Playmobil Fun Park

Saturday we headed to the Playmobil Fun Park in Zirdorf, which is near Nurnberg. Did any of you play with Playmobil toys as a kid? I did, so this was cool for me to see.
We started off in a building with tons of Playmobil toys for the kids to play.
Next, we headed to the Pirates. Caden sure has loved all of this pirate stuff!
There were life size Playmobil people and animals everywhere and plenty of things for the kids to play. Caleb, of course, found his way to a sandbox at every chance.
After a half day, we all felt we'd done it all and were very tired, so made our way to the hotel to nap, then we went to the old town of nearby Furth for dinner and a little walking around.

Can You Glue Germany By Albuquerque?

When we were out this weekend, Caden was talking about some of the things we've done in Germany (and beyond!) and about the things he was going to do once he is back in Albuquerque-in this order 1) Play Star Wars Wii, 2) Play with his water things (all of his water toys that we couldn't bring, but couldn't have played with much anyway), 3) Go to Mia's house (his good friend from Preschool). The converstion went like this:
Caden: "When we're back in Albuquerque, then when we come back to Germany... "(he continued with some things he wanted to do again).
Chris: "We may not come back to Germany for a long time."
Caden: "Why?"
Me: "Because Germany is a long way from Albuquerque."
Caden: "Why?"
Me: "Because it's on the other side of the world."
Caden: "Oh. I'm going to ask God to put Germany by Albuquerque." Bowed his head and folded his hands. "God, will you cut Germany out and glue it by Albuquerque?"
Wow! The faith of a child is amazing. He prayed it believing it would happen and knowing God could do it. Be on the lookout for something "German" coming to a place near Albuquerque!

A Weekend of Exhaustion

After all of our travels, we were just plain exhausted this past weekend, so didn't plan any trips. Instead, we just went to a nearby (about a 20 minute drive) village of Waldsassen. We parked in the markplatz and walked around a little. We got some coffee and pastries at a bakery then headed to the Basillica. They have a beautiful Basillica, which, unfortunately, you can't take pictures of the inside, but here is what it looks like on the outside.
Inside was amazing! The pews were intricatley carved. The ceilings were high and painted with beautiful murals. There were statues and pictures of Jesus, Mary, and many saints. Something interesting was skeletons (real skeletons, of people once alive) in glass cases wearing jeweled clothing.
After that we found a little restaurant and ate brats and pretzels then headed home for a nap! Maybe we'll get enough rest to do something next weekend!

Volkfest

Weekend before last, Chris worked a little on Saturday (to make up for lost time while driving back from The Netherlands). After we all rested, we headed to Grofenwohr, a military training facility nearby that trains both American and German army. Every year, the first weekend in August, they open part of the facility to civilians for Volkfest (pronounced Folkfest)-an "American" festival. There were American foods, but really they were German versions of American food, but of course there was also German food and beer.

Take a look at this pretzel!

The boys got to get in tanks and a helicopter and see many other army vehicles.And what American festival wouldn't be complete without Star Wars!

It was a rough time, though. The boys were tired and not very cooperative. While we were eating Chris got up to get us something to drink and, of course, both boys wanted to go with him. Caden did go, but when Caleb tried to go, the whole bench tipped over, knocking over us both-me just onto the ground, but Caleb face first onto the bench. Poor guy.
Needless to say, after that, we headed home to go to bed!

Now...to Austria

Weekend before last (I know it's taken me a while, but we're exhausted from all of the travel!), we made our way to Wels, Austria. We arrived on Sunday midday at our hotel. The hotel was over 300 hundred years old and right on the marktplatz (the old town, "market place"), where there was an abundance of cafes, restaurants, shops, and of course, many many ice cream shops. Here is the view standing outside our hotel.
After walking around to see what was in the marktplatz, the boys and I went to the hotel to rest while Chris explored some more of what there was to do. He came back, we woke up, then we were off again. We went to a free zoo, with a few animals, a playground, and a place for us to eat. The boys really enjoyed it and it was nice to be outside.
The next day, Chris went to work and the boys and I went to the pool. It was wonderful to have a day warm enough and with no rain to swim! It was perfect, too, because Caleb had a shallow shore to play, and Caden got his floaties on (for the first time) and began to swim! He has been very apprehensive about anything but standing, walking, or being held up to this point, so I was VERY happy and proud. He couldn't have been more proud too. We were there for for almost 4 hours!
The next day, Chris went to work again, but today it was raining, windy, and a little chilly, so we walked to an indoor shopping center with a play land on the second level. It was amazing!

The boys rode go carts.

They played on the pirate ship (Caden is really into pirates).

They shot balls out of an air gun.

They played in the castle area, with tons of make believe play items.

They rode and played with construction vehicles and foam blocks.

They rode on other ride on toys, including the wiggle cars (like they have at home and obviously miss!).

They also played a while with some other toys.

This place was amazing and perfect for a rainy day-I sure wish we had this in Fuchsmuel, or in Albuquerque! We had so much fun! We stayed there for 4 1/2 hours! The boys napped very well that afternoon!
Our last day in Wels the boys and I went back to the pool while Chris worked 1/2 day, then we got in the car and headed back to Germany. What a fun and busy time! We loved Austria and hope to make it back someday.