I love Germany

I have a lot to say about my trip to Europe, so I thought I would divide them into their own sections. I start with Germany because that is where we land and leave from on our trips.

One of the best things about Germany is the morning there, when you first get up, go out on the patio or stick your head out the window and enjoy the crisp morning. It's quiet and you just close your eyes, inhale the brisk smell of the cool air and vegetation. I have never woken up in Germany to a day that doesn't start like that.

I have to admit, I also love the food. The potato salad is to die for, all the other salads, the schnitzel is awesome, especially when they top it with mushrooms and/or mushroom sauce. They also have gelato, which is my weakness. And they aren't cheap on the scoops either.

I love the architecture, they way they put the name of the building on the building, the history, the churches. The houses are adorable and everywhere you look, the buildings are just so neat and well maintained. The places we go in Germany always have their properties so well taken care of. It doesn't hurt that they have amazing foliage everywhere and that it grows up along the buildings. I just love that look.

The first morning after we get to Germany, we are always so jet lagged that we wake up at 5am and go for a walk before breakfast. We always have a place that comes with breakfast, so we hang around long enough to eat before we travel. German breakfasts are fabulous! So the walk we take in the wee hours of the morning are amazing. Barely anyone is up, the air is cool and crisp, and we walk around the village that we've chosen to stay in. It's the first chance that we get to appreciate being there and do we ever appreciate it. I actually cried this year I was so happy to be there.

The Germans also do amazing things with water. We stay just outside Munich in Erding and they have the most amazing water park there that we just found last year. It's half inside, half outside. There is an elevator to the 4th level so that you don't have to climb all the stairs to get to the top slides with your float device. It's hilarious. You fit as many people in the elevator as you can with all these rafts and you laugh the whole way up. We go to the top and slide down the "lazy river" on the rafts and it is 6 stories high. So fun. They also have a slide that has an up ramp with jets of water that push you up. It is amazing. This year we got a free drink and snack as they were compensating for the renovations, we also got to try a frothy yogurt drink and fruit. It was a great day.

I'd love to spend more time in Germany, we did 4 days there this year, but its never enough. The German people have also been very welcoming to us and a lot of them speak a lot of English which is nice for us. We can get by without it, but it always helps when we don't have to. I love the villages, the countryside and even the airport in Munich is fun. I should know, we have spent a lot of time there over the years!

Everywhere we stay there is a huge ability to walk to everywhere you want to go. I love that. They have stores close to wherever you are, the people all walk to everything or they ride their bikes. We came back one year and I insisted that I got a bike when we got home. I've used that bike a lot since I got it. The ability to walk to what you need is such a pleasure. I wish we had that here in Calgary. It would make errands so much more enjoyable and probably quicker. It would be amazing to get up in the morning and go get fresh bread or pastries for breakfast.

A friend commented yesterday that I was super grouchy before we left and she couldn't wait to see me after I got back and had gotten my Europe fix.

I have to admit, this was the worst trip we've had. It would have been fine for the most part but my husband's Grandmother died while we were there and we didn't get to her see one last time, we missed her by just 3 hours. It put such a damper on the trip. You can't help but feel bad after something like that. She was ill and it was expected, but to lose a precious person like that still hurts. You then feel bad about doing anything fun, and we had to do errands and visit more family while we were there.

I still think back on this trip fondly and while I was certain I didn't want to go back next year, I am already recanting that and thinking of ways to make it better next time!

My Kids

My kids just told me that I am supposed to blog about them today, so I guess that's what I will do.

After my little episode with the bacterial infection, I made a comment to the doctor that I am a pro at internal exams. I know, gross. But it's true. After having issues with cervical pre cancer for years, I have had many. The doctor scoffed at this and said that I must have something else that I was good at. She took this comment as me being upset about not being good at anything, which was not what I was implying at all, but whatever. I then told her that I was an amazing Mom, and if you talk to my kids, you know this is true.

