered sugar.

Grandma, Beth, Joj and Noah

Noah and Grandpa, who is making his angry German expression 

We awoke Saturday to a light skiff of snow with it still coming down. It ended up snowing all day transforming Rothenburg into a picture perfect postcard. The following photos are shots from around the city.

This is what the front of our cabin is eventually going to look like! :)

The grapes were ready to harvest. Above
one door, I could tell someone had
helped themselves to the harvest.

~ Tracy and Joj ~
All of Rothenburg looks like this street!

 

We also toured a historic Lutheran church called St. Jacob's on Saturday afternoon. It is the oldest church in the city, dating back to the early 1300s. Below are a few snapshots from our tour.

I did not take this photograph, but I
wanted to include it to give you a visual
of the beauty of the outside of the church.

The High Alter, painted by Friedrich Herlin - we
couldn't see the inside of this but we did get to
see the back side. The paintings were completed
in 1466. They were just beautiful!

This is one of the paintings on the back side of the High
Alter - the fascinating thing about this painting is that
no matter where you stand, Jesus' eyes appear to be
looking right at you.



The Holy Blood altarpiece - carved by
Tilman Riemenschneider in the early 1500s - this
section of the carving depicts The Last Supper

~ The Nave ~
This gives you a sense of the size of the church as
that is the High Alter with the stained glass behind it.

We decided to dine Saturday night at the restaurant in our hotel. Grandma and Joel ordered the same dish - spinach noodles stuffed with meat and egg - which ended up being every one's favorite dish. We enjoyed sampling each other's food for the duration of their visit!

This is the breakfast spread - I didn't get any photos from
our dinner Saturday evening.

All of the boys love that a breakfast spread includes individual
Nutella packets - we emptied the place of Nutella, I'm sure.

Sunday morning after breakfast we strolled around the city again, walked more of the wall and made a few purchases. We found one little shop where a little old lady sat whittling some of the smallest little characters we've ever seen. When we all walked into the shop, she stopped whittling and followed us around - I'm sure several smaller sets of hands made her nervous! Mom and I both purchased a few little angels, which the lady wrapped in tissue paper and placed in an empty matchbox for us. She allowed Joel to take a few photographs - the walls were four or more shelves per wall so there had to be literally thousands of figures in that little room.


I could have spent hours looking at all of the figurines. I could
have spent even more time deciding which ones to purchase! So we
limited ourselves and decided that we'd like to return here at some
point to purchase a nativity - they were absolutely beautiful.



The little angels in front are what Mom and I purchased. I'm going to use mine
to start a new Christmas tradition with the boys. Each day while they are at
school, I plan to hide our angel in a new place and see who finds her every
afternoon. I chose one that is unpainted and playing a violin - she's adorable!
And she's probably only an inch tall.

Wanting to show Dad and Mom the Alps, we left Rothenburg and headed farther south to Lindau. It is a little town located right on the Bodensee or Lake Constance. This lake forms Germany's southern border with Austria and Switzerland. We have heard it's just beautiful from the German side because the Alps of Austria and Switzerland come right to the lake. However, it was snowing the ENTIRE time we were there. Hence, we couldn't see across to the other side of the lake let alone the Alps. What we did experience though was our first stay in a youth hostel. I'm glad my parents are flexible as it was an experience! It was like moving back into a college dormitory for the night.


~ Grandpa and Joj ~
Because there wasn't much to see outside, we purchased ping
pong paddles and balls and had a little tournament in the basement
of the youth hostel. Thankfully, we had the basement almost to
ourselves as we spent a fair amount of time being entertained here.

 

 

~ Joel and Micah ~
Those that weren't playing pulled up chairs to watch the event.

Grandpa and Tracy duke it out. Grandpa still
has some pretty good moves! The boys were
quite impressed. Beth is too modest to tell you herself so I (Tracy) edited this part of the blog to let you know that Beth won the tournament. She is such a shark!

Monday morning after breakfast at the hostel, we decided to hit the road - our trip was to be about five to six hours of driving. Long about 12:30, we started looking for a place to pull off for some lunch. Long about 1:30, we still hadn't found anything. We could have stopped at a McDonald's but it just didn't seem right to stop there when we can eat that any time we want in the States. So I started using the GPS to search for restaurants. We got off the Autobahn and drove through little villages following GPS directions - a pretty drive. Upon arriving at our destination, there was a sign posted that the place was closed for a day of rest. Normally, Sundays are when everything is shut down so we weren't expecting that. As we headed back toward the Autobahn, we stopped anyone we saw to ask for directions to a local bakery. This was yet another goose chase. Long about 2:30, we finally found a bakery that was open!

We ended up enjoying our little jaunt through the countryside,
where we finally stopped in Euchdorf.

After locating the bakery, we couldn't locate
parking! It was becoming comical....it would
 have been even more so if everyone hadn't
been so very hungry!

Tracy ordered Grandma a dark beer! Doesn't
quite go with pastries, but she sure did enjoy it.

The next post will cover the last few days of Mom and Dad's visit....stay tuned!