Viva la Paris!

Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Statues on the Notre Dame
View down the Seine


Arc de TriumphPalace of Versailles

Our first stop in Paris was Notre Dame de Paris. It was absolutely gargantuan and gorgeous! We lucked out because there were no lines to get in and they were having a church service. We got to listen to part of it. It sounded so majestic in French and echoing off all of the huge stone walls.
Then we drove around town to see the major sights. We saw Palace de la Concorde (concorde square), Arc de Triumph, Lourve, and many other sights.
We got off the bus to tour the Palace of Versailles. The lines were very long (that's what you get when you are in Paris on a major holiday), but went fairly quickly. We took a quick look around. It was soooo huge and beautiful. It is hard to imagine that people actually lived in these palaces. They are so massive. It was very neat to see the Hall of Mirrors, where the first world war officially ended. You need a full day to wander through this palace and all of the gardens. We didn't have that much time so we made sure to see the main attractions. That actually was the theme of our trip!
Then is was off to the hotel to get some R&R and get ready for dinner. After our R&R I started feeling queasy and knew I wouldn't make it through dinner. Yup got the lovely stomach flu. How romantic! Actually if I had to pick a time to get the flu this was the best time. We just missed dinner and a boat ride.

True Love is.....

an Aunt and Uncle that insist that your parents go to Paris even though 3 hours before they were scheduled to leave you just threw up all over your mommy and their couch!
That's right! What is a fun family trip overseas without contracting some type of European super flu (we came up with the name ourselves!)
Hayden got the flu first. It was nasty! Ingrid and Andrew insisted that we go on to Paris. It was hard to leave Hayden when he was sick, but we knew he was in capable hands!
Then the first night in Paris I got the flu, then the day after that Ingrid got it, then Andrew, and Joey finally decided to join in the fun the night before we flew back to the US. I felt bad for him. Luckily he never threw up, but he had a fever and the "other" part of the flu.
All I have to say is our next couch will be a microfiber couch! Hayden threw up on their couch 5 times (that's right I said 5 times) while we were gone and it cleaned right up. I couldn't even smell a hint of vomit. Hoorayyyy for microfiber couches!

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Hayden enjoying a treat

Typical meat market window

Our fearless leader
I started taking pictures of people that just walked up and started taking pictures of Hayden.

On the 28th Ingrid, Hayden, Joey, and I took a day trip to Rothenburg. The town was spared in WWII. It was a fun day wondering around all of the old buildings and streets. We enjoyed some treats at the bakery and a yummy Chinese lunch. We toured an old church with amazing carvings! It was beautiful and gigantic!
Rothenburg is the town you see in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when they are in the glass elevator.
Then it was off back home to get packed for Paris!

Stuttgart Christmas Market

MMMMM fish on a stick anyone?




On the 23rd we went to the Christmas Market in Stuttgart with Joey and Hayden this time. We bundled Hayden in his tights, warm fleece suit, and winter coat. He had a lot of layers on. I am so grateful that we had the cold weather boot for his stroller!
The Stuttgart market was huge! It was a chore to get the stroller through the crowds but we managed. The Germans and Europeans in general are verry children friendly! So actually it was probably easier to get through the crowds with the stroller. Europeans kind of lack the concept of personal space as well. Everywhere you go someone is right up next to you touching you and pushing their way through.
We had fun trying new food again. Joey was a huge fan of the Gluhwein. I could barely choke it down. It took him a while to get used to it but once he did he enjoyed it. I think the glass that you can keep if you get it was a bonus for him as well. We ate rote wurst instead of the brat. It was very good. And surprise surprise Hayden was a huge fan of it. He is not a big meat eater at home but was a huge fan of every meat he tried in Europe.
We got a few things at the market and the weather was a lot more bearable then it was in Dresden.

Christmas In Stuttgart

Hayden managed to clear the bottom half of the tree






We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas in Stuttgart. It was nice to relax and hang around. Christmas Eve we relaxed and made appetizers. The weather was mild, so Hayden even got some play time in outside at the park behind Ingrid's place.
We walked to church on base. It was an awesome service! The church was packed. We heard music from an African group, a clasical solo, and we sang many familiar carols. We even lit our candles from a candle from Bethlehem. One cool thing about being in the military, you are exposed to so many different cultures. It was a truly memorable service. And to top it off Hayden was soooo good! He didn't even make a peep. He especially enjoyed the African group. He got his groove on. He was dancing like a pro!
After Church we opened a few gifts. Hayden got a tepee, tent, and tunnel. He loves it! He also got some clothes.
Christmas morning Hayden, Joey, and I slept in late! WE awoke to breakfast and full stockings! After breakfast we opened the rest of the presents. Joey and I got lots of chocolate, a cookoo clock, and lots of other fun things. Hayden got a army guy he loves, and other things.
For dinner we had ham and all the fixings!
It was a great Christmas!

Neuschwanstein

Hayden saying "Cheese" for the people taking his picture
Yes, we walked all the way up to this thing!

This castle was amazing. It was snowy and cold out, but worth the trip. Yes even the 45 minute walk up through the slush pushing the stroller was worth it! Hey it was good exercise! It was a short tour, but was amazing to see inside. Even the outside was amazing! The castle served as the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland. It was very fairy tale like!
While waiting in line we had the first taste of random people taking Hayden's picture, which became a common occurrence the rest of the trip. I personally found it very strange and did not like it. Especially when thy would try to hold him and grab him out of our arms. I would not consider myself a total hovering parent or overprotective mother, but when you are in a different country and can not speak the language fluently and people just come up and take your child's picture and even try to take him out of your arms, that is just not happening! It actually happened the first time when Ingrid was alone with him, and it kind of took us all off guard!
Hayden is especially popular with Asians, and French. I always wondered if they thought he was a German baby or American. Which was a question we got asked frequently!
It still makes me uncomfortable writing this knowing that people have a picture of Hayden in different parts of the world.
Now Joey is a different story! He was a total "stage dad" as I would call him. He would take Hayden's binky out and make sure his hair looked good before posing him for the pictures!

