Christmas in Maryland - 19 December 2008

Merry Christmas everyone! We caught a flight out of Ramstein, Germany on Dec 2. Although you don’t always catch the flight you want, flying space A is the way to go! We had to wait about 10 hours at the air base before getting on a flight. During that time, we talked with quite a few soldiers going to/from Iraq and Afghanistan. We also worked on home schooling. We arrived at Baltimore and stood in line for customs, listening to the cheering of a supportive crowd out front at BWI. Thom said volunteers come to welcome every flight with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. I felt so patriotic and proud walking with our soldiers through the fanfare!
Since then, we’ve been busy with school, school, and more school. The boys, especially Will really miss public school! They say this is a lot harder and more demanding. Thom and I remind them about our great experiences and opportunities, but how quickly they forget when it’s time to catch up on geography, history, composition, reading, grammar, etc. We brought math with us to Europe, so they were ready for testing in that subject upon our return.
After a week of school, Ben gave us another fright. He complained that his eye was hurting…his left eye. Some of you may remember that last May, he required emergency surgery on his left eye after being air medivaced from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Here we go again??!! Sure enough, he developed a mild fever and his left eye began to swell. We took him to Bethesda Naval Hospital here in the DC area. They hooked him up on IV antibiotics and drew blood samples for lab work. Next he went to Walter Reed Hospital where they have a pediatric ward for overnight patients. He spent 3 nights there, in order to continue the IV antibiotics. Luckily, the swelling and discoloration disappeared and he’s now “at home” on a month’s supply of oral antibiotics. We have 3 follow-up appointments, primarily to determine what must be done to prevent this from recurring. It appears that his left sinuses don’t drain properly, and he has a small opening into the left orbital eye area. So now he’s gotten orbital celulitis twice when he gets congested! Thom and I have been very impressed with the doctors, and their keen interest in Ben’s health. They want to solve this issue. We’re thankful that we were here in the DC area when this emergency arose.
So, we returned to our RV and tackled more school. We parked it over a month ago at Ft. Meade’s RV Park in Maryland. It’s nice to have the commissary, laundry facilities, and full hook-ups. We’re also located close to so many friends/family in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area.
We visited with Pancho, Veronica, and Francis Kinney twice now, and Pancho was kind enough to loan us an extra car during our hospital travels. Thanks Pancho! We’ve also visited again with the Zelnosky’s and Kieta’s. Now we’re on our way south to see Kathy, Chris, Jack, and Alex Tone in VA.
Robby and I joined Cornerstone Church in an event this past week serving the Baltimore community. We helped serve dinner to approximately 400 men through a charitable group called “Helping Up Missions”. The recipients were very appreciative, and knew we were all volunteers through church. Many teenagers like Robby served along with the adults, and it was good for all of us. It puts everything in perspective to see others in such need. God has blessed us with so much. Afterward, Robby and I walked along Baltimore Harbor and had one of the best conversations ever. He felt good to have served others, and of course he had a lot of questions about how people end up in such poverty. An artist was painting pictures of boats, and asked if we could possibly spare anything since he was desperate. So Robby picked out a colorful drawing of “The Pride of Baltimore” and gave him $10. The artist seemed genuinely appreciative. Again, more eye-opening experiences.
This Christmas is very different from any we’ve ever shared as a family. We’ve prepared the kids that they won’t receive loads of presents this year. First of all, we have no space to put them! Secondly, this year is all about doing things, not buying things. Most importantly, the holidays should be focused on love, and sharing with others, not on receiving a long list of gifts. We’ll spend Christmas day with Thom’s brother, Eric and his wife, Terry, and their 4 wonderful children. They live about an hour from us, and our boys are counting down the days. They can’t wait to see their cousins!

