Celebrating Iowa Hawkeye homecoming in Germany. We still love our Hawks, even though they are having another pathetic season. There is always the next Saturday to look forward to.

The leaves are just starting to change here in Tuebingen. You can apparently sail on the Neckar river too.

Isabelle loves to swing. She says that it gives her "tickles in her tummy". The weather was perfect this weekend, sunny and around 70 degrees.

Yummm...this zwieback toast is just delicious!

Allie thinks that the sun rises and sets with her big sister!

Allie doing some light reading.

Isabelle loves to help me in the kitchen!

Allie had her 6 month check-up and vaccinations today. She weighs 7.3 kg (16.1 lbs) and is 65 cm (25.6 in) long. The doctor said that she is growing and developing well. She loves to squeal and scream when happy and to play and chew on toys. She always is excited to see her big sister, but doesn't appreciate the full-body smother hugs that Isabelle gives. Allie isn't a big fan of tummy time but likes to lay on her back to roll from side to side, not all the way over though. We are working on the sitting and she is getting better every day! She loves baby talk in any language, and will smile at anyone that will strike up a conversation.

Isabelle started a German "mini-club" that meets once a week on Wednesday. They have independent play, songs and group activities. She really loves it, but likes to have mommy in sight! She also goes to an English speaking playgroup on Friday afternoons. She will start a German kindergarten in October. No...she isn't that advanced, but in Germany, "kindergarten" is like our preschool in the States. We are sensing that she has a serious "mommy addiction", and know that even though it will be hard in the beginning for her, that she will love the interaction and playing with other children. We visited the kindergarten yesterday and it is really nice, big, and the teachers are very involved. Isabelle is doing well and loves to visit the park and playground, snack on German soft pretzels and play with her toy animals. She still adores her pink kitty blanket, likes to be read to, and watch Elmo and Little Einsteins on DVD. She has tons of energy and alot of kisses for her little sister, mommy and daddy.

Ornate and colorful houses.
One of the four medieval city gates.
A look toward the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) and rolling hills.

Freiburg's trademark is its system of Baechle, tiny streams running down each street. As you can see they weren't filled with water today. These go back to the middle ages (serving as fire protection, cattle refreshment, and a constantly flushing disposal system). Local lore says that if you fall into a Baechle, you are destined to marry a Freiburger. Hmm, since Isabelle jumped into it...I wonder what her future holds!

Isabelle knows how to make her sister smile during a early dinner in Freiburg.
Yummm....ice cream for dessert. It is called "Eis" in German.

Gorgeous stain glass windows...
at the Muenster in Freiburg, Germany.
The Muenster was founded around 1120 as the town's parish church and the burial place for the dukes of Zaehringen and was completed around 1320.

Jamie had a Friday afternoon and Saturday morning neuro-oncology meeting in Bonn, Germany. Since he had rented a car, we decided to make a day trip through the Black Forest on Sunday and explore a little of Freiburg im Breisgau which is about 2 hours from Tuebingen. It was a lovely weekend, low 70's for temps and sunny. Freiburg is a university town. Since it was Sunday, the shops were closed, but we were able to see a bit of this fine city.

"This little piggy went to market. This little piggie..."

Vielen Dank Grandpa and Grandma Miller! We love our new clothes and books! Isabelle's new favorite book (and song) is "I'm a Little Teapot". We are 2 of the cutest and best dressed kids in Germany!

Hmmm...this toy looks interesting... I wonder how it works...
...I can hold myself up while I try to get these darn rings off!

Today we went to the Umbrisch-provenzalischer Markt where 2 of Tuebingen's "sister cities" from Italy and France brought delicious food, drink, handicrafts, and fun to the streets of the city. The fest started on Thursday and ended today, and as you can see the market was very crowded! Ann Arbor, Michigan is actually a sister city of Tuebingen in the US.
Dinner is served...
Some local produce for sale.

