We are enjoying our last week of the year here in Germany with Lukas' family. They live in Linkenheim, which is near Karlsruhe, Germany. A nice little area of the country but not much to see and do, especially since it has been chilly and rainy. Mostly we have just enjoyed our time with visitors including: Lukas' grandma and great aunt that live in the nursing home nearby, his sister and brother-in-law who bought a house nearby recently, his brother who lives about an hour or so away, and his aunt and uncle who came to visit from Nuremberg which is a few hours away.
On Tuesday however our friends the Clarke family who used to live in PA but are now living in Bayern area of Germany for a few years came to visit. I love this family, Luke has been good friends with Stewart for years and it is always wonderful getting to see them. They have 4 children ranging from 12 - 3.5 years old. Lukas and I took a little trip with them across the border to Strasbourg, France to go see the Christmas market. I was a little disappointed that much of the market has been broken down since we went after Christmas, but there were still some decorations in the city to see and the city itself is lovely. Here are a few fun pictures of our day trip:
A very lovely trip with the lovely Clarke family :)
Afterward we of course had to stop at a huge grocery store nearby, seriously bigger than a super walmart if you can believe something like that exists in Europe! We got some more of our favorite french bread and cheese and drinks and the Clarke's stocked up on some things for the kids and other regional goodies. Always a nice way to end a day trip, yummy food! :)
We don't have much else planned for our trip here. Yesterday we wandered around Karlsruhe and did a little shopping and today we will just be hanging out and will go visit with Lukas' grandma and great aunt again in the afternoon. His sister and brother-in-law have been papering and painting their ceiling and walls all week in their new townhouse so we might drag them over this evening to take a break and play cards with us... we'll see if they can be convinced.
Tomorrow we will head to Darmstadt to stay with Lukas' best friends, the Wiese family. We will have a big New Years party at their house on Saturday with lots of their friends and eat some yummy raclette. A good way to end a nice long trip, as we will be flying home on New Years Day.
I miss my puppy and miss being in my own home and will be happy to be home on Sunday. I always feel like that after a long trip tho, even if I am enjoying seeing friends and family. It has been a nice break from home and work and has been good to see everyone. Hopefully in 2 years we can come back again.
Hope everyone is having a lovely last week of the year and I wish you all a very happy New Year! Party it up but stay safe! :) Helllooooooo 2012!
