Bea and I arrived back in the States on Tuesday evening after an uneventful trip. We are so happy to back home with Henry - we missed him terribly!! John will be joining us in a couple of weeks.
We closed on our new house this morning. Our new address is:
3195 Westminster Road
Bettendorf, IA 52722
I will post pictures soon!
May 28, 2009
May 25, 2009
Bea's Baptism
Sunday we had Beatrice baptized. Our church has become like a second family to us, so it was important to us to have Bea baptized by Father Betz at Mark Twain Chapel. Mark and Lisa Dickson, another JD couple and good friends, stood in as godparents and we had a small ceremony after mass. Beatrice looked stunning, of course, and tolerated the baptism well, except when she got water in her eyes. Below are a few pictures of the ceremony.
Later that day, the Keelers hosted a farewell party for us. We were sad to say goodbye to the many friends we have made while living in Germany. This experience was truly unique (especially for Amy and I), thank you to all who made it wonderful!! We will miss you and hope to see many of you soon back in the States.
May 23, 2009
Bavaria and the King's Castles
On Friday we hopped in the car and headed south to Bavaria to visit King Ludwig's castles. King Ludwig II ruled Bavaria for 22 years, from the time he was 18 until the ripe old age of 40, when he was declared insane. Suspiciously, the day after he was declared insane, he was found dead in the lake surrounding his residence in Munich - along with his psychiatrist - hence his nickname "Mad King Ludwig".
There are two castles, Hoenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Hoenschwangau was actually King Ludwig's parents home and Neuschwanstein was the palace King Ludwig built for himself after he was named King at age 18.
We were lucky enough to find a hotel room at the last minute in a quaint hotel in downtown Oberammergau, where the castles are located. The town sits in a valley of the Alps, so our room not only had great views of the mountains, but of the castles as well. The town also overlooks a large lake, the Alpsee, which was ice cold and crystal clear. The hotel room itself, as you will see in the pictures, was not much to write home about, but the quaintness and the hospitality of the staff made up for what the room lacked.
On Friday afternoon/evening we walked around town, had a nice supper, walked around Lake Alpsee and then hiked up to the first castle, Hoenschwangau (the yellow one in the pictures). Hoenschwangau ("High Land of the Swans") was a summer home for King Ludwig's parents, King Maximilian II and Queen Marie, the main house for the royal family was located in Munich.
Later that evening we enjoyed viewing Neuschwanstein Castle from our hotel. It is illuminated at night, making it even more beautiful than during the daylight hours. It is hard to imagine someone actually living there at one time.
The next day we picked up our tickets for touring the castles. We had to tour Hoenschwangau first according to our tickets. The tours are divided into groups and each group is given a specific time and number to tour. It is a very well organized operation. When our tickets were reserved (the hotel did this for us), they must of asked for a language preference because the tours given in different languages according to the time assigned.
Hoenschwangau sits just across the valley and a little below Neuschwanstein, which is nestled in the side of a mountain. There is a telescope that remains (under glass) in the castle that is pointed directly at Neuschwanstein so King Ludwig II could view his "dream castle" being constructed. The rest of the castle was filled with original paintings, gifts, and decor original to the castle. Hoenschwangau is still privately owned by descendants of King Ludwig's uncle.
After touring Hoenschwangau, we were scheduled to tour Neuschwanstein next. Instead of taking the 40 minute hike (at a significant incline) we decided to go by horse drawn carriage, money well spent. Neuschwanstein was unbelievable. It took 17 years to construct, and after seeing it I understand why. Even after 17 years only 1/3 of the rooms were complete. Unfortunately, King Ludwig II only was able to live in his castle 172 days before his untimely death. However, by that time he had already drawn up plans for his next castle, Falkenstein, which was to make Neuschwanstein look like a tree house!
We had a great time, the only downside of the trip was our little H-Man was missing. I kept looking over my shoulder the entire trip to tell him to stay close! Beatrice did great, even though she won't remember her stay in Germany, I am sure she will appreciate the pictures of her birthplace!
Enjoy the photos from the weekend, unfortnately, there were no pictures allowed inside the castles, but I made up for it with numerous landscape and Baby Bea pictures!
There are two castles, Hoenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Hoenschwangau was actually King Ludwig's parents home and Neuschwanstein was the palace King Ludwig built for himself after he was named King at age 18.
We were lucky enough to find a hotel room at the last minute in a quaint hotel in downtown Oberammergau, where the castles are located. The town sits in a valley of the Alps, so our room not only had great views of the mountains, but of the castles as well. The town also overlooks a large lake, the Alpsee, which was ice cold and crystal clear. The hotel room itself, as you will see in the pictures, was not much to write home about, but the quaintness and the hospitality of the staff made up for what the room lacked.
