tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82943766605807526892012-01-30T21:24:34.742+01:00(til rockin' it out goes wrong)Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.comBlogger2111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-32425086237590220232012-01-30T21:24:00.001+01:002012-01-30T21:24:34.751+01:00

Welcome to Lyon, France!  I'm thinking it means "lion" in French - I dunno. We stopped through this little gem for a day on the way back to Frankfurt after skiing in les Menuires.  The tour was short and sweet as we visited a couple of churches, walked through the old town which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and took a gander at some old Roman ruins. Basilica of Notre

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-1892538465457927942012-01-28T10:23:00.002+01:002012-01-28T10:23:29.832+01:00

To finish out our "hot and cold" combo this Christmas we ventured over to the French Alps to supposedly the largest ski area in the world:  les 3 Vallees (the three valleys).  The Three Valleys is exactly what it sounds like, but it includes 4-5 ski areas that are all in cahoots.  We flew to Lyon and took a 2.5 hour train ride to the base of the mountains before taking a 1-hr bus ride up to our

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-72927980213007019622012-01-14T16:49:00.000+01:002012-01-14T16:49:03.253+01:00

After a long drive north from the Sahara desert we made it to the final destination on our trip........the city of Fez - yeah, like the funny little hat that the Shriners wear. We had a jam-packed day of exploring the city with the help of a local guide who walked us through the bustling market and took us around a few artisan shops to check out the local handcrafts.  Fez is old.............like

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-66833158679151571662012-01-02T11:56:00.000+01:002012-01-23T21:52:23.037+01:00

As you know we have been fans of our local soccer team, Eintracht Frankfurt, since the beginning and we make it to a game or two every year. But this year we have more reason to be fans of the team...... one of our friends plays for the team now! One of my volleyball comrades from Orange County married a soccer player and they have been traveling around Germany for the past few years and he has

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-2894056238952236882011-12-19T09:00:00.000+01:002011-12-19T18:45:08.533+01:00

     If you've been reading this with any regularity then you know that we love to go to Christmas Markets this time of year.  We try to make a trip out to at least one major city each year to find something different and this year we decided to head down to the beautiful city of Salzburg, Austria.  This town is most famous for "The Sound of Music", which was both filmed there and inspired by

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-21537814430042245742011-12-17T18:38:00.000+01:002011-12-17T19:37:18.307+01:00

The weekend after Portugal I headed down to Dresden for our school's annual volleyball tournament. Yes, I coach our girls volleyball team.  Let me make one thing clear.........it is nothing like the States, but the girls are great to work with.  Besides the volleyball, the highlight of the weekend was the opening of the Dresden Christmas Market(s). Not only did their main Christmas market rock

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-67335278216401395292011-12-07T19:36:00.001+01:002011-12-13T20:40:29.884+01:00

     Once Marisa found out that she would be in Lisbon for a girls' weekend I couldn't stand the thought of spending that weekend at home in Frankfurt.  I immediately thought of possible short weekend trips to take in order to avoid missing out on the fun.  I convinced my friend Andy to join me for a "guys" weekend to rival the girls' weekend and we came up with the port city of Hamburg - about 4

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-42434124739949475952011-12-05T21:31:00.001+01:002011-12-05T22:18:50.667+01:00

I might work in education, but even we get some perks. One of those perks is my annual college counselor and university admissions conference. You might remember the location last year and this year was also a gem.  We headed to sunny and warm Lisbon, Portugal.  Justin and I visited this town last Fall Break and I fell in love with Lisbon and I was very excited to go back.  After working hard

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-7683252814674360262011-11-30T14:10:00.001+01:002011-11-30T21:40:48.485+01:00

Some of you might be wondering why hasn't Marisa been writing any blogs lately (or you haven't noticed) but the reason is I am back in school people.  I started my master's degree back in August and since then my nose is either in a textbook or writing a paper on my computer. So as you can imagine the last thing I want to do is write some more.  I am studying to get my Master's of Education in

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-730799300391121822011-11-17T19:07:00.001+01:002011-11-29T21:49:10.604+01:00

While Halloween and trick-or-treating definitely exists in Germany, it doesn't seem to be quite as big of a deal as in the States.  We don't usually do much on this holiday anyways, but this year we ended up going over to two of our friends' places for a dinner, scary movie, and pumpkin carving.      The meal was an impressive rolled, stuffed slice of meat along with a homemade mushroom soup. 

