playin’ hooky

i took today off work because we were planning on heading to salzburg for the weekend. SO excited to see if the hills are really alive …

but then we got even more exciting news: our kuche (kitchen) from IKEA is ready and will be installed on monday! cue the halleluja chorus, because it’s now been NINE weeks since we’ve had a real kitchen, and i think we are all one sausage sandwich away from the gout (is the gout what you get from not eating vegetables? maybe i’m getting my diseases confused. anyway, you get the point).

** scurvy, scurvy! thanks, husband & erin for setting me straight. lordy.

IKEA is delivering all of the materials tomorrow (saturday), so we willingly and joyfully cancelled our weekend trip in exchange for a shipment of cabinets. i contemplated also canceling my vacation day and going into work, but then i decided the maxeys could all use a day of hooky. probably the biggest adjustment of this whole adventure has been that i don’t work from home anymore – and while i love being back in a team environment and feeling the energy of a fun campus, I MISS THE GIRLS AND WEN beyond. it’s been a hard transition for all of us. as such, it felt like a fun gift to have a day with no agenda, no errands, no grocery shopping, no work. let the fun begin!

when we first moved here we spent a lot of time in the alstadt (old city, aka “city center”). it seemed like we had more time to just wander and explore – but since i started work, and we moved into the apartment, we’ve been busy just trying to get settled. so today seemed like the perfect day to just wander.  please join us for a lovely morning in bavaria!

off we went! we live a short 5 – 10 minute walk from the alstadt. here are wen and the girls in the red radio flyer in front of our apartment – the girls are quite the celebrities in this wagon, as they aren’t common here.

here’s a view of our apartment building and street. ours is the one with the black top on the far right – we’re on the second floor, behind the trees (which are thankfully great for privacy, as we’re on a busy street with no window coverings yet. hello, nuremberg!)

made it! the alstadt is surrounded by a huge stone wall, and there are entrances into the city center all around the perimeter. our entrance is beautifully located right by the imperial castle.

we walk through a stone tunnel to enter the alstadt – piper is convinced that knights and princesses live here (which was probably true at one point) and that dragons lurk in the corners and the tower (thankfully, no).

we pass this brat house all the time – apparently it’s THE place to get sausage in the city (very authentic, old, etc), but we’ve yet to try it. surprisingly, it’s me who is always wanting to go, and wen who says no. hmmmm. anyway, it’s quite lovely and i’m mostly drawn to the huge baskets of bavarian pretzels that they serve while you wait. yes, please! maybe i can convince wen to go tonight. stay tuned!

our first stop was starbucks. i know, i know. there are so many amazing bakeries with fresh and incredible pastries, bread, etc to try. but i’ve not yet found another place where i can get the perfect latte, and i was desperate. and besides,  have you yet discovered THIS at your local starbucks?!

if not, please say hello to the bacon and egg ciabatta. good lord.

the girls clearly enjoyed it.

the girls were getting antsy after our breakfast, so wen offered to take them to the park so i could continue wandering and enjoy the rest of my latte. so off to the farmer’s market i went – so beautiful. the colors and smells and sounds are all so perfectly european. super surreal.

i stumbled across this little scene as i was heading out of the alstadt – i so wish the girls had been with me. stella janey would have LOVED this. perhaps we’ll go back this afternoon – hopefully the bears will still be enjoying their tea.

i came home to a quiet apartment with 3 sleeping maxeys. poor wen seems to be catching a cold, so hopefully some rest will help (i need him to feel better asap so we can go to the sausage house for dinner! just kidding – sort of).

hope you’re enjoying your friday. sending lots of love from nuremberg. xo.