Some of you may or may not know that every few months we take a trek to Heidelburg, Germany to buy groceries at the commissary there. The reasoning isn’t that we miss Ranch dressing or salsa but that we can’t afford to buy groceries  solely on the Swiss market. And the Embassy knows that and provides us with a base pass in Germany. I about died when we arrived and I did our first grocery shopping trip. Our social sponsor took me to the big grocery store to stock up. I got a cart full of basics and it cost over $400. No joke.  This lasted us about a week and I was almost in tears to return to the store the following week! If I hadn’t been in so much shock I would have taken a picture of the receipt.  In the future maybe I will do a blog on how much basics cost here like bread, milk, etc. Just for fun! I remember telling my friend Katie when we arrived that we would have to drive to Germany or France in order to buy full out groceries. She gave me such a hard time and teased how “bad” she felt that I would have to pop over to France for groceries. In all honesty, it isn’t a luxury to drive to another country for groceries. France being closeby is so nice, having to go there for food, not so nice.  It isn’t a given that post will have a commissary. We had a small one in Bogota with “necessities” so it is really nice to have a full store in our part of Europe.  We know our access is a luxury. Can we live without American products? Absolutely. Can we afford to buy only locally? Ummm, not so much.

Okay, back to Heidelburg. So basically in  addition to a few treats we buy nearly all of the meat, paper goods,  canned goods and bread we will need for 3-4 months. If we are having guests during those times we buy extra to make sure we can have plenty of meals to offer. It is a bigger job than I ever imagined to attempt to anticipate our grocery needs that far in advance. And an even bigger job to get there, buy that much food, pack it into coolers of ice in the trunk and make the trek back. My friend Leigh has been a trooper on 2 occasions and has made part of the trip with me. She has the benefit of getting a few American goodies but I score the bigger reward of getting a day with her, kid-free!!

A week or so ago Seth and I decided we needed to do a trip but I didn’t want to do the trip alone, and I really didn’t want him to do it alone. SO, in a moment of insanity we decided to make the trip again with both boys! In all reality the day went much better than I would have expected. We had moments of laughter and lots of moments when the boys were reaching to peel off the seal around the windows to make an escape from the car!

We left home at 8 AM and arrived home after 9 PM. Because it was a Friday and lots of people are Spring-breaking we ran into lots of traffic and slowdowns. We made the most of it and enjoyed some family time. We took a few videos and pictures throughout the day to document a typical Heidelburg grocery journey for you!

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about 10 mins into the drive. We stopped for gas, trunk full of igloo coolers, and the boys already a bit edgy!

using his sleep sack to attempt a nap…trying to block us out

Blues skies and lots of fields of yellow goldenrod- looking flowers

miles and miles of cars…or kilometers and kilometers of cars, whichever you feel more comfortable with! For us it was miles and miles! We sang lots and lots of silly songs and attempted to lighten the mood. Sometimes our listeners welcomed our singing at other times it caused eruptions of whining and other potentially obnoxious behaviors. The good news is that our kids tend to take turns “having a moment”…well, it could be good news but really what it means it that when they each take a turn you potentially have many minutes occupied by someone’s turn.

3 1/2+ hours and we were finally getting close!! Hang in there boys!

As we approached the gate and sat in a line waiting for our passports to be checked Jackson made up a rap song…Seth did backup

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After a quick lunch at the base food court the boys and Seth went to the park on base while I did the shopping.

Jackson immediately recognized the park as being just like the ones in the US that he went to with his cousins. It was padded ground, child-size climbing gear and there was even a safe section for Owen!

after the boys got refreshed and I had the majority of the shopping done they came to offer moral support on the final lap around the store. By the second cart, I was getting weary and wishing that Leigh was there to help me hunt for the final items on the list!  Checkout took a good while. But can I just tell you how amazing it was that cheerful employees bagged my groceries for me. You bag your own groceries in Switzerland which is fine but with 2 carts full I may have melted on the floor in tears. It was so nice to have their help!

We loaded the car, buckled the boys in, refreshed their drinks and snacks and headed on our way.

