Tuesday, May 26, 2009

U.S. trip part 1: Santa Fe for Chelsia's wedding

Well we are off on our adventure... a whirlwind trip back to the U.S. We had a wonderful time in Santa Fe and just got to D.C. Chelsia and Erik's wedding was beautiful.
Saturday David enjoyed a day at Buffalo Thunder--golf and casino--while Christy attended a girls' luncheon for Chelsia.
the rehearsal--the wedding was in Chelsia's mom's backyard
Chelsia's mom wore a beautiful traditional Korean dress
the bridesmaids
the bride and groom
at the reception
Chelsia changed into a traditional Korean dress as well



and then back to her wedding gown



the city of Santa Fe

there was a car show on Memorial Day





Loretta Chapel


the famous spiral staircase


adobe architechture
All in all, a fun time. Lots to do in DC and can't wait to see all of our friends!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Softball and Playing Tourist in Berlin

It was a busy weekend for both of us. David took off early Friday morning for Stuttgart for a softball tournament with the traveling softball team. It poured down rain the first night and David was vindicated for getting a hotel room with a few friends instead of camping on the field. Buth, the weather cleared up, the team played well, and took home the championship trophy for the 2nd time in a row. Long train ride back to Berlin.

Friday night was a quiet one for Christy but it ended up being a busy weekend. Saturday morning Christy went on to the CLO trip to visit the Stasi Museum.


they left it pretty much like it was at the time--this was the underground floor, or "submarine"



the guide said the roses in the courtyard (left corner) where there even when the prisoners were, although they never saw them. The plaque, obviously, is new.

Room where they photographed the prisoners.


After the Stasi Museum the weather cleared up and so did the mood. Christy headed over to our Berlin softball game and watched the Buckarooms pull off a 10-8 win. Then it was a spur of the moment decision to head to Potsdamer Platz with her friend Christina to see Angels and Demons. Great movie with a good twist at the end. She'll have to go back an re-read the book, though; the movie didn't really follow the plot from what she can remember but it's been a few years.

Sunday morning Christy was busy finalizing our itinerary for our upcoming New Mexico-DC-Ohio trip, but the weather was so nice she just had to get out of the apartment again.

Christina and Christy were off to the Nikolai Viertel, near Alexander Platz. It's a cute little neighborhood with some cool shops, nice restaurants and cafes, and a handful of museums.

The Nikolaikirche--closed for renovations so we couldn't go inside.

The Knoblauchhaus Museum. Which we did go into. Not the garlic museum, but rather named after a famous Berlin family. One of the oldest houses in the area.

This was one of the best finds of the afternoon-- a book store, where all the books were in miniature. Fun, fun.

The museum we didn't go into. You would have thought we were in Amsterdam....




We planted flowers on the balcony a few weeks ago but they haven't featured in our blog yet....

this is Christy's favorite new pot--a Polish pottery piece

And we're very proud of the colorful geraniums on the baloncy this year. You can see David's Ohio State gnome in the corner, too. Go Bucks!
It's a short week and it will go quickly. We have our 3-D ultrasound on Monday. Thursday is a German holiday; we'll be busy packing. And Friday morning we are on the plane to Santa Fe!!!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Busy Weekend and 1930's Party

Another crazy weekend in Berlin. Friday night we went to a happy hour with the First and Second Tour officer group, then David headed off to the marine's Cinco de Mayo Party. Saturday there was no time to sleep in. After a quick trip to the grocery store it was off to softball. Christy cheered on the Buckaroos while David played. We won 8-6 so all in all a good game. Then it was off to run a few errands before enjoying a BBQ dinner at the home of an embassy colleage. We learned a new lawn game from their Swedish diplomat friends, Kubb. Then it was off to celebrate Paula's 30th Birthday at her "Turning 30 in the 30's" party. We were prepared with hats from the 2nd hand store and a vest for David. Sunday we got to relax a bit in the morning, then it was time to clean. Sunday evening we celebrated Mother's Day with two other couples, new parents Ruth Anne and Tim and their daughter Pauline, and fellow mommy-to-be Stephanie and her husband Clay and older daughter Kiara. David made delicious chicken and veggie kabobs on the grill and Christy baked a lemon cake (thanks Betty Crocker!). All in all a good weekend, leading into another busy week at work!

Here are some picks from the party:


decked out in our 30's gear
this one cut off the top of the hat but you can sort of see the baby bump

with the birthday girl


hanging out with the girls



Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Roots visit Berlin and Prague

Uncle Gene and Aunt Joyce Root, that is. We had a wonderful week exploring Berlin, Potsdam, and Prague in beautiful weather except the last day.



Cool tour bus in Berlin. The U.S. Embassy is the building on the left in the background.


We enjoyed dinner on the restaurant on top of the Reichstag.



Christy with Uncle Gene and Aunt Joyce. The Funkturm, or radio tower, at Alexanderplatz is in the background.


May 1 is Labor Day in Germany and most of Europe. We decided to head to Prague for the long weekend.


Near our hotel, with a view to the Charles Bridge


Eating dinner at the Kampa Park restaurant on the water.... David and I ate here when we visited Prague in 2003 as well.


Prague Castle at night
Saturday we took a 7 hour walking tour of Prague (including lunch and a boat ride).

the universal clock





hourly chimes of the universal clock

there were some gorgeous cathedrals











on the river boat cruise that was part of our tour





view of Kampa Park restaurant from our boat ride








Prague Castle





at the top of the hill leading to Prague Castle



beautiful views


Prague Castle

inside St. Vitus' cathedral



cool views

We were exhausted after the tour so we stopped for a drink and to soak in the view

Monday Christy and David worked while Uncle Gene and Aunt Joyce explored Berlin a bit more. We introduced them to our favorite local restaurants--Brewbaker and the Lir. Tuesday was our only rainy day. We headed to Potsdam and saw the town, the museum at Schloss Cecilienhof where the Potsdam Conference was held, and drove around Sanssouci Park. After heading back to Berlin we enjoyed dinner at our other local favorite, Walhalla.
It was a great visit!