Lots of Love!
W
Friday, June 26, 2009
I haven't forgotten you!
Hello there friends! I just wanted to post a short note to let you all know that I have not forgotten you whilst on our European adventure. We have been so busy hopping on trains, touring the Alps, soaking up the Italian sun, breathing in the Monte Carlo air, and playing with our friends at Disneyland Paris, that I've not had time (or energy) to collect and arrange my thoughts to share with you! I promise to share our adventures and pictures with you as soon as I can! Until then, I hope you are all doing well!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Guten Tag meine Freunden!
Greetings to you all from Zurich, Switzerland! Today is day #3 of our European adventure and I have managed to find a few lucid moments to share a bit of our European moments with you. Brian, the children, and I first set forth on our journey on Thursday afternoon from Aberdeen via plane through London to Frankfurt, Germany. There we met Brian’s parents at the hotel where found ourselves arriving a bit late to enjoy any local fare. So, like any good Americans, we found a McDonald’s in the shopping area outside of our hotel to indulge our hunger. When Bill, my father-in-law, asked for iced tea, the clerk responded abruptly with “We don’t have iced tea in Germany!” We all got a kick out of that one. As the family enjoyed their happy meals, I tempted my taste buds with a Prawn Lemon sandwich, which was basically a bunch of shrimps pressed together into a patty and fried like a McDonald’s hashbrown patty, served on a seasoned bun. It was actually quite tasty! ☺ Of course, the most amusing part of it was “Ich liebe es.” written everywhere. You know, “I’m loving it.” After our brief outing, we all retired to our rooms for the evening to make preparations for our first train ride the next morning; destination Heidelberg.
On Friday morning, we gathered ourselves and our things bright and early, enjoyed a nice breakfast in our hotel, and set out for the subway train station to catch a quick, yet stressful ride to the train station where we were to catch our train to Heidelberg. (Wow, could that sentence have been any longer any poorly written?) It took Brian and me about 15 minutes to figure out how to use the ticket machine in order to purchase our tickets for the subway. After doing so, the seven of us made our way to the platform with our many bags, strollers, and Jan’s roll-ator. We had about 20-30 seconds to get 6 people, a stroller (carrying Sadie), Jan’s roll-ator and 10 bags through a very small doorway and safely onto the subway. Whew! What a pain in the rumpus that was! Then, of course, we had to keep our luggage (and selves) from tossing about the train car as we stopped and started through many points between or entrance and our destination. Of course, then we had to change train cars once before we even made it to the Main train station. Methinks I’d rather skip a souvenir or two to take a taxi next time. :-P We live and learn, right?
Once we arrived at the train depot, we checked in and set about to find our train. Because Bill is so wonderful, he had booked us 1st class tickets aboard most of our trains, so we had two entire compartments to stretch out and enjoy while taking the short, 40 minute, journey to Heidelberg!
Later in the day, we decided to head down to Aldstadt (Old Town) for a boat ride down the Rhein.
Our taxi dropped us off a bit too early, and as a result, we were a couple of minutes late to take the ride, so we opted to just take in the sights of the area. A few of us walked down the river to the Old Town bridge. There, Brian took some pictures atop the bridge and of the gorgeous castle nestled into the mountain side. 
I enjoyed browsing through a few of the local tourist shops there. Afterwards, Brian and I decided to take the 2 mile walk back to the hotel, while the rest of the family took a taxi home. It was a very nice walk, with a lovely river view. We even encountered a gentleman dressed in what we Americans think of as traditional German festival attire. He didn’t appear to be heading to a festival, however, just out on a stroll with his wife!
We finished our day in Heidelberg with a nice dinner by the river at our hotel where I indulged myself with a Heidelberger Bier.
I am not a beer drinker, but you can’t go to Germany without having a German beer, right?
This morning, we awoke quite early and found our way (via taxi this time) to the Train Depot to embark on the next leg of our journey. This time, finding our way to Zurich. Again, our train accommodations were luxurious, having our own compartment with reclining seats right behind the engineer. This train had two engineer compartments, one at each end. During the first part of the ride, the engineer was actually located in the rear of the train, but later drove from the front of the train where Bryson loved getting to watch him “drive” the train. It was quite an experience. Admittedly, though, I slept a good portion of the ride. How nice to have the room to do so!