(oh wait, don’t forget the potty. We strategically held Jackson’s potty out so that it wouldn’t get buried in the massive load of stuff….you are probably thinking for sanitary reasons, however it was for very practical potty emergency on roadtrip reasons. always thinking.)

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by 4 pm when we pulled out of the parking lot Jackson crashed! And we jumped right into a huge traffic jam!

We pulled over when we saw a family-friendly place called Schnitzel Huber. Turns out it really was family friendly and the boys were even able to play in a play corner. The food wasn’t as delicious as these boys in the sign make it looks but it was a perfect stop for weary travelers.

We got the boys in their pj’s after dinner, Jackson tried out the new hoola-hoop from the commissary to get the final energy out and we hopped back in the car for the final leg of the trip.

When we arrived home we got the boys in their beds and began to unload the groceries. I meant to count the bags and show you all of the organization of the giant freezer but by then I was a tad bit worn out and had to focus on unloading the slightly defrosted items.

above is one of the loads…this doesn’t include the freezer or fridge stuff. And I meant to take a picture of the receipt. It was as tall as me! After previously budgeting more on a weekly basis it can be frightening to buy for a few months!

In the end we forgot Dr. Pepper for Seth. So sad. That is one of the treats I always bring back for him. Poor guy!  If that is the only thing we forgot though in our 14 hour journey I would say we did pretty well!

It’s funny, I don’t think of myself as being a good cook but lately people have been asking for recipes. I am always embarrassed because all of my recipes are from my mom or friends. It’s not like I do anything original. I love to try new recipes and mess up a lot. Early in our marriage I was scared to try too many things because I wanted Seth to enjoy what I made and I hated failing. I still want him to enjoy the food I serve him but now I am more bold and even if the recipe contains mushrooms or beans I give it a go and tell Seth just to pick around! I vow to try at least one recipe from each magazine I get. And typically try one new recipe a week. Since coming to Bern I am getting Southern Living. It’s not tough to find something that looks amazing and is super easy to make. I cook because I enjoy it and I have been realizing lately that I cook because it connects me to my mom.

I hate being far from home. All through high school I would sit at the kitchen bar and “do homework”, ie chat with my mom and watch her cook. It was our time together. I learned so much just through watching her work. She was budget conscious but it was a huge priority for her to make fresh, delicious meals.  No matter how long she had worked that day she whipped up yummy things! So I think I am realizing that when I cook I feel connected to my mom. Even if she is in a different time zone and I sure wish I was watching her cook, somehow being in the kitchen helps stave off some of my homesickness.  Calling home with questions about recipes always gives me an excuse to call and chat so that helps too!  (on a side note, if I had a million dollars I would want to have a little restaurant with my mom..or a B&B)

My favorite recipes are the ones I have from my mom. My wedding gift from her was a book of her handwritten recipes. The book got lost in a box we mailed and she spent hours rewriting the recipes into a new book for me last Christmas. She is great at picking recipes and great at knowing what goes with what. She is a true foodie. You would think she would be obese by now with all of her great cooking and love for food but nope, she’s petite and has the best self control of anyone I know. If she makes a chocolate cake and has a piece, she’s done. She’s not the leave a fork on the cake plate just to make the next walk-by cake bite more convenient. Or if she was she was really good at hiding the fork and the bites.  I am the fork on the cake plate kind of girl. Wish I wasn’t but I am.

I have been trying lots of new recipes lately. Since coming to Bern I have had lots of time to focus on settling in and that has included lots of cooking. I love that I can be in the mood to try something, google it, and come up with a zillion choices to pick and choose from. And I am gradually getting more comfortable being more creative and doing things my own way.

On Sunday we had some leftover brisket in the fridge. I wasn’t in the mood to make sides and whip up a whole meal. So, we made a BBQ brisket pizza. It was delicious. We spread BBQ sauce on instead of pizza sauce. Layered it with brisket, onions, red bell peppers and cheese. It was delicious! Wait, I already said that. It was nothing you haven’t seen before but nothing I had done at home. Nice to try new things.