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-53303486451493178342011-11-15T20:35:00.001+01:002011-11-15T21:26:06.493+01:00

     The last town that we visited in Andalucia was the quaint little town of Ronda.  Situated on a little plateau over a beautiful gorge, this little gem is known for being one of the first major bullfighting towns.  It was also immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls", in which the Republicans murder Nationalist sympathizers by throwing them off of the cliff that surrounds

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-76166560459363637542011-11-10T19:43:00.002+01:002011-11-10T19:43:39.254+01:00

     Easily the most anticipated city on our trip was Granada.  Another Moorish-influenced town in Andalucia, Granada, is home to the last Moorish fortress/palace standing before the Spanish reclaimed the region as its own - La Alhambra!!  It's a crazy-busy hotspot year-round and unfortunately we didn't think to reserve tickets ahead of time.  Marisa had to call the ticket office a few times,

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-68459416427566608052011-11-09T20:32:00.000+01:002011-11-09T20:32:23.003+01:00

The next trip took about 2.5 hours of driving through windy mountainous roads to land us in the beautiful city of Sevilla (sometimes spelled "Seville" by the British).  Sevilla is known for its popular bullfighting ring, it's huge cathedral built on the site of a former mosque during the Reconquering, and a Moorish palace called "Alcazar".  As it turns out, it's also the home of the original "Don

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-868211641156326032011-10-31T21:46:00.000+01:002011-10-31T21:46:28.985+01:00

     While it might seem odd to kick off a blog series on our Fall Break in Spain with a territory claimed by the United Kingdom, you're absolutely correct.  In order to keep our trip together, however, I have no choice but to lead off with it.  So without further adieu.......      Marisa and I loved our time in Portugal last Fall so much that we vowed to return to a similar latitude this year. 

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-28829793014054888322011-10-29T14:55:00.000+02:002011-10-29T14:55:01.179+02:00

I have come to realize I love Fall. Coming from California I don't think I was truly able to appreciate this season. Don't get me wrong we had all the Fall themed decorations and of course pumpkin pie, but my wardrobe was not packed with jackets and scarves. Living in Georgia I began to realize the awesomeness that is Fall especially with tailgates and college football. And let's not forget Fall

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-57209229706968582052011-10-24T20:27:00.001+02:002011-10-24T20:27:51.618+02:00

     This will be a quick one before we put up a series of posts about our Fall break in Spain.  So last year one of my Australian co-workers was telling me about this great sandwich meat that he buys on a weekly basis from the Penny Markt.  It's a seasoned turkey breast, and I'll explain the reasoning for the name in a second but here is the wonderful product that blew him away:     

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-61132140318106495052011-10-05T23:08:00.001+02:002011-10-05T23:08:15.983+02:00

So, another Fall is upon us and with it brings the much-anticipated Oktoberfest celebration in Germany.  While Munich is the only "real deal" there is no shortage of spirit throughout the country.  In our first year we made the trip down to Munich.  Last year we went to Stuttgart for Volksfest and Frankfurt's Oktoberfest.  This year we kept it local and went with a colleague to his soccer club's

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-19826538962869290572011-10-03T12:06:00.000+02:002011-10-03T12:06:24.824+02:00

This post is very late, but we took some beautiful pictures so I wanted to share.  After the crazy traveling in the summer we decided to stay in Frankfurt the week before we went back to work.  It turned out to be a great decision. We finally made it to the Botanical garden, or Palmgarten as they call it here, in Frankfurt after two years.  It was a sunny afternoon and we headed over for a few

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-54470069355967129372011-09-19T21:23:00.003+02:002011-09-24T15:12:55.790+02:00

Each year our school sends a few teachers out for a weekend with the 12th grade students on a bonding trip. In an effort to build community and start the year off right our students spent a weekend in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the border of Austria in the German Alps. Marisa and I chaperoned the trip, along with a few other co-workers. Despite the six-hour bus ride we had an amazing weekend

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-21086788248750510852011-09-18T10:32:00.000+02:002011-09-18T18:52:17.296+02:00

Since moving to Germany my recipe repertoire has grow substantially. Who knew that with two burners and a toaster oven that could happen. One area of cooking that has been on the decline since moving here was my baking. I was afraid that cakes wouldn't cook through and I would have burnt tops and gooey middles. But after making a few cakes and some cupcakes I realized that the toaster oven works

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-3063188756981953062011-09-15T17:55:00.003+02:002011-09-17T08:50:54.784+02:00

