Gotta love the holidays!!!

I don't feel like I have slowed down long enough to even get on my computer! Especially now that I have my phone back and I can check email and facebook from there! We got back to the States on Tuesday night and we were DEAD! Our flights went pretty smooth....when we got to the airport early Tuesday morning, the lady at the KLM counter told us that our dogs weren't confirmed on our flight. I asked what our options were and she said we could wait on the next flight (4.5 hours later) or leave the dogs. Ha, so we got on the phone and started working on getting those muts on the plane!! We were successful, thank goodness cause we were so ready to get home. We also had a sick guy on our long flight into the US and had to wait for the CDC to come on board and clear him to enter the country before we could get off the plane. That was interesting... We spent a few days in Nashville with my family before we packed up one car and headed down to MS to see the Scarbroughs! We had a great weekend there and Tyler headed back to Atlanta, while I brought the Jeep back to Nashville to pack up the rest of our things! I am amazed at me and my father that we got everything in the car. Well, ALMOST everything...we had to leave behind golf clubs and summer clothes, those won't make it back to Atl until after Christmas! I can't wait to get to my apartment and start organizing all of my new things. And to grocery shop and buy more than I can carry home in my arms!!

Bye Bye Germany!!

We are hanging out at Coffini tonight for a few hours for the last time! I will miss our little coffee shop. :) We have 5 BIG suitcases, 2 hanging bags, 1 medium suitcase, a duffel bag, 2 dog carriers, 2 backpacks and a shopping bag all packed up and ready to go! I need to take a picture of all of it in one place because it really is a sight to see. They are all busting at the seams too! Today is raining and really cold...perfect weather to make us realize how bad we really do want to be home. We have a 4am taxi picking us up in the morning followed by a long day of traveling and then Mexican dinner tomorrow night!! OH!! I almost forgot. Today Tyler and I were waiting for a table at the running sushi restaurant (yes, Sonja and Susan, we ate it AGAIN!) and we saw all this black smoke coming up over the buildings. So, after lunch we headed to see what had burned...it was one of the booths that has been set up for the Christmas market...it burned totally to the ground! It was still smoking when we got there! So sad. Wish us luck tomorrow on our long journey home! Next time I blog it will be from the good ol' USofA! There is NO place like home!!

This is really happening!!!

We're going home!! TWO MORE DAYS!!! We go home in less than 48 hours!!! I have SOOO much to do before we leave, but I am pretty sure I will get it all done. :) We are up early this morning while Susan and Sonja pack up the rest of their things and wait for their cab to the airport. We had such a great visit and got to see some amazing little towns here in Germany! I think overall, Fussen may be my favorite town I visited the entire time in Germany. The snowcapped Alps in the background are beautiful! Tonight Tyler and I are going over to Christoph and Trixie's house for drinks before we leave! It has been so fun getting to know them. Then tomorrow is a full day of laundry, packing and cleaning and getting ready for our 4:30am taxi on Tuesday!

Cissy's Guest Post!!

"OMG"!! (i laugh now everytime i hear that b/c KT actually says the letters! haha) I had such an amazing and fun trip to Germany!! KTand Tyler were both great hosts and I am very thankful that they sheltered me for 10 days!! I dont even know where to begin...my flights were actaully ok, and i read an entire book on my trip....and i hate to read! It was mostly cloudy during my stay in Germany, and i took a picture of me and KT's shadows when it finally came out for about 30 minutes!! I love the ease of everyday life in Germany...riding the train and bus was a fun experience. Im glad my visit was after they had been there a while b/c i cant imagine having to learn how to do everything....props to KT/Tyler!! After this trip I def think that me and Tyler are "kickin it pals"!! ha We all visited Munich one weekend and went on a tour to Dachau...which, for lack of a better word, was an "amazing" learning experience. KT and I visited Heidleberg on Tuesday and Wednesday and visited a castle and did "a little" shopping! We had an interesting hotel arrangement...our hotel's front desk was the bar! ha From the looks of the bar we thought the room was gonna be shady but it was really nice and we got the only room with a balcony!!! I did get to experience KT and Tyler's everyday life...from watching English tv to trying new meals to getting around town, and grocery shopping. I def commend them for their lifestyle the last 6 months and how they have adapted to living in Germany! I know many people will be glad to have them back in the good 'ol US of A...including me!! Thank you both again!! See you Tuesday!! and widdle Wimbley and Sprocket!!!

