Early Vacation Highlights

We've been away from Omaha for 12 days now. Can I tell you how much I love long vacations! [pause for groan for those not fortunate enough to get that long for vacation...I really do not mean to rub it in] I also love having family to stay with here. Something about having a house to relax in, people to show you around, a couch to lounge and watch movies with people you love...awesome!

Highlights thus far:

• Chi-town with Ranae. So begins Scott's love affair with riding trains. Ranae, as always, was an excellent hostess. Baby wasn't exactly thrilled to have Scott there...hopefully she's forgotten us by now :)
• The great American road trip. I would be lying if I didn't say that I was dreading driving across the country, but we actually had a really fun time. Seeing Falling Waters (Frank Lloyd Wright) and Amish horse buggies were some favorites.
• "We have no plane tickets to Germany!" Long story short, our original plan of flying a military cargo plane to Frankfurt didn't work out, so after much thinking, Facebooking old friends, and searching online we found roundtrip tickets for a great price on AirIndia. Who'd have thought?
• Flight to Frankfurt. I've never flown with so many kids, but the highlight of the 7 hour flight had to be the crazy lady sitting next to Scott. She had her hair up in a scarf, much like when my mom puts curlers in her hair, and rockstar sunglasses on for much of the flight. She told Scott about running away with an American man three days before her wedding to an Indian man, having kids who like to party, and the fact that her butt hurt. She managed to spill about half of her yogurt on Scott, and the small cup of creamer and sweetner packets. Yep, she was a gem :)
• Washington D.C. So much walking! Travel tip: when planning a visit to DC, plan the order of viewing...I feel like we back-tracked a few too many times. Sobering and inspiring to take in the foundations of our history. Our favorites: the Holocaust Museum (we were there the day before the shooting...crazy...), the WWII memorial, Arlington Cemetary, and the Jefferson Memorial at night. Also can't forget the lack of electricity in our hotel one night :)
• Schnitzel as big as your head! Our first night here, Shannon (Scott's brother's wife) took us to a schnitzel resteraunt about 15 minutes outside of Wiesbaten. I'm not kidding when I say that the 1/4 portion schnitzel that I ordered was as big as my large dinner plate--holy schnitzel, Batman! They also had 5 liter beers that you could order. Rick Steve's (our trusty guidebook author) says that Germans, on average, drink a liter of beer every 32 hours. Hearty folk, those Germans! :)
• Castle sightings along the Rhine River. Beautiful!
• The Cathedral in Cologne. I have never seen such an ornate building in all my life. Enough stained glass to cover two football fields. 533 steps (most on a very narrow, stone spiral staircase) to the observation deck on the spire...and we climbed every one of them! A 24 ton bell. Truly a place to makes one feel small in the grand scheme of things.
• Bacharach. Quaint town along the Rhine River where we enjoyed dinner. For those of you who have seen how Scott reacts when he eats food that he really enjoys, this was that kind of meal. After dinner, ice cream and a walk to the watch tower. It was locked, but we had fun seeing the vineyards on the way. Unfortunately, we did not beat the rain storm heading our way and got soaked before making it to the train station. There's something romantic, though, about running with your love through the rain, so we didn't even mind :)
• Burg Rheinstein. A castle we toured with Shannon and her kids (Aiden, 13, and Emma, 10) today in the rain. The inside had been restored during the 1800's as a hunting lodge, so interesting to see both parts of history. The views of the Rhine River valley were amazing, even with the rain. So fun to be reminded how much fun rain is when you're a kid.

So there you have it. Can't say that a bulleted list really does justice to almost two weeks of vacation, but it's the best I can do...hope you'll forgive me :)