Rome Day One: Arrival and a Movie

Day one of our Roman Holiday got off to a good start as we got up, took a taxi to the airport and were right away assigned seats on our flight. We are lucky that the rest of the Frankfurt area does not have their ski vacation until next week.

These Lavazza coffee ads were right outside our gate. The kids already know the story of Romulus, Remus and the she-wolf and we assured them we would see the famous fountain featured in the other photo.

Waiting to get on the plane

James at the Fiumicino Airport looking thrilled about experiencing the real flavor of Rome.

David had arranged for a cab to pick us up at the airport and the kids thought it was really cool to see someone waiting for us with our name on a sign. We checked into our apartment which was located right on the Tiber River, I found a small grocery store to buy cereal and milk for tomorrow's breakfast (and was very thankful that Italy uses the Euro and we didn't have to worry about changing money) and within just a few minutes were ready to do a little sightseeing. David found an ad for a 4-D movie called the Time Elevator that would fill the kids in on some of the history of Rome, so armed with a map, we descended onto the streets of Rome.

We came upon these ruins within minutes of leaving our apartment.

It was raining and there were people everywhere selling umbrellas. By the end of the day, we had bought 3 and lost one.

In a souvenir shop, we bought a few of these handbags (these city/country name bags are very popular in Europe) and the shopkeeper stroked Emilie's cheek and declared her "Bella!"

The National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II honors the first king of a unified Italy (1861) and was completed in 1935. It was Micaela's, James' and my least favorite sight in Rome, partly because it seemed to by trying too hard and partly because every time we lost our way, we would end up in front of it.

Trajan's Column was completed in 113 and commemorates Emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars (101-106), in what is present-day Romania.

The spiral bas relief depicts the Roman Army setting out to battle. If I were without kids on this trip, I would have spent easily 1/2 hour reading the history of the column and studying the sculptures up and down its 125 feet. With kids, it's a different story. All they had patience for was, "Hey, kids! This column was built in 113 so it's almost 1900 years old. All those sculptures are of the Roman Army going into battle. Isn't that amazing?" They looked at it for about 10 seconds and then said, "Yeah. Which way to that movie theater?" Time to lower my expectations a bit.

Scooters and SmartCars are the way to get around Rome, where parking is a major issue.

Finding our way to the Time Elevator, we realized that maps were only going to be so helpful. Streets in Rome twist and turn, and seem to change names every block. Plus, to quote my husband as he stared at our map, "It's impossible to figure this out. Every time we turn around, there's another ruin! They're everywhere!" In addition, what we would consider little alleyways were honest-to-goodness streets that small buses squeezed down. We needed to ask several times for directions, but we eventually made it.

Micaela, James and Emilie enjoyed the movie: Romulus and Remus, the assassination of Julius Caesar and gladiators in the Colosseum, among other things were dramatized. Becca was scared by the jolting of our moving seats and how critters seemed to bite at her, and I was reminded of why I need to avoid these simulation type of rides/movies. I felt quite nauseous during and after the movie.

We got back to our neighborhood around 6:00pm, and everyone was hungry for dinner. We wandered down a street and found a café and asked the owner if he served pizza. He answered, "No, but there is a restaurant around the corner that does. But they're not open yet." Not open yet? We asked when it would open and he replied, "7:00 or 7:30pm. It's not dinner time yet." Uh-oh. We'll need to plan on not being able to eat until about 7:30pm, Rebecca's bedtime and long past when the kids want to eat. Sure enough, we checked and the restaurant would not open for dinner until 7:30. We went back to the apartment where, surprise! Spongebob Squarepants was on TV in Italian and then made our way back out to eat.

The kids knew they wanted pizza, but David and I wanted something a little more adventurous. My courage faltered a bit as I scanned through the menu items and "cow's tail" and "spaghetti with octopus" caught my eye. David ordered spinach ravioli and I got tagliatelle in a a peppery-cheese sauce and we shared some bruschetta, which our kids would only try if we scraped off the tomato pieces. Did I mention we would need to lower our expectations a bit?

