Davenports und Deutschland

Fall in Wiesbaden

2009-08-10T11:42:00.002+02:00

It is such a change to truly have four seasons, after so many years in the South. We love the Fall here; leaves changing and loads of piles of leaves to kick through! Here are a few of the boys enjoying one of our Fall days, along with Jackson the wonderdog.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-08-10T11:36:00.004+02:00

One Saturday in October, we ventured out to a nearby town, Wallau, to check out a pumpkin patch. It turned out to be a farm, with much more than pumpkins! It was actually a pumpkin fest, with all sorts of neat food items including freshly made apple cider! Kids had a blast playing in the hay, too. Justin is here with a friend of his and Michael's, Audrey Evans, who is rather nattily attired as Tinkerbell.

Hispanic Heritage Month program

2009-08-10T11:31:00.002+02:00

Justin's class, along with many others, put on quite a show for Hispanic Heritage Month. The 2nd graders sang a song called "El Sapo" which is about a frog. Justin really enjoys Spanish class, and is a good singer and dancer so he had a blast.

Venice by evening and night

2009-08-10T10:51:00.002+02:00

Enjoyed the day to the fullest; stayed until well after dark this time. The boat ride down the Grand Canal was at just the right time; night was falling and the views were beautiful!! We did some last minute souvenir shopping near the Rialto - kids all got a gondolier shirt, which they had to wear right away. Aren't they cute holding our new tapestry bags?

San Marco and shopping

2009-08-10T10:50:00.002+02:00

We approached the Piazza via a different route today; allowed for some awesome exterior shots of the Basilica. Also saw more grand shopping!

Doge's Palace and Bridge of Sighs

2009-08-10T10:48:00.002+02:00

Spent a good bit of the day touring here; unfortunately no pics inside. :( We did enjoy the prison area, as did the kids! Glad we took some pics from inside; with the construction outside the Bridge of Sighs was pretty much a bust. Oh well - some tourist traps are just that -

More views

2009-08-10T10:46:00.002+02:00

Kids liked this trip alot; they were able to walk and we didn't have to be as mindful of cars, etc. We got into the city sort of early so many things were just 'waking up.' It was really a pretty time to be there.

New bridge

2009-08-10T10:44:00.004+02:00

Headed back the next day for more; took the train in once again, after a short delay due to a road race in Pordenone (thought about you, marathon crackheads!:) ) We headed to explore the new pedestrian bridge over the Grand Canal, which had only been open a short time. It is very unusual, as you can see - very modern design, with glass on top and wood below. It is actually very controversial; Venetians are split on whether they like it or not.

A coffee on the Piazza San Marco, and a ride on the Grand Canal

2009-08-10T10:41:00.003+02:00

This is our coffee and Coke stop; something you have to do but it sure doesn't look like much for about $20, huh? All of the other photos were taken from the vaporetto (water bus) as we cruised back towards the train station. Venice really is a strikingly beautiful city, in both big and small ways.

Venice from above

2009-08-10T10:29:00.002+02:00

We braved the line and the ride in the elevator to head for the top of the Campanile in St. Mark's Square - wow, what a view. Definitely worth the hassle - it was amazing to see all of Venice spread out in front of you. We enjoyed seeing the Grand Canal, all the other islands and even the causeway we came in on via the train. It was cool to see how small everyone looked in the crowded square below, near the aforementioned lion-topped columns! While we were atop the Campanile, the bells rang! WOW was it loud! But another true tourist experience...how many people can say they've done that?!

Pigeons in Piazza San Marco

2009-08-10T10:28:00.003+02:00

Ah yes...a time-honored tourist tradition. We bought some bird food, to attract the flying rats. The boys were all about it, until the birds got close to them! ha ha. We were able to help each boy though and it was a beautiful day for it, warm and sunny but not too hot.

St. Mark's

2009-08-10T10:14:00.003+02:00

Basilica San Marco, as it is called in Italian, was once one of the most important churches in all of Christianity. Mark is buried beneath the altar here. The outside is amazing; truly fascinating in its detail. The building with the clock on it is across from St. Marks; the lion is the symbol of the city of Venice so you see it on everything, including atop the two columns where you approach the square from the sea.

Gondolas

2009-08-10T10:10:00.002+02:00

This famous sight in Venice is practically everywhere! The kids were lucky enough to get a close up; guess the gondolier was in the little boys' room! ha ha. More likely he was off having a smoke or an espresso!

Venice shopping and eating

2009-08-10T10:06:00.002+02:00

Masks are everywhere in Venice; we saw some beautiful window displays and even some familiar friends! We also had lunch; love how the boys chose pasta! Even Natalie went native with a slice of pizza. Not sure what is up with the goofy look on Justin's face, though.

