A River Runs Through It

Today the sun is shining, and the temperature is starting to rise again.  Thank Goodness! We just aren't prepared for cold weather out here.



This past week has been an unusually stormy one for Israel.  Heavy rains, hail, snow, flooding, strong winds, and unusually low temps for the country have thrown everyone off kilter. Yes, I am well aware that this pales in comparison to something like Katrina, but this is really big stuff for this part of the world!



On Tuesday morning I had a date with a friend in Jaffa, which is about a 15 minute drive from us.  Since my weekday mornings are spent making breakfast, packing school lunches, and making sure all family members are dressed and out the door on time, I typically don't listen to Israeli news radio or TV.  OK, I never do.  So, because of this it is no surprise that when I set off to meet my friend I had no idea that half of Tel Aviv was shut down due to the storms, that the major highways were closed, and that the police were advising everyone not to travel into Tel Aviv unless absolutely necessary.  Oops.  My fifteen minute drive took a solid hour.  Stop lights were out everywhere, and traffic was at a standstill.  On the plus side, as I drove down the main beach road I was able to see the Mediterranean in such a fury that the beach restaurants were flooded and the road I was on was covered in sand.  It was quite a sight!

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/biggest-storm-in-decade-wreaks-havoc-in-israel-shuts-down-ayalon-highway-for-9-hours.premium-1.492773

In keeping true to form with our Israeli experience thus far, you just never know what to expect or what each day will hold.  I guess that is more of a life lesson than an Israel lesson.  And since I am on the subject of life lessons....

Life lesson #863: When you order new rain boots for your child three weeks before Christmas, they will arrive five weeks later - on the last day of the biggest storm in 15 years, naturally.

Let's hope they still fit next year.

Shalom Y'all,

E

Last Stop...Brussels

We are so fortunate to be part of the Olmsted Program.  We've said it before, and we'll say it again. This trip was such a blessing to us in so many ways.  The sites were fantastic, and the weather was refreshing, but the real creme de la creme of the trip were fellow Olmsteders.  We had such a nice time at each location getting to know the other Olmsted families on this mad, crazy & often surreal experience.  The Hensarlings in Brussels were no exception; in fact, they are some of the sweetest, most enjoyable people. We hung out, the guys played lots of guitars....and they were so patient with our kids, who at the end of a three week, multi-stop vacation started to go a little batty.  Ok, more than a little.


Will felt an immediate connection with the token symbol of Brussels, "Manneken pis."

Then he proved how he is obviously his father's son...

The Brussels Military Museum was excellent, loaded with uniforms, planes and tanks, including this one from WWI which inspired the one pictured in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

Outside, Hugs and smiles...

....turn ugly. We still don't know who won this one.

I wish we had a picture of this carousel from afar.  It was the strangest conglomeration of ride ons we have ever seen.  Will loved the submarine.  Lydia was on a dinosaur skeleton. And one little lucky/ traumatized boy was placed in the rocket, which literally went up through the top of the carousel and back down again as it spun around and around.

When Stewart sees a bass he just has to play...

This was one of the many culinary treats of the Christmas markets. Not only do Belgians make amazing chocolate, delicious food, and about 10,000 varieties of beer, the street venders sold this potatoes/ham/spices/brie combo that was 'to die for'. We are just now getting back to pre-Euro-trip weight...after a month. Scrumptious!


We spent on afternoon in the quaint castle-city of Bruges. The dates written on many of the buildings show how old they are (this one was built in 1608).

 Good times, good friends, and a healthy dose of wintery Christmas made this a trip to remember. Thanks again, General Olmsted!

Shalom Y'all,
E & Stew

Winter Wonderland

From Munich we took a day trip to Salzburg, Austria, and then we traveled on to our next stop: Garmisch, Germany.

Salzburg was beautiful.  And COLD.  Very, very cold.

More Christmas markets!

Mozart's birthplace - the one place in Salzburg Stewart was determined to see. We parked in a parking garage that accessed the back of this building.  But we didn't know this valuable bit of information, so we meandered and wandered in circles until finally, hours later we gave up and stopped to eat directly across from said building.  It was right under our noses the whole time!

Really?  You want me to pose for another picture?

After Austria and our final day in Munich we packed up the x-large purple church van rental (they snickered when they told us they had a 'free' upgrade from the station wagon we reserved) and hit the road through Bavaria.  Germany in the snowy winter season is absolutely gorgeous.  It looks exactly like you imagine it in fairy tales. 

Since there wasn't enough snow around our lodge to get in any snow play, we decided to take the nearby cable car up to Zugspitze - the highest peak on the German Alps, bordering Austria.  The views were unbelievable.  So was the cold. Unfortunately, ski season wasn't starting for another week, so we just a smidge too early for skiing, sledding, and even gear rental - hence our lack of snow gear.

                                                Stewart poses for a potential profile pic.

                                Family shot provided by random non-English speaking stranger.

Sitting above the clouds and warming up in the cafe.

Back at Edelweiss... the kids take a seat on Santa's throne? and hope that they stay off that naughty list for a few more weeks.

                  Heh heh heh...