My parents, the boys and I decided to do a 1 hour Munich Bus tour, just so that they get to see other parts of the city that’s not close to Starbucks. It was a good idea, but really they pretty much saw everywhere the bus went. It was kind of lame because you sit on the top of the double decker bus (in the hot hot sun mind you), put on these crappy headphones, set the dial to the language you want, and then listen to the boring dialog. We were so preoccupied with the boys though, they were not happy in the sun, that we didn’t really hear anything. I think my dad probably heard the most. Turns out the bus just went around the center and they already knew the streets. I think we did learn something about the buildings but we didn’t see anything new. Ah well, I’m glad I did it and can tell people not to do it. I think it would’ve been better to do a bike tour, but with the boys, that would be impossible.

After the tour, there was this mechanical car that you put a coin in and it moves. We put the boys in it and they were happy, until I put the coin in and it started moving, they totally freaked out and both started screaming. Poor boys!

The rest of the afternoon was normal. We were planning on going to dinner at the Hofbräuhaus, but my dad had his mind on cooking dinner, so we postponed it until tomorrow.

I don’t even remember what we did during the day, must not have been all that exciting. (I am writing this 2 weeks later, FYI)

For dinner, I chose a Japanese restaurant called Kitcho. My parents had a really bad Japanese experience the other day, so I had to choose someplace that would wipe that memory from their brains. We took the boys along (walking), but they were extremely fussy. Lucky for us, the restaurant was empty because they kicked and screamed and cried. Both of them were just unhappy. Michael was ready to throw the towel in 5 minutes after arriving, but I wanted to stick it out. Michael took one of them out and we tried to soothe the other. It was a lot of work trying to keep them happy while waiting for the food. Once we got the food, they quieted down and ate. They especially liked the udon noodles that Michael had. Thank goodness! They calmed down just in time when more people started to come in. We all left there sweating! The boys really know how to get their way.

So it wasn’t a great Father’s Day dinner, but at least we were together, and at least the food didn’t suck. I don’t know when the last time I was actually with my dad on Father’s Day. Maybe when I was 18?

Today was Father’s day so Michael went out climbing. It was also, coincidentally, the first time EVER that shops are open on a Sunday. Because of the World Cup game happening today, a lot of the big stores and on the shopping street (Kaufingerstr) were open. Of course, I had to go shopping, even if it’s just to window shop. It is a weird feeling, don’t know how to describe it. I guess it’s similar to when you’re deprived of something for so long and then you’re allowed to have it for a day. Me and my mom went out shopping and guess what we got? A plunger and an umbrella for the stroller. Big whoop.

We decided to postpone the “Father’s Day” dinner until tomorrow when we can celebrate it with Michael as well. I spent the evening probing my parents, asking them what they want to do in the last week. I have to not ask “What do you want to do?” I have to ask “Would you like to do XYZ?” and they’ll say yes or no. I want them to spend time with the boys but also get to see Munich and the surrounding areas. The good thing is that we already did what they absolutely HAD to do (Ansbach and Sound of Music tour), the rest is just icing on the cake.

Can’t believe it’s only 1 more week, time sure does fly when someone else is cooking, cleaning and babysitting for you!

Today we got Meir to watch the boys and we headed out to Salzburg. My mom wanted to do the Sound of Music tour since who knows how long. The tour started at 2pm, so we headed out around 10:30. We hit some traffic as we left town and wasn’t sure how long it was going to last. Michael is so impatient when it comes to sitting in traffic and he always has a doom-and-gloom attitude about it. Luckily, there were some breaks in the traffic that made us continue on, instead of turning around or finding another way. The bad news though, was the bad weather. It started to rain (not really hard), but it was cloudy and it seemed like the hills would not be alive. We contemplated cancelling the tour and going to the salt mines of Berchtesgaten, since that didn’t matter wheather we were in rain or not, but decided to eat lunch in Salzburg and then decide what to do.

It took us awhile to get into the town center, and by the time we were on foot, it was already 1:15. We were supposed to be at the office at around 1:45. We had to get something to eat, because we wouldn’t get a chance until 6pm, so we picked up some awful hot dogs. I hate the hot dogs here, the casings on them are too tough. And the guy really overdid it with the mustard.

We made it to the office at 1:45 and patiently waited. We bought some books about the real von Trapp family, as well as a Sound of Music keepsake book, and read it while we waited. At around 2, we got in a van with 3 other people and the driver and headed out. The first place we went was Mirabell gardens and it was very beautiful there and you could recognize the steps where the kids sang Do-Re-Mi. Michael cut his leg as he tried to show off and scale the wall to take a picture. Then we hopped back in the van and drove all around Salzburg and saw some other sights. After about 2 hours, we headed into the Lake District to see the hills. I was pretty disappointed that we didn’t go to the actual meadow where she was in the opening scene singing “the hills are alive”. We just drove around. I was a little car sick so I slept a little and didn’t see really anything. We did, however, stop at a toboggan ride, and me and Michael convinced my mom to go up with us. My dad didn’t want to. It was really fun and my mom really liked it. At the bottom, she said “can we go again?” Sadly, they were closing up and we couldn’t go. Then we went to a coffee shop and had apple strudel and ice cream. It was ok.

