Summer Guests & Momcation

This has been the summer of visitors! The more the merrier, I always say. A few weeks ago my in-laws flew in from Washington. We haven't seen them in over a year and, as always, it's so great for the boys when they get to see family.

Grandpa Joe

Grandma Carol has mad goalie skillz

And early childhood literacy skills!

A few days after Marc's parents came Paulette stopped by after a business trip to another German city. If you're not related to Paulette, as most of my eight readers are, you may remember her from this post when she visited us in Korea! She's so fab. She was only with us for twenty-four hours but I'll take whatever I can get. And she treated Marc and I to the most wonderful dinner. Thanks to my in-laws for babysitting so we could really enjoy it!

My in-laws left for Holland the same day we left for Croatia. The day after we returned my cousin Shawn flew in. The boys were thrilled to have a cool, wrestlin', uncle-type to play with. While he was here our cheap refrigerator door randomly quit closing all the way. It would not close! What better person to have around when something needs fixing? He diagnosed the problem, created a solution (bungee cord) and now we just have to get the landlord over to change the hinge. Thank goodness for people who know about stuff.

The very next day Emily and Amelia arrived! Emily is one of four kids that lived next door on the street where I grew up. I've known her since before she was born and babysat her and her siblings. She was just a little baby and now the gap has closed and we're friends. It's so weird how that happens! She and Amelia, her friend from work, decided to take a European trip together and were so nice to include us in their itinerary. They went to a few other big cities first and then took the train to our village. I gave them explicit instructions on how to get to our house which included taking a dirt path. When they got to the dirt path it (understandably) looked a little weird to them. They weren't sure what to do and it had started raining but then they saw two little boys way off in the distance...Were they just imagined or was it actually Batman and a Ninja Turtle? The superheroes saved the day! They ran to rescue the wet ladies and led them down the rest of the path where I was waiting.

Shawnski chasing the kids.

We made a toast to my 20th high school reunion happening that night in San Diego. It looks like Shawn is wearing a chef's hat à la Homey the Clown but it's just a picture on the wall behind him. Tee hee!

The boys and another kid on the trampoline on the restaurant patio. Doren kept wanting to get out and in and out and in and out and in...

Many months ago I talked to Marc about going to my reunion and he was all for it but when I thought about it more I didn't like the idea of being so far from the boys in case something happened. Because that's exactly when something would happen. So to ease my disappointment from not going I thought it would be nice to go somewhere more local but by myself. A Momcation. I picked Baden Baden because it's a famous natural spring town and I love to take the waters. I had everything figured out but then Em&Am said "Hey, why don't you just come with us to Switzerland?" I worried about cramping their style. After all, I'm older by seven and eleven years and currently the only mom. Did these fancy-free gals really want me tagging along? I believed them when they said they wanted me and I decided it would be way more fun hanging with them rather than being naked with a bunch of retirees in a bathhouse so I canceled everything and two days later we left for Zürich. I have never before had a girls' weekend! My in-laws came back from Holland the day I left to stay with Marc and the boys.

I knew traveling anywhere with Emily would include comedy, possible disaster and definitely adventure. This proved to be true five minutes after we left my local station. At the very first stop the train sat there for so long that we missed our connection. We had to get new itineraries and waited a while but it all worked out.

Now on another train. We wanted to get something to eat but the electricity was out which meant no food except chips and candy bars. Answer: wine.

Our wonderful snack of way-too-expensive-for-a-train wine and smooshed turn-down chocolates from their previous hotel. After my ticket was punched I sneaked up to First Class to sit with them. Ballin'!

When we pulled into Zürich station it was DUMPING rain. We went up to street level to get the trolley and in about two seconds said "Screw this! TAXI?!" The best news of the day was that there was a lone taxi sitting right there in front of us. All these other people were huddled under the cover waiting for the streetcar. But not us! Not on this Momcation!

Fortunately the rained stopped after we checked in so we were able to take a look around that evening.

Baby Emily Bemily is all growed up.

CHEESE
Fondue is the thing to eat in Switzerland.

Never been so excited for dinner. Cute pots! Dipping forks!

Pretty money 

Walking through the city we saw a bunch of fountains that, to me, looked like drinking fountains but the girls weren't convinced. Why is it constantly flowing? Is it just dirty water circling around and around? How can we be sure? Did we bring the diarrhea pills? Americans. But I trusted. I was thirsty, plus Switzerland. I mean there's no way a city like Zürich would have little fountains with one tiny stream of non-potable water at waist level flowing out with no warning sign. It turns out I was right and it's clean drinking water flowing directly from an Alpine glacier. Probably!

