Our Paris Adventure

While we are living Europe I decided Colby and I didn't need to get each other presents. Instead we can give each other trips! There are so many place I want to see and not a lot of time or an endless about of money. This year Valentine's day happened to be on a Friday of a 4 day weekend. I knew this people even coming to Germany and informed Colby we would be going to Paris for Valentines. That is exactly what we did. We split our time between Disneyland Paris and Paris. We decided to only stay Friday-Sunday but now I wish we had stayed until Monday.

We left early Friday morning to start the 6 1/2 hour drive to our hotel just outside Disneyland Paris. As soon as we got checked into the hotel we got on the shuttle to Disney. It wasn't overly crowded and we headed straight to the Princess meet and greet. The wait was long! and with a toddler who needed a bathroom break, it wasn't worth standing around and risking an accident. The bathroom was right next to where you met Mickey. The line was only about 30 minutes long and they have movies playing while you wait. Half were in french and half in english but the kids didn't seem to notice they just enjoyed the cartoons.

We took the time to ride some rides and just wander around. We watched the parade on Main Street. We got there 20 minutes before and there was just enough space for the stroller. Well the family right next to us wanted to take up a lot of space apparently. The dad kept crowding in on us and it was very difficult of me to get good pictures or really see. That night the do the Disney Dreams light show with the castle. It was amazing! It was longer then I expected but was really good and mostly in english. Below is the castle all lit up for the Disney Dreams show. 

 The next morning we took the shuttle back to Disney but this time we went into the train station that is right outside Disney. We took the train from Disney into Paris city center. It took us about 30-40 minutes to get into the city. It wasn't that far in distance I didn't think but there were a lot of stops! However, the traffic in Paris made us very glad we hadn't tried to drive in. The train stop we got off on, Charles de Gaulle, was right by the Arc de Triomphe. We literally walked out from underground and the first thing we saw of Paris was the Arc.  There was a hop on hop off bus stop right there so we bought tickets and hopped on. The day was cloudy and kind of windy. We did sit on the top deck, which is open, of the bus so we could see more things and take pictures.  It seemed to take a long time at some of the stops just sitting there. However, it was nice to not have to walk everywhere and to see things from the bus. The first stop we got off on was the Louvre. We didn't go in and didn't really see it except the back. We walked from there to the Hard Rock Cafe so that Colby could get his drum sticks. He collects drumsticks from all the Hard Rock Cafes and I get postcards from everywhere we go. His our more expensive but there also aren't Hard Rocks everywhere we go so it probably evens out. We had lunch there also. After that we realized we didn't have time to ride the bus back to the Eiffel Tower before it was our time to go up to the top. I had purchased tickets to the summit online before. This was so nice! The line to go up for outrageously long. Since we already had tickets we walked right up and waited a couple minutes for the second elevator. Once we got to the second floor we walked around to the another line and set of elevators to go all the way up to the summit. The view was really nice but it was so windy the kids did not want to stay outside for very long. It was also super crowded and hard to walk around, really on both the summit and the 2nd floor. The line to go down was the worst though! We had to wait around 45 minutes to get on an elevator to go back down from the 2nd floor. The views were really great and I'm glad we did it but I don't think i need to do it again or at least not with the kids.

a view from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel tower

right under the tower where you go up to the top

After the tower and getting our pictures in front of it we got back on the bus. We planned to ride it around, this time under deck, to see everything else and be back to the Eiffel Tower in time for sunset and seeing the tower all lit up. We were on our way back to the the Arc de Triomphe stop when it started to rain/hail. We hadn't brought the umbrellas because it wasn't suppose to rain. So we just got off at our starting point and got tickets back to Disney. There was a train getting ready to leave just as we got there so we hopped on quick thinking we didn't want to miss the train. Once we were on I realized we were on the wrong train! We got off at the next stop and then waited for the right train to come by. It ended up not being a huge deal just that we were heading the wrong way! I had thought we would go into Disney for a little bit when we got back but we were all tired and the kids both needed a change of clothes. Paris was not good for our potty breaks or diaper changes.

Our last day we check out of the hotel before taking the shuttle to Disney. This time we went straight to the Princess Pavilion. When we got there the wait for 75 minutes. That quickly turned to 90 minutes and then a couple minutes later 120 minutes! I knew from reading other posts that we would only get to see one princess. I wasn't thrilled about this since at DisneyWorld we used a fastpass and were able to see 3 princesses at once. We ended up waiting about an hour and 45 minutes and were able to see Cinderella. We saw her at DisneyWorld but she is Harper's favorite so it worked out just fine. Then we headed over to Disney Studio, which is right next to Disneyland. We were going for the Disney Jr. Live show but right out front there were several characters with lines going everywhere for them. There were two princesses, Snow White and Ariel. Harper hadn't met either so I chose Ariel since her line was shorter. We only waited about 15 minutes for her if that. We didn't want to miss the show so we skipped the Snow White line, which afterwards I would regret. We headed into the Disney Jr. Live show and they had a little room with Jake and Sofia dancing with the kids. I didn't realize we were going to be pushed into a different room for the actually show so we weren't anywhere near the door. We ended up near the back and packed into the room sitting on the floor. I could barely see anything. The kids were sitting on our laps and I don't think they could see much either but they seemed to enjoy it. I wish we had stayed outside and met more characters. After the show Harper needed to go potty and so I located a bathroom and the women's line appeared longer so I took Waylon for a diaper change and Colby took Harper. That turned out to be a huge mistake. The mens line moved very slowly. There was only one person in front of Colby and he wouldn't let them go ahead in though Harper was crying because she needed to use the bathroom really bad, she is only 3.5 after all, well she ended up having an accident because it took so long. If I had known I would of taken her as the women were moving faster and most would let a crying toddler go ahead of them. So we set out to find Harper some clean pants which proved to be extremely hard! They don't seem pants for toddler and ended up spending a lot on a new minnie outfit for her. We were glad to get on the road but not before getting our picture in front of the castle and one more ride on the tea cups.

we loved Disney! can you tell?