Dresden

This statue survived the fire
Cityscape by the river

They used the old burned stone to rebuild the church


Small Christmas market View of 1/2 of the large Christmas Market

We arrived in Stuttgart at 9:30am Dec 21st. Then it was up at 1:30 for Ingrid and me to catch the USO bus to Dresden for the Christmas Market there.
Luckily the bus wasn't full so Ingrid and I each got our own row of seats! We had a couple of stops on the way for breakfast and bathroom breaks. I had my first experience paying to use the toilet and ordering breakfast from a complete German menu. The food is definitely different. Breakfst consisted of lots of different types of cold cut meats and breads. I had a long pretzel roll and meat that I wrapped the meat around the roll to eat it. It was alos a learning experience counting euro. If you give someone a 20 for a 7 euro meal you get a five back and lots of change. I was confused for a while but learned that 2 euro comes in coins. They have a lot of different coins there!
When we arrived in Dresden it was VERY cold! We took a walking tour through the town. The buildings are palatial and gorgeous. So old and so much history it is amazing! Dresden was bombed and mostly demolished in WWII. Many of the buildings were restored to their original grander after the war. They even used a lot of the pieces of the old buildings they found to rebuild. In the pictures, all of the black on the buildings were stones replaced or columns or sections of buildings burned and still standing and used to rebuild after the war.
After the tour we had 6 hours to shop and wander through the market. On a different day we would of appreciated the free time, but it was soooo cold we could barely stand it!
Ingrid and I bought tights at the Christmas Market because our legs were freezing and numb! We walked around the market for a while and tried some different foods. I got diced potatoes. They served it in a basket with a wooden fork. We tried a strange pizza. It was pretty good. We also tried grog to warm up. It is a warm eggnog with alcohol in it. It was soooo bad Ingrid and I choked on it for a while. The alcohol was so strong in it my stomach and esophagus burned for a good hour. Just from one sip! I was bummed I thought I would enjoy it!
Then it was off to the mall to look around and get out of the cold. We still had 3 hours to burn so we spent it between 2 cafes. I love the relaxed atmosphere there. You are expected to relax and take your time in the cafes. You don't get any nasty looks from the wait staff if you are at your table drinking coffee for more than an hour. You also have to ask for your check. They don't give it to you because they don't want you to feel rushed.
We got on the bus at 6 and headed home. We arrived home at 1:30 am and were glad to hear Hayden got some much needed sleep and the guys took a little tour of Stuttgart while we were gone. I am so glad Ingrid and I got to go to this by ourselves. It was nice to hang out, just the 2 of us!

Greetings from Germany!

Hayden playing in his tunnel he got from Andrew and Ingrid
Giving some love
Hayden't tights

Taking a nap waiting for our flight to Atlanta

Relaxing in a char at Aunt Ingrid's

We made it! We are all adjusting well to the time difference. Hayden did well on the first two flights. The last flight was a different story! Hayden had no time to run around between flights. it was off one and boarding another. Needless to say after 15 hours of flight he had enough! The last flight involved a lot of squirming and fussing and crying. We made it through though, but Hayden did have rug burns on his knees!

18 hours of travel can be tough on little ones. Considering all he went through he fared well.

We have been getting adjusted to the culture as well. Everything is compact. Everyone has been nice and understand our little knowledge of their language. Ordering food is a chore. A lot of the menus are in German. Some of the words are similar to ours so we can pick out what seems familiar.

Using the toilets took some getting used to as well. You have to pay for most of them. A lot of the toilets don't have seats either!

When we arrived Ingrid wanted us to stay awake. It is supposed to be easier on your system if you adapt right away to the time change. We went to the office on base to get our Id's. When we walked in we heard someone say "there is our little buddy!" Hayden's friends he made boarding in Atlanta to Stuttgart were in the office. Hayden is the official greeter. He waves and says hi to everyone all of the time. This couple and Hayden had a long chat in line to board the plane and it was great to run into them. Everywhere we go Hayden says hi and waves. Even here. He is definitely not intimidated by the different culture.

Then it was off to the px to get diapers and look around.

Then it was back to unload and rest. I did take a little nap and actually felt refreshed.

Then we went to REAL. It is the German version of Wal-mart. It was awesome to see all of the different things. They had huge candy and meat aisles. It seems like we are getting ripped off in the meat area at home. They have sooo many different varieties of meat here it is amazing! We got Hayden some tights. Everyone here takes their children out in the cold so they put tights on under their pants. I am glad we got them. It has definitely helped Hayden stay warm on all of our journeys!

After that we opted to eat at the brat stand outside instead of a restaurant. A nice gentlemen in line helped me order and tried to explain the differences of meat to me. The brats here are not like the ones at home. They taste different and are cut in half and served on a hard roll. I thought they were ok but Hayden loved them.

We went back to Ingrid's place and it was off to bed for me. Ingrid and I got up at 1:30 a.m. for a bus tour to Dresden for the Christmas market. Pics of that to follow.

I will post some pics from the first few days. Joey and I leave for Paris tomorrow. We hope Hayden doesn't give Ingrid and Andrew too hard of a time!:)