How not to prepare for a big trip

Tomorrow we leave for Rome, and as always seems to happen, we are unprepared. Every time we take a big trip, David and I end up turning to each other and saying, "Well, I guess we're winging it!" We end up having a good trip no matter where we go, but to be a bit better prepared would be a good thing. It didn't help that Emilie, Rebecca and I had the flu for almost the entire week before our trip and it really did a number on us. I hardly ever got off the couch. The idea of getting the entire trip planned was out of the question for me.

Ideally, we would have bought a great guidebook with excellent maps a month ago and come up with a plan for each of our four days there. Our 2005 trip to Disneyworld was a great success due to our pouring through an unofficial guidebook months in advance, reserving dinners and shows ahead of time, following itineraries that shortened the time we needed to wait in lines and learning little tricks of Disney veterans. We vowed to always prepare like that for trips. Unfortunately, we have never been so well prepared since.

Several people we know, however, have been to Rome with their kids and they gave us some tips on places to go with them. It's a good thing, too, as I tried doing some research on the internet yesterday and was discouraged when almost every site I visited said, "Rome is not a child-friendly city. Italians love children, but there's not a lot for your kids to do there."

Through friends, we got a link for rental apartments in Rome and reserved one and we also went to the Vatican site and got the last set of tickets for a guided tour of the Vatican Museums available during our stay. This morning, with the kids off school for ski holiday week, there was a mandatory viewing of The Lizzy Maguire Movie, which takes place in Rome. We wanted the kids to be familiar with a few of the sights they would see, and the movie actually was pretty funny.

We could also rely on what we remembered doing from our previous trips to Rome. David and I had both been when we were studying abroad separately in college (we didn't know each other then), but traveling as a single college student is an entirely different matter from traveling with four children. For instance, my friends and I stayed in a women's shelter that rented out empty beds. We also ate just 2 meals a day to save money. There wouldn't be any of that with four kids. And to make matters even more uncertain, we would be flying standby.

David and I turned to each other tonight, shrugged, and said, "Well, I guess we'll be winging it."

Girl Scout Cookies and Rootbeer

It's Girl Scout Cookie time and yes, we can get them here. As many boxes as we want. With so many Americans in Frankfurt and two large international schools in the area, we had no trouble buying some Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Samoas.

The youth group at our church held a fund raiser today where they sold submarine sandwiches with sodas and chips. Not just any soda and chips. Rootbeer and Frito-Lay chips (Doritos, Fritos, etc.) You can probably surmise by the fact that I did an entry on this that we cannot find rootbeer, Doritos nor Fritos at the stores here. You would be right. Not even anything resembling rootbeer, Doritos and Fritos. This simple dinner was a big deal for us and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

My guess is that someone from the youth group bought the drinks and snacks at one of the U.S. Commissaries in the area. Non-military and non-government Americans are not allowed to shop there. It is not unheard of for people to sneak in friends (I have been twice), but they are technically forbidden from doing so.

By the way, the youth group was raising money for its trip to Romania where they will build a playground and assist elderly residents with home repairs, and another trip to the Kalahari Desert in South Africa where they will tutor poor children who don't have the money to attend school.

You can't judge a book by its cover

Micaela is working on some scrapbooking pages of the Twilight Saga and in a store the other day, this TeenBeat-ish magazine caught my eye. Robert Patterson, a.k.a. Edward Cullen, was on the cover, and as I'm always one to enable a scrapbooker, I got it for her. It looked perfect for a 12-year old girl: Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Camp Rock and kids from High School Musical were all on the cover. There were even 2 "Best Friend" bracelets inside.

I had a few minutes before I needed to pick the kids up from school and decided to page through the Bravo magazine. Along with the many pictures of the aforementioned teen stars, there were articles about how to do better in school and how to be a good friend. Then, I turned a page and the world came to a screeching halt.

There were two pages of questions and answers on how bodies change during puberty, but I thought the featured question from a 16-year-old boy on how he is on his third sex partner now and is wondering why it "takes her longer" was a little much. The answer gave him hints on how to make it better for her. Gulp! Wasn't expecting that based on the cover of the magazine!

Then, I turned the page and there was the "Bodycheck" section. This is the section of the magazine where two teenagers or young adults pose naked and answer revealing questions about themselves. Totally naked from head to knees. Hello!!

I ripped out those pages and after double checking through the rest of it, gave Micaela the magazine. It was another moment where I realized that you can't take anything for granted.

