The hills are alive...with the Sound of Music...

(posted by John)

Every year all Dutch students receive a week long “fall break” where they do not have school for an entire week.  Although not officially part of the Dutch school system, luckily ISA follows this fall break practice as well.  Given that there are so many expat families at ISA who want to explore Europe during their European stay, most everyone takes advantage of this week long break to travel throughout Europe.  This year we had friends travel to the following places:  St. Petersburg, Russia; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Auschwitz, Poland; Stockholm, Sweden…you get the idea!

Inspired by our friends the Pemantell’s, we decided to tour the Bavaria region of Germany and Salzburg, Austria.  Another road trip!  We will be staying in four separate locations, two days at each site.

We departed home on Saturday morning, October 15^th.  We had about a five hour drive to our first destination, Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  The drive was extended due to road construction (just like Minnesota!).  On the way to Rotrhenburg we stopped in the town of St. Goar in the Rhine river valley.  St. Goar is home to the Rheinfels castle http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/germany/rheinfels.htm.  Built in the 13^th century, today it sits in ruins following its destruction at the hands of the French revolutionary army in the late 18^th century.  This was the first real castle we toured as a family and it was quite exciting.



Rheinfels Castle

 After eating dinner in St. Goar (pork and weiner schnitzel), we arrived in Rothenburg quite late.  We went to bed right away to get ready for a full day on Sunday.

Although very touristy, Rothenburg op der Tauber certainly lived up to its billing as an authentic medieval town http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber.  A business hub in the 13^th and 14^th century, Rothenburg experienced a decline in the 17^th century after being sacked by an army that otherwise was just passing through.  Following this event, the town was stricken by poverty until it discovered tourism (or tourism discovered it) in the late 19th century.  Ever since, tourism has proved to be a boon for the town as most of the locals earn an income by supporting tourism. 

The streets of Rothenburg op der Tauber

We started our morning with a quick breakfast at our hotel the Hotel Golden Grifener which is located in the house of Rothernburg’s former mayor Toppler.  We stepped out of the hotel and walked 30m to the main market square.  We climbed to the top of the clock tower of the town hall built in 1681 to get a bird’s eye view of this medieval walled town.

Jen and Ryan at the top of the clock tower

After climbing the tower we discovered the best apple juice we’ve ever had, made fresh on the spot by a local street vendor.  Matthew wants an apple juice machine of his own :)

Fresh squeezed apple juice

We followed this by walking a section of the wall that protected the town in the middle ages.  The wall is still intact so you get a genuine feel for what it must have been like 600 years ago.  Windows designed for shooting arrows and canon turrets dot the wall as you walk.  Following our walk of about half a mile of the city wall, we meandered through the well restored town, stopping for snacks and a little shopping.  While shopping, we made friends with a very knowledgeable shopkeeper who told us more about the history of the town along with recommended restaurants.  We ate at one of those restaurants for dinner where Matthew coined the song, “one schnitzel a day, and everything is going to be okay.”  I guess he likes German food.

Market Square in Rothenburg op der Tauber

Our day ended with the Rothenburg “night watchman’s tour.” http://www.nightwatchman.de/index.php?&sprache=ENG.  The tour starts at 8pm (after dark) and the Rothenburg night watchman (in full costume) told us an abridged, dark comedy version of the city's history.  Ryan loved it.  He’s always had a well developed sense of humor.  I enjoyed it as well.

The Night Watchman

One last dessert was necessary before we headed to bed for the night.  A good night’s sleep was necessary because Monday proved to be a BIG day…

Legoland Monday!



Legoland Germany

 About 100km west of Munich sits Legoland Germany.  A very well done amusement park and mini lego village http://www.legoland.de/en/.  It felt a lot like a Lego Disneyland.  We all had a great time, especially the boys :)  Matthew wants to live in Legoland Germany…

Happy Boys...

After finishing legoland, we drove to Munich where we would be staying for the next two nights.  Munich is the historical capital of Bavaria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich.  Bavaria is the land of beer halls, sausage and sauerkraut.  Is your mouth watering?  A quick trip to a beer hall close to our hotel for dinner (which included sausage, schnitzel and large beers…for Jen and I) was exactly what we needed to conclude a great day.

Mmmmm...

