Best and Worst Memories

So, I thought I'd do one final post to highlight our best and worst trip memories from this awesome European vacation!
Obviously, those who have followed the blog know most of the events and highlights, but I thought this might be fun. So, I'll start with the worst first and end on the good notes!

The #1 worst part of the trip most definately is when Ben got lost at the Venekoten lake. I was so worried about him and so relieved when we found him. Interstingly, my Mom had had a dream before this happened that he got lost in Paris! Maybe getting lost in Venekoten was to prevent this from happening which would have been much worse. In Paris I put a piece of paper in the kids' pockets with my German cell phone # on it, but thankfully they never got lost!

#2 was that Ben had to be sick with a cold for the second half of the vacation. It made it more difficult for all of us, but especially for him. I don't know how many tissues we went through with his abundantly snotty nose, and then the nightime coughing at the end which made sleeping difficult. Of course, as is true with most sick kids, he was more grouchy and irritable as a result, too. In the end, he was a good little trooper and we still did a lot!

#3 disappointment was that neither Germany nor the USA won the women's soccer world cup :-(

#4: the bad weather caused us to cancel our day trip to Switzerland (Luzern) which we had really been looking forward to.

#5: we missed the Tour de France finish in Paris by about 4 hours ... it would have been awesome to be there!

#6: Having to be evacuated from the Eiffel tower after standing in line for an hour!

#7: Not seeing the catacombs in Paris - we just did not have time for all we had hoped to do, but still we saw and did so much!!

Now, the highlights, best memories, in no particular order!

Meeting my new neice, Marion!

Meeting my new nephew, Bela!

David and Almut's wedding!

 including the peacocks :-)!

and the dancing :-)

The white cliffs of Mons Flint in Denmark and swimming in the Baltic Sea.

The castle in Heidelberg.

The vinyards in southern Germany

including the snails :-)

The cable car up to Schauinsland.

The Rodelbahn coaster ride.

Riding the metro in Paris was a memorable experience!

And you could not beat the Eiffel tower by night!

Of course seeing family and friends was also very special. Some relatives I had not seen for a very long time or had never met the newest additions! Well, all good things must come to an end. I hope you all enjoyed this blog. It was fun for me to share these experiences with you! It's good to be home!