The Chaotic Ramblings of a Former Haus Frau: FN Holds a Piece of my Heart...

Hey all! I'm back! :) My poor blog has been quite neglected as of late (my last posting was almost two months ago... Yikes!!), but now that I'm officially on summer vacation and things have calmed down a bit, I'm hoping to get back to my blogging pasttime. :) And since it's been almost two months since my last post, I've got quite a few things to get all of you dear readers caught up on. Things like our trip to Germany, our Memorial Day weekend camping trip, Vander, trips up north, hanging out with friends and family, and all of the other things in between... There's definitely lots to fill you in on! :)

So, without further ado, let's get started with our trip to Germany back in March. It was such a wonderful time and I loved every single minute of being back in good ole FN!! :) I was so thrilled to be back that I don't think I stopped smiling the entire time I was there! :) The two weeks were filled with lots of visits with friends, trips to many of our favorite places, large quantities of delicious German bier, yummy food, lovely views of the Alps and the Bodensee, and many memories of our three years spent over there . The time flew by way too quickly though, and before we knew it, we were saying goodbye (again!) and heading back to the "real world". :( Needless to say, it was hard to leave again... After spending so much time and making so many memories there, Friedrichshafen (FN) will always be considered "home" to me, and no matter how far away I am, it will always hold a piece of my heart. But, the one thing I gained from this trip, was the knowledge that Friedrichshafen will always be there, and whenever I have the opportunity to go back to visit, I will always be welcomed back with open arms. :)

Now let's get started on the pictures of our two weeks in Germany! :) Just an FYI... Be prepared to scroll through ALOT of pictures! :)

Welcome to Friedrichshafen! :)

Good ole FN... :)

The Saturday Farmer's Market in downtown Friedrichshafen...
Oh how I miss this!!

Wandering around FN...

The FN Tower at night...

German Bier... Yum! :)

We enjoyed an afternoon of strolling along the promenade by the lake and stopping every so often for a delicious German bier...
It's amazing how much we've missed being able to do this.

Standing in one of my favorite places. :)

One Sunday afternoon was spent visiting with Katrina and Benjamin, meeting their new kitten, and enjoying a glass (or two) of sekt... :)

Brian made some friends while there. :)

I spent one afternoon taking pictures of things that I missed about FN...
Here is one of the views I miss...
I would pass this cute little restaurant on my (almost) daily walk home from downtown.

I miss seeing bike path signs!
There is a bike path virtually everywhere within this country!
This is something that you just don't find here in Michigan. :(

I miss this view...
Taking the trail back to the apartment...
It's so serene and quiet, and it offers some amazing views of the lake (especially at sunset).

The view from the trail of the Schlosskirche in FN...
So pretty!

A view of the Bodensee and FN, with the Alps in the distance...
Gorgeous!

I spent one day visiting one of my favorite places around the lake...
Meersburg! :)

Cobblestone streets...
Oh, how I miss you!

Outdoor cafes are something that we just don't have enough of in Michigan.

I (heart) Meersburg! :)

Strolling along the promenade in Meersburg... :)

Enjoying a coffee (from Aran) by the lake with Eva and Kinga! :)

Our old apartment. :)

Thursday Breakfast reunion with 3 of my favorite ladies! :)

Saying "hi" to an old neighbor. :)

The English Stammtisch group...
Love these ladies! :)

Sunset over FN...
This view never fails to make my heart swell. :)

Deep thoughts by Brian... :)

Wandering around Friedrichshafen Stadt... :)

We were so fortunate to be able to spend one afternoon with our friends Cathy and Stefan...
Such a fabulous time spent with good friends! :)

Being that Cathy is French, she taught us how to make crepes...
They were absolutely delicious! :)

While Cathy and I chattered away, the boys had fun watching a movie with their 3D glasses. :)

Brian making his first crepe... :)

My crepe with nutella and banana filling... Amazing! :0

It was such a fun afternoon! :)

That evening was spent catching up with our good friends, Maike and Norbert...
It was so good to see them! :)

Our Sunday morning brunch by the lake... :)

I spent a day in Munich with Katrina and Kinga...
So much fun was had! :)

Heading in on the train... :)

Watching the surfers in the English Gardens...

The English Gardens never fail to offer some stunning views... :)

Such a beautiful place! :)

Later that day we headed to the Hacker-Pschorr/Paulaner breweries to partake in the Bock Bierfest...

After getting lost and wandering around the city for about an hour, we finally found the place. :) And we passed this along the way... The storage lot for all of the empty bier bottles... It's huge! :)

I love the variety of window shutters that you can find throughout Europe! :)

Making friends with the Paulaner lion. :)

Brezeln! :)

Kinga's potential side job... A German bier maid! :)

An authentic Bavarian meal... Delicious! :)

My traditional masse pose. :)

Prost! :)

We loved the Paulaner lions that day! :)

And, of course, we had to get some roadies for the ride home! :)
The problem we ran into was trying to figure out how to open them... That's when Kinga found that the locks on our beloved George, Gina, and Lucy purses proved to be quite useful at opening bier bottles! :)

The train ride home from Munich...
Such a fun day! :)

Dinner with Steffi and Simon...
It was so great to see them again! :)

Visiting with Frau Beerbom! :)
I so wish that we could have had more time to spend with her and Herr Beerbom...
Next time we plan to see alot more of them seeing as how they are some of our favorite people from FN! :)