Germany Part I: Ur Oma visit and wedding!

Maddie with Oma on the front balcony.
Maddie learned what a balcony is and loves playing on them!

Our stay in Germany has been so fun. Both kids, especially Maddie, have seen so many new things and people, and Frank and I have tried to cram as much activity and visits as possible into the time here.

The flight over was not a great one. Maddie finally fell asleep only during the last hour of the trans-Atlantic flight. Mason cried for almost the entire flight. Maddie was afraid of the dark plane and couldn't get comfortable in the seat (no kidding!!). Meanwhile, I was having some kind of hot flash and was not feeling well. All in all, it was a trial. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers: the lady who sat in the fourth seat beside all of us, who said immediately to me, "it's OK, I'm a Mom;" the man who brought us the backpack we forgot on the tram from the plane to the airport; and the very nice Lufthansa staff person who showed us where the only "lift" (elevator) in the airport was located.

We arrived at Frank's parents' house on Tuesday after lunch and the rest of the day and all of Wednesday are a blur. The time change was rough, but on Wednesday afternoon we decided to dive into the activities we planned for our stay. We visited Frank's maternal Oma, and although I don't speak German, I could tell she was so happy to see her only great-grandchildren and to meet Mason for the first time.

Frank, Maddie and Mason with Ur Oma (Great Grandma) Hermann.

On Thursday, it rained so we visited this awesome indoor/outdoor water park in the middle of Tuttlingen, Frank's hometown. It was by far the nicest, largest water park I've ever been to. Maddie and Frank played in the kiddie pool and the "river" until we had to pull her away with promises of Haribo gummy bears. We had dinner that night with one of Frank's oldest friend, Alex, and his girlfriend Monica. Traditional german-style pork, spaetzle and mushroom gravy! Yum!

Mason enjoying his first bath in Germany!

Friday, we went to the Lochmuehle park, where the animal assortment included very large pigs, llamas, horses, geese, ostriches and donkeys with a penchant for hanging around the playground. I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it.

The donkeys

Translation: Pig Village, the home of Mr. and Miss Piggy. I think the illustration speaks for itself.

Apparently, the free park is owned by a family and had its heyday about 20 years ago. But Maddie enjoyed the huge slide and rope walk and climb even though she was terrified of the lingering donkeys.

Maddie mastering the rope bridge.

While feeding Mason in the shade, one grabbed my diaper bag -- no kidding. I got it back and he grabbed my jeans. Then I was really angry. "OK donkey, stop it or I'm putting you in time out." And he ambled away. True story.

Mason was tuckered out after all the time in the sun and donkey-watching.

Saturday, Frank and I threw our duds in the back of the Mazda minivan we rented (so chic, right?) and headed for his friend Jochen's wedding in Stuttgart. Besides the fact that I changed into my party dress in a hotel bathroom, the wedding was a great time, albeit a long time.

Frank dressed to impress. Love the seersucker jacket!

American weddings have nothing on the German nuptuals. The wedding and reception lasted from 1:45 p.m. to 1:45 a.m. -- or at least that's when we left and stumbled back to the room and collapsed into bed. The food was amazing and we had a great time, but Frank and I knew only a handful of people. So we met more!

The bride and groom: Jennie and Jochen.

A night sans kiddos (smile).

I have more pics from the wedding but Blogger won't let me upload them now. It's 10 p.m. here, so maybe it's a sign to stop for the night. More in the next post: a "real" castle visit!