Deutsches Museum, Again

So this Museum really is big.  We went three times and didn't make it through the whole thing.  This time we didn't really see a whole lot between a sad little boy and too many bathroom trips.   We saw the glass, ceramics and toy section.  It was fun though.  They has a show for all sorts of glass objects, blown and created in the museum.  They were really cool.

The ceramic section was interesting because when I think of ceramics I think of tiles or dishes.  These items have industrial applications such as pipes and insulators for electrical applications.  It was really interesting.

Ancient Pottery

Modern ceramics

Brick display

The kids enjoyed the toy display.  They didn't get to play with anything but it was fun to see the different mediums for building toys.  There were really old school Legos they especially loved.  There were metal and wooden toys exhibited.  Many of them had motors and moved when the kids pushed a button.

We ended our day in the play area.  The kids had it to themselves so they were able to accomplish every kids dream and build a house out of the giant Lego blocks.  They had a blast.

We're sad we don't have time to go back.  It was a great place to learn and play!

This was on our walk home.  The low sun makes for some dramatic lighting.

Nymphenberg Palace and Christmas Markets

Our Saturday started off a bit lazy.  Ben got me up before the sun and we talked and laughed together while we waited for everyone else to join us.  We slowly got dressed and ate breakfast, then it was hurry and make caramel candy, get the sugar cookies baked, eat lunch and out the door.  

We decided to check out Nyphemberg Palace.  It's a huge summer palace, built by the Wittelsbach family, the ruling family in Bavaria for nearly 800 years.  we could only enter a few rooms but they were filled with giant murals, lots of gilded carvings, rich looking damask wall coverings, and some beautiful wood worked desks.  

Wall and ceiling in the Great Hall.

The grounds were huge and the kids weren't happy when we chose to walk through them to get to our tram stop.  It should have been so nice and peaceful walking though the woods, surrounded by trees and leaf covered ground.  Unfortunately, the sun was behind clouds as we walked and the cold was getting to the kids.   

Thankfully, our tram was ready and waiting for us when we arrived at the stop.  We thawed just into time to get to the Christmas market.  Our first stop was a Medieval  Market near the Residenz (the winter palace for the Wittelbachs).  The music was an interesting Medieval Rock and the food smelled divine.  There were shops selling all sorts of Medieval ornaments, fur wraps, trinket, arrow quivers, Medieval cloaks etc. We bought mini pizzas and those helped warm us up though it didn't last long.  My the time we finished eating the temperature had dropped drastically and we were all about done.  

Delicious dinner--speck and cheese pizzas

Medieval Rock Band

The Marienplatz Markets were on the way home and we wanted to pick up a treat so we stopped there.  The lights were on and it felt like Christmas.  There were tons of people so we didn't get too close to the shops.  There were ornaments everywhere.  Some of the were so beautiful.  We bought some Nurnberg gingerbread cookies--they are a soft, nutty gingerbread as opposed to the usual hard gingerbread cookies here.  We also got a couple of mugs of kinderpunsch.  It was a great treat to warm our hands with.  The store fronts lining the market were filled with Christmas displays so we looked at those while we ate our cookies and drank our punch.  

I look forward to going back during the day when, hopefully there aren't as many people around and we can browse a bit more.   By the time we left, it was cold--27 F--so we were glad to find refuge on the U-bahn and thaw a bit until we had to walk the half mile home.  Everyone was ready for their warm bathes last night.  

Friday Night Out

The Christmas season is in full swing here in Munich.  Christmas markets abound and Hyrum is ready to visit them all and see how much kinderpunsch we can drink (It's spiced fruit punch, the kid version of hot wine sold everywhere).

We had plans for dinner and a stop at a Christmas market specializing in nativity scenes.  Hyrum texted me about a cookie decorating event at work so we switched gears and decided to do both.  The kids and I met him at his office and we enjoyed chocolates, gingerbread cookies and dinner, in that order.

There nativities are from Peru.
It was fun to see different cultural representations of the Nativity.

After we had our fill of chicken nuggets and french fries--they were really good nuggets--we headed out.  The "market" ended up being more of an exhibit in a small barn-like building.  I was a little disappointed,  but it ended up being a really great way to bring in the holidays.  I'm glad we started with the Savior because that's where we'll end too.  It was a really nice night out with our family.

Interesting to see the Christmas story in 19th century Bavarian-style.

Bits and pieces

Just a few random pics I wanted to include.  These are a bit more of our day to day adventures.  

We are enjoying great sunrises and sunsets.

Playgrounds in Germany are super fun.
Not exactly safe but great for the imagination.

We really do like the zoo!

Ben is busted because he's suppose to be sleeping and keeps getting up.

Wright family tradition dictates that there is a puzzle out
between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

We bought a tiny Christmas Tree.
The kids made the decorations.

I made two batches of penuche yesterday.
We had to make two because the first was ruined.

This is what I work on when I'm not blogging or
trying to avoid things I should be doing, like laundry!

After church on Sunday, I came in to find them coloring nicely together.

He's 2!!

We celebrated Ben's 2nd birthday this week.  We love this little guys.  Everyone wants to play with him, hold him, kiss him and just be with him.  He such a light in our home.  He is pretty obedient and talks so much.  I love conversations with a two year old.

We celebrated with a couple presents in the morning, an old school London double-decker bus (it's also a pencil sharpener as Jonathan pointed out) and some road tape.  The road tape was a big hit.  The older kids were deciding how to ration it's use so they can take some home.  Ben carried his bus everywhere with him.  He loves it.

We spent the day at home working on Christmas decorations and I made Ben's birthday cake.  I found some cocoa so I made our favorite chocolate cake recipe.  I had seen pictures on Pinterest for a piñata cake so I winged it for Ben.  I cut out the inside of the cake and filled it with M&Ms.  Ben was pretty excited when I cut the first piece and M&Ms fell out.  Those were the only things he ate.

This little guys has been such a blessing in our lives.  I'm really glad he is part of our crew.  Happy birthday, Ben!