We stopped at Ramstein AFB on our way for gas and we planned for supper there. They have a Chili's and we have been really missing American food. well it was already 8pm and it was a 45 minute wait! No thank you. Two semi-cranky toddlers and overly stressed parents. We opted for the Burger King and went on our way. We got home a little before midnight and some one was parked in our parking spot! There isn't necessarily assigned parking but everyone tended to park in the same spot all the time. Lets just say I was super annoyed getting back late and not being able to park right in front of our building like normal. Lucky for us it was still the weekend so right behind out building we found a spot when normally there aren't any anywhere near the building. The parking situation and our loud neighbors and not really friendly people and having a hard time making friends here makes me not want to live in this apartment anymore! I am going to enjoy our time in Germany and am looking forward to all the amazing things we are going to see. I just need to stay positive!

Black Forest-Triberg

Living in Germany offers so many amazing travel opportunities. I like to take advantage of our weekends with mostly day trips right now. Saturday I wanted to go to Triberg and take a path up to a castle in the Black Forest. Well there was some miscommunication and Colby thought it was a lot closer then it really was, so we got a late start on it, much later then I wanted. It was also suppose to rain all afternoon, which it did. So it ended up being just a day trip to Triberg and we will have to go to the castle another time. 

When we first got to Triberg we headed right to the tourist office and that start of the trail for the Waterfall. We paid 2.60 Euro for all of us to see the waterfall. The path is all paved so we didn't have to worry about it being muddy even though it was raining. The waterfall was beautiful. Waylon enjoyed seeing all the water. We did not go to the top of the waterfall since it was raining and the kids were wanting a snack. 

Only about half of the waterfall

Our second stop was Cafe Schafer. I recently purchased lonely planets book "Europe on a Shoestring" and this was in the book under Triberg. The cafe is where the recipe for Black Forest cake originated. Colby and I enjoyed the cake very much and it was my first time having it. The kids shared a slice of a banana cake and they loved it! It was very quiet when we were there. The lady helping us did not speak very good english so I was very glad Colby has been really working on learning German and can communicate with people. I need to start learning it more as it really does help.

mmm cake!

There were a few things I knew I wanted to get in Germany/Europe before we even arrived. One of those things was a cuckoo clock from the Black Forest. I thought we wouldn't go until this summer or even next year so I would have to wait. Well we had some extra money thanks to some very generous people!! and Colby agreed that I could get one! Once we got to the store, House of 1000 Clocks in where we chose, I realized Colby and I had completely different ideas on what kind of clock we wanted. Colby can be very traditional and I can be sometimes too but I also like unique. I really wanted one with motion not just the cuckoo clock. The ones with music are nice also and we agreed on that. There was a very nice lady working that helped us and answered all my questions and even played several clocks for the kids and for me so I could decided. At first I was thinking the battery operated ones were better and of course Colby liked manual. I wasn't sure I wanted to have to pull it everyday to keep it going. Just to make Colby happy I had her show we a manual one and I quickly changed my mind. The cuckoo is what sold me. It is a cuckoo clock after all! The battery ones are nice but of course sound a little electronic. The sound of the manual is just so much more authentic to me and I didn't care how many times a day I would have to pull the chain, that sound was worth it. We were able to decide on one we both loved, even though it was a little more then we planned. We also found a stein for my brothers birthday (we are getting all male relatives steins for their birthdays this year) They were also kind enough to tell us they take VAT forms and I keep some in the car us for cases as this so we were able to save some Euro. 

We didn't think this would fit in the car or our budgets!

Our cuckoo clock…Yes the couple on the bench kisses every hour!

We had a great, rainy day in Triberg and will definitely be going back this summer for more hiking and to check out the world's largest cuckoo clock that we missed this time. Until we meet again Triberg 

Adventures

I have been neglecting blog and I'm not sure why. Man how life has changed! Last March Colby made the decision to join the Army. He left in May for Basic Training and then went on to AIT. He was able to come home after graduation for 2 1/2 weeks before he had to report to our first duty station, Katterbach, Germany middle of October. The kids and I were able to join him in Germany in November and have been here for almost 3 months now.

We are planning to do as much traveling as we can. Hey, you only live in Europe once right? With the Army, maybe. We have been a some day trips and I will try to blog those some. I decided to start blogging again now though because we are taking our first big, overnight, out of the country trip this weekend. We are going to Paris and Disneyland Paris. I want to have a place to have some pictures and details of our trip that cannot be lost or mis placed. I will be able to look back on them or the kids will and hopefully it will help them remember there time in Germany!

I mostly want to share our travels but we will see how much other stuff I end up blogging about. Just depends on how dedicated I am! haha Maybe I will try to write come of my weight lose too. I am hoping to lose about 45-50lbs before my brother's wedding the end of September. We started right after Christmas with out workout routine and now trying to do a lower carb diet and just healthier eating in general.

Stay tuned for more Life according to the Seiferts

Our first castle in Germany!