Frolicking in London - Saw Prince Charles!

Brian and I met up with Sonja and Sanjay again, on their return from Paris. We just headed in for the day, as S & S were going to have to get up and get going on Sunday to catch their flight back to Chicago.

We didn't have much of an agenda for Saturday, just wander about the city to explore and enjoy one another's company. We went to Leceister Square and found there was West End Live! going on, which was great. It was a large stage with various West End musicals putting on 15 minute free shows. So we caught - We Will Rock You - the musical about the rock band Queen. So Brian really liked that!
Off to Trafalgar Square and St Martins in the Field church, where we grabbed lunch in the cafe in the crypt. Sounds a bit morbid, and it is, but also a really cool place and off the main tourist path.

Walked a ways toward the Royal area, and saw that there was military parade happening along the Pall Mall, between Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards. As we were walking/watching, a black posh car was escorted in the front of the short parade of military tanks, and inside was Prince Charles and Camilla!! We had no idea that they were going to be coming down the way, but it was def them! He was dressed in his military best and she had on a white suite and big hat of course. Before we realized it was them, it was too late to nab a photo. But Sonja and I thought that was pretty cool!

Then to Harrods for the ultimate London shopping, walk through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace, and then pub hopping of course!


We got so comfortable at this great pub off the tourist track, that we had to pull ourselves away to go find a proper dinner back down in the theatre district for some action. Had to part catching the Underground, so we could get back to Oxford and they could get back to their hotel. We took the bus to/from Oxford this time, and arrived home about 3 a.m. Will def admit I'm moving slow today!

Sonja & Sanjay are Here!

We're having fun showing S & S around Oxford! Off to Windsor Castle tomorrow to visit the Queen! They are heading to Paris next, and then we'll meet them again next weekend in London. Cheerio!

A note on our British life

Can you figure out the 3 main British-isms on this note I got from a colleague last night!? I just thought it is a pretty good example of our current life in England. (Especially as we all know Brian and what the note is inferring!)

Babies Galore!

Quick update on all the new babies cropping up around us - and a few more to still come!

Our Swedish friends, Magnus and Elin had a baby boy, to join sister Rebecka

Friends back home in MN, Rhea and BJ had another baby boy, Ehren to join brother Evan

Good friends of Charlie's and ours in Belgium, had a little girl Emma

Brian's bro Rick and wife Kate, had little Abigail very prematurely, (Kate had eclampsia), and they are still at Children's Hospital in Ohio, but so far Abby is doing well and developing as she should. So keep them in your thoughts!

And my cousin's Jen and Patty are both expecting babies #3 any time now!

Mason City Floods

I'm sure you're all aware of the terrible weather Iowa is dealing with right now. Horrible tornadoes and flooding - 53 of the 99 counties in Iowa are declared federal disaster areas, so they can get federal aid. Not to mention that the price of corn on the market is already the highest ever, and will continue to climb, as farmers either haven't been able to get the crop in the ground, since it's been so wet all spring, and now that it might never dry out.

Mason City on Sunday was hit with record high flood level of 18.6 feet from the Winnebago River. More than 7 feet is declared flood level. The record had been about 15 feet in 1933.

John and Marcy's house luckily has escaped any flooding, but many neighbors on our same street, had terrible flooding in their basements. And Eastbrooke isn't even in the flood plain area. Many other areas of town, homes have been completely destroyed and basements/foundations have collapsed. I have friend's whose parent's homes are probably gone for good. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the residents in MC dealing with all of this. And on top of it all, they have been living without any running water since Sunday, due to the Water Plant also getting flooded. Some water is back on now for showers and flushing, but it's still not drink/cookable.

Please keep Mason City, the surrounding other cities flooded, and all the affected counties from flooding and tornadoes in your thoughts.

Thanks!

Congrats Cousin Ben!

Just sending a shout out to Cousin Ben Batz on his high school graduation this week! We are very proud of Ben and just heard that he was nominated by his classmates as Jaguar of the Year! (It means he is very well liked and respected by everyone at his school!) We are not surprised in the least bit, as he is one of the most involved and accomplished high schoolers we have ever known! Ben was the lead in their fall musical "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat," sang in the show choir, active in church and their choir there, and on about every committee you could imagine! And finding time for a few rounds of golf on the Varsity team and applying to college, a pretty busy guy!

But the big news is, Ben is going to be a Gustie this fall!! Just like his parents, auntie Diane, auntie Liesl, Grandpa Dick and Brian and Kelly of course! Hooray!!

Ben, we wish we could be there with you this upcoming weekend to celebrate your graduation. Although sounds like the entire city is going to be there in support! We hope you have a fab last week of school, a great graduation and a wonderful grad party. We'll have a few pints in your honor!!! (Surprise, surprise!)

Lots of love, Kelly & Brian

Wedding in Germany 2

Saturday was the wedding day. Brian and I hadn't actually checked out the town of Bad Wildbad yet, so in the morning, we took a walk around the little town to get our bearings, and find out where the hotel & church locations were for the wedding activities. While it's not a normal thing in Germany to have a huge wedding party, Bettina did ask me to be her bridesmaid. She said she didn't know what it meant, but it sounded nice and wanted me to be her bridesmaid! So cute! I didn't have to get a special dress or anything, but she did give me my own bouquet of flowers.