Today has been a “down” day in Zurich, one that has found us recovering from the many hours of travel over the past few days. We enjoyed a late lunch in the hotel and the retired to our rooms for some rest. Tonight will find the children going for a swim and then hopefully getting some much needed rest. Tomorrow we will set out for a 9 hour “Heidi” tour. It should be a fun day for all!
This trip, thus far, has been quite an interesting one. I am quite surprised at how much I actually do remember from my 3 years of German and how much more I don’t remember! Thankfully, a great deal of Germans and Swiss “sprechen Englisch”. I have had fun trying to translate menus and signs. I am kind of sad that we didn’t have more time in Germany, but hey, we have so much more to explore! Anyway, I look forward to what is in store for us tomorrow! Until then….Auf wiedersehen!
-W
Greetings to you all from Zurich, Switzerland! Today is day #3 of our European adventure and I have managed to find a few lucid moments to share a bit of our European moments with you. Brian, the children, and I first set forth on our journey on Thursday afternoon from Aberdeen via plane through London to Frankfurt, Germany. There we met Brian’s parents at the hotel where found ourselves arriving a bit late to enjoy any local fare. So, like any good Americans, we found a McDonald’s in the shopping area outside of our hotel to indulge our hunger. When Bill, my father-in-law, asked for iced tea, the clerk responded abruptly with “We don’t have iced tea in Germany!” We all got a kick out of that one. As the family enjoyed their happy meals, I tempted my taste buds with a Prawn Lemon sandwich, which was basically a bunch of shrimps pressed together into a patty and fried like a McDonald’s hashbrown patty, served on a seasoned bun. It was actually quite tasty! ☺ Of course, the most amusing part of it was “Ich liebe es.” written everywhere. You know, “I’m loving it.” After our brief outing, we all retired to our rooms for the evening to make preparations for our first train ride the next morning; destination Heidelberg.
On Friday morning, we gathered ourselves and our things bright and early, enjoyed a nice breakfast in our hotel, and set out for the subway train station to catch a quick, yet stressful ride to the train station where we were to catch our train to Heidelberg. (Wow, could that sentence have been any longer any poorly written?) It took Brian and me about 15 minutes to figure out how to use the ticket machine in order to purchase our tickets for the subway. After doing so, the seven of us made our way to the platform with our many bags, strollers, and Jan’s roll-ator. We had about 20-30 seconds to get 6 people, a stroller (carrying Sadie), Jan’s roll-ator and 10 bags through a very small doorway and safely onto the subway. Whew! What a pain in the rumpus that was! Then, of course, we had to keep our luggage (and selves) from tossing about the train car as we stopped and started through many points between or entrance and our destination. Of course, then we had to change train cars once before we even made it to the Main train station. Methinks I’d rather skip a souvenir or two to take a taxi next time. :-P We live and learn, right?
Once we arrived at the train depot, we checked in and set about to find our train. Because Bill is so wonderful, he had booked us 1st class tickets aboard most of our trains, so we had two entire compartments to stretch out and enjoy while taking the short, 40 minute, journey to Heidelberg!
Later in the day, we decided to head down to Aldstadt (Old Town) for a boat ride down the Rhein.
Our taxi dropped us off a bit too early, and as a result, we were a couple of minutes late to take the ride, so we opted to just take in the sights of the area. A few of us walked down the river to the Old Town bridge. There, Brian took some pictures atop the bridge and of the gorgeous castle nestled into the mountain side. 
I enjoyed browsing through a few of the local tourist shops there. Afterwards, Brian and I decided to take the 2 mile walk back to the hotel, while the rest of the family took a taxi home. It was a very nice walk, with a lovely river view. We even encountered a gentleman dressed in what we Americans think of as traditional German festival attire. He didn’t appear to be heading to a festival, however, just out on a stroll with his wife!We finished our day in Heidelberg with a nice dinner by the river at our hotel where I indulged myself with a Heidelberger Bier.
