Moving Update and 4th of July

I realized I've been kind of quiet about the big move back to the United States so here's the big moving update. We've been so busy adjusting to life with Finn and then traveling that the move has been on the back burner (kind of).

We've known all along that we will be heading to Groton, CT after Mike is done with the Olmsted because he must attend department head school (SOAC) for six months, which is located in Groton.  Once he is done with SOAC, he will be attached to a submarine at one of the seven submarine bases (Groton, Norfolk, Kings Bay, GA, San Diego, Bangor, WA, Pearl Harbor, and Guam).   A few months ago, we submitted our location preferences, as well as preferences for what job Mike would do and what type of submarine would be on.  Unfortunately, Mike got an email while we were on our road trip saying that they didn't have the job Mike wanted on the type of submarine he wanted and the detailer (person who chooses where we go) wanted to know if we cared more about where we were located or the job that Mike did.  We had preferenced Groton as our number one location because it meant that we wouldn't have to move again after SOAC (very appealing considering we've both moved every year since graduating college).  As much as we don't want to have to move again after SOAC, ultimately, Mike said he'd rather be doing a job he enjoys than to avoid another move, which makes sense to me.  For me, while another move would be a pain, I understand Mike's reasoning and I can find a job wherever we go. So, now we wait another month or so until we find out where we are going.  Groton isn't out of the picture completely, but we're mentally preparing for the possibility that we'll be moving again in March.

Did you get all of that?  If you did, props to you.  If you didn't, don't worry. Just know we're moving in August and we might have to move again in March.

While moving is not fun, we're really lucky because the Navy sends movers in, they pack us up and load everything into the truck(s) and we just have to supervise.  As one of Mike's classmates said, it's kind of like we're celebrities.  Ha! Even though we don't have to do a lot of physical labor during a move, there is A LOT of organization and preparation that gets done beforehand, especially since we're moving overseas.

We returned from our Balkan road trip and went right into moving mode. We came back on Sunday and had one week until we left for the UK for Mike's sister's wedding and some travel.  We get back on a Saturday and the movers come that Monday, so we basically have to be ready for the movers when we leave for the UK.  Stressful? Yup.  Impossible? Nahhhh.

The main thing to do was to figure out what is going in each shipment.  We will check bags with us when we fly back that will be filled with stuff we need in August.  We're going to be traveling around Virginia visiting friends and family, so we'll need things like clothes, diapers and laptops in this "shipment," but nothing we don't normally pack when we travel.

The next group of stuff that needed to be sorted was the express shipment.  Since we are moving overseas, we get an express shipment of stuff that we will want immediately when we move in to our house.  This shipment can include up to 1000lbs of stuff, but can't include furniture since it is being sent by air. We've kind of decided that we're going to live in a furnished apartment for the six months while Mike is at SOAC since our final shipment of stuff isn't going to arrive until at least November and there is the possibility that we'll be moving again at the end of the six months.  Therefore, we're sending things like our printer, Christmas decorations and a few kitchen appliances such as our KitchenAid Mixer and Keurig. Oh, and all of the baby stuff! I doubt we'll reach 1000 lbs, but we want to make sure we have everything we want in our temporary house.

The last shipment is everything else, including our furniture. Because we aren't planning on seeing this stuff until March, we are really trying to make sure nothing is going in it that we don't need.  It makes me wonder how much of that stuff we could get rid of...

Anyways, we had lots of stuff to do and not that much time to do it.  Finn also got his first round of vaccines on Wednesday morning which took a toll on him and meant we basically lost an afternoon to a (understandably) fussy guy.  Luckily, a little medicine helped bring back our happy baby and had him feeling back to normal by evening.

All of the things we had to do.  If you look closely, you'll see Mike had to get an HIV test.  Apparently the Navy requires them every 2 years and wouldn't buy our tickets home until he got the test done. Normally this wouldn't be a problem because he would just go to the clinic on base, but there isn't a base here.  On top of that, the only HIV testing locations we could find were for gay men, so we had lots of fun trying to get that one checked off.  Luckily, we figured it out.

So many lists, so little time. 

One of the things on our list of things to do was ship the car and that we did.  Friday afternoon, the tow truck came to pick up the car around 4:30 and by 4:45, the car was gone.  By far the easiest car shipment we've done thus far!  

