Altmannstein

We woke up early to make the 2+ hour drive to Nuremberg. Delaney thinks she never gets enough sleep. Also, traveling is tiring. And this sweet little homebody said she likes our new rental house, but she’s also ready to go home. 💕

They really have been so good. We’re so blessed. 

Amy and sandy sent a pic of their arrival, so we sent one of us from when Matt missed his exit and we had to go an extra 5 kilometers till we could turn around. And we were already running late. 

And then we hit a traffic jam. 

Or a “stau,” if you are in Germany. We look up lots of words from signs. 

Then we had a snafu in meeting up. Long story short, we went to the correct parking garage, didn’t find them, my phone location said they were a mile away, we drove around in circles for a bit, and finally went back to the original garage where we all met up. 🙄 We’ve made so many rookie mistakes. Must mean we need lots more practice. 

We met at the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt. And then there’s Adi, taking a picture as I take a picture. 

This mimi misses her boys! And Carter says mimi now! My heart!

Trying to train the crew to quickly assemble for group selfies. Only Matt listened this time, so I got only him. My heart again. 

So exciting to begin phase 2 of our Christmas vacation!

Everyone got to pick food again. Brats for Frankie and Matt. Waffles for Adi, Frankie, and Laney. Sweet nuts for everyone. I was holding out for a doner kabob, but I didn’t find it till just before we got to the car. The market is so beautiful. So many fun things to see and buy. So far I’ve only bought one magnet, but tomorrow everything changes. I made a little list and I’m so excited! Little treasures to remember this special trip!

Another in the Christmas tree series. Or, Tennenbaum series, I should say. And oh Adi. She was in rare form today, and I didn’t even know it till I looked at these pictures!

It had started raining and the NY crew were all pretty pooped from their flight. And we had an hour long drive to our house. 

We picked up groceries from Aldi and made our way to Altmannstein. It’s a sleepy little village and we’re staying in a giant barn house. There are 8 bedrooms, so we’re having each of the kids have their own room. We’re hoping a little absence makes the heart grow fonder and some space will keep some peace? They wanted to bunk up, so I take that as a good sign. 

We thought we’d draw names to see who got to pick rooms first, but it turned out that everyone but Frankie quickly chose a room, then Frankie was a good sport and took the last room, the one that’s downstairs with Matt and I. Because she was so easy she gets to pick first at the Berlin house. 

They happily played all evening. Restaurant, hotel, and other imaginings that kept them quietly engaged. It was lovely. 

Matt and I went for our nightly walk and then we all talked about symbols of Christmas and Christmas traditions that point us to Christ. Traveling at Christmas is very different, we haven’t done it since before Adi was born and I definitely wouldn’t want to do it every year, but this has been lovely. We’re excited for more family time!