What a Run

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm enjoying the day off from work, even if we're not celebrating today. Oma and Opa are coming over Saturday for a feast before we pack up and part ways. I fly back to Portland on Monday while Nicole and Lily will make their way back to Heidelberg with Oma and Opa and I'll fly back two weeks later after popping into the office for a bit.

This is a post I've been meaning to make for a while, and I guess it's a fitting farewell to Munich. Nicole and I have been marveling the amazing sights here since we arrived, even when we go for a run. When I run in Portland it's usually either through Forest Park (definitely nice, but no stunning views or anything) or along the industrial part of the waterfront (not so nice). But the routes we've been taking here have taken us past some beautiful buildings, monuments, and sights. I figured it would be fun to take you on a photo journey of our favorite route. The run is about four miles starting from our apartment, going along the Isar River, then through the English Garten, then turning around and heading for home.

First we pass Maximilianeum, which is the Bavarian Parliament building.

Then we come to the Friedensengel. (photo by Oliver Raupach)
Then we pass the Bavarian State Museum (photo by Oliver Raupach)
Then we pass maybe the coolest thing on the run, people surfing in the Isar river. Yes, surfing in the river. When I ran by a couple of weekends ago there was a big crowd of people watching and about eight surfers on each side patiently waiting their turn on the wave.

Then we enter the English Garden, which is actually bigger than Central Park. On a nice day this field is full of people soaking in the sun. (photo by Jiuguang Wang)

Our final cool sight before turning for home is the Chinese Tower, where there's also a beer garden. An oompah band plays from the second floor of the tower on weekend days. And right now there's a Christmas market set up around the tower. (photo by Frank Brenner)
Hope you enjoyed our favorite run!

One and a Half Years of Lily

Today is Lily's half birthday, or semi birthday, or anti birthday, or whatever you care to call it. I guess it's a good day to take a step back and think about what she's been up to lately and how it compares to the past. It's funny, "the past" used to mean pre-Lily to me, but now the past definitely includes Lily time too.

Lots of things are changing quickly for Lily, mostly her vocabulary and how she finds a new obsession every few days or weeks. Right now she has two obsessions - horses and dirt. I think horses will pass but dirt may be with us for a while. She found a love of horses about a week ago while we were in Vienna and there were horse-drawn carriages making their way through the streets of the old city. Whenever we'd hear hooves clicking down the street she'd say "horses, horses" (actually "husses husses") until she saw them. It eventually evolved into her saying it any time we went outside, and now she says it many times a day, and asks for the toy horses in her backpack ("dakdak"). As for dirt, first she started saying dustpan ("duhdauh"), then mama told her that the dustpan picked up dirt, then Lily started to point out dirt ("dit") on the floor that needed to be swept up. Now, she equates any cleaning activity or anything that's dirty with dirt, and actively talks about it. As an example, the hotel we were staying at last week had very friendly staff in the breakfast room who loved Lily. But since they cleaned the tables, she started pointing at them and saying "dit"... so these very nice ladies were known as dirt, and by the last day, we went to breakfast and before she saw any of them she was asking for "dit" as in "where are the dirt ladies"?

Lily is super friendly with strangers, smiling at everyone and saying "hi" and "tchuss" (German "bye"). We definitely hope she keeps up this trait, as well as continuing to say "yeah" to everything... she hasn't hit a "no" phase yet at all. There are still a couple of things we wish she'd cut out - biting (it's lessened, but she still does it when she's very frustrated) and pulling her hair and eating it. The last one just began a couple of weeks ago and while it's pretty gross we're ignoring it on the advice of a book since it's not dangerous and the theory is that it's a power grab ("you can tell me to not pull out my hair but I'm going to keep doing it because I can do whatever I want"). But we really can't complain, as she continues to be a great sleeper and eater. Knock on wood...

If I had to sum up Lily in this phase I would say she is high energy and emotional. She always wants to be on the go getting into something, and she can get pretty whiny if her every whim is not catered to. This is especially true in the car, where Nicole has to constantly give her attention in the back seat and lately has to keep her hand on Lily's leg to let her know she's paying attention. It's definitely hard for us to balance caving to her every desire versus dealing with a tantrum (they're starting) or whining, but I guess we'll continue to find our way on that one.

O Vienna

Had a wonderfully memorable Birthday trip to Vienna. I have called it my favorite city since I first visited over 15 years ago. It will continue to hold the title. Here are a few pics from the trip.

Vienna November 2010 - Nicole's Birthday Trip

As a side note, we stayed at Hotel Austria which I would highly recommend. 3 star hotel with 5 star service. I liked it so much, I am writing a review on trip advisor which I've never done.

Churches and Animals

The first month of our Germany adventure is complete. Lily sums up it best by the words she says a lot these days...oma, church, duck, horse, and tschuss (german bye). Because Bavaria is very catholic, everywhere we go to explore whether it be to the tallest mountain in Germany or a small town somehwere nearby, there is a church or a cross everywhere. Lily likes to point out churches and tell us when the church bells are ringing (it happens A LOT).

Besides being tourists, we have spent much of our time with animals. If there's a duck, deer, or goat, Lily wants food to feed them. There are some really cool zoos and animal parks around here (big recommendation for Animal Park in Poing in case it ever comes in handy).

I asked Nate what he'd want to add to this blog and he said "he's over trade shows." He's traveled a lot on this trip which has been by far the biggest bummer about all this. The up side is that we have seen a lot of Oma and we love having her here. Opa deserves a shout out too for spoiling us - thanks Dad.

Here is our past month in pictures. We are excited for this coming month. Lily and I are tagging along on his next business trip to Vienna which happens to fall on my Birthday, weekend trip with a couple of German friends that used to live in Portland and their friends, and hosting Thanksgiving with my parents.

October 2010 Germany Adventure - Month 1.