From the Sea to the World - Completed!

[jedijill]

Happy Birthday!

Jill in CO

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Katharina, I hope you are having a very

 

[englishrose47]

Happy Birthday Katarina!!!!!!

 

[nodnol]

Katharina....

Hope you have a wonderful Day !!!!

Happy Birthday!

Jill in CO

Katharina, I hope you are having a very

Happy Birthday Katarina!!!!!!

Thank you all very much! I had a kind of special day - starting in the Bavarian forest with a great breakfast and then travelling more than 600 kilometers by train back to Berlin at least we had no delays or anything and I had a good book to read!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Thank you all very much! I had a kind of special day - starting in the Bavarian forest with a great breakfast and then travelling more than 600 kilometers by train back to Berlin at least we had no delays or anything and I had a good book to read!

Sounds like quite the birthday adventure. Glad you had a good day!

 

[Flossbolna]

Sorry for the delay in updates! Had planned to write one yesterday evening, but then found some other "entertainment": I went for a run and tripped over the pavement.

Luckily it was when I just started out, so I was home quickly. However, once home I discovered a nasty wound on my knee under the running pants. So spent the evening in the ER getting four stitches and an x-ray. Nothing broken, just the wound. But it is close to the bursa (? That's what the dictionary says, the literal translation for the German word for it would be slime bag) and that can easily get infected. So I got antibiotics to take and need to go back in today for a check-up.

 

[dizneeat]

Sorry for the delay in updates! Had planned to write one yesterday evening, but then found some other "entertainment": I went for a run and tripped over the pavement.

Luckily it was when I just started out, so I was home quickly. However, once home I discovered a nasty wound on my knee under the running pants. So spent the evening in the ER getting four stitches and an x-ray. Nothing broken, just the wound. But it is close to the bursa (? That's what the dictionary says, the literal translation for the German word for it would be slime bag) and that can easily get infected. So I got antibiotics to take and need to go back in today for a check-up.

Yikes! Doesn't sound good - get better soon!

 

[jedijill]

Ouch! Hope it feels better soon!

Jill in CO

 

[kid-at-heart]

Ouch. I am glad you were close to home when it happened. I hope you get well soon.

Kate

 

[glennbo123]

Heal quickly Magdalene!

 

[Steppesister]

1) Happy birthday (likely quite late), Katharina!! Many happy returns and festive days this coming year!

2) Not FUN, Magdalene!! Wishing you a very speedy recovery and hoping any infection stays a long way away from you!

 

[Poolrat]

Sorry for the delay in updates! Had planned to write one yesterday evening, but then found some other "entertainment": I went for a run and tripped over the pavement.

Luckily it was when I just started out, so I was home quickly. However, once home I discovered a nasty wound on my knee under the running pants. So spent the evening in the ER getting four stitches and an x-ray. Nothing broken, just the wound. But it is close to the bursa (? That's what the dictionary says, the literal translation for the German word for it would be slime bag) and that can easily get infected. So I got antibiotics to take and need to go back in today for a check-up.

Some entertainment. Not a fun way to spend the afternoon or evening. Glad you did no permanent damage and were close to home to survey the damage.

Hope you get better quick.

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Magdalene, sorry to hear about your "running" accident! Hope you are feeling better quickly. And take good care of the ol' slime bag!

 

[Flossbolna]

Well I am SO happy someone got this bumped back up (thanks Katharina!) as I had missed this update in my traveling Santa craziness.

It's interesting. We went to Biergarten on our first trip with all 4 kids. I thought it was just ok. Jeff loved it and the kids, in general liked it but didn't necessarily rave about it. I loved the atmosphere and entertainment but as someone who geneerally doesn't like buffets, other than the Bavarian Cheesecake (which isn't Cheesecake...it's Quark Cake) that I poured the berries over, nothing knocked my socks off.

We were there again for New Years Eve. At the time I didn't know if it was just that I was starving or if the food really was that good, or how authentic it was. Reading your update makes me think the food really was that good! I did like the cheesy spaetzle but agree, a stronger cheese would have been better. Since I didn't know any better...I had seconds. They did have both kinds of potato salad I think as well. I agree that the schnitzel was dry but really other than that, I loved everything and had to be rolled out the door. It couldn't have been a better place to have our NYE feast!

