Sayonaras, Sailing & Sunny San Diego!!

Wow!! What a Summer it's been!! The kids recently started in their new schools (insert loud cheering here) so I felt it fitting that I spend some time reflecting on the last three months and all that we've done in this time. So  much has happened, so I will try to keep it brief but I can't guarantee anything, so go and make a cup of tea/coffee and put your feet up and enjoy looking back with me at the Summer of 2013.

Towards the end of the school year Nick was recruited for a job that was going to be a great opportunity and after quite a bit of deliberation, he decided to accept the new position just one week before the school year finished - we were off to San Diego for our next adventure! Wow - we really couldn't believe it was actually happening - the new company, Invetech, is an Australian consulting company, and they wanted him to start work immediately. We had our Summer vacation already booked so we decided to continue with our plans and then aim to be in San Diego immediately after our holiday.

The last week of school was a huge mixture of emotions. We were thrilled to be finishing off school, easing up on homework, for Polly she completed her violin exam and passed with distinction then passed her Mandarin exam and both kids tested and passed their next level belts in taekaondo...we were excited about Summer finally arriving and looking forward to the relaxed routine. Then reality hit and we realized that each year here in Munich, we say "goodbye" to our good friends that are leaving for their next adventure. The last several months of school involve farewell functions and all the emotions are difficult for us all in saying "farewell" to people that have become family to us here. Then we realized that this year, we are the ones leaving. Happy, sad, scared, excited, anxious...the list goes on and on. In a way it was good to only have a week to say our "goodbyes". We had been in Munich almost 3 years and had made so many wonderful friends and so many treasured memories that saying "goodbye" was extremely painful so the quicker the better. Our friends are from all over the world - will we ever see them again?! We sure do hope so ... but who knows. It was hard for all of us. Lots of tears. Lots. Did I say lots? Lots. The last day at school was heart wrenchingly difficult. I am blessed to have met so, so many wonderful friends that I hope will be in my life forever, wherever we all live  in this big wide world, and it was tearing me apart to leave them. They had become my family. Hard times for us all. It was a welcome relief to know that the next day we were off on our summer adventure. Our last European holiday for a while.

Breathtaking views ... & there's our yacht, Pwyll, in the background!!

This year, we decided to explore Greece. After hours of research of accommodation, Nick found this site: http://www.ratherbesailing.org and we were instantly excited about a new adventure ... we had struggled to find that perfect accommodation that was right on the blue, clear water yet peaceful and picturesque without all the tourists so we decided to charter a yacht and spend two weeks with our Captain sailing in Greece around the Dodecanese Islands in the Western Aegean Sea. Wow. What an awesome trip!! I'm not gonna lie, I was

Mmmmmm....dinner!!

nervous. I am the sort of person that likes to be clean and have clean clothes so 2 weeks on a tiny 44ft yacht had me nervous!! How wrong could I be?! Our Captain was awesome!! What a tremendously inspirational, strong, funny, welcoming, talented woman!! Such a great role model for our kids...and man, can she sail a yacht!! We flew into the old fortress city of Rhodes and spent one night exploring this ancient city that we would return to at the end of our sailing adventure. We stayed in a delightful bed and breakfast in the middle of town and enjoyed the warm sea breeze and hot sun and one of the best meals ever! We ate at a tiny local restaurant where you are invited into the kitchen where all the fabulous aromas swallowed you up; here, the daily dishes were displayed in their stainless steel containers and you chose your meal - we chose small amounts of everything and every dish was mouthwateringly sensational!! What a great way to start our holiday!! We were already excited to return in 2 weeks to further explore this gorgeous ancient town of Rhodes...and to return to our favourite restaurant!! The next day, we caught a high speed catermeran to the small island of Leros. We were so excited to meet our Captain and start sailing; the catamaran was huge and very fast ... and super rough ... we were all sick on the catamaran which made us all extremely anxious about how our weak city stomachs would handle our holiday on our little yacht!! ...and for 2 weeks?!?! What the hell were we thinking?!

