A Beautiful Day

Not to get too touchy / feeley, but today was a perfect day.

The weather was nice, we got tons done (including putting the new IKEA furniture for the new child), and had a blast. I even got to go on a short ride.

But, the topping on the cake was when I took Quinn to see a football game. Our local team had a home game today, and since the field is a few minute bike ride from our place, I wanted to take Quinn there to check it out.

We had been playing 'touchdown' in the backyard for a while. The rules change constantly, but the main ingredient is saying 'down, set, hut' and running or tackling. The little guy actually lines up with a 10 yard (ahem...meter) distance between us and actually tries to tackle. Of course, I fall over in true WWF fashion. When he runs, I rip the ball from his hands, and we play 'fumble'.

One day, he said that he wanted to 'watch' 'touchdown'...so, as a supporting parent and true CU fan, I pulled up a YouTube vid of the 'Miracle in Michigan'...still one of the best days in my life...(outside of getting married to Eva and Quinn's birth, of course). He loved it. And, he still requests football clips from time to time.

This morning, I told him we were going to watch 'touchdown'. So, he went right to the computer. No, I said, we were going to watch real players. Then he went to the TV. No...a real game.

I'm not too sure he knew what I was doing, as I loaded him up in his bike trailer and we headed to the field. I wasn't too sure how long he would watch. But, we put on our 'helmets' (matching CU baseball hats), and went to the field. The team was already playing. Quinn realizes what they were doing, starting to get excited.

He asks to sit down on the sidelines...and he sits down, takes off his sandals. By this time, I'm sitting down on the sidelines. He sits in my lap...

'Down, set, hut, hut, hut!!!'. The play is off. The player gets tackled. Quinn starts clapping furiously. 'Touchdown, touchdown', he says, lifting his hands above his head. (When we play, almost every play is a touchdown, where I lift my hands above my head in TD fashion). At this point, he is literally vibrating with exitement.

At halftime, we played 'touchdown'. Just the two of us. We had a ball. A while ago, we lost his CU stuffed football, and since then, we've played 'touchdown' with a small soccer ball. Not exactly right, but better than nothing. If I can make salsa without chili powder and jalapenos, we can play football with a soccer ball. He runs, tackles, and jumps around for fumbles like a madman. Grass stains are a standing part of his (and my) wardrobe. The little guy has no fear. He doesn't realize that I've got him by about 60kg. Saw a lineman eat a double Bratwurst.

We actually watch the whole second half. Quinn has not sat so long in his life. After the game, we played more 'touchdown'. He must have ran a marathon...I will be sore tomorrow. I throw myself around like I'm 18.

After we put Quinn to bet, Eva and I watched two great football movies: Varsity Blues and Remember the Titans.

It was a perfect day...and it was great to feel intimate again with my culture...and a few things that are truly American. Even watching Varsity Blues reminds me of home...with all of their Texan slang. It makes me warm inside.

Seeing Quinn happy makes me smile, smile from ear to ear. Now, I just need to find a way to get another small football. The little guy will be really messed up playing football with a 'Fußball'.

Go Buffs!

P.S. He'll have the CU fight song down for next season ;-)

Cultural Experience - Sommerfest 2009

Needless to say, I was a bit giddy. In the preparations for our yearly Sommerfest, I convinced Eva to let me get a small keg of beer from the local brewery instead of the 'hassle' of bottled beer (so my argument went).

Storchenbier from Steinbachbräu is one of the best beers in Germany, and with the brewery about 2km away, it is super fresh and yummy.

You can order old fashioned oak kegs in various sizes...and the cute little guy you see above is the 15.8l variety.

There is no need for CO2...but you do need to make sure you drink it in one setting. You just need to pound these wood taps into the top and side to tap the keg...something I had never done with this version of a tap.

The top tap went fine...but shortly after the pic of me and the side tap, I gave the tap one more 'tap' of the mallet, and I succeed in pushing the rubber grommet, more or less, into the keg. The result: in 'boy and the dike' fashion, I shoved my finger in the whole to keep the tasty beer from spraying all over my lawn and flowers.

I was soaked in beer, and my 15.8l keg was about a 13l keg before it was said and done.

