We are Cuckoo!

Our son, Ryan, has been fascinated by cuckoo clocks for a long time.  Among the many promises we had to make in order to get him on board with a move to Germany (also visiting the Eiffel Tower and going to LEGOLAND), we also promised that we would buy an authentic German cuckoo clock. 

 

Our original plan had been to make a trip to the Black Forest (the cuckoo clock capital), but who knows when that will happen.  While we were in Rothenburg amongst all of the tourist tchotchke shops, there were a lot of cuckoo clocks to choose from, so we decided to make Ryan's cuckoo dreams come true. 

 

By the way, cuckoo clocks are NOT cheap.  I think that Ryan really knew what he was doing when he started his pre-Germany-move negotiations.  There are small battery operated clocks, which are cheaper, up to big clocks with multiple moving parts, which can cost over 1,000 Euro.

So now we have our little cuckoo bird who tells we (quite loudly) what time it is, and luckily we can turn him off at night.  Besides the bird that pops out, there is also a little girl who pulls the rope that is attached to a bell on the top of the house. 

The pinecones are weights that slowly go down through the day to power the clock, and they need to be pulled back up every day.  I think that pulling the pinecones up has become a compulsion for all of us, and anytime someone walks by, we pull the pinecones, even if they are still close to the top. 

We have had the clock up for a few weeks now, and the kids still love it and stop what they are doing to count the cuckoos on the top of the hour.  I also find the tic-tic sound relaxing during the day when I am home alone.  While it was an expensive purchase, I think we will have it for a long time, and it will be something that will remind us of our time here in Germany after we move back to the US. 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

The city of Rothenburg  is on the cover of our Lonely Planet Travel Guide for Germany, and touted by Rick Steves as 'the king of medieval German cuteness.'

 

See the background?

Six years ago, we spent six weeks in Germany, with a then 18-month-old Ryan, and visited Rothenburg.  At the time we visited it was February. when most of the shops and restaurants are closed for the season, and Ryan spent most of the time chasing pigeons around the main square.  While my sister Sarah was here visiting over the holidays, she mentioned that she would like to visit the city, and so we headed out for a day of touristy sight-seeing. 

Main square

 When visiting this city, you have to park outside the city walls, since the streets are narrow and full of people wandering about.  Both times we have been there have been in the winter, and I can only imagine the number of people that would be visiting in the warmer weather.  

 

Rothenburg is one of the bus-tour stops along the Romantic Road, which runs from Wurtzburg (which is north of our city) to Fussen (south of our city, down in the mountains).  We fit right in doing the touristy photo-ops, but most of the other tourists were Asian!  Apparently there is some animated Japanese movie that is set in Rothenburg, making it a popular destination for Japanese tourists.  I also learned through Wikipedia that there was some filming done there for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2.  I will have to check for that next time we watch!

The Christmas market was over when we were there, but the Christmas spirit was still alive! All the decorations were still everywhere, and there are quite a lot of permanent Christmas-themed trinket stores.   Sarah used the opportunity to do some souvenir shopping at the Kathe Wohlfarht store.
     



 



Pretty walls in the restaurant.

 After we had lunch at a small German restaurant, we headed outside the city walls and down to the double bridge on the Tauber river.  We passed through some pretty vineyards and a picturesque church on the way.

 

 Despite all the other tourists within the city walls, we had this area to ourselves.

 

 

 

 After heading back into town, we stopped in for coffee, hot cocoa, and the local sweet specialty, a Schneeball.  Schneeball translates to 'snowball', and is a treat made of ribbons of dough formed into a ball, deep-fried, then covered with various topping such a powdered sugar, caramel, or chocolate. 

 Despite the quaint image that the city exudes, it has a quite tumultuous past.  The town was founded in the 1100's, and in the 1600's was defeated during the Thirty Years War.  Following the war, the plague caused much suffering and death in the town. 

 

The town also has quite a bit of Nazi history.  The city expelled all Jews in 1938, and was used as a model of Nazi idealism.  German soldiers were stationed there in WWII in an effort to defend the city, but in 1945 the city was bombed, and much of it destroyed.  Just like modern day tourists, the Nazi party also believed that Rothenburg was a quintessential German town.  As a side note: I found this WWII information on Wikipedia, because it is NOT mentioned in any of the guidebooks. 

 

We really enjoyed our visit to Rothenburg, and it is a great place to wander the cobbled streets and let yourself be engulfed by the jovial Christmas spirit.  Hopefully we will visit again in the warmer months, and see what else this interesting city has to offer! (If I had to guess it will likely have more than a few biergartens to choose from!)

Krakow, Poland

In the few days before Christmas, we were invited to visit our friends Marcin, Anna, and their children in Krakow, Poland.  We became friends with them after they moved to the United States, and they were in Poland over the holidays to visit family in their hometown, which is a few hours from Krakow.   

We had a bit of a problem getting to Krakow, though.  It should have been an easy flight between Munich and Krakow, but our plane was diverted to another city in Poland due to dense fog.  We ended up having to take an additional 1-1/2 hour ride on a double decker bus from the other airport to get to the Krakow airport.  We were relieved to finally make it to the hotel, and even more relieved when we saw how nice the hotel was!  We stayed at the Radisson Blu, which was right within walking distance of all the sights of the old city center. 

