Surprise, Welcome To 60!

Our Dad, David, turned 60 recently. We surprised him by catching the same flight to Florida for a few days in the sun, along with Blake and Laura. Pictures tell a thousand words, so let's just skip right to it. Happy belated birthday and Father's day, old man!

Germany!

Okay... here they are... the last photos of our trip to Europe. These ones were taken in Heidelberg, Germany; a place we WILL go back to, and with friends (that means YOU)!

Castles!

On our second day in Luxembourg, Roby and Nancy took us on a tour of "the whole country" in just a matter of hours... :) It was fun, and included two castles...

More Photos from Luxembourg

Here are some more photos from our recent trip to Luxembourg. It was gorgeous, and we had a blast. Stay tuned.... Castles and Heidleberg to follow!

Achtung Baby

Greetings. Put on a dry pair of pants, your time of feverish anticipation is over. I give you:

Blog Post - Germany 2009

Frankfurt: We woke early and picked up Kelly who JUST HAPPENED to be in Frankfurt at the same time we were. After a lovely stroll by the river, breakfast, and Kelly ordering a cup of coffee the size of Liechtenstein, we bid her adios on her way to Spain and then hit the road.

Lost in the German Countryside: Here's what I can tell you based on our random meanderings throughout the countryside: (ooooh, double colons!)

- Driving on the Autobahn in a Fiat Punto (http://tinyurl.com/ol9ymn) is a bit emasculating as the Porsches, BMWs, and Audis blow by you like you're standing still

- Germans love their bicycles, and the Dutch love their campgrounds

- Ausfahrt = giggle

Heidelberg: We made it. This picturesque little city, with a holy-crap-there's-a-lot-of-stores shopping scene, and a lovely river walk is nestled in between the "mountains" south of Frankfurt. We napped in a park, we drank their beer, we rode the Funicular up the "mountain", and enjoyed a lovely time in the central square having dinner on the plaza. All the while Allison enjoyed the friendly Facebook banter.

It's breakfast and Starbucks mug shopping in the morning and then back to the airport to head towards sweet home Chicago. If you're reading this, chances are we have talked about dragging you along to a place like this, so keep that suitcase handy, you never know when we'll come a knockin.

Specimen Sample #2371

Yes, they're the same in Germany too. My theory still holds until a black swan...err, black pigeon, emerges.

The Best Little Place You've Never Heard Of...

Hi, we're in Luxembourg.

No seriously, we are. And no, it's not a Swedish cruise ship, it's a country (http://tinyurl.com/qkvhus), and a pretty cool little one at that.

So let's answer the obvious question, why are we in this little central European nation?

Multiple Choice:
a. We heard about their legendary kraut and had to try it firsthand
b. Allison found out her great great aunt's sister's cousin's former roommate was the Duchess of Luxembourg, and Allison has returned to claim her rightful place on the throne
c. Jeff has relatives living there and found some cheap tickets
(Answer: http://tinyurl.com/q8pcc5)

Have I ever mentioned how big and amazing the world is? That's a trick question because I have, and if you weren't sure whether I had, you must have clearly forgotten, so shame on you.


Our aunt and uncle, Nancy and Roby Burg have been longtime residents in this tiny oasis wedged between Belgium, Germany, and France. And despite very short notice, they were nice enough to host us for the day, give us a tour of the city, and feed us real Luxembourgish ice cream.

Synopsis? We got a great tour and found the place charming, beautiful, historic, and full of French-speaking German-descended Luxembourgish people. The world is a crazy place, my friends. Next time you're in this neck of the woods, stop on by and check Luxembourg out.

Part II: Off to tour the countryside tomorrow. Try not to wet yourselves in anticipation of our next post.

Grajumicated!

Woohoo! Congrats Blake!

Acquisition

Our family made an important M&A transaction this weekend, courtesy of Blake. He found this sweet girl named Laura while he was cruising along the beach in Holland, Michigan, and asked her to marry him. She said "yes" somewhere mixed in with a bunch of "Oh my gosh"s, and now we get to make many hoorays as she will be in the family!

We think this is good and we plan to celebrate profusely in the coming months this event, possibly with a silly hat party.

Laura/Blake, you rock over London (and rock on Chicago). Congratulations and joys and happiness and hoorays!

Old People Party Too

Warning: You may find yourself insanely jealous. This is normal.

We went out for a night in Chi-Town with the Swierczeks, Riddles, and Tofilons, sans-kids. We're old, but we know how to party (as long as we can be home by 10pm, of course).

Long story short: friends + Allison's birthday + train + Jeff' digging up 50% coupons + Chicago + Carnivale + Vanessa's birthday + Jen Riddle showing the cocktails who's boss = (fun fun fun fun fun fun)^3 * 72.

P.S. - I recommend the cake.