Today we went to the city of Trier (about one hour from where we live, but I had never been there before). It’s a beautiful city with lots of things to see. It’s situated along the Mosel River, very close to Luxembourg. We didn’t have any trouble finding parking in the center of the city and all of the sights were easily within walking distance. We timed our visit so that we started driving at Katherine’s nap time. We planned it that way because getting her to fall asleep in the car is easier than getting her to fall asleep in [View Full Entry]

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Hey guys, I hope everyone enjoyed that guest blog by my sister Pam. She forgot to mention that she was in London when Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince came out. Harry Potter book covers look really different in England, so I thought I'd post a picture. Enjoy. [View Full Entry]

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Dear reader, Here is a guest blog written by my sister, Pam. While visiting us in Germany, she took a side trip to England for a few days. Enjoy! Globetrekkingmama Birthday: In which Pam spends nine hours in the airport, is attacked by overzealous yeast, and chokes on fish bones. Even though my flight isn’t till 1:00, I wake up early on my birthday (Bastille Day) to catch the bus at 7:10. All later buses will arrive too late at Frankfurt-Hahn for me to catch my plane. So I arrive at the airport around 8:30 and soon discover my flight won’t [View Full Entry]

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This weekend we’re renting a car. We started to day with no plans other than to get up at 7:00 a.m. and leave for Rothenburg by 9:00. We were out the door at 8:54, but we left a little after 9:00 due to last minute shuffling, car-loading, fidgetting, and car-seat bargaining. (Katherine wanted to stand up in the car and watch Papa load the trunk, she wouldn’t sit in her car seat until everyone was situated and she had a animal cracker.) We were able to program the car to give us directions, which was neat when we got used to [View Full Entry]

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It's been rainy ever since Pam arrived and David and I are working again, so she hasn't been out to see much. But today we threw caution to the wind and went to Idar-Oberstein in the rain. [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday we flew back to Frankfurt-Hahn. Then we took a bus to Frankfurt international where we found a hotel and relaxed for a while. This morning Pam arrived and we met her at the airport. [View Full Entry]

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This morning we headed out to Vatican City. We arrived at St. Peter’s Basilica as it opened at 7 a.m. The piazza outside the Basilica is full of huge columns topped with statues of saints. The area was practically empty except for us, a old man singing (beautifully) to the saints, and a few pigeons. There was a line to get into the basilica, but it disappeared almost as soon as the gates opened, we lingered for a little while and enjoyed the empty piazza. When you enter the basilica, you’re entering another country, so you have to go through metal [View Full Entry]

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Today we got up very early and walked to the Borghese Gallery. We arrived early, but the gallery is located in a huge park full of fountains and gardens, so we had time to relax and stroll around. The grounds were beautiful, but Katherine was more interested in the trucks that were removing old tree branches than she was in the gardens. I was very excited about visiting the Borghese Gallery. I had read a lot about the sculptures inside, and couldn’t wait to see them. The gallery was beautiful, but not very toddler friendly. Katherine appreciated the sculptures as much [View Full Entry]

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We got up early this morning and took the Metro to the Colosseum. Katherine wakes up in the morning wanting to eat, so we gave her some fruit to satisfy her long enough to let us get her groomed and dressed, and then we bought some pastries as soon as we left the hotel and ate on the way. (But not on the Metro, I don’t know if that’s allowed and the Metro police/guards intimidate me.) We finished our breakfast in the shade of the Colosseum. How lovely. After eating, we went to the Roman Forum. The ruins are huge and [View Full Entry]

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We stayed up packing late last night. Then Katherine got up at 2 a.m. to play with her birthday balloons. And we still had to get up at 6:00 a.m. so that we could drive back to Stansted to catch our flight. Katherine’s feeling much better, but I’m still very worried about her. She’s been snoring very loudly, like she’s congested, but at least she doesn’t have a fever anymore. We stopped by Grandma’s house to drop off Karen’s cell phone (which Katherine’s doctor was using to call us, b/c our room didn’t have a phone), and say bye-bye on [View Full Entry]

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