Marisa and I have been completely blessed with great friends here in Frankfurt with all kinds of talent and from all parts of the world. Our Scottish friends Craig and Katie are two such amazing people who never cease to blow us away with their artistic gifts. While they never boast about these abilities, occasionally we catch wind of little side projects that they're taking on that we would

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-69603347085710446112011-09-08T18:14:00.001+02:002011-09-08T18:14:38.994+02:00

Every summer I look forward to the time off, the traveling and the warm(er) weather like anyone else. As a teacher I am especially thankful for the time to read some literature or new fiction and not think about my subject for a few weeks. Last summer I got into Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and this year I was looking for a real page-turner. After hearing several good reviews from co-workers

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-83452540894048265482011-09-05T18:55:00.000+02:002011-09-18T18:56:22.087+02:00

Berlin is a fascinating European city with a unique history and an ever-changing appearance. When I last visited in 2004, I recall the city being kind of run down and dirty and very different from most other German cities. This time I came across a massive city that portrayed itself as a cleaner, more modern city that is so sparsely populated that it never felt crowded. Having 50 years or so

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-2734728450920653362011-09-04T14:16:00.000+02:002011-09-04T14:16:08.110+02:00

In 2004 when I studied abroad in Germany I was living mostly in the town of Weimar in the former East Germany, or the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR). Since we were in the eastern part of the country anyways we took several long weekend trips to major cities in eastern Germany such as Erfurt, Dresden and Berlin. Since living in Germany we hadn't taken any return visits to these places and

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-12548996002701653062011-09-03T09:39:00.001+02:002011-09-03T09:39:22.140+02:00

After a whirlwind tour of County Kerry we headed up to the town of Doolin in County Clare. This was a small town right on the coast. From there we made trips to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Driving through the countryside you run across really neat church ruins and cemeteries all over. There were tons of walls separating who knows what, but they were awesome. Look at that! Someone

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-54651918733544745392011-08-28T22:00:00.000+02:002011-08-28T22:00:53.555+02:00

After our lovely time in Kinsale we headed to a town south of Killarney called Kenmare. Kenmare is a cute town, but really this was our jumping off point for other places. Ring of Kerry Staying in Kenmare put us right on the Ring of Kerry without the craziness of Killarney tourism. Join us along the drive and see what the hype is all about. If you want to do it for yourself just pick up the

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-22049689340781443082011-08-21T16:07:00.002+02:002011-08-21T18:24:54.626+02:00

With the limited time that we're in Europe and all of the places that we have yet to see, why would we visit Ireland for a third time in two years? The answer, quite simply, is that we hadn't seen the best part yet. This series of blog posts fill feature our week-long excursion to the Southwest and West regions of Ireland covering four Counties that I will dub the "All-County" Team: County

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-72012442602064835342011-08-18T10:42:00.000+02:002011-08-18T10:42:53.364+02:00

After our adventures in the beautiful Highlands we hit up two great cities: St. Andrews and Edinburgh. I have to say that I loved Scotland. My view might be a little skewed since we had amazing weather, but I really loved this country. From the people, the landscapes and the overall culture, the Scots had so much pride in their country and it was a great spirit to be around. We stopped in St.

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-90264093038482563522011-08-16T17:25:00.000+02:002011-08-16T17:25:55.524+02:00

Scotland is an amazing place with a wonderful balance of picturesque landscapes and culture-filled cities. We spent a week there, breaking it up into a few days in the Highlands and a few days in Edinburgh. We were really excited to visit Scotland since some of our best friends in Frankfurt hail from there and have talked it up immensely. In this post I'll share some of our pics from the

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-33034688538583387472011-08-14T12:59:00.000+02:002011-08-14T12:59:23.619+02:00

After a month of traveling all over Europe with family and friends we are finally back in Frankfurt to write about it all. So please give me the next week to catch up on everyone else's blogs too. To close out the trip with the Brazell's I need to add one more photo. We took a later train back to Frankfurt to get a full last day in Paris and didnt arrive back in Frankfurt until about 11pm. The

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-64582733035281368102011-07-27T00:50:00.000+02:002011-07-27T00:50:23.581+02:00

After Belgium we headed to Paris for three jammed packed days. This was Andrew's first time to Paris and a second trip for the rest of us, Meredith's first was only 12 hours though. My first visit was back in October 2009 after I had only lived in Germany for 2 months. It was great to be back and with two of our good friends. As you can imagine there are so many pictures so I will let them do the

