Minnesota is Heaven, But Virginia is Home

In a moment to make my mother proud--I made them cheese tortellini and peas IN the water kettle! Steeple at St. Stephen's--being cleaned. I thought it was neat that they put the photo cover on so that tourists have an idea what it normally looks like. St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna A little blurry, but it was very, very dim in there...the only lights on were in front and in back. Very gloomy... Yeah, neither of us has any idea who this is, but a cool shot, nonetheless, at Hofburg Palace Illegal shot of the Lippizaners at the Spanish Riding School Hofburg Palace, Vienna My bump, magnified and multiplied... Views from Petrin Hill, observation tower, mirror maze and views of Prague Castle

Recuperating in our room after almost six hours roaming the streets of Vienna. I wish I had some good things to say about Vienna, but dang--it has been absolutely pouring down rain 99.8% of the time we've been here. At least we sprung for a posh hotel and so we're sitting back and enjoying the free minibar while the kids play upstairs in the loft. Sunday was our last full day in Prague. We decided to go and check out the sights on Petrin Hill. There is a funicular railroad that runs up the hill, but the line for it was dauntingly long (or let's just say, if it were the two of us--it would have been fine, but with two children, the thought of standing in line becomes frightening). Getting to the top via walking really didn't seem out of the question...it didn't seem that far. Well, let me tell you...it ended up being FAR. But this pregnant woman and her two whiny children made it up. The views were worth the pain of dragging this extra 18 pounds up the hill. ...

St. Vitus' Cathedral, from below Interior of cathedral View of Prague's rooftops from Charles Bridge tower The D4 Girls sat out climbing the tower (that's us in the middle) View of Charles Bridge from the tower

Views from Charles Bridge, Prague, 6/21 View from our apartment (American Embassy)

Reporting from the slightly hideous apartments at the American Embassy, Prague, CZ. I just finished doing the dishes and vacuuming. Yes, that's right...I'm on vacation. I just can't stop with the vacuuming. I blame Jan. We started off our day with pancakes. I'm sure this leaves you with an idyllic picture of the four of us happily eating our golden stacks of pancakes while we have charming breakfast conversation. But I was making the pancakes, so I wasn't at the table. I burned the first two because the pans they have here are approximately 17 years old and not non-stick. So it ended up that Hans had two pancakes that were slightly singed and the kids had the two that turned out and I had cereal. But my heart was in the right place. I have another mix for tomorrow and will try again. What else can I say about my cooking skills except that I can try again? After breakfast, we headed out to see the sights. The sun was bright, everyone was happy, nothing wa...

Here I am, blogging from our little apartment in the heart of Prague. Annika and I have just returned from a little wander around the evening streets. It's 9:00 p.m. and Hans is trying to get them into bed (and having little luck). As usual, what should have been an uneventful, 4-1/2 hour drive turned into something horrible...things went along swimmingly until we got to Prague. First mistake, driving in Prague at rush hour. Second mistake, listening to Dora as she circled us around and around. To be fair to poor Dora (who was silently cursed and threatened with a pitching from the window), there is a lot, a LOT of construction going on in downtown Prague. One can hardly blame Dora for not knowing that a street that used to run to the right no longer exists or is suddenly a one way. From the other direction. We drove around for almost two hours before we finally gave up, seeing no solution to the construction problem and the end of everyone's good temper. I seriously wa...

"How about a hug and kiss, baby goat?" Josiah, as always kissing the wrong end of the goat, God bless him. Hans enjoys a Dinkel Acker and a squirming son Eisbaren Reptiles in the aquarium section Post picnic hugs Butterfly garden Ahhh. We are home from a long and productive day at Stuttgart's fine Wilhelma Zoo. I expected us to spend maybe two hours there and we ended up spending a little over four. I'm always happy when we: (a) linger and enjoy; and (b) get our Euro's worth! Wilhelma is a truly beautiful zoo as well...full of beautiful old Moorish-inspired architecture, greenhouses and gardens, and not only zoo animals but a full compliment of barnyard animals. Oh, and an aquarium and an insect house with a great butterfly room. I will say that this trip to the zoo was a million times better than the last trip (see: Annika falling in goat poo), most likely because Hans was along and manhandling one or the other of the children at all times. I don't t...

eats Chinese food in a Best Western in Mons, Belgium. Sometimes the weirdness of the contrasts of this European tour really boggle my mind. Hans went and picked up Chinese take-out for supper tonight...he said it's so strange trying to speak French when our first instinct now is to speak German. And then, he's speaking French to native Mandarin speakers. I feel the same way...I find myself somehow trying to translate what I need to say here into German and then from German into French. The result is very confusing...French is so difficult. And I laugh that I used to think that German was impossible! So, here we are, in Belgium, staying at the surprisingly decent Best Western in downtown Mons. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how spacious and clean our room is, especially after our last experience at a hotel in a French-speaking country (see: Normandy trip 2008). We didn't get much done yesterday because Hans was busy working and had to take the car...it was a ...

Hans was supposed to be back in Germany yesterday morning. No go. He got down to the AFB at Bagram on Monday, just like he was supposed to, and they told him that although the flight he was supposed to be on had been listed as available and he'd been allowed to sign up for it, he wasn't actually allowed onto said flight. The Air Force stock answer: Sorry, it's against policy. Well, then I think it should be against policy for the Air Force to list flights as being available when they really aren't. And here I thought that the Air Force cared about people...I go around all the time talking about how the Navy could really give a damn about any of us, anyone's family, the stuff we have to go through to keep our service member afloat (hah, see, I still have my sense of humor!). I always wax poetic about how the Air Force really seems to care about its airmen and their families. Well, humph! Anyhoo. I got the news that Hans wasn't going to be allowed on the fligh...