Kellan had his first soccer game this week.  He plays for the local German team, and they take soccer very seriously.  Most of the kids on his team have been playing for a couple of years.  Many of the parents have come up to Pat asking how long he has played, and when Pat responds with a few days they are shocked at his talent.  He is the only child on the team who does not speak German, but has picked up a little along the way.  The goalie for their team will yell Kellan Kellan Kellan and use his hands to show Kell to back up so he can kick him the ball.  His first game he scored 3 goals! Their team ended up winning 4-2!  I think he will stick with soccer when we move back to the states.  Here are a few photos to enjoy of our little soccer guy! 

That night Pat and I had to divide and conquer.  While Kellan was at his game I was with Elly for her poetry cafe.  The third and fourth grade class have been writing poems for their poetry unit, and Ell started school towards the end.  Her teacher worked with Elly to get a few poems for her book.  It was nice to include her a few days before the event.  Her recital was at 6pm, and they began with the song Firework by Katy Perry.  I was proud of her getting up in front of everyone to read one of her poems!  See pictures and her poem below! 

Diamonds

Diamonds are shiny sparkly pretty.

I see diamonds everywhere.

Many are in jewelry,

But the most beautiful  are the least expected .

Oceans, rivers, rain, snow, stars.

My favorite diamonds are outside,

                          But there is a kind, caring diamond in our class.  

Hellooooo Murphys Law!  We had a heck of a time trying to get to Venice, Italy! We should have turned around at the German border when we realized our ESSO card was declined due to the Military Police putting the wrong license plate number on the card.  For those of you who don’t know and Esso card is the discount card for gas.  In Germany gas is very expensive, and charged by the liter.  Your Esso card must match the license plate of the car you are driving.  If not it will decline.  We were on our second rental car and ended up having to pay nearly 50% more that we should have.  We also needed to purchase a toll ticket for 18 euro, aaaannnnndddd a map.  The rental company changed the settings on the navigation settings to avoid all toll roads.  Our 4 hour trip to Vicenza ended up taking us nearly 7.  We did not use the toll ticket because the navigation had something against tolls!  We took back roads through most of Germany and all of Austria.  Once we figured out what was going on we turned to the trusty map to get us to Italy without wanting to strangle each other.  I am pretty sure I said on more that one occasion "Pat you know German figure this thing out!”  Telling me to turn this way or that way did not sit too well either!  I repeatedly told him to use your lefts and rights Pat!  (Sound familiar, Mom?)   He was stressed because roads are not clearly marked, and we missed multiple turns!  We stopped for dinner on the border of Italy and Austria at a fantastic little diner.  With the stress of the trip a good meal was welcoming! This part of Italy used to be considered Austria so many signs were in Italian and German.  However, nobody spoke German.  We tried to get E and K some hot chocolate and coffee for us before we got back on the road.  Pat ordered in German, and they were so confused.  The waitress thought she finally understood what Pat was saying and said “ahhhhh you want a frappe!!” Pat is saying YES! I am laughing too hard to correct him.  Needless to say I have been in Starbucks enough to know frappe is a cold drink, not hot!  She came out with two iced coffees, and chocolate milk for the kids.  Pat was not thrilled, he hates frappuccino’s he likes his coffee piping hot and black! We got back on the road, made seven more wrong turns until we found our hotel.  The kids in the back would speak up about every hour asking how much longer.  They did not like the fact that we did not know, we said we were doing this old school without a gps.  We made it to the nicest military hotel we have ever stayed in.  We had not slept in a real bed in quite sometime.  The next morning we got up after a fabulous nights rest and headed for the train to Venice.  There was something happening that day in Vicenza and no parking.  We ended up decided it would make more sense to drive to Venice, park for the day, and not have to rely on a train schedule.  When we arrived we purchased our ferry tickets to get over to the main area.  We were warned that Venice is incredibly expensive, and you will have to suck up the ferry prices.  We pain 80 euro for four short ferry rides.  Not the easiest pill to swallow, but we expected it.  Kellan panicked as soon as we got on the boat.  He was not a fan of the ride, especially after the boat almost hit another one. When you are stationed in Europe you should really know the US, German, and other European holidays.  We were elbow to elbow every minute of the day.  Some elbowed Kellan, and another ran over Elly’s foot with her stroller.  Venice is not stroller friendly!!!! Neither of us are fans of big crowds.  It was nearly impossible to catch a ferry because they were constantly packed full of people.  I will tell you the city was incredible. We loved taking in the scenery, but that was about all we loved about Venice.  At lunchtime we ducked into a small eatery for the kids to have something to eat.  We were also told the food in Venice is over priced and not fantastic.  General tourist-y food.  We ended up splitting an 8” pizza.  Every since we got to Germany I have wanted a burger, I wanted it because I knew I could not have it.  Pat always jokes that if we are ever stranded and out of something, I will instantly want it! We ended up finding a Hard Rock Cafe and decided to eat there.  We know the food is decent, and would know what we were getting.  We would have been more willing to branch out if we weren’t so exhausted.  The previous night was our first night in a real bed, and we were still a little jet lagged. We all needed a little familiarity.  We have absolutely zero desire to ever go back to Venice.  Overall, we thought it was dirty and hated being stopped every 100 feet from people trying to sell you selfie sticks, and other cheap crap.  We headed back to Vicenza that night and enjoyed another restful night in our fabulous hotel!  The next morning we went to what I call the highlight of the trip.  The PX and Commissary!  Our commissary and PX are both very small here in Garmisch.  I have heard the army would like to shut them both down.   I was able to get some groceries that we could not get at home.  On the way home we figured out how to change the navigation system to allow toll roads.  Every 50 or so kilometers it would change back to avoid toll roads.  We knew that Verona was on the way back to Garmisch and decided on an impromptu visit to check out the city where three of Shakespeare’s plays were set.  Stupid stupid stupid decision on our part!!! We got into the city and could not get out of it.  There was some kind of race going on that morning in the city, and was finishing up as we were getting there.  It took us nearly an hour to get back on the free way, because every other street was blocked off, and no parking.  At that point we laughed at our poor luck and slowly got back on the road.  Once we made it home we met our friends for dinner at our favorite place to eat for a nice meal.  I do not see us making the trip to Venice again.  Someday we will laugh about our trip! See photos below! 

