What a Year it's Been! Farewell, 2013!

Oh, what treasures my eyes have seen this year! What incredible journeys I've been on! What fond memories I've created! 2013 was an astounding year. Here's a little of what I did this year:

I won NaNoWriMo.

I learned to paint on canvas.

We visited two zoos in two countries: Nuremberg, Germany and Vienna, Austria.

We attended the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival.

We saw original van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Manet, and more at the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.

We went to the original, real, Oktoberfest in Munich!

I had my first German beer the day we went to Oktoberfest. I drank this beer at the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich.

I fell in love with Vienna, Austria.

I saw the Lippazaner Stallions perform at the Spanish Riding School.

I attended my first classical concert.

I ate at the famous Sacher Hotel.

We went to France, twice.

Colmar:

Eguisheim:

Strasbourg:

 I bought a baguette from a French bakery in France, in French.

I ate my first macaron in France, in a French bakery. I ordered them in French.

We fed monkeys popcorn by hand, face-to-face. It was the coolest experience I've ever had.

I've driven in four countries. And I have three driver's licences.

I went to Prague, Czech Repuplic...twice.

 

I fell in love with Munich.

I went to my first Justin Bieber concert with my oldest daughter. It was a major surprise for her birthday present. We had standing at the stage tickets.

We visited Nuremburg, Germany, the home of the Nazi war crimes tribunal, and I cried like a baby, overcome with emotion in courtroom 600.

I made a Ghast pinata and assembled a pretty cool Minecraft birthday party.

We visited Regensburg, Germany and ate at the oldest bratwurst stand, and road a riverboat on the "Blue Danube" to see Walhalla.

I grew food from seeds.

I visited castles ruins regularly, trapsing in and out casually.

We went to five Christmas markets!

Bayreuth

  

Amberg

Velburg

Schloss Guteneck

Rothenburg

We went to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles in the Bavarian Alps.

We visited Einstein's childhood hometown, and had a lightbulb moment when we realized his name means one stone in German.

I learned how to type € on a computer (hold Alt and type 0128, then let go of Alt)

I renovated my grandmother's wrought iron patio furniture.

I attended my first German wedding. They're, like, 12+hour-long affairs, and lots of fun.

I drove on the German Autobahn on a weekly basis. No sweat.

I've stood on the grounds of two concentration camps. It is as somber as you'd imagine.

I learned to speak basic, fluent, survival German. I wouldn't say I'm good at it, but I can shop anywhere, buy anything, get help I need, find my way, order in a restaurant, and hold a basic conversation in German.


...and this isn't everything I've done over the past year.

To conclude: I have a freaking fabulous life.

2014, you've got a tough act to follow, but it's going to be fun!