European Adventures

**WARNING: THIS POST IS VERY LONG**

Since you only turn 30 once, Clint and I decided to celebrate by taking a trip to Europe. It was set we would cover 5 countries in 8 days, get to catch up with some old friends, eat lots of yummy food AND grandma agreed to watch David. It was a PERFECT plan. That was until an Icelandic Volcano that had been dormant for over 100 years, decided to errupt. As I have said before, seriously, what are the chances?!

Our vacation was then extended another 6 days, we added a few more towns to our list, ate a few more pastries and Haribo gummies, spent a few more days with the Chapmans, and joined the flock of stranded travelers all scrambling for a way home. It was quite the adventure. We had such a great time and we were so grateful for so many that helped us make it work:

-my sister Lex: was available to be the last-minute travel agent via the internet

-The Seamons family: were willing to give a 3rd child in their home a trial run. David had so much fun with his cousins, even though we know he did not sleep much while he was there. Whitney is due in a few months with their 3rd. I think they realized that 3 will certainly keep them busy. Thanks Whit, you saved the day and gave us peace of mind knowing our baby was safe and better off NOT in Europe.

-Karie, my mother-in-law: who took great care of David the first week, cleaned my house, and baked us bread. Karie, you are ALWAYS welcome back!

-The Chapmans: You were amazing tour guides/hosts, introduced us to great restaurants, helped us fall in love with Budapest, stayed up until 2am most nights playing games and talking (sorry B), got us hooked on Carcassonne, let us use your washing machine and took us back when we were stranded. Thanks for the countless memories!

Here is the play-by-play of the trip. You can choose to just skip to the pictures if you wish.

DAY 1: Landed in Munich and rented a car. It was gloomy and raining on and off. We drove 4 hours to Vienna. We loved the drive on the Autoban and realized a few things: 1. we knew very little German, 2. the myth of NO SPEED limit is false, watch out for the traffic cameras, 3. You pay to use the 'facilities' in Germany. We loved all of the little towns and villages that we drove by with the red tiled roofs and the church steeple in the middle of each town. When we arrived in Vienna we met our friends the Chapmans. We ate viener schnitzel of course and walked around the Schonbrunn palace. Stayed the night in Vienna.

Schonbrunn Palace

B, Maleia, Haley and Clint at the palace

DAY 2: Rode the street car into Vienna to tour downtown with the Chapmans in the rain. The kids had their rain gear and were troopers. After lunch the Chapmans headed home and Clint and I went to tour the inside of Schonbrunn palace and to hike up the hill to get a good view of the city. It rained all day but we were prepared. We then drove to Budapest that night.

Viennese Parliament

Day 3: Rain yet again, do you notice a pattern? With umbrella in hand we headed into downtown Pest. Budapest is actually two cities combined into one and separated by a river. There is the Buda side (more hilly) and the Pest side (more of the downtown, commercial area). We became acquainted with all of the public transportation, walked all over the city, toured chapels, cathedrals, Hungarian Parliament, the Opera House, and the Marketplace. We really loved the city and all it had to offer. We had date night that night with B and Mo and they took us to their favorite dinner and dessert spots. We also got the tour of Budapest at night driving up to Gellert Hill and to Heroes Square and onto the Chain Bridge. And of course we had to end the night with a round of the Farm Game. I also discovered Budapest is home to Paprika...I gained a new appreciation and love for the spice.

Heroes Square

Day 4: Touring the Buda side. The palace sits on the Bank of the Danube River and overlooks the rest of the city. It has now been divided into several museums. We opted to check out the Budapest History Museum. We also walked through Fisherman's Bastion named after the fisherman responsible for defending that portion of the river and city during the middle ages. For our evening entertainment the Chapman family joined us for a night at the ballet. We went to the opera house and had box seats to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was a wonderful show! Maleia (the Chapman's 4 year-old) loved it so much that she twirled and leaped the whole way back to the car.

Fisherman's Bastion

The Palace

The Opera House

The gang at the Ballet...sorry my camera had issues

Day 5: We said our goodbyes and headed to Prague. Prague was beautiful with its unique architecture and small winding streets full of shops. It was easy to get lost in the streets. We spent most of our time in old town and saw the clock tower, the main square, and walked along the river. I was amazed how crowded Prague was compared to Budapest. It is certainly a draw for many tourists.

Clock tower in Prague

Day 6: We took the street car from our hotel and got a tour of the city through the streets and over the bridge into the castle district. We spent most of the day touring Prague castle and then walking back over the Charles Bridge. It was one of our few sunny days and so we soaked it up. We drove back to Munich that night only to find out the sad news that our flight was CANCELED. We called the rental car company to see if they would extend our rental and they said NO. There were already too many people requesting cars due to being stranded.

Day 7: BONUS DAY. Thanks to my sister we made reservations in a little B&B in a town south of Munich called Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was home of the 1936 winter olympics and was a very quaint town tucked into the alps. Clint had been there before with his parents, but we loved it. We decided there was nothing we could do, and it was better to be away from the airport and all of the mess. We had a classic German meal and enjoyed a performance of Bavarian Slap dancing that evening. I even got to eat Goulash soup and loved it!

The Fraundorfer: the cute B&B we stayed at

Day 8: BONUS DAY 2. We enjoyed a short hike into the hills and a walk around town before catching the train back to Munich. Once again we found out that our flight for monday was CANCELED. We stayed in Munich that night and tried to make plans for the next few days because they told us that the next flight we could get on would be Thursday...if the airspace opened. At this point we had no more clean clothes and we were tired of hauling our bags around. We were not equipped to backpack Europe. We felt our best option was to go back to Budapest and wait it out with the Chapmans. We could clean our clothes, enjoy great company, Clint could try to work a bit, and we knew how to get there. We took a train back to Budapest! The Chapmans were so kind to let us come back....AGAIN.

Day 9: Regrouping day. We did laundry and had CLEAN CLOTHES. Clint worked a bit and then we went out on the town again for another date night. Ironically we went to one of the best mexican restaurants. In Budapest?...who would have thought. We also got hooked on the game Carcassonne. If you have not played it you should. It was a great day and we did not have to move our suitcases anywhere!

Day 10: Monique teaches a pre-school class a few days a week in her home. I got to observe and help her in the morning. It was so much fun watching all of these little kids sing songs, do crafts, play together, and learn about springtime. Monique is such a great teacher. How she manages to get 7 kids to all sit in their own chairs and read books to themselves (quietly) is beyond me. I was VERY impressed. Once again we said goodbyes that night and caught a night-train back to Munich. I had never been on a sleeper train but it was so great to go to sleep and wake up 10 hours later at our destination.

Day 11: The skies reopened and we were homeward bound! Thank you Europe for the great memories. I gained a few extra pounds to show just how much fun we had. I love to travel but it is always great to be reminded that 'there is no place like home'. Especially when I got to see my baby again.