Every Country has a crazy.  Germany has “Mad King Ludwig" who squandered the country's money to build himself beautiful castles, which have become some of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany.  (Linderhof, and Neuschwanstein) His ‘vacation palace’ was built close to Garmisch (about 30 minutes away in the small town of Ettal.) 

We took the kids, and our friends the Beckners joined to tour this intricate castle covered in gold, ivory, and marble.  They have multiple tours throughout the day, and we tagged along with the english tour, which took about 30 minutes.  The gardens of the palace were filled with fountains, and lovely sculptures.  Sadly, the plants were not in bloom quite yet.  

King Ludwig ruled for 23 years, and was a loner in every sense of the word.  He had no desire to rule a country, his passion was composers who lived many years before him.  He had a special piano built for Richard Wanger to play one of his beloved operas.  This piano probably cost more than most homes, and was never touched.  According to our tour guide it has not been tuned in decades.  Most Kings had a flag to hang outside their palaces to show when they are in residence.  King Ludwig had two large porcelain peacocks that were placed on the steps of the castle.  (Told you this man was a little nutty!)  There was a chandelier made out of pure ivory.  This palace was overwhelmingly beautiful, I would highly recommend visitors to the Garmish area to tour the palace!  Out of all the rooms his master bedroom was the largest because he used it as his own personal dining room as well.  The table would be set, then lowered to the kitchen for his meals to be prepared, then risen back to his bedroom.  His palace was lit solely by candles. I think we could tour the castle a hundred times, and see something different each time.  As we headed towards the exit down the marble stairs we were showed into a ‘secret passage’ in the wall that led to the back of his palace.  We were told to walk 1/4 mile up a large hill to tour his personal grotto.  As we made the way up to the grotto we saw a beautiful chapel that was not torn down while his palace was being built.  It was locked up so we could only peek into the windows.  Like the rest of the palace the details were very intricate.  Once we reached the most famous man made cave in Germany our mouths dropped.  This man had a true “man cave!’ This is where he enjoyed listening to his operas.  Inside the grotto was a heated artificial lake with a swan boat.  The walls of the cave were filled with stalactites (fake,) and a waterfall.  The first electricity in Bavaria was close to his palace, so his entire grotto was equipped with electricity and multi-colored lights.  Not his house, his man cave!  

Walt Disney loved his castles, and had Cinderella’s Castle built based on the architecture of Neuschwanstein Castle.  We are looking forward to making the trip and comparing.  The grotto looked pretty similar to Aerials Grotto in Disney, as well as some of his other features.  After 23 years royal commissioners declared that Ludwig was unfit to remain as King.  A few days later he was found dead in a lake.  No one knew if it was suicide or murder.  Once he died, his palaces became very popular tourist destinations.  

Once we left the palace we drove into Ettal to walk around the city.  There is an active monastery that brews their own beer, and makes their own cheese.  The church is considered newer in Bavaria which was built in 1330.  The focal point was the ceiling, which was hand painted.  Unfortunately I was not able to get any pictures because the heavens opened up, and we hightailed it into a local store! 

Elly has wanted one thing since arriving in Germany, and that one thing is a dirndl.  We told her that we would pay for half of it, and she would have to pay for the other half.  Needless to say she is working very hard to earn money! We ended up getting her the one she wanted, and she looks so cute in it! Kellan has wanted a traditional hat like the one Pat has.  He bought one, and wants to add pins from the places he has visited.  Just like Daddy!  See pictures below.   

We had a very successful trip, and are looking forward to making more trips in the future! 