I am not a beer drinker, but you can’t go to Germany without having a German beer, right?This morning, we awoke quite early and found our way (via taxi this time) to the Train Depot to embark on the next leg of our journey. This time, finding our way to Zurich. Again, our train accommodations were luxurious, having our own compartment with reclining seats right behind the engineer. This train had two engineer compartments, one at each end. During the first part of the ride, the engineer was actually located in the rear of the train, but later drove from the front of the train where Bryson loved getting to watch him “drive” the train. It was quite an experience. Admittedly, though, I slept a good portion of the ride. How nice to have the room to do so!
Today has been a “down” day in Zurich, one that has found us recovering from the many hours of travel over the past few days. We enjoyed a late lunch in the hotel and the retired to our rooms for some rest. Tonight will find the children going for a swim and then hopefully getting some much needed rest. Tomorrow we will set out for a 9 hour “Heidi” tour. It should be a fun day for all!
This trip, thus far, has been quite an interesting one. I am quite surprised at how much I actually do remember from my 3 years of German and how much more I don’t remember! Thankfully, a great deal of Germans and Swiss “sprechen Englisch”. I have had fun trying to translate menus and signs. I am kind of sad that we didn’t have more time in Germany, but hey, we have so much more to explore! Anyway, I look forward to what is in store for us tomorrow! Until then….Auf wiedersehen!
-W
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Searching for Nessie...
Afternoon, friends! I am writing to you this lovely, lazy, Sunday afternoon with hope for an easier week this week. For those of you who have been following things, we announced this week our move from Aberdeen to Anchorage, Alaska. Since then, we have been busily preparing ourselves mentally for the change, as well as getting things in order for it. This week, too, found Aubrey finishing school for the semester, and found me engaged in my very first car accident. :-( So you can see why I am hoping for an easier week this week. :-)
Fortunately, this week should be a fairly easy one. I have the entire week to wash and pack our clothes for our upcoming vacation around Europe which begins this next weekend. I hope to have time while we are touring to update you on our adventures. For now, though, I promised a bit about our recent trip to Inverness, Scotland, the famed home of Loch Ness and its mysterious monster.
We drove up to Inverness on a Saturday morning, taking in the sites and a bit of shopping at a local shopping center. There we saw the most beautiful, and freshest strawberries I have ever seen. I suppose that is because the strawberry patch was just down the road from the market. :-) From there, we ventured to Cawdor castle, a still privately owned castle.
The lady of the house actually still lives there 6 months out of the year. I am sure if we had looked hard enough, and knew what she looked like, we would have seen her there. The tour was quite entertaining, as the room notes has been written in a quite cheeky manner by the late Laird Cawdor. It was the first castle we had seen that had a secret dungeon built into it. A very cool site, indeed. I just wish they had allowed us to take pictures inside. :-) This castle also had some gorgeous grounds, and even had a hedge maze, though it was closed to the public.
After we finished our tour of Cawdor castle, we ducked into a wool shop on the castle grounds and there I bought Bryson his very own Cawdor tartan kilt. I guess that makes him a clan member, now. :-) I've yet to dress him in his new duds, but rest assured when I do, there will be pictures a plenty!
We finished our day with a drive about Inverness, where we stopped downtown while Brian, Aubrey, and Bryson took some photos of downtown Inverness from a footbridge over the River Ness.
On Sunday, we departed our hotel early and set about on our search for Nessie. We drove around the massive and mysterious lake, shooting alot of beautiful pictures.
Unfortunately, we did not spot Nessie in the Loch, but we did stop off and enjoy an interactive tour of the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster at the local visitor center. I even took some pictures of some interesting facts for you to read...
Our final stop was to Urquhart castle, an ancient runied castle located on Loch Ness.
The views here were astounding, and the castle itself was amazing. Brian told me it was his favorite castle visit to date. Before heading down to the castle, Aubrey and Bryson played on a Trebuchet replica on the grounds where Brian gots some really nice pictures of the kids. From there we found our way down to the Loch's edge where castle Urquhart sits. Since an ancient ruined castle isn't very stroller friendly, Sadie and I found a nice sunny spot to sit, appropriately so, in the castle kitchen, while Brian, Aubrey, and Bryson ventured to the top of the tower and around the rest of the castle ruins. We finished our castle visit with a late lunch in the castle visitor center tea room and then journeyed our way back to Aberdeen where we all found a good night of sleep after a very busy weekend!
