The Good and the Bad

Hello!! It's been a few days and a lot has happened...mostly good with a few bad that are so minor I really have to count myself lucky on this trip. God has definitely been looking after us. As for the good...Paris!!! We made it safely there and back and had an absolutely wonderful time...which I will be sharing very shortly. I have been putting it off...not sure if I just wanted to savor the time in my mind before sharing or the fact that the 400 some pictures are a little overwhelming for me to try to pic out the few to share on here. I will definitely share more on facebook when we get home...it's easier to upload more pics on there. We have almost finished our audit work...only a few more things to do at the distribution center tomorrow and Friday. As for the little things that have gone wrong...

1) My favorite bracelet broke when we were visiting the Arc de Triomphe. My bracelet with Aiden and Max's name. I got the bracelet at my baby shower for Aiden from my mother-in-law and she expanded it with Max's name when he was born. It has broke a few times and I've always been able to recover the pieces and get it re-strung. This time...I was walking down the steps to go under the road (over to the arc) and felt my bracelet break. I was able to catch a lot of it (luckily I had my rain coat on). However I was missing a lot of the letters of the names. We continued to the arc and I had to fight back tears while I was there. Aside from my wedding band, engagement ring and my grandmother's ring...I think this might be the next favorite piece of jewelry (for sentimental reasons of course). While we were across the street at the arc, I realized my bracelet most likely broke when I took my camera off my wrist for a tourist to take a pic of Leslie and me. We walked back under the street and over to where we took the pic. God gave me the best gift ever! I saw a silver piece of jewelry and it was mine! I found 5-6 more pieces of my bracelet! Now I have all of Max's name and all but the 'I' and 'E' for Aiden's name. I didn't recover it all, but the fact I found that much in the midst of all the gravel made my day! So there is one 'bad' and a really big 'good' thing on my list.

2) My corporate credit card has been stolen over the internet or something. I had to close the card and will hopefully receive my new card on Friday in Belgium.

3) Last night I knocked my glasses off the nightstand. I woke up to realize the lense had popped out and I can't get it back in. However, the CFO here in Europe was nice enough to take me to get them fixed today. Hopefully they will be fixed and I will have them for the trip home :)

4) When checking out of the hotel this morning, my personal credit card was declined. I called to let them know in advance I was travelling however I had a feeling the call didn't go well and I worried they didn't get all the details, but they assured me they did. Something is wrong because I am nowhere near my balance. So, I call them and they are not open 24 hours a day like some 'nicer' credit cards. ugggghhhhh! I just hope no one has compromised my card and it can be easily fixed. Luckily Leslie still has her corporate credit card and was able to take care of the bill.

So...other than that we have been VERY lucky on this trip. I am lucky to even be on the trip and that my job allows me to do this. I feel very blessed and also to have such a great travel partner!! We've had such a blast...as you will see in the pics.

Stay tuned....Paris will be coming...in multiple sections of course.

Black Sausage Anyone??

Leslie and I went out to do a little shopping tonight for people back home and to get a traditional German meal. Our dining experiences haven't been the best when we've been left to ourselves (without translation), but we were very hopeful tonight :) After the shops closed, we went back to the big plaza to eat at a restaurant we were told about. We were so excited to see they had an English menu and the waiter spoke English....yeah!!!! Leslie opted for the beef goulash and I went for a mix of black sausage, pork and another sausage served with creamed potatoes and pickled cabbage. We were told the black sausage was a traditional German meal, so that's what I had. However, the waiter urged me to get the meal with a variety of meat because not everyone likes it. Good idea!! Of course...we have pics of the meal to share... Black sausage anyone??


I'm not exactly sure what's in it...but the texture was very weird. But I tried it. It's wasn't as disgusting as it looks, but not something I would have for a whole meal. I had it once...and probably never again :)

Off to Paris tomorrow for the weekend...will blog next week with pics! I'm missing Justin and the boys a bunch, but hopefully Paris will keep my mind occupied. Love you all!

In Case You Were Wondering...and Even If You Weren't...

So...here's a little run down of some of the differences we've noticed while we've been here. The obvious difference is how much people LOVE soccer (futbol). Germany played the other night so we went out to dinner to fill our bellies and also witness how much they love the sport. All restaurants have places for public viewing. Without a TV, they definitely wouldn't sell any food that night. In addition, any public plaza or open space is turned into a public viewing area. In addition to their love for futbol, they obviously love their beer! People walk up and down the street with beer without any problem at all, but when we asked Mike he said that is not the norm. It must have been ok because of the futbol game. To help spread the love of beer, they have a portable beer back pack. We figured everyone in the US would appreciate this. I'm just wondering why this hasn't been implemented at tailgating parties yet....

Here's the beer man with his portable back pack making his rounds.

Here is one of the larger public viewing places. Notice the big TV...Germany had just scored a goal...the flags were flying high!

Other differences:

- Gas price is 1.5 euro per liter...which we were told to equate to 6-7/gallon. We weren't sure if that was euro or USD, but either way is super expensive! I'll quit complaining about our $2.5/gallon.

