Saturday, September 20, 2008

The American spirit is being spread...

I made a funny face at the kids the other day, and now they won't stop trying replicate it... they're always asking me to show there parents (which I don't)... and all I can say to Amelie and Mathias is aren't you so proud of all the wonderful things I'm teaching your kids?





Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The weather...dum dum dummmmm

It is as cold here now as it was/ever will be in Vegas, and apparently it gets colder... not lookin forward to a dark cold holiday filled winter in BERLIN without my family! but i guess I'll have to survive one year whithout them...I rode one of the bikes into Potsdam today (trying to be active) and on the way back I was convinced I had pnuemonia and was going to die in Germany. I DO NOT handle the cold well, and I certainly did not pack for the occasion... I thought I did and I tried my hardest to... but alas I have failed... I'm freezing even now...

Monday, September 8, 2008

A Historic post...

We went to the most famous castle in potsdam this weekend...Sanssouci...I copied and pasted some info below cause it is kind of neat that something with so much history is literally minutes away from me...The castle was beautiful, unfortunately we couldn't take pictures on the inside...but the floor plane in kind of like one long hallway with different 'apartments' branching off...you could walk through the whole castle and see every room staying on the same walkway (I dont know if that makes sense) ...as it says below it was built by Fredrick the great... he actually died here and they have the original chair and writing desk where he was found, just a little bit creepy. In the pictures below I posted one of the windmill just to the left of the castle wich was there when the castle was built... apparently there ahve been plays and stories and 'legends' about this windmill, and when I asked Mathias and Amelie what the big deal was I still didnt really understand the expanation as to why it was so important. THEN I realized why.. first of all here is the story.... So This king bought the land for the castle back in the day... apparently the Windmill was supposed to be torn down, but the guy who owned and worked it said no and so it got to stay... so that's it nothing exciting right? big deal... HOWEVER you have to take into account that this happened before the US was even around (in the columbus sense) This windmill guy was like the first rebel, the first person to stand for what he wanted, against government and kings alike and actually get it... Coming from the good ol US of A I forget that people once lived under the law, there were no rebels and the one's that tried to be were killed, no questions asked....so here's to the lowely windmill man, and to Fredrick the great, who was too lazy to care about it, and who inadvertantly opened the door for people standing up for they're rights....



Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, at Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in Sanssouci Park. The palace was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfil Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. This is emphasized by the palace's name: a French phrase (sans souci) which translates loosely as "without cares" or "carefree" symbolising that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power. The palace is little more than a large single-storey villa—more like the Château de Marly than Versailles. Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the centre of the park. So great was the influence of Frederick's personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace that its style is characterised as "Frederician Rococo", and so personally did he regard the palace that he conceived it as "a place that would die with him".[1] Because of a disagreement about the site of the palace from the park Knobelsdorff was fired in 1746. Jan Bouman, a Dutch architect, finished the project.
During the 19th century, the palace became a residence of Frederick William IV. He employed the architect Ludwig Persius to restore and enlarge the palace, while Ferdinand von Arnim was charged with improving the locality and thus the view from the palace. The town of Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favourite place of residence for the German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1918.

Frederick the Great (1712–86).
After World War II, the palace became a tourist attraction in East Germany. It was fully maintained with due respect to its historical importance, and was open to the public. Following German reunification in 1990, the final wish of Frederick came to pass: his body was finally returned to his beloved palace and buried in a new tomb overlooking the gardens he had created. Sanssouci and its extensive gardens became a World Heritage Site in 1990 under the protection of UNESCO;[2] in 1995, the Foundation for Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin-Brandenburg was established to care for Sanssouci and the other former imperial palaces in and around of Berlin. These palaces are now visited by more than two million people a year from all over the world.












This picture has nothing to do with the castle My grandma just sent it and I think it's the cutest...I look insane :) and I love it...

Thursday, September 4, 2008

crap-olla

I just realized my last post was a "Mom Blog" ...haha YIKES! for real... it was one of those things you see from every blogger with kids
ie..Payton loves cookies and reading and playing with mommy! Hannah loves her brother and pretty things!

what has happened to me... I used to be so cool

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

EEEsh

Feeling a little down lately... nothing too serious just lacking some adventure I suppose....BUT!!! Miranda is coming to visit in 8 days!, and Corey is coming for the Begining of October!... so that's exciting :) here's a little overall of some of the 'happenings' on this side of the pond


Last Saturday was Teddy's Birthday Party... it was too cute all these 2 and 3 year olds running around like a buncha crazies...And Amelie had the whole thing planned so cutely with games and cake and just everything... there is definately something to be said for how organized these German folk are (I wish i could say that I'm learning something!)... Also Teddy's English is getting really good, He is sooo cute! he's always saying "oh my geeeedness!" , "I dow know!" and "Please Hilp me!" I just love him :)

Johanna had her birthday last week too, she's 8 now. She's so funny and already like a little teenager, wanting to wear makeup and dress up and dance all the time... she does this funny little move where i think she's having a seizure, but she tells me she's "hip-hop" dancing... these kids kill me...


Emma is still a little mystery to me, I love her to death but she still thinks I dont know any german, so she's always asking Johanna to ask me things for her, and telling her friends that I don't understand what she's saying... she's not doing this to be hurtful at all, that's just how she is, she's really cute though and always wanting to be around animals... she REALLY wants a dog, you know a girl is desperate for a pet when she starts naming the insects she finds around the house...


I am going to Dublin on the 26th! I am SO excited... Miranda's Birthday is on the 28th so we'll be there for the celebration of her birth... she's so lucky... :)....so now because I hate blogging with out pictures I'm going to leave you with some of my favorites that I've taken in my travels...Oh and Also!! PLEASE email me or just leave comments... I really love them, and it's really the ONLY connection i have to home... :) Thanks guys!
The London Eye

Notre Dam

A beautiful 'private' Garden in London

Stonehenge (sp?)

a man drawing inside the louvreEiffel TowerAustrian AlpsNotre DamReistag