Switzerland Nov 30

We had a marvelous time visiting Lisa and Frits in Switzerland on Lake Maggiore, only 2 miles north of the Italian border. We’ve known Lisa for about 18 years when she was a First Lieutenant in the US Army in California. She and Frits married four years ago, and it was delightful to spend 2 days at their charming Italian villa, which used to be the abbey for the church next door. Although the weather was dreary, cold, and rainy, we couldn’t help but gaze in awe at the lake surrounded on all sides by the Swiss and Italian Alps.
The boys loved playing with their dog, Fargo and sharing countless stories with Lisa and Frits. We stayed up late two nights in a row, surrounded by candles and a cozy fire. Thom and I especially enjoyed getting to know Frits, since this was our first time meeting him. We went shopping across the lake in Italy, where Thom purchased some great hiking boots. Frits treated us all to lunch, and then we drove up to a dam on the northern Swiss side of the lake. Here we stood at the top of an incredibly steep dam where a James Bond movie was filmed with the star (stuntman) bungee jumping off. We had a great time throwing snowballs down, waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, and finally hearing the loud Boom upon impact. Lisa and Frits said on our next visit, we must come during the summer to truly enjoy the beauty and swim every day. The only one brave enough to swim on this trip was Ben. On our last day as the rain poured down, Ben ventured into Lago Maggiore in just his swim shorts for a short, cold swim! We all cheered him on.
Now we’re heading back to our starting point, Ramstein Air Base, to catch a space A flight back to Baltimore…hopefully soon! It’s been a wonderful 2-week European adventure where we had a chance to visit Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, and Italy (briefly!).

Chateau Bonnet Nov 29

After Paris we headed south to the Beaujolais region, which is very special to me. It was 25 years ago when I was a college student at UC Davis studying winemaking. I spent two months in France during “the crush” to gain wine making experience. The Perrachon Family owns a winery called Chateau Bonnet in the Chenas appellation of Beaujolais and they were kind enough to invite a college student for this opportunity. So in 1983, I traveled alone from California to France. Pierre-Yves and his father were in charge of Chateau Bonnet and their entire family was very hospitable. I lived in their home, picked grapes in the vineyards, made wine in the cellar, and worked in the laboratory. I met about 30 other college students from Europe who pick grapes to make money. What a great time of my life! Then Pierre-Yves invited me to travel to St. Emilion, Bordeaux to help his friend Pascal Dalbeck make wine at Chateau Ausone and Chateau Belair. The drive takes all day, and was well worth it! I learned so much about the vineyards and wine making.
So now we meet again! Pierre-Yves and his wife Marie-Luce have four fine-looking children named Pauline (20), Charlotte (18), Clemence (16), and Julien (13). Marie-Luce treated us to a wonderful welcome dinner, complete with a cheese course and dessert. Of course we enjoyed wine, including a bottle of vintage 2000 Chenas from Chateau Bonnet produced exclusively from 100-year old vines. Pierre-Yves then opened a 1997 Chateau Belair, the winery in St. Emilion I visited and worked at 25 years ago! Thank you Pascal for all the great wines you’ve made…this was fantastic!
Today, Pierre-Yves toured us around vineyards and his winery. Ah, the memories! The boys played in the vineyards where I once picked grapes, and Pierre-Yves explained how they prune the vines. He bought more vineyards and now owns 20 hectares (50 acres) in many parts of Beaujolais, which produce 120,000 bottles, or 10,000 cases/year. He has added barrels, fermenting vats, a “balloon” press which is important in this region, and much more equipment.
We met his parents, Monsieur and Madame Perrachon who look healthy and happy. I believe the wine is their secret! We tasted wine from the barrel (a white wine from Chardonnay grapes), and Chenas (red), and Moulin-a-Vent (red) all from Chateau Bonnet. He opened a bottle of unfermented grape juice for the boys, which they loved. We couldn’t leave without buying wine, and also his last bottle of grape juice for the boys. With the generous gift of wine from Pierre-Yves, we walked away with 8 bottles. What great souvenirs!
Pierre-Yves explained how they are in control of their wines, from the vineyards to the winemaking, to the marketing and sales. Pierre-Yves is happy that his daughter, Charlotte is studying winemaking in Macon and also his daughter, Pauline is a graphic designer who recently updated their wine label. He hopes all his children will specialize in part of the family business someday. These are wonderful experiences for us, as we plan our future as well.
After another delicious meal by Marie-Luce, we said our Good-byes and promised to spend more time on another visit. We also hope they will come visit us in the US…once we have a house!
I wanted to talk a moment about our drive from Paris to Beaujolais. The 4-hour drive passes directly through the famous wine region of Burgundy. So Thom liked my idea of detouring off the A6 autoroute to take the scenic drive first to Chablis. Yes, there is a charming little village by this name, and Chardonnay has grown here for hundreds of years. We stopped at a small tasting room where we enjoyed 3 Chablis samples of wine. Crystal and Rachel introduced us to the wines, and it turns out that Rachel grew up in California for 15 years! What a small world.
We then followed a well-known route that Rachel suggested, passing along the historic pinot noir vineyards of Clos de Vougeot and Aloxe Corton and towns including Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-St-Georges. I tried to take everything in, from the rolling hillsides of vines to the castles and old farmhouses, to the small village signs marking some of the most recognized wine villages of the world. This is where the red burgundy wines are made, which are probably the most expensive wines in the world. Soon we were back on the auto route zipping south. What a memorable detour!

