We drove down to Germany on December 10, staying in a little unmanned hotel outside of Hamburg. It was a long drive and good to break it up, especially since we drove down in a rain and windstorm that lasted 4 days. We had a wonderful week in Hopferau, at my brother John’s house, warmly welcomed by the entire family. The week included Jakob’s 10th birthday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day (with Karin!), a walk into Füssen to see the town and the church and castle, a walk around Schwansee, and exploring the village on the sunny day before we left.
Simone outdid herself with all the great meals she prepared and the kids were speaking lots of English, and Kaya was adorable. We stayed in a little apartment just down the street, which was big and newly renovated, and very nice. We drove home on December 27, 15.5 hours in the car, which was a long long day with 5 people and stopping every hour for bathroom breaks, gas, and food. Now we are home again, and have things planned nearly every day until Mom and Danely leave on January 4. I worked all day yesterday (from home), which was very productive, and today we cleaned house and Martin is coming home for the evening and dinner. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and Debbie, Ola, and Camilla are coming over for the evening. Danely will join Martin in Malmö with his friends.
Hard to believe it is already the end of 2023. If Sarah, Tom, and Bryce had been with us, the holidays would have been 100% perfect, but they were pretty damn great, being able to have Mom and Danely, and be at John’s, and even have Karin for Christmas Day.
The flower plaques were made with pinecones by John and the kids
Mood: happy
Music: Hayley Sales—Anywhere But Home