Fall Break 2018
We had the first annual neighborhood chili cookoff on Saturday October 6th. We met lots of neighbors and enjoyed chilis and smoked mac and cheese. The next morning we finished packing our bags and drove to Naperville to spend the night at the Hutchys's new house.
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| Lincoln, Willie, and Carter in Naperville |
I was incredibly stressed about the flight and travel and could barely eat. I was stressing about parking at the airport and the length of travel and if the boys would sleep on the flight. I was no fun to be around. We got Little Italian pizza but I couldn't thoroughly enjoy it.
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| Playing in the Terminal at O'Hare. |
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| Eating Chicken Nuggets in the Terminal |
We made it through the night and the next morning hung out for a bit before driving to O'Hare. We did curbside check-in which worked out really well. We checked our 2 big rolling suitcases as well as the 2 carseats. This made it so Megan could take the boys, the stroller, and her backpack through security while I parked and caught up with them.
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| All Boarded on our way to Atlanta |
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| Willie during boarding on the flight to Munich. |
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| Lincoln Naps, Willie Plays |
We played in the terminal and ate McDonalds chicken nuggets for lunch before getting on our first flight to Atlanta. The first flight was unremarkable with Lincoln taking a nap and Willie playing some games and enjoying his juice. In Atlanta we took the terminal train to the international terminal and enjoyed an ice cream cone, we facetimed with Mimi and Grandma, we played with cars, and then boarded the plane.
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| Lincoln during boarding on the flight to Munich |
The long flight to Munich was long. We were able to commandeer 2 extra seats which was life saving. The flight was just under 9 hours and it involved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, lots of Incredibles 2, some Lincoln naps, and struggling to get Willie to sleep. Megan slept for about an hour, I got about 2 hours, but in general it wasn't that bad. Willie finally slept a little on the floor of the plane and Lincoln slept on a seat with a little sling that Megan made at work that hung off the tray table. At one point Lincoln fell off that seat and he woke up me crying while standing in the aisle.
In Munich, we picked up our luggage and rental car and started the 2.5 hour drive to Stuttgart. Lincoln slept in the car, Megan took a little nap, and Willie stayed awake. We made it to Robinson Barracks (RB) and Beth signed us in! We rested and had some lunch before walking to AJ and Amelia's school to pick them up.
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| Willie Asleep on the Floor of the Plane |
It was a gloriously nice day and we went to the playground they call Red and Yellow, just down the street from their apartment. There were tons of people there and the adults were enjoying some wine as the kids played. Beth went off post to get doner boxes for dinner. We watched some Spirit before bed time. Lincoln freaked out for about 30 minutes in the middle of the night which became a theme of the trip. Willie who barely slept while traveling and didn't take a nap, slept from 8 p.m. until 11 a.m.
On day 2 in Germany, Beth picked up the girls from school early so we could go to Volkesfest! We woke Willie up at 11 and everyone got dressed up in their lederhosen and drindles. We looked amazing! We walked off base and caught the bus to fest. Willie was out of sorts and wanted to be carried the whole time, soon after we walked into Fest we determined Willie had pooped his lederhosen. However, we didn't find it until after he rode the first ride with Amelia, he sat in his little car with his head down looking so sad as the other kids were enjoying the ride.
Now pictures break from day 1 and day 2 in Germany:
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| America, Amelia, and Willie running home from school. |
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| All clean and ready to watch a show. |
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| Amelia at Volkesfest |
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| Willie feeling better after pooping his lederhosen. |
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| Biers and Babies |
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| Biers at Fest! |
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| Bier? |
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| AppleJuice! |
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| Meelie encouraging Willie to Chug his Juice! |
After cleaning his lederhosen and finishing our first beers, we entered the beer hall. We ordered some steins of beer, delicious half chickens, bread, and juice for the kids. The kids ran around as the band played some songs in English sang with their German accents. Amelia took a nasty fall while running around and had a big bruise on her cheek.
