At last we will update you on the many events since the last blog post:
In the meantime we have returned from a 4-week-trip to Europe that began July 24th. Zoey was a mere 7 weeks old when she took her first flight across the Atlantic, and it went really well. That is, AFTER Zoey threw up a vast amount of milk just after going through security, soaking herself and her mom from top to bottom.
Luckily this didn't dampen her spirits. After a nice full meal at take-off, the buzzing of the plane put her right to sleep. She had to be woken up for landing in Germany.
We flew on to Barcelona, and headed for the Costa Brava seaside where we joined grandma and grandpa Piening, auntie Astrid and Zoey's cousins Lynn and Liona for almost two weeks of camping by the sea. Our campsite was luxurious and gigantic, with the Marcus family sleeping comfortably in a caravan. Here's a picture of one of our great breakfasts:
She loved bathing outside in her camping tub:
And she loved to nap on peoples' arms:
Zoey loved touring Barcelona. Here she is with proud Omi Piening.
David found his dream town: Girona. Only one hour from Barcelona by train, which would satisfy our need for having a big city nearby, it is a nice old city with a great walkable city wall and tons of nice cafes and restaurants, a river to walk by and raft on, and hikeable mountains in walking distance.
On we went to visit our friends Olivier and Segolene and their children Ines and Thibault in Paris. Zoey liked hanging out at the Paris Plage by the Seine.
From Paris, we took the TGB (even faster than the TGV) to Stuttgart, and the ICE to Munich. This was cheaper, more comfortable, and just as fast as flying. Don't you just love high speed rail!
In Munich, we visited Kirsten's aunt Helli's family. David took the chance to go on a great bike ride with uncle Klaus. After this, he decided that we could live in Munich, too. Zoey really enjoyed the Hofbrauhaus- maybe a little too much...
From there, we took another high speed train to Braunschweig, Kirsten's home town. We finally got to see the palace in the city center, that was torn down after the war and just recently rebuilt. Behind the facade, there's a nice mall with a Starbucks, where we added another city cup to our collection.
Next and last stop was Wiesbaden, visiting auntie Astrid's family. Zoey and her cousin Liona had a baptism, which gave the whole extended family a chance to meet our new family member. Zoey slept through the entire ceremony, not even waking up when water was poured over her head and face. David was mighty proud of this.
Zoey truly proved to be a worldly girl and a great travel companion. We can't wait to take her to lots more far away places!
