Day Trippin' it to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

  

A couple Saturdays ago we visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber (red fortress over the Tauber river).

It's a perfectly preserved Medieval village with an intact wall that circles the entire city.  While rather touristy, it's still a great place to visit.  

And I learned that Hitler (I'm always interested in this era's history) hailed Rothenburg to be the "most German" of all German towns, so his cronies organized day trips for the Hitler Youth and other Nazis to learn what characterizes pure German culture.  It was bombed somewhat during WWII, but because the Allies knew of its cultural importance, they negotiated a surrender with the local military commander instead of shelling it.  The commander agreed to surrender even though Hitler had ordered everyone to fight to the death even if it meant utter destruction. 

So, anyway here goes.  Emily is always up for getting her picture taken.  She's such a cooperative poser.  And Caroline is getting better. 

You can walk along the ramparts of the city… super cool

There are several of these tower entrances into the city… I want to say seven??

Emily got slightly distracted with a bubble blowing machine.  She chased bubbles for like 45 minutes.  What ever keeps them happy.

The town hall.  Ben and the girls climbed to the top of the tower, can you see them??

And this made me super happy:  a man with an apple press right in the middle of the town square… selling freshly squeezed apple juice.  Reminded me of Dad.

Classic Caroline face

Honestly, while these pictures make the trip look idyllic, the kids were kind of a pain in the you know what. 

Case in point:

While we're admiring the gorgeous scenery in the town square it dawns on Caroline that she left her Nerds in the car.  Her world crumbles.  For the rest of the day she can only think about her Nerds and that she doesn't have them.  She finally conks out in the stroller.  Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Load everyone in the car to go home.  Caroline shouts she has to go to the bathroom.  Ben unbuckles her and hauls her off to find a bathroom.  Comes back 15 minutes later only to say it was a false alarm.  Then Emily announces she has to go (even though she had just said that she didn't). So Ben unbuckles her and comes back 15 minutes later.  Then J decides to fill his drawers.  

And it goes on and on.  And they whined a lot (except for the chasing bubbles part).  Thankfully Ben kept me laughing on the way home as he belted out "Let it Go" to keep the girls happy.  I mean, no inhibitions… just let it all out.  It was awesome.   

If we can't do one day in Rothenburg I don't know how we're going to do five days in Paris come May.  

I love...

the way Caroline laughs

the way her smile lights up her face

the way Caroline retells a story

the way she everso delicately eats her food

the way she runs and jumps and flies through the air 

the way she runs after her sister begging her to play 

the way she sings at the top of her lungs to Jamesy Wamesy

the way she uses her imagination to invent every possible play scenario with her princesses 

the way she says her prayers

the way she tries to make a serious face

the way she "reads" her books 

the way she admires herself in the mirror

the way she has no inhibitions when making friends

the way she gets soooo excited about holidays and birthdays and presents

the way she loves to dress up

the way she runs into her daddy's arms when he walks through the door

the way she tells me about her dreams

the way she cuddles up to me in my lap and wants to be held

Happy 4th birthday Caroline!!

Couches and TV

Today was Caroline's 4th birthday!  Hooray! 

More on that later…

So, last week I walked into the family room to find this on our couch:

I  love how she doesn't' even try to be discreet about it.  Her signature is front and center.  At least it's a positive message, right?

My jaw about hit the floor.  Now I'm used to these sort of antics from Caroline.  Give her a pen and you're asking for it (see here).

But, Emily?? 

Never. 

 Not in a million years would it occur to her to write on anything but a piece of paper (or so we thought).  

 In fact, she has always been a diligent and reliable informer when ever Caroline is up to some sort of misdeed.  She loves to police Caroline. 

Just when you think you know your child…

So, in that moment I was so upset… I told Emily and Caroline that I was tired of them ruining all our nice things and I was going to punish them.  I was thinking on my feet… I had to hit them where it hurt…ok...

"No TV for a week!" I blurted out.  

   

I knew right then that I had just committed myself.  Everything I've read/heard about parenting is that you absolutely have to stick to your word or your children will never take you seriously. 

 So, that was it, no tv for a week.  

I was kind of nervous since Caroline especially LOVES the television.  And I rely on it too… it's so easy to turn it on when I have to jump in the shower… or clean up the breakfast dishes… or make dinner.  A perfect distraction to keep the kids quiet and out of my hair.  

