Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

... or ... Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr!! ;-)

What a month!! December is a busy month for most people but our first December in Munich was a particularly crazy month!!

The month started with St Niklaus visiting the house on December 6. This is a German tradition where the kids place a boot or shoe outside for the Roman Catholic bishop, St Niklaus. During the night St Nicklaus visits each house and if the children have been 'good' then he will fill the boot with candy, fruit and nuts ... but if the child has not been good he will leave sticks in the shoes. I was expecting boots full of sticks but much to the kids excitement, fruit, nuts & candy appeared in the biggest boots they could find to leave out for St Nik ;-) Straight after St Niklaus' visit, both kids managed to catch Scarlet Fever which sounds very dramatic but it actually sounds worse than it really was - but it involved fevers, body rash, strep throat, antibiotics, several doctors visits (in German!), days off school and the worst part was that we were THAT family that instigated the dreaded letter that gets sent home from school saying that 'your child has been exposed to Scarlet Fever' ... but we must've caught it from somewhere too, right?? ;-)

Polly's 9th Birthday was December 8. Her present this year was getting her braces off!! Hooray!! Lots of excitement at the ease and speed of flossing now! We celebrated with a fun night in Munich; sausages and kinderpunch (a warm grape juice German drink for kids served at the Christmas Markets). 

Polly and I spent one cold December Saturday night out at a local theater to watch some friends perform in an Irish Dancing performance. It was a super fun night full of energetic Irish jigs, singing, jumping - it was a wonderful night - the Irish sure do know how to have a good time!

Christmas markets are held all over Germany and they are truly unique. Selling everything from traditional toys, wood carvings, marionettes, candles, lambskin shoes as well as the delicious treats like hot chestnuts, grilled sausages, marzipan and the traditional German gingerbread biscuits called  Lebkuchen as well as other tasty sweets. One of my fabulous new friends here told me about a wonderful Christmas market that only takes place every two years and this was the year! Hooray!! So off we went to experience the magical Christmas market in Ettal which is a small town in a narrow mountain valley at the impressive foothills of Bavaria. The Christmas market is held in the grounds surrounding the Ettal Abby which was founded in 1330 - such a beautiful part of the world!  What a terrific day we had - gorgeous snow falling, camel rides, sledding, delicious smells, locally made goods, music, laughter, the warmth of  Glühwein (warm mulled red wine) all shared with the wonderful company of our new friends. A truly superb day that screamed "Christmas" in every way!!

Next, Henry was unlucky enough to get Scarlet Fever again...so more of the same treatment which meant Nick's 40th birthday was a celebration at home instead of the initial restaurant plans but that was ok - we were all together. The kids painted a gorgeous art piece for Nick for his 40th which turned out really well - Polly designed it and then they each painted one side. It's a painting of Nick riding his bike up a snow covered mountain - the did a wonderful job!

Henry's 6th birthday next and we headed back into Munich to experience two different Christmas markets - the Children's Christmas Market and the Medieval Market before enjoying a wonderful Balkan meal. A wonderful birthday night! 

 Instead of birthday parties for the kids this year we agreed to spend the day together doing something fun and different so we all enjoyed a super fun day at a nearby indoor waterslide park - there were several slides, a wave pool, saunas and our favorite part was an outdoor pool where we relaxed in the steaming hot pools, surrounded by snow under blue sky and sunshine - it was heaven! Two days after our wonderful trip to the waterslides, Nick mentioned his foot was sore and me, being the sympathetic, nurse like gal that I am, said "you probably tied your shoes too tight; you'll be fine". Twenty four hours later he is in hospital getting antibiotics intravenously to treat the infection in his foot that was spreading up his leg!!! We are still not sure how he managed to get this infection - he remembers climbing out of the pool at the water slides and scraping his foot on the side of the pool so perhaps that's how his infection started but we are really not sure. Even though I understand an infection can be very serious, I really thought that he might be in hospital ('Krankenhaus' in German) for a day - maybe two .... not 9 days!!! So our frist Christmas in Europe was spent in the Krankenhaus this year.

