Social and Photos!

So I just posted about Christmas, but now it's time to inform you that we have become socially and touristically active.  As I mentioned in my last post, we had a bunch of pals over for pork shoulder, and we followed that up this weekend with dinner with Mark and Katrina on Friday before the four of us headed out to Neuschwanstein for the day on Saturday.  Mark drove, and it was Katrina's first trip there.  They also experimented with the new camera they had bought.  Here are some highlights from yesterday's adventure:

This was our first time driving in, and while the snow conceals it, this is the first proper view of Neuschwanstein.  It doesn't look like as much from here.

We stopped in Füssen for lunch.  Gus and Katrina found a giant mound of snow (12 feet tall) and climbed up it in the middle of town.

 This is Hohenschwangau, the castle belonging to King Ludwig II's mother.  It's below Neuschwanstein,and you can tour it, too.  Haven't done that yet, but it is pretty.

Mark trying out his new camera.

 The restaurant 2/3 of the way up the steep hill to the castle.  Really pretty with all the icicles!

You can walk over to this creepy glass overlook to get a magnificent view.   We found a ticket there for a Mandarin tour, and we made some guy very happy--it's a long walk down to buy another!

Here's the creepy overlook hanging over the ravine.

 Mark and Katrina have become good friends!

The road behind this church is the one on which we came into town and from which I took that first picture.  Pretty church, too!

Some castle pics because it's just THAT awesome.

Notice the horse on the side tower.  King Ludwig was big into knights, legends, chivalry, and the like.  He was a hopeless romantic.  The windows on the far left just at the top of the tree are Ludwig's indoor grotto and cave.  Yes, he has a cave inside his castle.

The balconies here are from his throne room and one other room (uncompleted) and overlook his mother's castle of Hohenschwangau.

I love this picture!  I have so few of Gus really laughing and looking natural.  In fact, it's about to replace Daz as the backdrop of my computer.

Messing around in the snow waiting for our tour.  Oh, and the castle isn't heated.  We stopped for hot chocolate on the way home, though!

Next weekend should be equally fun.  Gus is planning to see the Dropkick Murphys in concert, while I will be attending an Australia Day party and learning to play the didgeridoo (seriously!) from a native Aussie.  We're supposed to provide our own thongs.  For those who just raised their eyebrows, never fear--that's what Aussies call flip flops.  I'm open to Aussie recipes for the "nibblies" I'm supposed to bring!

Also on the horizon are:
-Fasching--stay tuned for more news on that!
-Ski week (still working on renting a cabin in Austria or Switzerland, but we may do something else instead)
-A visit to Freiburg and the Black Forest
-A visit to Köln (Cologne)--something that's been on the list ever since I heard about the chocolate factory there
-Spring break and a visit from the Elliott/Fraser family.  We're working on booking a Danube cruise.
-Perhaps another weekend away?  Thüringen and Berlin are on the list, as is Switzerland and Italy
-A bit more exploring of our own München as the weather gets warmer
-More quality time with neat colleagues!

In other news, I took some photos on the drive home from Glückstadt last month.  Here ya go!

We interrupt this cloud cover to bring you a picture of this mystery blue stuff.  Do not be alarmed.

Typical in Schleswig Holstein and other parts of Germany:  windmills! 

 Bridge over the Elbe River in Hamburg

Hafenstadt Hamburg!

The beautiful countryside of northern Germany 

 Our two travelers.  Jimmy gets carsick, so he doesn't enjoy it.  Trotsky has finally learned to lay down in the car and now enjoys trips much more.

It's a bit hard to read without clicking on it, but this sign says that this was where the border between East and West Germany was 1945-1990.  A few guard towers have been left: 

The lovely forest of Thüringen!

Hope you enjoyed our tour!

Break and back to work

Well, things don't always go as planned.  That expected trip to the Tollwood and Medieval markets?  Didn't happen.  I spent the first day of Christmas break flat on my back with a fever.  Gus will tell you I am a terrible patient.  It's really true.  I did nothing but hog the couch in a state of semi-consciousness, whining about being hungry but turning my nose up at food.  No markets for me.

