GNO

One of my hardest goodbyes was to this group of lovely ladies.  We had survived the first two years of motherhood together, laughed at cultural differences in child rearing,  compared completely contradictory pediatrician advice until it made sense, and commiserated on raising beautiful children in a wonderful country that was not our homeland. 

Thank you Barbara, Rachel, Molly, Trina, Jillian, and Mirijam for teaching me about friendship, motherhood, balance, Prosecco, and an always-rejuvinating Girls' Night Out!  I miss you so!

Croatia?!?!

After months living in Europe and soliciting people's suggestions for vacation trips to bring into consideration with our own, one destination that kept getting repeated was Croatia.  Croatia??? Are you sure?  My only knowledge of the country was its involvement in the Bosnian war for the better part of my high school career.  Really?  As it turns out, Croatia is no longer a war-torn country, but a huge European vacation draw, quickly becoming a worldwide vacation destination as well.

After much research we decided to stay on the island of Hvar for our final "holiday" of our European lives.  We rented a 2-bedroom apartment in a little town of Milna that was known for its quiet surroundings, "sand" beaches, and fresh fish. 

Will, as always, was a super traveler because getting to Hvar Island from Munich involved a train, airplane, bus, and boat (in that order!).  Upon arrival we immediately hit the "beach".  As you can see it was mainly rocks -- typical for Croatia, but there was a 6 foot stretch of sand along the water, always occupied by kiddos. 

William loved the tide pools.

Add another body of water to this toddler's list:  the Adriatic Sea!

Being the early morning risers we've been forced to become, we had fun hanging out in the morning watching the fisherman arrive with the day's catch.  We couldn't get over Croatia's crystal clear  water. 

There was a larger market in Hvar town than our snack shack in Milna, so every once in awhile we'd take a taxi into town to shop, explore, or eat at another restaurant.

The harbor of Hvar town was filled with picturesque white-washed buildings, humble little sailing boats, and easily the largest yachts we'd ever seen.  Some of these yahcts were even bigger than Jeff's or my childhood home -- complete with their own matching-wardrobed staff.  Wow.  That's the life.

Europeans have parks everywhere.  Here is one we found while strolling around.  I just love this picture!

Another discovery while strolling around?  This resort hotel that cost 300 Euros a night, but allowed anyone to pay 10 Euros a day to use the pool.  After 3 days wincing while walking over rocks at our Milna beach, we were sold.  We showed up when the pool opened, paid, and stayed all day!  It was an embarrassingly easy highlight of our trip.  

It only reinforced a traveling philosophy Jeff and I share about vacations:  It's all about the pool.  :)

Aside from the fun children's pool, we spent over an hour taking turns riding the waterslide with William.

Every time he came splashing in the water, he was pulling himself up the side, saying only one word, "AGAIN!" while either Jeff or I scrambled to catch up to him as he was already halfway up the stairs to the top of the slide to start all over again!

A slide AND water?  What's not to love?

En route back to Munich (after the ferry back to mainland, but before our bus to the airport) we had a fun time roaming the narrow streets of Split.  It sure had some pretty, unique architecture.

While our week in Croatia was just what we needed . . . a lazy, fun week before our storm of moving day to-do lists . . . we were underwhelmed overall by the country and the people.  We found Greece and its Grecians more friendly and affordable than Croatia touted itself to be.  Don't get us wrong, we loved our time in Croatia, experiencing a country we never thought we'd visit.  We completely understand why Europeans travel there, but wouldn't really recommend it to the band of Americans we hear are starting to trek here for vacations as well.

We were tan.  We were rested.  We were ready to face Munich and our inevitable goodbyes.
(Sniff, sniff)

Tegernsee -- one last time!

With very weekends left before our move we jumped upon the (somewhat) acceptable weather forecast and our friends' open weekend to hit the autobahn for where else but Tegernsee!!

We hiked our usual trail, but continued on up to the chapel on the mountain top before returning for our beer.

Conny, Tim, Alex and the Zabel 3 overlooking Tegernsee

What?
Dampfknödl for lunch? Yes, please!

Jeff and I have slowly realized the Germans love to eat dessert for lunch. So whenever the situation presents itself, we smile at each other and dive in.
Light fluffy white cake smothered in warm vanilla sauce? Yes, please!

On our descent back down the mountain we encountered a few other hikers . . .

Just to be safe, Conny and I let the boys go first!

Farewell, Tegernsee.
We'll miss your hiking beverages and beautiful view.

