Keith & Joyce

Actual date of the event: October 26-29

First, I just want everyone to know how proud I am of my boys. They both won their last games of the season on Saturday so Trey's team is undefeated. Trey will play 3 championship games his Saturday.

After a morning of soccer Saturday, Keith and Joyce landed. Keith has been here 2 times already since I arrived, because he is a pilot, but it has been great seeing him so much. This time was a real vacation though, with his wife:)
We picked them up from the airport and went to downtown Stuttgart, on the train. We took them to the famous Stuttgart markets that take place every Wednesday and Saturday. They were able to sample local foods and a drink or two. Then we hopped a train, then a bus and headed to Rubble Hill. There is a previous post about this hill, it is a hill built with the remains of the buildings destroyed in the war AND best view of Stuttgart. It was perfect that it was such a clear beautiful day. For dinner we took them back to Stuttgart and ate at Vapiano, it's a specialty pizza/salad restaurant. We love them and everything is fresh.
We then brought the kids home and took them out in our town for the night. We were able to sit outside at a Biergarten on the lake, we saw a band and the Irish pub, then finished the night with Cuba Libres at Cuba Libre. Well, technically, we finished the night when Keith got his doner kabop.

Sunday morning we had a huge German breakfast for them. If you aren't sure what this entails hen you need to visit. It was a beautiful morning and we headed out to explore Heidelberg , about 1.5 hours away. Keith asked us to go here and we had never been so that was great. The weather quickly turned cool and rainy but that didn't stop us. We walked the town and toured the castle. We had bratwurst sandwiches for lunch and a typical German dinner at White Swan(the English translation)of potato pancakes, sauerkraut , schnitzel and goulash suppe. We loved Heidelberg and can't wait to return.

On Monday the kids headed to school and we headed to Strausburg, France for the day. We have been here but it is one of our favorite places and only about 1.5 hours away. We had champagne and beer in the famous square , in the early hours of the day, while viewing the Notre dame of Strausburg , a magnificent church. We took the boat ride tour the through the canal and we toured the Notre Dame. We then ate dinner at St.Martins on the canal, this is our favorite restaurant in Strausburg. We returned home about 10 and had a really fun night hanging out having wine, beer and a few German specialties. Keith mapped out our entire trip to Prague in 2 weeks, since they were there for a few days before coming to us. We have every map and guide possible and are super excited now for that adventure.

Today, Tuesday we had a lazy morning and then went for doner kebaps for lunch before heading to the airport:(( we had a great visit but the worst part is when people leave, I get a little homesick each time. Yes, life is amazing here but we do miss everyone!!! I know that we will see Keith and Joyce in Europe again so I will find comfort in that for now!!
We hope they had a great visit and a are having a smooth flight home!! You guys are awesome.