The Hills are Alive with The Sound of Music!!!

Back in June, Dan's mother, Theresa, was here visiting, and we took a week-long trip to Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria.  We had visited Salzburg six years ago when Ryan was a toddler, and we knew that we had to take Dan's mom since the whole family loves The Sound of Music (and who doesn't?).

The house where Mozart was born.

The city of Salzburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the birthplace of Mozart.  It is such a nice city to visit because it isn't as overwhelming as many of the European cities, and you can get around really easy by foot (even with kids in tow!).  The people were friendly toward us as tourists, everything is well maintained and clean, and I felt like it was a very family-friendly city.

Main pedestrian street in Salzburg.

On our first evening in Salzburg we visited the Marionette Theater and saw a marionette production of The Sound of Music.  It was really a special event for us to go to the theater, and we all loved it!

The next day we took the 'Fraulein Maria's The Sound of Music Bike Tour', and luckily we had a perfect sunny day.  We had so much fun, and got to see so much more of Salzburg and the movie sights than we would have if we had been trying to find the sights ourselves.  

A bicycle made for Daddy and Daughter!

We have confidence in confidence!

Grandma Tete and Dan with the
Hohensalzburg Castle behind them.

Lucky for me they are not yet '16 going on 17'!

We visited the Hohensalzburg Castle on a rainy day and took the audio-guided tour. Unfortunately, Ryan was sick that day, and I kept the kids in the hotel for the morning to rest.  Dan and Theresa ended up taking a walk in the rain and happened upon a pipe-organ concert in a church, and visited one of the museums.

Meredith in Mirabelle Gardens

I highly recommend the hotel where we stayed, the Hotel Elefant. It was right in the middle of the historic area, with all the main sights close-by.  Many times we visit cities and feel stressed by all the chaos of city-life and public transportation, but visiting Salzburg was so relaxing and beautiful.  Hmm, maybe we should go back since I think we are due for some relaxation, and desperate need of it!!!!

Tut Mir Leid, Ich Bin Deutsch Lernen

It has been almost two months since I have posted anything on this blog.  This is not for lack of good stories to share, because I have many fun things to share from our summer adventures. Rather, it is because I have been taking an intensive German course in an effort to improve my horrific language acquisition abilities!

In August we passed our one-year mark for living in Germany.  I had thought that with a little bit of studying and simply by living in Germany and being surrounded by the language, I would have no trouble learning Deutsch.  Unfortunately, I was very wrong about this!

My kids attend an English language International School, and because of this, it was very easy to make English speaking friends.  Therefore, because we speak English at home, at school, and at social events, I have found that I have not been as immersed in the language and I had imagined I would be. 

 

The language school I attend is called Inlingua.  In the spring I had some private classes, which were helpful, but very expensive.  When the kids went back to school in August, I jumped into the intensive course, and I go Monday-Friday for 3-1/2 hours each day.  Now that I have attended for five weeks, I can clearly see that I am finally improving.  The problem is that the more I learn, the more I can see how much MORE I need to learn if I can ever dream of being able to hold a decent conversation without sounding like a toddler! 

At this point I am registered for three more weeks of classes.  I am afraid that I will feel like a failure if I quit before I can speak comfortably, so maybe I will continue on a bit longer if possible. 

 

In any country, the citizens (understandably) want foreigners to speak the language if they want to live in certain country.  While most people are kind, or at least tolerant of my incoherent attempts at speaking German, every once in a while we come across people that can be downright rude about the fact that we are living here and can not yet speak German.  It has made me wonder about how foreigners in the United States are treated.  So please be kind to people who may not speak perfect English, because living as a foreigner at trying to learn a language is more difficult that it looks!!