Paris, day 1

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the weekend of wisdom, it was the weekend of foolishness... Oh boy, was this trip one to remember!

The day before we left for Paris I was woken up by, "Mom, Amelie just threw up in the foyer!" Indeed, Amelie was feverish and sick. She had a VERY pukey day and Rob and I were super stressed about who would be next and when it would hit. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6 am from Frankfurt which meant we got everyone up at 4 am, and hustled over there. (I packed large ziplock bags in case the virus hit.)

 

We made it to the gate without incident, and the kids lucked out that the airport has installed these free gaming stations in our terminal.

 

On to the airplane and still puke-free, though nobody had eaten yet so we were still on edge.

 

Air France provided a petit dejeuner of chocolate croissants and juice or water. The kids were thrilled! And no one got sick, so Rob and I were thrilled too!  Once we arrived in Paris, we took a train and then a metro to our hotel and checked in early- thankfully our rooms were ready, so we washed up and headed right out for some morning sightseeing.

 

We took the metro and walked everywhere this trip. Popping out of the metro near Les Invalides seemed to be the first moment the kids felt like they were IN PARIS! Built in the 1600s under Louis XIV, it is an impressive sight.

 

But where we were headed was the nearby Rodin Museum.  Auguste Rodin was a rockstar of iconic sculpture and many of his most famous works are displayed here. The building is also a former home of the artist. The Thinker, shown here, was the sculpture Rodin requested be used as his tombstone.

 

Amelie struck a pose with the Walking Man, which inspired this poem by Carl Sandburg: 

THE WALKING MAN OF RODIN
Legs hold a torso away from the earth.
And a regular high poem of legs is here.
Powers of bone and cord raise a belly and lungs
Out of ooze and over the loam where eyes look and ears hear
And arms have a chance to hammer and shoot and run motors.
You make us
Proud of our legs, old man.

And you left off the head here,

The skull found always crumbling neighbor of the ankles.

 

The Gates of Hell, inspired by Dante's Inferno.

Rodin worked on this throughout his career and it is considered "unfinished."  You can find smaller versions of some of his other sculptures within this monumental work like, the Thinker center, top of the doors, and the Three Shades at the very top. 

We ate lunch in the cafe in the garden behind the museum. We bought some sandwiches, Orangina, croissants, a pasta salad, and chocolate mousse to share.  It was all really tasty.

 

Then it was on to what was the main event for the kiddos.  

La Tour!

 

But wait, there is a playground right near the Eiffel Tower, and they always have time for a playground.

 

Then it was really time to focus on the Eiffel Tower!

 

I have to admit, my fifth time in Paris, it still impressed me.

 

Security has really tightened since I was last there three years ago, and we didn't book tickets ahead so we had to wait in line for just about an hour, but once up there we enjoyed the beautiful, cold, sunny day and all of the views.

 

Amelie would tell you this was her dream come true, and all of the kiddos gave La Tour a big hug. 

 

Sadly, we thought we would be able to ice skate on the first floor like Charlotte and I did last time, but that wasn't set up this year.  Instead they had a few tables set up like a ski resort, and we popped into a theater to watch a short movie about the history of the Tower.

 

By this point it was 5 pm, and we were all exhausted. We walked over to Rue Cler and bought some baguettes, and pastries from a beautiful boulangerie/patisserie.

 

Then we popped in a cheese shop and bought a little cheese to go with our baguettes.

 

We rode the metro back to the hotel and had a picnic in our rooms while watching French cartoons and getting everyone a hot shower. It's cold in January! Mercifully, no one ever threw up!

Out with the Old, In with the New!

I have been thinking a lot this past week about everything we did, and everywhere we went, in 2018. We visited Finland, Luxembourg, Greece, Montenegro, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and several new places in Germany... as well as revisiting some favorites in Germany. We had visitors in each season of the year: the Haydts, Vanessa, the Springers, and Grandma Anderson. We dipped in a frozen lake, drove dog sleds, went sledding on a glacier, lounged on beaches, got chased by a goat, ate the most amazing cheese, toured ancient ruins and castles, drove race cars, and hiked in the sun and the pouring rain. It has been an incredible year of making memories with my very favorite people.  Here are my top 10 favorite family photos from this year:

 

Lapland, Finland

 

Zugspitze, Germany

 

Hiking in Luxembourg

 

Corfu, Greece

 

Mallorca, Spain

 

Lichtenstein Castle, Germany

 

Barefoot Park, Bad Sobernheim, Germany

 

Kinderdijk, The Netherlands

 

Lisbon, Portugal

 

Freiberg Temple, Germany

Looking ahead, 2019 promises to be another year of travel and new adventures.  We have just a few more European trips planned, but do feel the desire to slow down.  We have seen a LOT of Europe! I took a count: Rob and I have been to 31 European countries together (This is just Europe; Rob could add a bunch more if we count Africa.) Charlotte and Toby have been to 30 (not Finland.)  And Jacob and Amelie have been to 23 European countries within the last 4 years! Yes, there are always more places to discover and explore, but we feel content with what we have seen and done. 

In the Summer of 2019, we will be making a monumental move.... to UTAH!  This was pretty unexpected, but we feel good about the decision and are already getting excited about exploring the Great American West (I've never been to the west coast!) and spending time with friends and family that we have there.  We wish you all the best as you head into the new year, and we plan to continue sharing our travels and updates here on the olde blog with you.  