The flowers were very happy that night.

The weather wasn't ideal, but it was mostly dry...we played a bit outside with the kids and chatted inside.
Quinn even played nicely with the younger daughter of our friends.

All in all, it was a lot of preparation for the 20+ guests, but it was worth it. I will be better prepared for my next keg from Steinbachbräu. Next year, we just hope the weather plays a bit more nicely.

Honeydo's

In a remarkable stroke of wanting to be productive, I got a really huge honeydo off the list last weekend...painting the new child's room.

I painted in college during the summers to help pay for college, and painting takes me back to these carefree days. Get up at 6am, go to work (no shower, no shaving, no tie), come back at 6pm, run, grill, have a beer, chat with friends, go to bed.

Despite this joy of painting, when this sort of desire to be productive around the house hits me, I didn't want to stop...and painted until about 3am.

We picked a gender neutral yellow...with rag effects...what a mess.

Papa, Don't Piddle

To be honest, I'm not really sure if 'Piddle' a real word, and I'm not too sure how it is spelled. I do know that I learned it from my cross country coach in High School, Coach Webb. There were many, many great things I learned from him, and I'm sure he didn't mean for 'piddle' to be one of those lasting impressions.

Piddle, verb: to not get where you are going. to procrastinate. to waste time.

I can still hear him now: "kids, quit 'yer piddlin' " or something of the like.

So, Quinn got an envelope from my parents, and Quinn asked me if I could help him open it. Of course, I did...but it was a bit harder to get open, especially the CD. Quinn was looking at me and saying something, but I was concentrated on opening the darn CD.

Quinn repeats what he said before, a bit flustered that I'm still opening the CD. At this point, Eva is virtually on the floor laughing. I asked Eva if she knew what Quinn was saying. She says, Yes.

He said, "Papa, Don't piddle."

Swimming and Sauerkraut

Well, at least he tried it. Quinn does not like cold sauerkraut. In the hot summer weather we've had, cold kraut salad is the best summer dish.

With no good transition of topics possible, here are a few pics of Quinn and I at his swimming 'lesson'.
He waited mostly impatiently for the chance to ride on the boat...and was not happy when I made him get off to allow other children a chance.

Quinn's swimming 'lesson' consists of some singing in the group and getting used to water. Quinn likes jumping in and out of the water, and even lets me throw him into the water...

Getting thrown from the instructor to me.

Family Road Trip: June 2009

As odd as it may seem, 3 business days after my annual pilgrimage in the Alps, we loaded up the family Skoda and headed on our family vacation. Since our first day of vacation, a Thursday, was a public holiday, it allowed us to start off with a long weekend with Eva's parents in Herbstein, which is right next to a national park.

The whole thing started off a bit challenging...as Quinn wasn't feeling well and was beginning to run a fever. But, since he was still active, eating, and drinking (e.g. his normal self), we hit the road and played tourists the first full day there.

There was also a Messerschmitt rally going through the city. It was no accident that these small cars looked like rolling bomber cockpits. After WWII, all companies that were part of wartime production had to either change their 'product' for peacetime or cease to exist. The famous Messerschmitt bombers started producing these practical vehicles which are now a cult vehicle.

Quinn's fever keep us a bit worried, and we finally broke down on Friday and headed to the doc for some help. He had a light ear infection, and he got his first antibiotics of his life. He was doing better by Saturday...

...meanwhile, Rainer and I play in the background. The house that we rented for the weekend was great for kids, and it is too bad that Quinn didn't feel well enough to take advantage of it all.

On a walk with Opa.

Even though he didn't feel 100%, he was a trooper, especially when he saw the toy tractor.

On Sunday morning, we hopped in the station wagon and headed to Hamburg to visit our friends, Mirja and Thomas and their newborn son, Moritz.

Eva and I met Mirja in Atlanta, where Mirja rented one of my rooms when she was doing her internship with Siemens. Via Mirja, I met Eva...and the rest is history...

Shortly after this picture, we left the playground. The following 45 minutes, Quinn screamed nonstop because he didn't want to go. This was the worst temper tantrum that I have experienced to date. This was, unfortunately, the lowlight of the trip.