But that's not all! Twilight just opened here a few weeks ago and Micaela had seen it with some friends at the foreign language movie theater in Frankfurt last week. Twilight was also showing this week for just a few days in English at our local theater, so yesterday Micaela and I went. We have both read the books and Micaela is a fan, but me, not so much. I couldn't help but compare the series to Harry Potter (as it is often referred to as "the next Harry Potter"), and found these books lacking. In a big way. But I had heard that the movie was supposed to be good, so off we went.

Beforehand, there were previews for Bedtime Stories and Inkheart. The powers that be obviously knew what audience to expect for Twilight: kids.

Then came a 3-minute ad for the German Film Academy. The first minute or so featured short clips from classic German movies. The second minute or so featured nothing but sex scenes. Graphic sex scenes.

I just sat there in stunned silence. I should have expected it. The week before I had seen Will Smith's Seven Pounds with an English friend and they showed that same ad. My friend leaned over and said, "Can you believe that? What would I have said to my son if I had brought him?" I just could not believe it when they started up the ad before Twilight. I froze and prayed that it would be a tamer version of the ad for this audience. Of course, that hope was in vain.

When it was over, I felt like I had to say something, so I leaned over to Micaela and whispered, "Well, that was an education, wasn't it?" She just rolled her eyes.

Catching up with Emilie

Lebkuchen is continuing its series "Conversations with the kids of Nylund6," this time interviewing 6-year-old Emilie. In a family with 3 other much noisier siblings, Emilie distinguishes herself with her almost constant cheerfulness, willingness to eat vegetables and being the family's only southpaw. Let's find out more about this little cutie-patootie.
L: How are you doing today, Emilie?
E: Good.
L: What did you have for breakfast?
E: Cookie Crisp.
L: Why are you always so tanned-looking?
E: (shrugs) Don't know.
L: What was it like to be in the U.S. over Christmas?
E: Very, very good. Presents!
L: What was your best Christmas present?
E: All of them.
L: What did you get to eat while you were there that you really miss in Germany?
E: Muffins (from the Marblehead bakery).
L: What is your favorite show to watch on German TV?
E: Spongebob Schwammkopf, because it's funny.
L: Can you understand it pretty well?
E: Pretty well.
L: What show do you miss that you can't watch here?
E: Oobi!
L: How did you feel when your dad first told you that you would be moving to Germany?
E: Sad
L: How do you feel now about living here?
E: .....(Big grin)
L: Does that mean happy?
E: ....(maintains freakishly large grin)
L: What do you really like about your school?
E: Ummmmm....(giggle)...art!
L: Is there something you don't like at all about school?
E: Work.
L: Which Barbie movie is the best?
E: Mariposa.
L: Really? Not Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus? Aidan is so funny.
E: M-o-o-o-o-m!!
L: Do your parents love you?
E: Yes.
L: Tell me about the time a few years ago when the whole family went shopping and left you at home by mistake.
E: When you came back for me, I was like "You forgetted me!"
L: Yes, your parents must have felt horrible. (Lebkuchen shakes head.) So, what's the best place you have visited so far in Europe?

E: Berlin. I liked the lights (Festival of Light) when we went on the bus at night.
L: You liked Berlin better than Disneyland Paris?
E: I liked both of them.



L: What do you think of Colin Firth?
E: I don't even know him. Jeesh!
L: He was Harry in Mamma Mia.
E: Oh, yeah. I like him.
L: Good girl. What do you want to be when you grow up?
E: A doctor.
L: A doctor? That's new. What kind of doctor?
E: A vet.
L: But aren't you allergic to some cats?
E: OK, a people doctor.
L: What will you dress up as for Fasching (Mardi Gras)?
E: A doctor.
L: What one place do you still want to visit in Europe?
E: Oh, any place is good....no, I know. Disneyland Paris.
L: Haven't you already been there?
E: Yes, but I want to go there again. Crush's Coaster was the best! Also Peter Pan.
L: What one word describes you best?
E: Silly.

My New Mercedes

Yes, I can say in all truthfulness that I currently drive a Mercedes.