Paris 28 Nov

Paris is beautiful. Yesterday was a full day starting off with a metro ride to L’Arc de Triumph. Thom was impressed and said it was more than he’d expected. There are a few rooms near the top which display the history of France’s battles and wars. Then we climbed up the last of the 230 steps (Will likes to count as we climb). We found ourselves overlooking Paris from the top of the Arc! Just as we got our bearings, my Mom called from California to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. She was surprised to hear where we were!
After that, we visited the Louvre and discovered it used to be a palace for royalty. The rooms are expansive and show off the treasured art magnificently. The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory, Louis XIII jeweled crown, and Venus de Milo were some highlights.
From there we met up with Yolanda and David who were on vacation in Paris. As I mentioned earlier, Yolanda is from Spain and lived with us for a year as our au pair back in 1998-99 when Robby was 3 and Will was 1. How wonderful to be reunited in Paris! She was so happy to hug the boys, and we were so happy to see her again! The 8 of us trekked around Paris, stopping to enjoy landmarks like the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We enjoyed a delicious Chinese meal for our Thanksgiving dinner! David was excellent navigating the metro and streets, and we were happy to get to know him. We promised to take another trip to visit them in Spain.
The highlight was venturing to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, lit up in blue this year. Paris stretches out for miles in all directions, dazzling with lights, bridges crossing the Seine River over 30 times, boats, barges, monuments, palaces, and cathedrals. We spent over an hour on the three different levels enjoying the 360 degree view.
I was here with Julia back in July of 1984 when the gardens and fountains are spectacular. Although this time of year is greyer and definitely colder, we still enjoyed every minute of this memorable and romantic city!

Amsterdam to Paris 27 Nov

Happy Thanksgiving from Paris! Of course, here in France it is just another Thursday. We arrived last night in the area of Clichy, just NW of the heart of Paris. We will have our petite dejeuner (breakfast) and then head off to explore on a sunny, crisp fall day. Yolanda, our au pair from Spain who lived with us for a year back in 1998-99, is in Paris on vacation with her boyfriend, David. We will meet them today!
Up until now, our favorite day was spent in the unique city of Amsterdam. It is a city of canals, like Venice. One million people live here, with one million bicycles. We enjoyed walking all around the canals, bridges, and city squares. Oh, and the architecture of the buildings along the canals is fabulous. You’ll see stair-stepped gables (tops of buildings), fancy decorated gables, and statues up high. Most have a hook and pulley up high outside. This is how they lift up furniture to the top floors, since the stairwells are too narrow inside. Then they simply bring the heavy objects in through big windows! We took a 1-hour boat tour around Amsterdam where we saw many buildings dating back to the 1500’s and 1600’s! The boys loved spotting sinking boats that were tied to the sidewalls of the canals. They also spotted bicycles that were locked to bridges or railings which hung down into the canal! Swans dotted the water, and we saw where the trading ships brought treasures back from India, China, and other faraway places centuries ago. Amsterdam was truly one of the centers of world trade.
We visited the Anne Frank Museum, a solemn building along a canal. We walked through the building which was her father’s business, and then we walked through the hiding spot behind the bookcase which led into the annex where Anne and 7 other people hid during World War II for two years. Our boys’ eyes have been opened to the tragedies of our world, first hand. They have many questions. Anne was outwardly a happy girl, but in her diary she shared her serious thoughts. We bought her diary there at the museum which we all plan to read.
Amsterdam is a city where prostitution and drug sales of marijuana are legal. Again the boys had many questions about things they saw for sale along the streets in the heart of the city, which is right downtown by the train. We all felt very safe with many other tourists and locals all around. Only Thom was allowed to venture into the Red Light District for a short walk…I told him he had to go! We linked up and returned by train to our hostel in Souse.

