A Goodbye (& why you should visit Nuremberg!)

I cannot believe our time in Nuremberg has come to an end. This city will always hold such a special place in our hearts. This was the first big adventure of our marriage. We made a big move together, away from all family, friends and took a leap. A leap into a new country, a new culture and away from our "norm". And it was wonderful, Robert and I know this was the place God called us to be for these nine months. It is nine months we are so grateful for. Rob and I were talking the other day about how we will never forget our time here- it was our home for most of our first year of marriage. This is the place where we learned a lot, fought a lot, laughed a whole lot and fell more in love. A time of growing and a time that will forever be in our hearts.

We were shown so much love by many wonderful people here. We are so grateful to God for placing special people in our lives in this place, sweet friendships that will last a lifetime. Nuremberg, we sure will miss you.

I really think Nuremberg is such a special place (obviously) and I think it is a must visit on an European adventure! There is so much history, beauty and fun here in this charming city. Thinking of coming to Europe? Here are 5 reasons why I think Nuremberg should be added to your list.

1. Christmas Market
Nuremberg, in my opinion, has the absolute best Christmas Market. The Market takes place in December in downtown Nuremberg. You can walk through rows and rows of stalls filled with beautiful items, amazing souvenirs and delicious food. As you walk with your hot cup of Gluwein (hot wine) in hand, you will be surrounded by the sound of carolers and surrounded by the sweet smell of gingerbread, crepes and waffles. It is an experience not to be missed. You will leave with the perfect German souvenirs, full bellies and a happy, happy heart.

2. Rally Grounds
Let's talk about history. During Hitler's time of power, Nuremberg was a frequent visit for him. This is the place were he set up his rally grounds. And by set up, I mean he had architects spend years building structure after structure for him to gather with his supporters. It is very chilling and very informative to walk where he walked and learn about his time in power. It really is unbelievable. There are multiple stops to see. Start at the Documentation Center and they will help you map out your route. You can either walk the path or rent bikes and bike to each place. Just plan on a full afternoon or morning. The rally grounds are a must see and an experience you will never forget.

3. Downtown (Altstadt)
Lots of European cities have a downtown area. This is the area where lots of restaurants, shopping and history is situated. Nuremberg is no exception. Go downtown and be ready to be blown away with the beauty and to have a super fun day. During Christmas, this is where the Christmas Markets take place and even when it is not Christmas, there are frequently markets going on and almost daily there are stands set up with German specialty foods, fresh fruits and handmade items. Every season of the year, there are multiple churches you can step inside and stand in awe of their beauty. Keep walking and you will run into the castle at the top of the hill. Walk some more and you will run into tons of great shopping, cute local stores as well as big department stores. There are restaurants all over downtown, gelato stands at almost every corner as well as plenty of bakeries. Hungry yet? Don't miss traditional German cuisine at Goldenes Posthorn, yummy sandwiches (especially the salami sandwich) and pastries at Der Beck and delicious gelato at La Gelateria 4D.  Downtown is where you will spend most of your time in Nuremberg and it is perfection in my opinion. Tons of beauty, plenty of delicious food and lots of fun. Just remember if you go on a Sunday, it will be pretty quiet and all shops will be closed.

4. Nurembergers
That is right Nurembergers- the Nuremberg burger. They sell these babies in stands all over downtown and man I am in love. It is 3 little sausages placed on fresh bread and (my preference) topped with mustard. Famous in Nuremberg and something that needs to be in your belly. And I can't talk about food without mentioning their ahhh-mazing pretzels.You can order them at almost any restaurant, but my favorite way to enjoy a pretzel? Treat yourself to an afternoon snack from a stand downtown. And no, no not just a normal pretzel but a pretzel sliced in half with butter in the middle-yes butter.

5. Surrounding Towns
One of the huge perks of Nuremberg is that it is close to so many cute German towns. So! Enjoy a couple of nights in wonderful Nuremberg and then stop into some very charming Bavarian towns for a few hours. You will be blown away with charm. Our favorites? Bamberg and Rothenburg. Bonus! Not only is it close to charming small towns but it is also close to Munich which is a beautiful city and then right outside of Munich there is Dachau Concentration Camp. Another very chilling and eye-opening experience, a visit that will change your life. Basically, Nuremberg is in an outstanding location. So many places around this area to see.

 And there ya have it! I hope I convinced you. Visit Nuremberg and you are sure to have a great time.

Goodbye, Nuremberg. Thanks for lots of great memories!

(Now I must prepare...to go hug lots of necks...ahhhh!!)

 Linking up with the wonderful Five on Friday ladies.

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Life in Germany: An Apartment Tour

I decided to start a little series title "Life in Germany". It is just a chance for me to share what our day to day looks like here. A couple weeks ago I wrote about Life in Germany: A Day in the Life, a look into what exactly happens in the Lewandowski household on a regular day! I have plans to share about little things such as a trip to the grocery store, a Saturday in Nuremberg (so fun!), the difference between Germany and Texas and so on! So that gives you a little idea of what to look forward to! I think it will be fun to share and I will be so glad years from now that I documented all these little things!

So today I want to share with you our humble abode!

(how cute is this print?) 

