Munich & Prague

Let the traveling begin! I’ll be on the road for the next month or so, traveling around Europe and taking in as much as possible before heading back to the states. I’m going to try to blog along the way to avoid a massive post at the end. We’ll see how this goes…

First leg of the trip is coming to an end. After leaving Huttenfeld, the rents, John and I made a pit stop in Heidelberg for a coffee and quick look at the old town. 

 After leaving Heidelberg, we drove 3.5hrs through Bavaria to Munich.

Naturally, our first stop was the Hofbrauhaus.

New found obsession: dark beer

Traditional pig knuckle and potato dumplings 

Dampfnudel with vanilla sauce for dessert

Food hall at the Hofbrauhaus 

Started to down pour so we ran into the first restaurant we saw...curry. I loved it, others may need some convincing. 

Marienplatz in Munich

We left Munich Wednesday morning on the train to Prague, arriving in the afternoon. 

Our apartment in the center of Old Town

Lunch one day on a boat.

Seafood risotto

Walking down from Prague Castle through some grape vines with a view of the city.

They had these everywhere so we finally tried it. It's dough baked and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Looks better than it tasted. 

The place we stayed was American owned and right above a restaurant and jazz club. We ate there one night and had some classic American food. Mexican is not done well in europe so it was a pleasant surprise when we saw these nachos! Not to mention the burgers...

Walking home across the bridge while the sun was setting over the castle. Like our waitress said, "it's a magical place."

On St. Charles Bridge

John Lennon Wall

In the main square in front of the astronomical clock.

Main square full of performers, food stands and lots of people.

Great first leg of the trip. We saw tons but plenty of time to relax and best of all, enjoy some amazing food. 

Leaving tomorrow, rents are flying home while John and I head to Scandinavia. First stop: Stockholm, Sweden. Second stop: Bergen, Norway. Third stop: Oslo, Norway. Hope to have another post early next week before heading back to eastern Europe so stay tuned! 

It Well May Be

For those of you who have never heard the song "For Good" from Wicked (hence the blog title), it's about leaving and how you've been changed by the people you've met. Well, it was on Oprah one day during her fair-well season and has been stuck in my head every since. There's a line that goes "it well may be, that we will never meet again, in this lifetime..." The boys told everyone how I would sing it in the mornings after breakfast and they said the one thing that would make them the happiest is if I stuck my head out the window as we pulled away and sang that line....

I met the rents and John at the airport on Saturday and we met Amy, Jeremy and the kids for dinner at the Schnitzelhaus in Heidelberg. It was a cute little restaurant right by the old bridge, only a handful of tables and tons of schnitzel to choose from. The kids, especially Whitney loved my parents, Connor and Aiden thought it would have been cool to have John as their au pair instead J

The Cates meet the McMahon's 

We went back to the house after dinner and the boys gave them the grand tour of the house.

The boys, or should I say Aiden, always comments on the fact that I’m constantly wearing my OHIO t-shirt so now everyone’s got one!

Yes, we did this...

Future OU bobcats???? 

The next morning Amy cooked up a big breakfast for everyone before we had to leave. I got to watch Connor and Aiden playing Donkey Kong one last time before saying goodbye and heading out.

We pulled out of Huttenfeld for the last time, Connor and Aiden chasing the car waving goodbye. It was now or never, I yelled out the infamous line, "it well may be..." as we rounded the corner. Hard to believe 6 months went by so fast, as I’m sure this year will and in no time we’ll be meeting up state-side. Thank you Cates’ for everything, I’ll miss you guys!

Final Weeks

Well, the time has come and gone. My last day being an au pair was last Friday, parents and John flew into Germany Saturday, and said goodbye to the Cates on Sunday as we headed to Munich. But first, a recap of my last weeks with the kiddos…

Whitney and her little American friend Lizzie from the German preschool picking strawberries.

Whitney, Anna & Lizzie

Whitney and I spent the day on base playing, bowling, library and "Burber King"

Rode our bikes to the lake. Whitney road her own bike for the first time so we did an "I made it" picture in front of the lake entrance! 

Connor in the treehouse 

My little buddy and Whitney's big buddy

Getting dirty and wet like little boys should

testing the waters

Had to stop for ice cream and Edeka before the long journey home 

Making snickerdoodles and waiting for the first batch to be done

Day at the lake with the boys. We packed a lunch and loaded up the trailer with tons of beach toys and a giant raft. One of my favorite days here in Germany :)

Last day before my parents came so I made omelets for breakfast (Connor's request).  

We rode bikes to the soccer field to play and had a water balloon fight. Probably the best self-timer shot popping a balloon over their heads. Everyone's faces are so funny!

Cooling off after a full morning of playing

After lunch we rode down to this field where you can pick flowers for like .60eur 

Aiden loves sunflowers. Perfect picture.

Finished product! Surprise for mom!

Finishing up the final day with a trip to Adria and sundaes all around!

Spaghetti Eis

Not bad...

To be continued tomorrow...