Friends of ours have made it to Garmisch!  They came at a perfect time, because we were all getting a little frustrated with a new place, not having any of our belongings, and the tail  end of jet lag!  We made the decision to rent a car for the month.  The kids were becoming stir crazy because they missed their sports.  I think Pat and I walked 6 miles one day, and decided that was for the birds! We have been able to travel a little further as well!  Pat and I took a trip to Ikea after we took the kids to school one morning.  Unfortunately, he is not as fun to shop with as my mom!  We like to look at everything, and spend hours there, while Pat complained the entire way, and had a goal of getting through the store in an hour!  We compromised, (I had the car keys) and were there 2! Since we are driving a VW golf, we could not get much.  Our goal was to find desk for our computer, and some other little knick knacks.  We were concerned with the desk we picked out wouldn’t fit in the car.  However, we grossly underestimated the fact that ikea likes their customers to put every little piece together!  See pictures below!! 

Every duty station since Pat joined the army we've found a restaurant we absolutely love. With the exception of Arizona. We loved nothing about Arizona. In Georgia, we loved The Cannon Brew Pub. We really enjoyed the BBQ chicken pizza. Then we made the move to Ft. Campbell and tried the Blackhorse, and fell in love with the beer cheese dip, and BBQ chicken pizza. We have actually gone out of our way to get to the Blackhorse while traveling to new duty stations. After we ran the Columbus Marathon Pat and I drove an hour out of the way to Destin, FL just to have dinner! It will always hold a dear place in our hearts. We won't talk about the dark days of Arizona.... In New York the Tin Pan was our favorite stop. We were there once a month for Sunday breakfast after mass. The biscuits and gravy were amazing! The pecan pumpkin pancakes were amazing! The toastada was amazing! We ordered something different every time we went. There is no such thing as a bad meal there! The kids also picked up a saying from my childhood when they would fuss over having to get up for church. As mom said,,, "No church... no brunch!" In Monterey we found another brew pub called Peter B's. This was the first time Pat and I had differing opinions of where to go. He liked B's for the house made craft beer, and was a proud member of the mug club. (We got our money's worth!). My favorite was Cannery Row Brewing Company. Their food was fantastic! Albeit a little pricey, we only went on date nights. It took us about a week to find what I think will be the favorite in Germany. The restaurant we have loved the most is called Gasthaus Bräuwastl. It is a small family owned restaurant where every meal taste like it came from your kitchen. (If you're a terrible cook then ignore that statement!) Fantastic traditional food, at a reasonable price!

I would love to stop at every duty station for a meal! I'm hungry, and could go for some Cannon, Blackhorse, Tin Pan, and CRBC!

We've made it to Germany! After an exhausting flight, and days of jet lag we finally mustered up enough energy to check out our new city!   Ah! I forgot with our extreme exhaustion we lost Kellans suitcase in Munich.  Thankfully Pat is fluent in German, and was able to track down the missing suitcase full of Under Armour clothes and his newly embroidered black belt.   I realized then we have one high maintenance little boy. Lucky kid!  We ended up taking the train back to Munich and retrieving the suitcase!  Germans seem to be very helpful and honest.  

The apartment we have is much bigger than we originally expected.  We were told to put as much into storage as possible.  Luckily, I'm the queen of over packing, and brought just about everything we will want for the next 14 months.   Our express shipment came last Monday, and we're beyond thrilled the air mattress was packed and showed up! We are incredibly thankful for getting loaner furniture from the lending closet, however, the beds were similar to sleeping on a slab of concrete!   We are still anxiously awaiting the rest of our shipment.  

We originally intended to put the kids in a German school, but after about a week decided it was probably not the best decision.   The DOD (Department of Defense) school on post is a much better fit for the kids.  Elly has 13 kids in her class, and Kellan has only 9! Our goal is to still have the kids exposed as much as possible to the German culture without being drowned by a linguistic firehose.  Kellan is playing soccer for the Garmisch team, and we found a fantastic gym for Elly to train about 30 minutes away.   Unfortunately, Taekwondo was placed on the back burner, as there is no place for him to train here.  The closest place we have found that allows children is over an hour away.  He has been pretty disappointed.  He thinks he is having to quit forever.  We have assured him as soon as we get back to the states he will start again! 

Pat Is currently making his wish list for the countries he would like to visit this upcoming year. Our hope is that we will have the opportunity to travel as much as possible with him.  We figure we are here for a little over a year, and we need to take advantage of every weekend! 

Stay tuned for more adventures as we travel around Bavaria! 

It's okay it's accident

Welcome to the Roush Family Journal! "It's okay it's accident" is something Kellan would always say to avoid getting into trouble.  If he cut a hole in his shirt, or cut his hair it would be okay because it was an accident!  I thought this would be a perfect name for my blog, because traveling the world was not something I ever thought I would do! Anyway, Pat and I thought it would be a good idea to document our travels through Germany and other surrounding countries.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing about our crazy adventures!