Scott and Ellen's visit

On Kevin's second week home from deployment, his parents were able to come out for a visit. They were here about 10 days and really got to soak up the local Italian experience. We also did a bonus trip to Lake Bled.

We did the standard hike at Lake Barcis which has become a tour favorite because it's so pretty and so close to the house. Here's a great shot of the lake. It was so still that the reflection was really awesome, and there was a little bit of snow on the peaks.



We also went up to Cimolias and wondered around in the dry riverbed up there. It was a beautiful day and we got some really good shots of the mountians. Here's Kevin and I next to what's left of the creek.



And here's Scott and Ellen on our hike. Scott was loving all the photography opportunities and I think with all the cool scenery he got some really great shots.



On the last few days of their visit we drove out to Lake Bled in Slovenia. It was pouring rain for the entire drive, but we wanted to give it a try anyway because the area is so great. When we got there it was still raining. We thought we would just put on our raincoats and head out around the lake anyway. We made it about a quarter of the way around before we realized we were getting very wet, and we had all packed so lightly that we didn't have another pair of jeans. We thought it best to go back to the hotel and have some hot tea and just take it easy until dinner. Here are some of the shots we did get during day one in the rain. This is a view of the church out on the island in the middle of the lake. Kevin took it through the fall leaves trying to be artsy, and I think it turned out pretty cool.



This is one of the hotels on the lake. We didn't stay here this time, but we did last time when I did Lake Bled with my family. I put this up just to show how red the vines get, I think I posted the same photo with the vines green from this summer.



After our hot tea/coffee in the hotel we ventured out in the rain for dinner. We found a great place called The Grill and we were the only people in the place! It's late in the season and with the weather being so bad there were not many people around. That turned out very well for use, because the waiter was very happy to see us. He recommended the grilled plates for two, so we got it. Scott and Ellen got the mixed grilled meat, and Kevin and I got the mixed grilled seafood. We all ended up sharing all of it, and it was great. The waiter finished off our dinner with a glass of port on the house. It was a very nice evening!



The next morning the rain had stopped but it was still pretty cold. We all put on all our layers and headed out for the Gorge near the Lake. I had done this gorge during the summer with the family, but with all the rain that we had just gotten it was a whole new place. The water was running very high, and the leaves were all bright yellow. Here we are all bundled up at the beginning of the hike...





Just a cool shot of the leaves and the water...




On the way back from the gorge we stopped at the castel to check out the view over the lake. The same red vines were growing here too...I just think they're so cool!



Here we are looking over at the lake with the island in the background.






We drove back to Italy that day, and Scott and Ellen flew out the next morning. We had a great visit, it's always nice to have family come visit especially when we are so far from home!

R & R in Austria and Germany

Once Kevin got home, it was time to head out and see Europe. We had plans to go to Paris when he got back but with the increased security risks in that area we had to change our plans. It turned out to be blessing though, because we decided on a driving adventure up through Austria and Germany. It started out a little slow though...

We left our house with my car packed full. We even had the mountain bikes on the rack on the back. We had to go through the mountains (obviously) and about an hour from home the brake on my car got stuck in the "on" position! The smell was terrible, and there was so much smoke I thought we were going to catch the car on fire! We pulled over in this little town to check it out. It's amazing that Kevin was with me because if this would have happened while he was still gone I'm not sure what I would have done about it. We took the tire off and tried to figure out what to do. Well, it was Sunday, and literally everything in Italy is closed, so we had no real option but to try to drive it back home. It took a while, but we made it back to the house...but we still were not on vacation.

We were able to borrow a car from our friend Kris (thanks buddy!) and headed out the next day to try again. This time we made it. Our first stop was in Innsbruck, Austria where we stayed 3 days. The city was amazing. It's nestled in a mountain valley, and has a really cool "old town" area with lots of shops and cafes. The part we really loved though was the mountains. There is a huge gondola that you can take all the way to the top of the mountain range. I guess it's for skiing in the winter, but there are tons of hiking trails through the mountains, so we took it all the way to the top and started our hike. The hike was great. It followed the ridgeline of the mountains basically the entire way. This gave us amazing views on both sides of the trail. On our right we were looking out over Innsbruck, and on the left you were looking out over more amazing mountains and untouched wilderness.

Here is a shot of me right at the top of the gondola. The landscape is very rugged, we were above the treeline, and there were large areas that were just exposed rock...very cool!


This is from the trail looking down at Innsbruck. It was a little hazy, especially from that high up, but you get the idea.


We hiked for a few hours on this trail and then turned around to head back to the gondola. We had gone a long way down into a valley, so we had to climb back up on the way back. I was glad I'd been doing so much running while Kevin was gone because I was able to set the pace for the first time in our hiking adventures:) Here we are at one of the peaks at the end of the hike (back near the gondola).


