Garmish family Getaway

I am still amazed by its beauty, each time we go to Garmish.. The beautiful Alps so close to us. We had an opportunity this past Feb to go for a week and have some winter fun.

The amazing view out of our window at Edelweiss Lodge!

 This is the grand fireplace at the Lobby of the Resort, and they have tons of Rocking chairs for the YOUNG and for adults to warm our self by the fire. Lo LOVED sitting in the rocking chair and enjoyed the view. I think it was his favorite only behind the "hot agua" hot tub/pool! I loved this place because we could do so much and not have to bundle everyone each time.

 We got a babysitter one night and Mike and I did some night sledding. The American ski team was at the Lodge and were signing autographs.

 Mike was upset with me because I kept slowing down coming down the hill by putting my feet out, I was scared!

 We did a day trip to Linderhof Palace. What a beautiful place. There was a sled ride with beautiful horses and hot chocolate.

 View of the front garden, in the winter. So much snow everywhere! It was a clear day, and you could see the mountains. Nice.

We were greeted by swans on the way out, so we stopped to feed them some of Aarons baby snacks. They loved it, but not as much a Lo loved feeding them.

Holland 2012: Kuekenhof and Zaanse Schans

We had a wonderful time up in Holland. We risked going up there, with the weather promising us just one day of sunshine, with another day of cloudy/rain chance. Our 5 hour drive became more like close to 7. Once we entered Holland we were stuck in horrid traffic. After an hour of standing still, barely going over 10 mph, things started to move. We headed straight to the keukenhoff gardens, and yes we still had sunshine. (sigh) Can I just say how wonderful it was! The flowers were so fragrant, and well my pregnancy nose made it even better I think! There were a plethora of flowers, in all shades, and sizes. I was instantly in love with this place. 

 

 Logan, kindly posing for me in front of the entrance!

 Of course we had to get him standing in those cloggs! After 3 takes, he had his eyes closed in all. Oh well.

 Bubbles. Boy did he love chasing those bubbles, not caring where they went. I lost count on how many times I told him to get off the grass. (signs were posted everywhere, saying Do Not Walk On Grass).

 See here, on grass smelling flowers. This boy always wants to smell flowers!

 Taking a little break from chasing him around!

 I love windmills!

 Yumm! I opted for a Holland waffle called stroopwafels, very thin, sliced in half, slathered with syrup in between. They sell them in packages, and oh so yummy, but warm is the best. I think I might just have to ask a friend who is heading up there later to bring me some! Have you ever had one?

Can you spot Logan and his daddy on top waving at me?

 

(fields and fields of flowers along side the road, while heading to the gardens and to our hotel)

 We saw flowers till our hearts content. It got a bit cold, once the sun left us, so we decided to head to our hotel. It had a very nice children's area, and bounce house inside. Then we had dinner on the coast at McDonald's. I know how fancy, but with hungry kids we needed to go somewhere quick! We took a quick glance at the sea and beach, then headed straight to the car to warm up. The wind was out of control, making it feel way colder than it really was. After a good nights rest we headed to the lovely village of Zaanse Schans. Yup. Once again, I was in love with the charm, and beauty of this place. It was quintessential Holland/Netherlands to me. Just what I would expect to see!

 Our first stop in this village was to see them make the wooden clog shoes! It is amazing how quickly they get it done. Did you know they use a method very similar to that of copying a key?

 Here is the guy in action. It took him approx. 5 minutes to make a copy of that shoe. Then he finished it off by hand. Amazing experience.

 My hubby being a dear, and humoring me for a photo. Love his fake smile. He was cold.

 We had a chance to see them make cheese and sample so my different flavors, and kinds. Yum. We bought some and brought it home with us.

 Momma and Logan getting a picture in, while the sun was shining. We had so much fun, but it was a bit cold. Where did all our warm days go?

 Logan and daddy taking a picture.

Mike having some fun on that log, I guess doing a Karate Kid move. Just before we left we had lunch at Restaurant De Kraai in the village. Yum! We had pannekoeken, or a Dutch pancake, one pancake is all I needed. I opted for the chocolate and whip cream, while the hubby went for savory getting a bacon and cheese one. They were like a pancake, like a crepe, a happy in between.

On the way home we drove through Amsterdam. Thinking back, both Mike and I thought maybe one more night would have been just right. We wanted to see the Anne Frank house but due to construction we were not able to. Didn't really want to get down from the car, since Logan was asleep, but the city looked nice, and quite charming with all the bridges, and boat houses, and bikes.

Leap Year Day!

Update on the rest of this month.

 The first session of Logan's Parent and Me class is over, but we are enrolling him for the Spring session since he loves it so much. They taught how to play Duck Duck goose in the class, now Logan goes up to his daddy and hits him, saying Duck Duck Duck. It is entertaining to see how much he loves his daddy to play with him. Definitely prefers him over me. But that is okay for right now.

 We (Logan) got a really late Christmas present in the mail, from grandma Bowerbank. Logan was in heaven, having his own seat, and Very Important, soccer ball on it. He will push off his friends from his chair, if they sit on it. Teaching him how to share.

 This was the extent of my Valentine Holiday Decor. But I really liked it, and Logan had fun helping me make a homemade gift for Daddy.

 So much fun. The picture above is of Rose Monday, Fashingsdienstag. They have a parade, and people dress up in costumes, some scary, others not, and they toss candy into the crowds. It was cold that day, but we went out there and had some fun. It's a holiday here, and I look forward to going next year.

 We took a short trip to Trier Germany. It had some very old Roman ruins, all over the city. We explored for a while. And stayed close by, to make our trip into Belgium much shorter.

 This picture above is of the roman coliseum. It was very grand, and we enjoyed the walk.

 We then drove to the country of Luxembourg, where we visited an America cemetery. I got a bit emotional seeing all the crosses. After a walk around the memorial, and seeing Gen. Patton's grave, we drove to see a castle.

 It was a steep walk especially with a tot in tow in a stroller. It was nice, but both of us thought the cost was not worth it. We still enjoyed ourselves, and enjoyed the scenery. My favorite part was getting to the castle. Our GPS took us the scenic route. We hit so many small towns. Let me just say, Luxembourg was extremely clean. Very nice country.

 The following day we drove to Tongeren, Belgium. They had a wonderful antiques market. It was huge! Indoors, outdoors, along the streets, it was everywhere. We were unprepared at the vast amount of stuff there was. We will need to make a trip back, especially since I did not have Belgium Waffles. But we did manage to find some Belgium Chocolate. The smell of chocolate was so strong outside, it made my mouth water. Once we walked into the shop, I was so overwhelmed by the scent. They make their chocolates in their shop. Oh yeah, you know I had fun in there.

The drive home was not bad. I drove most of the way back, after we got back in Germany. I will say that I love driving on the Autobahn. I don't miss DC traffic, not one bit.

The weather here is warming up, tomorrow,s forecast to be in the low 60's. It will definitely feel warm. In other things, I am counting down to just about everything it seems.

• Hubby's Birthday- 13 Days
• Girls Weekend in Ireland- 15 Days to go.
• 5 Year anniversary- 24 days
• Logan's 2nd Birthday- 6 weeks and counting
• The McCarthy's visit- 7 weeks + a couple of days
• Trip to England- 2 months and counting
• Mom and Pop Bowerbank visit - 2 months and counting

We have a busy couple of months ahead of us. I love spring, and can't help but feel excited to have family close by!  Something I am not looking forward to this year, my birthday.