Hopefully, this would be the exception. In general, Quinn doesn't throw many fits, but he does have my temper...and when he gets mad, he gets mad. Temper tantrum ensues.

Quinn and Eva blowing bubbles...which makes everything better.

Mirja and Moritz.

Then, it was off to visit our friends in Denmark: Keith, Manu, and their young daughter, Johanna. The hour long ferry to Denmark was a great way to keep Quinn busy...he loves all sorts of heavy machinery: boats, trains, tractors and the like. And, ferries were no different.

The Danes are known as hotdog eaters (at least that is what the Lonely Planet told us), and I was excited to get a dog on the ferry. Quinn liked eating it with his hand without the bun.

Keith and Manu took great care of us. They had a small room 'guesthouse' adjoining their house, which offered a great place for us to crash. Since it was basically mid summer, it was light from about 330am until past midnight...

Denmark, like most Scandinavian countries, are not exactly cheap to visit, but they make up for the cost with flair and quality. Even simple things like pastries or hamburgers had that extra touch that made you want more.

Quinn got to meet Johanna, and quickly become another play friend. Both had issues with 'sharing', but besides the normal 2 year old behavior, they played great together. On the ride home, Quinn wouldn't stop talking about Johanna.

Now, one if his puppets that he now brings into bed is called 'Johanna'...very cute, especially when he tucks Johanna in.

The seemingly national food of Denmark: the hotdog. Yummy. I think I had a couple every day.

The 'Hamlet' castle in Helsingor. It is named as such, as Shakespear's Hamlet takes place in this castle.

Just outside the castle, there was a small piece of beach that we stopped at to have a picknick and to let Quinn play in the sand. For a 2 year old, sightseeing is boring...looking at castles is even more dull. Building sandcastles, on the other hand, is what defines a vacation for a 2 year old.

That is Sweden on the other side of the water...

Our favorite pic of the vacation. We actually got Quinn to smile.

The summer residence of the Danish royal family. While their yard is much larger, it is full of weeds. Ours looks better ;-)

Just to let you know in advance, I'll get in trouble for posting this pic. First of all, we do normally give our son more nutrition than hotdogs and fries, despite the numerous pics with bad nutrition. Second, Eva will not like this pic of her eating this burger.

As odd as it may sound, this pic is evidence of the best burger that both Eva and I ate in our lives. No kidding, in Denmark of all places. I would go there again in a heartbeat...it was just a small burger cafe, nothing fancy, but the burgers were freshly made and were absolutely heavenly.

OK, these royal gardens had less weeds, and the hedges were amazing.

Yes, those are hedges forming the royal crest.

The hedges were so well cut and thick, that we could put Eva's camera on it to help us out with a family pic (Quinn was sleeping in his stroller).

After the royal gardens, we went to the beach. I was cold and windy, but that didn't stop Quinn from wanting to build sand castles. I got to schlepp water for him for his 'reinforcements'. He really loved giving me the buckets to fill up...

You can't go to Denmark and not do at least one day in Copenhagen. While we are not 'big city' folks, we wanted to see the city. We thought we could take a sightseeing tour by one of the many canal boats. Since Quinn loves boats, we thought he'd be happy enough to allow us to enjoy the tour.

Yes...that is our son eating cookies at 10m. But, on vacation, some rules are a bit more relaxed.

After the water tour, we walked around a bit more. Quinn had just fallen asleep, and we were super proud of ourselves that we timed it so well: Quinn was asleep, we were hungry, and there were tons of these cute street cafes for us to sit down at and enjoy the great weather...

About 5 minutes after this pic, it started raining cats and dogs. Quinn woke up, and our romantic afternoon lunch turned into a flight into a dry restaurant.

We had our raingear with us (of course), and I had my waterproof sandals ;-) so we just hit the road when the rain let up a bit. A bit later, we met Manu and Johanna at a city park, with cool stumps for Quinn to jump off of.

On our final Saturday of vacation, we headed to a medieval festival. Quinn was mesmorized by the horses.

...and the knights were cool too. Since it had rained almost all of Friday, the grounds were rather muddy. Quinn thought it was great, of course, wanting to walk through the puddles instead of walking around them. Typical boy.