Flat hair, don't care. Believing in Switzerland.

Everything is cuter.

The chocolate! And the cheese! OH!

My partners in non-violent crime.

We found out that night that the next day, August 1, is a national holiday like the Fourth of July. That meant that 99% of everything was CLOSED. So we slept in, did the grooming rituals, took the streetcar through silent, dead streets and searched in vain for anywhere to eat. I was definitely hangry. These girls are used to skipping breakfast in the morning but I'm usually through second breakfast and well into my after-lunch snack by this time. At 12:55 we finally sat down and ordered what was now lunch.

I kept reminding myself that I was on Momcation. Like on the train I would sit there and just absorb the fact that I could read, look out the window or sleep and not have to deal with anyone. And in a restaurant I can just order and enjoy and not worry about anyone getting fussy. I only had to think about me! A few times I heard a child cry and I would "turn on" but then quickly realized not my monkey. I think Momcation needs to become a regular thing around here!

Later in the day more people were out and walking around the river. We sat down on a bench to take a rest and soon heard what I thought were French horns coming from somewhere up river. I couldn't tell if they were close or far but they were mesmerizing and told the girls I had to find the horns. Take me to the horns!

It turns out it was these Swiss horns just a block away echoing in this covered area. I had no idea how beautiful they sound! Can you just imagine a shepherd in the Alps calling to his sheep?? Heart-eyeball emoji!

This was a floating art piece where people can hang out, have a drink and watch movies from the Film Festival.

She's an absolute riot and so cute.

Some places have ducks. Europe has swans.

I think they're the only country in the world whose flag is a square instead of a rectangle.

Looking down from a church tower we climbed.

This is locked up in front of a university campus, of course. College kids!

Lots of pointy spires.

Am-Em-Am

On the third and final day (for me) we met up with a friend of a friend of Emily's. It was a couple that lives in a suburb of Zürich with an adorable three-year old girl and a seven-month old baby boy. I didn't realize how different Swiss German is. If I had to guess I would have said they were speaking Swedish because I couldn't understand any of it. We walked around with them, went out to lunch and they told us a bit about Swiss life. Yeah, I could live there.

The dad in bright blue and the little girl splashing in the fountain.

The baby really liked laying on his belly and watching the view through his screen.

We couldn't get enough of this little chub.

A bitter orange Aperol.

The cute Swiss family with us at the train station before we parted ways. They all went to see a waterfall and then to a chocolate factory the next day! Crying face emoji!

Germany is, of course, absolutely gorgeous and wonderful but Switzerland takes it up even another notch. It's the land of my dreams but will probably never visit it again because it's so crazy expensive. It was fantastic having a few days to sleep in, do whatever I wanted and hang out with fun adult females (who could also teach me a few things to keep me in the modern loop). Emily is always a blast and Amelia is an absolute gem of a person. Thanks, Emily and Amelia, for taking me with you on my one and only trip to beautiful Switzerland! And thanks to Marc and his parents for holding down the fort while I was away. XO

Croatian Vacation

Back around last Thanksgiving, which we had with our friends Jeffrey and Whitney, we decided we wanted to go somewhere together and Split, Croatia came up as a destination none of us had ever been to and sort of a "poor man's French Riviera" that we all wanted to see. And we really did it!

Departing for Split via Vienna (sighhh)

Hrvatska is Croatia in Croatian. The language sounds like a hybrid of a slavic language and Italian.

On the bus to the town.
Marc knows Jeffrey from work. Aren't they cute?

On the bus ride we passed a lot of homes scattered on the sunbaked hills. Many of them were unfinished and it was hard to tell if anyone lived in them. The center of town is really nice but the surrounding streets reminded me of Athens, but maybe not as crazy. Lots of stray cats...
My first impression was that the old stuff is in ruins and the new stuff is also in ruins.

Checking out the city for the first time.

Whitney and I really just want to be yacht women. 

I heard many languages but it seemed like there was mostly Irish, Aussie and Italians, since Italy is just across the Adriatic Sea.
There were a lot of tourists but it didn't feel overly crowded.

Vendors along the outside of the old wall. They mostly sell beach towels, hats, water shoes and souvenirs.

I arrived in Croatia with my seasonal trend of huge, swollen eyelids. On Day 2 they were worse, but by Day 3 Whitney commented that they weren't as scary. (Jazz hands!) But on Day 2 we went to the beach and somewhere between getting ready at the apartment and arriving at the beach I broke out in a raised, red, incredibly itchy rash on my right thigh and all around the front and back of my shoulders. What is wrong with me?? Can I just have a day where my skin isn't freaking out and torturing me? Am I allergic to the sun now as well as trees? So with that and all the mosquito bites I looked like a dog with a flea problem critical enough to need medical attention.