I met her about an hour before the church ceremony at 1 p.m., at her hotel so we could have a glass of sparkling wine together. I also got to meet her mom and brother there. Then just the two of us got a ride to the church, while everyone went there ahead of time to get seated. It was lovely old, small English Church in the wonderful parkland. We met her dad outside of the church, so they could walk in together. Then, her brother and I walked in together, after the bride and her dad. I then ended up sitting with her family! The service was wonderful, but of course all in German. It felt more like a full church service, then our American shorted wedding versions. Overall, the service felt very familiar, and two of three hymns we sang, I absolutely knew in English, they were just singing in German of course. What a wonderful way to learn a new language by singing! I also learned that these hymns are German in origin, and they were translated to English many years decades later. I also recognized the Lords Prayer, which they say in the exact same cadence as we do, so I just said it along with everyone but in English. It was such a neat experience.


After the ceremony, everyone walked across the way to this wonderful old Theatre that is getting redeveloped for a drinks and nibbles reception outside. They had a receiving line, sparkling wine, and yummy German canapes. We visited with one of the other British couples attending, and then also met some of Bettina's friends. There was live music, and we had a tour of the theatre inside, with a wonderfully cute old German man, who couldn't speak much English. But Stefan, the groom, translated for us. Then back outside, there was singing and a balloon launch to celebrate - so wonderful!

There was a bit of a lull in between the reception and dinner, so we went back to the hotel to pick up the gift and chill for a bit. We had planned to meet up again with Bettina's friends for a beer before dinner started at 6:30 at the hotel. And boy, was it quite a dinner! We did not get done with the 7-course meal until 11:30 p.m.!!!! It was absolutely fantastic. They served fresh, local foods, and it was wonderfully displayed. In short, we had venison, with a veggie option for Brian. Of course, we coudn't read the menu, but were sitting by this great young couple who spoke like 5 languages, so they could easily translate for us! In between courses, there would be a speech, or a photo video, and at one interval, they had fireworks outside to celebrate!


I was most excited about the wedding cake - as it was proper Black Forest Cake - yummm!!!! Of course, there was still a dance, which didn't start until 1 a.m.!!!! So we were partying until 3:30 a.m. I think Brian and I either really impressed (or scared them really) with our crazy American dancing (after a number of drinks of course).
And Brian made friends with some lovely German ladies!!!



There wasn't much time to sleep in Sunday, as a number of guests were still in town and going on hike through the Black Forest. It was a great day to walk along with new friends, and then end at the ski hut, for lunch and beer of course! We just relaxed there outdoors with new friends, and it was so great.

To top off the weekend, we had to visit the natural spa of course! Bad Wildbad is a wellness and spa town. And of course, as we were visiting a German spa . . . yep some people don't wear anything! But, it was acceptable that we could - thank goodness!

Wedding in Germany

During the last weekend in May, we were in the Black Forest area in Southwest Germany for my good friend Bettina's wedding! It was a UK Bank Holiday Monday, so we extended it for 4-day weekend, and it was fantastic. The weather was great - mostly sunny, warm, but never too hot. It was a lush, green area, reminding us of both Oregon and Northern Minnesota mixed into one (so Brian was in heaven). I've always said, Germans are so nice and friendly and helpful. And frankly, in some ways, I think Americans have more in common with the Germans than the Brits.

We flew into Stuttgart, and took an hour taxi ride winding through the Black Forest to the spa town, Bad Wildbad. This is where the wedding was, and where Bettina's husband Stefan's family is from. I think the population is around 10,000, so not huge, but a nice size for such a gorgeous little town tucked in the forest, along a small river/creek, in between these two huge tree-covered hills. It's so picturesque and stunning, and exactly as you might imagine it to look.

As you also probably are aware, the Black Forest area is known for its proper, Black Forest Cake (Black Forest Gateau as the Brits call it) and sorry I can't write/speak in German for the proper translation. Also Black Forest Ham - yum. And nice red berries mashed with sugar to make jam and conserve (which I bought a jar of sour cherry conserve, and literally eat it just by the spoonful - super yum)! And I was on a mission to buy a huge authentic, hand carved Cookoo Clock, but got the kebash on that one!

Back to the trip, we arrived late at night on Thursday, so crashed at our hotel, called the Hotel Sonnenhof. It was run by this great, younger couple, and of course knew about the wedding, as the whole town did. We didn't stay at the same hotel as the wedding group, mainly because it was bit too posh and spendy for us, but we were just down the street. We loved our hotel anyway, since it was more like really nice bed and breakfast with a local feel.

Friday a.m. we got up, and had yummy typical German breakfast (bread, cheese, meat slices, toast, granola, yogurt, yummy fruit mash, boiled eggs and proper coffee, although not very proper British tea). The thing we noticed right away as we entered the breakfast room (have to admit, always a bit intimidating at first when you realize neither of you speak a lick of the language) but that everyone says good morning (Gut Morgan)to one another, even if you're all strangers. They are so friendly!


