Photo Galleries

You can find all of these Galleries on the lower right....these are all the pictures we took:

• Burggen


• Burggen - Feuerstein Schlucht


• Burggen - Bauernhof


• Burggen - Wald (Forest)


• Burggen - Rally Race


• First Sledding


• Neuschwanstein


• Schongau - Altstadt


• Burggen - Sledding Again


• Burggen - Last Day


• Wurzburg


• Buchbrunn


• Munich


• Englischer Garten


• Sinsheim


• Black Forest


• Stuttgart Wednesday


• Stuttgart Thursday


• Stuttgart Zoo

Executive Summary

Our trip lasted two weeks. We basically visited five different households for at least one night.

We arrived in Munich on Saturday and stayed with a German family in southern Bavaria until Wednesday afternoon. This family had lived in Auburn two different times. They have two boys who are almost the same age as our boys. We knew them very well from their time in Auburn, so it was a very good visit - especially for the kids since they had some familiar friends as soon as we arrived. In this area, we got to see how our friends live. We met their extended family and they showed us around the area. They don't live far from Neuschwanstein - the most famous castle in Germany, so we made a trip to see it. They also introduced us to sledding.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was staying with German people, getting to know them, seeing their houses and their customs. They cooked authentic, regional meals for us. I got to practice my German a lot! I didn't feel like a tourist, but a guest.

We took the train from south Bavaria (Schongau) to north Bavaria (Kitzingen). We were met by Mary and Charley Schleyer. They are the parents of our friend Marc, who was a visiting professor in the Industrial Engineering Department for one year until this January. Mary and Charley had visited Auburn in 2008. They came to our house for dinner. Mary came back in the Fall with Marc's sister, Gabi. We got to see Gabi and her husband - Marcus. Mary showed us around Wuertzburg and Kitzingen. They also cooked for us and treated very well. It was another great adventure.

Marc arrived on Friday night. We went out for a big dinner and then on Saturday, he took us back to Munich for the weekend. We had a nice weekend kicking around Munich and then on Sunday night took the train to Stuttgart.

In Stuttgart, Alex Bruder met us in the train station. He had also been in Auburn for one year - 2007. We spent a lot of time with Alex. He went with us to Asheville, New Orleans and Lake Martin. He was a guest at our house several times while he lived in Auburn. We stayed in his apartment with his girlfriend, Ramona (who we also met while she was visiting Alex in Auburn). Alex took us out to the Black Forest to meet his parents for one night. There was more snow in the Black Forest and some incredible food!

We flew home from Stuttgart on Saturday.

Fly Home - 28 March (Sat)

Wow! We were up early. Everyone was up though and getting ready. Alex and Ramona had frozen Bretzel to make for us at home. This reminded me of us in the south making frozen biscuits. They're good at home! The Bretzel were also very, very good this way! We had our last Brotzeit meal in Germany for breakfast. We've gotten very used to eating this way.

We had brought an extra empty bag to load up with stuff for the trip back and that's all we ended up needing. The luggage all worked out very well and wasn't too much to manage on the walk to the train station. I still remember my struggle with luggage on my way from my apartment to the train station 19 years ago - I had ALL I could carry! We did ok. There was some excitement as we got down to the train platform and realized that none of us had stopped to buy subway tickets. Alex dashed up the stairs and came dashing back just as the train pulled up and opened the doors. We made it just in time!

There is a train stop inside the airport, but we still had to walk a good distance to get upstairs and around and across to the Delta counter. This was the only crowded counter in the whole airport of course. We got checked in ok. Alex and Ramona stayed with us for a few minutes after checking in so we could talk and thank them. We decided to head on through the security check so we wouldn't have to worry about the clock.

The plane left a few minutes late and they warned us in advance that we would be making an extra refueling stop in Maine on the way back. This should (and did) only delay us 1 hour on our arrival time. I sent a text message to Asaad to warn him that we would be delayed.

The flight was very long - 11 hours - and since it was in the middle of the day, it was almost impossible to get much sleep. They showed three movies and fed us several times. It wasn't such a bad flight. At one point, the boys were sitting together behind us and the flight attendant spoke to them in German. They thought that was pretty cool.

Back in Atlanta, our friend Asaad was there waiting for us. He helped us with our luggage and brought us to our car! He had taken such care of the car too - checking the oil, fluids and tires before driving back to Atlanta. He was a sight for sore eyes too! While the rest of the family fell asleep, Asaad stayed awake with me in the front and we came back home to Auburn.

Home again, but we'll be going back to Germany as soon as we can!

Long flight - all day - three movies - still not bad
Asaad!

