IS NOT OK. [View Full Entry]

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Like, literally. It was stormy almost all day today; fortunately, the rain showers were brief and infrequent, and the air was mostly warm, but we fought against strong winds nearly everywhere we walked! After Frühstück (breakfast) at our Pension (Hotel/B&B) this morning, we headed out to see Berlin, without exactly a clear plan for the day. The proprietor of the Pension was most helpful last night in suggesting the most efficient modes of travel to the sights in Berlin, all of which involve at least one bus and usually at least two trains. We did a bit of shopping near the [View Full Entry]

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I admit it, I am a fan of Bob Roll and his hilarious commentary on the VS. channel's coverage of the Tour de France cycling race every year. :) As I understand it, he butchers the pronunciation of the name of the race on purpose, well beyond the normal butchery of French that Americans normally perpetrate. But I digress. I'm now officially writing these entries in whatever sequence I feel like. :) Today we set off on a Tour de France!! Our wonderful host family made reservations for dinner at everyone's favorite Flammkuchen restaurant in the Alsace/Elsaß region of France, but [View Full Entry]

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I'm way, way behind on prior blog entries, but here's one quick tale worth sharing out of sequence: This evening we went to a magnifique restaurant in the Alsace for a regional specialty, flammkuchen. It was a pretty special treat, so I told LG she could have Sprite instead of the normally required milch (milk). Immediately, audibly, and totally unprompted, she replied: "Thank you! Danke! Merci!" It's not every day an 8-year-old thanks you in three languages. [View Full Entry]

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All we knew is that we were going to the Ettlingen city Schwimmbad, which means public swimming pool (also "Freibad" which specifies that it's an outdoor one). Fine, fun for the kids, didn't think much else of it. Had to go into town to pick up a swimsuit and goggles for LG, since I told her not to bring hers, oops. :) Yeah, OK, the Ettlingen public pool is not exactly what I expected. Huge grassy picnic grounds with shade trees all around. Large outdoor area with dressing-cubicles and lockers. Snack bar and outdoor café tables. Not one, not two, but [View Full Entry]

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This morning after Frühstück (breakfast), I joined our host family for a trip to the Lebensmittel (grocery store), in search of ingredients for an American recipe dinner we planned to cook for the family. I did a Happy Dance in the aisles when I found real "amerikanisch" chili powder, and had general fun shopping in a similar-but-different environment. One of the most interesting developments was earlier, when I announced I was heading to the store, and LG shrugged and said she'd rather stay back in the apartment with just herself and Anne. First morning! Until now, she hasn't been willi [View Full Entry]

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Travel day today. We drove to Aalen just in time to miss the direct train to Karlsruhe. Fortunately, another train, connecting in Stuttgart, actually got us there even faster. Our second leg was on the French TGV rail, which seemed like a major score until we figured out that our tickets didn't include seats. We had to stand in the entryway for ~25 minutes from Stuttgart to Karlsruhe. Oh yeah... the seating compartments were air-conditioned... the entryway, not so much. A kindly French gentleman insisted that I take his fold-down jump seat, which must have been built in the entryw [View Full Entry]

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I think pretty much everyone, including our tour guide, thought I was insane for bringing an 8-year-old to the KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau (Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial). Sure, all German schoolkids are required to visit a concentration camp, but that's 12- and 14-year-olds. Not 8. By the end of our tour, our guide had no doubt why I figured LG could handle it. Throughout the tour, I was happy to let LG wander off, or zone out; I certainly didn't force her to listen attentively to the catalogue of atrocities committed at Dachau. Inside the museum, we breezed quickly past the most gra [View Full Entry]

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Good Lord, I'm way behind on these blogs. Today Laura & I took the weekend-only direct train from Nördlingen to München (Munich) to take the Munich Walks English-language guided tour of the Dachau concentration camp. When we arrived at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), hungry for breakfast, Laura almost instantly spotted a Starbucks and demanded we go there! No argument from Auntie on that one. She doesn't even like Starbucks, but she knows home when she sees it. After buying our Dachau tour tickets, we had about 45 minutes to wait. Hmm. Sit around the Hbf, or live on [View Full Entry]

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Waiting to sort out my RoboGeo software license before posting more goodies to Flickr. Stay tuned, all. [View Full Entry]

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