Laura Beth in Germany

This year for the first time since 2012, Fabian and I hosted Thanksgiving. The usual suspects were in attendance - Fabi and Katja, Felix and Silvi, Jessi and Steffi. Since we normally celebrate in Göttingen four hours away, it has become part of our tradition to spend the whole weekend together and chill sleepover-style. Even though we celebrated only about 30 minutes away from everyones' parents' homes this year, I personally felt we should keep that same atmosphere going, and so during October we worked hard to prep our upstairs for overnight guests! Here are a few photos taken just before the party started on Saturday. Step 1: We took the table from our computer room and set it up in the dining room. We opened the window, closed the door, and our office became the cooling room for our drinks. Step 2: We cleaned and organized the attic, built some shelving, and prepared the first two sleeping spots with collapsible mattresses. Step 3: Hansi's air matt

I knew in advance that the day would not be a happy one, when Fabi flew off and I'd be stuck at home alone for a full month. Before his departuer, tensions had risen, emotions were high, and then when he finally left to join his best friend since childhood for a hiking trip in Canada, I was somehow relieved that he was finally gone! No more trips to the outdoor gear store, no more picking up his Amazon orders at the post office once/twice a week, and no more pre-trip stress! I've had both sides of the cookie since he left: really great, independent, happy days and aweful, lonely ones that unpleasantly reminded me of the two years of long distance at the beginning of our relationship. Luckily, I'd hatched a plan long before his departure to keep me busy and distracted! Here was the lineup of my truly epic month of September: 08/30 - Dinner with Jessi in Kleinbottwar 08/31 - Marathon of old Star Trek movies 09/01 - Stop by Berlitz for breakfast 09/02 to 09/04 - Girls we

In 2015 we went hiking in the Alps with another couple for the first time - Fabi's childhood friend Felix and his girlfriend Silvi. We had so much fun (and had such bad weather) last year that we decided to cut our hike short, and finish our originally planned tour a year later. This past weekend we did just that. The 4 hour drive down to the Stubai Valley ("pronounced "shtoo-bye") went almost without a hitch and without traffic. We took the Fernpass - a highway that snakes through the mountains of the Tyrolean Alps in Austria. It's a popular scenic route for motorcyclists and campers on their way to vacation spots. At its highest point, there is a tiny town called Fernpass where you can buy gas and postcards and a bite to eat. Along the drive, you also pass was a lookout / rest stop with a perfect view of the tallest mountain in Germany - the Zugspitze ! (It lies 13 miles from the Austrian border.) We parked our car in Neustift: a good starting point for hi

Fabian is officially done with the first 6 months of his new position - the training phase. During this time, he got to work out on the factory floor and learn the trade and the machines used to create the tools his company sells (which, as area sales manager, HE will have to sell). Starting in June, he was sent back to the office to start his actual tasks, and that means he will be traveling a lot more often. Luckily, for his first trip to Zürich, the company paid for two nights at the hotel and I got to go with him! We left on a Wednesday night and drove to Switzerland (we were at the German-Swiss border in about 2 hours flat) and checked into our hotel. Then we had all day Thursday to look around the city before he went to the plastics conference and gave an English presentation on Friday morning. Since things are VERY expensive in Switzerland, we went out to eat just once (two pizzas and two sodas cost us 50 Euro!) and made very good use of the wonderful included breakfast each

With busy season at my new job, I don't have a lot of time to write about everything we did on our "Kleinbottwar Homies & Friends" weekend 2016 (our third annual!), but I will share a few pictures of the highlights, and due to less text, I will make the photos bigger than usual. Enjoy! Our group at castle Neuschwanstein Bavarian breakfast, complete with white sausage, beer and pretzels! The view out our dining room window in the house we rented, not far from the town of Füssen. Katja and I all ready to climb, despite the rain! In the mountains, in the trees. We took part in the ropes course until a storm moved in, then had to take the coaster down the mountain quickly before things got dangerous. Here is how we got back down the mountain: Alpine Coaster Immenstadt (put it on mute and enjoy the ride!) We were told not to hit the breaks so we could save time, meaning I screamed my lungs out through the first few curves until I got used to

After a long hiatus, Fabian and I are back to adventuring! To quickly recap why the blog has been dormant since last September: In October we moved to a new apartment. By the time we were settled, it was Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, and then came my birthday. Fabi began spending every Saturday at work writing his Master's thesis. Shortly thereafter I applied and was chosen for a position at the Hochschule Heilbronn, where Fabi studies. I thoroughly proofread over 60 pages of Fabi's thesis and then began my new job on March 1st. My bosses are two of Fabian's professors, and, in a whimsical twist, Fabian ended up turning in his thesis on the 4th of March... to me! (My boss picked it up a few days later from my office.) Since that day, I have been enjoying having my husband back on Saturdays. The first one we spent lazily lounging on our big sofa, the next we spent on a spring cleaning blitz, and this weekend we spent on a surprise getaway that Fabi had planned as