It's a guy thing

With all of our special friends we've made the two years we've been in Munich, it's fun to watch our little man really nestle in to a few personal faves of his own. Now, I completely understand William and his friends' tendency to parallel play whenever they are around each other. And trust me, they do seem to interact very little sometimes. However, the energy and giggles when a certain few young gentlemen friends of William's come over can't be denied.


Train fun with Vedant and Ishan

Stirring up some fun with Tim

Belly laughs with Gus

Father's Day

Tradition!
Another Father's Day means another peach pie for our favorite Dada.


My crust fell apart this year because I wasn't paying as close attention to its consistency with an extremely helpful toddler sous chef.
And honestly, I can't remember why I didn't take William's photo with it this year either. Perhaps I was still reeling from all the help I had received.

Poor Jeff's Father's Day festivities this year focused mainly on getting our apartment ready for the move. We were busy taking down lights and selling them on Munich's equivalent of Craig's List. William LOVED helping us with this too!
Maybe you'll golf next year, dear!

Lucerne

On our way in to town, we stopped for lunch once we hit the lake.


We tried to do a photo session before eating. Our mistake.

This is one of my favorite things about traveling with a toddler:
play happens anywhere.
In an old McDonald's or in the most gorgeous of lakeside gardens.

We spent the night in the town of Vitznau, but before we turned in for the night, we had fun wandering the lakefront.

Spontaneous fun is the best kind of fun.

Thank goodness for sleeping toddlers and balconies to continue enjoying the night.
Sleep tight, Switzerland!

Restful

Continuing north, we drove through the Alps and into Switzerland. Jeff loved driving the Alps, and I tried not to freak out every time he swerved the car while staring at the striking landscape.

All these gorgeous photos were taken during our rest stop on the way to Lucerne. We just kept laughing to each other at how picturesque our run-of-the-mill, side-of-the-road rest stop was. Jeff spent close to 30 minutes snapping pictures.

Our road trips up and down I-5 in California will not doubt feel even longer without scenery such as this to take in.
I've never seen anyone do a photo session in Coalinga, nor do we plan on doing one anytime soon.

Autos on a bench, courtesy of the Swiss Alps.

Lake Como

In an effort to extend our final Italian vacation, we stopped for an overnight at Lake Como on our drive home. Had we known how much we would fall in love this area of Italy, we would have planned to stay two nights!


We stayed in Cernobbio and, despite many closed shops on this quiet holiday weekend, had a wonderful time exploring our tiny, lakeside town.

Along the lake front promenade

A park with a beautiful lake view . . .

and a merry-go-round with fire engines and hats?!?!
Italian bambinos live the good life.

(And when Jeff and I had the best cappuccino of our lives here, Italian parents received our vote for living the good life as well!)

A beautiful river rushing down the mountainside.

Rustic paint color, fading walls, shutters, olive tree, and a Fiat.
This is forever Italy to me.

Bless you, Italy! Thank you for hosting us five times in our two years in Europe.
You will be with us forever!

Chianti am Greve

It was our last day in Tuscany (sniff, sniff). The Lees and Auntie Barb decided to venture off for a BIG day trip to the town of Lucca. Riding bikes atop the town's Medieval walls? Fun!
Alas, with an impending two-day drive home in front of us, Jeff and I decided to stay local in an effort to allow Will as much wiggle time as possible.


We thought we'd see if our brave toddler would want to swim some wiggles out. However, he is too smart for us and upon dipping a toe in the unheated pool, refused to go near it. The photo above is as close to my dream vision of splashing poolside as we got!

After nap time, Oma and Papa joined us in a short jaunt to Chianti am Greve.

We had fun shopping for souvenirs and tasting a bit of wine.

On the way home, needing a place to snack, we stopped at a restaurant with a beautiful veranda where Will could play trucks on the wall and we could sample a bit more wine.
I've always been pretty sure I was Italian in another life, but this afternoon solidified this belief.

Oh dear. I'm sensing a bit of jealousy, loyal blog reader.
Yes, two wine tastings in an afternoon. But what did you expect? We were in Chianti, right?
Does it help if we share that we didn't eat any gelato. Oh. Wait. I didn't eat any gelato. Can't say the same for the rest of the crew, sorry!

Probably the most scenic diaper change in this kiddo's life.

Ahhhh . . . .

This was the scene we passed daily to and from our villa. Power lines aside, we couldn't believe how picturesque our commute was.
On our last day, Jeff stopped the car to snap some pictures.

Farewell, dear Tuscany!