Across the Pond
Ah the lack of updates recently! I was off to England last week and was unable to post the blog post I had written before I left due to the lack of wifi at our house. Then I got home late Saturday night and enjoyed a culinary hike all day and a lovely dinner with friends that evening. Monday morning the movers came so I am sure you can understand what I have been doing all week! (insert box emoji here)
Alas we are *almost* completely settled in the house. Just a few last pictures to be hung- which is a PROCESS when you live in a home completely made out of cinder block and your poor little Ryobi drill you bought for yourself 4 years ago was not up to the task. Enter great neighbors that let you borrow your power tools because my husband doesn’t even own his own hammer. (the tool box is mine). Michael is absolutely wonderful at MANY things: flying planes, being a great husband, cooking, taking care of Ryder, pouring a mean rum and coke… the list goes on! Alas, he is not a handy man. But I love stepping up to the plate and operating a power tool once in a while so it works out well!
Now, for an England recap!
View on the drive to the Airport in Germany!
I flew out late Tuesday night and after a slightly delayed, yet lovely Ryan Air flight that cost me only 9 Euro each way I landed #AcrossThePond! Katlin picked me up and took me back to their adorable older English home and after catching up for a bit, got a good night’s rest.
Wednesday morning we were up bright and early for an hour power walk that Katlin has mapped out around her town of Bury St. Edmunds. The day greeted us with clear skies and sunshine so we were off the explore Cambridge! We toodled around an open air market, enjoyed a beautiful tapas lunch and then headed to “Punt” the River Cam. Punting = a small wooden boat ride where the navigator pushes you along with a long metal pole. Our “tour guide” was quite lively and entertaining, giving us trivia about Cambridge University, Kings College and Trinity College, all located right there on the river. We even split a bottle of champagne making the ride simply perfect! After our punting adventure we wandered into a dessert shop for some macaroons and ended up enjoying them in a perfectly manicured courtyard part of Jesus College… yes that is a thing- its located in Cambridge, England if you ever feel the need to check it out! That night we stayed in and enjoyed leftovers from our lunch, this yummy risotto frozen dinner thing and some delicious wine!
Thursday we went for our walk around the flight line on Mildenhall Air Base. Unfortunately, the fog ruined most of our view of the airplanes, but it was still neat to see them emerge from the mist as it began to burn off. After earning our breakfast, Katlin took me to this hole in the wall joint in Mildenhall her and Ryan discovered when they were staying in a hotel waiting to find a rental home. We got 2 fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast and tea for under 4 pounds. #breakfastwin Unfortunately we had been experiencing some odd sounds coming from under Katlin’s Lexus, and when we stopped to take a look we saw this rusty thing behind her wheel. Luckily she knew a place to take it and when they guy took a look, he went behind her tire for 2 minutes and came back with a hunk of rusted metal. Guess we didn’t need that?!? Apparently it was the splash guard for the brakes bla bla bla- point being, he fixed the problem, for FREE (don’t worry, we tipped the guy!), in 5 minutes (he did both front tires) and it doesn’t need to be replaced! I was so glad she was able to get it taken care of so quickly and easily because she knew where to go! That is a tricky thing when you live in another country, and your husband is deployed… oh and even more fun when you don’t speak the language (needless to say I do not yet "know a place"). That afternoon we were off to a local winery for lunch with 2 of Katlin’s friends! The winery ended up being less than we had hoped (no real tasting room or anything) but the lunch was DELICIOUS! The restaurant had an upscale rustic cottage feel and served all sorts of unique dishes. I tried caviar for the first time! Not anything I would order again- but I tried it! We wandered around there for the better half of the day, and then headed back for a relaxing night of Netflix and cereal for dinner. Even when traveling to the most wonderful places, a night spent in with a friend is sometimes exactly what you need.
