My Favorite Little Guy

I had the pleasure to be able to go back to the States from March 10 through March 27. Jason was traveling in Asia and had the chance to meet me in the States for one week while he was to attend meetings. We had a lovely time. I spent most of my time with my family and close friends. Our schedule is always very hectic when we are back so I am sorry if we didn't have a chance to get together or if you didn't even know we were there. Don't worry, we will be back a couple more times this year.

While we were home, I spent as much time as possible with my little nephew, Nathan, who is 2. My fear is that he will not really know me like my brothers who see him all the time. So when I am back, we do fun things like slumber parties, going to the zoo and going for walks to the park.

It is a bummer to be so far away during this fun age. Everytime we come back he has some new "trick" to show off. For instance, now he is talking non-stop and says the funniest things. It's crazy to know that we've lived outside of the country since he was just 3 months old. It's sad that I mostly have to see him grow up through Skype on the "puter" and in pictures. Being away from my family and close friends is definitely the biggest challenge living so far away. But, I am very thankful to be welcomed home with open arms and hearts. I really am super lucky and thankful for the experience we are so blessed to have. And, as always, I am grateful for the time I get to spend with everyone when we get to visit.

Here are some pictures that Nathan and I took when we woke up from our first slumber party:

One of the days I was home my brother Aaron, Mom, Nathan and I went to the zoo. It was a blast. It was especially fun to see Nathan's face when he saw all the animals. He is too darn cute!!

One day I also took Nathan for a walk to the park in the neighborhood. We had so much fun!! Seriously, could he get any cuter? He is going to be a little heart breaker!

Nathan is going to be a big brother to Liliana who is due to arrive in the next week or so. It stinks that I will not be there at the hospital to greet her but I can't wait to meet her in June. I am very thankful to have been able to spend so much time with Nathan one last time before he is a big brother. I just love being an Aunt!!

xx

Skiing in Hintersee

Since the ski season is coming to a close, yesterday Christine and I decided to make a last minute trip to Hintersee for an end of the year ski session. We conquered the whole mountain and spent the whole day there- from open to close. It was a great day. I am very sad that ski season is almost over but am very much looking forward to the upcoming warm weather. :)

The Disney Castle in Germany: Neuschwanstein Castle

The last weekend in February, Jason and I drove to see the Disney Castle in Bavaria, Germany. If you didn't already know, Neuschwanstein Castle is the castle that inspired Walt Disney to create the Magic Kingdom. It is one of the most visited castles in Germany and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It was only a three hour drive from our house, so of course we just had to go see it.

We decided to just spend the weekend so we woke up bright and early on Saturday and started to drive. When we reached the area we checked into our hotel, dropped off our bags, and drove to see the castles. I say castles, plural, because in the same area there is another castle, Hohenschwangau Castle, that you can also see. It is such a beautiful area!

Jason was very excited to see the castles because he's been wanting to take pictures of them for I don't know how long. He's always said that he wanted to take pictures of Neuschwanstein Castle in the winter. With our luck, of course, there was scaffolding all around the front of Neuschwanstein Castle for some renovations. I found out that it was put up just weeks before we went and is scheduled to stay up until "sometime in 2013". Ugh! Needless to say, we were not very happy about this. I must say, I was sad for him because I know how much he wanted to photograph it. I guess we'll just have to stay here a bit longer and come back. ;)

Just because the outside wasn't too pretty didn't mean we couldn't tour the inside. We bought our tickets and spent part of the day touring the castle. Of course, we were not allowed to take any photos inside the castle, another bummer, but we were very glad we were allowed to look around.

After our tour, we went back into the town to look around. By the time we got there though, all of the shops were closed. I am still not used to stores closing at 4pm on Saturdays and not being open on Sundays. We did, however, come across the most amazing pastry shop with wonderful ball-like cookies. I am not sure what they are called but they were nothing short of amazing.

The next day we went back to the castles and took pictures of Hohenschwangau Castle. Of course the night before it snowed so it was a bit foggy and very cold. Not the best for picture taking but that was ok. We still had a great day before we drove back to the 'Burg.

Since we didn't take any good pictures of Neuschwanstein Castle because of the scaffolding, here are some pictures that I found online so you know what it looks like.

And of course, here are the pictures from our trip.

