August

No title would work for all that went on in August. At the very beginning of August Chris and I went to the Olympic Park for the Summerfest there. It was supposed to be the summer version of Oktoberfest, but really it wasn't. It was a very small version to say the least. We walked around mostly on the outskirts of it all, it being so loud and we were not in the mood for it. I was coming down with a cold. Sunday we went to Oberschleissheim Palace, on the outskirts of Munich. It was built by a King of Bavaria who thought he was going to be elected Holy Roman Emperor, but turned out he wasn't. So he never used this palace and we can now enjoy the beauty of the place. Parts of it are now regular apartments while the gardens are still maintained. The weather was turning from warm to rainy and cold that week. My cold became a chest cold.

It has been a full year that I have been working at Bubbles Kindergarten. It has definitely changed since we started. It is amazing to think how far we have come to being a well put together kindergarten. The kids are great. They really work as a group and enjoy each other. It is fun to watch and hear them trying their English. They understand me now and so I don't have to repeat myself as much. I am now forcing them as much as possible to speak it. I have also learned enough German to understand them, or at least the gist of it. It has been a great experience and am loving the time I have there. The last week of August, first week of September is the summer break for them and so we were winding down the kindergarten and cleaning up for the end of the year.

Gemini caught her first, and hopefully last, mouse. We have been letting her outside more and more. She is loving it and since she comes when you call her name, it seems okay. She jumped in through the bedroom window with a mouse in her mouth. She looked so proud with it. "Look what I found!" However, she put it down and there it goes running around the room trying to find a place to hide. It went behind the bed. We pulled the bed out a little and let Gemi go back and get it, but she just turned around like what?? We found the mouse went through a hole into the compartment under the mattress. So we had it cornered but then Gemi jumps over and grabs it, runs out of the compartment and then lets it go again. Off it runs. She caught it once more and dropped it again, but luckily Chris was able to catch in a bowl. Unfortunately, our efforts to capture and let it go outside did not succeed as the bowl ended up decapitating it. But my, Gemini was so proud!

My cold was getting better and almost gone by the middle of August. Laurel, Tony and their 5 month old Ted came to visit us. It was wonderful to have them and get to know Ted. Their first full day here we walked all over Munich and showed them around downtown and Nymphenburg Palace. It was a long day and very hot. The next day we went to Neuschwanstein Castle. They went to tour around the castles while Chris and I sat by the lake or a cafe with Ted. My cold was coming back full on and worse than before, so I tried to keep it slow. That night I had a fever and so Monday went to the doctor's. Laurel, Tony, Ted went off to Nuremburg. The doctor put me on antibiotics and told me I had the beginnings of pneumonia. Because I didn't have a fever anymore I was just to stay at home. Tuesday our visitors went off to see Salzburg and Vienna, while I stayed home to get better. They returned on Thursday and I was feeling much better already. My energy wasn't at full speed but better. Friday I showed them around a bit and then left them to tour around themselves. Saturday, we went to Regensburg for a half a day. We took it slow. It is a small village so it wasn't hard to see it all and not do much walking. Sunday they left for Paris. It was nice to see them.

I was feeling better and we decided to take the chance to go to Italy as we had already planned and booked everything. We just would take it easy. Monday we sat on the train for 6 hours to Venice. It was a beautiful trip through the Alps and countryside. We got to Venice and checked into our hotel. We walked around a bit and found a place to eat. Throughout our time in Venice, it was funny to see how many times we would see tourists turn a corner with a map in their hands looking around them confused. We did it many times ourselves. Every street is an alleyway. There is no "streets." They zigzag and you turn down one and find yourself cut off by a canal. It was confusing and quite funny sometimes as we thought at one point that we had figured it out until we turned again to find another canal or square with four or five other alleyways you can choose. Venice was beautiful. It was the most expensive city we visited and yet we feel the most rundown. We don't understand why they don't fix up the plaster and paint on the buildings. Maybe they like the rundown look. We went to the basilica, which was the most impressive of Venice. The next day we went on a boat ride to different islands around Venice. Each island was known for one art work or the other. One island was known for glass making and the other for their lace. It was nice to see a different part of the area and ride on the water.

As our trip was progressing, the heat was progressing as well. It was very hot and sticky. Italy in summer, what else can I say.