- Car taxes are up to 19% here!! Can you imagine!? So, even though Mercedes, VW, BMW are very popular here...they are more expensive to buy them here than in the US. Crazy!

- Sandwiches are made with only 1 bun...open sandwiches. That could be one reason people are thinner here. That...and all the walking they do. However, with all the bakeries and ice cream shops, it still doesn't add up for me.

- They are very 'green' here with recycling, small cars, energy conscience, water conservation, etc. The toilets here have two flushing options. 1 small button for less water and 1 bigger button for more water. It took us a few days to figure this out. We weren't going to ask since they seemed to do the same thing. But once I thought I might be selecting the wrong option and sending things the wrong place...I figured I should ask. It was good to know we weren't causing any problems with the plumbing. In addition, we couldn't figure out how to turn the lights on in the hotel. You must put your hotel key in a slot to turn on all the lights. Which is good because all the lights turn off when you leave your room. They do a lot of 'green' things...however, I think they do them just so they smoke more :)

Here's the local Hanesbrands office. It's very nice...and modern.

Last, but not least...a dorky picture of me calling home from my soft phone on the computer. It works pretty good! However, if I miss the morning phone call I can't talk to the boys until the next morning due to the time difference. I miss everyone, but we're having a great time!

A Day Tour of Aachen

So after such a long day yesterday we slept in. We didn't think they would still be serving breakfast, so we walked down to a bakery that we saw on our detour yesterday. Lucky us, the hotel was still serving breakfast because the lady at the bakery only gave us one apple streussel. So Leslie and I got to taste it, but it was definitely not enough to keep us going all day. It was pretty good too! We finished our breakfast at the hotel and then off to take a tour of Aachen...
Today I feel like we really got to know a little about history and the German culture. Mike (from the local Hanesbrands office) met us at the hotel to take us for a tour of Aachen...complete with all the 'once upon a time' stories they learn in school. Cologne was fun, but learning the old stories definitely made me like Aachen a little more. It's a smaller town, but has so much character. I definitely can't share all the pics...but here are a few of our day. The pics really don't do the city justice...

This is the main shopping street...which we plan to visit this week. Given taht it was Sunday, most of the shops are closed. We learned today that they are normally closed on Sundays, except for 4-5 times a year. Then they open with limited hours.

I hope I'm telling these stories right...bare with me. This area was known for the warm springs/spas that came from the earth...Aachen is built on/over old volcanic area. Any way you leave Aachen you must go uphill. Anyways, they believe the warm water comes out of the earth is from the volcano. They believe this water is very healthy and some people drink it. However, it smells very bad...a strong sulfur smell. I thought the water would be luke warm, but it was very hot. Almost too hot to keep your hand under for very long. Mike said they all had to taste the water when they were young in school...we passed.

Entering a popular area of downtown. It's so quaint with the little shops.

The cathedral (dom) of Aachen. Not nearly as large as the one in Cologne, but I think it was much prettier inside. Emperor Karl wanted the cathedral built, but was had to leave due to a war. He left it to the people of the town to finish the cathedral before he would return. However, the money was no more. The town people did not know how to raise the money, but they knew Emperor Karl would be very upset if it wasn't built. On guy had an idea to get the money from the devil. The devil heard and came at once. He agreed to give all the money they needed for one thing. He wanted the soul of the first person to enter the cathedral. Emperor Karl returned and wanted to be the first person in the cathedral, but that could not happen. The devil was inside waiting for the first soul, when the towns people sent a wolf in from the forest. When the devil saw the wolf come in, he was furious and left the cathedral slamming the door. Til this day there are dents/curves in the door from when he slammed the door and his finger was stuck in the door.

Here we are trying to feel the devil's finger in the door. I felt it! I touched the devil's finger! There's more to the story. So when he left the cathedral he said he would return. He had two large bags of sand he was going to drop on Aachen so it would be no longer. He met a woman on the way and he stopped to ask how far it was to Aachen. The lady was a market woman and walked to Aachen every day to work in teh market. Her shoes were very worn from the walk. When the devil asked how much further it was (for the large bags of sand were very heavy), she knew what he was after and told him that he could tell from her shoes. For they were new when she left Aachen and the walk was so long it her shoes were already in bad shape. He was so angry that he threw the bags of sand down, creating two hills just outside Aachen.

This is the center of town. As you can see the large TV, they are setting up for a public viewing of the Germany soccer game tonight.

Aachen city hall.

We looked so cool with our headphones and electonic tour guide in the city hall. Here's Leslie at the end of our tour.

Leslie, Mike and I up at the top of one of the sand hills. It was a VERY steap and long walk up, but definitely worth the view of the city. They have a tower on the top of the hill with a restaurant that spins so they can see all around.

Here's satan with the woman. Notice that satan has one human foot and one horse's hoof. When we asked why, Mike told us because German's always have to add something to the story...I guess the horse's hoof made him seem scarier to them. Crazy Germans!

Since we woke up so late, we opted to skip lunch and get ice cream instead. Great plan! And no...Aiden...you won't be able to eat ice cream for your lunch in the future. Only mommy can!

