The Top of Innsbruck...

We made it to the top of the mountain in time for sunset, then stuck around to watch the lights of the city come on.

We considered getting a drink in this igloo bar, but decided we’d prefer to have a hot toddy inside with a view over the valley..

We went down the mountain on the last funicular. We’d planned to stop for dinner on the drive back to Garmisch, but our plans were waylaid when our road was closed due to an avalanche.

Interesting Sightings in Innsbruck Churches ...

The Court Church houses the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I and features 28 larger than life bronze statues. This particular statue made us laugh. It’s common for people to like to touch certain statues for good luck, but this is the first statue that we’d seen with this particular part stroked. In further strange sightings, we saw this giant photo of The Burning Supper in the cathedral.

Views of Innsbruck, Austria...

View from the City Tower built in 1450

View from the top of the mountain

I spent a fun day in Innsbruck, Austria with Johanna, Jan and their families. We wandered the city visiting the City Tower, Hapsburg Palace, Folk Museum and several churches. Then we took the funicular up the mountain to the cable car which took us to the top where we saw more spectacular views.

Surprise! Beer Schnapps is Delicious...

One dinner was organized for a large group from Jimmy’s office at a traditional Bavarian restaurant that featured two boys doing a strange slap dance. The food was mediocre, but we loved the after dinner drinks: hot beer schnapps with whipped cream. It sounded gross, but was surprisingly delicious. As you can see, Bob and Jan clearly enjoyed it.

Beauty of Partnach Gorge...

Despite three previous visits to Partnach Gorge, I was excited about going to this breathtakingly beautiful natural monument with Johanna and Olivia. This year the frozen waterfalls were covered in snow, which gave a different dimension to the scenery.

Unlike previous years, we merely walked through the gorge without going on any crazy hikes. Afterwards, we had lunch at the ski jumping stadium used in the 1936 Winter Olympics.

An Excellent Bavarian Dinner...

Our favorite dinner was with Jan, Bob, Natalie, Johanna, Frank and Olivia at a quaint Bavarian restaurant in downtown Garmisch. We finished the evening with traditional apple schnapps, which was more interesting to watch being poured than it was to drink.

Snow Ball Fight...

One evening, Jimmy organized a big snowball fight for all the kids in our group, although you can’t tell that from these photos of just my family. As the instigator and biggest kid of all, it’s not surprising that Jimmy got clobbered.

Cross Country Skiing...

Another day, Jimmy talked me into trying cross country skiing. We thought maybe it would be more my speed since I’m not a fan of downhill skiing because of my fear of falling. Turns out, that I wasn’t a big fan of this either as I never got the rhythm down. Luckily one of Jan’s friends was with us and her husband was nice enough to pick us up at our lunch stop after our two-hour journey.

This was the first time we’d seen our hotel from this vantage point.

Germany’s Highest Point...

I joined Jan, Bob and their daughter Natalie for a day at the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain at 9,720 feet (2,962 meters). We took a cog train, which was disappointing since half of the journey was in a tunnel, up to the base of the ski resort. Luckily, the views from the top weren’t disappointing at all. 

While Jan went skiing with a friend, Bob, Natalie and I took the gondola to the top for lunch where we found excellent food, beer and views.

Jan didn’t ski this slope, but I thought this was a cool photo.

Sledding in the German Alps...

Clearly the girls take after their daddy. While I am willing to walk up a small hill and sled down, I chickened out when it came to going up a gondola to ride down a mountain on a rickety wooden contraption. The girls, however, didn’t hesitate to go sledding both during the day and the night with Jimmy and had a blast.

Back to Garmisch, Germany

For February break, we went on the company ski trip to Garmisch, Germany so the girls could go to ski school. I was thrilled that two of my friends from the AWC were along on the trip. Johanna, Frank and Olivia traveled with us from Holland; we all laughed at this sign on the train.

There was no ski school on that first day which was President’s Day, so Jimmy took the girls skiing and sledding. I spent the day with Jan and Bob. We went to the Eibsee, a lake at the foot of Germany’s tallest mountain, for a walk. The last time I was at this lake several years ago, Jimmy and I had cycled here and the paths were completely iced over. Luckily, there was a lot more snow, so the walking was much easier.

Afterwards, we had lunch in Grainau at this charming Bavarian restaurant.

Carnival Dunking Time...

After the parade passed through our neighborhood, Jimmy and I cycled downtown to see the finale of the Carnival events. This year, the King & Queen started in this funky float before being lifted up by a crane and dunked into the Vliet. Luckily for them, it was relatively warm that weekend.

Another Year, Another Carnival...

We were happy to be home during this year’s Carnival Parade. Once again, it started in our neighborhood, then headed to downtown Leidschendam. It was definitely larger than last year’s with several more complicated floats.

Failing Stained Glass Class...

I was very excited to take a stained glass class through the AWC. Little did I know that I would be rubbish at cutting glass. It didn’t help that I chose a more complicated pattern than the usual beginner and that the blue glass was harder to cut. The instructor’s daughter cooked us a delicious lunch and it was fun seeing the other ladies’ progress.

My fan-shaped lamp is turning out beautiful, but I wasn’t able to finish it because the instructor ran out of time to cut the glass that I couldn’t manage. For the pieces that were cut, I filed off the rough edges and wrapped them in copper tape. The next step will be to solder the pieces together. After watching the other ladies struggle with the soldering iron, I’ve decided that I’ll bring Jimmy along when I go back to finish the project.

On Thin Ice...

When Jimmy saw some folks coming off of the ice, he assumed it would be a good place to enter the ice as well. Just as a Dutchman warned him, the ice cracked and he found himself up to his waist in icy water. Fortunately, he was fine. Unfortunately, I was too shocked to capture the moment.

Jimmy stayed amazingly calm. He got onto his back in an effort to get more of his body out of the water. Then the Dutchman stretched out his long legs and helped pull Jimmy back to shore. Jimmy wasn’t ready to give up on skating, so he headed to V&D, the department store, to try buying some dry jeans. He couldn’t find any that he liked, so bought a towel instead to try to keep the bus dry on the journey home.

New TV / Old TV...

Just after Christmas, we took the plunge and finally upgraded to a flat screen TV. Of course, it was too big to bring home by bike, so we transported it by tram instead. It’s great that we can now easily connect a computer to be able to view our photos on a bigger screen. It’s also connected to the Internet so we have the thrill of watching even larger YouTube videos.

Rather than tossing away our old TV, I offered it for free on a YahooGroup for expats. I was surprised when a Romanian man arrived with his two-year-old son to pick it by bike. The old bike trailer looked pretty rickety, but he came well prepared with ropes and strapping tape; he contacted me to let me know that he made it home safely.

Frozen Canals in Leiden...

On February 12, we took the bus to Leiden because we wanted to see the canals frozen for the first time since we arrived in Holland in 2005. Jimmy and the girls put on their skates, but I just walked along on the ice behind them.

How cool that one of the cafes set up some chairs on the ice to serve drinks.

Here is Ashlynn hanging off the bridge over the main canal. The water wasn’t frozen under some of the larger bridges, so they’d have to walk around to continue their trek through town.

Skating in Our Neighborhood...

After an unseasonably warm January, it finally got cold enough in early February for ice skating. Along with much of the rest of the country, we hit the sporting good store to buy the girls new skates. Veronica and Jimmy then hit the frozen pond across from town hall. Veronica also went over to Kelly’s house to skate on the canals winding through her neighborhood near Delft.