On Friday afternoon/evening we walked around town, had a nice supper, walked around Lake Alpsee and then hiked up to the first castle, Hoenschwangau (the yellow one in the pictures). Hoenschwangau ("High Land of the Swans") was a summer home for King Ludwig's parents, King Maximilian II and Queen Marie, the main house for the royal family was located in Munich.
Later that evening we enjoyed viewing Neuschwanstein Castle from our hotel. It is illuminated at night, making it even more beautiful than during the daylight hours. It is hard to imagine someone actually living there at one time.
The next day we picked up our tickets for touring the castles. We had to tour Hoenschwangau first according to our tickets. The tours are divided into groups and each group is given a specific time and number to tour. It is a very well organized operation. When our tickets were reserved (the hotel did this for us), they must of asked for a language preference because the tours given in different languages according to the time assigned.
Hoenschwangau sits just across the valley and a little below Neuschwanstein, which is nestled in the side of a mountain. There is a telescope that remains (under glass) in the castle that is pointed directly at Neuschwanstein so King Ludwig II could view his "dream castle" being constructed. The rest of the castle was filled with original paintings, gifts, and decor original to the castle. Hoenschwangau is still privately owned by descendants of King Ludwig's uncle.
After touring Hoenschwangau, we were scheduled to tour Neuschwanstein next. Instead of taking the 40 minute hike (at a significant incline) we decided to go by horse drawn carriage, money well spent. Neuschwanstein was unbelievable. It took 17 years to construct, and after seeing it I understand why. Even after 17 years only 1/3 of the rooms were complete. Unfortunately, King Ludwig II only was able to live in his castle 172 days before his untimely death. However, by that time he had already drawn up plans for his next castle, Falkenstein, which was to make Neuschwanstein look like a tree house!
We had a great time, the only downside of the trip was our little H-Man was missing. I kept looking over my shoulder the entire trip to tell him to stay close! Beatrice did great, even though she won't remember her stay in Germany, I am sure she will appreciate the pictures of her birthplace!
Enjoy the photos from the weekend, unfortnately, there were no pictures allowed inside the castles, but I made up for it with numerous landscape and Baby Bea pictures!
May 20, 2009
Time to Catch Up!!
John, Bea and I just returned to Heidelberg this morning after a night of flying. We have been in the U.S. for the last 2.5 weeks visiting family and friends, house hunting, buying cars, and trying to coordinate our move home. I will return home in one week to close on our house, so we decided to leave our little man, Henry, with Papa and Nana - the flight and time change are brutal, especially for a 3 year old. Although we miss him terribly, I am sure he is having a blast hanging out with Papa and anxiously awaiting for his cousins to visit - Henry and Booker have really become buddies too.
While we were home we celebrated Will's 10th birthday on May 8th (I know, he should not be 10 already!), Joshy's birthday on May 11th and we even managed to squeeze in a very belated Easter egg hunt, along with another bunny cake! Henry thinks everyday is a party! We visited with Grandma and Grandpa Archer, my Aunt Mary Jean, and many great friends and neighbors. Fortunately, we will have the entire summer to catch up with everyone.
This week will be equally as busy here in Heidelberg. The movers are coming, we have to say our goodbyes to several people and we are going to have Beatrice baptized. Today I visited Henry's school to clean out his locker. Needless to say, his teachers were very teary about Henry not returning to school there. He loved that school; hopefully we can find something similar in the States.
John and I would also like to take our little princess to the original "Cinderella Castle", Neuschwanstein, located in Bavaria. The weather is supposed to be nice, so hopefully it will work out.
Below are a few pictures of our trip home. Enjoy!
While we were home we celebrated Will's 10th birthday on May 8th (I know, he should not be 10 already!), Joshy's birthday on May 11th and we even managed to squeeze in a very belated Easter egg hunt, along with another bunny cake! Henry thinks everyday is a party! We visited with Grandma and Grandpa Archer, my Aunt Mary Jean, and many great friends and neighbors. Fortunately, we will have the entire summer to catch up with everyone.
This week will be equally as busy here in Heidelberg. The movers are coming, we have to say our goodbyes to several people and we are going to have Beatrice baptized. Today I visited Henry's school to clean out his locker. Needless to say, his teachers were very teary about Henry not returning to school there. He loved that school; hopefully we can find something similar in the States.
John and I would also like to take our little princess to the original "Cinderella Castle", Neuschwanstein, located in Bavaria. The weather is supposed to be nice, so hopefully it will work out.
Below are a few pictures of our trip home. Enjoy!
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