From Brugge with Love: Part II

Another breathtaking shot of the city.

The Castle in the market square (Grote Markt).

The other side of the market square.

There was plenty of chocolate...

The medieval city hall.

I also found a few Belgian Beers along the way.

...more medieval churches...

...geocaching...

On Saturday, we rented bikes and rode around the city. There was a great path, with plenty of shade and windmills.

...which allowed us to see some of the old city wall and city entrances.

Eva found a super cute B&B on the outskirts of town. It was definitely somewhat quirky, very different, and very cool. The rooms had been renovated (to fit with the time of the architecture) and were beautiful.

We were even more surprised when we went to breakfast the first morning...in a neighboring house of the owners. We were expecting rolls and stuff for the rolls (butter, jam, cheese). We got all of this, plus a boiled egg, pancake, and fresh cut fruit for dessert. We were stuffed til early evening.

If you find yourself in Brugge, we highly recommend the Fort Lapin B&B: http://www.bedandbreakfast-fortlapin.be/

The following pic is a bit of a humorous one. On our final night, we got a great table outside of a nice restaurant. I spotted this group of Japanese tourists, definitely under dressed (it was chilly and windy) that were either waiting for a table at the restaurant or a cab. There are thousands of restaurants that are very cute in Brugge, so we assumed a cab.

As a joke, I took this pic and said that they were prostitutes. Without the innocent, honest background, you'd guess the same as well ;-)

The Bridge of Love, where most citizens of Brugge sneak their first kiss.

More old buildings (I'm sparing you from the names - and myself from looking up the names).

An awesome view from near the train station, as we were doing our final cache.

The restaurant from where we saw the 'prostitutes'.

What a great trip! The 4 days flew by. We didn't get bored being by ourselves - as a twosome like it used to be. But, by the time Sunday evening came, we were ready to get back to the important business of parenting!

From Brugge with Love: Part I

For the first time in almost 3 years (and as a part of Eva's Christmas present), Eva and I took a trip, sans kids.

The trip was 'packed' via 4 presents, to be opened in this order: Waffle Mix, potato cutter to make fries, a Belgian beer, and Neuhaus chocolates (Neuhaus was the inventor of the chocolate praline). So, the meaning was obvious: a trip to Brussels and Brugge...the chocolate lovers capital.

Finding a chocolate store was no problem. They were around every corner.

Godiva has played a role in our relationship since the beginning...

I've already gotten hammered by Eva for taking such a small pic of Mannequin Pis...the famous pissing stature in Brussels.

Had to do go to the original Neuhaus in Brussels.

We did some caching along the way.

The Grand Place in Brussels is amazing...and worth a trip in and of itself. Imagine what this place was like in its day.

In the 1980's, the Mannequin Pis got a sister: Jeanneke Pis. Very crass. Caching took us to this somewhat shady alley...notice how Eva took a better picture of the statue.

No comment.

St. Michaelis in Brussels.

A really cool covered, old school shopping area (where the original Neuhaus was).

Caching took us to this quiet spot in Brussels.

After 4 or so hours in Brussels, we had enough of the big city and headed to Brugge. A smaller town of about 100,000 people (and probably 100,000 tourists per day in August). Brugge is one of the best kept medieval cities, with much of the original medieval buildings - a whole city full of them - still standing.

Around every nook and cranny, there were views like this one.

Built in 1608...

One of the more impressive medieval churches.

Lots and lots of old buildings.

I really loved how the ivy climbed up the tower.

Town Hall...from the medieval days.

The Grandparents Visit: time to spoil the kids

Each year, working families across Germany scurry to find ways to take care of the kids during summer vacation. The answer for most: Grandparents. We were no exception, with my folks coming in to help out for 2 of the 3 weeks that kindergarden / day care was closed.

We have it relatively easy as Kindergarten and day care is only closed for 4 weeks throughout the year (between Christmas and New Year for a week plus a 3 week summer break). Working families with school aged kids have it tougher: a 6 week summer vacation plus 4+ weeks during the school year.

If you can figure out why Emily likes wearing Quinn's helmet backwards, please let us know.

Quinn still likes getting pulled.

We tired the kiddo out so bad that he really didn't wake up after we parked the car in the garage. I took him out of his carseat, and I sat him down next to the tree.

A super cool geocache near Nürnberg that we found while taking a field trip on Brombachsee with my mom.

The boys went to a soccer game. We had actually planned to go to a baseball game, but the game got postponed to another city at the last minute.

Geocaching with Emily in Rothenburg ob der Tauber while my mom is checking out the Christmas shops and my dad is in the Museum of Medieval Criminology.

Quinn helping my dad open his birthday gifts.

A great pic of my mom in Fränkische Schweiz.

In general, the weather was super crappy while my folks were here, but we did have a few good Biergarten days, where we could eat outside and enjoy the casual atmosphere of a Biergarten.

Like I said, the weather was kinda poor...never thought we'd have to put on the long rain pants and rain jackets in August.

Tree climbing.

What kid doesn't love splashing in puddles.

A great shot of my mom and Quinn picking flowers near our house.

There was lots of spoiling going on.

Quinn on the zip line.

...and my mom tried it as well...

Here's the ship that took us around Brombachsee. It rained the whole time :-(

After the ship docked, the sun (thankfully) peeked its head out a bit...and we went on a hike and did some caching.

Father and son wondering why the weather is so bad.

It is really hard to summarize how great it was to have my parents here for almost 3 weeks. The kids are at a great age: Quinn already remembers other visits with his Grandparents from America, and Emily is now old enough to realize that my parents are not some sort of TV show (we do a lot of videoconferencing via Google Chat).

For my parents, it was probably challenging, and they were as tired as the kids when the day was over. But, as with most grandparents, when it starts getting tough, they can always go out for ice cream and spoil the kids. I also think it is interesting for my parents to see Eva and I work through the challenges of parenting, which brings them back to the days when they were our age, raising my sister and I.

For me (and Eva), my parents were a huge help, and it was a pleasure to have them around. Time with parents is wonderful...as it gives a different perspective and a chance to see things in a different light.

Most importantly, it is important for the kids. I never realized until I had kids how important Grandparents are. Since I am the only chance for my kids to get English (Eva and I chose the OPOL - One Parent One Language - methodology for raising kids bilingual) - and Quinn KNOWS that I understand German - it is extremely important for their language development to have another person that speaks that 'other' language. Quinn was forced to speak English with my parents if he wanted something. That provided the positive momentum and confidence he needed...and he is now speaking significantly more English with me.

The kids had a blast with their Grandparents. They got to spend a lot of QUALITY and QUANTITY time with them. And, this is one of the greatest gifts a loved one can give to a child (other than love): TIME.