Holland

The sun is shining as we drive into beautiful Holland. Thom keeps pointing out old wind mills along canals, new giant wind mills, sheep, and barges along the big canals. It’s really flat here, and green. I’m so happy the sun is finally out. We’ve had grey skies, rain, and snow ever since we arrived 5 days ago. We’ll be touring into Amsterdam all day tomorrow and maybe tonight if we get settled quickly. We have a reservation at a youth hostel outside of Amsterdam. The tour book says, “Don’t drive in Amsterdam!” With the canals, bikes, minimal parking, and break-ins, we decided to take their advice. So the hostel just outside Amsterdam has parking, and then we’ll take the train in. We’ve discovered that youth hostels are a great way to go for our family, which run us about $90 Euros/night (about $120 US). We all get one room with a bathroom, which usually includes some bunk beds. We have to make our own beds. Continental breakfast is included which is a great deal for the 6 of us! We try to avoid hotels because they require us to pay for 2 rooms since we have 6 people. This easily runs about $250/night in US dollars. I’m reminded of my travels around Europe 25 years ago. After Luxembourg, we went to SHAPE near Mons, Belgium where Thom hoped we could stay in military housing. SHAPE is an army base where NATO headquarters is located. Unfortunately, we arrived on a Saturday and housing was closed for the weekend. So we ventured into nearby Mons and booked the last room at a youth hostel. Then we walked into the local cobblestone grand square where a children’s festival was taking place. The kids were delighted, played a few games, and walked through the “Haunted House.” In the morning, we visited a stunning cathedral before departing. The artwork inside was breathtaking, including alabaster statues, unbelievable stained glass, wood carvings, and paintings. These cathedrals are so colossal. It was Sunday morning but very few people attended mass. I imagine that hundreds of years ago, this cathedral was filled with townspeople and organ music every Sunday. We drove through Brussels, and happened upon the weekend flea market. What a hoot! You can find anything from fresh fish, fruit, and candy to toys to all kinds of clothing. It’s been snowing, so we bought gloves, hats, scarves, and Will even bought a coat for about 10 Euros ($12 US)! From there we made our way through Brussels. It’s a good thing it was a Saturday because we had no idea where we were and the traffic was light. We found all the tourist sites, including the Grand Place, the cathedral, and the town’s favorite statue of Julien. He’s a little bronze statue fountain who pees gleefully. Thom was impressed to walk the Grand Place and see the artistic statues decorating all the buildings. A school group was posing for a picture in the square, yelling their school cheers. We also found a bronze relief of Jesus lying down, which was rubbed to a golden color by visitors wishing for their prayers to come true. From there we headed north, but only made it about 20 miles due to the snow storm. Cars were traveling about 15 mph. So we settled into another youth hostel in Mechelen, Belgium where we caught up on three loads of laundry. That’s a hard thing to do with all this traveling! In the morning we treated the boys to a trip to Europe’s largest toy museum. It’s normally closed on Mondays, but this Monday was our lucky day because it was open for many school field trips. We spent close to three hours learning about ancient toys from Egypt, Africa, Europe and all the way up to modern video games. I’m sure each of the boys will blog about their favorites. Then we drove north to Holland, which is where we are now. It’s amazing to think we’re in our 4th country and this is starting day #6 for us. Yet we only drove about 5 hours in Germany, 1 hour in Luxembourg, 4 hours in Belgium (through the snow!), and 2 hours in Holland. The countries are so small here….especially when we compare driving here with Alaska!

