Hiking and Caching on Staffelberg

Two weeks ago, we headed to Bad Staffelstein to check out a factory store for some furniture we were thinking about getting for Quinn.  He's about to outgrow his kiddie furniture, and with him about to go to school, he needs a bit more room for a desk.

So, we decided to wrap a hike and some caching around the 1+ hour car trip.

The furniture part was ok...(how much fun can furniture shopping be), but we at least made a decision.

The hike to Staffelberg was very cool.  It is sort of like Walberla, but bigger...and the hike was longer.  It was cold, but the temperature was OK in the sun.  I took a wrong turn during the hike, which lead us down a muddy path.  At the end of the hike, we found the cache, which was hidden in a very cool rock formation.

Of course, in true German fashion, there was a biergarten at the top (not far from the church).  It was too cold for beer (or sitting outside), but the kids decided they wanted ice cream anyway.

That turned out to be a bad decision...since the sun was now on the other side of Staffelberg, we had to hike down in the cold, windy shade.  The kids tried their best, but they were too cold for ice cream.

Quinn's chocolate ice cream actually froze to his face (if he could only eat ice cream without getting it all over his face)...

Despite the cold, we had a great time, and we got to see another great, hidden corner of Germany.

Janus

Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings and transitions.  In modern times, known as the god of the chaotic holiday season.

 Even though we stayed home again for Christmas Day, we still had our fair share of chaos, stress, and, of course, fun.  This year, both kids were super excited about the thought of getting gifts (last year, Emily really didn't understand what was going on).

 While I try not to post pics of gifts, I had to post two:  one of Quinn with his Lego box (he literally jumped out of his socks with excitement) and Emily with me and her Playmobil box (the directions said it would take 90 minutes to put together...I needed over two hours (with 'help') and I was afraid the authorities would take away my engineering license).  In addition, Quinn is posing with a green sweater that his cousin Lea hand knit for him!

 Like last year, we also headed to the Bavarian Forest, where we met up with Eva's parents and sister for a week of fun in nature.  The weather wasn't as snowy as we would have liked, but we got to go on some hikes and get tons of fresh air.  We also went bowling (kegeln) on Eva's birthday and could go sledding as well.

 One of our hikes to the Großer Arbersee was a bit of an adventure, as the snow was so deep with snow that we really had to tredge through the mess.  The panarama is also of the Großer Arbersee.

That was really deep snow...Emily got a great, free ride.

 Of course, a trip to Cafe Sahneberg is mandatory.

  On our hike to the Kötztinger Hütte (which has a very classic German mountain lodge, with a warm wood burning stove, hot soup, meat dishes, and cold beer, packed with hikers) was a bit of an adventure on the way down:  it was super steep and icy and I was a bit worried about Emily slipping.  I was really struggling to help her.  So, despite Eva's initial objections, I sat down on the snow/ice pack, put Emily on my lap, and sled down the hill on my butt.  

 Emily had a blast!

 The important part is the time together.  Sounds rather cliche, but in the fast times where there is never enough time and where I'm getting home later from work (the 30 minute commute also doesn't help), this intense family time is great, albeit stressful and challenging as well.

Now...what are those New Year's Resolutions again?

 ...and Quinn lost his first tooth.  He was SOOOOOO excited that he finally lost a tooth (he was the last kid in Kindergarten who will go to school next year that hadn't lost a tooth).  The next day, when the tooth fairy arrived, he was walking 6' tall...like a big boy.