Stuttgart - 27 March (Fri)

This will be our last full day in Germany. We aren't homesick a bit. We've been treated so well, slept very well and been very comfortable the whole time. We're not missing our beds or our house (it's nice that we have friends staying in our house while we're gone).

Penny and Alex made another run this morning. This time they rode the train downtown to start running at the castle park. There is a very long network of paths and trails. They ended up running beside the zoo and were able to see the Polar Bears from the trail.

Meanwhile, Finn and I popped out of bed again to head to the bakery and market. We were determined to redeem ourselves from getting lost yesterday. Finn lead the way. We walked straight there and got exactly what we wanted. The women behind the counter at both places even seemed to recognize us. That felt nice. We could get used to this routine!

We had a slow start. The kids watched some television. This morning we watched some Dora the Explorer, which was funny. In the US, Dora (a Hispanic girl) speaks English and then throws in occasional Spanish. In Germany, she speaks German and throws in occasional English. It's a good idea for beginner German because she keeps things simple and also repeats herself a lot.

About mid morning, we went to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens - Wilhelma. This is the best zoo I've ever seen. The setting was beautiful. The grounds, the walls, pathways, buildings and even the habitats were beautiful. The botanical garden green houses were also very old and had some incredible collections.



For the animals, the favorites were the penguins, the monkeys, elephants and the polar bears (which are famous in this zoo).



We had lunch at one of the cafes in the zoo. We also stopped afterwards at the snack bar to have some ice cream and coffee. Penny was tired. Ramona was getting a little bit tired too.






We started back and I got this idea that a good souvenir would be a sew on German flag or German soccer patch. I could put that on my bag. The boys could put it on their backpacks. It'd be cool. Alex offered to go downtown with me while the girls rode back home with the boys. Alex and I walked through the pedestrian zone, trying several different stores. We didn't really find what we were looking for. Eventually, we bought some sew on patches for the Stuttgart soccer team. These will do just fine. The best part was for Alex and I to be walking around. We could walk fast, without worrying about the kids for a change. It was kinda fun! We walked all the way from downtown to the apartment. I got to see some other areas of Stuttgart. (Forgetting, of course, that Alex had already been running in the morning and then in the zoo all day too!)

Back at home, we had a little time to rest before we left for dinner. We went back downtown to a place that Alex had picked out. This is a local microbrewery. They make some very, very good beers on a small scale and have a traditional German menu. The place is called Calwer-Eck-Bräu. We met some friends of Alex and Ramona - Felix and Steffi. Felix had done study abroad in Toronto at the same time Alex was in Auburn. I had seen pictures of Alex's trip to Toronto. We also had a special visitor from south of Stuttgart - our friend Cathye. She was in Auburn for the Fall Semester when Alex was there - doing an exchange semester. I had e-mailed her that I would be in Stuttgart and she drove up (over 1 hour) to meet us. It was great to see her again! She has finished her degree (and Masters!) in Textile Engineering. She started working recently.

[insert picture of Cathye]

The boys were tired again. They fell asleep in the pub (again!) so we did some piggy backing of Keane back to the train and then up to the apartment. We put the kids to bed and then stayed up a little while longer for one last time. We made plans to get up early (5:30) to eat breakfast and head to the airport. Alex and Ramona would go with us.





Ride to downtown
Shannon and Alex search for Patch
Back to rest and pack a little bit.
Dinner at Brewpub with Cathye, Felix & Steffi
Kids fell asleep
Home for a few more drinks
Make plans to get up early

Stuttgart - 26 March (Thu)

Finn and I were up early and volunteered to go to the bakery and the market before breakfast. We thought we remembered the way, but we had already made so many different trips out from the Apartment, that we got turned around pretty quickly. We ended up at a different bakery, so decided to try this. Finn apparently had something particular in mind that he had seen the day before at the bakery. This new bakery didn't have what he wanted, so we left without anything. We tried one more street and viola! We found the bakery and market. This time we walked back the way we should have come and we made a note of all the landmarks along the way. We would be ready tomorrow!

The weather was pretty decent looking right now, but it looked like it would be changing. We decided to head downtown and get some shopping done. We rode the train down toward the main pedestrian zone, which begins right at the main train station. Since the weather was good right then, we went up into the tower at the train station. This gave us a pretty good view of the whole city except for the weird netting that stretched over the whole thing. We managed to take some pictures anyway.

In the train station, there was an elaborate display of the upcoming train station renovation. The train station is called a head station because the trains come in and out from the same tracks (instead of passing by the train station). The new train station will pass underground and follow a completely different path. The heart of downtown will be completely different and be revitalized. This will take 10 or more years to complete.

