Friday, August 25, 2006

The Top 10+ Things We Miss About Germany!

We have been back almost two months now, and it is inevitable that we start to think about the things we miss in a life that seemed much simpler in spite of the language barrier, especially for me. This list started out as a Top 10 list, but grew, so it is now the Top 10+ list! Enjoy!

Top 10 things we miss about Germany
1. Cooler temperatures. . .we have had 40+ days of 100 degree temperatures here in the Dallas area.
2. Bike rides with beautiful scenery. . . I can barely ride here because by 9 am it is already 92 degrees!
3. Biergartens. . .a new retail area is being developed here called the Croatian Village. . .I think Robin and I should open a German biergarten there! Any investors interested???
4. German pretzels. . . .the American version of the German pretzel is just wrong.
5. Obazda. … I have attempted to make this German cheese recipe once, but it was wrong. I’ll try again now that I have found a place to buy quark!
6. Crusty and crunchy bread. . .all American bread is way too soft!
7. German bier in a real German bier glass. . .give us a liter of bier anytime!
8. German alps. . .these little mole hills in our little town of McKinney are nothing to look at, but hard as heck to bike on!
9. German architecture. . .see above about development of Croatian village. . .that’s the closest we come to European architecture.
10. Road rules on the autobahn. . .people here drive way too fast in the wrong lanes. .. I’d love to have the same road rules here as in Germany!
11. Good friends. . .our houses are not close together like in Germany, and you don’t know your neighbors as well, therefore no “open door” policy!
12. Public transportation. . .it doesn’t exist in our town!
13. Small restaurants. . we have them, but you have to search them out, and they are still not quite the same as in Germany.
14. Walking or biking to our favorite restaurants. . .risking your like on the road isn’t my idea of a relaxing way to begin or end a night out.
15. Restaurant employees who don’t bother you while you are eating. . .I never paid much attention before, but the waiters and waitresses here really do interrupt you a lot when you are eating dinner! Just leave us alone!
16. Close proximity to many different countries. . we’ll be traveling by car soon for some of Sam’s soccer games. . .4 hours in the car and we will only be in Austin, Texas! 3 hours in the car in Germany and we can be in Austria or Italy!
17. German youth soccer and how inexpensive it is. . .you don’t want to know the amount of money we paid for Sam and Joe to play soccer here this year. . .and that doesn’t include the travel to San Diego and Orlando for Joe and places to be determined for Sam!


Joe's first day of school back in Texas. We live close enough to school that he can ride his bike and be there in less than 5 minutes. Posted by Picasa


My friend Kim was in town and joined us at the party.  Posted by Picasa


Marget loved my Tollhouse cookies! You can't get the chocolate chips in Germany so whenever I had to made a dessert for a soccer event, I always made Tollhouse cookies. They were a huge success! Posted by Picasa


Joe is here with his coaches Jens and Christian. The team presented Joe with a special shirt and a very special book with photos and letters from each of the players and coaches. We will miss them all greatly. Posted by Picasa


Our last week in Germany we went to a party with Joe's soccer team to celebrate the end of their season and watch Germany play in the World Cup quarter final game. Here is my good friend Marget, the team manager. Marget is so funny and full of life. I loved being with here even though we had language barriers. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, August 03, 2006


We had an extra day in San Diego so I drove the boys to La Jolla to see the seals and the surf. Posted by Picasa


This hippo was enormous! Posted by Picasa


Joe compares the size of his foot to the foot of the gorilla. Looks like Joe has gorilla feet! Posted by Picasa


This baby panda turned 1 year old on Wednesday August 3rd. He was so cute hanging in the tree. Posted by Picasa


A polar bear takes a plunge in his pool to stay cool. Posted by Picasa


A trip to San Diego would be incomplete without a trip to the world famous San Diego Zoo. I had to try to convince the boys they would enjoy it. They didn't want to believe me, but it didn't take long to make them believers. It was an amazing zoo. Posted by Picasa


Sam and Joe at Torrey Pines National Park and Beach near San Diego. They had lots of fun with the huge waves. Posted by Picasa


Since the team was eliminated early, we took the boys to a local beach. And low and behold, the sun came out!! Posted by Picasa


In this photo you can see how miserable the weather was! Posted by Picasa


Joe warms up in San Diego. Posted by Picasa


We just returned from San Diego where Joe's team competed in the Surf Cup. Here they are before there first game. It turned out that this would be the game that caused their demise in the tournament and ended their run early. Joe is in the middle in front of the ball wearing #7, Sebastain Schweinsteiger's number! Posted by Picasa


Here is a current photo on Gracie in our new house for those of you who miss her! Posted by Picasa