For the next few years we will not "settle" down in one place, we will probably be somewhere new each year. All of our fabulous wedding gifts we received are safe and sound in storage back in Texas. I tell ya when we move back to the states in a few years, it will be like Christmas opening up all those gifts again!

So for now we brought with us just the necessities (what could fit in a suitcase)...clothes, shoes, beauty products, a few pictures and that is about it! Since we are only here for 9 months (we will head back to the states at the end of May for a few months and then head back over seas for another season around August, we have no idea where though) we didn't want to put a lot of money into decorating but wanted our apartment to feel like home! The team is so great and provided us with kitchen items, all furniture...the big stuff! We just bought a few things like a quilt, pillows and a few decorative items and that's about it! First stop...the kitchen!

Look at that covered fridge! We still have a few Christmas Cards up...they make me so happy! And can I just say Instagram Magnets are the best.

And that is our washer squeezed between the oven/stove and sink there. No dryer, which I really don't miss. Except for sheet cleaning days...sheets take foreverrr to dry! Now onto the hallway...so exciting, I know!

 I am taking the picture right from where our front door is. Now lets walk a little further and we will run into the bathroom on the right...

 The white thing on the wall is a heater! We have one in the kitchen, bathroom and living room. And man does it heat our place up quick.

Next up, the living room...

We did buy a lamp for the living room and our bedroom. I know it sounds silly, but lamps to me make a house so much more "homey". I love the light they put off! Oh and I spy...Robert, also know as the master of bed making.

This is the room where we throw (a really comfy) air mattress on the floor and it quickly transforms into the guest bedroom! It has worked great with all our guests, very cozy :)

Plenty of card games and Settlers (best board game ever) have been played on this table.

Last stop...the bedroom!

Built in closet/shelves for our clothes to the right and where our clothes dry to the left!

And there ya have it! A tour of our cozy apartment. Not extravagantly decorated but simple and more than we need. We are so grateful for this place...it is perfect to us and for this time in our life. It has become our home and haven and we just love it here. We have a few more months left in this place and when we do leave we will always remember this home and all the memories made here during our first year of marriage!

Life in Germany: A day in the Life

I get this one question a lot from friends and family...What do you do every day? So I thought I would explain about this rare and crazy daily life we live.

We, Robert and I, are living a very unique and different life. One we have never lived before and one we will probably never live again after basketball. You see I don't have a job (it's kinda vital to speak German to be a nurse in Germany, go figure). We plan to live overseas for a few more years (exact and where we do not know) and hopefully some years a job opportunity for me will present itself. But for right now I am enjoying my role as a stay at home wife:) We don't have kids, Robert has practice just once (maybe twice) a day, we don't have pets...all those things that keep life busy are pretty much absent from our life at this point. So that arises the question again...what do we do every day?

Well we eat and sleep. That is it. Have a great day!

Hehe I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Sort of:) Like I said we are living a very unique and "rare" daily life right now. Here is what happens on a normal day in the Lewandowski household...we sleep in late, we go workout at the gym, come home and eat lunch, do bible study, watch a movie, lots of days consist of a nap, eat dinner, Rob heads to practice, I catch up on girly shows, do my devotional, blog, plan travels, facetime friends and family, then rob gets home and we stay up late playing board games or watching TV and talking. Of course not every day is like this. There are days obviously when Rob has a game, days when we spend the afternoon downtown walking around/running errands or days when we hangout with friends or weeks when we have wonderful visitors.

Yep, I know what you are thinking. We are bums.
(well not as much rob since he works his booty off every day)

And I sure feel like it! If you can't tell. That is why I feel like I have to explain myself! I went from being in nursing school full time while having a job while planning a wedding while babysitting, to working nights while being a newlywed while studying for my NCLEX while being constantly exhausted. This life never included naps and rarely included down time. And the exact same was for Rob with being a full time athlete and student in college. We were busy. Just like everyone else. And it was a great life. 

And now. Well as you can see it is different. Very different. Sometimes I feel guilty, sometimes I feel too lazy. But even though we do not have lots to do, we still try to be productive by working out, spending time with God and the word, cooking dinner, ect. We try to not "lazy" the day away:)

Something I will always remember is some great advice we received before we left...Enjoy it. Enjoy this downtime. Enjoy.

We went on to talk about how one day we will move back to the states and have "normal" lives again. One day we will both have full time jobs, one day we will have babies, one day we will have teenagers, one day we will have lots going on. And there will be no naps, no spending almost every hour of the day together, no sleeping in. And those will be great days, I can't wait for those days to have a family and crazy life. But for right now I will enjoy this "unusual" life. Because I know I will miss it. I will soak up the time I get to spend with my husband. I will soak up how rested I am, one that I rarely experienced during school and working nights and one I know I will rarely experience again when we start a family one day.

We understand what an unusual life this is. And we will take the advice and enjoy, we will embrace it!

And now a few every day pictures to help explain this "important" life we live:) You have seen plenty of our exploring, pretty pictures so now a few "every day" phone pictures...

Enjoying a little errand running...

Plenty of naps...

 

Take embarrassing pictures of one another...

And Facetime lots...

And there ya have it! Hopefully these very grainy pictures gave you a better look in and a good giggle:) 

I hope you all have a great Tuesday!