Brian got some really wonderful photos of this weekend trip, but the only ones I had to share were from my camera, so I apologize for the quality. I just wish you could see how amazing Scotland is for yourselves! Perhaps you can plan a trip to the Highlands one day, as we did on our adventure to Inverness....
Fortunately, this week should be a fairly easy one. I have the entire week to wash and pack our clothes for our upcoming vacation around Europe which begins this next weekend. I hope to have time while we are touring to update you on our adventures. For now, though, I promised a bit about our recent trip to Inverness, Scotland, the famed home of Loch Ness and its mysterious monster.
We drove up to Inverness on a Saturday morning, taking in the sites and a bit of shopping at a local shopping center. There we saw the most beautiful, and freshest strawberries I have ever seen. I suppose that is because the strawberry patch was just down the road from the market. :-) From there, we ventured to Cawdor castle, a still privately owned castle.
The lady of the house actually still lives there 6 months out of the year. I am sure if we had looked hard enough, and knew what she looked like, we would have seen her there. The tour was quite entertaining, as the room notes has been written in a quite cheeky manner by the late Laird Cawdor. It was the first castle we had seen that had a secret dungeon built into it. A very cool site, indeed. I just wish they had allowed us to take pictures inside. :-) This castle also had some gorgeous grounds, and even had a hedge maze, though it was closed to the public.
After we finished our tour of Cawdor castle, we ducked into a wool shop on the castle grounds and there I bought Bryson his very own Cawdor tartan kilt. I guess that makes him a clan member, now. :-) I've yet to dress him in his new duds, but rest assured when I do, there will be pictures a plenty!
We finished our day with a drive about Inverness, where we stopped downtown while Brian, Aubrey, and Bryson took some photos of downtown Inverness from a footbridge over the River Ness.
On Sunday, we departed our hotel early and set about on our search for Nessie. We drove around the massive and mysterious lake, shooting alot of beautiful pictures.
Unfortunately, we did not spot Nessie in the Loch, but we did stop off and enjoy an interactive tour of the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster at the local visitor center. I even took some pictures of some interesting facts for you to read...
Our final stop was to Urquhart castle, an ancient runied castle located on Loch Ness.
The views here were astounding, and the castle itself was amazing. Brian told me it was his favorite castle visit to date. Before heading down to the castle, Aubrey and Bryson played on a Trebuchet replica on the grounds where Brian gots some really nice pictures of the kids. From there we found our way down to the Loch's edge where castle Urquhart sits. Since an ancient ruined castle isn't very stroller friendly, Sadie and I found a nice sunny spot to sit, appropriately so, in the castle kitchen, while Brian, Aubrey, and Bryson ventured to the top of the tower and around the rest of the castle ruins. We finished our castle visit with a late lunch in the castle visitor center tea room and then journeyed our way back to Aberdeen where we all found a good night of sleep after a very busy weekend!Brian got some really wonderful photos of this weekend trip, but the only ones I had to share were from my camera, so I apologize for the quality. I just wish you could see how amazing Scotland is for yourselves! Perhaps you can plan a trip to the Highlands one day, as we did on our adventure to Inverness....
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
...the envelope please....
Good evening friends! I know in my last post, I promised some pics and a blurb about our trip to Inverness. I have not forgotten this; just have been a bit side tracked. I will post some pictures soon, but wanted first to share with you the latest development in the Whimsical World of Wendy.... As you all know, we have been sent here to Aberdeen Scotland on a short-term assignment with COP. Our stay here has been an amazing one, with still many adventures in our exploration of the UK and Europe still to come.
Today, however, we received our official marching orders for Brian's next assignment. Brian is really excited to announce that he has accepted a Supervisory position with COP in beautiful, balmy, (insert chortle here) Anchorage, Alaska! That's right folks, looks like the cool weather we've been acclimating to here in Scotland will soon turn colder! I suppose now we will add "Whirlwind" to the title of the blog since Brian's report date to Anchorage is August 1st. That means we will leave for our European holiday in less than two weeks, come back to Aberdeen for a short spell, and then head back to Bartlesville to start packing up the house and readying it for sale. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it. I guess we are in for a very busy summer. At least we will get to have some of that wonderful, muggy, Bartlesville heat before we depart. lol
While I am nervous and stressed about it all, I knew the possibility lay just within our grasp and I am so very proud of Brian for this promotion. I will deeply miss each of our wonderful friends and family that we will leave in Oklahoma, but look onward to yet another adventure! And, of course, our door will always be open for our friends and family should they make it that far north!