We took the train to Florence. My antibiotics ran out at this time and I was feeling much better. My energy was up, but I still felt a little congestion in my chest that just did not go away. We walked around Florence hopping from one shady spot to the next as it was very hot. We spent one full day touring Florence. We went to the Ulfizi Gallery. My only grudge is that they made us throw away our water bottles. I hate buying water so I just keep refilling the same bottles when I have the chance. Chris did not think the gallery was as great as it was said to be. It is a great art museum, but I agree it is not the Louvre.

The next day we took a day trip to Siena. It was a beautiful old town. The church there is huge and decked out in detail everywhere. The columns are striped colored marble, the ceiling and inch of floor had tiled patterns or mosiacs, again all in marble, probably with many dozens of different patterns and colors. It is quite a church. We went to the fortress, which like Florence, is now used as their expo center. It had beautiful views back towards the city.





The next day we went to the five villages (Cinque terre) that are on the coast of Tuscany north of Pisa. These five villages are known for the way the farmers carved out the hillside for their crop and lived on the coast. We were not really sure how to tour this area, but we started with the top most village Monterosso. We went swimming in the water and walked the village. We then went for a hike. And it was a hike. It was very hot. This trail goes all the way along the coast through the five cities. I think after it all we had chosen the two cities that had the farthest distance between each other. But we took it slow and drank all the water we had by the end of it. It was a beautiful walk despite the heat. The path wound itself along the hillside through the vineyards. It had a gorgious view of the water. We made it to Vernazza. The town was very cute tucked in the cove of the hillside. Very small. We took another dip in the water and ate pizza. It was a fun day and different than what we had been doing.

The next day we took the train down to Rome for another couple days. It was still hot but there was a breeze so it felt cooler than Florence. We walked around the area and saw Medici's Rome house to compare to their Florence home. We went around Florence looking for gardens or parks to walk through but there was only one small one. We like searching out our gardens to have a peaceful walk and slow down some. In Rome, I noticed a huge park area by this Medici home. So we went through it. It was mostly brown but there were ponds and statues and paths, so it worked okay. But we didn't stay long. The next day we went to the Colloseum and the ruins. It was quite impressive. I have been to Rome before and seen these sights so Chris will have to fill in what he thought........(it was very old: Chris) I really enjoyed the guide at the Colleseum. It really makes a difference who you have as a guide for they have their own spin on things. She was very factual and gave tidbits about the place and the area, and she disputed myths. (Chris: apparently the story about filling up the Colesseum with water for fake naval battles is untrue) I liked hearing her description of how it would have looked in the past. That night I wasn't feeling so good and my cold was getting worse again. We went to the pharmacy the next morning and got a refill of the antibiotics I was on. That day we went to St. Peters and the Vatican. We saw the Sistine Chapel. It would have been nice to see only the Chapel, but they make you see the whole museum. Chris was now coming down with a cold too, so we went back to the hotel afterwards and spent the rest of the day in the hotel reading our books in the air conditioning.

Our last stop was the town of Naples. We went here primarily for the cheap flight back to Munich. It turned out to be the scariest town we have been in. We came across 4 pickpockets selling the ill-gotten-goods in the short walk from the train station to our hotel. Even our tour book recommended not going outside at night. I would agree. We got there checked into our hotel and left the city right then to go to Pompeii. Pompei turned out to be quite larger than we expected. We thought it would be this small village but it was actually a city with 10 to 20 thousand people. The village, if you don't know the history, was covered by the eruption of a nearby volcano 2000 years ago. The people suffocated by the carbon dioxide and the village was destroyed and covered with ash and lava. It was rediscovered in 1700s. The village still has 1/3 left to excavate. It is impressive how the village was so preserved all this time. They put plaster into the molds of the lava that once were bodies and you can see them how they laid when they died. The molds are now in some museum somewhere, but the idea is quite somethig. It really is a village where the second floor just got wiped out. You can see the stair cases up to the second floor, the rooms, the ovens, the mosaic floors, the frescoes on the walls. Yes, a lot has been run down but you can still imagine it as it was back then and the style of artwork.

The next day, Friday, we flew back to Munich. We only went to Naples because it was cheaper and quicker to fly from there. But we are glad we did, because we saw Pompei.

We spent the weekend reading books and sitting around the house. I was really hoping my persistent cold would go away. Monday, I went to work. It was a great day to be back. The kids were fun to see after the break. After being gone for three weeks, they seemed a foot taller. But I was coughing all day so in the evening I went again to the doctors. I am now at home on stronger antibiotics. I can't wait for this to be over. I have three days off work. That is why I have so much time on my hands to write such a long blog! But I would not change our decision to go to Italy, we enjoyed it too much.