After our hike we came back down on the gondola and went to dinner at one of the beirgartens in old town Innsbruck. The beer was good, but it turns out I don't really like German/Austrian food. I eat most everything, but there are two things I cannot stand, mustard and vinegar...and as it turns out those are really big ingredients in German food, but I made it work. After dinner we just walked around the town. This is just a picture that I think turned out kinda cool. This is right behind our hotel looking across the river. It was really getting cold up there at night, I love fall though so it was great!


The next day we took our bikes and went on a tour of the city and the surrounding area. Innsbruck is totally set up for bikes, it's amazing. All the streets have there own lanes for bikes and they even have specific traffic lights for bikes to make sure no one gets run over. There are tons of people on bikes and there are even trails that lead you all the way out into the countryside. We went east out of town and road all around the area. We were mostly going through fields of crops and small little towns. We stopped at one town that had signs for a historical center. We parked the bikes and walked up into the square. There were lots of cute little cafes and several people with food carts. There was one guy who was selling the Austrian equivilant to elephant ears!! For those who don't know that is a total street food, and brought me back to my days of watching pig races at the Porter County Fair in Indiana! They are like funnel cakes, but better. Here you could get them with either fruit, sugar or sauerkraut (I know I didn't spell that one right!). So we stopped for lunch, I had one with raspberry sauce, and Kevin went for the kraut. We also got some wine from another vendor...only in Europe can you get great wine in an actual stemmed glass from a street vendor.



After our lunch we headed back into Innsbruck to one of the castels located near the center of the city. We didn't go through the museum, but just walking the grounds was really nice. The leaves were all changing and there were these great red vines growing all over the sides.



The next day we drove up into Germany to Edielwiess Lodge in Garmish. This is a great hotel that is actually on an Army base. They have special rates for people who just got back from deployment, so we stayed there one night, and did a great hike through the fall colors and up into a huge gorge. Here are some cool shots of the fall colors.



We took tons of these shots. Some of them turned out so well that I think we're going to blow them up and frame them in the house. We had perfect timing, the next week this entire area got slammed with snow!



We hiked all the way up a ridgeline through the leaves and then we got to the entrance to a very narrow gorge with a river going through it. It had been raining, so the water was running really high, and we were getting dripped on from the cliffs on either side, but the fews were great!



As we hiked back out we were routed through some working farms. These cows were very interested in what we were doing there...and the best part, in Germany the cows actually wear bells! So as you're walking through the fields all you hear are tons of cowbells...I have no idea why they do it, but it is very funny:)



After our night in Garmish we drove about an hour to Munich. Octoberfest was over (it actually happens in September for those who don't know) but all the tents were getting taken down, it looks like an amazingly huge operation! There is a famous beer hall called the Hofbrau house where you go get huge 1 leter beers, sit at huge communal tables and eat strange food. Kevin ordered the pork knuckle...I didn't try it...



Another shot of us with our huge beers this time (although mine is actually only a half leter). Thanks to Jinx for being in the background of this one. Also, for those who noticed I'm wearing my glasses because this entire trip I didn't have contact solution...I forgot it at the house, and it finally caught up to me. I think I scratched my cornia, but it's OK now.



It was a great week together and an amazing way to welcome Kevin home. He (and everyone else) was given two weeks off when they got back, so this was week one. Kevin's parents got here for week two...but I'll do that in a seperate post.

Kevin is Home!!!

After a long 5 months Kevin and all the rest of the guys finally got home from deployment on October 4th! Kevin flew a jet out, so he didn't have to fly one back. He was on the "main body" which means he comes back on a regular plane with all the other non-flying guys. They landed at Aviano and we were allowed out onto the taxi-way to great our soilders:) The week before was filled with excitment and anticipation, we all decorated the squadron and made signs, and tried to convince ourselves that it could still fall through so we shouldn't get too excited.

The Niebuhr's came with me to greet Kevin on his return...and it's a good thing they did because in all the excitment I forgot to bring my camera! So, thank you to Amy for being my photographer. I think Lily was as excited as I was to see Kevin:) Here's me with my sign with the rotator in the background...we're just waiting for them all to get off the plane! (oh, Tread is Kevin's call sign, for those who don't know).



I'm so thankful he was one of the first off the plane! You can see Lily running out to say hello too:)



It is tradition for all the pilots to grow a mustache while they are deployed. I don't know why, but they all do it, and they all look awful:) Kev had been growing this one for 5 months, and he just had to bring it back to Aviano so I could see it. He shaved it in the bathroom of the squadron about an hour after they landed...we both agree it's not really his best look, but I guess you can't fight with traditions:)





The deployment honestly went much better then I thought it would. Sure I had my bad days, and sure I would have much rather had Kevin home than gone, but I can honestly say I was strong and I made it through. I still believe that I, as an Air Force wife, have no room to complain when I see all those Army soldiers gone for a year or more. God bless those families. I am thrilled to have my family back together and we're looking forward to seeing more of Europe now that he's home!