Amid all of the moving chaos, we took some time to celebrate the 4th of July! We hosted a little cookout in our backyard and hosted about 15 people.  Mike grilled burgers and bratwursts and I made red, white and blue sangria and cupcakes.  We couldn't pass up an opportunity to share our patriotism with our neighbors and Mike's classmates. It was  a lot of fun and we had fun celebrating, even if we weren't in the United States. 

So many burgers!

Needless to say, it was a busy week in the Hogan household. When we return from the UK, it'll be even crazier, but we'll just cross our fingers and say a little prayer that everything makes it to the US in time!  Happy moving season!

JP Comes to Visit!

It's crazy to think that our time in Berlin is winding down.  We've started arranging things for the big move back to the States (!!!!) and we hosted our last visitors this past week. My cousin JP is traveling around Europe for a month before he moves to San Diego and his girlfriend Chiara is working in Portugal for three months, so we were excited to host them as our last guests.

JP arrived on Wednesday afternoon after a few days in Munich and Prague.  It sounds like he had a blast and met a few new people, but he said he was glad to see a familiar face, so we took it easy Wednesday night and just hung out at our apartment.

The next day, JP, Finn and I got a late start to the morning, but we eventually made our way to the East Side Gallery and the German History Museum.  Finn really took in the German history ;)  That night, we went to our neighborhood bar for a drink before heading to the airport to pick up Chiara.

I waited for Chiara to arrive to do our walking tour of the city, so we set out around mid morning on Friday so that they could see the city.  Like I've said before, we can hit all of the major sights in a few hours with this tour, so it's perfect for people who haven't been to the city before. After the tour, Chiara wanted to stop by this chocolate shop that her German room mates had raved about called Rausch.  I had never heard of it before, but it was magical.  There was so much chocolate! It's probably a good thing I didn't know about it when I had my pregnancy sweet tooth because I would have been there way too frequently.


Saturday was everyone's last day in Berlin.  Chiara was heading back to Portugal, JP was checking London off his list and the Hogans were heading out for a three week road trip around the Balkans.  Since I hadn't done any sort of packing, I sent JP and Chiara out on their own to explore our neighborhood while I finished packing.  That afternoon, we headed to Tempelhof Field where the Formula E Prix races were taking place. Mike found this event online, but no one was really sure what to expect.  We ended up being there right as the final race was about to start, so we watched for about 20 minutes as the first car crossed the finish line.  It was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon for sure. We bid farewell to JP and Chiara Saturday night when we all went to bed.  Mike, Finn and I had an early plane to catch, so we left JP and Chiara at our house since their flight wasn't until the afternoon.

It was so much fun having JP come to visit.  My brothers and I grew up with JP by our side since he lived nearby and was so close in age.  Since we've grown up and gone off to college, time spent together is not as common, so I'm grateful for the chance to host him and get to spend a few days with him before he leaves for the west coast!

Go Dukes!

Russo Grandparents Come to Visit!

I'm sitting on our balcony eating lunch, while Mike is running errands and Finn is napping and I'm pretending that my parents aren't on a flight back to the United States. 😢😢😢

I had been counting down the days to my parents visit ever since Finn was born.  Scratch that, ever since they booked the tickets. As excited as I was, I know they were infinitely more excited to meet their first grandchild.

We're all excited to see Nana and Grandpa!

We greeted them at the airport Sunday morning and headed back to our apartment to drop off their bags before heading to a breakfast food festival.  We find that the best thing for guests coming straight from the East Coast to do is to get out and do something for a few hours to beat the jet lag.  It was delicious!! I got a breakfast burrito that I devoured in seconds and Mike had biscuits and gravy that he said might be the best he's ever had.  After breakfast, we came back and everyone napped a little bit and we ended the night with a little barbecue which was delicious.

Nana giving Finn a bottle in preparation for our big outing to the breakfast market

The rest of the week was pretty laid back.  My parents' goal for this trip was mainly to help out and that they did! By this point, Mike and I are pretty capable and have kind of figured out a routine, but it was SO nice to have extra hands to help out.  I had people making me dinner every night.  I got to take a shower that didn't end when Finn started crying. I got to nap anytime I wanted. And maybe most exciting was that Mike and I got to go out just the two of us.  It was everything I dreamed of and more.

It's amazing how much time you can spend just watching a little guy hang out on a play mat or sleep in a swing.  We FaceTimed with both of my brothers and when they asked what we did, we didn't have many answers except "watch Finn" or "take Finn for a walk."  Luckily, my parents had already been to Berlin last fall, so they didn't need to do a lot of sight seeing.  The main attraction was definitely Finnegan. 

