U-Bahn

The Wren has undergone some changes recently. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that the only way we could reliably get her to sleep was by driving her through the Bavarian countryside (David would spend hours doing this while I was at work). Suddenly - almost from one day to the next - this switched, and she would doing anything she could to avoid getting in her carseat. We made the mistake of trying to drive in to Munich with my parents. It's only a 30 min trip, but before we got even halfway, the Wren was screaming at full volume.

We pulled off at the nearest park-and-ride station and took the train the rest of the way - much, much better! (My parents were extremely good-natured about this - you'll notice that my dad is still on crutches, but this did not deter him in the least. Their thoughts were completely on the Wren.)

And from the moment we boarded the train, Gwendolyn had a great time. She would scan the crowd, pick out a likely candidate, and then ply them with smiles and waves and something that sounds almost like hi until they gave in and smiled and waved and cooed back - and then we'd switch trains and she'd try it all over again. It wouldn't always work, but she usually got a good portion of our train car smiling by the time it was time to get off.

The U-Bahn - a great discovery for Wren happiness.

Al Fresco Dining

When we asked my parents what they would most like to do during their stay in Germany, eating outdoors was top of the list. We had quite a few great al fresco meals.

The biergarten in Tutzing, on the Starnberger See.

The terrace at Andechs, our neighborhood monastery.

The Maisinger Seehof - our favorite lakeside biergarten.

And the cafe at the Buchheim Museum.

Ice Creamed

Last week marked the Wren's first encounter with ice cream. We stopped at a stand in the Englischer Garten.

Gwendolyn was VERY excited. She grabbed my cone with such enthusiasm...

...that the bulk of the ice cream ended up on the ground.

She was not in the least perturbed, and happily spent the next hour or so consuming the cone.

Englischer Garten

Smack in the middle of Munich is a wonderful public park called the Englischer Garten. It's massive - a great oasis in the middle of a beautiful, bustling city.

During our tour of Munich, we stopped here to soak our feet in the Eisbach.

The water was cold from snowmelt! Which felt great on Toby's swollen ankle. And other tired feet.

As we soaked our feet in the river, Taisie and Gwendolyn crawled around in the grass.

The Wren kept exclaiming in delight - grass, gardens, grandparents! - or at least that's what we thought she was saying.

Grandparents in Munich

My parents returned to Rhode Island a few days ago, but a lot happened while they were here, and there are still a few stories to tell.

We spent a day in Munich touring the sites.

We bought the obligatory enormous pretzel - yes, Gwendolyn's eyes are indeed lighting up!

Stepped into St. Peter's Church (Peterskirche) where a cranky Wren finally fell asleep.

Had a nice meal at a sidewalk cafe.

Visited the open air market in the heart of old town...

...where we brought sour pickles...

...and eyed the beautiful produce.

And after a few other adventures, started slowly home.

Cheerios

Not least among the many great things Theo and Toby brought in their luggage for their granddaughter was a special American delicacy--Cheerios.

As Gwen Wren has transitioned into eating more and more "real" food, we have been trying to find good, easy finger foods to have around. We keep reading--in books, online, from the touchy-feely attachment parenting types as well as more mainstream sources--that Cheerios are the ultimate baby snack food. Surprisingly, we have found no equivalent here in Germany. Not because the Germans are above seemingly base American food--in fact, they have quite a lot of super junky sugar cereal, e.g. Cocoa Puffs; and the only Cheerio-like thing they have is of the honey-nut variety (i.e., junky and sugary).

Just as we predicted, Gwendolyn loves Cheerios. We now try to keep a Ziploc full of Cheerios on hand whenever we go out. (Oh, and even though they are a precious rarity here, meant to be reserved for the Wren, David couldn't help but eat a big bowl too, piled high with fresh strawberries.)

Grandpa Love

We've taken advantage of the grandparent presence by leaving Gwen Wren with them a few mornings during their visit. We love to see the photos of what went on in our absence! Clearly Gwendolyn has a great interest in her Grandpa Toby.

Together they watch and discuss the international news.

Share a morning snack.

And then Grandpa Toby sweetly watches over her as she takes her morning nap.

Starnberg in the Rain

We've had some beautiful sunny days. However, the day I chose for a walk into downtown Starnberg to pick up my bike from the repair shop started off overcast. It quickly became quite rainy.

My parents seemed cheerfully unfazed as they took shelter in the tunnel under the train tracks.

We had some cell phone mixups: Gwendolyn had slobbered on my cell phone so much that it stopped working altogether. Luckily we were able to call David from a nearby pay phone. We arranged a rendez-vous at an Indian restaurant downtown.

David arrived with the car, so we could have a dry passage home. We thoroughly enjoyed a meal full of spice and flavor. And Gwen Wren found that nan is quite good. She's becoming quite the cosmopolitan bread-eater!

Bathtime

Bathtime suddenly becomes much better when Gwendolyn sees Taisie, aka Grandma, aka whatever the Wren eventually decides to call her wonderful grandmother Theo. I don't think her smile could get much wider.

St Gilgen

After our visit to Salzburg, we headed to St Gilgen, a small lake town about 30 km east.

This is where my grandmother (Emmy) and her sister (Tante Ann) would spend summers when they were young. Their mother (my Great Grandma Theo) emigrated from Austria when she was young, but they kept close ties over the years. Specifically, we were on the lookout for the house of "Aunt Jenny," Great Grandma Theo's cousin. My mom had visited Aunt Jenny when she was in college.

We did not find it, but we did find this house which caught our eye, lovely with its balconies covered in wisteria blossoms.

After some pleasant wandering, we had another outdoor meal.

Happy and well fed, we headed home.

Salzburg

Theo and Toby's visit began with a trip to Salzburg.

Just across the Austrian border, Salzburg is about an hour and a half from our home in Starnberg. We drove there on Sunday and spent the morning wandering around the old city.

We enjoyed a meal in a sidewalk cafe.

And then visited the Salzburger Dom, a beautiful baroque cathedral in the center of the old city. Also the baptism site of Mozart. (Mozart was born in Salzburg and every building we saw seemed to have some claim to Mozart.)

We walked across a courtyard to a giant gold sphere, with a disgruntled looking man on top. And a huge castle above.

We climbed into a funicular railway - baby stroller, crutches and all - and ascended to the Hohensalzburg Castle. Built in 1077, the Hohensalzburg is the first castle we've seen here that really seems like our vision of a stereotypical castle.

Complete with cannons.

Towers.

And spectacular views. The Alps on one side.

And the city of Salzburg on the other.

It also had one of the most impressive outdoor cafes we've seen.

Beautiful!