Lake Como

Our visit to Lake Como was amazing! If I would have know ahead of time how pretty it is, I would have planned for us to spend more time there. It actually ended up being a pretty late minute decision to go at all. We went to the main train station in Milan Saturday morning to find out train prices to get there. We had already been told it was only about a 20 minute train ride. The next train wasn't for about 2.5 hours so we had to decide whether or not we wanted to kill that much time in the station or just leave and explore Milan a little more. We decided we wanted to go. We headed downstairs to the ticket office and the lines ended up being so long that we barely had time to get a cup of coffee and a croissant before we had to catch our train. The beginning of the ride from Milan out to Lake Como was depressingly ugly. Lots of run down apartments and graffiti. Oh my, the graffiti in Milan AND Lake Como was so sad! Like mom said...all these beautiful buildings with "tagging" all over them. When we arrived at the very small station we walked in a few circles looking for the tourist office. The girl was very helpful and gave us a map and some tips on things that we might want to see. Of course, Bev asked where we could find George, but his house was too far away from where we were. It was very cloudy/foggy that day, so later in the day when we finally did make our way to the lake, the views weren't as great as I assume they are on a clear day. Most of our day was spent wandering in and out of shops, walking through the outdoor flea market and enjoying white wine and hot fudge Sunday's for lunch. (Hey, we were on vacation and we could eat whatever we wanted!!) Once we got to the lakeside area, we looked in to taking a boat tour of the lake, but decided that we wouldn't have enough time and still be able to catch our train back to Milan. So, we decided to take the tram (I know there is a "proper" name for that thing, but I can't remember) up the side of the mountain to see the views of the city. I suddenly realized my fear for those things! All I could think about was the cable snapping and us falling all the way to the bottom. Of course mom has to let me know that she thinks we would probably topple over in the car instead of just cruising straight back down the track. That was reassuring for me too. When we got to the top, it was almost too foggy for us to even see all the way down. But there were some amazingly beautiful houses at the top and we peaked through a few gates too. :) Overall, Lake Como is somewhere I would highly recommend anyone who is able to make it to Italy to visit. I hope that I can make it back some day and spend more time!! The pictures below are in NO order, obviously...

Lazy Day

We took Cissy to the airport this morning and sent her off. Again, I was sad to see her go, I really enjoyed having her here!! And we introduced her to Rob & Big and she even ASKED if we could watch it her last night. :) I think that made Mr. Scarbrough a very happy man. The rest of our day today has been pretty lazy...We went to the grocery, cleaned the apartment and now we are watching some football. We also went outside and played ball with the pups and Wems bit a hole in my cuticle. Sweet little guy didn't mean to, but I almost cried it hurt so bad! I went back to the house to get something to stop the bleeding! All day today we have been saying things like "I bet this will be the last time we do_____" I know we both are excited to get back to familiar territory!

Mom's Guest Post!!