My dad has been learning to play the violin, so he couldn't resist bringing his violin to play a few lullabies for Finny.

We did run a few errands, like taking Finn to get his passport picture taken! Cutest passport picture ever!  While I'm sure it doesn't feel like they did that much, it's so nice to have someone to push the stroller, soothe a crying baby, and just do all of the other stuff (clean the kitchen, cook dinner, take out the trash, etc) that is hard when you have a six week old.

Getting your passport picture is exhausting

Finn celebrated his six week birthday with Nana and Grandpa and ever since then has been sleeping for longer amounts of time.  We've even had a few four hour stretches.  Fingers crossed the trend continues!

We did venture out for dinner a few nights.  Pizza on Friday nights is the norm, so we had pizza at the Italian restaurant at the end of the block.  It was the perfect night to sit outside!

And we spent Sunday afternoon doing a (very hot) boat tour on the Spree.  It was a great way to see the city from a different perspective and learn a few new facts.  Finn slept through his first boat tour, but I would expect nothing less.

We ended the week with burgers on the grill at home.  My parents were able to get in some last minute Finnegan snuggles, which was high priority.

Finn cracks me up in this one.  He looks like a little muscle man.

"Hey Nana! Don't leave! I love you!"

We headed to the airport this morning and bid a tearful goodbye.  It's never easy to say goodbye, but I think this time was extra hard. So tonight, as I finish the bottle of wine my mom and I cracked open last night and eye the ice cream my dad bought, I just keep reminding myself we have less than ten weeks left until our next reunion.  

Finn says "Wait! Where did Nana and Grandpa go? I like them!"

Hi! I'm New Here!

Finnegan Michael Hogan 

was born at 8:15am on Friday April 14th, 2017 weighing 7.05 lbs and 20.87 inches

Mike and I couldn't be happier to welcome a new member to our family.  

He's truly our biggest adventure yet!

Fast and the Furious 8 World Premiere

When we lived in Arlington, the seventh Fast and the Furious movie came out and, in preparation, Mike and his friends spent a Saturday watching all of the Fast and the Furious movies before going to see the new one. I think they all agreed that it wasn't going to win any Academy Awards, but their love for the series never wavered.

About a month ago, Mike found out that the Fast and the Furious 8 World Premiere would be taking place here in Berlin. You can imagine his excitement when we found out it would be open to the public via tickets and that Vin Diesel and Charlize Theron would be coming to walk the red carpet! Since we will probably never live in LA or New York where these premieres take place in the United States, this was our only chance to partake in a movie premiere and it didn't disappoint. Plus, we'd get to see the movie two weeks early, so it was a win/win.

We really had no idea what to expect.  We weren't even sure of what to wear. Do we dress up? What time do we get there? Is it going to be crowded?  We decided not to dress up, which was good because no one else was besides the celebrities and to get downtown around five to grab a quick dinner beforehand.  The doors opened at 6:30, but we were shocked to see a line already formed when we got off the metro at 5:00.  Add in the fact that it was pretty disorganized and our dinner at Vapiano's took for.ev.er. and we were far back in line.

We did end up getting in and getting a pretty good spot along the red carpet (after scoping out some of the cars they had on display), but it was a few rows behind people.  We aren't the tallest people, so this was a bummer, but we pushed our way as close as we could and ended up being able to see a few spots if we craned our necks. We were definitely taken aback by how many people were there!  I would say several hundred!

We made it inside!

 The premiere hosts made their debut around seven and then the celebrities followed shortly.  Luckily, they had a big screen TV that we could watch the interviews on, but we were also able to see almost everyone from a varying distance.  I really wanted Charlize Theron to rub my belly, but she didn't make it all the way around the carpet to our spot unfortunately.  Vin Diesel did though!! He walked right by us, shaved head, muscle t-shirt and all!

You see the blonde haired woman with the bare back? That's Charlize Theron!

The guy in the plaid suit is the director

And that bald head? Vin Diesel of course!

Oh hey Vin Diesel!

Shortly after the celebrities walked the red carpet, we headed inside to watch the movie.  It was originally scheduled for eight, but by the time everyone made their way inside, it was closer to nine. So much for German punctuality (Mike doesn't actually believe it's a thing.  I'm skeptical at best). 

Two hours, one submarine and lots of laughs later, we left happy and satisfied with our choice to attend the premiere.  We went in with extremely low expectations for the actual movie (have you seen the other seven?), but the movie was fun, the acting was....decent and there was a submarine doing completely unrealistic things, so what more could you ask for?  When we got home, I think we were both on a high from the whole experience because we just kept saying "that was SO cool!" There are definitely a few things we would change (getting there earlier being one) and I was beyond exhausted after standing for two hours, but it was totally worth it!  