On our way back to the beach. More sandcastles to build.

We had a huge bbq our last night with our friends. With the long days, we could stay outside in the relative warmth really late, and enjoy our last evening in Denmark.

We had a little bit of everything: grilled fish and sausage, various salads and veggies, beer, wine, and most importantly our friends.

As with all good things, they had to come to an end. Keith and Manu were great hosts, and they took great care of us while allowing us to also 'do our thing'. It was great to sit in their house for dinner, with all the windows and doors open, feeling the cool breeze, while Keith plays his acoustic guitar, while we start getting the kiddos ready for bed.

Our short stay in Denmark was just a tease, leaving you wanting more. The Danes are a very friendly and helpful folk. You always feel welcome. It is a very bike and eco friendly area, and I can't wait to go there again...

Unfortunately, we couldn't beam ourselves back home. We had 1000km to drive and an hour ferry in between. Knowing that no one likes to sit in a car for 1000km, let alone a 2 year old, we got up around 4am and hit the road...hoping that Quinn would sleep until the ferry to Germany.

All in all, he took it all like a champ. We made much better time than expected, and Quinn was happy the whole way. How did we do it: he listened to his favorite CD the WHOLE way home. Eva and I know the whole CD by heart.

...a small price to pay for freedom...

Long (German) Word of the Day

Konditionsdifferenzschutzversicherung.

Yes...one word and a whole lotta letters. Eva saw this one in the office and wasn't really sure what it meant either.

Our guess is that this has something to do with the contract terms and conditions and security or insurance that you can but to protect the contract with any differences that may come up in contract execution.

See...German is easy.

Therapy

As I'm learning, kids are great therapy. Yes, they can be difficult, especially when they are two years old. But, even after an emotionally difficult day at work, the best therapy to 'forget it all' is to see Quinn when he gets home (I beat them home from his swim 'lesson' today) totally excited to see me, to grab my hand and to literally pull me out to the door to the playground.

After his 'Quinnie Hug' and after playing like idiots on the playground, the world just seems right again.

It got even better after I read to him before putting him to bed. As he was in bed, he said 'Danke'. Thanks. I asked, 'for what?', really curious.

He answered: 'essen'. For dinner. Of course, we had pizza tonight. I smiled and kissed him goodnight.

Now, the world is even better.

Danke!

Sharing

Two year olds are not known for their desire to share, and Quinn is by no means an exception here. However, there are times, when he really steps up to the plate and shows that he can share (and also be very, very caring).

Monday was a perfect example. Quinn ran a fever all day (which does not happen often) and wasn't feeling really well. When I came home, beat from a long day, I quickly changed so that I could put him to bed.

After reading him his bedtime stories, I told him that I was tired and not feeling really well, and that I would lay down on the floor next to his bed. He then proceeded to get out of bed, and put his blankets on me...then he gave me his duck, his other duck, his sheep, and the other animals and dolls that he keeps in his bed. He laid them all next to me.

Then he climbed back into his 'naked' bed and kept watch on me to make sure I was doing OK.

Very, very sweet, loving moment for me as a father...

Post Ride Tourism

BW and I got back from our Alpine Tour with Rene Friday early afternoon. As odd as it sounds, I really wanted to go for a short ride with BW so that I could show him the beautiful area in which I get to ride every day.

I didn't think I could convince him to join me (after all that riding in the Alps), so I told him there was a great Biergarten on the way that wasn't too far from home.
The view is great, and their homemade Adlizer Bratwürste with kraut were the great end to a great week of riding.

As luck would have it, our local bierfest was finishing up its 16 event: what we call the '5th' season in our town. Ther is Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Berg (the name of the festival).

There is tons of great food, music, and about 100,000 people per day for 16 days. I think BW was expecting more 'traditional' music (which does play in the early afternoons). But, in the evening, it is full on party and dancing on the tables.
After a day of rainy tourism in Nürnberg on Saturday, the end of a great week was among us, and it was time to take BW to the airport. The great thing about true friends is that the time can pass by, but the friendship remains strong.

