Month #5 - Country #5

The day was March 20th. The weather in Munich was still wintery and we were looking to get out of it. (Our California trip was such a tease!) The weather in Salzburg, Austria was much more appealing than our dismal gray, so we hopped in our car and off we went!


The town garden (used in the Sound of Music) was still budless, but the flowers in the process of being planted.

Here's our little guy's 5-month picture. Did you know Will's been ticking off one country per month?
For those of you keeping track:
Month 1 - Germany
Month 2 - Italy
Month 3 - Switzerland
Month 4 -U.S.A.
Month 5 - Austria
He's got a pretty good record going, if we do say so ourselves. How long can he (or his parents) keep this up? Stay tuned!

We thought it'd be fun to visit the castle since we hadn't done that before. Seeing that it was such a beautiful day, we thought it'd be nice to take the walking path to the top instead of the funicular. Which brings me to . . . .

Zabel Travel Tip #3 -- If you have a kinderwagen and a choice to walk or take a tram/funicular to the top of a hill, TAKE THE TRAM!

Jeff and I are always up for a hike or good walk, so we figured we'd forgo the 12 Euro tram/museum ticket and take the path instead. Unfortunately, we forgot that awesome Medieval castles were built on steep hills for a reason. It made it hard for attackers (and 21st Century tourists) to get up it!
The path was sooooo steep we took turns pushing Will in his stroller (even Jeff got winded) while the other one served as back up should the "pusher" lose his/her balance and our precious son go free-wheeling down the 60% grade. We got to the top only to be greeted by an entry fee of 7 Euro for the museum and one-way tram ticket back down. The guard took one look at us and told us he didn't think we should take the stroller in, but there was no way we were going back down. For us, the only way was up! It was still more steep grades, but we made it!
One of my favorite pictures from the day is above. It's one of the only flat spots on our way up, so we stopped to feed William. I just love old (castle, etc.) mixed with new (stroller, etc.).

A view of the Alps from the lookout tower.

We love that Salzburg is so close for an easy day trip. I'm sure you'll see more of it in our blog in months to come!

Airport Meet Up

The BMW Technology Office had a baby boom in the Fall of 2009. Within 2 months, 3 baby boys were added the PATYO family. Will was born in October, Tanner (see Cali Friends post) was born in December, and Tim - introduced below - was born two weeks after Will.

Tim's parents are Alex and Conny, expats from Germany. Jeff works(ed) with Alex in Palo Alto and we would do things together as couples every once in awhile. His wife Conny and I noticed each other not drinking at a few gatherings last spring but didn't say anything to each other . . . come to find out we were both expecting babys - boys - at the end of October. It was fun to "grow" and share pregnancy experiences together while in the Bay Area.

As Murphy's Law would have it, we planned our first home leave at the same time Alex and Conny planned theirs. We were coming to California to introduce William to friends and family for almost the exact same dates Alex and Conny were bringing their son Tim home to Germany to introduce him to his friends and family.

The only time we could figure out to see each other was at the Munich International Airport two days after we arrived home and a few hours before Alex, Conny, and Tim got on a plane to go back to the Bay Area. So, Will and I took the train to meet them before they left. Poor Jeff was at work and will have to meet Tim some other time.

Connie, Alex, and Tim will be returning to Munich this fall, and hopefully we'll get them in our neighborhood of Haidhausen. I'm on the lookout for apartments!

Fasching

In case anyone forgot, Germans know how to party. Fasching, known as Fat Tuesday, is no exception. The season calls for krapfins - basically a jelly doughnut - of many, many different varieties available in every bakery and around every corner for several weeks. Our favorite flavors that we felt sooooo obligated to try were cherry, chocolate, Baileys, champagne, vanilla, strawberry, and some others that my mind has forgotten but my thighs have not.

Fasching itself is an opportunity to dress up in costume, drink, eat, and celebrate before the impending fast for the Lenten season. The Germans didn't disappoint. Michelle and I took our kinder wagons to Marienplatz to watch the Ladies' Dance (pictured above) and observe the festivities. We enjoyed people watching while sipping Honey Wine. My favorite sighting of the day was a very stoic looking, middle-aged German couple holding hands. Oh wait, did I forget to mention the wife was dressed as a giant pink pig and the husband dressed as a green frog? Hysterical.

Regensburg

One cold February Saturday we drove to the town of Regensburg for a weekend day away. It's a Medieval town on the Romantic Road. We'd heard about the famous Dampf Nudel, so of course we went there first! We squeezed into a tiny restaurant and watched Uli whip up a yummy lunch but more importantly, we ate his famous dessert: the Dampf Nudel. Basically a moist (for German standards) white cake drenched with vanilla sauce. It didn't disappoint. In hindsight, we should have just ordered ein grosse Dampf Nudel for lunch AND dessert. I have a feeling we'll be back before we leave.

More Regensburg with it beautiful river and cathedral's spires in the background. Will enjoyed it too, but it was just too cold to pull him out for these pics!

Zabel Travel Tips

See the signature white cord of an Apple product coming out of Jeff's jacket?

Zabel Travel Tip #1 - Check iTunes to see if there's a walking audio tour of your city that you can download. Rick Steves walked us through the Acadamia, Uffizi Gallery, and all-around Florence -- all for $1.29. We didn't have to pay all the audio guide fees inside museums, plus we got to enjoy his cliff note version of things all with his sense of humor.

Zabel Travel Tip #2 - Check LonelyPlanet.com before traveling to any city. Their list of restaurants never misses. We literally ate our way through Florence. Yes, there was the occasion of getting stuck at a tourist trap restaurant, but what can you do. When we could, we would track down a LP recommended restaurant. (They can be off the beaten track and hard to find at times.) We had the best beef stew at this small, family run restaurant and what Jeff swears to be the best sandwich he's ever eaten at this panini stand. I personally think it was his accompanying glass of chianti that sealed the deal!