We needed a slower start to our Tuesday morning and I needed a run!  Between my run and the kids watching German cartoons, we all got exactly what we needed to recharge our batteries for the day.   Following this leisurely morning, we arrived at the Munich town hall just in time to hear the noon bells ring and see the famous Glockenspiel performance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus-Glockenspiel.  Like many European cities, Munich is a mix of the old and new.  High end shopping, next to historic buildings.  What makes Munich a bit unique is it was leveled during WWII.  Following the war, the Munichers decided to rebuild the city to its former look.  Today, it is difficult to find any visible remnant of the past destruction.

Following the Glockenspiel show, we walked to St. Peter’s church and climbed to the top! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter's_Church_(Munich)  This provided a great view of the city. 

Next we walked a few hundred meters to the Viktualienmarkt, an open-air market serving all sorts of food and beer.  Throw is a beautiful sunny day, and I think this was the highlight of the day for Jen and I…enjoying good food & beer, basking in the sun, talking a little Bavarian history with our kids.  Not to bad. 

Bavarian Brats

Next stop was the Frauenkirche, Bavaria’s Catholic cathedral, and former church of the current Pope  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Frauenkirche.  The Bavarian region of German is historically strongly Catholic and was one of the front lines of the battle against Protestants in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.  The church itself was simple but impressive, made of brick vs. the typical stone churches we’ve seen thus far.

At this point we were beginning to wear down a bit.  We walked by the Residenz, the home of the Bavarian royal family (the Wittelsbach’s) until 1918.  The Wittelsbachs ruled Bavaria for nearly 700 years http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wittelsbach.  More about them later in our trip…  Just north of the Residenz we relaxed in the Hofgarden, a simple but very nice garden/park.  In the middle of the garden was a large stone gazebo.  A four-piece ensemble was playing an impromptu concert, mostly of Mozart classics.  We relaxed and enjoyed the music…

Mozart in the park

As evening was upon us, Jen and I needed to recharge so we stopped at the world-famous Hofbrauhus beer hall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofbr%C3%A4uhaus.  We enjoyed a couple beers and some umpah music.  Matthew and Jen even polka’d a bit!

Jen and John at the Hofbrauhaus

Polka time!

At this point, we were spent, and needed some non-Bavarian food.  We took the train back to our hotel and ate at a nice Italian restaurant.  I think Italian food is our family’s true comfort food.  What a day! 

Wednesday was a transition day.  We took a few more photo’s and played in a nearby park before departing Munich for the Bavarian Alps.  On our trip to the Alps, we hoped to stop and play at an Alpine slide (summer luge), but the track was closed due to rain.  Instead, we played at the park on the site and drove to our hotel for a couple hours of down time.  Our hotel is a great lodge on the Austrian side of the border.  We found a great Tirolian restaurant (this region of Austria is called Tirol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrol_(state) ) and got to bed early.  This was a good rest day before ramping up the sightseeing on Thursday.

It rained a bit Wednesday evening so we were concerned that our plans could be dampened for Thursday.  Thursday morning we awoke to clouds, but no rain.  In fact, if felt more like it could snow!  Thursday was our day to tour the famous castles of “Mad” King Ludvig II of Bavaria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_II_of_Bavaria.  Both castles (his boyhood home of Hohenschwangau and his dream castle of Neuschwanstein) we within about a 6km hike from our Gasthof.  With the fall colors and the crisp mountain air, it felt like the perfect day for a hike.

Great day for a hike!

The hike took about an hour and a half.  Roughly halfway we crossed from Austria to Germany.  The border crossing is pictured below:

The Germany/Austria border crossing

The approach was great as the castle peaked out behind the trees as we decended down the path.  Once we arrived in the village of Hohenschwangau, it became a bit touristy, but still amazing.  Hohenschwangau castle was where King Ludvig II lived most of his life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenschwangau_Castle.  Once he became King in 1864 at the age of 18, he began planning to build his dream castle, Neuschwanstein http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle.  King Ludvig II died in 1886 at the age of 40.  Upon his death, construction of Neuschwanstein was halted immediately and never completed.  The state began admitting tourists to the castle only six weeks after Ludvig’s death.  It has been said that Neuschwanstein was the inspiration for Cinderella’s castle at Disney World.