We did our best to make it special for the kids; Nick had a gorgeous view from his bed and we enjoyed watching the kids play in the snow, Polly brought her guitar and played Jingle Bells for us and we were entertained by the local German band while eating our sandwiches for Christmas lunch ;-) 

The kids were really very good about all the trips to the hospital and waiting to open Christmas gifts so we could all be together. We were spoiled with gifts ... but loved every second of it!! Thank you to our family and friends who made the effort to help make our first Christmas in Munich so special!! Driving to and from the hospital in the snow is a nightmare for me - the narrow, country, windy roads scare me so I tried to plan all our visits so I wouldn't have to drive home in the dark - yet another sign of my old age - no more driving in the snow and in the dark for me. It's too scary!! Nick came home today and it is wonderful to have him home where he belongs. We all missed him terribly and today, the kids just want to be with him, play with him, talk to him, show him things ... I think he might prefer the peace and quiet of the Krankenhaus!! He is still having a lot of difficulty walking and he needs to rest a lot so the next few days will be quiet days at home while he orders me around ;-)

Amongst visits to the hospital we managed a super fun afternoon of sledding on a slope of our neighboring village...the kids were so brave - or crazy - and had a blast!!

We also spent a wonderful evening ice skating in Munich under a light snow shower. Ice skating is still fairly new for Henry and I have never seen legs move so fast as his did that night - lots of laughs - lots of fall - but no tears! A wonderful, memorable night!!

We had a little trip to Prague planned in the first week of January but we have cancelled that now because Nick still really can't walk. So will reschedule that for another time.

While living here, my fabulous friend Sandi, sent us the movie "The Sound of Music" and we have watched it over and over and over and we all love it and it's amazing to think that it was filmed only hours from where we live!!  So, now that we have postponed our visit to Prague, I think I will let Nick and Henry have a boys day one day next week, while Nick is working from home, and Polly and I will do a quick day trip to Salzburg in Austria to do "The Sound of Music" tour!! Polly seems to think that "the hills" will be "alive" and green like in the movie ... so I sure hope she's not disappointed when those hills are covered in snow and also that Fraulein Maria won't be there to tell us about a few of her favorite things :-)

We are excited and looking forward to an adventure filled, visitor packed 2011!! I just wish time would slow down a bit because our two years here in Munich already seem to be going by so quickly and my list of "places to visit" is growing by the day!!!

Gutes Neues Jahr .... Happy New Year to you all!! Wishing you all a wonderful, safe and healthy 2011 - add us to your list of "places to visit" next year!!!

2 Months In!

AHHHH!!!! What a crazy ride it's been during our first two months here in in Munich. High high's and low low's and a whole lot in between however I can say with complete honesty and confidence that this move is a wonderful thing ...for me personally and for the whole family. Definitely no regrets. It is such a tremendous opportunity for which I am extremely grateful. So amidst all the craziness that has been this 'transition' - I do love living here in Munich; I am so very happy we are here. 

The kids are like different people. Henry asked me to pack chopsticks with his lunch so he could eat his sandwich with them because "Yuto eats his lunch with chopsticks every day". Both kids are learning German and thriving in their new school. Henry has started learning taekwondo after school from Master Klaus (who only speaks German) and Polly is learning guitar - they are learning and growing in this new environment and I have learned so much from watching them here - their worlds change so quickly and yet they adapted almost immediately to their new life here. It has been wonderful for me to watch them go through this experience.

Nick has joined Munich's oldest cycling team, RC "Die Schwalben" (The Swallows), the team has been around since 1894; he is training hard to race with them next season - racing in Europe - AWESOME!! December is usually a frantic, stressful month in the Fitton house with Polly, Henry and Nick's 40th birthday's all before Christmas but this year will be the best year ever. We all agreed that instead of birthday parties that we would do a special trip instead - the kids are thrilled - as are we! Legoland is closed until spring but we will do this with them as part of their 'gift'. There is a huge indoor water slide park nearby so we will do this as a family to celebrate their birthdays this year. Polly really wants a watch and Henry's list is so long he can't seem to narrow it down yet ;-) The life size Hagrid made out of Lego from Harry Potter is on his list!

