Yesterday we rented a car and took our first road trip outside Frankfurt, driving down the
Romantic Road which runs from Würzburg all the way to Austria. The weather was cold with snow, so we just did Würzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Actually, we barley did Würzburg at all since it was raining really hard and just too miserable to justify more than 10 minutes out of the car. Rothenburg was very impressive, even in bad weather. It is a restored, walled Medieval city with lots of little shops and museums. The snow was coming down pretty hard, so we went in and out of a lot of stores and took a long lunch at a Chinese restaurant with Bruno hidden under the table. After lunch, the snow let up and we had an enjoyable family afternoon seeing the city. We lugged our muddy bodies back to the car and drove home to Frankfurt with the sun shining on splendid views of Bavaria. Back in Frankfurt the weather was so mild and sunny, some kids had on shorts. So we topped off the day with crepes and ice cream. I asked Gianna what was her favorite part of Rothenburg, the castles? seeing horses? the teddy bear stores? Her answer: the Chinese restaurant.
Gianna and Mẹ standing on the city wall with the snow blowing all around us. It's c-cold!
Dan looks for the place where hot tar rained down on the enemy.
For all my Christian conservative friends and relatives out there, if you have 187€ to spend on a nice gift for a special young lady in your life, then look no further. The same shop sold a variety of swords for the men. We also saw Martin Luther teddy bears for 189€, if that's more to your liking.
On the hour in the market square, the clock doors open up and these figurines come out and do a little drinking.
This bakery sold local pastries called schneeballen, made out of pie dough and sugar. I heard they were disgusting, so we brought home three other pastries instead. I wasn't impressed; we get tastier pastries in Frankfurt. Sorry Rothenburg, but it's true.
Walking along the wall, you can see (top left) a covered area where the archers would stand to defend the city.
Dan is ending the day with nutella banana crepes back in Frankfurt. For more pictures from the trip look at my
kodak photo gallery.
Out of all the photos I took, Gianna is never looking at the camera. She was too interested in the animals and didn't have time to stop and pose.
After what seems like 3 straight weeks of cold, rainy, weather, today is sunny and mild! Well, it's actually mostly cloudy, but any breaks in the clouds without rain count as "sunny" as far as I'm concerned. Everyone including the ducks were out enjoying the day, Walking Gianna to school is much more enjoyable when it's not raining. Today she was babbling "mẹ, mummy, mẹ, mummy, mẹ, mummy" all the way to school. I tried to get her to say "bố, daddy" but all she would say is "bố, mummy". If the weather is nice this weekend, I really want to visit the zoo. The locals say it's nothing special, rather heavy on the monkeys, but Gianna will like it. Happy Friday!
My little devil/angel was sitting in the bath tonight mumbling something over and over again. I asked her what she was saying and she pronounced "Mummy!". Gianna has never called me mom, mommy or anything of the sort. It has always been Mẹ. So I asked her "Mummy, what's that?" She raised her sudsy finger and pointed at me, "Mummy! Mẹ!" This was very endearing and sent chills up my spine. She knows we like it when she speaks English. If I only had a nickel for every time I've said "say it in English; tiếng Anh, tiếng Viet không (speak English, don't speak Vietnamese)" Don't get me wrong, I will be happy if she calls me Mẹ for the rest of her life. But it was the thought that she was trying to please me by calling me by my English title that put a smile on my face.
Gianna and Mẹ standing on the city wall with the snow blowing all around us. It's c-cold!
Dan looks for the place where hot tar rained down on the enemy.
For all my Christian conservative friends and relatives out there, if you have 187€ to spend on a nice gift for a special young lady in your life, then look no further. The same shop sold a variety of swords for the men. We also saw Martin Luther teddy bears for 189€, if that's more to your liking.
On the hour in the market square, the clock doors open up and these figurines come out and do a little drinking.
This bakery sold local pastries called schneeballen, made out of pie dough and sugar. I heard they were disgusting, so we brought home three other pastries instead. I wasn't impressed; we get tastier pastries in Frankfurt. Sorry Rothenburg, but it's true.
Walking along the wall, you can see (top left) a covered area where the archers would stand to defend the city.
Dan is ending the day with nutella banana crepes back in Frankfurt. For more pictures from the trip look at my kodak photo gallery.
Every day we visit US soil when we take Gianna to school. It's much cheaper than a plane ticket home ;-) Without giving away too many American secrets (and getting my blog shut down), the consular grounds look like a spartan military base. You can walk around freely, but there are security cameras watching you all along the way. In between the barrack style housing is a large lawn littered with charcoal grills and picnic tables. We Americans sure like our grilled meats and summer picnics. There is a rec center, play ground, salon, and I'm sure much more. But to avoid any run-ins with security, I stick to my own walking path that leads to the daycare. Gianna really enjoyed her first day, but today she cried when I dropped her off. That's a good sign that she loves her mẹ. I finally found some lunch containers for her at the Galleria. Today her teacher told me she needs "soft shoes" to play in the gym, so another scavenger hunt around Frankfurt lead me to Baby Waltz. Baby Walz also had some nice Easter dresses, reminding me the only warm weather clothing we have for Gianna are the few outfits she wore in Vietnam. OK, time to get off the computer and cook some bratwurst for dinner before Dan and Gianna walk through the door.