Hi Cynthia, I still need to subscribe to your TR, I am so sorry!! Somehow I am having such a hard time to keep update on my TRs. And I hate it that with the DIS every time you log in, all the "first unread" counters are reset for all your threads, not just the ones that you really read. So you have to go search for where you were last time and then it suddenly becomes this whole chore...

Sorry for complaining - back to replying to your comment!

So happy that you loved your meal at the Biergarten! Funny how you liked it so much better this time. I remember that when I first started reading about WDW online (that was back in the late 90s), I always looked at the Biergarten menu and it seemed slightly "off" for me. As if an American tried to cook what they thought would be German. And then some years ago I noticed the menu change slightly, not a lot, but somehow the few changes made it sound more authentic. That's when I started thinking about actually trying it. I think the current Epcot head chef is actually German (he appeared in some food and wine festival videos on the Disney Parks Blog) and I am sure that this has something to do with the food quality at the Biergarten!

Keeping up not wanting to miss an update !!!!

Keeping up, not wanting to miss an update!




Wait, didn't I hear that somewhere..............

Smart Alec !!!!

I agree, Rosie!!!

Welcome back from all your travels! Good to be hearing from you again.

And for getting Big Bang for Christmas! Is this a show you get to watch in Germany normally, or you've just heard about it and now you have it to watch and check it out???

We do have Bing Bang on TV here, but I never watch it since it is dubbed into German and especially for sitcoms that is rather unbearable in my opinion. So when I heard good things about it, I picked up the first season rather cheaply on DVD last year and was immediately hooked! I like a lot of US TV series, but more or less exclusively watch them on DVD in order to get the original language instead of the German dubbing. However, I now signed up to a service similar to Netflix (no Netflix in Germany - yet) that provides films and TV in German and the original version. So that's great, too!

 

[Flossbolna]

Glad you are back.

I know how busy you were during the holidays and with moving and then trips and such. Can't wait to hear all about DLP and then the cruise.


I did enjoy the Flower and Garden festival and love the displays they do.

Great MK night. You got a lot done and managed to shut down the park good for you. I have not done that in a while- I always say I am going to and then poop out beforehand.

So much to write about!!! I better get this one here moving. But actually today I was thinking about the DLP trip and what I want to write about that. So added motivation to get this one finished to start the next one!

The secret to closing down the park: Don't be at rope drop!!!

Some general thoughts on the latest update (I'll continue my read-through of earlier updates too, but more leisurely):

This was such a a great chapter! Particularly because I have done ZERO research on what all the newest Lands entails and have. I really appreciated your comments towards your general impression, and your attention to theming details. I should probably spend some time perusing the maps and picture forums again before I go again.

Counter service places are always ... meh. Disney is certainly the one place you get what you pay for. Gotta say though, like Brook, I do love me a cup of corn dog nuggets.

YAY for the mop up of Splash! It was getting rather run down- and that was 3 years ago! I'm looking forward to seeing it again someday!

It's been forever since I"ve been during Flower and Garden, but before I go back to that season, I want to milk out Fall and all it has to offer first. MNSSHP is way high on my list... still. But I do so love the topiaries! And to time it with a Food and Wine would be fabulous.

I"m so glad your parents still have that Blankistani National Treasure. It is a one of a kind very special thing. Please tell them hello for us on your next Sunday tea time.

Oh, you have been really out of the loop on Disney news for a long time if you don't know about the new lands! I am glad that I could be of help!

Since you haven't caught up with the beginning of the WDW trip, I can tell you that there was a counter service meal that truly surprised me in quality! I think you will know which one I was talking about once you get to it.

Splash was so wonderful to see! I hope they keep it in shape!

After having had a fall trip and a spring trip now, for me May beats October in so many ways! While MNSSHP was fun (you can see pictures from Katharina's and my visit there in 2011 on Marv's TR), it also really reduces park hours for the MK which then is only open a few evenings late and those are horribly crowded. Also, the weather was much nicer for us in May than in October which had some rather cool days.

Told my parents about your comment and they say hi back to you! Were asking how you are finding life in the US after having been in the -stan for so long.

