Goodbye Ferd

I'm so sad to say that my "pseudo grandpa" passed away last night. I will miss him terribly!

Stuttgart Volksmarch ~ 2008

So, today we went on the annual Stuttgart Volksmarch. My friend Amanda and her son Ethan picked me up this morning and then we met up with Becky, Rich, Karen, Ed and Jacquie for our 12 km (7.45Miles) walk. This was Amanda's and Ethans first volksmarch and what a spectacular job they did. Ethan was as quiet as a mouse and just enjoyed taking in all the scenery. We finished in about 3 hours, after a couple of stops along the way. It was a gorgeous day here in Stuttgart, perfect for the VM.

Polish Pottery Shopping ~ Bolesawiec, Poland

Well this was my third journey to Bolesawiec for pottery shopping (most likely my last on this tour of duty). My friends Becky and Donna ventured out on this express trip with me over this weekend. (For those that don't know, the express trip leaves late at night on Friday, arrives early on Saturday and heads back to Stuttgart on Saturday evening - so the bus is our hotel) We basically shopped till we dropped. This is always a challenging trip for me because it is like a scavenger hunt - you never know what your going to find or if you will see the same thing in the next store. I think we hit a dozen or more stores. It's crazy shopping! I guess because I already have my fair share of pottery I wasn't finding much too purchase.

Stuttgart Half Marathon ~ June 22, 2008

Tim and I both ran the Stuttgarter Zeitung half-marathon on 22 June. It was an extremely hot day for us here in Stuttgart. They were hosing us down at the water stops and the neighborhoods were kind enough to drag out there hoses for us to run under. This was my first half-marathon that I completed - I finished in 2:25. This was a fun run for me as I ran with my co-worker Joy and her friend Kirsten. We crossed the finish line together. Tim completed in just over two hours. He is more ambitious than I am as he has signed up for the Amsterdam marathon.

2008 June ~ Santorini, Greece

Well Tim and I finally went back to Greece for a much needed relaxing vacation. We stayed at a resort called Mira Mare, directly across from the beach in Perivolos. www.miramare-resort.gr For us this was a perfect time because the tourist haven't flocked in yet - we weren't waiting in lines for anything and pretty much guaranteed a spot on the beach. Just about a mile and half up the road was another town called Perissima ~ we spent a lot of time up there checking out different restaurants. We tried traditional dishes such as Mousaka, Greek salads and baklava. We enjoyed the area so much we didn't want to do much of anything else. We did go to a Santorini Festival ~ which included wine tasting, an excellent Greek buffet and traditional Greek music and dancing. We also rented a car one day and drove to Fira (Thira), Oia (IA) and Red Beach. Other than that we were content hanging out on the beach or walking around the towns nearby. The last day was extremely windy - so I guess it was a good time to go.

2008 Memorial Day Weekend ~ Vienna, Austria

Tim and I went to Vienna for the long Memorial Day weekend. After a seven hour drive there we were relieved to park the car for the weekend and start exploring on foot. Our hotel was across the street from a beautiful park, where they held Mozart concerts. We didn't go to a concert but we did visit the famous Lipizzaner horses, toured Hudertwasser house and shopping village and visited the Schloss where Napoleon's son passed away. It was a jam packed weekend but we are glad we went.

Rothenburg, Germany February 2008

My friends Karen, Becky, Rich and I spent the weekend in Rothenburg for their Volksmarch. We stayed for the second time in the Hotel Diller which is across the street from the criminal museum. The hotel is in a very central location and I would definitely recommend it! We had wonderful weather for a volksmarch. The first day we walked an 11K which kept us mainly inside the city and the second day we walked a 5k which took us outside of the city.