Day 2

Passing some ruins on the way to the beach.

We walked a long way but it was worth it when we saw this.

He was good about keeping his hat on for once.

So this is why the vendors all sell water shoes. It really hurts walking on this! 

Later that day we found a park with good climbing trees...until we realized we were being eaten alive by mosquitos.

Jeffrey is one of those people who says hilarious things without trying. Here is a list of just a few things.

Toby made a comment about how on the first leg of the trip we were sitting in front of them and on the second leg they were sitting in front of us. Jeffrey goes, "Isn't it funny how life works?"

"Is that sanitary?"

"I'm growing this one hair out."

We started a movie for the boys and when the intro music came on Jeffrey yelled from the other side of the apartment, "Is that Mulan?!"

Ok, maybe you had to be there, but we were all in stitches at the time.

Day 3
We took a ferry boat to the island of Brac and walked to another gorgeous beach. The water was so clear and warm. This time we knew enough to get water shoes for the boys. It was kind of awkward trying to get comfortable lying on a pile of rocks but the plus side was not having all of our stuff covered in sand.

The limestone used to build Diocletian's Palace was taken from this island.

Lots of different rocks but mostly white-ish limestone.

Watching a sea plane land.

Split was hot, like mid- to high-90s. I'm not a summer person so it probably wasn't the best idea to go to an already hot place in the summer. Anything above 80 and I start to get cranky. I REALLY don't like sweating. I know that, once again, I'm in the minority here, because I don't get why so many people can't wait for the summer weather. Everyone's like "Summatiiiiime!!" What part is it that you love so much? Clothing sticking to your body? Body odor? The sun burning a hole into your forehead? Fresh mosquito bites just as the last batch finally disappears, not to mention wasps and all the rest of Insecta plaguing the earth? The silhouette of my boys' bodies changed shape because the bites were so huge. Ugh! I'm sorry to be such a bummer about summer but to me it's just a mucky soup of itchy, sweaty, sticky sunscreen mixed with dirt. Unless I'm in water or still soaking wet from being in the water it's not an enjoyable time of year for me. Please just put me in a sealed cave and wake me up in late September. Bah Humbug!

Day 4
One of the highlights for me was seeing the inside of Diocletian's (cave-like!) Palace. It was built at the turn of the 4th century as part-residence, part-military garrison. After being abandoned for centuries the residents started building their city around what was left of the walls. Something like 3000 people have their homes and businesses within the old walls. Isn't that fascinating?!

It used to look like this right against the water for easy boat access. The water receded and now there is a big promenade in front of the harbor.

It's a maze of narrow streets. Old mixed with new.

And now to the underground...

Water bubbling up from underground.

Some of the walls were dripping water.

I think some of GOT was filmed here!!!

Part of the ancient sewer system.

Seriously old!

There were so many rooms to explore!

He ran in circles for ten minutes non-stop.

Our third and final beach was actually sandy! About ten minutes after we got there it started thundering and lightning and it looked like rain was coming so we had to pack up. I kind of missed the rocks when it was time to get all the sand off everyone and everything.

Sand in every crevasse.

The wall of rain.
It ended up only drizzling but we were already in a restaurant just in case.

The old city by night

It looks like a really fancy place, but it was pretty cheap.

These boys had an obscene amount of ice cream.

Day 5

Killing time in the shade before the busride to the airport.

It was so nice vacationing with adult friends. Not only was it great chatting and getting to know them better but it was invaluable having more adults for hand-holding, playing and swimming. Jeffrey and Whitney had quite a sampling of what it's like being with kids 24/7 and  traveling with them. I'm almost positive they still like us and I think they might even still want to have kids someday. Or maybe a cat.

We got on the bus to get back to the airport and the A/C wasn't exactly high-functioning. We were on that bus, which Whitney said smelled like the inside of a vacuum cleaner, for over an hour just dripping sweat.

Marc was literally pouring water on our heads.

Marc told me to smile and this was the best I could do.
Dripping sweat. Claustrophobic. Hate.

He finally fell asleep as we're descending on the first flight.

Aaaaaah! Split was beautiful but it's so good to be back in clean, predictable, chilly Germany. The temperature now in Split is 91 degrees but here it's a breezy 75 with a chance of rain tomorrow. Now that's my kind of summer!