Visiting our Au Pair's Family

***Au Pair love – The boys excited to be in the local playground with Lovis!***

After our two days in Hamburg we traveled by car to Minden! There we were welcomed by Lovis's family! Her mom, dad, brother and his fiancé were all waiting for us to arrive! It was surreal to finally see the home that "made" Lovis and to see where she grew up. I only knew Lovis as our mature, loving au pair - and now I got to see what her childhood was all about! I heard such wonderful things about their neighborhood, evening walks as a family, the excellent local ice cream shop, the playground close by, and more!

***Mom’s turn on the playground… never grow up!***

The first thing we did was run the kids to the playground so they could let off some energy stored up from the car ride. It was so sweet, complete with a slide, swings, and teeter totter! The boys loved it and spend many hours there over the course of our stay!

***Au Pair = Family! So great to meet them all in Germany!***

***Climbing all the stairs at the Emperor William Kaiser Monument!***

***Deep in the river way locks! So cool!***

We were surrounded with love, food, and "Good German Breakfast!" Our first evening we had baked pork, cabbage, spätzle, salad and too many delicious side dishes to name. We talked, laughed and caught up with her family. They told us about how they learned English, their work, their hobbies, and their community. It was a enjoyable night and it went by fast. The boys snuggled into their rooms. It was cute to see that Lovis ended up sleeping in the same room as Drew overnight. He snuggled up on the floor near her bed - more bonding time and nice to have a familiar face when you wake up in a new home!

***Old Town Minden waiting for the clock to dance with two tired toddlers…***

***Family photo after our Flour Mill tour! (in German, we didn’t learn too much!)***

***Flour Mill, powered by the river and still generating flour for tourists!***

The next day was Father's Day in Germany and we we observed the interesting Germany tradition of Father's Day - where all the men bring out a wagon of beer and walk about the city until the final meeting point. All the fathers and beer wagons throughout the town were meeting at the beach for a final celebratory beer fest! Haha! Paul and I were so impressed and confused all at the same time! Drinking in public is no big deal in Germany and the crowds were friendly! On Father's Day we walked around the town like all good tourists, and went on a boat cruise to view the impressive water locks. Minden has many rivers and water intersections. We even saw a famous water bridge that was damaged in the war and later repaired - the history was impressive!

***Loving our time on the boat tour seeing the city of Minden by boat!***

***Overseas family! Our awesome German Breakfast!***

***Enjoying Ice Cream at Lovis’ House! As good as she said it would be!***

That evening we were able to experience the famous Raclette table grill that we heard about from Lovis! This is a special occasion meal. We all sat around the table and cooked our own delicious mixtures of ingredients, veggies and of course, cheese! It was really fun to cook together, and I see why it's so popular for a special occasion family dinner. What a cool idea - I think Raclette's are starting to become more popular in the US. When we originally looked on Amazon with Lovis there were only a few options - now there are many!

***Our Hatchlings at the Dinosaur Park!***

***Brotherly love at the Dinosaur Park!***

The next day our hosts had more adventures planned! We drove to a nearby Dinosaur Park near Minden. I now realized why Lovis laughed when we went to our zoo's dinosaur exhibit and the dinosaur footprints in Denver - they both paled in comparison! The German Dinosaur park was full of replicas hidden in the woods in habitats. It had playgrounds, real dinosaur fossils and fossilized foot prints on display. We were taken on a journey through time up to the Ice Age! It had an activity center at the end where you could dig fossils and wild create things with your imagination. The activity center was also integrated into a beer garden, in true German fashion. The dinosaur park was a hit - and I'm not sure why they're not taking over the USA?!

***Zip lining through the IceAge at the Dinosaur park!***

***More local Minden Ice Cream! Drew was not given the ice cream the credit it needed!***

Our last evening in Minden was full of backyard grilling and BBQ. I guess the love between men and BBQs/grilling has no cultural boundaries! The food was excellent and it was a great way to relax after a few busy days! (especially because I was only eating and not tending to the fire!)

***Men sure do love their grilling – it was delicious!***

We loved our visit to Minden, seeing the community that Lovis grew up in and meeting her family! It was such an amazing experience - and one that we can attribute directly to our decision to host an au pair and open our home! Cannot wait to meet up again! Maybe in Chicago!