But, you know what?  It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.  After the first day of readjustment, we really didn't miss it!  It helped that we had a week of BEAUTIFUL weather and were able to spend quality time outside.  I also saw a lot more of this… which brought a smile to my face:

Notice the couch's tattoo on the right 

After the week was finished, the girls didn't even ask for the tv back.  They didn't even realize it had been a whole week.
And you know what else?  I noticed a change in Caroline… she was less irritable and overall easier to deal with.

I recently came across an article posted on Facebook that serves as a good warning about technology and kids… and makes me think we're better off without it.   

So, here's to no less television! 

 Now, if only I can convince Daddy. 

Rubble Hill

Spring is in the air!  

And that means that we are getting out more as a family.  

I love the hope of springtime.  So much to look forward to.

We spent last Saturday doing a little nearby exploring.  We hiked up to Rubble Hill, an artificial hill made out of the rubble that resulted from the destruction during WWII.   The allies flew 53 bombing missions over Stuttgart during the war.  Since it was a big industrial hub for the Nazi war machine, it was a high priority target for the allies.  Stuttgart was 45% destroyed, with the city center being almost completely destroyed.   

So, after the war the Germans cleared all the rubble and put it on top of this hill.  And it's still here!

From a hospital, maybe?

This sign says: This mountain piled up after World War II from the rubble of the city stands as a memorial to the victims and a warning to the living.

It's the highest hill in Stuttgart

I have to say that it was pretty sobering to be up there.  

I thought it would just be a carefree family outing to see something interesting, but I felt surprisingly moved up there… it's hard to imagine what all of these European cities and people went through… city after city destroyed.  It was interesting to catch just a smidgin of what the destruction was like.

Fasching at its Finest

Have you ever heard of fasching? Me neither, until I moved here. It's the German version of carnival (a series of celebrations and parades that occur the week before Ash Wednesday to commemorate the beginning of Lent). I didn't realize carnivals were so big in Europe… I had just heard of it in New Orleans and Brazil (I guess I never attended one as a missionary!) But it turns out in the predominantly Catholic areas of Germany (south and west), the Germans go ALL out.  

So, every little village/town throws their own parade, just like every village has its own Christmas market.  We decided to hit up the "kinder" fasching parade (children's parade) in the nearby little village of Weil der Stadt…we had heard it was awesome and it did not disappoint :)  We picked up Ben from work and headed over there this afternoon.  

Again, I'm always  awestruck at just how festive the Germans can be… a notion I never had before moving here. All the kids and several of the adults were decked out in costumes… it's like Halloween here.

We stood by this AWESOME couple during the parade.  I asked them if I could take their picture and they MORE than obliged.  This guy kept slipping Ben miniature bottles of liquor, from one bro to another.  Ben just put them in his pockets. Wish I had gotten a pic of it.  

The next thing I know the couple returns with another friend and present her for us to take her picture.  Love it!  And yes, that's a PACIFIER on top of her hat??  Maybe she's expecting her first grandchild??

Before the parade got under way, I walked around the quaint little village to do some exploring.  

Some parade participants taking a drag before the parade kicked off.  Trying to imagine their conversation… "Why don't you ever take me seriously?"  The possibilities are endless.

And did you know that Weil der Stadt is the birthplace of Johannes Kepler?!?!  Famous astronomer/mathamatician… come on people!

Love this guy just chillin' at the statue

The girls getting ready for the parade

 And finally the parade commences:  As the people parade by, they yell, "A-ha!" and you yell it back and then they throw candy at you.  Sometimes they'll mess with the spectators, but I think they toned it down since it was a kinder parade.

Yes, she is pouring some sort of alcoholic beverage in the lady's shot glass!  Candy for the kids, alcohol for the adults!

Nothing to fear, just a bear mauling a kid

???

Yeah, like that face wouldn't scare the *bleep* out of a baby. Several of the participants were pushing strollers with real babies in them.  Guess they couldn't find child care?    

An example of them messing with the participants.  He came up to us and took this little 6 year olds braid apart.  I'm sure she enjoyed it :)

Genetically modified cow??  I heard they had this at the "adult" parade, didn't think they'd find it appropriate for the kinder parade, but I was wrong!  The only difference is they have a kid sitting in the cow's lap!  Lovely. 

So, next year… maybe Venice??  Who's in?