November 4, 2019
Hello and welcome. I keep coming back up to change this, but I think it's so funny, so you're welcome😂 Also didn't realize that I could add emojis, so buckle up.
I posted only a week apart from my last one, so yay!
This past week, the kids were on a school holiday, and the parents were off too, so we had more of a stay-cation. On Tuesday, the kids spent the night at their grandparents' house while the parents had dinner, so I hung out that night at the house. I have been watching Brooklyn-99, so I almost finished season 5 that night.
On Wednesday, we went to Trier, in Germany. It is the oldest city in Germany, with a couple of Roman structures left! We visited one called Porta Nigra, or Black Gate if you don't speak Latin. It is black because it is old. That's what my guidebook says. Wikipedia says it's because they used grey sandstone to build it. Whatever the reason, it is stunning. In more recent history, Karl Marx was born in Trier.
After lunch, we went to Burg Eltz, or Castle Eltz in English. It was SO COOL. It was like a classic fairy tale castle, and I got to go in😭 I went on a guided tour of the castle (in English, woohoo!), and I learned a lot, so get ready. The castle has been owned by the same family since the the 12th century, around the time when it was built. It is also one of the only castles in Germany that hasn't had damage from being attacked. In fact, if I'm remembering right, it hasn't ever been attacked. What was weird about the castle's inheritance is that at one point early on, the family had three brothers that each inherited the castle. So, there are three 'houses' in the castle that each family had for themselves. Each house had it's own kitchen, living area, bedrooms, and receiving room. We got to see two of the houses on our tour. The other house has apartments that the family who own the castle still use today. On the tour, we learned that a couple hundred years ago, one of the families died out, leaving two families to own the castle until the 1800s, when one family sold their part of the castle to the final family, who is the sole owner today. The family's primary residence is in Frankfurt, but they still use the castle a couple times a week. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so enjoy about 50 pictures of the outside and courtyard from different angles.
Thursday was Halloween, so we made the kids' costumes. One was a ghost, and the other was a head on a table. The second costume was surprisingly easy to make, and I used the skills I learned in my stage makeup class to make his head look dead. All of the kids' friends (and their parents) loved it. I finished season 5 of Brooklyn-99 and felt a little lost, so I baked cookies.
Friday was All Saints Day, which, if you don't know or celebrate it, is a day to honor deceased relatives. We had lunch at the dad's parents' house, where I met his brother, sister, and sister's two kids. We had goulash and applesauce. That afternoon, I went to a cafe with my au pair friend, then went with the family to the dad's uncle's flat for a family dinner. There, I met the uncle, his wife, her mom, and their two kids. I also met the dad's brother's wife and son. I'm just as confused as you are, and really it's not that important, other than to say that I'm meeting the whole family, and it's so cool. Anyway, it was a really cool night, and I got to see another part of the country (the southern part if you're curious).
On Saturday, the kids went back to their grandparents' house while the parents went to Ghent, in Belgium. I stayed at the house to take care of the dogs. In the afternoon, I went with my au pair friend to the city center to go to the library, yarn store, and have coffee. On the way back to the house, I went to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner. I made myself really cheesy shrimp alfredo, and you can already go ahead and call me Chef Boyardee because, wow, I am excellent at making food. I watched the first episode of Queer Eye: We're in Japan!, and had a good night.
I haven't done much since then, except write this, watch another episode of Queer Eye, and study my French, so I'm going to stop trying to drag this on and add in the pictures. Have a great day!
I posted only a week apart from my last one, so yay!
This past week, the kids were on a school holiday, and the parents were off too, so we had more of a stay-cation. On Tuesday, the kids spent the night at their grandparents' house while the parents had dinner, so I hung out that night at the house. I have been watching Brooklyn-99, so I almost finished season 5 that night.
On Wednesday, we went to Trier, in Germany. It is the oldest city in Germany, with a couple of Roman structures left! We visited one called Porta Nigra, or Black Gate if you don't speak Latin. It is black because it is old. That's what my guidebook says. Wikipedia says it's because they used grey sandstone to build it. Whatever the reason, it is stunning. In more recent history, Karl Marx was born in Trier.
*Peep the Best Western*
This guy and I were taking pictures at the same time😂
After lunch, we went to Burg Eltz, or Castle Eltz in English. It was SO COOL. It was like a classic fairy tale castle, and I got to go in😭 I went on a guided tour of the castle (in English, woohoo!), and I learned a lot, so get ready. The castle has been owned by the same family since the the 12th century, around the time when it was built. It is also one of the only castles in Germany that hasn't had damage from being attacked. In fact, if I'm remembering right, it hasn't ever been attacked. What was weird about the castle's inheritance is that at one point early on, the family had three brothers that each inherited the castle. So, there are three 'houses' in the castle that each family had for themselves. Each house had it's own kitchen, living area, bedrooms, and receiving room. We got to see two of the houses on our tour. The other house has apartments that the family who own the castle still use today. On the tour, we learned that a couple hundred years ago, one of the families died out, leaving two families to own the castle until the 1800s, when one family sold their part of the castle to the final family, who is the sole owner today. The family's primary residence is in Frankfurt, but they still use the castle a couple times a week. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so enjoy about 50 pictures of the outside and courtyard from different angles.
It's a Lily-sized door!
Thursday was Halloween, so we made the kids' costumes. One was a ghost, and the other was a head on a table. The second costume was surprisingly easy to make, and I used the skills I learned in my stage makeup class to make his head look dead. All of the kids' friends (and their parents) loved it. I finished season 5 of Brooklyn-99 and felt a little lost, so I baked cookies.
Friday was All Saints Day, which, if you don't know or celebrate it, is a day to honor deceased relatives. We had lunch at the dad's parents' house, where I met his brother, sister, and sister's two kids. We had goulash and applesauce. That afternoon, I went to a cafe with my au pair friend, then went with the family to the dad's uncle's flat for a family dinner. There, I met the uncle, his wife, her mom, and their two kids. I also met the dad's brother's wife and son. I'm just as confused as you are, and really it's not that important, other than to say that I'm meeting the whole family, and it's so cool. Anyway, it was a really cool night, and I got to see another part of the country (the southern part if you're curious).
On Saturday, the kids went back to their grandparents' house while the parents went to Ghent, in Belgium. I stayed at the house to take care of the dogs. In the afternoon, I went with my au pair friend to the city center to go to the library, yarn store, and have coffee. On the way back to the house, I went to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner. I made myself really cheesy shrimp alfredo, and you can already go ahead and call me Chef Boyardee because, wow, I am excellent at making food. I watched the first episode of Queer Eye: We're in Japan!, and had a good night.
I haven't done much since then, except write this, watch another episode of Queer Eye, and study my French, so I'm going to stop trying to drag this on and add in the pictures. Have a great day!
I looove reading your blog. it always puts a smile on my face, even more than driving the red car... 😂 ❤️
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