I am not saying that my kids are perfect by any means, nor am I a perfect mother, but I am damn good. Last night my daughter woke up at 3am with the worst headache she has ever had. I gave her a crushed up tylenol, because she doesn't like to swallow them whole and a bit of Fanta. What else goes well with tylenol, really. I laid with her while her Dad rubbed her head. He had to get back to bed and she asked me to sleep with her, so I did. Both my daughter and my husband commented that it was so sweet of me to sleep with her. I just did what she asked, and really, I'd do anything for her, and my son. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but I guess it's little things like that, that make me a great Mom.

I did punish the kids yesterday for acting like boneheads in Canadian Tire - the punishment was that they had to go to Pier One with me. I'm so mean. I also made my son go on a very long bike ride yesterday. He didn't want to so I told him, "guess what, tough shit, you're going". He had a great time, like I knew he would. See, I'm not all good!

My kids are so much fun, they are sweet and kind, they are smart and funny. I love those kids with all of my heart and I treasure every second that I get to spend with them. That's why I love summer, they are all mine all the time. I do get a bit put out when too many other people want to spend time with us, because I don't like to share them. When they go back to school I am ok with it, and I do look forward to the free time to myself, but when I get them back, I am happy.

One thing I don't understand is people who criticize their kids to other people. Why would you tell someone that your kid is awful and that you don't really like them? If you have an issue, by all means, discuss it with your friends, but don't ever tell other people that your kids are awful. What if they heard that? Or those people who bad mouth their kids IN FRONT of their kids. Yeah, that's going to make your kids feel loved. I am the first one to call my sister and say that my kids are driving me insane, but I would never tell anyone that it was because they are awful kids.

My kids are awesome because they know they are loved. They feel safe and secure because they have rules, and that makes them feel loved. They know that I would do anything to keep them safe and happy. They are not perfect, but they are mine and I adore them. That being said, I am going to go back to spending time with them, because that makes ME feel loved.

Well at least it's not e coli!

So that "tummy" issue I had, it was a bit more that I thought it was. Turns out I contracted a very common bacterial infection over in Europe. The good news is I now feel much better and I think it's all out of my system. We can't really tell where I got it as it is so common, it's found a lot of places. Could have been chicken, could have been sea water, who knows.

I've been through the antibiotics, I got my appetite back on Tuesday, the only thing left over is a bit of fatigue. That I can live with. I get to go to the doctor for follow up tomorrow, but I think I am fine. I have never been so sick in my adult life though, it was horrible. I'm actually glad they found something, because it just lingered and nothing I did made me feel better.

Now I get to go out with the kids, have some fun, do some visiting and basically get on with life!

Barcelona- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Please remember that this is a post of my opinions only. Just because I write things, doesn't make them fact. That is my disclaimer.

The GOOD

The beaches, we were at one that was topless. There is nothing better than letting the girls go free. The people there even think that walking around the beach topless is ok, so I got to swim topless! The cool factor of just being in Barcelona, CHEAP groceries. We are talking .18 Euro for a bottle of water, not much more for other bottled drinks. The Gelato - soooo good. The metro - anywhere you want to go in the city, the metro will take you , and you only have to wait 4 minutes for the next train. Great system, and air conditioned too! The FC Barcelona stadium. It was really cool the get to see where the FC play, it took us about 3 times longer to go through it than we had planned, it was that cool. My husband is now even more obsessed with soccer, but I saw that one coming. And the number one good thing, the heat! It was hot and humid, I got a wicked tan, and I just love being hot(as my daughter would say, both ways!)

The BAD

Barcelona is super noisy, during the day, in the middle of the night. Garbage trucks, people waking up at midnight and taking their noise outside! Scooters, cars, cars honking. The Food, I cannot tell you how much the food sucks here. It's all Tapas, and you think ooohh appetizers, yay! But no. The calamari is good, the potatoes, but who do you have to kill in this city to get a salad that is not made entirely out of meat? Everywhere you go in this city, it's all the same food. And don't even get me started on the paella's, blech. We did find one good place, so we ate there 3 times. The waiter kept saying hello to me any time we walked by he knew us so well! I may be a bit biased on the food because I got food poisoning, but really, I need my veggies!

