Most of the family














All the cousins walking















All the cousins















For those of you non-germans, here is a code for understanding some words:
Tante=Aunt
Onkel=Uncle
Geige=Violin
Brötchen=rolls
Meister=master
Bauer=builder
Kaffeetrinken=the traditional afternoon coffeetime

October 4th - The story goes like this... on the night of the 3rd(rather, the early morning of the 4th), when we went to bed, our children's room was pitch black. We could not even see our hands in front of our face. "How strange that there are no city lights!" we thought. Then, in the morning, I was awake, but waiting for light to shine in the window before rising. Daddy entered the room, remarking that it was 9:00. It was then realized that the blinds outside had been closed, allowing absolutely no light to enter. A bit frustrating it was...

Daddy, Ana Marie, and Peter took a short walk to the bakery to purchase some authentic German brötchen for breakfast. Following breakfast was some time for music practice. We stayed home the whole day except for late afternoon, when Tante R and Mommy went for a walk, accompanied by Ana Marie. Peter and Paul Stefan meanwhile joined K at his soccer training. To walk through the forest and field, taking in the green countryside, distant castle, church, and quaint homes, and enjoying the cool autumn breeze, was absolutely lovely.

October 5th - Early afternoon, we walked to the bus stop, took the bus into Erlangen, and got out close to Bismark Street(Strasse). Daddy spent some of his childhood in a house on that street. We stepped into a sports shop, where Peter happily purchased some soccer accessories. Then on we went, past the Ort family house, past the playground we kids played in 8 years ago, and to a music shop. There, we decided to borrow a violin for a month so we could play duets with Shannon's violin. Next, we visited the butcher shop and house where Daddy grew up. It is now a cafe, totally different and renovated, but we still walked through, remembering where the separate rooms had been. After drinking our hot chocolate(Schokolade mit Sahne), we stopped in two more shops, picked up the violin, and got on another bus bound for Uttenreuth. We spent the evening with Tante N, V, and S in Hessdorf. Tante N is from India, and cooked us a wonderful Thai meal. It was after 10:00 when we made our way home.

October 6th - Today, we spent the morning practicing music since we get to play at a wedding in Switzerland on the 15th. At 3:00, we had an appointment with a Meistergeigenbauer(master violin maker) in Bubenreuth. He had four violins out for us to try, and we left with one for the weekend. The violin maker was very friendly, even explaining how the instruments are made. Interestingly, Yehudi Mennuin and Isaac Stern(?) bought violins from him. That indicates something about the quality of his work! Bubenreuth is actually a Geigenbauersiedlung(violin makers town). We plan to go back to look at other violins and visit a weekly show where they display their work. Next, we went for Kaffeetrinken with the Es(relatives). Mr. E had arranged the whole meeting with the Geigenbauer(violin maker). Now it is 8:45. Peter and Paul Stefan enjoyed playing soccer with T and a couple of his friends before dinner. Tomorrow, we are visiting some more relatives in Würzburg.