Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Last week we took a quick overnight trip to Germany's best-preserved walled medieval town, Rothenburg ob der Tauber for its Christmas market (Reiterlesmarkt). It easily could of been a day trip but I didn't want to push my little baby boy's limits. The drive was about 3 hours from the KMC area. We left around 9 am and were able to get an early check-in at our hotel before lunch. We bundled up Rand, packed up our Jeep stroller and headed towards the walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The cobblestones quickly sent Rand into a deep sleep so Rob and I were able to hit the Christmas Market to get a cup of glühwein (a hot mulled wine) and explore the city.

While in Rothenburg we heard a very interesting story that took place during WWII. The German Garrison commander of the town had been instructed to defend the city to the last man and not to surrender under any circumstance.  The U.S. Commanding Officer had an affinity for the city since boyhood. His mother had travelled there in her youth and had a painting of the city hung up in their house. She had talked fondly of the enchanting city and he became determined to visit the city.  He asked for parlay with his German foe and insistantly urged the German to surrender his force and preserve a piece of German history and heritage.  The German Garrison Commander surrendered unconditionally and the town was preserved. That soldier's mother is not the only one in love with this charming city. Walt Disney was also a big fan. Rothenburg influenced him for the scenes for Pinocchio and some of Chiddy Chiddy Bang Bang was filmed there. 

 Rothenburg is home of the famous Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Company Headquarters. This place is huge and is a maze of Christmas decor. I was in heaven.

Rob and I had date night in "Hell." Rothenburg OBT is also home to a famous restaurant called Zur Holl (To Hell). The restaurant is over 1,000 years old. That part of the village didn't have any lamps on the streets so it was nicknamed hell, hence the name of the restaurant. I read a lot of reviews to make sure you get a reservation because it fills up pretty fast, plus they get a bit snotty if you didn't, so we made sure to get one. Rob had a delicious winter asparagus soup and I had an amazing goose dinner with red cabbage and dumplings.

Another fun thing to do while in Rothenburg is the Night Watchmen's tour. The guide has all the historical information but he is a natural storyteller and imparts his knowledge with a humor that is so natural it just slips in under your skin and next thing you're laughing away and can't wait to hear what he has to say next. The cost is 7euros and you meet at 8 pm on the town hall steps. Be sure to dress warm and wear some good walking shoes.

We stayed at the Hotel-Gasthof Post. It was a quaint little hotel and was walking distance to the front gate of the city. 

Eight months

My poor sick baby :( Rand has been battling a horrible bug this month. It didn't seem to phase him but I hated seeing him so sick. He was burning up, had horrible diarrhea and was throwing up. He also had a terrible cough and stuffy nose. The worst part was, we weren't even home when he got sick. We were in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, so the next morning we rushed back home to bring him to the doctor. 

Rand and I got back from the states beginning of December and it was so sweet seeing him great his Daddy. I can't decided who missed who more but I think it was a tie between Rand and his Daddy. The flight back wasn't bad... actually, I take that back. Right as we were taking off, Rand had a HUGE blow-out! I am so glad we are back in cloth diapers after being is spoisies for a month. 

Its starting to get really hard to get these month shots done. 

All he wants to do is roll over and "army crawl."

DIY baby handprint wreath

Usually these crafts are make with construction paper but 1. I don't have any and 2. it wont last very long in my house so I made this craft using felt. I have tons of it in many different colors but I just used red and 2 different shades of green. I traced Rand's hand on paper, cut it out and used it as a template to cut out my "leaves". For the berries, I just freehanded a shape of "berries".  I used a plate to trace out on cardboard and cut out the middle to use for the back of my wreath. I used a glue gun and put it all together and Viola! You have an adorable wreath to enjoy years to come!

Weihnachtsmarkt in Germany

Christmas time in Germany is my favorite time of the year. Everyone decorates their home in lights and little Santa's conducting direct action raids on high value targets ;)

Since this might be out last Christmas here in Germany I wanted to visit some more Christmas Market's this year. So, we bundled Rand up and headed out to some Weihnachtsmarkts in Saarbrücken and Sankt Wendel.

