A Meter of Beer

Have you ever wanted to order a meter of beer? Because apparently Chris has. But alas he outsmarted me and convinced the only guy there without a wife to order one.

Manly men with a meter of beer. 

 Wow. That's a lot of beer.

 It was probably a good idea that he decided to share.

Each of them are thinking about how they are going to build one of these when they get back to America.

Fountains of Fun

Q: What do you do when it's wicked hot and you have no AC?
A: You strip down and run through a fountain. Duh.

Got your goat!

Austin has a knack for choosing odd animals for the focus of his affections. Like when we were at the Lousiville Zoo gift shop when he was 18 months old, and when presented with approximately 50 different species of stuffed animal to choose from, he chose the gorilla. They have been together ever since.
Due to this knowledge, I shouldn't have been shocked when we visited the Dresden Zoo for a second time and found ourselves in the Petting Zoo surrounded by goats. Which Austin LOVED. No teddy bears and kittens for this family. We'll take gorillas and goats please.

Mid bleat.

 Mommy was smiling trying not to think about the fleas and ticks.

 Only a Nonny intervention would allow ice cream WITH candy.

 And wiped out.

Showing Off

I love Dresden. I am sure part of my love for this city lies in the fact that I have always known that our stay here was temporary. So I try to enjoy my experiences the best I can. And when we have people come visit, well all the more reason to brag on my home city. After our crazy German road trip, coming home was a wonderful reprieve. Fortunately for Katy and Ellen, the city is chock full of fun things to do. So we tried our darnedest to squeeze in all that we could. That meant many days where we dropped Austin off at Kita at 9 am and went nonstop until 3pm when I pick him up. 

I ALMOST wore Ellen out. Almost...

Austin and Auntie Katy enjoying the tram ride.

 We totally went in and got photo booth pictures.

And they are priceless.

 We lit candles at the Frauenkirche.

 Katy and Ellen in front of the Furstenzug.

With rain.

 We toured the Zwinger Gardens, along with the beautiful Nymph Baths.

 I have been to the Zwinger Gardens a handful of times.

And SOMEHOW always missed the infamous Meissen Porcelain Glockenspiel.

Apparently I had been walking under it every time.

At least I'm pretty.

 That's EXACTLY how I wash my hair.

We also toured the Old Master's Gallery.

It has beautiful art pieces. Including Raphael's Sistine Madonna (with the bored angels), a few pieces by Vermeer (the Girl with the Pearl Earring artist) and my favorite- The Chocolate Maid by Liotard.

 Auntie Katy showed Austin some soccer moves.

ONE of them took the play a bit seriously.

 He may be taking a break from soccer for a short while.

 Katy and Ellen in front of the Elbe River with the downtown Dresden skyline in the background.

 Austin acquired an impressive scraped knee.

Or two.

We took a river boat cruise for lunch.

Austin was happy as a clam!

 It was really interesting!

This is the Blue Wonder Bridge in Dresden.

No Smurfs were harmed in the building of this bridge.

 The ladies enjoying ANOTHER biergarten.

We decided to class it up a bit and enjoyed a girl's night out.

For starters? An awesome Thai dinner.

 Did I mention that the food was awesome?

 Then off to the Semperoper for a ballet!

 The theater was breathtakingly beautiful.

 Ready for some culture!

 Gorgeous.

After the second intermission we realized that we had been sitting in the Turd section.

Katy and I had been holding ourselves together quite well seeing as a naked man had danced onto the stage in the previous contemporary piece. Needless to say we lost our composure once we saw our section name. It was the turd that broke the camel's back.

Hi Ho Heidelberg

Are you seriously over the Germany Road Trip 2011 posts yet? No? Oh good. Cause there's one more.
Except for the one I will do much later after I get some pictures from my sister-in-law. But for now...
After our night in Freiburg, we hit the pavement for our last leg of the trip. We drove through the Black Forest (not as scary as I hoped, but it WAS 75 degrees and sunny that day), Baden Baden (naked people- check),  had lunch in France (because it was just so darn close), and then onto Heidelberg as our last stop before Dresden. Heidelberg had A LOT that we wanted to try to see. It was a gorgeous city in itself, with a very cool Old Town area. But there is a major university there and to go with it, a "Philosopher's Walk" that many a famous thinkers has walked. Including me. The biggest draw is Heidelberg Castle , which was quite impressive, even in it's state of ruin. And my personal favorite stop? The prettiest Starbucks that I have ever seen. I know, judge away. Americans and Starbucks. Yada yada yada. But sister needed a caffeine fix. And the inside was SO pretty.

 Huh huh oui oui. We are in France. No?

 Frenchy Austin.

 Frenchy Chris with an authentic Cordon Bleu.

 This is France to me. Beautifully simple.

Then again, I haven't been to Paris yet. Which I hear is full of dog poo.

 Dessert to go? Oui s'il vous plait.

 Heidelberg Castle.

 Cool ruins.

Good God I love old ruins.

 Creeeeeeeepy.

 But beautiful.

My favorite picture, and Chris took it!

 The hotel in Heidelberg. I am growing quite fond of European hotels. Even with no A/C!

I like the simplicity.

 Philosopher's Garden along the Philosopher's Walk.

Philosophize about THAT.

 Sweet hugs and kisses while walking across the Old Bridge.

 The old part of town.

Usually my favorite part of a town.

This one did not disappoint.

 The Starbucks.

Fabulous!

 Rough life of a toddler.

 Gorgeous doorway.

 The ladies inside the grounds of Heidelberg Castle.

 The powder turret. Unfortunately it went boom.

 View of the city. And yes, we hiked up there.

 This gateway was apparently built as a gift for a woman. 

Overnight.

That beats the hell out of a diamond if you ask me.

And as a farewell to the city, an amazing meal in a cute restaurant.