My mom and dad were happy with the tour, but I was kind of disappointed. I think we should’ve cut off the whole driving to the lake district since we didn’t even go to the meadow, and spent more walking time in Salzburg. We could’ve gone to the gates of the Nonnburg Abbey, got out and saw more stuff. But I guess they want to make it easy as possible on everyone, old and young. Or maybe they should make an “active version” of the tour where there’s more walking. Also, a lot of the sites are private property and you can’t go on the grounds which is kind of disappointing. Of course they don’t tell you this fact in their brochure. They make like you actually go there.

We also didn’t have time to walk around by ourselves, we had to head straight home. Oh well, we’ll come back sometime with the boys and spend more time doing other things.

When we got home, I convinced my parents to go out with Michael to the Höfbräuhaus and I got to eat portugese sausage and rice at home. They, unfortunately, had an awful time. There was a long line to eat there, so they went across and tried a Japanese place. It turned out that their food wasn’t good - they used minute rice and whatever my parents ate was horrible. The beer wasn’t to my dad’s liking, but Michael had an ok meal. I felt so bad for kicking them out, but thought they would really enjoy eating there. Sorry, mom and dad!

We actually managed to go to the Zoo this morning. I was hoping we would leave early, but I didn’t get up until 9am. So we left at around 10, took the train, and then had to walk a little. When we got there, the boys were already a little tired. The first thing we did was go to the little petting zoo that they had, filled with little goats and sheep. Rowan LOVED it, he was so happy and smiley and screaming and petting. He was usually pretty good about being gentle with them, but then he’d get carried away and start hitting the animals. Those poor creatures, subjected to so many kids every day. Elijah, on the other hand, was terrified of them and wanted to be carried at all times. Poor baby! Rowan managed to get goat pee on his hands because he wanted to play in the “puddle”. Ewwwww. He also outgrew his shoes and it looked painful for him to walk in them. But he was so excited to be there that he didn’t care. It did scare him a little whenever I bought some feed and about 10 goats came towards him and surrounded him, but he was a good sport.

Then, of course, it was time for us to leave and he threw a tantrum. He could’ve easily stayed there all day, but Elijah wanted to move on. We walked through the zoo and went to the play area and beer garden and ate lunch. Elijah fell alseep but Rowan just wanted to walk around and explore. We managed to keep him occupied and sitting in his stroller while we ate (luckily the pretzels will do it), and then off he went. I had to leave early to go to my German class, but my parents stayed a little longer and rode the carousel. Again, Rowan was ok with it, but Elijah hated it. Poor thing. On their way back, they stopped at Starbucks and then walked home. The boys have gotten so much outside time since my parents were here (and also the weather turned nice).

In the evening, my dad made some chicken and cabbage stir fry that was really good. Michael wants him to make it again already, and in larger quantities!!! Mmmmm…. Had to watch “The Sound of Music” to prepare for tomorrow’s tour.

Today was yet another holiday for Michael and we decided to take advantage of the free babysitting and head to Innsbruck, just the two of us. We didn’t leave super early in the morning, maybe around 9 or 10. Of course, we hit traffic on the way, so we veered off and went to some mountain (I forgot the name already). There was a cable car to the top and so we went up and watched the paragliders take off. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to just sit and watch. I think it’s funner to watch them take off rather than actually do it (I did it in 2004 as was bored). Michael brought up some wine so we just sat there with our wine, making fun of everyone. Aren’t we terrible? There was some guy with a hang glider and we couldn’t understand why he would want to do that instead of paragliding since it seemed so much more “heavy” and a longer set up time and he had to have like 3 GPS’s and took up so much space as he headed down to the launching area.

After an hour or so of that, we headed back down and made it to Innsbruck. Michael managed to go through a speed trap and get a speeding ticket, and iit was the nicest experience he’s had there. The police officer reduced his 25 euro fine to 10 and we could pay it to him and not mess with it anymore. Wow, how convienient and cheap. We tried to go up another mountain to get a view of the city, but unfortunately, we couldn’t find the gondola station. It turned out that they shut the station down back in December and are building a new one. So we headed to the city center. We found where we stayed the last time we were here 5 years ago and the theatre that was next to it was also still there. AND the Da Vinci code was starting in a couple of minutes! What luck!

The theatre was completely empty except for us and another couple. The seats were super comfy too. You know you’ve come a long way in German when you can understand about 1/2 of the Da Vinci Code! We were so happy. I think that made the movie more interesting and fun. Maybe if we saw it in English we would be like “it was alright…”.

After the movie we went to the Chinese restaurant we liked 5 years ago, and the same lady was there. The food was good, but not SUPER good, and we talked a little to the lady again. She didn’t remember us, but was happy that we returned.