It was great to have BW visit us in Germany, and it was great to have continued shared experiences with a great friend...even after all these years and all of the miles, we can still have a great time. We drink a lot fewer margs these days, we have less and grayer hair, and we are a bit older (possibly more mature ?!?), but we can still have a great time.

Eva and I love having visitors, and we are looking forward to the next visitors to join us for a short (or long) visit at our home...

Alpine Tour 2009: Swiss and Italian Alps

Despite the best of intensions to post this year's version of my tour in the Alps, work and 'the next vacation' got in the way.

As with previous years, this year's version contained lots of planning (mostly from Rene), lots of training, and anxiety to ride, but the 2009 version included something new: an additional rider, my good friend BW!

All in all, we covered 600km and about 11,000 vertical meters over 6 full days of riding.

Enjoy the pics.

Day 1: 30 May 09: Lindau - Splügen
BW and I woke up at 430am to catch the first train from home so that we could meet up with Rene in Chur at a reasonable. As luck would have it, this train was late and caused a delay of our train connections.

To try to make up some time, BW and I decided to ride from Lindau to St. Margrethen. It was only about 20km, and we had an hour to do it. Easy. No worries, we are on vacation.
But, we took some pics along the way, and we just barely caught our train. I had to sweet talk the train conductor a bit ... since I didn't have time to buy the tix for our bikes beforehand, she wanted to charge me full price. I gave the sob story and blamed Deutsche Bahn for my late train at home which caused this whole mess.

Thankfully, it worked...on our way to Chur.
But, once we got into Chur, we had to stop for some more pics and some lunch. Cute little place to take a small break.Then, the tour got going with some uninterrupted riding. Mostly flat with a few rolling hills and great scenery along the way. We stayed the night in Splügen, Switzerland. A cute, sleepy ski village in the Alpine foothills. Rene has stayed here before, and he scouted out a great hotel for us.

We had some time to kill, so we took a stroll around the village...

Now, that is is stacked wood.

With the old cobblestone and seemingly ancient houses, many of which were still centuries old, Splügen was a great pick for the first stop in our trip.

...and, they had beer too! Prost!

Day 2: 31 May 09: Splügen - ??? somewhere in the rain...

With my notes of the tour still with Rene, I honestly don't know where we stayed the second full day...but, at least the day started out great in Splügen.

After a wonderful breakfast (and BW talked about the yoghurt the whole trip), we headed out for our first real climb of the tour...

On our way to Splügen Pass, we had great weather behind us...

... and of course, some great scenery.I'm still smiling, so it must be pretty early in the climb. BW was impressed with the Alps and the scenery...and he took off on the climbed - pumped full of adreneline. Rene and I were behind, but still having a great time.
...at the top, we crossed over into Italy. The roads on the Swiss side were great...the roads on the Italian side were, well, needing some work...and the tunnels were a bit dark at times.

Once in Italy, one notices the differences in the buildings, architecture, and the people. It is amazing how a much a difference a mountain pass and a few kilometers makes.

When we pack, we always have to pack for all types of weather - even snow and rain. Unfortunately, after this great climb on Splügen Pass and a super cool long, flat stretch (which Rene and BW hated...but I'm more of a flatlander / masher for a rider), we hit some rain.

The clouds were rolling in for a while, but shortly after we put on our rain gear, it just poured. We took a break before hitting the next pass.

The rain slowed down, and we took off and climbed the pass in a light rain.

Day 3: 1 Jun 09: Somewhere in the sun - Stilfser Joch

We started Day 3 in the sun (thankfully) and ended up climbing what turned out to be my favorite pass of the tour: Stilfser Joch.
...but first, we had to make it through Passo Mortirolo.
As with most of the Alpine Passes, this was a great and beautiful one, with tons of small, winding roads...but the darn thing just never seemed like it would end. You would see what seemed like the peak, and then the next curve would come.

...but, as with all passes...this one finally ended. Ouch. This pass has the recognition as the steepest pass in the Alps...but we're pretty sure this was the other side (e.g. the side we went down). After riding our brakes for what seemed like hours, we finally made it to the valley.

The ride down had some great scenery as well...I was very thankful we went down on this side. We actually ran into another American (from Colorado of all places)...small world.