Four long, rough, exhausting hours later, we were sooooo relieved to disembark the catamaran and have our feet on solid ground. Captain Christy met us at the dock and after a brief stop for lunch, she took us to Pwyll, our new home for 2 weeks here in the gorgeous Greek Islands. Our fears about being sea sick were quickly put to rest as Captain Christy advised us on how to handle our "funny tummies" and she said we would start out slow and easy with the sailing until we all got our sea legs and true to her word, she looked after us in so many ways that we all were feeling fabulous in no time. Captain Christy was born and raised in Colorado but spent many years living in Italy and obviously learned a thing to two about cooking whilst there because the meals she produced in the tiny galley kitchen were top quality restaurant meals that we looked forward to each day!! By late afternoon, we were anchored with wine in hand and delicious snacks to enjoy while watching the sun set. Then, my favorite part of the trip, the

stars....wowowowow....soooooo many stars ... Captain Christy has crossed the Atlantic twice in a sail boat and said that the stars she saw on those trips were absolutely mind-blowing, which was hard for me to get my mind around. Our days consisted of early mornings enjoying drinking coffee and eating Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit overlooking calm seas while listening to the soothing sound of calm waters gently lapping against the side of the boat. From then on our days were pretty stressful; jumping off the boat to experience a peek into the life under water, enjoying spotting star fish, octopus and sea urchins, then we would lay around in the warm Greek sun and talk, rest, play games, eat some more and then when the sun would heat us all up, we'd jump in again & repeat until the warm sun set over the horizon. Then we'd indulge in a wonderful meal prepared by our Captain then we'd

Henry was all about the skinny dipping!! "It feels SOOOO silky!" 

all find our respective positions and wait for the stars to appear ... and wow ... what a treat the evening stargazing was; such a highlight for us all. I have never seen so many stars and Captain Christy knew them all - amazing!! Once our eyes became heavy staring into the night sky, spotting shooting stars, we headed to bed with huge smiles on our faces. We never wanted this holiday to end. During the course of the 2 weeks, we did visit a couple of ports and while we definitely enjoyed our time on the land, exploring the historical white washed buildings of the local towns, our preference was to be anchored at gorgeous secluded cove overlooking the seemingly endless crystal clear, turquoise ocean. What a tremendous experience this holiday was for us as a family. It really was fabulous to spend so much wonderful quality time together ... time to bond before we commence on our next adventure. During the transitional times of these big moves, it is imperative for us to stick together as a family because it can be tough at times and we need to lean on each other, and this trip really allowed us quality time together which was so fabulous.

One of our many favourite swimming spots!!

Everything about this trip was sensational and far exceeded my high expectations. The water color and transparency was the highlight for me. I think Nick and kids would count a highlight as learning how to sail a boat we were very lucky to have Captain Christy as our fabulous teacher!! Words could never describe the feelings I experienced during our two weeks on board our boat. I was worried how it was all going work out. We are not talking a luxury yacht here by any means; day to day life was kind of like camping. Limited clothing options, small spaces, bumping into one another, bathroom challenges, etc. and yet, the views, sounds, swimming, snorkeling, time to relax, far outweighed any challenges we experienced elsewhere.  Captain Christy was the perfect captain for us. She is bursting at the seams with knowledge and experience - and her cooking skills are phenomenal!! she knew just the right balance of instruction and freedom with the kids and it was totally her doing that made this trip so memorable for us all. She is a super strong woman, sailing her boat , looking after her guests and is excellent at what she does.  we will be forever grateful to her for providing us with such a memorable holiday. It was an absolute pleasure and honor to meet Captain Christy and her delightful husband, Michael. I will let the photos do the talking from here. There were tears as we said "goodbye" to Captain Christy; who started out as our Captain and ended up as our dear friend. 

After arriving home from Greece, the kids and I had 3 days to re-pack and get back to the airport to fly to San Diego - our new 'home'. Crazy days indeed. We arrived in San Diego on Friday July 19 and we bought a house on Saturday July 20. C R A Z Y!! Nick spent an extra week in Germany tying up all the loose ends (of which there were LOTS!!) and then joined us in San Diego. We promptly bought 2 big American cars (a HUGE change from our little VW Golf in Germany!!) and more importantly 2 surfboards ;-) Next was enrolling kids in school and sorting out all the paperwork involved in buying a house ... oh yeah, and right about this time we decided to sell our house in the East Bay of San Francisco so we were doing that at the same time. The days were long and exhausting!! Less than a month after buying the house we moved in! Yay!! We quickly painted the kids rooms before our shipping and storage arrived ... we are now "in" ... not exactly "settled" but "in" for sure. We are now in the process of arranging a kitchen remodel and then we'll be all sorted ... so book your flights and get on over here!! While we will miss Europe for sure, especially all our good friends there, the ever shining sun and cobalt blue sky of San Diego are most welcomed and the ocean being 25mins away is pretty awesome too!! Here's to new adventures in sunny California!!! Watch this space!!

Snorkeling

Hard day ashore...

Hard life on the boat...