Daddy had to break the news of the Hawkeye loss to the Cyclones to Allie. I think she understands how all Hawkeye fans feel after the awful game on Saturday.

Wheeeeeeee!
A sweet sister moment...

DANKE Grandma Koss for our new outfits...we are so stylish!

I am 6 months old and I got my first tooth yesterday! I am getting sooooo big!!!

We cheer on the Hawks from thousands of miles away! We love our Hawkeye hoodies...compliments of some of the biggest fans we know...the DeWilds. Even though we can only listen to the games via an internet radio feed, we still high five and cheer them on. I know it will be a long, long season without ESPN and not being able to watch college football and NFL for Jamie (and me). As you can see in this picture, that Allie has recently learned to blow raspberries...and it is a favorite thing to do...especially with a mouthful of baby food.

We stayed at Binders Hotel in Innsbruck on Sunday night...a nice half-way point to stop again in the evening...especially traveling with the girls. Before dinner we turned on the TV and were able to catch the 4th quarter of the Colts beating the Saints...with the commentary being in German! Go Colts! This was after Jamie rushed downstairs to the hotel's internet computer to check the score of the Hawks and their win against Syracuse! Go Iowa! On Monday, we drove back to Tuebingen so Jamie could get back to work! It was quite the weekend and I can't wait to make a ski trip this winter after seeing all of those snow-capped peaks!

The only "wild-life" we saw were some grazing horses, an occasional herd of sheep, and lots and lots of dairy cattle! The motorcycles screaming past us, passing every car they could along the switch-backs on the mountains were the wildest thing we saw...we were sure that we would be administering some type of first aid by the end of the trip.
There were many farmers along the hill-side raking and bailing hay. I have to admit that I wouldn't complain about bailing all day, having such beautiful scenery to look at.
This is the absolutely breath-taking Lago di Braies. The water is almost turquoise. I was facing the sun in this picture, so it looks a little hazy. It would take many life-times to hike the trails, ski the slopes, and bike along the mountains.

On Sunday we left Cortina d'Ampezzo and drove back toward Austria...the drive was amazing! It was a gorgeous day with alot of sunshine.
We drove up the very steep grade road to do a little hiking at Tre Cime in the Dolomites. Isabelle is smiling after being bribed with gummi's.
We enjoyed the view at the top.
Taking a family hike at Tre Cime...I could barely look down to the valley without feeling dizzy. It was quite the drop-off!

Isabelle having some fun looking through an oval window in our hotel room in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
Allie's turn!

A "drive-by shooting"...by the camera of course, of the beautiful country-side in Italy.
The majestic, saw-tooth Dolomites.
Gorgeous mountains everywhere, framed by gigantic evergreens.
All of us in front of a grouping of peaks called 'Cristallo' in the Dolomites.

We spent the late morning and early afternoon exploring a little of Bolzano. They were having a city festival with live Oompa bands. We mainly wanted to see the original "Ice man", Oetzi which was located at the South Tirol Museum of Archaeology. We couldn't take pictures in the museum unfortunately. The frozen Oetzi was found in 1991 along the Italian/ Austrian border high in the mountains, and is a 5,300 year old ice mummy complete with clothing and gear. The museum had alot of artifacts and had a nice description of the evolution of man.

Standing in front of the Goldenes Dachl in Innsbruck, Austria
The Alps surround the city of Innsbruck.

This weekend the Miller family decided to take a "quick" jaunt to Innsbruck, Austria and drive to the Dolomites in Italy. From Tuebingen to Innsbruck is about a 4 hour drive. We stayed the night in Innsbruck and woke up to partly cloudy skies and the beautiful Alps. Innsbruck was the site of previous winter Olympics and is a lovely medieval city. We walked around the city in the morning and then drove to Bolzano, Italy. The Tirol region is bicultural with locals speaking German and Italian.

I am working really hard to get my bottom tooth!

Which way to the Autobahn?

Meet Isabelle's new attitude...