That's all from me for now. I am still sorting out my feelings, and compiling a mental to-do list for myself. Thankfully, there won't be much packing up to do on this end...but boy, I don't look forward to cleaning out the closets, nooks, and crannies of our house in B'ville....until next time, friends!
W
Today, however, we received our official marching orders for Brian's next assignment. Brian is really excited to announce that he has accepted a Supervisory position with COP in beautiful, balmy, (insert chortle here) Anchorage, Alaska! That's right folks, looks like the cool weather we've been acclimating to here in Scotland will soon turn colder! I suppose now we will add "Whirlwind" to the title of the blog since Brian's report date to Anchorage is August 1st. That means we will leave for our European holiday in less than two weeks, come back to Aberdeen for a short spell, and then head back to Bartlesville to start packing up the house and readying it for sale. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it. I guess we are in for a very busy summer. At least we will get to have some of that wonderful, muggy, Bartlesville heat before we depart. lol
While I am nervous and stressed about it all, I knew the possibility lay just within our grasp and I am so very proud of Brian for this promotion. I will deeply miss each of our wonderful friends and family that we will leave in Oklahoma, but look onward to yet another adventure! And, of course, our door will always be open for our friends and family should they make it that far north!
That's all from me for now. I am still sorting out my feelings, and compiling a mental to-do list for myself. Thankfully, there won't be much packing up to do on this end...but boy, I don't look forward to cleaning out the closets, nooks, and crannies of our house in B'ville....until next time, friends!
W
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Fun with the letter "F"
Evening, friends! It's been a while since I have written. I guess I have been lacking in motivation as of late to write. It has not been for a lack of goings on, though. Since my last post, I think we have visited at least 4 more castles, and searched for Nessie in Loch Ness.
A few weekends ago, we visited two more local castles. The first castle, Castle Fraser, reminded me of a Disney castle on the outside.
The views atop the tower were breathtaking too, despite my obvious fear o' height issues. Aubrey and Bryson enjoyed the grounds of the castle most of all. They had some interesting tree carvings, 
a giant worm that will soon grow "hair" (it had just been planted), 
and some good old fashioned swings. It was a nice Saturday! :-) On our way home, I had to stop off on the side of the road and have my picture taken in the Rape seed fields. This time of year, the Scottish countryside is full of this vibrant yellow crop.
The next day, we visited Fyvie castle.
This is another lovely, local castle. Castle Fyvie is supposedly one of the most haunted castles in Scotland. I have to admit, though, it didn't seem that spooky to me! :-) After a tour inside, we enjoyed some family time on the grounds outside. 
All in all, it was a really nice weekend with the family.
Well, that's all I have time to post for now...but stay tuned for more about Nessie, Bryson's wee kilt, and more castle visits....missing you all! - W
A few weekends ago, we visited two more local castles. The first castle, Castle Fraser, reminded me of a Disney castle on the outside.
The views atop the tower were breathtaking too, despite my obvious fear o' height issues. Aubrey and Bryson enjoyed the grounds of the castle most of all. They had some interesting tree carvings, 
a giant worm that will soon grow "hair" (it had just been planted), 
and some good old fashioned swings. It was a nice Saturday! :-) On our way home, I had to stop off on the side of the road and have my picture taken in the Rape seed fields. This time of year, the Scottish countryside is full of this vibrant yellow crop.
The next day, we visited Fyvie castle.
This is another lovely, local castle. Castle Fyvie is supposedly one of the most haunted castles in Scotland. I have to admit, though, it didn't seem that spooky to me! :-) After a tour inside, we enjoyed some family time on the grounds outside. 
All in all, it was a really nice weekend with the family.Well, that's all I have time to post for now...but stay tuned for more about Nessie, Bryson's wee kilt, and more castle visits....missing you all! - W
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