Our weekend was short and sweet. Can't wait to go back!!

Trip To London for Valentine's Day

For some reason everyone is very surprised when I tell them that our trip to London last month was our first time there together (my first time ever). I guess I don't blame them since we've been to so many different places around the world. London was just how I expected it to be. What a fabulous city it is!

Jason had to go to London for a conference for a couple of days. Since I have never been Jason decided to bring me along as my Valentine's Day present and even took Friday off so we could spend a long weekend together. I was so happy! Sometimes I have to remind myself that Jason does have to work when we go to all these places so it was so great to be able to explore together. I just love it!

First off, I must say that I was very excited to go before we even left because I have always wanted see London, I was very excited that everyone speaks English and because the weather was supposed to be so much warmer than Salzburg. It's always good going into a new city with excitement.

Since Jason was at his conference, I was on my own the first few days (including Valentine's Day). I was okay with this because I am totally used to it by now and I got to partake in some much needed retail therapy. Let's just say it was a little Valentine's day gift to myself. ;) I also went to see The Vow. Can I tell you how nice it is to just walk into a movie theater and all of the movies are in English? It's the little things. ;) It was a very relaxing couple of days.

We started off the weekend right by going to dinner on Thursday night at The Hardrock. I am not sure if I have ever put this on here or not but we try to go to The Hardrock in every city we go to. I know this is very American of us but it is our thing so just deal with it. ;) We usually get at least a shot glass from each one as a memory. This time though our waiters gave us some of their "flare" off their uniforms. They rocked. No pun intended.

When Friday rolled around I was very excited. Jason took the day off and we went off to explore the city. I saved all the "tourist" things so we could do them together.

We started the day by going to Abbey Road. We stayed within walking distance of it and it was a "must see" since I have always loved the Beatles. And of course, I had to have Jason take a picture of me walking just as The Beatles did. I must say, this was rather difficult since there is regular traffic passing through. Then we went and took a picture in front of the studio.

After Abbey Road, we hopped on the tube and went to Buckingham Palace. We could not have planned it better because we arrived right during the changing of the guard. 

Afterwards, we stumbled upon the Westminster Cathedral that had a tower with a 360 degree view of the city. It was just lovely. Of course it was beautiful inside too but we couldn't take pictures because a service was going on.

Our next stop was some place to grab some fish and chips. We stumbled upon this gem. And oh my goodness, was my food good. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much but it was so delicious.

And of course, after lunch, I just had to get a photo in a phone booth. I just love them.

After a nice stroll in the city we finally made it to Westminster Abbey. All I have to say is that Kate is one lucky lady because I would have given an arm and a leg to have had our wedding there. It was just gorgeous and the tour inside was very interesting. The only thing that I didn't like was that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. If you haven't seen it, google it! 

Then of course we walked right next door to see Big Ben. 

After our adventure, we went back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. My wonderful husband took me out for a late Valentine's Day dinner at the lovely Blue Elephant, which is a fine dining Thai restaurant. Our dinner was amazing! I am such a lucky girl!!

The next morning we woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We were off to Notting Hill. Although I have yet to see the movie (now I really want to see it), we really enjoyed our day. We walked around the area and I picked out several houses that I would love to live in. Then we walked the market. Let me just say, it can be trouble if you don't watch out. Everything was just lovely and I loved all the antique stores.

Towards the end of our walk in the market, we came across Shannons bar. Of course we had to stop and get a beer at our pub. We drank Shannons beer and it was delish of course!

After our pit stop, we walked around a bit more.

After Notting Hill, we went over to London Bridge and Tower Bridge and walked along the river. It was such a gorgeous night and Jason took some amazing pictures. I am so thankful that I have such an amazing photographer capturing all of our memories.

The next morning we were up bright and early to catch our plane back to Salzburg. It's a good thing we were a bit early because after going all the way to the Gatwick airport, which we flew into, (almost an hour away) we realized that we were flying out of the Heathrow airport (10 minutes from where we started from). Needless to say, even leaving London was an adventure. Welcome to our life!

I had such a great time. I can't wait to go back!! :)

P.S. Thank you Jason for taking me to London for Valentine's Day. It sure is better than flowers and chocolate. I can get used to this! ;) You are the best husband in the world!!