I had a feeling calling her out would get that guest post ball rolling...here it is! From my momma on her experience here. Stay tuned for pics from our trip to Milan and Lake Como! Hi, I am Beverly Woodward, Katie's mom and Tyler's mom-in-law. Katie asked me to share some thoughts and memories about my trip to vist them - so here goes: First, I do NOT see how she stand living with Tyler, he would drive me crazy. Psych!! Just kidding - wanted to see if you were paying attention! I love them both very much. Tyler AND Katie were actually very gracious hosts. I arrived in Nuremburg about mid day on Thursday after an awful overnight flight wiggling around in my seat and trying to sleep; also trying not to go to the bathroom for about 12 hours so I would not have to crawl over my soundly sleeping seatmate. But I perked right up when I saw the Scarbroughs, people and pups, all waiting for me at the airport. We made our way via train, bus, and on foot back to their cute apartment in Erlangen. Reagan was right, it is a page right out of an Ikea catalog, with the possible exception of the wall "art." It is cute and cozy and they seem right at home! We walked around and looked at Erlangen a little, then went for my very first meal in Europe at one of their favorite local restaurants - a steak house! It was really delicious and I was starving! Back home and early to bed. The next day Katie and I flew to Milan, Italy for a few days (Tyler had to work and dog sit :( ) Just getting to Milan and to our hotel was something of an adventure; finding transportation via shuttle from Malpenso Airport to Milan, being dropped off after dark at Milan's Central Train Station, and making our way across the piazza to our hotel - the lovely Starhotel Splendido! My first hotel room with a giant round support post right in the center of the room - and our view was, well, I have pictures and will post them when I learn how! I loved our Italian adventure - I think my favorite part was our side trip to Lake Como, where we walked all around the little town of Como at the foot of the lake. It is very quaint and looks like everyone's idea of Italy - narrow winding streets with cool old buildings and villas, cute little shops, streetfront cafes, street fairs. I would love to have spent more time there, and would love to go back some day! Milan was fun too - saw lots of old churches, a castle, medieval stuff, the La Scala Opera House, shopped, ate, and WALKED. Very cool to a history buff like me. Back in Germany, we went to Nuremburg for one day - toured the Nazi Rally Grounds, old town of Nuremburg, etc. And Katie and Tyler showed me the sights of Erlangen, which I found to be a pleasant and town. Left for home in the EARLY morning dark in a cab all by myself, through the dark Germany countrywide to the Nuremburg Airport, and started my long journey back home. Some of my impressions from my trip: --It so odd to sit at a table having a meal and every group dining near you may be speaking to each other in different languages; not a common occurence in the US. But I kind of liked it. (It was sort of like being in the cafeteria at school) --I do not like German food, sorry. While there I ate steak, Thai, Chinese, and lots of Italian, but very little authentic German cuisine. --European men will wear clothes that would get a southern boy beat up - like, jeans and t shirts with sequins on them, lots of Ed Hardy stuff, scarves artfully knotted at their necks, etc. --There is graffiti literally EVERYWHERE and it doesn't seem to bother anyone, even on their really old buildings and nice hotels. --They are much more environtmentally conscientious than the US; recycling is everywhere, use more public transportation, lights on timers, etc. --It is a lot easier to get out of the US to travel to Europe than it is to get in; security from Amsterdam to the US was incredible!! My first body scan. I am so glad I went! Great to spend time with Katie and Tyler, and I was so impressed with how they have adapted to their lives and handle all the differences. And I will be glad to have them back here soon!!

Dungeon Tour

I didn't get to post about this yet, but it was very interesting! Well, interesting to see, the tour was actually in German so we didn't understand much that was said. Towards the end of the tour we noticed a guy was translating to his friend, so we tried to listen in. These are cells underneath the Town Hall in Nuremberg that were formerly used as their jail. Very creepy to see! Of course, since we couldn't understand anything we had fun with it.

12 Days, but who is counting...???

We leave Germany in 12 days and it still doesn't seem real to me! I know it doesn't seem like we have been here for THAT long, but to me it does. I just keep thinking things like "I will get to drive my car!!" and "I can go to the grocery and buy more than what I can carry" things like that. We have been so lucky to have this experience and I am in disbelief that it is coming to an end. It was very hard for me at first not having anyone to talk to during the day. But, ever since we got back after the wedding I have really enjoyed our time here! I know that when we both eventually return to our routines in Atlanta, we will really miss the simplicity of our lives here. Of course as soon as we return we have TONS of things to do including doctors appointments, getting GA tags for our Jeep, re-connecting our cable, etc. etc. etc. We still don't know for sure that Tyler will be able to return to the US for good with me when we come for Thanksgiving, but we are keeping our fingers crossed. I am returning to work at Vaco in January and I am actually excited to get back to work!! I already have 2 suitcases packed! We have a total of 8 to bring back and we already sent one home with Reagan and Mikey when they visited us! I really wish we had a camera crew to follow us with all those suitcases, 2 dogs and our carry-ons! Reagan, make sure the back of your car is empty when you pick us up at the airport....oh yea, think you can pick us up at the airport?? I have given up on my mom doing a guest post, so maybe this weekend I can just post some pictures of her visit! Cissy leaves on Saturday, Tyler and I are going to take her to the airport. I will be sad to see her go, it is always fun to have someone to hang out with me during the day! And we had quite an experience in Heidelberg...more on that later. But I won't have too much time to pout, because Susan and Sonja will be here the very next day!!

Sorry...

I have NO idea what happened to the post below. It seriously took me hours to write it and then when I finally published it, everything is messed up. I am sorry that it is so hard to read. If anyone has any advice on how to fix this issue, I am open to it!

So far behind!!

