The Kouhoupt's in Germany!

My sister, Aaron and Cailyn arrived on Sunday March 11th, for a two week vacation in Germany. We were so happy to see them on our side of the pond. The only downside, the two weeks flew by so quickly. Despite a few colds, we all had a great time hanging out together.

The first week was very full. Cailyn adjusted to the time change quite well, better than her Mommy and Daddy at least! We started the week out with some local site seeing. We mostly relaxed, let the girls play and took them to the park in our village. Lily and Cailyn played so well together, they were two peas in a pod.

On Tuesday March 13th, April and Aaron flew off for three romantic days in Paris, France (I'll post pics when April sends me some). They had a fabulous time visiting the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Champs-Elysees and much more. They even took an evening boat cruise around the city. Paris with out a toddler is much more romantic. However, we were having just as much fun back here in Deutschland. We hosted a playgroup with seven kids, attended Kindermusik class and did some fun arts and crafts projects. Cailyn hardly noticed her Mommy and Daddy were gone we were so busy. Well, except for the occasional "Why did my Mommy and Daddy go to Paris?" question. She was truly an angel while April and Aaron were away and we were so happy to have quality time with our niece.


April and Aaron arrived back just in time for the annual Stuttgart Spring Bazaar. It's a yearly bazaar (market) with vendors from all over the world. April and Aaron bought some really cool pieces, including a chess set from England and some Polish Pottery. I also bought more pottery, Italian wine and a new piece of furniture for the house. Jeff and I were sad to see the bazaar come and go as it will be our last one.

Unfortunately, Lily came down with a really bad chest cold so we had to cancel or weekend trip to Garmisch and Castle Neuschwanstein. We insisted April, Aaron and Cailyn still take the day trip to the castle, as it is one of the most beautiful sites in Germany. They decided to go on Sunday and lucked out with beautiful weather. They toured the castle, hiked to the bridge for a magnificent view of the castle and enjoyed the local sites. They had a great time. We felt really bad we couldn't go with them but our Lilybug was just way too sick.

The second week Cailyn caught Lily's cold so the girls were a little more home bound. The first week we had beautiful Spring weather, but the second week Winter reared it's ugly head and we received more snow. We decided that we would just stay in and let the girls get better.

Monday night we hired a baby sitter and the four of us went to the local Mineral Therm. It's a large complex or indoor and outdoor mineral pools. It is very relaxing. The four of us had a great time swimming and just enjoying some adult time. We ended the evening with some dessert and good conversation.

On Tuesday April and Aaron watched Lily for the day so Jeff and I could take a day trip to Munich. We had been wanting to tour Dachau (WWII concentration camp turned into a Memorial site) for a while, but didn't want to do it with Lily. It was a sobering and very emotional experience. After we toured Dachau, we drove into the city and enjoyed a very leisurely dinner at the Ratskeller. The food and company were wonderful. Thanks for a great day honey!!
On Wednesday, April and Aaron took the same trip to Munich while I stayed home with the girls. They also toured Dachau and then did some site seeing around Munich. April said that she really loved Munich and wished she had more time to spend there.

Thursday we spent the day shopping for Ritter Sport and Beer Steins. It was hard to believe that their time here in Germany was already over. Friday morning we awoke to a snow storm so Jeff drove them to Frankfurt to catch their flight. It was sad to see them go, as we had had such a great time being together for two weeks. Did I mention, we also played cards a few nights? The four of us are die hard card players so it was a real treat.

Thanks so much April, Aaron and Cailyn for taking the long trip and spending time with us here in Germany. We had a blast!!
We love and miss you!