The first thing we shopped for were soccer jerseys for the kids. I really wanted to buy German National team jerseys, but mom was opposed to them because the home jerseys are white (and boys tend to get dirty). We both started to get cold feet because all the jerseys were about $60 each and the kids would be growing out of them soon. We ended up compromising with athletic jerseys with a Stuttgart team logo patch on them. This worked out just fine because the boys STILL love these shirts!



We finally got to do shopping for other people - which mostly included candy. I went to the bookstore and bought several books for myself - including a copy of one of the Harry Potter books and a computer book! The Stuttgart pedestrian zone was lots of fun, but we were getting tired. We had decided to eat Doener for lunch. This Turkish sandwich - a lot like a greek Giro - is very popular all over Germany. Doener restaurants are everywhere! This was one of my favorite foods when I was here as a student! Penny and the boys even loved it! They're HUGE and cheap and delicious!

After lunch, we headed to a large, LARGE toy store. We knew this would be tough - to get the boys to buy something unique (not just Lego or Hot Wheels), something not too (TOO!) expensive and something small enough to fit in the luggage. We found some nice things. Finn bought Playmobil. Keane bought some cars that were German cars we had seen - a Police car SMART with the word "Polizei" written on it and also an bright orange Fire Truck like the ones they have. We also got a very cool memory card game with German pictures and words on it. The boys had been playing memory with Alex for several days. This was a great suggestion from the toy store clerk!

Finally, we headed home to rest. Shopping can really wear us out....but not the boys! They wanted to go back home, put on their soccer shirts and go down to the park to play. Alex and I went along. This was a cool little urban park. The soccer field was inside a fence, was small and the ground was artificial. We kicked the ball around a little before the boys wanted to head over to the playground.



It started to lightly rain. We were really tired and the boys were getting grouchy anyway, so we headed back to the apartment. The girls had rested some. Now we turned on the TV, dried off and relaxed a little bit.

Ramona and Alex were working on a popular regional dish called dampfnudle - Steam Dumplings. They made the dough, let it rise (yeast dough), shaped them into pretty big dumplings and then steamed them. They served them with a vanilla sauce - very good!




After dinner (which was an early dinner), we all went out to a neighborhood pub - one of Alex and Ramona's favorite pubs. We ordered some appetizers and some beers. We also took along a Yahtzee game and some coloring books. Finn has learned to play Yahtzee. It's pretty easy to play in a loud place.

We got home late. The boys were exhausted again. After we put them to bed, we all stayed up late again talking, listening to music and playing games. I'm learning that the Germans really like to play games together! It's really a fun way to hang out and talk....better than TV!

Stuttgart - 23 March (Wed)

Now that we were back in Suttgart to stay, I felt glad to think about staying in one place for three nights in a row. We didn't feel too much pressure to rush around and do many things. The main thing we needed to get done is a little shopping. Everything else would be bonus. We have been having a busy vacation, but we've been sleeping very well, sleeping a little late and having slow mornings. I think those are the things I don't get during the normal working days. We really shouldn't start working until 9:00 at least!

Penny and Alex went running together, but didn't leave until 7:00 or so. Alex lead them on a very steep climb to a beautiful view of the city. I think they both overdid it a little bit. Alex assumed that Penny would want a challenging run. They were worn out when they got back, but the view was apparently very good!

Meanwhile, Ramona took Finn, Keane and I around the corner. We stopped at a neighborhood bakery and then went right next door (and downstairs) to the PennyMarkt (small grocery store). We came back here the next two days too and it started to sink in how cheap some of the groceries are. Dairy products - milk, yogurt, quark (between sour cream and cream cheese) - were incredibly cheap and very high quality! The breads were cheap and extremely good. I really couldn't understand how it could be so cheap (subsidies?) and how ours could be so terrible and un-varied and how we can stand it.

Back at home, we had another simple (Brotzeit) breakfast and then started out to a swimming place in the south of Stuttgart - Fideraldo. There are several of these places in Stuttgart. This whole area is popular for "Bad" - mineral baths, hot baths and everything in between. Saunas and spas are popular and also indoor swimming places. It was similar to the place that we had visited in Schongau with Marget and Burkhard. There were three different water slides. One was reserved for people taller than Finn. It was like a ski-jump slide because you slid down (on your back) and then shot out of a slot and flew forward 10+ feet. You land on a soft, wet trampoline slide where you slam down into the water at the bottom. I tried it once, Penny once and Finn wished he could try it.

The hot pools were perfect. Alex helped me perfect the phrase "this is why we work" - to earn a few relaxing moments in such a place. It was very nice - complete escapism.