I feel like I have SO much to share! I still want to share the rest of our Prague trip, mine and mom's trip to Italy and now our trip to Munich this past weekend!! So, I am seriously going to try and get on with that today!! First I will fill you in on the rest of the time that Reagan and Mikey were here. Which, by the way, seems like a life time ago to me now!! One of the things that I really loved about Prague is that it is considered one of the friendliest dog cities in the world! So, we could take the pups with us when we went out around the city. Of course, most dogs there in Prague were much better behaved than our dogs and we even saw lots walking around unleashed. That would NEVER happen with Sprocket and Wems. We got up Saturday morning and headed out...we were on our way to Petrin Park which is high up on a mountain with great views of the city. There is a tram that takes you to the top of the hill, but there was a really long line, so we decided to see how tough we were and hike it....let's just say we stopped at the half way point and got on the tram the rest of the way. :) Here are some pictures from our adventure up the mountain. (yes, Mikey...I consider that a mountain!!) We found a cute little restaurant at the top of the hill and decided to take a break and stop for lunch and plan out the rest of our route for the afternoon. Sprocket loved taking a break and laying in the sun! The restaurant Tyler and Reagan trying to decide which direction to go next! ***I am having major formatting problems and this is taking me forever! The rest of this post will probably just be writing with all of the pictures at the end. I don't have the patience to format today*** After we had lunch we headed to see the Prague castle. Reagan had read a review that sent you another way into the castle that was a little lest touristy...either we didn't follow the instructions properly or it was just a really long route. We ended up walking along all these wooden paths up and down hills that the puppies had to be carried along because their feet would fall through the cracks! Then when we did find a proper entrance to the castle, we were walking against all the other people, up a hill. Let's just say we were all happy to get to the top! It was pretty neat once we got up there and we took some time to take some more pictures! The rest of our day we explored the city some more and found a restaurant that we had seen online was good. We ate dinner kind of early and we weren't ready to go to bed, so we decided to check out an Irish pub that we had seen lots of signs for. When we walked up to the door, there were some guys standing outside and I think they thought Reagan and I were alone and they were shocked that we were going in that pub alone!! That made us a little scared. :) But it turned out to be SUCH a fun night! We sat next to a group of Scottish guys who were in town for a soccer game. It was so fun to compare our countries and we really enjoyed hanging out with them! Sunday we woke up and headed back to Charles bridge to take a boat tour of Prague. It was so interesting to learn a little history about the city! Here are some more fun pictures from our trip to Prague. It was such a fun trip!! Can't wait to get back to Nashville to spend some more time with Reagan and Mikey!! I have already booked up their first 3 nights we are in town! Stay tuned for more on my visit with my mom! This post took me SO long so I am not sure when I will have time to sit down a write another one!! Cissy and I are headed to Heidelberg tomorrow!! One short story I will share with you from our weekend... Our train leaving Munich yesterday night was going to be very crowded and we were worried about not getting a seat. So, Tyler and Cissy went to get on the train first and I hung back with the dogs since I can't move as fast with them. I waited for everyone to get on the train and then went to get on myself. It is hard for me to walk up the stairs carrying both of them, so I decided to try a new method. I set Sprocket up on the train and turned to get Wembley. Well, I guess Sprocket thought I was going to leave him, so he JUMPED!!!! He didn't land on his feet when he hit the platform and FELL BETWEEN THE PLATFORM AND THE TRAIN!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness I still had the other end of his leash in my hand! He was dangling from his leash and I jerked him up really quick. It was a very scarey moment for me, I thought I had lost one of my babes. Wembley was knocked around a little in the process too, but I think I blocked most of the traamatic experience out. I do know that I will never get the image of Sprocket dangling from his leash out of my mind. Once I finally made it onto the train I was shaking and almost in tears, but both dogs seemed to be fine. So, that was very hard for me!! Tomorrow marks 2 weeks til we are home!!!! I told my mom today in an email I think it is really good that I have guests until we leave or else I would go crazy with excitment!! I also told Tyler that as ready as I am to come home, I think we will really miss the simplicity of life here. Our little coffee shop, taking the pups to dinner with us, etc. We found a vet to get the puppies physical to fly home. She is super nice and speaks English. We are almost all set to leave!! Now we just have to pack all 7 suitcases!! I know I am a dork, but I already have one packed. :) It is going to be like a puzzle to get everything home. I don't know if I will be on again before Wednesday, so I want to wish my FAVORITE cousin HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I am oh so happy that you are in Nashville now and I can't WAIT to see you in a few weeks!!