Happy 2014!

With 2013 drawing to a close and 2014 on the horizon, I decided it was time to start a blog for my New Year's Resolution with the purpose of documenting our time abroad if nothing less than for my own sake- I have a terrible memory! Also, I wanted to be able to share our experiences with family and friends back in the States in greater depth than Facebook & Instagram allow. I resisted jumping on the 'blog bandwagon' despite encouragement from friends to start one because it seemed like EVERYONE and their mom has a blog these days and who has time to read all these random blogs? But speaking of moms, I figured even if my mom is literally the only one who read this, then it's worth it... Hi Mom! :)

As of last week, we haveofficially lived in Germany for six months! Like they say... time flies when you're having fun.  Don't get me wrong. Living in a foreign country, especially one that speaks a different language, comes with its challenges. However, I fully believe that with right perspective, choosing to seek out the positives and taking it for what it is, life in a foreign country can be a blast!

To celebrate six months of living in Germany, I'd like to share my six favorite places we visited in 2013:

Month One (July): Wiesbaden

Our first day in downtown Wiesbaden I immediately fell in love with our  new, charming hometown!

Wiesbaden is home to the world's largest cuckoo clock!

Month Two (August): Rudesheim

 Only a 30-minute train ride away is the adorable and quintessential German town of Rudesheim. Located on the Rhine and lined with half-timbered houses, Rudesheim is world-famous for their Riesling. Lucky for me, my favorite wine is literally made down the road at any of the number of Rheinhessen vineyards. Bonus: Wine Fest occurs two weeks in August where you can sample the local vineyards' wine selections. I'll "Prost" to that!
 

Our lovely view of the Rhine & vineyards.

Enjoying a little river cruise with our new friends Sam & Michelle.

Month Three (September): Brussels, Belgium

Highlights of Brussels include in no particular order: chocolate, waffles, beer, chocolate, Grand Place (central square), chocolate, spontaneous parades and last but not least- chocolate. Seriously though, Belgians know how to make chocolate!

Brussels Town Hall located in the Grand Place.

Why try one when you can try a flight of six?

My first legit Belgian waffle with Nutella & bananas. YUM!

 House Palace shopping. This one will do!

Spontaneous parade in the Grand Place.

Month Four (October): Garmish/ Neuschwanstein Castle

In October we had our first visitors- YAY! My brother and sister-in-law spent 10 days with us exploring new German cities and castles. My favorite stop on our journey was Garmish and in particular visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle.

Hello, Alps!

Doug & Jennifer

Our first German castle!

Month Five (November): Dusseldorf

  Dusseldorf is an extra special place to us after spending a few sweet days there together mid-way through Richard's first deployment last year. We choose Dusseldorf because the hotel company I worked at had a location there and who doesn't love a good employee discount?! Richard surprised me by taking me back there for our anniversary which happened to fall at the start of their Christmas markets- hooray!

The place where we fell in love with crepes!

Fun fact: Each Christmas market has their own unique mug with the city name & year. Fun collectible!

A life-size German Christmas pyramid and all the gluhwein you could drink.

Christmas markets mean tons of shopping and food!

Month Six (December): Prague, Czech Republic

My in-laws made the trip across the pond to spend Christmas with us, yet before they had a chance to recover from the jet lag we made our way to Prague for a long weekend. I had no idea what to expect other than hearing that it is a 'must see' European destination. What an understatement! If you have the opportunity to visit- do it! Trust me, you won't regret it!

Excited to see Old Town and the Christmas markets.

We weren't going to let the cold keep us from seeing Prague.

The famous Astronomical Clock.

On the Charles Bridge overlooking St. Vitus Cathedral.

The Charles Bridge- supposedly the 'most romantic bridge in the world.'

Tschüss!