Beach & Baklava

This was our third winter in Munich and just when I had just made my mind up that I could cope with the snow if there was blue sky and sunshine, this headline appears in the newspaper, "The darkest winter on record".  Everybody was talking about this winter being Munich's darkest in the last 60 years ... this weather was really testing my sanity ... and then...in February we enjoyed a week of warm sunshine, the snow melted, green grass, blue sky, good moods .... winter coats, boots and gloves were packed away, Spring was in the air ... WRONG!! Winter came back with a vengeance...grey is the only word to describe it....also miserable, depressing, bleak, disheartening, gloomy, dreary, you get the idea....I started to doubt that I'd ever see the sun again - ever. Out of absolute desperation for some warmth, I started looking at the weather in Turkey for spring break. I only wanted to go to Turkey if it could guarantee blue sky, sunshine and warm temperatures so we watched the weather like a hawk and waited until the very last minute to book our trip. The 10 day weather forecast was looking good so we booked 7 nights in a resort in Antalya, Turkey. Goodbye grey Munich, hello sunny Turkey!! Whoot, whoot!!

We flew into Antalya in Turkey and arrived at the Delphin Imperial Hotel and were already relaxed in the warm temperatures. These all inclusive deals work well for us; the hotels are wonderful - clean, large rooms, gorgeous sea views and the huge plus ... Henry can eat all day, every day - it's perfect!! The beach was gorgeous, the water refreshing and most importantly the sun was hot!! Yayayay!!! Our days were spent playing on the beach, swimming, collecting shells, reading, accompanied by way too much eating and drinking ... it was 7 days of pure rest and relaxation. The meals were fantastic and there were plenty of options for Nick to eat gluten free which was great. Turkey is perfect for us for our spring break - this is not a sight seeing trip...just a sun seeking one ;-)

We are now 'home' in Munich and Spring seems to have sprung!! Yayaya!! The sky is blue, the gorgeous Spring flowers are blooming!! We made it through another German winter!! Yayayaya!!!

 

Winter Wanderings

Strasbourg

You don't normally hear much from me over Winter because, if you didn't know already, I HATE WINTER!! This is our third Winter in Germany and each one has been significantly different. Our first year here there was sooooo much snow, the second year the temperatures were -20C (-4F) but less snow and this year - finally a winter I can handle and not whine (too much) about. The temperatures have hovered around the pleasantly mild -3 C (28F) and, so far, there has not been too much snow!! Yayay!!! My winter weekday mornings consist of me hesitantly opening our blinds to see if the roads are clear of snow and I am happy to report that most days, they've been clear and therefore easy to do the 30min drive to school ... on the mornings that we awake to a thick blanket of snow covering the roads, it takes me an hour to get school and yeah, I am a grumpy, whining and complaining for the whole hour there ... and the whole hour home again. BUT ... this year has been pretty good - perhaps we have already seen the last of the snow?! Nah. Probably not but now that our Summer holiday is booked, I certainly have the warmer weather on my mind. So, I'm in a good enough place to update you on the fun times we've had (so far) over the Winter.

In November I went on a super fun filled, fantastic girls weekend to Edinburgh with some friends I met through the kids' school here. I love Edinburgh!! I lived in Edinburgh during my wild and crazy days and part of my heart will always remain in bonnie Scotland. It was amazing to revisit my old 'home' town. Since living in Munich, if I ever hear anybody speaking English, I feel it's my duty to strike up a conversation with them (they could be my new bff after all!!) and while I was in Edinburgh, with all the Scotts (kinda) speaking English, I found myself joining in on all sorts of conversations in any and all situations; walking down the streets, in stores, cafes, restaurants - anywhere!! ... Alert!! Crazy lady on the loose!! I was smiling from ear to ear during my entire stay in this stunning city. Walking up to the gorgeous Edinburgh Castle was definitely a highlight. I caught up with my very good friend, Ann, whom I met when I lived there and I went to visit her parents who are like family to me. It was so wonderful to see them again and catch up on their news. A fantastic trip all round. Lots of laughter, fun times, fabulous meals & Christmas shopping was done ... hmmmm...how I've missed fish 'n' chips and banoffee pie!!! Yummm!!

Carousel in Strasbourg

The end of the year is always frantic and now that Polly is in Middle School, her heavy workload continued right up until the last day of school. We celebrated Polly, Henry and Nick's birthdays all before school finished. Another crazy busy (but super fun!!) December!! We were all so happy and relieved when school finished and we looked forward to spending some family time together just chilling out and relaxing for a while.