By Sunday the 23rd I was well enough to travel up to Glückstadt as planned.  Driving on Sundays is so much better and faster because the trucks are not allowed to drive on Sundays.  Cool.  Anyway, we spent Christmas Eve with Oma at Tante Doris's house.  My cousin Thomas and his wife and kiddos joined us.  It was a pleasant evening, but I did miss the Peach and hanging with the Ketsche clan (and the Gregory grandparents).  We spent Christmas Day at my cousin Jan's house.  All three cousins (Jan, Thomas, and Kai), two wives (Romina and Carina), four children (Nils, Finn, Kimberly, and Luana), Doris and Karl-Heinz, Oma, Gus and I had a lovely time.  I'm pretty sure Jan and Gus had more fun putting together Kai's gift to Finn (a crane with moving parts) than Finn did playing with it.

*We interrupt this post to inform the reader that my being sick interfered with my ability to take pictures of said events.  We now return to your programming.*

The rest of the visit consisted of another visit each from Jan and Kai (with families), an afternoon out with Thomas' family (shopping and dinner), a visit with my buddy Frank, walking around the metropolis of Glückstadt, and relaxing with Oma.  Lots of reading, eating, and just hanging out for us, lots of eating, eating, and eating for the dogs.  Jimmy and Trotsky each must've put on a few pounds!

Oma with her fan club (her dog Ami under the table)

While Gus fixed the cabinet door . . .  

. . . Oma had Trotsky eating out of her hand.  This is a big deal for anyone who knows this dog.

We returned in time for New Year's Eve.  For those who have never spent a NYE here in Germany, you're missing out.  We met up with our friends Mark and Katrina (colleagues originally from Manchester, UK) around 9 at an Irish pub in Munich.  Frank joined us, and they had 14 other friends with them (two of whom I had met before).  Quite a group!  At midnight we came up to the main street in that section of Munich--the Schwabing area--and set off tons of fireworks.  No countdown--people just jell a bit louder or set off a few more fireworks when their watches strike midnight.  A half hour of revelry later, we headed off to the Muffathalle to start the real party.  Gus lasted until 3:30, but I wanted to keep dancing and stayed with Frank and a few others.  Gus was delayed helping some of the somewhat "lost" Brits from our party find their way back to Mark and Katrina to guide them home.  I was unaware of this, however.  Frank and I left around 5, making our way back via S-Bahn and train to Freising and then by cab back to Zolling (Gus had taken the car from the train station).  As it turns out, his delay meant he was on our train, though we didn't know it until we walked in and he was only minutes ahead of us.  It's not a NYE until you've danced all night and returned home at 6:30 am!

It seriously looks like I'm wearing the hat in this picture taken at the Irish pub.

This is what happens to Gus when he doesn't get enough sleep.  He likes the heated floors, though, and Jimmy is fond of his habit of sleeping on the floor and is happy to keep Gus company.

Frank left the next day, and we relaxed, cleaned the house, ran a few errands, and generally enjoyed the last few days of break.  Gus finally smoked his first pork shoulder after hitting 3 metzgereis (butcher shops) and getting a supply of apple wood from Oma.  We hosted some colleagues and their families (US, UK, Portugal, and Venezuela were represented among our guests, who totaled 12).  A lovely evening of good conversation with interesting people is one of the perks of a community like this!  It made the transition back to school easier.

Trotsky even joined us for cuddles on the couch once!

We're back to work now.  Gus is enjoying a slightly decreased work load as his 10th graders--two of his six classes--are currently not in class and busy with mock exams to prep them for their IGCSE test this spring.  I'm in a true teaching groove, with the lessons falling naturally into place.  It's been unseasonably warm for much of the last few weeks, though it finally caught up with us this week.  We got several inches over the course of the day on Wednesday, Thursday was a right mess, and it finally let up Friday.  This is the view out of my office window, though!

 First thing in the morning (I had duty on this playground earlier in the week--thankfully when there was only a centimeter of snow as I'd forgotten my boots).

 Schloss Haimhausen at 7:45 am and at 2:30 pm from my office.

We just got back from playing with the dogs in the snow, Gus is grading papers, and I am, of course lesson planning blogging.  Stay tuned for another post later in the day!