A Saturday ride.

Winter in Bavaria generally begins in early October so I am trying to squeeze in as much time on my bike outside as possible before it's too cold! I know of a few routes here that I generally use but I wanted to do something different today so i went in the opposite direction I normally go in. Normally, I go from Netzaberg toward Eschenbach and Speinshart. Today I went toward Graffenwohr and Pressath. It was a bit cold but nice enough. The trees are all turning and it smelled like fall. The trail was awesome, mom would have loved it. It was generally flat and gorgeous. The Germans are very good about having bike paths in place as alternatives to driving. I went all the way to Pressath and back. It was about 18.5 miles round trip and I really enjoyed it! I think i'll do it again!

Oktoberfest 2012

The best way i could describe Oktoberfest to my dad was "its like the fair but with costumes and beer. lots of beer." That pretty much sums it up. Rides, food, games, beer, lederhosen and dirndl! This year I went with my friends Britny and Michael! it was fun! I got a new dirndl for the occasion :) I didn't take my good camera for fear of its safety so i apologize for the quality of the photos! enjoy! PROST!

Rothenburg and Nurnberg

My biggest challenge living here in Europe the past year has probably been loneliness. I have a great community here and I have met a lot of really incredible people and families that I genuinely cherish, however there is not anyone around here in a similar situation to me. While I do have a lot in common with the housewives around here and love their company, I don't actually have kids and i'm single so on weekends when my mom friends are out with their families i'm generally traveling alone- which isn't something I can complain about, I do still love it. Occasionally though I do really miss having friends in  my similar circumstances. I have a suspicion that my family at home was doing some serious praying on my behalf to be sent a friend- because while I was away this summer my new best friends Britny and Michael moved in down the street. They are close to my age and Britny is a nanny too. We have quickly become best friends and I am so, so thankful for them and all the fun we have.

This Saturday Britny and I went out on a girls day to do some shopping for oktoberfest next weekend! she needed to get her and Michael dirndl and lederhosen so we went to Rothenburg for a little sight seeing then to Nurnberg for shopping! I have been both places at least once before, but I love them both so much and it was almost like showing a friend around my hometown. I love Rothenburg's homey feel even though it is over run with large tour groups of old people and asians. Its just the cutest little town. Thanks Britny for the lovely day!

Munich, Salzburg, and Garmisch.

August 18th-20th 2012

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." 

In the days leading up to August 17th I saw as much friends and family as I could and said my goodbyes. I was, of course, heartbroken to be leaving again after a wonderful summer with the ones I love the most - but I was also excited to get back to my second home in Germany. It is a catch 22 really. When I am in GA my heart hurts for Germany, and when I am in Germany my heart hurts for GA. This is standard procedure, I hear, when one has two homes. Last August when I made the trek from Georgia to Germany for the first time it was a tearful goodbye. This year, I was just happy. Happy to have been in Georgia and happy to be returning to Germany. I am thankful for my time at home with my incredible family and family of friends and I am confident in enjoying my years away knowing that when I return I will still have a strong home spot with a huge support group of amazing people who shower me in love. I said goodbye with a smile not because I am happy to be leaving, but because I am happy to have been with you all. 

August 18th 2012

I arrived in Munich from ATL Early in the morning. I didn't get much sleep at all on the plane- I do not understand how people expect you to rest in such an uncomfortable and cramped position - but anyway, I got into Munich and spent the day walking around the market and doing some shopping for a new dirndl. I went to bed quite early and woke up in the middle of the night wide awake. Jet lag - yay! 

August 19th I woke up early and went to the hoptbahnhof to catch a train to Salzburg, Austria. It was just about a two hour train ride. I only took a backpack with some clothes for the night and carried it with me throughout the day. When i first arrived I saw the beautiful castle up on a huge hill and started walking towards it. It's 11 euro to ride the tram up the hill or you can walk it. Of course I walked up the mountain in 89 degree weather with a backpack and flip flops to avoid spending money. The view from the top was incredible though. After that I walked around the town some more. Salzburg is beautiful! I loved it. The next day I dropped by Garmisch. I think I did Garmisch wrong. Everything was kind of closed. I will have to go back during the winter or something maybe. The alps were gorgeous though. 

New York

August 4th-9th 2012

So one night me and my awesome friend Macy were at a party and she mentioned that she was heading back to school in NY soon and asked if i wanted to ride with her... and of course I did! We left the next morning and did a sort of road trip on the way. We stopped in Roanoak, Virginia and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and quite a few other places. While in NY we had a picnic in Central park with salads and Laudre, shopped around Brooklyn, went to Coney Island, The MET, ground zero, barcade, and a lot of awesome places to sit and see the skyline. It was awesome! Macy Rocks!

Beachin.