The UGLY

I am a bit hesitant to even say this due to backlash from the architectural community, but let's face it, who from there is going to see this? So I say......The ugliest thing I have even seen is "La Sagrada Familia", the famous church in Barcelona. It is so ugly, it looks like 5 different people had 5 different ideas, they couldn't compromise so they decided to do everything together, then a dog came along, ate their ideas, then threw them up...and that's what they built. It is so all over the place. As a church, I don't even think it counts. There is nothing holy about this place, unless you count the "holy crap is that ugly". I have seen a lot of churches in my day - I love them, I go inside any church I can, and this is not a church. It is an abomination.

So that's my recap on Barcelona. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't as much history there as I would have thought. I did enjoy myself, but thankfully there are a million other places that I haven't been, so I can say that I have been there and call that one done.

Home Sweet Home

I never understood why my parents were so eager to get home after a holiday - we're on holidays! Fun stuff, eating out, no work or school. Well I think I finally get it.

When I was a kid, all I cared about was having fun and doing new things. I had absolutely no responsibilities on vacation, and I thought that neither did my parents. I now know how wrong that is. When you are adult on holidays, you always have to think about...are my kids eating properly, getting enough sleep, how much is this costing us, why is this bed so damn uncomfortable, why can't I have just a few moments alone with my spouse, where the heck are we going to eat next meal, why is this hotel room so dirty, is it safe here?

We were away for 3 weeks to Europe and I was so happy that is was over. I love being there, don't get me wrong, but there are so many things I missed about my home. How clean and spacious it is, how comfy my bed is, having all my clothes and beauty products, the list goes on.

The trip started out just fine, aside from come crappy weather. We stayed a week at Lake Balaton in Hungary, we just love this place. It is relaxing and just comfortable. We rented an apartment there and that was great, it was clean and fairly spacious, the owners were wonderful. Then we moved on to Budapest. Due to not wanting to be there much, this stay had been shortened to just 3 nights. My husband's grandmother passed away while we were there, and we were 2 hours too late to see her one last time. It was a difficult time. There has been some family tension and her death made us have to spend a lot of time with his family. The stay in Budapest this year was very trying. We then stayed 2 days in Germany which was great, except for the fact that the hotel screwed up our reservation and then overcharged us. I'll get my money back, not to worry. We flew to Barcelona next. It's a beautiful city but VERY loud. Our apartment was ok, a bit on the small side. The bathroom however was not up to par - I know that I am picky, but this would have made anyone cringe. My lovely husband cleaned it for us, I can't thank him enough for that. We stayed in Barcelona for a week, and it was nice, we had 3 beach days, thank goodness, I really needed that sun. We did the touristy things and it was ok. But that last day, all I could think about was home.

The flight home was long, we got up at 3am Barcelona time, flew to Munich at 6am, had a 6 hour layover in Munich and then flew to Calgary at 2pm ish. By the end of that night, we had been up for over 24 hours straight. My daughter got a bit sick on the plane, the wonderful Air transat stewardess gave her a ginger ale and an orange. I have never seen her so happy to see a piece of fruit! I had been sick for about 3 days by then, tummy troubles, cramping, back pain. I am still not over it. Anyway, we got to Calgary, our luggage was delayed by an hour, and by then I just wanted to go home. We hoped in a cab, and he drove us very slowly home!

When we got home, we immediately stared the laundry, I am still working on it. We ordered a pizza, and my son passed out on the couch as soon as he was finished chewing. My husband, the nut, went to his soccer game, they won. I went to bed, spent yesterday in a haze. I was out long enough to get groceries and some gravol for my poor tummy. Came home, fell asleep in the backyard, came in the house, fell asleep on the couch. I had been marinating steak for supper, but no one wanted to cook it, so we had take out. And then we all went to bed by 10pm. I feel pretty crappy today still, but at least I don't have to go out.

To sum it up, I totally get why adults can't wait to get home. I have never been so happy to sleep in my own bed and enjoy my clean house. Until next vacation, I am so happy to be home!