One Last Pre-Baby Visitor

Mike's sister, Kelly, lives in London and it's been so fun having her an easy plane ride away the past two years because we've gotten to meet up with her and her husband a few times over the course of our Olmsted experience.   She started talking about coming to visit sometime this spring and we were on board, as long as it wasn't too close to Baby Maximus' due date.   I knew that this weekend might be cutting it a little close, but I also knew Kelly's visit would be a nice distraction if we were still waiting for the big debut.  Luckily, our little guy is nice and cozy and doesn't seem to want to make his appearance any time soon, so we got to enjoy a nice, long weekend with Kelly, although I'm sure she would have loved to have met her nephew!

One of the great things about Kelly's visit was that this was her third time in Berlin.  She had already done most of the touristy stuff, so we got to show her the local side of Berlin and what our daily life is like.   We love showing people around and always try to do new-to-us stuff when they visit, but it was a lot of fun just hanging out.  I realized as I was thinking about her visit that most of our ventures involved food or beer, but I guess that's pretty representative of our life right now.  I eat all the food.  Mike drinks all the beer.  Needless to say, I think he was happy to have a drinking buddy and I was happy to continue to eat all the food.

We went to the local food market for dinner on Thursday and then to a local bar, Hopfenreich that's nearby.  The food market is incredible because all of the street vendors and food trucks come together every Thursday and set up stands in a local warehouse.  We love getting a few different things to try and this time was no different.  We got dumplings, edamame and Mike got some koshery, all of which were delicious.

Friday night, we introduced Kelly to our favorite neighborhood bar, Muted Horn and our favorite card game, Phase 10.   The weather was so nice that we were able to walk to the bar and sit outside for a while before it go too dark, which was so nice.  Mike and I have been talking about how excited we are just to be able to walk places and sit outside and our dream finally came true.  Sitting outside playing Phase 10 was a dream.  Plus, by the end of the first round, Kelly was hooked!

The next day, we were up and out of the house by mid-morning for Das Brunch.  Das Brunch is a popup brunch event that takes place every couple of months at different locations around Berlin.  Mike and I went last fall and enjoyed the menu and the ambiance, so we were anxious to show Kelly how fun it was.  This month, the event was at an old moratorium, which sounds morbid which was actually beautiful...once you got over the cemetery in the backyard! We were excited and hungry.  Unfortunately, we arrived to extreme disorganization and didn't get seated for almost an hour.  It took another hour for us to get our food.  By the time we finished, we all agreed that it was a cool event in theory, but not worth the two hour wait.  Our food was savory and delicious though, so we can't complain TOO much!

We spent the rest of Saturday walking around, hanging out at BrewDog and grilling on our balcony for the first time this season!! Oh and of course, Phase 10. It was the perfect way to end the day! I see lots of weekend nights spent this way and I don't hate it!

Sunday morning, we took it easy.  I made pancakes and bacon and we all hung out for a while.  I wasn't feeling great and the thought of spending another entire day on my feet was daunting.  We did eventually make it out to Mauer Park, which has this HUGE flee market, so we walked around for a while scoping things out.  Berlin is huge on flee markets, but a lot of times, Mike and I feel like people are just cleaning out their closets. This market actually had good stuff that didn't look like was from someone's house. We didn't end up buying anything, but I would definitely go back and was a great place to spend the afternoon.  

Kelly had said that she wanted to try this restaurant Salt 'n Bone, which Mike and I had been to before and enjoyed, so we had reservations for Sunday night there and it didn't disappoint. Kelly and I both had the pulled pork slider while Mike got the fish and chips special.  The cool thing about Salt 'n Bone is that their menu tells you what beer to drink with each item.  I think Mike and Kelly enjoyed the beer, but the biggest hit was the mac 'n cheese.  Or maybe the french fries.  Both were devoured quickly and we walked away content. 

Monday came and went without anything exciting to report.  Kelly worked from home while Mike and I ran errands and went to the doctor.  We were sad to see her leave on Tuesday morning, but were thankful for her visit!  We're definitely going to miss being able to spend long weekends with her (and Sean!) when we head back to the States, but can't wait for one last celebration this summer at her wedding!!

PS I didn't take a lot of pictures this past weekend, but you can tell where my priorities lie by the few that I did take.  All the food pictures. All the time. 