 

After four months of living in Germany, we were really excited to see some familiar faces!  Visiting another country with natives is so much easier than  going it on your own, and  Marcin and Anna were great hosts.  They showed us everywhere in Krakow, and ensured that we ate some really great Polish food! 

Interesting Facts about Krakow

The city of Krakow has multiple UNESCO designations, and can trace its history to the Stone Age.   The local legend is that Krakow was founded when the mythical ruler Krakus defeated a terrible dragon, and then built the city above the dragon's cave.  The dragon is the mascot of the city, and is seen all over on souvenirs.  The kids loved the dragon statue by the castle that shot real flames from its mouth!

Krakow has a significant history associated with WW II.  Oskar Schindler's factory was in Krakow, where he employed a thousand Jews, thereby saving them from concentrations camps.  Auschwitz is very close to Krakow, where over one million Jews and Poles were tortured, starved, and exterminated by the Third Reich.  We did not visit these places on this trip, but will plan to if we get to visit the area again. 

Pope John Paul II was from Poland, and was the Archbishop of Krakow before being elected Pope in 1978.  He was the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years.  You can see that the city is very proud of this, and his image can be found on souvenirs everywhere. 

Christmas Market
The Christmas Market was really nice.  The items being sold were similar to German Christmas markets (toys, ornaments, etc), but some of the foods were different.  There were pierogis, grilled chunks of cheese with jam, and sausages, just to name a few.  We also always made sure to grab a cup of mulled wine as we passed by the market square.  The flavor of the Polish mulled wine was slightly different than of the wine served at the Christmas Markets in Germany, and does wonders to warm you up on a chilly evening!



Yummmmmmm

In the photo below, the kids are wearing a sort of 'bread necklace,' which was made of a bunch of small, hard, sweet rolls.  I also really liked the bread that was sold at little kiosks on the street corners, which was shaped like a large ring, and tasted like a cross between a pretzel and a bagel. 

We took a horse-drawn carriage ride through the old city.  The kids had fun trying to say 'Merry Christmas' in Polish to the people we passed by. 

 

We happened upon a small Christmas parade where the people were wearing traditional Polish clothing, and playing music. 

The kids were entertained by the various street performers, especially the knight you could sword fight with for a few coins. 

Wieliczka Salt Mine

The next day we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was started in the 13th century, is 327 meters deep, and 178 miles long!

M wanted to make sure it was really salt...

There are dozens of statues and carving made from salt, three chapels, an entire cathedral, and a lake within the mine!  We really enjoyed the tour, but we had to keep a constant eye on Meredith, since she LOVES salt and we made the mistake of telling her that she could do a taste test. 

Salt crystal chandaleirs and tiles

Silly boys

Me, Anna, and little Julia

Clearly we really enjoyed visiting our friends in Krakow!  On our last day, Anna and I visited the spa at the hotel, where I got a massage, and Anna had a manicure.  We gave lots of hugs through teary eyes before heading back to the airport, and luckily there was no fog to impede our travel back to Germany.  We are so happy to have had this opportunity and I hope that we have the opportunity to see our friends again soon. 


A Wonderful Holiday Season



Rothenburg

 

 

After one month of not writing, I have so much to share that I barely know where to begin!


Meredith in her elf ears before the Winter Performance

The kids had almost three weeks vacation from school, and Dan had two weeks off work! The last time he had two weeks vacation was when we got married ten years ago. 



Ryan and Kacper in Krakow

First we travelled to Krakow, Poland, for a few days to visit friends. We had a great time, and I will write separate posts about our trips.

Krakow Christmas Market

My sister came to visit, and spent Christmas with us. While she was here we visited the Christmas Market in Munich, went to the touristy-but-charming town of Rothenburg, and also headed south to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a day in the mountains.

Me and my sister, Sarah, at Odeonsplatz, Munich

My Mom came to visit for New Year's, and we had a huge surprise at midnight when every house in the neighborhood set off celebratory fireworks! While my Mom was here, we also visited the famous Neuschwanstein castle in Fussen, and the town of Dinklesbuhl, which was by far the quaintest place I have been in Germany.

Celebrating Christmas

 Having my sister here was the best gift of all. Being with her is so much fun, and there is no one else in this world who can make me laugh as hard as she can.



Merry Christmas to all!

Germans traditionally celebrate on Christmas Eve, with the main meal and gift exchange. In an effort to try new things, we roasted a goose, which was tasty for it's dark meat, but I am not sure I will be making another one too soon. We also had a traditional Bavarian breakfast of white sausages, pretzels, and beer (this is usually a Sunday morning breakfast, not for everyday).  We spent the rest of the day relaxing and the kids played with their new toys. 

Weisswurst, and weissbier!

One thing that was interesting was that EVERYTHING was closed from noon Christmas Eve, and did not reopen until December 27.  In the States, many things will close for Christmas Day, but you can always count on a handful of stores to be open for last minute necessities. 

Rothenburg

We had a wonderful, relaxing winter vacation, and are grateful for the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.  Luckily the kids were excited to go back to school, but of course I wish I could have kept everyone here with me for a few more days.  I look forward to sharing more about our holiday adventures in coming posts!