I love walking around these beautiful and historic cities decorated in garlands and twinkling lights and walking booth to booth to look at one of a kind hand made crafts and gifts, festive baked treats, while enjoying some glühwein and delicious food.

The Welhnachtsmarkt in Sankt Wendel had to of been my favorite one, from this year. (Last year my favorite was Trier here) Not only was it huge (and also had a medieval market) but it had Three Holy Kings and their camels walk through the center of town every evening at 4. It was awesome! I loved seeing these huge camels up close. Another fun thing they had was a little "village" of chalets that were filled with funny little elf puppets. We also came across Santa in his sled with a beautiful reindeer and some elves.    

Seven months

Rand has really become a world traveler after this month. Rand and I flew to the States to see my family for Thanksgiving and ended up traveling to see my sisters in Virginia as well. It was a 9.5 hour flight and was very lucky to not have anyone sit next to me so I could spread out and put Rand down to nap. He did very well on the flight, no problems at all... but we still have to fly back home to Germany next week. 

Rand has had a blast meeting his extended family. He got to meet his Dodad (Rob's Dad) and the entire side of my family. He is going to miss his cousins so much. Here are my favorite pics from our trip to the states, thus far.

 

Our little schnitzel

For our 5 year wedding anniversary, Rob & I bought each other a lederhosen and a dirndl. Since Rand had a lederhosen already I thought it would be fun to get a family shot of all of us dressed up. I am a bit of cheapo and didn't want to pay for professional shots so I used my tripod and a remote. We drove out to Weselberg/Hermersberg (about 20 minutes from where we live near Landstuhl) and pulled to the side of the road to get a few shots. 

Here are some of my favorites.

Six months

October was another busy month for the Galey family. Rand started cutting teeth and took him first train ride to Oktoberfest in Stuttgart. Rand also got dressed up in traditional lederhosen his Grandma and Grandpa bought him in Salzburg and we all 

went to a pumpkin fest not far from our house. 

Here are a few of Rand's highlights this month.

 

 

Lederhosen & Dirndl onesies

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a SAHM but I do miss earning a paycheck. I have contiplated working from home but living in Germany has its limitations. I decided my best option is to make something and sell it to people in the area so I needed to find something that people would want to buy. 

While this all was going on in my head I was being tempted to buy a lederhosen for my son. The problem was I did not want to spend over 150€ on an outfit that would get spit up and poop all over, plus only fit him for a month, That is where the idea of making lederhosen onesies came from. I made a few and sold them to some moms in the area and shortly heard lots of feedback saying to make girl ones, so I did. I had so much fun making little onesie dirndls I decided to start selling them at craft fairs, Facebook and on Etsy.

Stuttgart Oktoberfest

We decided to take the train to head to Stuttgart for Oktoberfest Cannstatter Volksfest. The Volksfest is not strictly speaking a beer festival, it is considered by many to be the second largest beer celebration in the world after the Munich Oktoberfest. It is full of rides, games, bier gardens, bier tents, food vendors and souvenirs. You can even find vendors selling dirndls and lederhosen incase you forgot yours at home. 

We left early in the morning to get there right when it opened. We planned on leaving before things go too "crazy" around 3 since we had Rand with us. The train ride took about 2 hours. 

DIY foam wreaths

When I am out and about and see cute stuff I think "Oh thats cute... I could totally make that". Well, this is one of those things. I love wreaths but honestly, they are just a bit to pricey for me, especially because I like to change them up every few weeks. 

These wreaths are pretty simple to make. All you need is a foam ring, some fabric and glue. 

This wreath is made from some vintage fabric I had in stock and the rosettes I 

made from scrap fabric. 

This wreath I made with some fall colored plaid fabric I also had in stock. I cut it into strips about 2 inches wide and sewed the ends together. I wrapped it around the foam and tucked the end in along with gluing it in place. The flowers I made from felt and 

glue those in place too.