Okay, okay. It's a rental. I was involved in a minor traffic accident a few months ago (not my fault!) and finally this week brought our Toyota Corolla Verso to the shop for repairs. The insurance company arranged for a rental and David stressed that the car had to be an automatic minivan (you may recall what a disaster my trying to learn to drive stick was last year) and we were assured that one would be waiting for me. I pulled into the Toyota dealership and wasn't at all surprised to see that the car waiting for me wasn't only a manual, it was a huge Volkswagon van that seated 10. These things never seem to go right the first go around.

I explained that I needed an automatic and during various phone calls heard the phrases, "She needs an automatic....Yes, automatic. She's American." When I was told that no automatic minivans were available, I said that a five-seater would be fine and said we would try again the next day.

When I pulled into the dealership the next day, I saw a little Ford Fiesta-like car in the rental car spot. It brought back memories of our first 6 months here when I tooled around in a tiny Fiesta and somehow stuffed my 4 kids in with me. The neighbors no doubt likened us to a circus act when we pulled in front of the house at the end of the day and kid after kid exited the teeny car.

The worker brought me outside and showed me not to the tiny sub-compact, but rather to this shiny new Mercedes. As beautiful as the car was, there was a moment where I wanted to say, "Umm, couldn't I have the Fiesta instead?" I would be nervous driving around in a Mercedes. But the moment passed.

Mercedes here makes everything from cars to buses to trucks. Their cars range from very expensive to much more affordable than in the U.S. This particular car is from the "much more affordable" line. It's a diesel which makes it a bit noisy and the interior is certainly not luxurious. No navi as we were promised. But the giveaway is in the back. What do you notice in the picture below that I don't think you can find in a Mercedes back in the U.S.?

Did you find it? Did you notice the roll down window? The kids think rolling down the windows is a hoot. Hey, that reminds me of a story...

A few months back, we arrived home from school in our Corolla that has power windows in the back. Right when we pulled into our parking spot in front of the house, James put down his window to look out and see how close I was to the curb, then pushed the window button before he got his head back in the car. At that moment, I shut off the car, and the frantic gasping/yelling began.

James' head was stuck in the window with the glass pressing hard up against his neck. I couldn't figure out at first if he was laughing, but quickly came to the conclusion that he wasn't. He could barely talk. We all went into panic mode and I hesitated for a split second before turning on the car engine. What if I turned it on and the window continued to go up? I took a breath, turned the car back on and yelled at James to push the button to put the window down. The window came back down, and James was left shaken with a mark on his neck. Still shaken myself, I said, "James, little children have died from that! (That's a true statement, by the way.) You need to be careful!" Later on in the evening, James rubbed his neck, looked at me and said in wonder, "Gosh, I can't believe I almost died today!" I gently explained that it never got that far, and David thought the whole story was rather funny. I can laugh now, but it wasn't funny at the time.

So, maybe roll down windows are not such a bad idea after all.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Right after our tour of Hohenschwangau Castle, we hustled back down to street level to catch a rustic horse-drawn carriage for the trip up to the other castle, Neuschwanstein (New Swan Stone Palace). We debated this carriage ride. On the one hand, it was more expensive than the shuttle bus, but the shuttle buses weren't running due to icy conditions. Plus, we knew the kids would enjoy the novelty of the horse-drawn carriage ride, so we found the long line and joined in. Without the shuttle buses, the line was long and slow and it was well below freezing. After 20 minutes of waiting and not moving much, I asked David, "How long till our tour begins?" and then, "How long does it take to hike up to the castle?" The kids were beginning to complain about the cold, Rebecca cried anytime her pant leg shifted and exposed the skin on her calves and heck, my feet were starting to ache from the cold.

This was our view of the castle as we waited. So close, but so far.

We waited some more and then after watching carriage after carriage arrive and still not seeing the line move much (did I mention it was long?), David and I decided that if we weren't in a carriage in 15 minutes, we would start walking. In retrospect, we probably would have been better off walking in the first place and keeping ourselves moving.

There was a group of tourists right in front of us from that certain other European country I wrote about in a recent blog entry when speaking about a group who had a system for cutting in front of us at Disneyland Paris. They weren't from France. I will only say that they came from a country beginning with an I and ending with a Y. This group was getting impatient as well and when one carriage returned from the castle, their fearless leader walked right up to the driver who was turning the carriage around and tried to comandeer it. She said, "I have a group of 15 people here. We can fill up your carriage right away." At least, that's what we figure she said because we heard the driver answer loudly in German, "No, it's not your turn yet. There are many people waiting in line in front of you!" The woman tried to pressure her, but the stubborn driver would not be swayed. We felt like cheering. David just shook his head and said, "Unbelievable."