 

[Flossbolna]

Great Update Magdalena !!! For me the New Dumbo was great !!! We were walk ons and that was unheard of with the old Dumbo ad nowthey have 2 it is great!!As for Goofy'sBarnstormer , I rode it once and was PETRIFIED, I figured how bad could a kid's rollrcoaster be and it was terrifying !!! I do enjoy the evening EMH as rides are usually walk ons and that is wonderful!!!

Ok, I had to laugh so hard at you being terrified by the BARNSTORMER!!!! You are quite the chicken, aren't you???

I think I like the monsters best, or the panda bear!

It looks so warm and summery on the pictures. I'm sorry, but that's what fascinated me most under current circumstances

Splash mountains sounds good! I remember you complaingn, when we went together, that so many elements didn't work... So hwo did it work out this time, did you again manage to stay dry while your travel companion got wet? The real wet, not your wet...

Yes, I think I managed to get Michael rather wet (but more my wet than the real wet) while stayed dry. I don't know what it is with this ride that it does not splash at me. But then as a late revenge, I got splashed pretty badly on POTC in Paris in January!

My favourites were the monsters, they were much more real plants and i liked that.

And it was sunny and warm (bordering on too warm - you would have complained about Epcot: the stone desert).

 

[Flossbolna]

Yikes! Doesn't sound good - get better soon!

Ouch! Hope it feels better soon!

Jill in CO

Ouch. I am glad you were close to home when it happened. I hope you get well soon.

Kate

Heal quickly Magdalene!

1) Happy birthday (likely quite late), Katharina!! Many happy returns and festive days this coming year!

2) Not FUN, Magdalene!! Wishing you a very speedy recovery and hoping any infection stays a long way away from you!

Some entertainment. Not a fun way to spend the afternoon or evening. Glad you did no permanent damage and were close to home to survey the damage.

Hope you get better quick.

Magdalene, sorry to hear about your "running" accident! Hope you are feeling better quickly. And take good care of the ol' slime bag!

Thanks for all the well wishes! While it was really painful at first, it is now healing very well. Saw my doctor today and he was pleased with the improvement. I don't have to see him again until next Monday when they will remove the stitches. And then by the middle of the next week I can re-start running again! All in all I think I was incredibly lucky. As bad as my wound was, it was just skin and thanks to antibiotics I did not have to battle any infections. Spraining an ankle, pulling a muscle or - worst - breaking a bone would all have been possible outcomes of that fall and would have bothered me for much longer.

But since I am improving so well, I can take up continuing with the TR again and the next update will follow shortly!

 

[Flossbolna]

Day 13:

Another late night meant that we slept in the next morning. And once we finally woke up, the first thing we had to do was to finally go and get some supplies for our villa! We did have a full kitchen with a large fridge, but nothing in it. So we got the car and drove to Publix, which was not far at all. This Publix was not as nice as the one we were at in Fort Lauderdale, but it was in no way bad. We got drinks, fruit and some snacks (especially some incredibly delicious hummus) and lunch. We each got a sandwich at the deli counter. I am sure for all of my American readers this is nothing special. To me it was quite an experience! We do have Subway here in Germany, but this was like a deluxe Subway experience! Oh – and we also picked up a handful of Cliffbars for my dear little sister. She had fallen in love with them on her last visit and requested me to get her some.

Once back in our villa, we got out some nice plates, sat on our dining table and ate our sandwiches in style. Or to be more precise, we each had half of our sandwich and stored the leftovers in the fridge.

And then it was finally time to do something exciting and you are about to see some pictures!

Our destination was Blizzard Beach. It is easy to get to from AKL, it is a stop on the bus route to DHS. I was so excited to be returning there! I just love the waterparks and always end up spending less time there than I would want. So this was one of the goals on this trip: spend lots of time at the waterparks. I did not really succeed, but we got to each park once.

So this is Blizzard Beach:

The pictures are all from the entrance plaza area where there are shops, changing rooms, lockers etc. The park has this crazy Alpine village theme which I just adore! Since the Alps aren’t far from home and I spent a lot of time there skiing, I am just so amused by the silliness of it all! It just makes me smile!

We tried to find a spot, but could not find any free loungers (our fault for arriving in the middle of the day), but we found some chair to dump our things on and then we went off in search of some slides!