Coleman Fun!

My friend from high school Nicole, her husband Taft and son Remi just recently moved from Paris to Zurich, Switzerland. They came to stay with us for a weekend in December. It was so fun having our little boys meet, shopping around Christmas Markets, and meeting some of their German friends.

In February, we had the chance to visit the Colemans in Zurich as well! They were amazing hosts taking us all over town. We enjoyed walking around Zurich, pretending we could see the Alps through the clouds, eating Sprugli's hot chocolate and macaroons, and stuffing ourselves with the awesome Borner-family recipe of fondue. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, guys! What else will 2010 hold for these Coleman-Zabel adventures?

A Munich Christmas

With Will being so young, our families (bless them!) made the trek out to Munich for a true, Bavarian Christmas. Even though mother nature, train fiascos, and a chain of airline connections made for good travel stories on all sides, Pam, Bill, Mary, Charley, and Crazy Uncle Pete made it to Munich for the holidays. The days were filled with visiting Weihnachtsmarkts, Gluhwein, last minute Christmas shopping, snow, and, oh yeah, canoodling a special grandson/nephew. :)

We explored not only our neighborhood's (Haidhausen) Christmas Market, but also enjoyed the Chinese Tower's Market in the English Garden, the artsy Christmas Market in Schwabing, the child-centered Christmas Market within the Residence, the Medieval Christmas Market at Marienhof (We drank Gluhwein from chalices!), and of course the ginormous Marienplatz Markt.

Christmas Eve we went to the children's service at the church down our street. We love to hear it's chiming bells everyday, so we thought it be a great place to go. It truly didn't disappoint. The sanctuary was enormously gorgeous, built of stone, there was a children's reenactment of the Christmas Story (no, not the movie you sillies!), and the singing of Silent Night in German. (We did our best!) It was so touching to realize that even in a different country, with a different language, everything can feel the same as we are unified by our faith.

It is German tradition to cook a goose for Christmas dinner. So Jeff and I decided that when in . . . Munich . . . It was a fun adventure figuring out how to brine and store our goose in our mini-German fridge (layers of garbage bags and lots of maneuvering of shelves). It was a lot of work for an average-tasting outcome, but it was a fun challenge!

Thank you, family, for making our little guy's first Christmas so very special!!

Note: Please ignore our completely dead Christmas tree in the background of all the pics. Apparently German tree lots strip the bark off the sides of the trunk in order for it to fit in German stands.This kills the tree immediately, which works for the Germans who only bring the tree into the house and decorate it Christmas Eve. However, this does not bode well for two eager Americans who purchase their tree on December 6th. Instead of watering our tree daily, we gave up and just vacuumed the needles daily.

Thanksgiving x2!

Our first Thanksgiving in Germany was spread out over two weeks. (Seeing that it's Sarah's favorite holiday, she was perfectly fine with that!) Our official Thanksgiving was spent just the two of us -- Will was nice enough to sleep for most of our meal. We decided to keep it simple (it was a work day for Jeff) and Bavarian (to celebrate our new home). Sarah went to our butcher around the corner and picked up schnitzel which we paired with kase spatzel and the Oktoberfest beer Sarah had saved for the very occassion. We definitely missed being around family, but thank goodness for Skype! Our hour-long Skype sessions with California and Colorado that evening made it seem less lonely.

Our second Thanksgiving was celebrated two weekends later with fun friends and former expats from the BMW Technology Office in Palo Alto. The Schambecks always celebrate Thanksgiving for their daughter Lily (above) who was born in California during their time in the states. (Looks like we'll have an obligation to William to celebrate Oktoberfest every year since he was born in Germany. The sacrifices we make for our children!) It was potluck, but let me tell you, it was the most AMAZING GOURMET potluck we'd ever been to! Everything was made from scratch. Forget the stuffing out of the box and pumpkin out of the can -- well, you have to because you can't buy it here! Ute and Joachim brought Pumpkin Chicken Soup and pumpkin pie -- both made with real pumpkin! Who knew you could do this?!?! :) I brought sweet potatoes. Sylvia provided amazing green beans in a luscious sauce and scalloped potatoes from scratch. Mark and Maren provided the stuffing with roasted chestnuts (Maren roasted them herself!) and the freshest, brined turkey we've ever tasted. Take that Butterball! Fortunately there was one thing that was similar to Thanksgivings in the past: we all ate too much!

* This post is not intended to offend any mothers or grandmothers with whom we've shared wonderfully meaningful Thanksgivings in the past. But seriously, the Germans put our Thanksgivings to shame!

Cold Snowy Sunday

On the way home for the museum, dad stopped for a gelato, the first of the season just 'cause he could and it was open despite it being freezing outside. I wanted a treat as well, so we called mom. She met us out and about at one of our favorite neighborhood cafes: Brasserie Romanow.
I had a bottle, yum, mom had hot chocolate, dad had a cappuccino (he said I wore him out), and we shared a strudel. A European treat! I was really hungry. We love Sundays.

I am now cultured!

If you know me well, you know I like lights. Today was a special day! Dad was thinking about going skiing this morning, but lucky for me, I slept in until 8. Therefore, dad and mom did too. As it was cold and snowing outside, my dad decided to stay home and play with me instead. He gave mom a break and took me to the museum. I think it is because they are only 1 euro on Sunday:)

Dad is not much of an art guy, but he does like design and architecture a lot. Plus the modern stuff isn't too bad sometimes. So we went to the Pinakothek der Moderne. They had this room that was full of green lights in a design and I loved it. Plus the ceilings there were really neat skylights all over. I loved it so much that I talked to everyone there to tell them how cool it was. It had a fun afternoon with my dad!