Welcome to the family Zeke!

We welcomed our Alaskan Malamute into our home just a few weeks ago. He's the fluffiest, cutest thing you've ever seen. We're doing great potty training and he loves his crate! Our biggest challenge has been his timid nature. He is very wary of other dogs and is scared around strangers. I hope with a little more time and a little socialization work he'll warm up to new visitors. He's only 10 weeks old so we have a lot of time! In true Malamute form he's a talker. He sasses me when I tell him to come inside from playing, grumbles when he's unsure of someone new, and speaks up when I'm not giving him enough attention. It cracks me up and I must admit I don't feel as crazy talking to a dog when he talks back to me. ;) 

Views from Fortress Hohensalzburg

Salzburg, Austria

This post is long overdue considering my parents were visiting over a month ago, but better late than never? Since they had yet to travel Europe by train we decided to use the Deutsch Bahn to travel down to Salzburg, Austria. Tricky, right? You can actually use Germany's rail system in Austria AND we were able to use the regional Bayern pass to get down there. Bonus savings! 

The weather was much more mild than we were all expecting and we got lucky when the forecasted rain for our trip never showed up! We explored the Old Town where we were able to see St. Peter's Abbey then ventured to Hohensalzburg Castle for some amazing views of the city- but that's for another post.  We also walked to the Mirabell Palace. The pictures we took in the Mirabell Gardens with the Hohensalzburg in the background were some of my favorite pictures from the trip. 

Salzburg had a few surprises for us as well. Near the Salzburg Residence the city set up an ice skating rink where my mom spent the evening skating away. How neat to say you went ice skating in Austria. My dad also found a really unique restaurant on TripAdvisor that was outside of the city center and "tourist area". Family owned and operated 'Pasta e Vino' is a small, crowded Italian restaurant with no menu! At 'Pasta e Vino' your waiter tells you verbally what you main course options are based on what is made fresh that day. The menu constantly changes, but I'm sure it is all delicious! Our options that night were a spinach & salmon lasagna and a tomato & bacon spaghetti. It was a really unique experience and a nice change of pace from Austrian and German food.

2013: A Year in Review

My birthday month, January, began in Charlotte, NC where I rang in the New Year with Courtney and watched the Tigers pulled out a win over LSU. In February I flew back to Germany because in March Ross came home from deployment.  Best. Day. EVER. We didn't wait long to make up for lost time and traveled to Austria for a skiing/snowboarding trip. What an amazing experience to ski in the Alps. April brought Block Leave and back to the States we went to visit family and go on a Caribbean cruise. We fit in a Redeployment Ball, wedding anniversary, and trip to Amsterdam all in the month of May. We craved the sun and sand so Barcelona, Spain was the obvious choice in June. Another visit to a coastal city was in order in July where we lounged on Tirrenia's beaches and saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In August we said goodbye to our German apartment in Geldersheim and moved to our new home 2 hours away. With our new duty station being so close to the Czech border we ventured to Prague in September. I also went back to South Carolina that month to visit with family. I am so thankful I was able to spend time with my growing nephew and watch my youngest brother play in his senior year of football. We celebrated Ross' birthday in November and also flew to London where we ate plenty of fish & chips and tried tea & crumpets. They were delicious! December was full of Christmas markets, holiday parties, and family visits. We also got to meet our Alaskan Malamute, Zeke! We will be able to pick him up in just a few short weeks. With a new puppy on our hands and more countries to visit 2014 is going to be quite the adventure. :)