Just in time (or so we thought), we boarded a carriage. We sat next to the driver who told us about the horses. Most of the horses we had seen were sweating bullets when they pulled up to the front of the line in this freezing weather and we were concerned about how hard they had to work, pulling at least 15 people at a time up a steep path. The driver told us that the horses only take 4 trips up and down the mountain and then are done for the day. Our poor horses were on their last trip and it showed, poor things.

I had my camera ready during the 20-minute trip, ready to take great shots of this picturesque castle. Imagine my surprise when I never got a view of it the whole time. The castle was completely obscured by the thick trees until we were upon it.

Arriving at the castle with not even seconds to spare. That white mist above the horses' backs is steam rising from their sweating backs. We snapped this picture and then sprinted up the path further to get to the castle entrance to make our tour, no small feat considering our children were still stiff and miserable with the cold. We made it, but just barely. Photos would have to wait till after our tour.

Neuschwanstein is the most photographed building in Germany, but photography is not allowed inside the castle. I did buy a few postcards of the interior.

King Ludwig II's bedroom includes a four-post hand-carved wooden bed, the canopy of which is carved as the cathedral towers from every cathedral in Bavaria, a secret flushing toilet (which flushes with water collected from an aqueduct) and a running sink in the shape of a swan.

King Ludwig is sometimes referred to as the Swan King in English and der Märchenkönig (the Fairy Tale King) in German, but he also often referred to as Mad King Ludwig. His castle has a fascinating history. King Ludwig II of Bavaria wanted to build a castle in the tradition of the knights of old and in homage to Richard Wagner. The foundation stone of the building was laid September 5, 1869. Neuschwanstein was designed by a theatrical set designer, rather than an architect, which says much regarding Ludwig's intentions and explains much of the fantastical nature of the resulting building.

Ludwig II was possessed by the idea of a holy kingdom by the Grace of God. In reality he was a constitutional monarch, a head of state with rights and duties and little freedom of action. And so, he built a fantasy world around him in which - far removed from reality - he could feel he was a real king. From 1875 on he lived at night and slept during the day.

King Ludwig's Throne Room features a glass gem-encrusted chandelier, and paintings of all Twelve Apostles on the wall that surrounds the pedestal for the throne. The actual throne was never finished.

The Singers' Hall is a venue for performances by musicians and playwrights. The King built it for Wagner as a place to write and perform plays. The King died before watching a performance in the Singers' Hall, but it has been used since the King's death.

With only 14 rooms finished, Ludwig moved into his new home. He had only spent a mere 11 nights there when his refusal to react rationally to foreign banks threatening to seize his property (he was in debt due to his pet projects such as Neuschwanstein) led the government to declare him insane and depose him. Ludwig II was interned in Berg Palace south of Munich. The next day he died in mysterious circumstances in Lake Starnberg, together with the psychiatrist who had certified him as insane. Just seven weeks later, the castle was opened to the public.

With the tour finished, we could now take what must surely turn out to be outstanding pictures of the castle and our beautiful children in front of said castle. The only problem was that that was nearly impossible. The castle was enormous and once you left the woods, you were too close to the castle to get a decent shot. And as I also quickly realized, those most famous shots you see of Neuschwanstein, like this one (see scanned postcard below)....

..can apparently only be achieved if you scale the dangerous-looking cliff opposite the front of the castle, hire a helicopter, or invent a flying car with a mind of its own.

Becca has just about had it with the cold temperatures.

Emilie and me in front of a tower.

The kids at the entrance. No amount of me saying, "Kids, they show Chitty Chitty Bang Bang being taken in through this door!" got the kids to snap out of their cold-induced haze.

A decent view of the castle on our trip back down the mountain.

After a welcome cup of hot chocolate and right before we left for the long drive home, everyone posed for this semi-happy castle-over-our-shoulders-shot.

The view of the Alps as we left the area was stunning -- and my camera was packed away in the back of the minivan. This picture from someone else's blog almost captures how beautiful it was.