Partenkirchen

Friday afternoon the boys and I walked around Partenkirchen.  It is my new favorite area of town because of the fun shops and parks.



This great bike was parked outside a store.  It makes me want a turquoise bike with a market basket.







I'll call this the blessing of the ice cream cone.






Partenkirchen



Fall is definitely here.



Mister Serious



Out and About Saturday

While Craig is gone I am trying my best to leave the house and do a little something each day.  Saturday afternoon we headed across town to a recommended playground.  The playground is at the foot of a hill beneath a gorgeous church along a lovely hiking path.  The houses and stores nearby are picturesque.



Playing with his Germany playground mate.  Seth still hasn't figured out that the he doesn't speak their language.  They always work it out, but he seems confused at other kiddos lack of response to his suggestions.



A big, fun slide.



Can you see the wood piles in this barn?  I am amazed at these tidy stacks that can be seen at every home.  It is not going to be an Alabama winter. 

Many of the homes have murals.  This one is extra lovely and fun.

As we were leaving I had to pull over to let this shepherdess and her sheep pass by.   She was spunky and stylish, not really what I would expect from a lady herding sheep through a town.

It Stinks

Craig left Saturday morning for an assignment that will take him away from us for six weeks.  Here are a few shots from the morning.  (I have some tiny font in my preview that I'm not sure how to fix.)

Craig reading to Seth after breakfast from the Jesus Storybook Bible.





Vic enjoying himself while Dad bought his train ticket.




 

Dad and the boys



A Morning Hike

This morning the kids and I joined a fellow mom and her almost three-year-old on a beautiful stroller hike near home.  The hike took us past sheep being herded down the mountain for the winter and great views overlooking the city.  So now I've seen a real shepherd. 

Overlooking Garmisch-Partenkirchen

The shepherd and his sheep

The farmers put bells on the sheep too, even the littlest ones.  In the video you can hear them clanging.

Part Puppy

Vic loves to chew on shoes.  He will crawl across the whole house if he spots a shoe in his reach.  We're building our immunities.

Sunday Hiking

The weather was perfect Sunday so we headed out for a hike after the boys naps.  We had read about a hike around a nearby like, Barmsee, that was good for littles.  The trail we ended up on was lovely but we never arrived at the lake.  Just before we returned to the van we spotted the fork in the trail that we missed initially.  You do your best when you don't speak the language, but, at times, you are just lost.  At least it was lost with a view.

We see these types of rustic barns scattered in fields all around. 

 

We found ponies, goats, ride-ons for littles, and a fun, free playground at the end of our hike.  We were satisfied despite missing the lake.


 

Enjoying Saturday

Seth enjoying the playground with friends that have known him since he was born.  (It is such a treat to be with them again.  First at Fort Knox, KY and now Germany.)  Our friends were in Italy last week, and each day they were gone Seth asked if his friends were home yet.

Vic enjoying the view... or looking for something to stick in his mouth.

Me, enjoying and sharing the last sun on the mountain for this Saturday.

The Hills are Alive

While we are so close to many dreamy travel destinations, we want to take advantage of as many as possible.  Salzburg, Austria, is less than 2 1/2 hours away so we headed there for our Labor Day weekend.   

This is the bed and breakfast where we finally found a last minute room. B&B's are actually cheaper than hotels here. "Ms. Elfie's", as Seth called it, was simple, without knickknacks (great for small explorers), and with a delicious breakfast.

A great view of the city. The fortress, Hohensalzburg Castle, over the city was built in 1077.

  

Seth listening intently on our castle tour. Really, he did. Vic slept.

Beautiful buildings.

The birthplace of Mozart.

Also the home to delicious treats. Ahh! the desserts.

Pretzels everywhere. "Brezel"

Fun swings in this playground tucked in among all the historical sites. I'm sure many kiddos are thankful for the diversion from castles, gardens, and churches. Each little section had opera or classical music pumped in for all to hear.

Just a cute picture of Vic.

 

The Salzburg zoo... It was pretty warm and the end of the day, so we weren't that into it. We think there must be fewer lawyers because there was much less concern for safety than in the U.S, safety for us, the onlookers, that is. It was interesting, I guess.

For example, we were in the cage with this monkey, his monkey pals, and a giant iguana.

 

On our last morning we took a cable car up Untersberg Mountain, which overlooks the city. It was gorgeous but chilly.

View from Untersberg.

Seth's favorite part of the trip, the Museum of Natural History. He was scared of the dinos while we were there but couldn't stop talking about them after we left.

Lunch on the ride home. Salzburg is delicious.

This Blog

After many requests for photos and updates, I am starting this blog to share our photos and whereabouts with those of you interested. (Thanks for being interested if that is you.) This will be for bits of update and photos only -- no deep thoughts or commentary on world events. I will do my very best to keep it up-to-date once I figure out exactly how to put photos and videos up.  If anyone has tips on how to make it look better or format easier, please let me know.  For example, I would like for my title to be in a different font.  How do I do this?  I'll appreciate your feedback.