Donna's Visit Part 2

Monday, March 3

Fasching in Germany
(German Mardi Gras) thought to chase away winter and celebrate before Lent begins, HUGE PARTY day and night.
a few interesting things, they actually grab people from the crowd and pretend to run away with them AND they are dressed very scary.  Blake was abducted by one and Trey had his shoe laces taken and burned, this was a big thing in the festivities.  This particular day the parades were in our town.

Photo bombed by STU

Trey missing his laces

Taking someone away

That night we made it down to the ADULT party at the Brauhaus.  Dancing til the morning on tables with an awesome DJ and as Donna days "All the Pretty People"

It was wall to wall people on tables and on the ground, we had such a blast!!!!

The next day, Tuesday, we planned to train it to Munich but nobody had the energy for such a LONG day sooooooo Donna and I headed to the Mineral Baths in my town.  Mineral Baths in Germany are very popular but I had yet to make it there.  Well, one floor is all these beautiful type pools in different rooms and different settings, so relaxing.  Relaxing enough that we planned to get a massage and decided it wasn't necessary after a day in the baths.  Oh, let me mention, there were swimsuits in the baths.
we decided we needed some sauna time.  Well, there are several different types of saunas on another floor so since that was included in our admission we went to check it out.  NUDE NUDE EVERYWHERE!!!! Everyone knows Europeans are very open to nudity but this was seriously over the top.  Lots of older people but the ages did range.  They were hanging out having lunch, laying in chairs reading and in open showers and in the saunas.  OMG!!!!  We kept our towels on and since our swimsuits didn't have straps no one knew we had suits on under.  The towels alone were out of place though, I am sure it screamed AMERICANS!!!!!  We were brave enough to venture into one sauna that looked like only one  guy was sitting in it.  That is until we opened the door and another was laying up top with all his junk hanging out.  It was all we could do to keep our composure.  We laid down immediately , towels stayed on, and we stayed there for about 15 minutes then we had to get out of there.  One part of European culture I cannot adapt to.
We did have a gourmet lunch at the end though and it all in all was a pleasant relaxing experience.
The boys went to have Indian food for lunch and then hit up some casinos and the "MALL".  Dont think American mall, German malls are different.  Yes, it is shopping but it is also restaurants and cafes with people having beer and wine all through the center of the mall.  Its a beautiful thing.

Donna and I decided to let the boys go out for a bit this evening and we took the kids to Sensapolis, an indoor amusement park kinda thing.  It was amazing.  Rock climbing, slides 10 stories high, zip lining and just about anything else you could imagine.  The kids had such a great time.

 Trey rockclimbing

The next day The Carroll's headed to Ireland to visit the Carroll Family for a few days. 

They returned on Sunday and it was warm and beautiful so we headed to a biergarten with Bella.

Icecream in Germany is a HUGE deal. All icecream establishments close mid October and reopen when it gets warmer.  This was opening day with long lines waiting for deliciousness.

That night we prepared schnitzel and spatzle for the Carroll's.  I am pretty sure it was enjoyed by all.

Here we are the FINAL day:((((((

Billy and the kids returned to work and school and I took the Carroll Family on the train to Ludwigsburg to visit the palace.  this is hands down the best tour of a palace ever.  This was my second time and it is still just as fascinating as the first time.  We had icecream again also, how could we not when every other person is walking by with it.

The Carroll's on the train

To celebrate a great trip that night the adults headed out to Stuttgart for one final dinner together.  This time we had Italian.  The Italian food in Germany is unbelievable.  We tried to take them to a certain restairant but after taking 3 trains to get there we discovered it was CLOSED!!!!  We had another in mind so it all worked out!

Here's our last dinner together

And the boys figuring out the trains...........

The last goodbyes on Wednesday morning

So long til April, thanks for an AMAZING time