Then we headed back home. It was a nice day away with free babysitting! Thanks mom and dad!

Today was their first Kindermusik lesson. Thank goodness my parents were there to help! They didn’t quite understand what was going on and was too distracted by the open empty space and the big mirrors! Elijah couldn’t get enough of looking at himself and Rowan wanted to explore every corner. I thought it was good though, they had a lot of fun with all the instruments - castanets, egg shakers and bells and liked all the physical things like walking around. They didn’t really want to sit still and pay attention though when they were supposed to. The teacher was really nice and patient. The other boy in the class is a bit older so he could sit and listen and follow directions. We were given a CD that we’re supposed to play when we’re at home. At the end of the class, the teacher gave them some “goldfish” crackers and like always, Rowan liked it and Elijah wanted nothing to do with it.

Unfortunately my dad forgot his camera (I was counting on him to bring his), next time…

Elijah said his first word today and it wasn’t Mommy or Daddy. It was…drum roll please…eye. He has said things before, but never said it in an appropriate way. Like he says “Mommy” when he sees food. Or points to things and says “Dada” or “Da”. Technically, I guess you could say that his first word was “that” (da) which means everything. But this is the first word that he seems to really know. He pointed (more like poked) his eye and said “eye” twice today. We’ll see how long he remembers it. Sometimes they do things and they don’t repeat it for a long time or never again.

Nothing else exciting happened today. I made Spaghetti for dinner and Michael randomly picked up 1/2 baked garlic bread and it was really good. He bought 2 small baguettes and thought that was excessive but we ate it all. Everyone liked my Spaghetti, thanks to the Prego that Michael’s mom sent us. They even went so far to say that it is better than in Italian restaurants. Shhhh..don’t tell them that the secret is Prego. Of course here, spaghetti sauces are supposed to be thin and watery with little to no meat. I just don’t get it.

Tomorrow the boys have their first Kindermusik class. Kinda weird, I had a hard time finding Kindermusik in German, I’ve only found it in English. They brag about how it originated in Germany, but I have yet to find a German speaking class. I was going to compare the prices to the English one, because the English one is damn expensive, especially when paying for 2. So, don’t know if they’re just making that stuff or what. The class will be really small though, just the boys and one other poor soul. It might be better for them though, since they kind of freaked out every time I took them to Sticky Fingers. Hopefully now that it’s warmer, they’re more happy to be out and about and banging on instruments. My parents are going to help me this week and next so it should be fun.

Rowan throwing one of his fake tantrums.

It is so nice having the Grandparents around. They get up with the boys and change them and feed them and I can stay blissfully unaware sleeping in my bed. Ahhhhh… This morning, my mom wanted to get her frapaccino, so they went to Marienplatz to get it BY THEMSELVES! WOW! My dad was so sure that he knew where he was going. Just in case, I made him take a map and I printed out a close up map of our place with a drawn route to Starbucks. It’s about 1.3 miles from our house, so it’s not just around the corner. But my mom just NEEDS her Starbucks.

I was all alone and didn’t know what to do with myself. I had some of my German homework to do so I did that and also some much needed laundry. But then I was so distracted by all the things that I COULD do. I mean, I’m by myself! Wow! But then I just ended up doing my homework and laundry and making myself lunch. How exciting.

I started to get worried when they were gone for over 2 hours. But I figured they couldn’t get THAT lost. And they could easily find an English speaking person to help them if they needed it. They were gone for about 2.5 hours and had a great time. I’m glad that they felt comfortable enough here to venture out on their own. Turns out they went the “long way” to Starbucks (the way we went the other day through Odeonsplatz), then went to the Viktualienmarkt to buy some fruit and other stuff, then came back a different way on Residenzstrasse, which coincidentally had another Starbucks, and that is much closer than the one at Marienplatz. So my mom is really happy they found that one. One of the great things here is that interesting stuff to see and look at are just a few blocks away, no need for cars or trains.

The boys didn’t have a proper nap today since they napped a little in the stroller. When that happens, their napping gets weird. My mom tried to have them nap when I was at my lesson, but she said that they just played in the room. Oh well. They were pretty well behaved the rest of the day. It is so nice to have at least one person at all times willing to entertain them and not the lifeless body that usually accompanies them on the sofa (me).

My dad made dinner for us tonight, beef with veggies also some ham and potatoes. It was pretty good. Michael was impressed that they found all the stuff that they needed to make dinner all by themselves!

In the evening, we strolled around the center and did some shopping. I think shopping is best after 8pm, when it is usually forbidden. We went to the store C&A, and had a field day because they had super cheap outdoor clothing! They had lots of fleece stuff, that usually you would pay 30+ dollars for. One jacket that I wanted to buy was only 5 euros. I didn’t buy it because they didn’t have a good color. Maybe in the winter. Michael was super excited because he can get cheap climbing pants or jackets or whatever. Woohoo!

When we came home, we found my dad comatose in front of the TV watching The Sound of Music. He was probably preparing for the tour we’re going to take on Saturday. I thought that was funny.