Our Prenatal Class

I always knew that we would take some sort of prenatal class.  I wasn't sure how, but I knew we would do it.  I was looking for a class that would offer different breathing techniques, birthing positions, and just a general overview of the labor process, as well as what the first few hours and days with baby might look like. There are so many expats in Berlin and so much English is spoken that I figured it wouldn't be hard to find a class taught in English and I was right! I posted in an expat moms group on Facebook asking for recommendations and had a ton of suggestions.

The one we settled on, at Hebammerie, was taught in English (obviously a requirement for us!) and was from 10-5 one Saturday and Sunday.  They offer classes in German, as well, which are taught for a few hours once a week over the course of eight weeks.  It actually worked out better for us to have it all on one weekend because we didn't have to work around Mike's class schedule or our travel schedule.

We arrived on Saturday with no idea of what to expect.  I knew it was a group class, but didn't know how big, who the other participants were or really what would be taught in the class besides the basics.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a huge room with mats, birthing balls and a kitchen where the teacher was making tea and coffee.  I also wasn't sure if everyone would bring their spouse, but they did.  I'm sure Mike was glad to not be the only guy as we talked about cervixes, crowning, and post-partum recovery!

The class was led by a midwife who was probably in her 40s. The first day, we talked about the natural stages of labor, the different positions to try during labor and breathing techniques.  The second day focused more on pain management like epidurals, as well as what happens during a c-section. We also talked about the role other people (like the spouse) can play in delivery.

I thought it was extremely informative weekend and I think Mike agreed.  Knowing what to expect made us both feel much more prepared for the big day.  I was a little worried that it would be a little too "hippie" and pro-natural birth, but the midwife did a great job of presenting the pros and cons of both sides. Our only regret was that there wasn't a section on baby care, such as how to change a diaper or how to wrap a swaddle.  I'm sure that the hospital or the midwife can show us, but I think it would have been an easy addition to the class that would have made it even better. Overall, though, we have no regrets and are so glad we found this class.

And because I couldn't take a picture in the class, here's a picture of me as of Monday.  Feeling rather large and ready for this little guy to make his appearance!

Rachel Comes to Berlin!

Mike and I got invited to a wedding in South Africa for one week after my "no travel date."  South Africa has always been high on my list of places I wanted to visit.  I knew people who studied there in college and loved it.  The pictures I've seen only bumped it up higher on my bucket list, so I was pretty devastated when I realized that Mike would be going without me.

Around the same time Mike was booking his trip to South Africa, my friend Rachel reached out to me and said she was thinking of doing a European trip sometime in the spring.  I knew I would want a distraction for the week that Mike was gone, so when she asked for dates, I recommended the week that Mike was away.  It was also a little reassuring to have someone with me this late in the pregnancy, just in case something were to happen.  Luckily, it worked out well for Rachel and we planned for her to come and "babysit" me.   Plus, I got to spend a week with Rachel. :)

Rachel arrived late Sunday night, so we came back to our apartment and hung out before going to bed.  Monday morning, we took it easy and slept late, which I think Rachel appreciated. She came from the UK and it sounds like her itinerary was pretty full, so a day of sleeping in and recovering was much needed (at least I hope!). I had a doctor's appointment late that afternoon, but we had plenty of time to do our standard visitor's walking tour. It's such a great start to any visit to Berlin because it knocks off a lot of the sights that don't require going inside and can be done in about two hours. I had to leave after I gave the tour, but Rachel spent the rest of the afternoon at the Topography of Terror Museum reading about the Stassi and their effect on WWII.  I'm really bummed because the Topography of Terror used to have this great timeline of Hitler's actions and how they affected Germany and WWII.  It was outside, so I'm hoping they will bring it back once it gets a little bit warmer, but it was the best part of the Topography of Terror Museum by far.



Tuesday was an earlier start because we wanted to hit up two museums and grab lunch.  We started the morning at the German History Museum.  I had never been there, but Mike had and said it was worth it. They had an exhibit on German Colonialism that I thought was captivating because it was an area that I knew very little about. The permanent exhibit is also extremely engaging but be prepared to allot a whole afternoon or morning at this museum.  We didn't even make it to the WWII portion of the museum because we were both hungry at this point, plus the whole city is like a WWII exhibit.  We walked around Museum Island and down to the Hofbrauhaus Berlin, which is just a fun, Bavarian themed restaurant.  The Hofbrauhaus in Munich is iconic, but the one in Berlin is worth a visit if you aren't heading south.