Then off the two of us went for a day trip to Heidelberg, supposedly the most beautiful, typical German town. I had actually been there before in high school during a band trip, but really didn't remember anything about it. Of course, it was great, with the huge Schloss (castle) tucked up to the right in the hills overlooking the old city center. We took a great walk along the "Philosopher's Walk" on the hill across from the castle, for some great pics. And of course we stumble across Heidelberg University's Physics department on the Philosopher's Walk! We then found ourselves a table at the outdoor cafe in the market center, and plunked ourselves down for a good couple of hours, enjoying the sun and German brew! It was a happy, happy place. :)

New Flat

Thought it was finally time to post some photos of our new flat. It looks pretty stylish, which is nice, but really a bit more than we really needed. However, since it's a furnished flat, it's nice to know that it's all brand new furniture, and we're the first ones to use it. Overall, we don't have as much space as our last flat, and it costs us 50% more! But we were getting a heck of a bargain for our other flat, since it was through the University. We could only stay there for a limited time however. So what we are paying now is actually more of the norm for everyone. Good thing I got a new job!

The only part of the flat not recently updated is the kitchen. But frankly, it's just fine and still pretty spacious for Oxford standards. My biggest complaint though is the kitchen table and chairs. The chairs are the smallest, most uncomfortable things I've ever sat in. So definitely disappointing since we'd like to continue to entertain. Although, we're too busy for that right now anyway!


I love our bedroom, and now we have a queen size bed, so that is def an upgrade for us! And the living room is really nice too with a huge leather sofa.

The one only other complaint, and it's not too bad now that we are used to it, is the shower. Now, first off, we were very excited to finally GET a shower, since before we only had a bath. But not sure if you are familiar with what they have over here, called electric showers. They are powered by electricity, and I hit a button to turn it on and off. The problem is, there is no pressure when the water comes out. So it feels like you are standing under a garden hose with water that just falls out. Actually, I miss my old bath now even at times! But overall, we're getting used to it, and getting clean, so that is the important part, right?!

Location wise, we are still south of the Summertown shops and next to the gym, so that is great for us. And we're in a familiar area, which I appreciate, since I feel safe there. So all in all, it's been a good move!

Spring Visitors Update

Yikes it's been over one month since I last blogged! Definitely a number of reasons for that, mainly including as I mentioned, not having Internet when we first moved to the new place. Now we do, but we are still without a desk or extra table to put the computer on. So we're looking into buying a small and inexpensive computer desk to get that all set up. It's just not as easy to type/email/blog when you're working off of moving boxes! Currently we're actually in Brian's office on a Sunday afternoon, so we can catch up a bit on email and such.

Much has happened this month, and really the past two months, which have all been great of course. In a recap sort of fashion, the highlight in March was my 30th Birthday with John and Marcy visiting to help celebrate. We mainly hung out in the UK, while J&M went up to Liverpool for a couple of days to do the Beatles tour. Then to London over the weekend for a nice dinner out and a West End show. If you've ever been into the Monty Python movies, you'd love the show we saw called Spamalot. Pretty fun stuff!

End of March into April brought more Kelly family visitors, and this time it was aunt & uncle Melinda and Paul, and cousins Ben, Katie and Anna from Bloomington, MN. They are a Gustie family, so guess how excited we were to hear that Cousin Ben is going to Gustavus next fall for college! We had a fab time with them here, and showed them all the sights in the Oxford/London/Thames Valley area. By the end of the week, we were also were joined by Paul's sister Liesl, who used to live in London for a number years. Highlights included; visiting the Queen's castle while she was in residence at Windsor Castle, tour inside and out at Blenheim Palace, drive to Bath and seeing the Roman Baths, picnicing at Stonehenge, Harry Potter touring at Oxford and of course a full dedicated day of shopping for the gals! London included a tour of Kensington Palace (where Princess Diana lived), tour on the London Eye, riding the Underground, and then more fun for just the Batzs at the Tower of London. And a big birthday highlight for Uncle Paul included an excellent Oxford pub tour with his new Physics department mates!

Last but not least, our last visitor of the spring was Brian's best buddy and roomie from Gustie Days, Steffan Freeman. Steffan is in Jackson Hole Wyoming now as a land steward and thought it was a good time for a little holiday R & R. So we had a great time showing him around Oxford and the surrounding countryside. We also got to check out a new place Brian and I haven't been too yet - Stratford Upon Avon. It's Shakespeare's birthplace, and they really do it up! But great tours to check out and it's a fab town. It's pretty close to get to from Oxford, so fun to add to our list of places visited. Steffan also too some day tours on his own, while we were at work, and even sat during a House of Commons session at Westminister in London. Was so great to see him!

We love having visitors, and there is so much fun stuff to go see and do. And if in doubt, there are plenty of pubs to frequent! So do let us know if you are thinking about it, because honestly, our time is filling up and coming to a close early next year. So let's make a plan!