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-39071805770585719012011-07-20T14:56:00.005+02:002011-07-20T23:54:39.877+02:00

We kicked off the Summer tour this year with a visit from our friends, Andrew and Meredith. They stopped by for a whirlwind day trip in Frankfurt before taking a train with us to Ostend, Belgium for a couple of days. We always stay with them whenever we're in Atlanta, so it was nice to turn the tables and host them for a change. It was their first exposure to Germany and we only had one day,

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-56820582378503216462011-07-12T19:18:00.000+02:002011-07-12T19:18:55.787+02:00

No, we're not having twins. However, a highly anticipated visit from our friends Mark and Elisabeth Jackson (brothers with different mothers, and fathers as it turns out), was finally realized in July after the craziness of the end of our school term commenced. Just to brief you, Marisa and I interned with Mark at Georgia Tech Christian Campus Fellowship back in 2005-06. Mark and I were

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-12008774242292806572011-07-11T16:30:00.001+02:002011-07-11T16:31:15.952+02:00

We finally finished our school year here in Germany and the end seemed to drag out so long! External exams (AP and IB) started the first week in May and finals for seniors ended on June 10th. Graduation did not take place until June 30th. Something new to me was that all the seniors took a trip together before Graduation and this year's destination was Mallorca. Not a European adventure like I am

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-36681704551374021492011-07-10T16:58:00.000+02:002011-07-10T16:58:17.663+02:00

Over Father's Day weekend I had the rare opportunity to make a quick trip back to Atlanta for an AP Physics workshop - some professional learning for my career. It just so happened to fall on the holiday weekend, so I decided to drop in and surprise my dad for the occasion.My dad had been on a 2-week motorcycle trip with a friend all the way up the coast and into Canada, taking in the scenery

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-40864255018890704602011-06-26T15:36:00.001+02:002011-06-26T15:53:12.043+02:00

I know this is totally out of order, but before Matt and Kim visited us in Frankfurt Justin and I went to Italy for a long weekend. With some video editing and me getting sick it took a lot longer than I thought to get this video up and running. This trip was kind of on a whim, but my girl, Bird, was going to be in Bologna when we had a national holiday, a Thursday and Friday off. So Wednesday

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-54223098532538076432011-06-20T21:02:00.000+02:002011-06-20T21:02:01.563+02:00

  Last week a group of our coworkers ran in the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge. I came to find out this race in Frankfurt is the biggest foot race in the world with almost 70,000 runners. The first race in Frankfurt was in 1993 with only 527 runners. With so many banks, car companies, and insurance companies Frankfurt has a lot of corporate representation. The race was fun and I am proud to say I

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-18266218977874611982011-06-17T23:52:00.001+02:002011-06-26T15:41:30.248+02:00

Marisa and I journeyed down to Nuernberg (or Nuremberg in the wacky alternative English spelling) for the famous Christkindl Markt back in December 2009 (see previous post). At the time I really enjoyed the festival, the gluehwein, and the charming old town feel. I knew that I wanted to come back during the warmer months to tour the city properly. Last weekend I got the chance to do just

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-16487625351145110202011-06-14T20:41:00.005+02:002011-06-16T21:36:24.106+02:00

When I was in the 8th grade the good Lord brought the Davis family to Paulding County, GA. Over the next three years Matt and I became super close friends before he was whisked off to Kansas to finish out high school. We've stayed in touch ever since and have always been the kind of friends that can pick right up where we left off - even if it's been a year or so.Davis and KimOne of the

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-27760726741088345442011-06-12T22:17:00.000+02:002011-06-12T22:17:25.102+02:00

This is a few weeks late, but here it is. For my birthday this year I wanted to get outdoors and invite all my friends. It was a great Saturday full of sunshine and we had a great turn out. We grilled out! Had some drinks! Played some games! Got a little crazy! (Not really there were kids present) Richard brought some celebratory Applewine for everyone! Thanks! Everyone seemed to have a good time

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-11912071862366308552011-05-31T22:15:00.000+02:002011-05-31T22:15:01.596+02:00

I don't know about you, but May is the most jammed packed month of birthdays for Justin and I. We have six just between our two families. It also turned out to be a big one for our coworkers. So before we get to my birthday I first want to share what we did for my friend and coworker, Janice. This was her big 3-0 and her boyfriend took the reins and totally surprised her. He organized the

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-69918444325903731652011-05-28T09:53:00.000+02:002011-05-28T09:53:54.640+02:00