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| Family at Fest |
After lunch, we did bumper cars. Everyone got a chance to drive and we did lots of bumping. I almost lost my cell phone but the person getting in my car after me gave it to the worker. AJ, Amelia, and Megan did the fun house while Willie and Beth did the big slide. Then Willie and Megan plus AJ and Amelia all did the big slide. We were running out of diapers because of the lederhosen pooping incident and decided it was best to head back to the bus stop. We got an additional beer from the train station and while on the bus, Lincoln fell asleep while Amelia and Willie played together.
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| Bumper Cars |
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| Bumper Cars |
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| Public Transportation with Biers |
Back on base, we got out the arts and crafts and started drawing. We made spaghetti for dinner and the adults enjoyed hot toddy's before bed.
The next day was again a slow start for the travelers. I woke up early and walked AJ and Amelia to school and when the rest of us woke up, we had some breakfast and walked to Red and Yellow as Beth did some chores. The girls got out of school early on Thursday and we went to Ludwigsburg's PumpkinFest. It was about 15 minutes from their apartment and is on the grounds of King Ludwig's palace. The grounds were impeccable with lots of fountains that Lincoln LOVED! There were some huge pumpkins, like over 1000 pounds big. And then there were tons of sculptures made out of pumpkins. Beth and Dan said they sculptures weren't as good as previous years but it was still fun to wander around. Plus there was a little boat ride and a train through the fairytale land which is a permanent thing on the palace grounds. The kids enjoyed both of those activities as well as wandering around all the pumpkins. We had some wine, wursts, and fries for dinner.
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| Big Pumpkins |
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| Pumpkin Art |
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| Cousin Boat Rides |
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| Cousin Boat Rides |
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| Cousin Train Rides - I cut off AJ's face. |
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| Pointing out fountains |
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| Cheesin |
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| Super Excited about Fountains |
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| Can't Control Excitement about Fountains |
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| Castles and Pumpkins |
Friday was again a beautiful day. Beth came with us as we took the train to Stuttgart city center. We explored the city and found more fountains for Lincoln to gawk at. We wandered around and eventually made it to a biergarten with a playground. We had some biers, fries, chicken nuggets, bier cheese, and spicy wurst. We took the train back to base and the boys took some naps. I went to AJ and Amelia's school as they were having a faculty vs. students flag football game. After school we gathered some snacks and adult beverages and went back to Red and Yellow. The kids played on the playground and then we got doner again but this time from the food truck right next to the park. Back at the apartment we enjoyed another hot toddy and watched a hilarious tv show, American Vandal.
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| Waiting for the train. |
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| Found another fountain! |
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| Willie enjoys the fountains too. |
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| Snack time next to a statue. |
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| Biers in the Biergarten |
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| Playgrounds and Biergartens |
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| Dancing on the Train |
Saturday was a lazy day with some TV during breakfast. We watched the middle school cross country race just outside the apartment and then had some lunch. We went to a big city park, Killesburg, and walked around enjoying the beautiful day. We of course stopped at the biergarten and sent the kids on little scavenger hunts to find different leaves. We went to the Aldi to get some supplies for dinner as we were making some steak tacos.
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| Another Biergarten |
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| Feeding Lincoln Homemade Applesauce |
The next morning we gathered all our stuff and said our goodbyes. It was a sad day. We also had to drive 6 hours to Slovenia so it was a long day in the car too. We drove from Stuttgart back through Munich and to the border of Austria. We stopped to get some diesel, the vignettes to drive in Austria and Slovenia, and then got some McDonalds at a rest stop which had a play place for Willie and Linc. We had about 2 hours left on the drive and made it to our next location, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia at about 4 p.m. We picked up the keys to the AirBnB from a local store and got settled into the 2 bedroom apartment. We wanted to get out and get some fresh air because of the long day in the car so we decided to walk back to town to find dinner. We found a little pizzeria and ordered 2 pizzas for carry-out. Willie and I waited for the pizzas as Megan and Lincoln walked back. While we waited, we got to watch the kitchen make the pizzas which was a high point for Willie. Back at the apartment, we ate some pizza and were generally sad to have left Stuttgart and the cousins. It was a somber night as well because Willie was starting to run a fever and was super sluggish...until the medicine kicked in and he was running around like a wild man.
