The Mills do Germany!

One week ago yesterday, I hit the road bright and early at 4:45am to drive to Frankfurt to pick up Mom & Dad for their European vacation! I had horrible anxiety for 2 reasons about this: 1) I'd never driven on the autobahn (especially in the dark; there are NO street lights/reflectors on that thing!), and 2) I had no idea where I was going. Not to mention, I hadn't really slept the night before because I was so excited! They were originally supposed to get in Monday morning, but thanks to our courteous friends at United Airlines, their first flight was delayed and the second cancelled altogether. Did I mention they only gave them one meal voucher for a 24 hour delay? (I sent United a super nice email thanking them for their hospitality. Hey, they got a $500 voucher out of it...) But nonetheless, they arrived around 7:00am Tuesday morning, worn completely out. After a delicious McDonald's breakfast in the Frankfurt airport and a rousing conversation with Luftansa employees to figure out where the heck their luggage was (still in D.C. - don't get me started), it was time to head home to Bamberg! Dad went to bed immediately, which I don't recommend for people trying to fight off jet lag. It's really best to just stay up and be tired then in time for CET bedtime. But he hadn't hardly slept on the plane, so while he napped, Mom & I got them settled into the apartment. After a few hours, my anxiety got the best of me, and I had to wake Dad up! It was time to see downtown Bamberg.

First stop...get them a doner for lunch! (p.s. - that is our building in the background with the yellow umbrella.)

Mom & I chowed down on a doner as I took them on a walk around town. It didn't last as long as I thought...turns out 100% Southerner Tim Mills was not quite ready for Southern Germany temperatures.

Daddio (wearing Jason's clothes haha) & I on the big bridge. Rathaus in the background.

Mom & Dad in the Rosen Garten looking up at St. Mike's.

And this is just about where the tour ended. Dad needed another nap! So Mom & I just caught up on everything and waited for Timmy to be awake again so we could get dinner. Since I hadn't made a reservation anywhere (it's so weird here - one is almost always required), we headed to Jason's favorite spot, Cafe Esspress for Pizza Tag - Pizza Day! After stuffing ourselves, we said goodnight to my parents' first day ever in Germany.

At dinner :)

Wednesday started off a little on the wrong foot, too. My dear friends at Lufthansa gave me an upbeat phone call that morning saying they couldn't figure out where to send Mom & Dad's luggage because "Longestrasse" doesn't exist in Bamberg. Now they would be correct about that, but LANGESTRASSE does...and it is the main road! Come on people, you really couldn't figure that out? So once I cleared up the one-letter confusion, he assured me their luggage (which had been flown into Frankfurt that morning, then flown to Nuremberg? You can't make this stuff up...) would be arriving sometime between 1-3pm that day. Okay, kind of a buzzkill. But we need the luggage, so we'll hang around the house and wait. Thankfully it arrived at, I kid you not, 2 minutes until 3:00. But hey, like previously stated, United felt sorry enough for my parents to give them a voucher for their trouble, so you cut your losses and move on... You are in Europe! Nothing can be that bad. :)

After unpacking and changing clothes for the first time in 4 days (haha), Mom, Dad, and I went on a walking tour of the other parts of downtown.

On the way to Max Platz right behind our apt.

Cuties :)

In front of a painting I'd never even seen before!

Luckily, I did a better job playing hostess Wednesday and had made reservations at an amazing Greek restaurant for dinner that night.

Literally a 3 minute walk from our front door...Poseidon is so yummy! Mom is already dying to go back. She ordered a pork steak with yogurt sauce that was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. And did I mention they give you free shots of ouzo with dinner? Weird and not very tasty, but it's the thought that counts! :)

Another perfect ending to a perfect day with 2 of my favorite people in this world. Jason was jealous. I don't blame him.