Venice walk

2009-08-10T09:50:00.003+02:00

Watching the kids check out Venice was a blast....M seemed to really be taken by the 'water' roads. We stopped for a pastry as we walked, as well as to 'represent' for Jim's Guitars! Great fun for the kids; they love the idea and are quick to help every time. The architecture is amazing; every building has so much detail.

La Bella Venezia

2009-08-10T09:40:00.002+02:00

Venice did not disappoint....what a stunning city! Took the train in and that was a pretty cool adventure, too. After scoring some free parking behind the train station, we headed off for about an hr's ride. Once we approached the city across a causeway, it was pretty exciting for all of us! The train station is right on the Grand Canal, so you literally walk right out onto the water. I don't think the kids really grasped that the streets are more like rivers until they saw it.

Bella Venezia!

2009-08-10T09:23:00.002+02:00

In early October, Dawn and her kids, Chris and I and our boys headed south to Venice for Columbus Day. The trip was interesting, to say the least.....we stopped in Garmisch to spend the night to break up the trip. Once we headed out from there is when things got interesting. Suffice to say, don't believe everything you hear from the GPS....We had a drive OVER some mountains, by a beautiful lake, with a pitstop for Natalie due to the windy road! (Check out the pic of the GPS routing!) After navigating some tiny roads in our huge car we made it to Aviano and our home for the next few nights.

O'fest images

2008-11-17T21:32:00.002+01:00

There is so much to see and experience in the beer tent. Funny hats are the norm; mine was downright tame compared to many. Check out the guy standing on the table behind Jim - those guys were from Holland and they'd never been to Ofest before. I am not sure he even knew what the point of standing on the table was; he just saw a bunch of other drunks doing it so decided to join in. Crazy.

Our friends Buck and Kathy Buchanan and their kids joined all of us for this trip; here are some pics of them as well. The guys had a great time together, as did the kids! There is a shot of all of them with our waitress - she looks like she is about to punch one of them out! ha ha.

Munchen Oktoberfest 2008

2008-11-17T21:26:00.003+01:00

Here we are, at the world-famous Ofest. We hit the train early from Oberau, and managed to score a table for 13 without a reservation, in the largest and most popular beer tent, the Hofbrau tent. This is the one that if you pass out during an evening session, they just drag you out the back onto a hillside so that someone else can have your seat!

Here is our gang of 13, safely seated in our corner. Notice the decorations? That greenery looking stuff is actually hops, that are used in making beer!! The pretzels really are as big as your head (as tested on Michael's!) and the food is huge but amazing. We were all stunned at how they keep up with the demand and still make it all taste good. In typical fashion, after a bit, Michael got bored and, you guessed it, fell asleep! I guess we are going to make a photo album of him sleeping his way across the great sights of Europe....

Kreuzech lunch

2008-11-17T21:23:00.002+01:00

Here are some other pics from lunch up top. It was a beautiful day; the gentleman who waited on us at the restaurant was so nice! He even gave Oma and Opa pins for their German hats! The boys enjoyed feeding these sheep, too.

Bavaria with the family

2008-10-07T16:57:00.003+02:00

Had a good time down in Garmisch with the family; they were able to come over and enjoy Fall and the Oktoberfest with us.

In these photos, we are all taking in the sights from atop the Kreuzech. It was a GREAT lunch, with a great view!

Mainzer Winefest

2008-10-07T16:54:00.002+02:00

As in past years, we made sure to hit the Mainz wine fest! It is held in a beautiful park, near the Rhein River.

You can tell we are experienced wine-festers - note the perma - grins.

Kreuzberg, part 2

2008-10-07T16:52:00.004+02:00

We had to wait for the motorcycle dudes, so we had a beer and ate some lunch. It was a beautiful day up there!

Once we had gotten all that we needed, we had a crazy number of bottles! Here are some pics of the bikers, the beer and the sunny day!

Kreuzberg Monastery

2008-10-07T16:49:00.005+02:00

After many stories and much hype, we finally made it to Kreuzberg for the infamous monk beer. We took a Saturday and drove up, to fill our jugs and also check the place out. Once the word got out that we were going, people came out of the woodwork with jugs to be filled! We decided to take the kids' wagon just to get the stuff up the hill. ha ha.

First Day of Second Grade

2008-08-29T11:17:00.003+02:00

Justin was happy and excited to start as a 2nd grader at Hainerberg Elementary School. His new teacher, Mrs. Knauf, was very welcoming and happy to have him in her class. He was quick to go right in, sit down and begin getting ready. He was definitely not for us hanging around....ha ha.

Michael and I took a quick pic, and got out of there. Chris was off delivering an airplane somewhere so he missed all the excitement.

You can tell Jacob, Justin's friend, isn't quite as excited about going back to school. ha ha. Those were taken in front of our house.