Some music while we ate spaetzel.  Not pictured: the older couple dancing. 

After lunch, Rachel headed to the DDR Museum and I sat in a cafe and read my book.  The DDR Museum is one of my favorites and is perfect for almost everyone because it's interactive and gives such a great feel for what life in East Germany was like.  I've been two or three times and was feeling pretty tired, so I opted out this time, but Rachel agreed that it's worth a visit if you have time.  

Wednesday, we were up and out the door by mid-morning to make our first stop at the East Side Gallery.  

The most famous (and most crowded) painting at the East Side Gallery!

The East Side Gallery is such a fun stop and something that everyone can enjoy while still getting a little bit of history. The art is so diverse that everyone can find a piece they like and can relate to. After we explored the East Side Gallery, we headed to the Jewish Museum.  I hadn't been here and had kind of been saving it for when we had a visitor.  Having Rachel as my companion for this was perfect because she was able to provide personal anecdotes throughout the museum about her family's history or just how certain things (like pomegranates) are incorporated into Jewish culture. Even without Rachel, the museum would have been fantastic.  It's interactive enough to keep anyone, including children, engaged.  Maybe the best part of this museum is the layout.  There are three axes which symbolize the three paths of Jewish life in Germany- continuity in Germany history, emigration from Germany and the Holocaust.  It was so well done and Rachel and I were both impressed.

Holocaust tower in the Axis of the Holocaust.

Axis of exile.  Some of Rachel's family emigrated to Shanghai from Germany, so it was cool to see Shanghai featured!

Like I said, the Jewish Museum was so cool.  I think I've told Mike at least five times he needs to go. Plus, it's not huge, so it's doable in a couple of hours and isn't too overwhelming.

Thursday was Rachel's last full day in Berlin so we wanted to make sure to check a few things off of her sight seeing list.  Since we live so close to Tempelhof Field where the Berlin Airlift took place.  The runway that was built for the airlift is still there and now the entire field is a huge park where people can go and hang out. I had lots of visions of walking with Baby Maximus down the runways once we're ready to venture out.



We came back to our house for an early lunch before heading out to West Berlin for the afternoon.  Rachel had a few things to do on the outskirts of the city, the first being try to exchange some German Marks.  Pretty cool, right?  She had about $15 worth and had heard there was a bank that would give you euros for them. Unfortunately they were closed (possibly just for lunch), so that was a fail, but it was on our way.  Honestly, I think I'd just hang on to them because they're so cool.  

The next thing on our list was the cemetery where Rachel's great-grandfather is buried.  How cool, right?  We had some vague directions from Rachel's relatives and had researched where to go, but apparently we weren't quite right.  After a little bit of wandering around the cemetery looking for the Jewish section (I got really excited when we saw a gravestone with stones on top (a Jewish custom) only to see Josephine Marie buried next to it with a big cross on her gravestone...obviously not the Jewish section) and no success, we finally asked someone who told us we were in the wrong cemetery.  Luckily, he was able to direct Rachel to the correct one, so she decided to go back the next day.  

While discovering that we were in the wrong cemetery was disappointing, it wasn't a complete bust because it was located right next to the Olympic Stadium.  Hitler had this all built with the intention that this would become the permanent location of the Olympics, starting with the 1936 games. Rachel's grandfather was actually there! How cool!

The Olympic Bell that was destroyed during WWII.  Not pictured: the swastika on the other side. 

The stadium is a functioning stadium today and I think we both agreed it would have been better to just go see a soccer game there, instead of paying the 7 euros to get in, but it was still kind of cool to see.   By this point, I was exhausted. A week of sight seeing was catching up with me, so we headed home. Rachel packed a bit before we ventured out to an Austrian restaurant in our neighborhood so that Rachel could get one last "German" meal before she headed back to the United States. 

The next day, Mike's flight got in at 9:00, so I went to pick him up from the airport while Rachel headed back out to find the Jewish Cemetery. Luckily, she was successful this time!

Her solo stone on top.  So cool!

Afterwards, she did part of Rick Steve's walking tour to take in the city one last time before coming back to our apartment to pick up her bags.  Mike and I drove her to the airport and bid her farewell.  She was spending the night back in London before catching a noon flight back to DC the next day. I think we were both exhausted after such a fun week! Although it was sad to see her go, it won't be too long before the Hogans are back in the United States!

PS thanks to Rachel for all of these pictures! I didn't take my camera out once!