Luxembourg Nov 22

We’re driving from Luxembourg to Belgium in the first snowfall of the season. Thom made sure we had snow tires when he rented the car, so we’re in good shape. This morning we observed a huge traffic jam in the opposite direction of the Audubon, due to trucks and vehicles incapable of climbing a hill on their summer tires. Maybe we brought Alaska’s weather to Europe!
Our European journey began 3 days ago when we landed in Germany. After using the USO facilities to set up our cell phone and check email, we headed down the road in our Nissan minivan (with GPS!). We all commented on how clean and orderly Germany looks, even the little villages with their spiral church steeples. After a couple hours, we arrived in Heidelberg, where we stayed at a US Army facility called Patrick Henry Village. We had a 3 bedroom suite with a kitchen, which is just what we needed to get caught up on sleep. Unfortunately, Will and Ben were unable to sleep on the red eye flight, and the rest of us only caught a few hours.
We spent our first day exploring Heidelberg. It’s a beautiful city along the Nekkar River with an impressive castle built up on the hills from the 1400’s. We climbed the cobblestone steps and toured the castle, discovering the prince’s and princess’ quarters, the chapel, the damp recesses inhabited by bats, and the high protective walls. The castle is home to a museum of apothecary and medicinal things. It was interesting to see how people were medicated prior to modern medicine. Robby and I enjoyed the laboratory with distillation, mortar and pestle, etc. The boys were surprised to learn that the moat surrounding the castle was used to raise animals, and then the royalty actually hunted there! Our tour guide explained that the women would cheer on their “brave” men from balconies above.
Walking down the cobblestone streets with cafes and shops was enjoyable. The boys deciphered many signs, since many German words are similar to English…just a lot longer, they noticed. We heard children at recess playing in a very small space. Our boys watched as the kids laughed, played, and called to each other in German. I think they miss their friends, and probably being at school too. They simply commented that they couldn’t believe what a small outside space the kids had.
We also noticed that so many people commute on bikes; students, working people, mothers with children behind, etc. Robby enjoys all the different efficient cars. We think the Smartg Cars are too cute! We found ourselves inside a sporting goods store in a mall. A track with 4 lanes wound its way through the store. Before I knew it, all the boys were on scooters zipping around the track, including Thom! Skateboards, 3-wheelers, 2-wheeler scooters, etc. They were having a ball, and I was amazed that the clerks didn’t stop them.
Next, we visited a friend of Louise’s who lives in Heidelberg, named Karin Diekmann. Louise lived with Karin’s family about 50 years ago for a little while as an exchange student. Karin invited us into her stunning home filled with beautiful artwork. She shared sparkling wine and a light dinner with us, as we discussed the wonders of travel, speaking many languages, and family. The boys loved her house because it has an elevator, a lovely outside garden with an incredible view of Heidelberg, and an inside swimming pool. You bet they accepted her offer to go for a dip in the pool! Thank you, Karin for hosting a perfect evening to complete our first full day in Europe.
Next we drove to Trier, one of the oldest cities in Europe, which is located on the western border of Germany. We visited La Puerte Nigra, “The Black Door”, which is some of the oldest surviving architecture built by the Romans. I couldn’t help but ask the boys in awe what it feels like to climb 3 stories up on a structure so old. Statues, relief artwork, and drawings are everywhere. We could see the distant vineyards up and down the hillsides along the Moselle River.
Our family then walked through the pedestrian-only streets, enjoying German folksingers in traditional costume. We tried schnitzel for dinner, which the boys loved. As an adventure, we spent the night in a hostel. Over 25 years ago, I toured Europe as a college student and stayed in many youth hostels and pensions. It’s a terrific way to meet people from all over the world. The boys liked being in bunk beds again, and meeting a local man from Germany.
Today we ventured into Luxembourg and learned about its history. The city is strategically located on steep hills, and was constantly being attacked. Spain, France, Austria, German, The Netherlands, and Prussia controlled it over the past 2000 years. Now it is finally its own country. Luxembourg is the cleanest city I’ve ever experienced, basing much of its economy on finances and banking. Thom spoke with a local man who said the poor world economy doesn’t affect them as much here because they’re very conservative with their loans. We stopped into 2 incredible cathedrals, and walked along the steep hillsides. How they built the bridges, walls, and large cathedrals on inclines like this from hundreds of years ago seems miraculous.
Now we’re driving to Brussels, and it’s still snowing. We hope to spend the night at a US Air Base Community, Shape Headquarters, near Brussels.