Amsterdam!

One of our goals for 2013 is to do more traveling. We feel a little guilty every time someone tells about "that one place in Europe" that is the "most beautiful place in the world" and they would kill to be in our position. Well people, I would love to travel more as well but there is one thing holding me back...it's called a day job! Nonetheless, we are planning to go on a trip at least once a month this year and Emily is scouring all of the travel deals websites to make sure we don't go into the poor house doing it. We decided to kick things off with a trip to Amsterdam.

Now, I know this is the internet, the home of exaggerated statements, but I feel I am being 100% truthful when I say Amsterdam is the most interesting city that I have been to in Europe. Living up to its name of "Venice of the North" I think I could have wandered around this town all week and not gotten bored. Beautiful canals, interesting narrow buildings, and lots of history. The people reminded me of a European version of San Francisco, very interesting and a little determined to be different than other big cities.

The Anne Frank House was amazing! We unknowingly played it perfectly and went to see the museum first thing in the morning. When we came out 2 hours later there was a line that went down the street and wrapped around the corner. Later in the afternoon when we floated by on a canal tour and the line was just as long if not longer. The museum is really moving. The rooms that the two families lived in have been recreated to to look exactly how they were when the families lived there. In the museum portion they had video with people that knew Anne in the concentration camps and lived to tell their story. My biggest take away from it all was that so often we think about the things we don't we don't have or restrictions on us (i.e. time, talent, money, etc.). Seeing the Anne Frank house made me think of all the things that I do have. Anne wrote page after page in her diary about wanting to simply open the window to let in the sun light, let alone go outside and play like normal kids do. It made me think how blessed I am to have absolutely no needs and very few wants.

We also visited the Rijks Museum. I always like to throw this in because 1) going to museums is something that I have to give Emily full credit for bringing to our marriage and 2) we sound considerably more cultured when I mention it. It was nothing major, we just saw a couple hundred priceless works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and the like. No biggie.

Finally, we had a lot of fun on a canal tour, visiting the Hague Temple, wandering around the city in search for fun restaurants. It was a perfect weekend.

We started off the long weekend at Vapiano, one of our favorite restaurants.
Valentine's is especially fun for us because it is the day we got engaged!

Em's gift - South Texas Cheesecake!

Just after crossing the border in to Holland. There was dense fog during the whole 2.5 hour drive.

After a session at The Hague Temple in Zortermeer, 45 minutes south of Amsterdam.

Beautiful sunset, beautiful renewable energy. They are really in to windmills!

I just loved this picturesque, quiet, European street in the background. 

The canals were amazing at night! We walked around for hours in awe.

On our way to the Anne Frank house. This town with narrow little streets really was made for bicycles.

The Anne Frank house was something not to be missed. The museum is a more modern building, which is connected to  the original Anne Frank House.

In front of the doors leading to Mr. Otto Frank's factory and office. The Frank family and another family lived in the secret annex at the top of this building.

Beautiful church, very typical of Amsterdam architecture.

Just catching some rays.

I don't think her feet could touch the ground.

Another awesome building. Quickly snapped this picture before jumping on the tram.

On the grounds leading to the Rijks Museum. This was the best museum we have ever been to!

How appropriate...a sculpture of cupid on Valentine's Day weekend.

Loved this picture. It was meant to show Amsterdam's wealth back in its hay day of the 17th century.

We were thinking about how much Little Dan would love playing with this "model" boat.
(It was about 10 feet long and 12 feet tall)

This artist was considered the best at reflection, which is why he put so many reflecting pieces in his pictures.
Not sure if it's as cool in a picture, but it was amazing in person.

Emily took this picture for me while we were on a canal tour, mostly because it has my favorite car out front.
I love the Land Rover Defender 110, and we get to see them much more often over here in Europe.

Cool little bridge.

Emily found this fun little place to eat one night.

Another beautiful night walk.

We heard about this place from a friend. It was a little more style than substance but still really fun.

Probably my favorite picture from the trip.

We navigated to the Amsterdam ward on Sunday morning and it was great!
We had English headphones and one of the missionaries translated sacrament meeting for us. At least 15 other people needed translation as well- at least 100 people attended, and it was very international. 

December Beginnings

A new favorite treat! The recipe is raspberry cream pie from Better Homes and Gardens, and it is very easy. Just a graham cracker crust (crumbs and butter) with a filling of whipping cream, cream cheese, and raspberry jam all mixed together and poured on top of the crust, then chilled in the freezer. Because I don't have a pie pan, I thought of using the cupcake pan! Then, because our freezer is so European sized (itty-bitty), the pan didn't fit :( So I put the pan in the fridge, hoping that the pies would firm up but they didn't. Thennnnn I had an excellent idea: I cleared everything out the freezer, and put the pan in at an angle and then the door closed! And these babies turned out perfectly!

Last Friday, 29 November, we went out to explore the Weihnachtsmärkt, or Christmas markets, and we were amazed: they really live up to the descriptions that people have given. There are dozens and dozens of booths like this one, selling crafts and decorations. Germans have said that the Bonn market is average sized, and that the markets in Berlin and Cologne are the biggest. Those cities also have several different locations with markets: some that are old fashioned, some that sell very fancy goods because they are located in the fashion districts, etc. Nate and I really liked the variety at the Bonn market, and we are planning to go back several more times.