Neuschwanstein Castle

As we finished our castle tour, it began to snow!  Not any accumulation, but enough to remind us of how cold it was outside.  We hiked back to the hotel and enjoyed a great meal at our hotel.  Jen and I were even able to have an extra drink together after the kids went to bed :).

A high exercise hiking day is just what we needed.  The kids did great and we had a great time.

Friday morning was our day to depart the Bavarian Alps for Salzburg, home of the Sound of Music http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_of_Music_(film).  The day consisted of a quick stop at the “church in the meadow” called Weiskirche http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wies_Church.  This very ornate church was built in 1749 to house a wood carved statue of Jesus that was said to weep.  Many people traveled great distances to see the weeping Jesus and thus a great church was built to house the carving and welcome visitors.

The rest of the day consisted of driving and dinner.  As usual we found a great place to eat and had a wonderful dinner together as a family.  We got to bed early in preparation for our last touring day of this trip.

Fall colors in Austria

Saturday was Salzburg, Austria day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg.  Salzburg was first established by missionaries around 700 AD.  We stayed at the Villa Trapp…for you Sound of Music fans, yes, THE Villa Trapp, original home of the von Trapp family singers portrayed in the movie The Sound of Music.  This was not the movie home of the family, but the actual home they lived in until they fled Austria in 1938. 

Villa Trapp

Highlights of the day included climbing up to the fortress of Salzburg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohensalzburg_Castle and taking the Sound of Music bus tour.  This consisted of seeing all the sights where the movie was filmed in Austria

Villa Trapp residence in the Sound of Music (from the back)

The Gazebo from the Sound of Music

We sang (ok, Allison sang) all the songs from the movie and had a great time.

Do, a deer, a female deer....

On Sunday we drove across all of Germany (Salzburg to Amsterdam) to arrive home Sunday evening.  What a great trip!

Take care,

John

Berlin - A History Lesson

(posted by John)

For our first family trip of the 2011-12 school year we chose to spend a three-day weekend in Berlin.  I had previously visited Berlin a number of times for work and always thoroughly enjoyed my stay.  I looked forward to sharing my experience with Jen and the kids.

First off, we drove.  Nothing like a good road trip!  Berlin is located approx 660km (about 400 miles) east of Amsterdam in former East Germany http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/germany/  The road trip provided me the opportunity to drive on the fabled Autobahn for the first time.  Yes, it’s true…for many long stretches of the German highway system, there is no speed limit.  The Feriancek car topped out at 200 kph (125 mph) and many times we were still being passed by other cars.  Quite an intense experience.



Germany Road Trip



I spent most of Friday meeting with my German AMS colleagues (no three-day weekend for me) while Jen and the kids spent their day exploring the city, with most of their time spent at the Berlin zoo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Zoological_Garden.  As I have seen from the pictures, they had a great time!

Raaaahhhhhrrr!

Berlin is the historical capital of Prussia, a former kingdom that included land outside the current German border http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia.  Prior to WWI, Berlin was also the center of the German Empire and home of the Kaizer (aka – German emperor). 

The Brandenburg gate was one of 14 city gates for the formally walled city of Berlin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate.  Built in 1791, it is the only gate left standing and serves as a symbol for the city.

East Berlin side of the Brandenburg Gate

Following its defeat in WWII, Germany was split in two (East and West).  Given the historical and strategic importance of the capital city, the WWII Allies agreed to split Berlin into 4 sections (American, French, British and Soviet).  In 1961, as the Cold War intensified, the East Germans erected a wall around West Berlin (American, French and British sections).  Because Berlin was located within East Germany, this made West Berlin an island within the borders of East Germany http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall.

If you can’t tell, I’m a bit of a history buff so visiting Berlin is particularly exhilarating.  To see the remnants of the Berlin Wall that came down so resoundingly while I watched on TV in 1989 is very special.  It is so rare to experience such dramatic history that occurred within our lifetime.

One of the last remaining sections of the Berlin Wall

We were fortunate to receive a tour of Berlin on Saturday from my friend and AMS colleague Marco.  Marco grew up in East Berlin, his home only five minutes from the Wall.  He served in the East German army and has an uncle who escaped from East Germany in 1968.  Finally, Marco was one of the many East Berliners who traveled through to West Berlin on November 9, 1989, the night the Berlin Wall came down.  Marco shared his stories with our family, creating a fascinating and informative day.

