Germany, Day 1 and 2

Oh boy, how do I even begin to document this trip. On June 5th Michael, all 3 kids and I were extremely blessed to fly to back to my roots in Germany. It had been 8 years since the last time I was in Germany, which really meant it had been 8 years since I had seen one of the dearest women of my life, my Oma. Having grown up with her practically living in our house I became very close to her, especially since I am the only granddaughter still active in our church. She has always held a very special place in my heart and has taught me so much through her life history, her words, and her actions. Even though I was never fluent in German and she was never fluent in English we somehow found a way to create a very special bond between us. I loved listening to her stories from the past, especially during the times of WWII and learning how they managed to survive and stay happy. I especially loved watching her cook and tasting her delicious food, if you have ever wondered where my passion and talent for food comes from, it was her.
Because of this close relationship it has been hard to be so far away from her for so long, especially since the time I saw her last I have met and married Michael and have had 3 children. (Due to her health she was not able to fly to our wedding.) Basically for the last 7 years I have been wanting to get to Germany to have her meet Michael, and the feelings would just get stronger with every additional child. I knew time was running out and would pray nearly daily that we would find a way to get there before she might past away. Because of these strong feelings Michael and I finally decided it was time to make a few sacrifices and find a way to get our family to Germany. With the new job and higher income we finally thought we could make it work, that is until plane tickets sky rocketed and we were looking at spending $1300/ticket, even a year in advance. Once again my dreams were shattered as there was just no way we could afford that. However, in God's tender mercies and the great love of my in-laws, they just happened to find AMAZING skymile tickets coming in and out of Memphis at the perfect time of year. So with a bit of negotiating with them we were able to get the whole family tickets to Germany. I can't even begin to thank them enough. And to seal the deal my parents were able to make it work so they would be there at the same time. It was a fantastic 13 days!

Day 1- Wednesday, June 6th
We flew into Germany after a 3.5 hour flight to Detroit and an 8 hour flight to Germany. Thanks to modern portable technology, snacks, and a lot of things to do, the kids did really well. We were able to meet my dad at the airport and get our rental car.

We then drove to Oma's house where I had the happiest reunion ever. We then ate a delicious brotchen breakfast, oh how I missed the food. We then went to the Duncan's, our old family friends who had the perfect little upstairs apartment they let us stay at. Mom and I did a little grocery shopping at the Penny Mart across the street and called it a day.

Day 2- Thursday, June 7th
Due to the jet lag we all slept in a bit, had a yummy breakfast and waited until Mom and Dad came. We then played outside for a little bit, ate lunch, took naps and then went to the Heidelberg Castle, which is where we had prom at every year. Man, how was I so lucky?!?!
For dinner we went to McDonald's, boring I know, but I was able to get the REAL orange Fanta, that was yummy. :)

The Duncan's House

The castle's courtyard. They use to do a musical called "The Student Prince" here, and  Eric, my brother, was one of the students in it for a summer. 

The Church is called Heiligengeist Kirche, and I sang in there for our high school baccalaureate.

One of the world's largest wine barrels. They used it to collect wine that people paid as taxes. 

To be continued...