Other new things on our list last week were Southern Living’s Stovetop Potpie (We skipped the biscuits and the fattening crust!) and crock pot barbacoa beef (chipotle knockoff) that we used for burrito bowls. Both were a hit. In fact the pot pie called for wine and I normally shy away from things I think my kids won’t like. But Owen, who is my ornery eater, scarfed it down like he has been waiting for a splash of white wine to brighten up all of his meals.   We have also been having lots of salads for dinner to balance out all of the fudge and treats we had with Seth’s parents.  I am always on the lookout for a salad that is healthy but has enough pizazz to make it feel like a dinner not a diet meal.

Tonight is going to be stuffed green peppers. They weren’t Seth’s favorite when I made them like 5 yrs ago but he said he would give them a try again!

I wonder what my mom is cooking tonight.

Paris was fabulous!!!! In the beginning of January Seth and I went away to Paris for 3 1/2 days while Seth’s mom stayed with the boys.  When Jackson was 18 months old we went to Aruba for a couple of days (it was only an hour flight from Bogota so we couldn’t pass up the chance) and as hard as it was to leave him I promised myself I would make it a priority to have time with just Seth! It doesn’t happen often but when it does it is so worth it!

When we bid on Bern back in 2009  we talked about maybe getting to celebrate our 5 yr wedding Anniversary in a fun city like Paris. We never thought it would really work out! I think until the day we left it didn’t really feel like we were getting to go to Paris, just the two of us!!!

We ate our way through Paris. The meals were wonderful! We let Rick Steve’s guide us to the places the locals like so we didn’t have any particularly fru fru fancy meals but all were in unique little places that were jammed packed.  We had our first tastes of macaroons and enjoyed every chance to share a hot crepe with nutella and bananas.

We toured museums, walked the quaint streets, took an evening boat tour, went up the Eiffel Tower,  toured Notre Dame, shopped in Galleries Lafayette and just enjoyed being together.  Here are some of my favorite pictures. I am including some of the yummy food pictures for all of you foodies out there!

our hotel

macaroons

this is just to give you a laugh…we were waiting for a bus and I looked over and saw our shadows in the tree trunk. SO I told Seth to give me a kiss and snapped a shot! goofy I know!

Angelina’s

we didn’t get too many great shots of both of us because one of us was always taking it but here you can see us together with the Eiffel Tower in the background

on the train headed home after a great getaway!

In early December I was invited to go on a girl’s getaway to celebrate my dear friend Leigh’s 30th! She had invited a group of her friends from Germany and asked if I would come along. I was honored! We headed out on Friday afternoon and Seth graciously dove in as SuperDad and kept the boys until Sunday afternoon when he and the boys joined us! So I got to have Friday night, Saturday and most of Sunday just with the girls. We ate and chatted and ate some more, shopped a little at the Interlaken Christmas market, drank hot wine, ate some more! Each of us took on a meal and it was really fun because everyone got really into their meals. We ate like queens all weekend and I am confident my pants were tighter when we left the chalet. It was such a fun time of celebrating Leigh and getting to know her sweet friends!

I missed the memo about wearing skinny jeans and tall boots. I have since gotten with the program and got some skinny jeans to go with my boots! Sheesh, someone should have told me sooner!

Katy Jo unexpectedly got to tag along for the girls weekend and was such a pleasure! She was a great sleeper and such a sweetie!

this was the view of the mountain directly in from of our chalet. Stunning!

Bo, Leigh and Katy Jo.  We are enjoying every chance we can to hang out while we live so close!

The boys and Seth came up on Sunday night to join in on the fun. We stayed in the chalet until Tues morning when we headed back to Bern. Unfortunately, we had no idea that Owen had a double ear infection. He didn’t sleep more than 20 mins at a time the first night and the second he was up screaming ALL night! Despite the ear infection and sleepless nights we enjoyed being on our first getaway as a family of 4. We sat by the fire, sipped hot chocolate and champagne and enjoyed each others company. We hope to go back someday when everyone is healthy!

carpenters workbench in a little shop we went in