Austria....Take Two

This weekend we decided to take a trip to Austria.  Parker, Juju, and I went back in May, but neither John nor the Michels had been before.  So early Saturday morning we all piled into the Odyssey and drove the 2.5 hours to Salzburg.  The weather was drizzly and cold....not the July 4th weather we are accustomed too!  On Saturday, we stayed in the city all day.  We shopped, ate, drank and covered most of the tourist sites (Mozart's house, the fortress, and of course the chocolate shops!).

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Berchtesgaden to the Salt Mines, which were first used over 1500 years ago.  Usually, we stay away from "tours" because they don't usually mix well with small children, however at the salt mine, we had no choice.  The tour was GREAT!  We all had SO much fun!  Everyone (including the babies) got to wear "miner suits".  We rode into the mine on the tiny train, the tunnel barely had enough clearance for us to fit....Inside the mine we got to ride HUGE slides deeper and deeper, Parker loved it!  

After the salt mine we took the bus, then the elevator up the 6017 feet to the tip top of a Kehlstein Mountain to Hitler's Eagles Nest, or Kehlsteinhaus.  The view was outstanding, but it was COLD, like 40 degrees cold!!  For those of you who have seen Band of Brothers, it was featured in the last episode.  Hitler used the house to entertain politicians.  

Next we all went to a SuperBike race outside of Salzburg.  John was thrilled (this is DRASTIC understatement!).  We got to watch the big race and walk around the tents and see various bikes.  Parker posed with the "Ducati Girl", her daddy was VERY proud!

And in true Bavarian spirit, we finished the day at a Beirgarten :).

Monday morning on a way out of town we visited Hellbrunn Castle and Gardens.  These were no ordinary gardens, they were full of "trick" water fountains.  Apprently, the  Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg had a sense of humor and was able to hide numerous fountains throughout the gardens to surprise his guest with occasional showers!  Parker loved the impromptu squirts!

Kissing the dog....

For those Sound of Music fans, this is the gazebo from the scene "Sixteen going on Seventeen".

Bring on the Sprinkler!

Today the temperature reached a whopping 85 degrees, which is the warmest it has been since we moved here!  With John's help, Parker and I pulled out the hose and the "worm" sprinkler and had some redneck fun in the yard.  I'm not sure why, but the water that comes out of the hose here is ICE cold, I don't just mean cool, but COLD.  So Parker would run around dodging the spray, then run through it and say "Oooooooooooooo", it was truly hilarious!  This went on for at least an hour.  Two popsicles, 1 tick, and 2 meltdowns later we were completely exhausted!  Rain is supposed to return tomorrow, so it may be a while before we get/want to use the worm again....

 

 

 

YAY for Sunshine!!

After weeks days of rain and cold weather, we finally got some sunshine this afternoon.  Notice that I did NOT say "warm" sunshine.  The temperature finally reached 65 degrees this afternoon, not warm in my book!  However, that didn't keep us from playing outside and running lots of errands.  John returned today from his latest rotation to shower and promptly go to bed, so Parker and I were left to entertain ourselves.  And that we did....

Parker had a blast playing UNDER the trampoline....

Story Time

Every Tuesday we go to story time at the library on base.  Some weeks we behave better than others, but we can ALMOST sit through an entire book now :)!  This morning we did especially well and even talked to some of the other kids, as opposed to whining at them....

On our way out the door to go to story time we found this HUGE snail in the driveway!  

Breakfast of Champions

Berries and yogurt :)

More Warm Weather :)

I hate to say it out loud because I feel like I will jinx myself....but, we have had 4 days in a ROW of warm weather!  Parker and I have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!  This morning we went to story time at the library, where Parker did pretty well....at least as well as the other kids!  After nap, we went to the pool in our town.  So far, both the pools that we have been to here have had these great kiddie pools!  We will definitely be going back :).

 And we stopped in a field of Poppys :)