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| Views from the Road |
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| Views from the Road |
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| On our walk from the AirBnB in to town, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia |
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| Slovenian Visitors |
The next morning we awoke to a gray damp morning. It wasn't going to slow us down though; we gave Willie some medicine to help with the bug he was fighting. We put on our longsleeves and raincoats and drove the short drive to Lake Jasna just outside of Kranjska Gora. It was empty, maybe 4 other people there and the views were amazing. It was two little lakes used to control the river water surrounded by forests and mountains. We meandered the area taking lots of pictures and throwing rocks into the river. We had spotted a waterfall on the drive in so we decided to walk over to it and the colorful trees and water made for some stunning pictures. For lunch we had leftover pizza and then took naps. Willie and Lincoln were both feeling the effects of a bug so that afternoon we laid low and walked out the back of our apartment to find a playground. We found it and it had a zipline! But the boys both found it to be no fun. So we returned home. We decided going out to dinner would be foolish, so I walked over to the grocery store for some supplies to make dinner. I got some noodles, sauce, bread, lettuce, 1 single carrot, a salad dressing packet, some wine and beer. Dinner ended up being quite tasty and the salad dressing stole the show as it was a delicious oil and vinegar.
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| At Lake Jasna, 5 minutes from out AirBnB |
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| Beautiful Scenery |
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| Panoramic Views |
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| The Boys excited to be out in the drizzle. |
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| Megan enjoying some rocks. |
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| Willie enjoying a bigger rock. |
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| Waterfalls and Foliage |
After a night to sleep, we woke the next morning and ate some breakfast in the apartment. We set out for Vintgar Gorge which was about 20 minutes down the road from Kranjska Gora. We arrived at the same time a giant tour bus but other than the 40 or so people on the bus, there weren't many other people there. We strapped Lincoln to Megan's back and I carried Willie in my arms as he was still feeling the effects of the bug he was fighting. We paid the small entrance fee and began our walk into the gorge. It was about 1.5 miles on boardwalks and sometimes on rocks inside the small gorge. It was maybe 20 - 40 feet wide and at times 80-100 feet high. The water was crystal clear and often looked blueish green. In calm spots you could easily see fish swimming around and there were many sections of rapids or even small waterfalls. At the turn around point we had a small snack of goldfish and fruit snacks and this seemed to reinvigorate Willie and he was able to walk the entire way back out, which was wonderful because my arms were getting tired of holding him.
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| Hiking Buddies |
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| Hiking Buddies |
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| Vintgar Gorge |
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| More Gorge |
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| Snack time on the trail |
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| Waterfalls in the gorge |
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| More gorge |
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| Lake Bled |
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| Enjoying Lake Bled from Stroller Height |
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| Willie and the Ducks |
Back in the car, we drove the short distance to Bled, Slovenia to see the famous Lake Bled. We were tired from walking but found a parking spot and walked towards the lake to enjoy some views of Bled Castle and the church on the island. We didn't get to experience the awe inspiring views but it was a beautiful lake. We then walked back to the car and found a little restaurant. It was a little nicer than what we wanted the boys were not interested in eating their spaghetti noodles. But Megan enjoyed the salad bar and a bowl of French Onion soup. I had the wurst and bread. When leaving the establishment, I left with the boys first and gave Megan the credit card to pay, little did I know they didn't accept credit cards. Megan had a minor heart attack as she couldn't get a hold of me and didn't have a form of payment. It worked out when I walked back by the restaurant.
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| Playgrounds in Kranjska Gora |
After nap time, we drove into Kranjska Gora to find a playground. We also got to meet some of the many sheep that were around the grassy parts of town. We found an area that had 4 playgrounds or swing sets near each other and the boys got to play on the slides, teeter-totter, and swings. We then ran a couple errands to get some food for dinner and find the pharmacy to see if they had any children's Tylenol. I was still pretty full from lunch so dinner consisted of leftovers, salad, bread, and prosciutto.
The next morning we packed all our belongings and made the drive towards Slap Percinik, which is a waterfall that I had found online. It was the original thing I found to do in Slovenia because it was beautiful and only a 10 minute hike, exactly what I was looking for. Megan without many options for clean warm clothes was wearing dress pants and flats but was still able to carry Lincoln the 10 minute hike up a hill to see the wonderful waterfall. Willie took some pictures with his camera and it was a perfect hike to start our day which was going to include the 4 hour drive back to Munich.
