Uromis and some real snee

Zoe went on a whirlwind trip to Europe, her second time over. It was a last-minute decision and lasted just two weeks, so here's a belated sorry to all who missed out on meeting up this time around, and the promise that we'll try to be back soon. The reason for the trip was that Zoe's Uromi (great-grandmother) from Memmingen is ill and Vivien and Zoe decided to jet over to cheer her up. But Vivien couldn't take off from work longer, and I had already booked all flights for my European trip (five days later, and one week longer), so there wasn't much of an alternative. Anyway, as short and stressful as it was, the trip was well worth the effort. First stop was Bad Neustadt, to visit Uromi and the Waschkes. Zoe and Viv stayed for five days and by the sounds of it, Zoe had a great time, bonding with all the relis. The minor detail that everyone around her spoke German but not all understood English didn't make her any less chatty, and she hit it off quickly with the two little boys from next door. So she was a bit sad when after five days she had to say goodbye and hop on the train. But the next stop wasn't all bad either, as she got to hang out with Oma and Opa in Bernau (Bavaria), where she finally saw what she had been yearning for for weeks: some real live snow (or snee, as she germanized it). Lot's of fun there, especially as Mama took off for a couple of days to meet Papa in Italy, and Oma and Opa got to spoil Zoe, taking her on plenty of adventures in the hood. Upon our return from Italy, I took Viv and Zoe to Innsbruck where she spent another couple of days with her other Uromi (and got spoilt some more). Afterwards it was back to Bernau for a last romp in the snow and some real Bavarian Schweinshaxn before we headed to Munich and the end of the trip. "I like Germany," Zoe said. (More pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/Myjens/LetSGoEurope#)