I have been lucky enough to meet some super fun gals through the school that live in my own little village and we lean on each other and share lots of laughs (& wine) which has been wonderful. I have joined a gym in the town and do my best to struggle through a few classes taught in German each week. During my first week here I was invited to join a fun group of women who walk in the woods for an hour and then enjoy a fabulous breakfast afterwards - so that takes up most of Wednesday morning and I look forward to it each week - I have learned so much from these women and am sincerely grateful to be included. Nick and I have started German lessons every week which is an absolute complete and utter brain drain for me but much needed and although I kind of dread the lessons, I still really want to do them, I want to learn - BUT IT'S SOOOOOO HARD!!!

Our weekends are full on family time - sleeping in, cooked breakfasts, relaxation, bike rides, movies, hiking, eating, trips into Munich, cooking and naps. All the stores here are closed on Sunday's which I am starting to get used to and now I love it! We are spending a lot of family time together and I am enjoying hanging out and chilling with the kids.

My super cool aunt and cousin came to visit for a couple of nights in November and it was wonderful! So heavenly to be able to catch up with them - I haven't seen them in years and years and to have them here (and speak English with them) was such a treat - I only wish they could have stayed longer! :(

We are all very excited about spending Christmas here, exploring all the fun things our new home town has to offer. The Germans sure do know how to do Christmas. The kids had a half day at school on Friday so after school we went into Munich to compile the lists for Santa. Munich is full of fabulous decorations, chocolate, advent calendars, ice skating, crepes, warm wine, roasted chestnuts, Christmas stalls ... the list goes on and on!! We met Nick after work and enjoyed a fabulous Bavarian feast for dinner before catching the train home. I think this might become a weekly tradition during December for us - it was such a fun night - Munich truly is a gorgeous city and even more so at Christmas time. I am in love with this beautiful city!! We were so inspired by our trip to Munich on Friday that we spent this afternoon decorating the house for Christmas ... just need to get a tree now and we'll be set!

There you have it. Two months in and so much happened during this rollercoaster of "transition" ... but we love our new life here and are super excited about what's next to come in our European adventure. When are you coming to visit??

Kids sharing a delicious Krapfen (kinda like a jam donut but better!)

Ti Amo Italia!

Smiling faces, warm welcomes, friendly people, sensational food & wine - my heart was SO happy in Italy!! We are just home from five glorious days in beautiful Italia! We stayed in the little village of Sirmione located on a small peninsula in the south of Lake Garda and loved every minute of exploring the area. We stayed in a gorgeous little, family run hotel, called Corte Regina situated in the heart of Sirmione, just steps to the lake shore and the city's castle, enjoying the clock tower bells each hour. Nick surprised me with a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers and champagne in our room to celebrate our 12 year anniversary - what a fabulous way to start our Italian vacation!! 

The first couple of days were raining and windy, not ideal vacation weather, but we still enjoyed walking the cobblestone streets and indulging in hot chocolate the Italian way ... pure dark chocolate, melted ... hold the milk ... it was heaven in a cup!! 

The skies cleared up a bit and we eagerly set off for Venice!! After a slight delay due to Polly getting severely car sick, we made it to Venice just in time for lunch. We parked the car, crossed the street and we were right there!! Such an amazing sight - we were all smiling from ear to ear - so pretty!! The kids were amazed that there were no cars and they were so excited to cross all the bridges, wave to all the people travelling by boat and adventure down narrow walkways. We found a fabulous little restaurant for lunch that appeared to be full of locals - exactly what we were after. After lunch we spent the day exploring Venice which of course included a gondola ride - which we thought we'd do 'for the kids' but we all loved it! Our gondolier grew up in Venice and owned the gondola we rode in - he was full of history and even though he didn't sing, he made sure we all had a memorable ride. Venice was fabulous - we all had an amazing day...we went home very tired and happy after enjoying fabulous Venizia!