Marco and John

Also on Saturday we visited the Berlin Cathedral http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Cathedral

Ryan & John in the Berlin Cathedral

…and the Holocost memorial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Murdered_Jews_of_Europe

The Berlin Holocost Memorial

During our intense, living history lesson on Saturday, we did find time for playing in the park and having dinner at an Indonesian restaurant.  During our dinner, we continued our discussion about the history of Berlin.  As we were leaving, a German couple who overheard some of our discussion remarked at what inquisitive and thoughtful kids we have.  They also commented that the German people will forever appreciate the role America played in freeing them from the tyranny of the Nazi’s.  What a remarkable day.

On a beautiful Sunday morning, we walked through the city doing a bit of shopping and pretzel eating



Matt the Pretzel man



…and a visit to Lego discovery http://www.legolanddiscoverycentre.de/berlin/en/index.htm

The Boys and the Lego Giraffe

Berlin is a striking mix of the new and the old.  Much of the city was destroyed during WWII and then subsequently used as a no-mans land during the 28 years the Wall stood.  Today, in the former area of the wall, very modern office buildings, hotels and shopping centers now stand in close proximity to buildings that are centuries old.  In many areas of the city a thin line of bricks has been imbedded in the street to show where the Berlin Wall once stood.  Without this reminder, it would be very difficult to tell if you are in East or West Berlin.  The city has truly become one.

The kids straddling the Wall memorial line in front of the old Wall

Back to School - 2011 Edition

(posted by John)

Allison (grade 8), Ryan (grade 6) and Matthew (grade 2) began their second year at the International School of Amsterdam (ISA) on August 25, 2011.  You may remember that we moved to Holland in October 2010, thus the kids were not able to begin the 2010-2011 school year at ISA.  We all enjoyed this more natural start to the school year.  It was also nice to start the school year already having made many friends.  We are looking forward to a great school year!

First day of School 2011

Summer in the States - 2011

(posted by John)

I took the summer off from our blog, now it’s time to catch up!

On June 23^rd Jen and the kids traveled back to Eden Prairie for the summer.  Many parties, sleepovers, and other get togethers with friends and family ensued. 

Eden Prairie Friends

Eden Prairie neighborhood friends

I followed arriving on July 1^st, just in time to host "cousins camp" at our cabin in Alexandria, MN...

Cousins Camp

...and celebrate Independence day in St. James, MN, with the Jen’s side of the family.

Jen's side of the family celebrating Independence Day

...and spend time at the beach with cousin Andie

At the beach with cousin Andie (John's side of family)

I spent the next week and a half working while Jen and the kids continued to connect with family and friends and Allie and Ryan each spent a week at church camp with friends.

I took vacation time for the last two weeks of July, much of which was spent at our Cabin.  Boating, fishing, tubing, go-karting and mini-golfing were only some of the activities we enjoyed as a family.  Ryan got up on waterskiis for the first time, Allie skied as well, and Matthew showed his expertise on the Jimmy Jam.

Ryan on the "Jimmy Jam"

Allie waterskiing

Nice catch Matthew!

Three Hot Dogs

Of course we enjoyed plenty of sunsets and campfires as well!

We love campfires!

At the end of July we participated in the St. James Relay for Life, a fundraising event for cancer research.  The event includes many activities, most designed to raise money.  One of those events was the “Mr. Relay” contest where men were encouraged to dress up as women  and compete to raise the most money within a one hour period.  The contest was similar to a beauty pageant with events such as dancing on stage and making a speech to the audience.  Well…I couldn’t be more proud to report that Ryan was crowned Mr. Relay 2011!!!  He raised over $500!!!

Mr. Relay

I traveled back to Holland on August 2^nd, two weeks ahead of Jen and the kids who did not arrive back in Holland until August 16^th.  This was much too long of a time away from each other...

We had a great summer connecting with family and friends.  Thank you to everyone for making our summer in Minnesota so enjoyable and for keeping in touch when we’re back in Holland. 

We look forward to seeing everyone again when we return for the Christmas Holidays.  Hopefully, we will also have many of visitors in Holland this year.  Our door is always open!

Best Wishes,

The Ferianceks