Petite-France District of Strasbourg

We spent Christmas Day at home and then on Boxing Day we packed up our little car and headed to Strasbourg, France, the "Capital of Christmas". Strasbourg is supposed to be about 3.5hrs drive from Munich by car, just over the German border into France, but I guess many other people decided to head out of town on the same day so we were stuck in a lot of traffic and the drive took us about 5 hours. Yuck. We arrived in cosmopolitan Strasbourg, the home of the European Parliament, in time to wander into town and explore the Christmas Markets that started in Strasbourg in 1570. The 12 different Christmas markets in Strasbourg are set around the historical, sandstone, Gothic Cathedral. The markets are a little bit different from the German Markets and so fun to walk around and enjoy the various arts, crafts, delicious crepes and cheeses. Strasbourg changed hands between Germany and France often over the centuries and it has been the French flag flying (again) at the Cathedral since 1944. Strasbourg is situated on the Ill River, where it flows into the Rhine on the border of Germany. It is the home to several medieval churches and bridges that have survived the wars and destructions that have plagued this stunning city. Strasbourg is so easy to explore by foot and it is surrounded by fabulous medieval black and white timber framed buildings, particularly in the Petite-France district - we felt like we were walking through a fairy tale book - just gorgeous!!

Strasbourg Christmas Market Stall

One claim to fame for this impressive city is that German born Johannes Gutenberg worked here from about 1434-1444 perfecting his printing press!! Gutenberg was the first European to use movable type printing in 1439. Didn't know that, did you??

We spent three fun days exploring Strasbourg. What a gorgeous city!! While we realise Strasbourg is French, due to the history of this quaint town, we expected the German language to be widespread. We were wrong. You would've thought we were in the middle of France. No German. No English. Yikes!! I did French in 8th Grade but it didn't seem to come flowing back when I tried to communicate!! One thing we really noticed in Strasbourg was the super low prices and excellent quality and taste of the food!! Wow!! It was so noticeable to us the wonderful flavours compared to Germany!! We bought salads for lunch at a small deli store and they were seriously one of the best salads we've had and so, so cheap!! We were both thrilled and surprised!! Strasbourg was fabulous and well worth the visit!!

Marble shopping on Market Day in Freiburg

Next on the Fitton itinerary was a small town called Freiburg - what a gorgeous, quaint town in the heart of a major wine growing region on the edge of the Black Forest!! Freiburg was a 'must see' for us because it has well known for being Germany's sunniest and warmest town - sounds good right?? Freiburg is a well known, ancient German University town and lucky for us we were there on market day! We thoroughly enjoyed this little town and would recommend it as a day trip to anybody visiting the area. We explored the town on foot and enjoyed some time in the sunny gardens in town. We were only in Freiburg for a few hours as we were on our way to spend 3 days in Lake Constance.

Gorgeous Lake Constance (Bodensee)

Lake Constance is a freshwater lake on the Rhine that boarders Germany, Switzerland and Austria at the foot of the alps. We were on the German side. We all loved Lake Constance (otherwise known as Bodensee); the sky was blue and the sun was shining!! We went for wonderful walk by the lake to the next town, in fact we walked so far we had to get the bus back to the hotel. The fresh air, the lake view, the stunning alps, the friendly people (Yes!! Friendly people!! We found some!!), the quality family time spent unwinding ... was just heavenly and much needed. We had a wonderful break. I used to think I wanted to live on land, lots of land but through all our moves and travel I realise now I feel a very real 'need' to live near the water. The smell, the sound, the view .... ahhhhh .... soooo relaxing!! I love looking at and being near water at any time of year in any weather ... I just love it!!

Lake Constance

We left gorgeous Lake Constance on New Years Eve and drove the 2hours home to Munich where we enjoyed the tremendous variety of fireworks at midnight - these Germans sure do love their fireworks!! We had a wonderful show from every window in the house - it was a spectacular sight!!

Nutella Crepes .... yummmm!!

Some of you may know that Nick was diagnosed with Celiac Disease last October. This Winter trip was our first family trip away from home so eating out was a huge challenge. Nick must not eat any gluten at all and the rest of the family are making an effort to reduce gluten intake too. We are all in this together!! We are all still adjusting to the no gluten as we realise now how many foods or sauces it is in and Nick is also reacting to some gluten free foods too so we are still trying to work out his limitations. It made us realise how much we really enjoy sampling the food from each new place we visit - it has always been part of the whole experience for us ... but it's all a bit different now; it was sad and hard at times ... no crepes, snails or frogs legs for Nick! While we are all trying to transition to enjoy the wonderful health benefits of a gluten free life, the kids still enjoy treats from time to time and they thoroughly enjoyed their crepes with Nutella at the local markets.

Sunset over Lake Constance

So that's our Winter news. Fingers crossed we've seen the last of the snow and that those Spring flowers are getting ready to pop up!! Now that we have passed the shortest day of the year, I am on full countdown to Summer - BRING IT ON!!

Tree climbing on the shore of Lake Constance