After a nice break and some sandwiches, we headed off to Stilfser Joch.

A tour in the Alps would not be complete without snow...which started with about 5km to go. It wasn't a real heavy snow, but it was enough to make me want to hurry up with the pass.
Stilfser Joch is a pretty well known and popular pass. But, since this was the first full week that it was open, there wasn't too much traffic.

Thankfully, the Bratwürst stands were open for us. Nothing like a Brat to finish off with after a hard climb.

While Stilfser Joch may be a bit touristy, it is popular for a reason: it is extremely beautiful, with some super cool switchbacks on one side of the mountain.
The ski lifts were still open, and we actually spend the night in the same hotel as the Italian National Ski Team.

Oh...and dinner was absolutely perfect! Too bad the brat that I had filled me up way too much.

Day 4: 2 Jun 09: Stilfser Joch - St. Moritz
After convincing Rene to take a picture at the pass, we headed on toward St. Moritz. It wasn't our original plan, but one of the tunnels along the way was closed to bikes. The pass after the tunnel was still closed for the season, so we had to go around.

As I mentioned earlier, the switchbacks on this side of Stilfser Joch are amazing! I'm glad we got to go down from this side...

Stilfser Joch is in the very right hand corner (more or less) of this picture. What a great descent. After tanking up at a local bakery, we hit Pas dal Fuorn (Ofenpass), bringing us back into Switzerland.

While I don't mind being being in a country (Italy) where I don't understand anything, it was nice to be able to communicate with folks again. Of course, Swiss German isn't exactly easy to understand...(for Germans or German speaking Americans ;-)
This was another one of those passes that just never seemed to end, and I was really hurting. I didn't think I could make it to St. Moritz, but after a hearty soup, I was ready to try.

After the sun came out (and the soup started working through my system), I felt even better. The huge tailwind and the cute Swiss villages helped, of course.

As we were riding into St. Moritz, I could see why it is the beloved ski village that it is...

Rene's brakes were wearing thin, so he was happy to find a bike shop. While he was changing out his brakes (kinda important for the mountains), BW and I had a beer...and convinced Rene to have one as well.

St. Moritz isn't known for being a cheap area to spend your vacation. Thankfully, Rene knew that there was a great Youth Hostel on the outskirts. We had this sweet ride around this lake to the hostel. Even though we aren't exactly 'youths' anymore, we were practically the youngest folks at the hostel, with lots of families and older couples utilizing the hostel for its inexpensive accommodations and filling, but not fancy, meals.

Day 5: 3 Jun 09: St. Moritz - Lindau

After leaving St. Moritz, we had to backtrack a bit to hit Albula pass. Since we had a huge tailwind the day before, I was fearing the worst, but with the slight tailwind, we hit the pass road in less than an hour.

Today was Rene's day in the mountains, screaming up the pass. Near the top, it got really cold...so on with the cold weather gear again... There was also this restaurant / cabin at the top, where we stopped to warm up a bit with some cake and coffee...what a great way to prepare for what turned out to be a super huge downhill.

As with St. Moritz, I didn't think we would make it to the train station in Landquart in enough time to catch the last train to Lindau...but, as luck would have it, we had a slight downhill and a nice tailwind the whole way.

I love this kind of riding...you feel like a king on your bike.

Unfortunately, we just missed the train, so we had to wait an hour for the next one. So, we did what most any sane person would do after 6 days in the saddle when you have to wait in perfect weather for the train: we had a beer. Yumm...Hefeweizen (Wheat Beer).

Day 6: 4 Jun 09: Lindau - Lindau
Rene caught an early train back home...which left BW and I alone for our last day. We didn't really want to go home, so we just took it eays in Lindau, riding around the lake, stopping to see the scenery, and having snacks (cake, fresh cherries, etc) along the way.

We even spoiled ourselves with a massage at one of the hotels. After 6 days of hard riding, that massage was perfect!

Not really believing that the week and this year's tour was already behind us, we got up early the next day, with aching bodies (and sore butts), to head home. As with every tour, the memories get better with time...as the hurt in our bodies fade away.

BW stayed another two days with Eva, Quinn and I...so those pics will follow...