And one last picture for you Justin....a police car i caught last minute. We had to jump back on the street when it was coming. If they see you crossing the road when you aren't supposed to, they will stop and give you a ticket. And I thought cops in the US were mean!! But atleast they drive VWs here!

A Day in Cologne, Germany

Before I tell you about today, I have to tell you about our taxi ride from the airport last night. During our drive I spotted the driver going 170 km/hour! I am not a good passenger, so it would be safe to say I was slightly nervous. So, today I did the conversion...105 mph!!!! I was never so happy to get out of that car. Now I know the driving with Justin is not that bad!


Onto today....It was a long day today and I am ready for bed!! A quick blog with pics so you can see a little bit of Germany. Our day was off to a bright start...we decided to walk to the train station to see a little bit of Aachen, Germany before travelling to Cologne for the day. We were all smiles taking pics until a German women spotted us (and our puzzled looks) and offered to help. She spoke a little English...well enough to tell us we were walking in the wrong direction. Oh well...we saw a little more of the city than we planned. The pic below was taken during our detour. Just a pic of downtown Aachen in the morning. It was overcast and pretty chilly today!



We finally made it to the train station!!

Successfully on the correct train to Cologne, Germany :) We accidentally sat in 1st class, but they politely corrected us with only 5 minutes left of our ride.

The beautiful cathedral in downtown Cologne. The train station took us right to it. I can't even describe how large this cathedral is! It's absolutely breathtaking inside too!


Not the best picture of the cathedral, but it give you some sort of idea how large it is.

On our way into the chocolate museum. Free chocolate, here I come!

We got to read all we wanted about the cocoa bean...the best part was watching how chocolate candies were made and tasting the final product. Yummm!

Next stop...the botanical gardens. Beautiful gardens and we were lucky enough to watch two bride and grooms getting their pictures taken. Such a beautiful place to have portraits!

In the botanical gardens they had a little playground for the kids. I couldn't resist! They, of course, reminded me of the boys so I had a little fun for them! I miss you Aiden and Max!

The picture above is exactly what you think it is. Let me explain...all day we were seeing crazy bachelor and bachelorette parties. As much as we could tell, the whole group dresses alike and the bride/groom must make complete fools of themselves...each group had their own ideas. We probably passed 15-20 groups yesterday...all loud, funny and completely drunk. So the winner of the funny ideas...the groom that had to pull his pants down, showing his tighty whities, stick his butt through the sheet with a whole in it while his buddies (and complete strangers) took their turn trying to drill him in the butt with a soccer ball as hard as he could. It was hilarious!!! I do have a pick from the other side, but I'll spare you all :) We have no idea what the sheet says, but we'll find out. They were all wearing shirs with "Game Over" and the wedding date we assume.

And since we're in Germany...we must try the beer! Tonight was my first Germany beer. Of course, I have no idea what kind it was because the waiter didn't speak English but he did understand 'beer'. It was really good! Better than the water I had at lunch. This pic was at 10 p.m. and as you can see it's still light out. Something to get used to that's for sure!

I'm off to bed. I'm exhausted and we have more walking to do tomorrow. Nighty night....

Tchau!!

Supposedly that says goodbye in German :) In a few hours we (myself and co-worker, Leslie) will be on our way to Germany to perform an audit for work. We will be there for 2 weeks and in our time abroad we will visit Cologne and Aachen, Germany; Paris; Gent, Belgium and Amsterdam. 4 countries in just over 2 weeks. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel and navigate through foreign cities. It should be fun and interesting to say the least! We will hopefully post pics of our trip along the way if my camera will work...so wish us luck with technology too.

As much as I'm excited to visit Europe, my heart aches to be away from my family for so long!! So extra prayers would be greatly appreciated :) I'm sure Justin will be just fine with the boys, but I'm sure he will accept any help in the next few weeks. Well....off we go! I'll be back stateside on June 28th....see you then!

Above is a picture of Cologne, Germany...where we will tour this Saturday.

Aiden's First Fish

I'm a little behind on some blogging, but I definitely wanted to show Aiden's first fish and the wonderful trip to our family's cabin in Seneca Rocks, WV back in April. If you have never been to West Virginia and like the mountains, you should visit the Seneca Rocks/Petersburg area. There's rock climbing, mountain trails, caverns to explore, fishing and much more. Best of all, you're snuggled in the valley with beautiful mountain views. Can't get much better than a relaxing weekend in the mountains...unless you're at the beach...it's a toss up!

Don't worry, this isn't the family cabin :) Just a old barn in the middle of the field that I thought was too pretty not to take a picture!

We went to the annual Springs Mountain Festival on Saturday then enjoyed a train ride. They had a war re-enactment with loud canons and all! The kids loved it of course!

On Sunday before leaving, we took Aiden fishing and he caught his very first fish...ALL BY HIMSELF!! He cast the pole, set the hook and everything! He was so proud of himself. He caught 3 or 4 that day! I think the outfit really helped him. I guess fishing is in the family blood and he's taking after his Pap Pap Gary and Uncle Don.