Thursday was big adventure day! I was going to brave the autobahn once again to make a day trip to Coburg. Our friends had been there just a few weeks ago to see the Coburg Fortress, and it just looked too beautiful not to see. And it is only about 30 minutes away! Not to mention, they also have a palace there that reminded me of the Biltmore/Downtown Abbey. Mom & I swear we are just living in the wrong time period. We're obsessed with that stuff! So after an easy, short trip to Coburg, we drove around for twice as long as it took us to get there to find somewhere to park. Disaster. But nonetheless, we finally found a garage closeby. I dropped my pin on my iPhone map (thanks Jason, for teaching me the finer points of land nav.) so we could find our way back, and we were off to see the beautiful Cobourg Palace!

Here are a few pics of the walk from the garage to the Palace...

Gorgeous town hall! It's hundreds of years old.

This platz was like a fairytale...

Beautiful entrances to the city everywhere!

And just 10 minutes later, you run right into the beautiful Coburg Palace.

Seriously, guys. I get to live here. Well, not in that palace...but holy cow.

Looking back from the Palace.

After making our way back through downtown, we decided to drive up to Veste Coburg, which translates to Coburg Fortress or Castle. It's AMAZING. Dad and I decided they couldn't build something like it today if they wanted, let alone literally hundreds of years ago. It took our breath away. Although it was also like 8 degrees F up there too, which probably contributed to our breathing problems. Again, Dad almost froze to death, but he refused not to "fly his colors" in his bright orange UT jacket intended for 60 degree weather. Gotta love a diehard. Unfortunately, we didn't make it up to the fortress in time to tour the inside, but check out these amazing pics from the outside.

From the parking lot...

FINALLY made it up the hill!

I'm sorry, is this a movie set? It was unreal.

We have about 1000 more pictures from up there, so check JB's facebook soon for others! We literally could not stop snapping pictures. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and I've been blessed to see a lot of really beautiful places in Europe so far. One more end to one more perfect day with my parents.

Friday was wake-up-at-7:00am-by-the-movers-day to get all 29 of my household good boxes delivered. I wish I had a picture of our living room by 7:30, because it was wall to wall boxes and plastic bins and couches and other furniture that I'd been waiting almost 10 weeks to get. I AM NOT LIVING OUT OF A SUITCASE ANYMORE!!! Mom, Dad, and I worked all day unpacking, cleaning, organizing, and still didn't get it all done. But it was a really good start, and Jason was happy when he got in late that night to see a more home-y apartment. p.s. - separate blog post to come once I am finished decorating!

Dad's last day (insert tears) was Saturday, so we decided to go to Munich as a big send-off. Then we got a late start and the weather was bad, so we turned our Munich trip into a Nuremberg trip (only 45 minutes away, rather than 2 hours). I love Nuremberg, and I had only been for the Christmas markets, so there was plenty I still hadn't seen. It was the perfect day. Freezing again, of course, but the snow that was coming down and had already stuck was so beautiful. We went up to that castle (are they all running together in your head yet?) and ate at the best German restaurant ever. If I could remember the name, I'd tell you. So if you're ever in Nuremberg and want some brats, get back to me. I'll figure it out.

Check out the pics.

Words can't even describe...St. Sebald.

(side view)

Nuremberg Castle!

Too bad they couldn't afford a bigger door.

The view from atop the castle. Another movie set.

Our babe of a tour guide. I am so lucky my best friend is a hottie, and I also got to marry him. And we get to spend our whole lives together. Let me pinch myself again.

The greatest parents a girl could ask for. And the only picture of all 3 of us from all week.

After watching a German man throw beach ball sized snowballs at unsuspecting tourists for what seemed like hours, we decided to head back down into town for lunch. Still can't remember the name, but everything we ordered was insanely good.

The 2 men in my life :)

And then we had to walk downtown more to burn off some calories. (I cannot beg you enough to look through JB's pictures when she posts them from snowy Nuremberg...they are so beautiful! I'm just running out of space.)

And that's about it for this post! We ended Dad's stay with a dinner with our friends Mike & Nora at one of Jason's favorite places, Mahr's Brau. We were up early again Sunday for another trip to Frankfurt airport. I hate goodbyes. They never, ever get easier. You just get more used to them. But I know I will see him in just about 6 weeks. :)

More adventures from JB & I to come. Check back!