This spring has been a total change from last year. I actually like Frankfurt this spring. Last year it was cold until June and this year it has been warm since April and the weekends are full of fun in the sun. We are totally German and we are enjoying a lot of park going. Here are some pictures from the last two months and all our weekends soaking in the rays. American football has been busted

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-124571897663070952011-05-26T08:12:00.000+02:002011-05-26T08:12:12.730+02:00

So I know this is a long time coming, but hopefully it is good. Before going to Thailand I was really nervous about the food and having stomach issues, but that being said I still really wanted to try a cooking class and all the amazing food people rave about. Last summer when we were in Italy I wanted to do a cooking class, but they were way too expensive and we ended up passing on it. Not this

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While spending two weeks in Thailand, one unexpected observation was the unbelievable variety of modes of transportation. Without exaggeration, we took at least fifteen different forms of transportation during our visit. This blog post will outline those that we had pictures of.........Bicycles were a nice way to run to the store or to take a quick campus tour. Marisa had the opportunity to

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-71766778316425544512011-05-14T21:23:00.000+02:002011-05-14T21:23:46.366+02:00

After Bangkok the relaxing part of our trip began.....well almost. Before we could relax Buck and Mae had us climb over 1,200 steps to the top of this temple on the mainland, Krabi. I was a little nervous at first because I am very out of shape right now, but about 500 steps up the athlete in me kicked in and I was moving. Scott would have been so proud, it only took Mae and I twenty five minutes

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-40739560000699964892011-05-07T12:31:00.007+02:002011-05-10T21:11:03.691+02:00

There comes a time in every trip to Thailand where you have to experience the necessary evil of visiting the capital city of Bangkok. Known as "Krung Thep" to the locals, Bangkok has a metro population of about 12 million and is everything you could wish for in a busy, crowded, polluted, yet interesting city. The name means "city of angels", which basically makes it Thailand's equivalent to Los

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-2731692986415088992011-05-02T18:19:00.000+02:002011-05-02T18:19:14.121+02:00

After a great start in Thailand we hopped an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (14 hours in total). To be fair I have the say that sleeping on the train wasn't that bad and I actually got some sleep. Thank God for earplugs and an eye mask! Enjoying some of the candy Justin helped to make. It was a long train ride we had to do something. Upon arrival we met up with one of Buck and Mae's

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-36796621057198471882011-04-30T14:10:00.007+02:002011-05-01T07:23:57.314+02:00

This spring break was one of a select few trips in my life that I log in the "epic" category. Marisa and I decided to venture to Southeast Asia for the first time to visit our friends, Buck and Mae, in Thailand! Buck and Mae have been working in campus ministry at Thammasat University in Rangsit (just outside Bangkok) over the past two years and we were very excited to catch up and travel with

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-19581843312681138952011-04-18T10:29:00.020+02:002011-04-18T11:51:41.870+02:00

One perk to my job is getting to go to conferences and since I live in Europe it usually means traveling to another country. Two weekends ago I went to Oxford, England for a college counseling course and stayed at St. Anne's College. I was lucky enough to fly into London the night before the conference and enjoy a great evening with Joanna and Laura. We visited them last February so it had been

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Today is an exciting day because I am officially a guest blogger!! My wonderful friend and photographer, April, asked me to write a guest post about traveling while her and her husband are away on a mediterranean cruise. How could I resist the chance to write about something I love so much! April writes a great blog and she is way more creative than me and I find I draw a lot of inspiration from

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-60551015486776593182011-04-12T20:25:00.000+02:002011-04-12T20:25:32.760+02:00

We've finally done it! We've found the MOST expensive city in Europe! If you're looking for a major European city that is lovely, but entirely overpriced then Geneva is your place. Geneva street proudly waving the flag. If you invert the colors of the flag.......you get the Red Cross symbol. Coincidence? Nope! The Red Cross/Crescent Movement was started here by a Genevan man. Flower Clock.