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| The Julian Alps |
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| Slap Pericnik from the parking lot |
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| Lincoln, Megan, and Slaps |
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| Photographer Willie |
We drove into Austria and enjoyed all the tunnels and mountains before stopping about an hour outside of Salzburg to get diesel and some food. There was also a little playground at the rest stop so the boys played a little. We had some sandwiches and a soft pretzel before continuing the drive to Salzburg where we had planned on stopping Hangar-7 which is the beautiful hangar for all the Red Bull airplanes, race cars, and other vehicles. Willie loved taking pictures of all the airplanes and we got a little souvenir airplane and an ice cream before leaving. We drove the last bit to Munich, well technically we were staying in a northern suburb called Eching, out near the airport.
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| Hangar 7 |
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| More Hangar 7 and Willie the Photographer |
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| Ice Cream in Austria |
We checked in and spent a few minutes organizing all of our stuff so we'd be ready to go in the morning. Then we found one last biergarten to have dinner at which was walking distance to the hotel. It was perfect, a small little biergarten and it was mostly empty so the boys could explore without bothering too many people. We got some beers, apple juice, wieners, currywurst, and fries. We also realized we needed to get some milk so after we enjoyed a nice meal and beers we walked to the grocery store a few blocks away and picked up a carton of milk and a thing of oreos. Back at the hotel, Lincoln went to bed, while Willie stayed up and watched The Incredibles.
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| One More Biergarten - Willie took this picture. |
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| Currywurst and fries |
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| Trying to find the biggest rock in the biergarten. |
The next morning was travel home day. We had breakfast at the hotel which was a surprisingly amazing spread. It had all sorts of food, pancakes, sausages, fruit, yogurt, granolas of all types, meats, cheeses, pastries. But we had to get moving so we didn't stay long. We drove to the airport and after some small confusions we found the rental car return and got our luggage on a cart. Then we wandered the airport looking for the place to check in. It was not well marked and the process was incredibly frustrating. We made it through security and essentially walked through the terminal, through the additional security, on the bus, and then onto the plane. The flight attendants were less than desirable and helpful but we were able to secure an additional row of seats which made our lives easier so we could spread out and not be touching for the entire flight.
The long flight back to Atlanta was pretty good. There was some crying from Lincoln trying to get him to nap. Willie freaked out at hour 9. And when we landed he really wanted to get to Megan and cried the entire 15 minutes of taxying. In Atlanta, we were so happy to see helpful airport employees. They directed us where we needed to go, they helped with our luggage, they let us cut in line. It was in stark contrast to the Munich and Delta employees we had dealt with earlier in the day. We then played in the terminal; lots of chasing after little cars. The flight back to O'Hare was tough. Lincoln was exhausted and Megan was able to wear him and he fell asleep. Willie was beyond exhausted and was crying and screaming. He calmed down enough to take a nap on Megan but 45 minutes later we landed and he was not happy to wake up. We tried to get him in the stroller but he freaked out. So we carried him through the airport. He was screaming, hitting, throwing stuff, he kicked off his shoes. People were staring and felt bad for us. We survived it and got our luggage and made our way to the economy parking shuttle. On the bus a couple people helped us get our stuff on the bus and made sure we were ok which was wonderful to have helpful people near us.
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| How Megan traveled the last hour of our flight. We made it home! |
Once in the car, the boys fell asleep immediately. Megan got a little nap. We stopped so I could get a cup of coffee, a hot dog, and we needed gas. The coffee didn't help enough as I had been awake for 30 hours and in West Lafayette I had to stop, so Megan woke up and drove the last hour home. We made it home a little before midnight and got to sleep in our own beds. That is until 2:30 when Lincoln woke up and was super hungry. I tried to give him some water but he was not having it. So I had to go to Meijer to get some milk. But this also allowed me to get some bacon and cinnamon rolls which was perfect because the boys both woke up around 5:30 and wanted breakfast so we made a big breakfast and our schedules weren't too far off.
Was it crazy taking 2 toddlers to Europe? Yes. Would I do it again to have memories and stories like going to Volkesfest and hiking through the Slovenian Alps? Yes.