The next was a day in gorgeous Bardolino - a small town on the south east of the Lake. 

Nick arranged to rent a bike and the kids and I enjoyed exploring yet another gorgeous area of Italy. Blue sky and sunshine and endless views of hillside vineyards made for a fabulous day on the lake. Nick did a fun, challenging, cold, windy ride up the east coast of the lake, beside the cliffs of Monte Baldo then returned through the vineyards back to Bardolino - navigation was the biggest problem but he loved every minute on his rented Pinarello ;-) We drove to Garda for dinner which is the next town north of Bardolino - yet another beautiful lakeside town where we enjoyed more fabulous food.

We spent our final day wandering around Sirmione in the sun before a pleasant 4 hour drive home through Austria....roads that I am sure will become very familiar to us as I am already longing to return to beautiful Italia!! 

Oktoberfest & Wasserburg

Oktoberfest


The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 in honor of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig's marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, so this year was the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest and 6.4million visitors attended Oktoberfest - it was crazy busy and very, very warm!!

7 million mugs of beer were consumed over the 17 day long festival. We braved the record breaking crowds and caught the train in and out of Oktoberfest along with everybody else in Munich. We were advised to write a cell phone number on the kids' arms in case we lost each other but we only had Nick's USA cell phone and we were doubtful if the German polizei would call an international number to reunite us but we did it anyway ;-) We felt very out of place in our jeans & t-shirts as most of the German crowd, from babies to grandparents, were wearing the traditional clothing of Lederhosen for men and Dirndl dresses for women.

The beer tents were enormous and because we had the kids we headed straight to the family area with fun rides rather than beer tents; plenty of fun for the kids and fabulous German fair type food ... lots of pretzels, sausages, schnitzel, roasted nuts and the fabulous gingerbread hearts with messages written in icing that you hang around your neck and snack on as you walk around.

We did a few rides, ate our fill then headed home. Our German neighbours suggested that next year we visit Oktoberfest mid-week to avoid all the crowds which is when all the Germans go so they can avoid the tourists. So next year we will join the Germans and go during the week!

Wasserburg

This weekend we spent in Wasserburg which is about an hour west of Munich. Our relocation consultant has an 8 year old girl and they invited us to spend the weekend with them. Wasserburg was first mentioned in documents in 1137 when Hallgraf Engelbert moved his residence from the nearby castle Limburg to his "Wasserburg" (Water Castle).  It is one of the most historic towns of Old Bavaria – somewhat older than Munich, continually fought over by the Bavarian nobility and, up to the 16th century, on an equal footing with larger cities.

Saturday we enjoyed a delicious Bavarian meal then drove to a small nearby village called Oberreith which is in a beautiful forrest and meadow. There are many unique and fun outdoor structures for the kids to play on, ponies to ride and there is forrest ropes course where we were harnessed up and taught how to use the climbing equipment so then we could balance, swing, climb our way around the forrest on the ropes provided. Henry totally lost it mid-way a tight-rope type of climb and was crying and very upset, but he got it together and braved the remainder of the course. Polly loved every moment and can't wait to go back so she can try some harder climbs. Nick was a pro and I definitely was not - I fell more than the kids but would definitely go back - as they say here - it was "super"! A delicous Italian meal rounded off a wonderful day.

On Sunday we walked down to the river and Nick taught the kids how to skip rocks and to our enormous surprise they both managed to skip rocks for the first time ever!  A great way to start the day! We met Kirsten & Anastasia again and we walked around the historic town of Wasserburg before visiting the farm where Kirsten lives; we had lunch & enjoyed some time on the farm before heading home. A wonderful weekend!!