Happy New Year from the Andersons!

MORE Christmas Markets and Merry Making

 

We set up our Christmas tree just before Grandma left to go back to Utah.

 

Then on one of the first days of the Winter school break, we got a dusting of snow.  Enough to make a petite snowman on our front wall by the gate.

 

We decorated sugar cookies, watched all the Christmas movies, and sang many, many Christmas songs.  (That's what I put in the advent calendar this year, and while we didn't do it every night, I loved hearing Rob play the piano and everyone humming tunes around the house all month.)

 

One night at dinner Toby was questioning me about the mugs I have been buying at the Christmas markets and I told him that next year we could take them all out, make some cocoa, and have a "Christmas market" at home.  Well that last part was all the kids heard apparently, and they made plans for a Christmas market at home.  Each kiddo crafted and set up a little stand somewhere in the house to sell their artwork for 1-10 cents each.

 

Rob and I walked around the market together looking at each piece of artwork and purchasing a few from each child.

 

Then they took those pennies and walked around each other's stands purchasing a few things too.

 

It was a very fun evening and I hope they will be willing to do it again next year!  Maybe we'll even be able to invite some other family and friends to play along with us.

 

The last Saturday before Christmas we drove up to Aachen.  I just loooove the Aachener Dom, and I was thrilled for an excuse to go visit it again.  The excuse was an old friend of ours from our singles ward (church congregation in DC just for young single adults) was visiting Europe with her family and we had arranged to meet up in Aachen for lunch together.

 

This cathedral never disappoints.

 

We found a pizzeria willing to seat our party of 10, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch chatting together about memories, families, and travel.  It was a lovely time.

 

We hope the rest of your trip was as enjoyable, Deb and Blair!

 

And all of the kiddos too!

 

We walked around the Aachen Christmas market as our FINAL Christmas market in Germany.  I loved the Hexennof (witch's house) market and added two more mugs to our collection.

 

On Christmas Eve I made cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast and we read Luke 2 while the little ones acted out the Nativity scene.  Our Joseph and Mary argued once again over the privilege of rocking the baby Jesus, but so it goes.

 

The shepherd stayed out of the drama.  (Charlotte did the reading.)

 

Smiley faces and excitement before bedtime!

 

I just loved this Christmas.  We mindfully did less this year.  Less baking, less shopping, less traveling.  And that allowed us to have more.  More peace, more time, more quiet.  Gifts were thoughtfully bought or made, and gratefully received.  My heart was overflowing with joy and love for this little family of ours. It was the most wonderful time of the year, for sure.

Christmas markets, Grandma visits, and Dresden

 

Just after Thanksgiving, Rob's mom came to visit us and we enjoyed lots of grandma time.  She helped Amelie practice piano, sewed with Charlotte, played board games with Toby, and listened to Jake's jokes. Everyone was thrilled to have her here, and hopefully we didn't wear her out too much.

 

We also walked around many Christmas markets.  We started with Darmstadt.

 

Next up was Wiesbaden.  Even early, it was very crowded.

 

Then we made the roughly five hour drive to Dresden to re-visit what I think is my favorite Christmas market in Germany.  This year was the 583rd year of the market in this city, and I loved it every bit as much as I did two years ago.

 

 

The next morning we visited the Freiberg Temple. This was Charlotte's first time visiting the temple since she is now 12 years old. Rob and I loved being able to attend with her as Grandma graciously waited with the three smaller kiddos.  In the temple we performed proxy baptisms for our ancestors.  We believe that ALL people should have the opportunity to receive the gospel and the ordinances that we enjoy, whether in this life or in the spirit world.  Otherwise, how unjust God would be. We also believe there is no compulsion in this temple work, but that each individual may choose to accept or reject these ordinances.

 

Three generations of Andersons.

 

And a family photo.

 

After the temple, we re-visited the Bastei Bridge in Saxon Switzerland.

 

These narrow walkways over huge gorges still make me incredibly nervous with four children, but the kids did better than two years ago about listening, holding hands when requested, and staying close.

 

It is still super cool.

 

 

 

After all of our exploring, and a brief rest at the hotel, we walked to the nearby Kreuzkirche, or Church of the Holy Cross, for an evening organ and trumpet concert. (Rob's mom plays the organ.) It was kind of interesting as the musicians were up behind us in the choir loft and we couldn't see them, but at 30 minutes it was just short enough for the kids to get through it paying moderate attention. They were just about the only children in the very packed church.

 

Then we decided to enjoy a big meal at an Asian restaurant buffet.

 

Toby is still our most daring eater and polished off an assortment of sushi on his own, though his chopstick technique could use some work!

 

As we left the restaurant this Santa roller-bladed past us and stopped to give the children candy.  I was slow on getting to my camera, but the kids loved it.

 

Then it was back to the Christmas market for hot chocolate, shopping, and a carousel ride.

 

Oh I just love Dresden.

 

 

We also squeezed in one more Christmas market visit before it was time for Grandma to leave.  I love the Rudesheim market because they have a lot of international stands and mostly because it is laid out in a big round circuit that takes you through the winding narrow streets of Rudesheim.

 

Overall, we are so glad that Grandma could come stay with us and enjoy some German Christmas magic. We are doing our best to soak up our last Weihnachtsfests before we move next year, and just spending time together as a family as much as possible.