It's a bit hard to tell, but these candles had amazing blends of color and we couldn't figure out how they were made.

We bought a drawing from this man. He etched or drew every single picture that he was selling! He spoke very good English and told us that he learned it when he was a hippie and traveled all over the world. I asked why he had chosen the Bonn Christmas markets, instead of Cologne or Seigburg (a city across the Rhine) and he said that the Bonn markets are more organized, and he only paid €2,000. In Cologne, he said a booth of his same size costs €10,000, for one month! 

One of the most remarkable buildings- it's probably 30 feet tall and very intricately decorated. And it is quite popular- it is one of the many places to buy beer!

These miniature buildings are a very popular decoration, and they are so cool because the fan around the top actually turns! Heat rises from little candles on the bottom level and that air pushes the blades around and around. We are looking for one to add to our collection that is pretty but not too expensive :)

You see that tall man in the background? That, friends, is Frank Apel, the CEO of DHL! Nate was very hesitant to talk to him, but after a pep talk from me, we said hello and told him that we liked being here in Bonn. He looked just like the rest of the Germans out enjoying Christmas, 

but Nate said he is a very intense businessman. 

We got super cold, so we went in to T.K. Maxx to warm up (yep, just like T.J. Maxx in the States. But the selection and clothing here is almost as nice as the Nordstrom Rack!). Nate was so nice, and he suggested that we look for some cute boots for me, so we picked out a few to try on! 

Well, maybe more than a few ;)

I really really really loved these boots but they were a size 39 and I'm a 36.5 :( We looked on every shelf and there were no other pairs, plus Nate went and asked. They are the brand Wrangler, and I did a bit of searching online, but haven't found them yet. So if you want to get me the perfect Christmas present, this is it! 

Post Tower, all lit up for Christmas! It switches, one row at a time starting at the bottom, from blue lights to red lights about every 10 minutes. 

I took this picture from the bus, but we will get some better ones in the next little bit.

Our Christmas tree! We decided save some money and get a small one so that we could get some nice decorations. This little baby was €8! And yes, Nate drove that tree home in his bike basket.

So European! Every time I see this picture, it makes me chuckle. After buying the tree, we needed to buy groceries and since the stores were close together but far from our apartment, we decided to risk it and leave the tree in the basket while we bought the food that we needed. Thankfully, Nate thought to take a picture :)

My genius contraption for how to take the next photo.

Our first attempt at a Christmas card. 

The background is definitely lacking, so we decided to relocate!

And finally, on Saturday, 1 December at a Christmas market in Köln!

iPhone Videos

Here is some footage of life around Bonn!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT2ZGKVp4YA&list=PLR5r5HSCGzgS7H_2jEQkYGDblYWNKB07H&index=8 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiYYywuuzhs&feature=share&list=PLR5r5HSCGzgS7H_2jEQkYGDblYWNKB07H

link

link 

November 21-29

A family in the ward also lives in Bad Godesberg, and they gave us a ride home from church. Their son Tommy (14) has Down's Syndrome and he is so sweet. His dad is from Germany and his mom is from the US, so he speaks fluent English and German- amazing, right?! He absolutely adores to take pictures with the iPhone, and every time we ride with them, he asks "C-c-c-camera?!" and then we take pictures together. 

We decided to make silly faces, which he loved.

Not my best look, but he chose the face so I had to follow.

So fun! (After we get out of the car and go inside, I delete at least 40 pictures- Tommy has a trigger finger)

Nate, getting on his down coat before we went for a walk on a Sunday night. We love to wear our pajamas, get all bundled up, and then walk and look at the beautiful houses in our neighborhood. 

Thanksgiving dinner! A couple days before, I had found cilantro at a Farmer's Market, which is very difficult to find anywhere, and I really wanted to use it. I also wanted to try a recipe for spiced cilantro steak and since Nate and I rarely eat meat, I thought it would be fun to have. I was going to make the dinner on Wednesday night, but I had to go help my visiting teachee so it got bumped back, coincidentally to Thursday/Thanksgiving. Additionally, black beans in a can do not exist anywhere around here. So I had to soak the black beans and then cook them for a couple hours. This meal was a lot of work! But the Pico de Gallo salsa was so delish, and we really enjoyed everything. Got us excited for eating when we visit California! 

We love FaceTime! We talked with Nate's family right before they had their big meal :)

My first homemade pie! It was a lot of work, and it made me appreciate all of the berry cobblers that Sarah added crusts to the bottom, just because they taste so good. This was an apple pie from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and it wasn't too complicated. Just lots of steps. Nate had to teach me how to do the lattice top because I studied the pictures and couldn't figure it out. 

This is our friend Damon and his daughter Elyse. He is a pilot for Fed Ex and they are from California! They moved here a year ago, and they are the other American family in our ward. They made turkey and stuffing with Penzey's spices! And also sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie with natural ingredients- everything tasted so distinct and exactly how it was supposed to. A real Thanksgiving dinner!

These people are teachers at the Bonn International School and they are all American, so we had Thanksgiving on Saturday with them. It was so fun! They all have very interesting stories and we learned a lot about the culture of international schools. 

Our hostess, Suzie made everything look so festive! 

And Suzie also made the MOST delicious cranberry-walnut-orange relish to go with the turkey, and it was so good that, for the first time, I had seconds of turkey (just so I could have more relish).