Friday Katlin had planned for the rainy weather perfectly. We were still able to get in our walk with it just sprinkling, but the skies opened up earlier. No mind to us because we were enjoying a lovely tea brunch at this tearoom called Peacocks. They serve you in real English china, in an assortment of mismatched prints. There are few things better than a grown up tea party! I could have stayed there for days, trying all their different teas, watching the rain drip down the windows which showcased the gardens beyond. After tea we ran next door to the antique store to spend the next hour or so! We each found a lovely tea set (I found 2!) to take home. Katlin’s even had the Thistle flower on it, her maiden name! I found 2 unique ones that I liked and snagged them up to add to the beautiful china plate my Great Grandmother gave me. I also found an awesome antique rug (that is SO #ChipAndJoannaGains) that I had wrapped up and I carried on my flight all the way home! It lives in our Bathroom and is perfect. Later that day we enjoyed a tour of the Ely Cathedral, which included a lot of history about the area. That night we met up with Katlin’s friends again for dinner and some time out on the town in Bury St. Edmunds! We enjoyed the 15-minute walk to and from downtown, as well as the cozy restaurant and bars we got to pop in and out of. The weather turned cool with the rain, so I had to borrow boots and a sweater to go out! It was really wonderful getting to know her friends there, knowing she is in good hands with Ryan is gone.
Saturday, my last day in England, we went downtown Bury St. Edmunds to explore a bit in the daylight. We wandered through their weekend market and of course ended up in yet another tea room. Why don’t all countries have these on every corner? I would take a tea room over Starbucks any day! (shoot me now, I know) but hear me out: the service is wonderful, everyone is so cheery, they serve THE most delicious teas and have wonderful scone, muffins, macaroons, and other wonderful treats. The entire thing is an experience and you can go any time of day. Okay so I guess it is basically like a Starbucks just minus all the crazy coma inducing caffeine filled drinks… but tea rooms are just so LOVELY. I digress. After the lovely tea we visited the Abbey of St. Edmund, its gardens and its ruins. Seeing the crumbling remains of what used to be such grand structures is humbling. You just wonder what it used to look like. How people used to live within and walk between the walls. And why did it crumble? That remains a mystery, even historians do not know what happened to bring down the Abbey. After that I was off! Katlin took me to the airport where I enjoyed browsing the spoils of an entire airport that is one large international terminal! Such a strange concept to take an hour flight that cost 9 Euro and cross not only a major body of water, but also multiple countries!
That Sunday we got to sleep in and head to the Rodenbach Culinary Hike, which has been one of my favorite festivals we have been to. It is just a few towns over so we were able to park at a friends’ house and walk there. It was a cool and overcast day, but it felt cozy since it is just the beginning of fall. For the festival, you check in at the first booth and pay 7 Euro for a wine glass in a necklace holster. (No better way to explain it). Then as you visit each stand (there are 8) you can fill up your mini wine glass for only 1.50 Euro! Each booth serves a variety of food (meat on a stick, chicken sandwiches, BBQ, Flamkucha, etc) and drinks and some have artwork, kids activities, music etc. The entire hike is 4 miles along a nice paved path and includes great views of the surrounding villages! After the hike we went back to our friends’ house to relax before walking to a fabulous restaurant for dinner. It is so funny how restaurants work here. Clearly this one was a bit fancier, but nothing crazy, and when we walked in and asked for a table for 6 (usually you seat yourself in Germany, in our experience anyways) the man just looked around and said “No”. We stood there staring at each other for a moment us wondering if that means they are totally booked, or we will just have to wait for a table, or we need to leave immediately or what!?! We kind of pushed him on it and eventually he went back to his books, did some math, and came back to offer us a table. We assumed he had reservations he was holding the table for, so we told him we would be quick. We all ordered basically the same thing (Schnitzel- cannot get enough!) and our drinks at the same time, but it took forever for the food to come! And to top it all off another table for 6 sat empty right beside us the entire night. So who knows?! It was worth it in the end- one of the best schnitzels I have had in Germany for sure, and as the sun set and it got cozy in the restaurant, it was the perfect finish to the day spent with friends. We went to bed like kids waiting for Christmas, because the very next day a truck would arrive with all of our Earthly belongings and we would open each box finding a home for the items, praying that nothing is severely damaged, finally making our house a home.
