So long, Farewell, Auf wiedersehen, goodbye!

After 10 days (and almost a month's worth of blogging), it was time to say auf wiedersehen to Patrick and Karrie. It was so much fun to have them in Germany and explore Brussels together! But we are family, which means sometimes - after extended time together - our pictures go from this:

to this: 

But despite the angry faces, I always enjoy Patrick's visits! And thus, the Great Belgian Adventure was brought to an end and I made my way home with no more visitors in tow. In fact, I have no more visitors scheduled yet till my future husband comes in late June - but more on that later! 

How do you keep your brother happy?

Give him ice cream, of course.

lots and lots of ice cream! 

and if that doesn't work. Get him a waffle.

all good times must come to an end

And my mom and grandma's visit came to an end much too quickly! I had so much fun with the two of them here. It was great to be able to share my life in Germany with them, show them the things I do everyday and where I live. I loved playing cards every night and walking to the bakery together every morning. We all had a really great time, made some really great memories that week! So as a final das Blog farewell to them, here are some final pictures - some of my favorites - from their trip. 

with a Dortmund flying rhino || on the train || enjoying some beers in the Altermarkt

Playing cards || all three of us || outside the Reinoldikirche 

filming on the Deutzerbrücke || first view of the cathedral in Cologne || looking at the locks on Rhine

the most expensive Farkle machine

My mom has had an iPad for about a year. She loves the thing and, I have to admit, she's pretty proficient on it for her age generation. So, to prepare for their big international journey, my mom hooked my Grandma up with an iPad also. 

Considering my grandma has never even owned a computer, I was pretty impressed with how quickly she took to it. And throughout their visit, it wasn't unusual to walk in on sights like this before these two went to bed. 

Of course, since my grandma doesn't have internet or a need for email or anything like that, most those features are all lost on her. So in the end, she pretty much owns one expensive Farkle machine (she also really likes "those Angry Birds").  

It also inspired my next entrepreneurial endeavor: 

Emily's iPad Instruction for the Elderly

The three Bs

When visiting Germany, there are three things you definitely have to enjoy: Beer, bratwurst, and bakeries. 
  
While my mom and Grandma were here last week, we made sure to get our fill of all three! 
  
Beer is kind of an obvious choice while visiting Germany. But hey, stereotypes and cliches become stereotypes and cliches for a reason, right?

We tried Kölsch while in Cologne and some Altbier while in Düsseldorf. Beer became a staple of all our restaurant experiences. 

Bratwurst was the one of the top priority items on Pam's list of things to relive from her German glory days. And I'd have to say, seeing her face light up like a kid's on Christmas when she got that bratwurst in a brötchen topped with mustard, was definitely worth it (especially to witness the ensuing victory dance). 

 I also made them expand their wurst repertoire and try currywurst! I'd say it was a success.

Finally there were all the bakeries. Trust me when I say we couldn't make a day without our trips to the bakery. I know bakery isn't really up there on the list of German stereotypes with beer and bratwurst. But for anyone who's spent any length of time in this country will tell you that there is nothing anywhere that compares to a German bakery. 

We never came home without our daily picks from the bakery. By the end, our collection was a little out of control, but it was all just so delicious! 

(please note, this picture was taken after we were done chowing down)

So if you ever make it out to Germany, with seals of approval from my mom and grandma, don't forget to try the essential three Bs: Beer, Bratwurst, and Bakeries. 

Honey badger don't give a shit

Again, I must begin with an apology for going MIA for so long. But with the visit from my mom and grandma last week, there was no time for such distractions! 

Of course, we did have time for a few other distractions. On the first night of their visit - between games (a lot of this and this were played) we got caught up doing some youtube sharing. I'm not really sure how it started, but eventually we watched the following two videos: 

If you have not seen one or both of these videos, I suggest you watch them right now. If you have already seen them, I suggest you watch them again to enrich your life a little bit more. 

As a result, their entire trip was riddled with responses such as "honey badger don't give a shit," "thanks stupid," and "that's nasty." The week was filled with outbursts of "ALLEN!" and "STEVE!" and "nighttime! daytime!"

If nothing else, that just might give you a bit of an idea about my family and how cool we are, for those of you who had not had the pleasure of meeting them. 

The whole week was so much fun! It was great to get to show my new home to my mom and grandma as well as just be able to spend time with them! There is so much to tell about the week that I don't even know where to begin....

So if you'll allow me one more day to collect my thoughts, I'll begin with the real treasures of the visit tomorrow. Until then, watch, rewatch, and show all your friends those videos [again, as the case may be].

3 generations of awesome

I feel like that title is one for Barney Stinson, but that doesn't make it any less true.

Exactly one week from today, Germany will be rocked by the presence of 3 generations of Gallo/Gauld women. You heard me correctly, world. For my mom, it will be her first return to the Fatherland since her small stint as an expat in the 70s. So for those of you keeping score at home, my mom and I have much more in common than just our good looks...

For my Grandma, this will be her first ever trip outside the US (aside from Canada, but that hardly counts)!


Words cannot describe my excitement - Germany is not going to know what hit it! 

twins or strangers?

Andrea and I are only 11 months apart in age, so for one month out of the year we are twins, and I think that makes people assume that we'll actually look like twins. Of course, when I warn people that I look nothing like her (or anyone in my family, for that matter), they tend to think I'm just exaggerating. But when Andrea came to visit, everyone got to see first hand. 

When people finally see us together, I always get one of two reactions: "you guys are sisters?!?!" or "well, you have the same chin." Seriously, we've been told the chin thing on more than one occasion. I didn't even know chins had very distinguishable characteristics. 

So here are some of our best shots from Andrea's visit. What do you think? Total strangers or clearly twins? Or maybe we just have the same chin... 

I'm just so lucky...

...to have a brother who sends me new headphones because of this post. 

And it was this generous act of kindness (and definitely not the repeated emails I kept getting after this post) that moved me to proclaim to the internet just how awesome my brother is! 

oh, and yes, we usually do have that holy glow behind us when we're in pictures. 

drug habits.

If you know me very well, you know that I'm not a big medicine taker. It's not really because I have something against taking medicine, I just 1. don't get sick very often and 2. never seem to remember that some quick tylenol would be a great way to beat that headache.

The irony of me and my lack of drug use, of course, is that my sister, on the other hand, is a pharmacist. 

If ever I do find myself in need of drugs (or any other medical attention, really), I always consult the my pharmacist first. And for being on a completely different continent, you would not believe how many calls and emails I still put in on drug-related business. 

Being able to go over every little detail of the drugs I'm looking for makes days like today - my first ever trip to a German pharmacy - a little less stressful. 

Thank goodness for sisters that are pharmacists.