This was our general area (picture taken later in the day after people had left):

My first stop was Teamboat Springs, which I adored, last time and really wanted to do again! So we climbed the mountain and there was literally no wait. There were signs that people would be put in boats together if their group was too small, so when we got up there we were told to get into the boat with another couple. We were expecting this, but the other people were not and they were really slow at getting in, so when we got in, it seemed to me that I needed to hurry and somehow managed to fall into the raft. That made for an unpleasant ride down… And somehow it was not as great as it was the last time. Which was a bit sad, but I am sure that I will give it another try in the future!

Next we needed some relaxation and floated around the park on the lazy river. This is always great!

After the river we spent some time in the wave pool where we were able to get some tubes to float around in. This was much better during the big waves as it prevented you from being crushed under water where you can hit the scratchy bottom of the pool.

We rode some more slides and then spent some time just lounging around.

I also took some more pictures:

After all we stayed much longer than we intended and left just before park close. But it was such a wonderful relaxing afternoon!

But then we had to head back to AKL to get ready for the planned evening activities!

Next: A Barbecue Meal Part 1 Part 2

 

[GoofyFan1515]

But since I am improving so well, I can take up continuing with the TR again and the next update will follow shortly!

Two good things for the price of one!

We each got a sandwich at the deli counter. I am sure for all of my American readers this is nothing special. To me it was quite an experience! We do have Subway here in Germany, but this was like a deluxe Subway experience!

I'll try to remember that the next time I get a deli sandwich at the market......

Oh – and we also picked up a handful of Cliffbars for my dear little sister. She had fallen in love with them on her last visit and requested me to get her some.

Nice of you to be thinking about your dear, sweet little sister........

Once back in our villa, we got out some nice plates, sat on our dining table and ate our sandwiches in style. Or to be more precise, we each had half of our sandwich and stored the leftovers in the fridge.

Yes, half is about all I can eat at one time too..........

And then it was finally time to do something exciting and you are about to see some pictures!

So this is Blizzard Beach:

Whew! You scared me for a second.

We tried to find a spot, but could not find any free loungers (our fault for arriving in the middle of the day), but we found some chair to dump our things on and then we went off in search of some slides!

This was our general area (picture taken later in the day after people had left):

Glad you cleared up that picture was taken later. I was about to ask why you couldn't find any loungers...........there are plenty in this picture.

I haven't ever gone to Blizzard Beach. I guess I need to give it a try sometime. It sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[Poolrat]

We each got a sandwich at the deli counter. I am sure for all of my American readers this is nothing special. To me it was quite an experience! We do have Subway here in Germany, but this was like a deluxe Subway experience! Oh – and we also picked up a handful of Cliffbars for my dear little sister. She had fallen in love with them on her last visit and requested me to get her some.

Our popular supermarket here does great sandwiches. Tuesday is discount day so my college aged broke staff would always go to the deli for lunch.

Our destination was Blizzard Beach. It is easy to get to from AKL, it is a stop on the bus route to DHS.
My first stop was Teamboat Springs, which I adored, last time and really wanted to do again! So we climbed the mountain and there was literally no wait. There were signs that people would be put in boats together if their group was too small, so when we got up there we were told to get into the boat with another couple. We were expecting this, but the other people were not and they were really slow at getting in, so when we got in, it seemed to me that I needed to hurry and somehow managed to fall into the raft. That made for an unpleasant ride down… And somehow it was not as great as it was the last time. Which was a bit sad, but I am sure that I will give it another try in the future!

Sorry you didn't have a better experience this time.

Next we needed some relaxation and floated around the park on the lazy river. This is always great!

Did you hear and see him sneeze from the house?

After all we stayed much longer than we intended and left just before park close. But it was such a wonderful relaxing afternoon!

The king and queen of closing it down.

I think I have spent more time at Blizzard beach than Typhoon. The couple times my conference was in WDW, our party would be at Typhoon but we would be dry and after hours and then we would get a ticket for BB and a picnic lunch at the park in one of their grassy areas. I would usually go early wit the intention of leaving after lunch but either closed down or came close to closing down that park both times.


So... No Summit Plummet???