Closing the book on Germany - Monschau & Gemund (the one we actually stayed in)

 I really wanted to pose the kids on this old hay wagon - can't you just see them sitting on that ladder, with the forest and the giant windmills in the background, little red noses and smiles?  Well, it was really cold, they didn't have their coats on, the shoulder of the road was really narrow, and we decided to just imagine instead. 

 We took 2 trips to this little town of Monschau - the first time we were too wimpy to take the walk into the cool part of town, and it was late in the day, but we heard so much about it that we decided it was worth another try.  After we parked the car, Nate had forgotten something and had to run back to it, so the kids and I started walking, but before we got too far, Will had to go to the bathroom, so we hustled across a bridge to find the super hygienic public restrooms.  By the time we got all unbundled, did our business, rebundled and made it back across the bridge, there was no sign of Nate, so we started down the path to the village, stopping occasionally to see if we could find him.  With no cell phones or way to find him after about 10 minutes I started to get a bit nervous about being stranded in the cold, with no money, transportation or real means of communication.  We decided to stop and say a little prayer that we could find Daddy.  We started walking again, and within about 1 minute, guess who came walking towards us from the other direction?  And who had also said a little prayer that he could find us?  It was a good moment for all of us:) 

 Together again, on we went, soaking up the ambiance, the rain spatters, and the occasional spray from the river.  We stopped in a little café just after it got really dark and had some hot chocolate and strawberry waffles that were yummy, then we re-bundled and headed back towards the car.  I was reminded multiple times during this trip of the simplicity of living in warm climates.  Throw on some flip flops, grab some water and go. 

 We finally decided to explore the little town of Gemund, and found a river with ducks who were thrilled to get the crumbs from our leftover bratwurst rolls. 

 We also found a butcher shop that made Nate happy, and an elephant for the kids to ride.  I don't have any pictures, but one night before we went in, Nate drove us up the road from our little apartment to show us a surprise.  Out in the national forest, with minimal light pollution, we opened up the sun roof and rolled down the windows and remembered how amazing a clear starry night is - it was amazing. 

 We would have loved to be able to actually attend the temple in Frankfurt, but timing and childcare issues prevented it, so we stopped to see it on our way to the airport.  It was nice to walk around the grounds a little, and talk to the kids about the temple - Will thinks the mosques in Dubai are temples:)

 And since we may never get to drive one again, we thought having photographic evidence of our time with a Mercedes Benz was necessary...

Phew - finally!  Closure on this trip, so now I can start on our trip last week to Jordan!