In July I went to Florida with my parents on our annual trip to Ormond beach. While we were there we wanted to try something new- and a friend of mine suggested we rent a kayak and take it out. So my dad and I did. We started off smooth and just went about a mile and we were just talking and cruising slowly along when my dad saw something towards the horizon... was it a shark? a dolphin? a bird? we decided to go check it out. We paddled as quickly as we could out towards the disturbance and realized about halfway there that it was dolphins and a lot of them. We paddled as hard as we could to get close to them and ended up right in the middle of a huge pod. Approximately 40-50 dolphins within 3 feet of our kayak. They gave us an awesome show- so much better than sea world. My dad and I laughed and sat amazed at the sight. We followed them for a good 15 minutes but they were heading away from shore and we couldn't get too far. We could have chased them all day. I am so thankful for the experience and for sharing it with my dad. 

The Walker family also makes an annual trip to Florida one town over from Ormond in Daytona. For the past 5 years or more our weeks at the beach have overlapped and I have had the privilege of spending some wonderful times with my best friend Ashten at the beach. When we were in high school we went to church camp at the beach in the summers and that week always fell on my birthday. At some point during high school- the summer of 05' I think - we started going out on the beach to watch the sunrise on my birthday. Now, we never make it to the beach for my actual birthday but we have continued to carry the tradition and watch the sunrise on the beach together when our vacations collide. Ashten and I hardly get to see each other now that I live in Germany and she is a busy student in Tennessee - but we have one of those rare friendships that is unaffected by time or space apart. I am so blessed by Ashten and our friendship and I look forward to at least 70 more years of sunrises. 

campin

I have wanted to take Thomas and Tyler camping at my family’s land since almost 4 years ago when I met them. It’s every boy’s dream. It’s a place where you can be as dirty as you want, cook your dinner over a fire, sleep under the stars, try to catch fish with your bare hands in a creek, watch fireworks, dig holes, wash your hair in the creek and it’s all allowed. My days are often filled with sentences to the boys like “don’t bring your dirty shoes in the house!”, “don’t play in the mud!”  Or “don't bring that in the house!” Don’t don’t don’t don’t don’t. And I often feel like all I’m really saying to them is “don’t be a boy”. Don’t make a mess because I’m the one that’s going to have to clean it up. And this is practical and needed to some extent. But every once in a while I believe that it is necessary to let boys be boys. To encourage messiness and mud fights.  And that is why I wanted to take them camping.

They have been anxiously awaiting this trip for weeks. For at least two weeks they have been asking me every day how many days until camping day and when they should pack. I was excited to share this experience with them also. I bought them camo everything. Camo shorts, shirts, and hats. Thursday night I packed up my jeep with coolers, water guns, tents, sleeping bags and flashlights. First thing Friday morning I went to pick up Thomas and Tyler. They excitedly got dressed in the camo gear I surprised them with and we were off. 

The land is about an hour North of my house and their grandparent’s house. We stopped for breakfast on the way to break up the drive. Everyone in the restaurant loved Thomas and Tyler’s clothes. They were so good for the drive and liked watching the mountains through the windows. I had not shown them pictures of the campsite before we arrived but I had tried to explain it to them but apparently I had not done it justice. We pulled up and they could not jump out of the car fast enough. They looked around and explored the tire swing for a few minutes while I unpacked and turned on the power and water. Then it was time to set up camp. They both helped me put up the tent and excitedly set it up with their sleeping bags and stuffed animals. When that was done we went to play in the creek. I think the creek was their favorite part of the trip. I brought huge water guns into the creek for them to play with and they didn’t even touch them. They just played in the rocks and created hideouts and secret clubs. Tyler had a few minutes of transition into camp life. He kept coming up to me saying “Hannah! My feet are dirty!” “Hannah! My shirt is dirty!” and to his surprise I would say “it’s ok! Get dirtier.” He picked up the idea quickly and soon was happily rubbing mud all over himself. 

We played together in the creek for a while and then we made lunch and my mom and dad and grandmommy, granddaddy and Trevor arrived. Trevor had the same transition period as Tyler did. He did not like the dirt at first but about two minutes later he was loving it. We had a water balloon fight and Trevor loved that. Grandmommy and granddaddy got a tour of the land from Thomas and Tyler and had hotdogs cooked over the fire. After dinner we gave Trevor a bath and grandmommy and granddaddy had to take him home to sleep. Then we all made smores and Thomas and Tyler watched my dad and I set off some small fireworks. After that it was bed time and after everyone took their showers Thomas, Tyler and I piled into our tent. I expected them to get into the tent and then decide they would rather sleep in the camper with my mom and dad, but they didn’t. Tyler got a little scared because Thomas wanted to tell scary stories but we talked it out and eventually all got to sleep.

They slept until about 8:20 and then we got up and made a yummy breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Right after that we were back in the water. They convinced my dad to take us tubing - which is basically floating in an inner tube down the river to a specific point and then having my mom pick us up and drive us back to the campsite.

They loved that. I had tyler’s tube connected to mine and at one point he looked at me and said “Hannah can we keep going?” and I said “yes” then he said “I love you”. When we got back to the campsite from tubing we packed up the tent and loaded up my car then took showers and got ready to leave. On the way home we stopped at Mercier’s apple orchards and picked up some peaches and caramel apples. About halfway home Tyler passed out hard, Then when we were about 15 minutes away Thomas fell asleep too. Tyler will nap occasionally but it is extremely rare for Thomas to nap. They were all played out. They decided they want to do this again every weekend. 

We had an awesome trip!