The Few, The Proud...The Buzzettes

After the Budapest half marathon our running crowd shrunk way down, but today Chelsey, Rebecca and I finished our second half marathon exactly two weeks after our first! This one was right here in Aviano, so the logistics were way easier. It has been raining for the past 3 days, so we were all suprised when it turned into such a nice day. Here is a shot of the three of us getting ready to start. It was pretty cold at 0730, but it turned into a beautiful day!



The course was super muddy from the rain and I totally fell into a ditch trying to avoid some particularly thick mud on the route. My shoes are already in the washing machine! This race was organized by people here on base and whoever was supposed to measure it didn't get it quite right. A half marathon should be 13.1 miles...this route was 15.2!! So this makes it the longest run I have ever done...nothing like 2 extra bonus miles through the mud!

Chelsey, Rebecca and I have been training together all summer, so this was our last "big run" before the guys get home. We decided to do this one up right, and run for our guys. We showed our love with their call signs "tattooed" (with marker of course) on our arms. We then emailed a copy of it to them in the desert...they would be proud of us.

Budapest-My First Half Marathon!!

Before all our husbands left a group of Buzzettes came up with the idea to train together for a half marathon...it would give us something fun to work towards, and in May any goal in September seemed really far away. So throughout the entire summer we have been running. There has been a great group of ladies working out together and we all made amazing progress. The first weekend in September we all packed up (some with all their kiddos too) and made the road trip to Budapest. It took about 8 hours to get there, but it was an amazing city! You don't really hear much about it, but I would totally go back...and hopfully I will get to go with Kevin next time.

We desided that we deserved a little pampering and stayed at a very nice hotel right near the Chain Bridget in the center of town. The race was Sunday morning...here's a picture of our Buzzette group that morning before leaving for the race start.



We thought it would be fun to get squadron shirts, and it turned out to be a great idea because the race was really crowded, so this made it way easier to find each other...just look for the huge mass of purple.

We all started together and we ran right past our hotel where some of the non-running ladies took pictures as we passed. Here's me and Tiffany about to cross the Chain Bridge (about 5K in I think).



This has been an amazing goal to work towards, and it has been great to work towards it with such a wonderful and strong group of women. I look forward to our weekend runs, and I know that our many mornings of venting while running kept me sane. I will admit I nearly cried as I crossed the finish line. All I could think about was how proud Kevin would have been of me...I wish he could have been there to see me finish. But, I guess that means I just have to run a full marathon when he gets back to make up for it!:) It was such a positive experience that I am running my second half marathon tomorrow morning here in Aviano...I totally see how this running thing gets addicting:)

Lake Bled

You know it's bad when it's almost the end of August and you're still getting caught up on things from July! Oh well, I've been busy I guess. So here is the last post from when the family was here in July. We took an overnight trip to Lake Bled in Slovenia, and it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been...who would have thought! We stayed at a great hotel (it's in the background of the first picture) right on the lake and did some great hiking and exploring of the area.

So, here's me and Mom on a boat ride on the lake. That's our hotel behind us, and Uncle Bert is rowing the boat:)



Here's one with Claire...Bert's now rowing and being the photographer...who knew he was to talented. You can see the castle in the background too.



We went up to the Castle, and wandered around. The Castle itself was pretty small with not a lot going on, but the views were amazing. Here's Mom and me at our lunch spot overlooking the lake and the tiny little island with the monistary on it.







This is the view from our hotel. The next morning when we woke up it was cloudy and rainy...but it made for some awesome pictures of the Castle.



We also went hiking through a gorge nearby. It was very narrow in places, and the water was beautiful! There were a lot of people there, but it was still a really nice walk, here are some shots along the path...







On our boat ride in the late afternoon sun...it doesn't get much better than this...I will be coming back to this place!

Staying Cool in July!

July in Italy was hot...really hot! Without AC we were all looking for something to do to get out of the house and stay cool....well we founds "the river". About 20 minutes from the house is Lake Barcis (I posted some stuff about it earlier) and just north of the lake (feeding into it actually) is this amazing river! Mom was so hot she decided she would earn her adventure club badge and jump right in with her clothes on...it seemed like a good idea to me, so I followed suit! Here are some shots from the afternoon of river time...

Mom and I enjoying to water by the waterfall...we climbed up the rocks too...very daring for Mom:)



Before we got into the river we wondered around in this little town called Cimolias. It was a really cute little town with great views of the mountains! Here's Mom and I in front of one of the little churches...we're really on the hunt for good gelato:)



Another shot from the little town...I know we live close to the mountains, but I would LOVE to live that close, it was amazingly beautiful!



OK, back in the river...see I told you Mom climbed on the rocks! It was so great, we will be going back here evety summer from now on!



A different area on the same river...this spot was further up and on the "main" river rather than a branch, so the water was way cold! Gorgeous, but cold! (you can tell by the color).



Mom working hard in one of her first days of retirment;)