Munich

Emily, my very best friend from Texas, came to visit us in June. Yay! And not only that, but she also brought her brand new husband, Greg, and her even more brand new baby, Forde. As soon as they had just a little bit of time to recover from the jet lag we all took of on a road trip up to Munich.

Our hotel had a indoor swimming pool which we enjoyed a lot. 

There was also a video game room which our media deprived children did not want to leave.

The church in the city center had an ancient mechanical show at noon at the top of the church tower with bells, dancing, fencing and clapping. 

Some of us were more impressed than others...

Anytime there is a tower, we climb it. This time Eva did not want to be carried so she walked up the narrow stairs with the help of dad. 

We were rewarded with a great view of Munich.

The ultra-modern Jewish synogogue. Unfortunately there was an event so we couldn't go in.:(

We relaxed at a fountain which the boys of course swam in.  Jonas soaking up the heat of the afternoon after taking a dip in the cool water.

The roccoco Asam Kirche where baby Forde got a blessing from a nun.

We ate some amazing brats

Jonas and Jaxon had seats but the rest of us stood.

The most amazing strawberries we have ever had.   We must have eaten 10 pounds during our visit.

Another fountain.  Any surprise to see two kids in it?

Then we relaxed in the cool of a church. 

and found another fountain...

Michael Jackson used to stay at this hotel in Munich when he came.  After his death a monument was created for him by fans. 

We got some great cold drinks - mango smoothie and fruit juice mix at a cafe.  Eva ended up drinking most and did not want to share with mom and dad.

These two street performers were amazing.  I have never heard an accordian and a violin together.

After 10 years of marriage it finally looks like we should be posing for engagement pictures.

All the young people were jumping in the river and riding the current downstream.

Tripping through Serbia

We hired a driver to take us on a day tour of the region.

We started with a great castle abbey tucked away in the hills of the Serbian country side.

There were nuns all around. This church was accidently blown up during a war a long time ago when it was used to store gun powder.

We then visited a cave

We then walked up to a spring

Eva had a crush on our guide and wanted to hold his hand the whole way. 

An underwater river came out of the rocks

We then enjoyed some more yummy Serbian food at a remote country restaurant. 

That is not a forced smile. 

Notice the two fresh grilled trout from the creek.  Our guide even took the kids and played while we ate.

The highlight of the day for the boys was watching a tractor reconstruct the riverbed which was damaged in the flooding.

A picture with our driver who gave some Serbian money to the boys.

We walked the NBA finals in front of an electronics store.  The boys sat on the ground for a half hour.

More ice cream.

There was a great fountain that we enjoyed playing in near our apartment.

Jonas found an empty plastic bottle which he launched in the fountain over and over.  He is full of  awesome ideas.  The bottle would shoot up like a rocket and he would jump up and down with excitement.  We sure love our Jonas!

Eva is quite the geography buff.  Here she is pointing out the capital of Serbia - Beograd - or for those of us who did not learn Serbian - Belgrade

The airline crammed us all into a tiny room before announcing the flight was delayed.  Everyone (especially Eva) loved this!   We were glad that we took this trip off the tourist track.  We were rewarded with a great long weekend in a beautiful city and a fun time as a family!