This had been a pretty good trip, which a short walk to the train, then a bus which dropped us off a couple of blocks from the place. Two things to note about this.....Alex was able to go to a nice website where he put in two different endpoints and it showed him a range of times when we could make the trip. We knew, for example, that we could be out on the bus stop at 15:18 or 16:50. The other thing is that I can't remember any trains, buses or streetcars being late the whole time we were there. It really made things luxurious - no worrying or confustion at all.

We knew we would be worn out from the swimming. Back in their neighborhood, we went to their favorite pizzeria. It was very cool to hear German spoken with a heavy Italian accent. All of the courtesy words were spoken in Italian - both by Alex and the waiters. The pizza was very good. We ate slowly. There's never a rush to be finished and to pay and leave. In Germany, if you don't ask for the check, it might never come. The owner came to our table and brought us complimentary shots of liqueur. Ah luxury.

The girls took the boys back to the apartment. Alex and I headed in the opposite direction so we could pick up some more beer. I always loved shopping for beer in Germany. The bottles are larger for the wheat beer - 0.5 l = about 16 oz (we usually get 12 oz beers in the US). AND - the beer (and wine) are so cheap too! (compared to the US). We won't even start talking about the quality or the variety again. We got a sampler case - which was about $20, but we paid several dollars in bottle deposits. Alex will have to bring the bottles back to this store to get the deposit.

The boys were ready for bed. They stayed up a little late reading bedtime stories, but they were pretty tired. The rest of us stayed up talking and playing games and sampling beers.

Black Forest - 24 March (Tue)

It snowed last night! The path that we had been able to see from the house down to the compost pile below the house was covered in several inches of snow. The rest of the yard was still thick with snow, but now had a new layer of nice powder on it. The boys were THRILLED! They gobbled their breakfast (remind me to figure out what Qwitter fruit is - like a pear/apple - nice jelly!) I felt terrible, but recovered by late in the morning. Angelica gave me some aspirin and gave me a Reiki treatment (which she had learned). It was a fantastic help. The Reiki and the snow and fresh air made me feel much better. Gerhard recommended "Schneekopf" - "snow head" for treatment of a hangover.

The boys had to improvise with the footwear. There were some big moon boots that had been left by Angelica's God children. They almost fit Finn. For Keane, we found some rubber boots that would have probably even been a little big on Penny. At least they weren't girly colors, so we got him to try them on. We stuffed socks in the toes and then he wore two pairs of socks on his feet and they worked pretty good. Climbing up the hill was a little bit of extra work, but he was having such a great time he didn't care.

Alex brought out three different kinds of sleds. One was a big wooden sled like we had used in Bavaria. One was a sled with a seat and steering wheel that was slightly broken, but still worked fine enough. The simplest sleds were like little plastic shovels that you sit on and slide on your butt. These worked pretty well on the hills that we had, so we had lots of fun.

Alex was also very good in the snow. He could smooth out the pathways and also showed us how to use the sleds. Eventually, the boys wanted to dig in the snow. Alex and I (mostly Alex) helped them start building a tunnel between two sides of a snow drift. It was over 15 feet across in the end and right in the center, we built a round room with an igloo top. It took a long time to build, but all of us pitched in. The boys had a great time! Alex was their hero!



We earned our lunch that day! Angelica had made a pumpkin soup that the boys loved. We also had bread. cold cuts and cheese. Gerhard came home at lunchtime. We got some rest while some of the clothes from the morning dried out a little bit. Finn was able to use their computer to update the blog at his school. His teacher had asked him to post a few blog entries for the class to see.

After resting, Alex and Keane went back outside. Finn and I watched a little television and I even fell asleep for 20 minutes. It was a nice recovery from last night and from an active morning!

Alex had made dinner reservations in Achern at a nice wine restaurant called Ihli. They serve a very popular local dish called Pfannenkuchen (pan cake). This is actually much more like a pizza. The basic variety doesn't have a marinara sauce, but has a cream/sour cream sauce with onions, bacon and maybe mushrooms. The crust is very thin. We ordered several different kinds and shared them.

After dinner, Angelica and Gerhard drove us to the train station in Achern. We waited on the Stuttgart train which left at 19:00. Angelica waited with us and then hugged us goodbye. She is definitely another generous, loving person. We would love to see her and Gerhard again. We can definitely see why Alex is such a nice guy!

We were able to buy a Baden-Wurtemburg ticket (state ticket) for the day for $28. This is great because it covered our U-Bahn/S-Bahn tickets when we got back to Stuttgart. We had to change trains in Karlsruhe (which I recognized from 20 years ago). The whole trip took less than two hours.

We got back to the apartment and Ramona. We put the kids to bed - they were exhausted! Then we stayed up late again with Alex and Ramona. We played a card game they taught us called Dog. We were back in Stuttgart to stay now.