"So Far I Am LOVING Germany!"

The title above is a quote from Abbie as we enjoyed our day today!

The ash has cleared from the European skies. We did not know whether or not our flight was going to go as scheduled until Thursday morning. Thursday was the first day that flights were taking off as usual. After seeing all the news reports I was a little concerned about long lines at the airport of people who had been stranded. It was a chilly 39 degrees in Gdansk while we were waiting for our bus to go to the airport at noon. We arrived at the Gdansk airport about an hour before our flight. There were no lines, and we went to our gate. There were quite a few people but it seemed like no more than usual. We boarded the plane, and when they closed up the doors I was shocked to see that no less than half the seats on the plane were empty. I guess people either were not stranded in Gdansk, or they just took a train home.

Our flight to Cologne (Köln) took about 90 minutes. We got off the plane to find the Köln airport quiet, also with no lines and not too many people around. The airports in Gdansk and Köln are not huge, but I was so surprised to see the lack of lines in both places. It was a balmy 55 degrees when we exited the plane at about 4:00 p.m. Myles called the place where we booked the apartment we are staying in, and they texted an address. We found a cab that could seat our family of six. I'm starting to get really annoyed at Europe's complete shock that a family would ever have four children. Everywhere we go in Europe, people are completely baffled by this. And I'm completely baffled by them. 

Our cab driver looks at the address and takes us to the center of town. We can see the gigantic, historic cathedral on the way. We know that supposedly we can see that cathedral from where we are staying so we know we are close. The cab driver drops us off at what he thinks is the place and leaves. Turns out it was not the right place. Myles called the apartment lady, who is really aggravated with the cab driver for not following her instructions and for leaving us there. Oh, well, it was only a couple of blocks away, it was light and warm out and we each only had one small bag with us, so it was no big deal.

Our apartment has two bedrooms and a sleeper sofa in the living room, two bathrooms and a tiny kitchen. That works out great for us. We settled in and then headed out to find a nearby restaurant for dinner. On the way home, Abbie and I stopped at a grocery store and found some things for breakfast. The kids made a happy face breakfast for Myles (oh yeah, we found doughnuts--that's a real treat!). 

 

This morning we headed out to a beautiful day! We only brought jackets with us on this trip (first time since October that we did not bring coats with us!). We froze in Gdansk, but since we arrived here it's been wonderful. It was a high of 62, sunny and fabulous today. We walked along the Rhein River. 

It is absolutely a beautiful walk and we just strolled along looking at things as they caught someone's eye. We walked to the Lindt Chocolate Factory and Museum. The kids enjoyed learning about how chocolate is made and they watched each step of the process in the factory.

Then of course, we all were able to sample some. And then there's the chocolate store. They sure get you there! Good times.

We sat on the steps of the museum afterwards and everyone had a taste of their purchases. 

We left there with goodies in hand and found a place for lunch that had the most delicious bratwurst. We love curry wurst!

So we sat outside on this beautiful day enjoying our German lunch and watching so many people out walking around. 

We made our way to a large shopping area that was full of people milling around. Myles, Ben and Trey went into the Lego store where they played for about an hour. The girls and I went shopping! Abbie found a Claire's and was thrilled right out of her mind. The girls also enjoyed shopping at a couple of clothing stores where they each scored a couple of items. 

 

We decided to stop back by the apartment to relax a bit. There is a playground right outside our building where Trey played. He ended up completely filthy before dinner. Everyone cleaned up and we headed out for dinner at 6:00. We found a restaurant that boasted US steaks on their menu. 

We went there and it was very good! But the steaks on the menu that were from the US were very expensive. We ordered from the meat that came from Argentina since that was much more in our price range, and it tasted pretty darn good to us!

On our way back we came across a gate from the Roman era. It was built around 50 AD. That's hard to imagine. 

 

The weather is supposed to be warmer each day we are here. We won't know what to do if we encounter a day that is 70 degrees or more. The last time we saw that kind of warm temperature was the day we left Kansas City in September. It was 80 that day! We are looking forward to enjoying the next few spring days in this lovely area.