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-44127706104409899702011-04-05T17:48:00.000+02:002011-04-05T17:48:12.081+02:00

Last Thursday Justin and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. I know as cheesy as this sounds, but it gets betters with every year. You get to know each other so well and on such a deeper level. Justin was such a sweetheart and surprised me with some beautiful flowers and tickets to the theater. He took me to the English Theater in Frankfurt and we saw An Inspector Calls. It was a

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-46097281007324697412011-04-02T21:45:00.006+02:002011-04-03T21:14:49.302+02:00

One of the most satisfying things about being a physics teacher is seeing students move on and pursue degrees and careers in physics and engineering. I try to accomplish this by engaging students with demonstrations, lab activities, and bringing in real-life application to classroom work. I also believe that the most impactful experiences for students happen outside of the classroom in the form

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-81850270544441401782011-03-30T22:06:00.000+02:002011-03-30T22:06:44.063+02:00

My friend Meredith likes when I post about what I cook so I thought I would throw out one of the recent recipes I made that was pretty good. I am not a chef by any means, but I find I have to get creative with only two burners and a toaster oven. I found this recipe on online and after two tries I think we found a winner. One to two pan meals are clutch in this household. Penne Chicken with

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-70673205568446545972011-03-22T19:09:00.003+01:002011-03-22T19:37:26.160+01:00

When the sun shines in Germany you have to take full advantage of it and this evening we did just that. It started by leaving work at 4 (don't worry it is finals week). We fixed some snacks and poured two cold bock beers right when we walked in the door. We headed out to the balcony to enjoy the sunshine and some snacks. The spreadBusting out the pink shirt-you know it is springtimeSunshine makes

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Every month our staff gets together for some sort of socializing activity. Usually it is just drinks and dinner, but last Friday was a special treat. We all loaded up on the Ebbelwei Express for a tour around the city while sipping on some Applewine. Get ready here we go! Feeling cool cruising around in this bad boy The inside of the trolley was fully decorated like a kindergarten room, bright

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-38329613899379246562011-03-17T22:21:00.000+01:002011-03-17T22:21:35.479+01:00

It's in his blood We headed to our neighborhood pub, Bornheim Irish, and celebrated with our friends Jameson, Guinness, Bulmers and Baileys! I hope all of you joined in on some festivities.  --Marisa

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-39461486072988977582011-03-15T18:55:00.000+01:002011-03-15T18:55:41.955+01:00

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting one of our college friends, Trey. He was on a European adventure and made a pit stop in Frankfurt for a night. Tanya hooked us up with some digestifs.  No one's feelings were hurt after a game of Zug um Zug Like we do with all of our guests we took Trey to the famous neighborhood restaurant and introduced him to Tanya. We fed him the best schnitzel of his

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-75803267357046834392011-03-08T21:39:00.006+01:002011-03-14T21:58:28.361+01:00

In Germany there is no shortage of castles, which can have the tendency to make one forget that he comes from a country that doesn't have them. In appreciation of said castles, we drove out to the neighboring state of Thuringia just over the former East German Border to visit the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach.Wartburg Castle - it's been around for over 900 years and it's not looking so bad if I do

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-77525755334678895862011-03-07T20:05:00.000+01:002011-03-07T20:05:17.751+01:00

On our way home from Garmisch we were going to stop at the famous castle of Neuschwanstein, but we realized that it was going to mean many hours on a train so we decided to head to Munich early and wander around for a few hours before our fast train home. Nothing too crazy just a biergarten for lunch, a quick visit to an art museum and of course a mass at the Hofbrauhaus.  Pretending it was warm

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-27231386648711984332011-03-03T22:40:00.000+01:002011-03-03T22:40:10.364+01:00

So we had a week off for a so-called "Ski Break" during the last week of February and thought we'd be breaking some sort of German law if we didn't give it a shot. We packed up lunches and took a train down south past Munich to the German alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. While you've likely not heard of this place, you should know that they hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics and they have

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-60885528470847128482011-03-03T21:36:00.004+01:002011-03-08T20:14:51.062+01:00

The German winters can be long and depressingly cold. If you want to make it through with your sanity intact, you've got to get creative with entertainment. For my birthday I requested the German version of the board game known as "Ticket to Ride" in the States. Marisa and I were first exposed to this little gem from the Arrowood family in Tyrone, GA. Needless to say, we've nearly made it

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-46440468933636082902011-03-01T22:22:00.001+01:002011-03-03T22:45:48.321+01:00

Last weekend my college volleyball coach, Bond, was in town and we had a great time running around.  It started with the traditional trip to our neighborhood joint, Zur Sonnenuhr. Bond had the pleasure of meeting Tanya. It was a night full of belly laughing, great food, and reminiscing. My former teammate Alex came down from Cologne for the weekend and joined us for dinner. I felt bad for Justin

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-57812110319945209212011-02-18T13:14:00.000+01:002011-02-18T13:14:03.419+01:00

My sister sent me this picture earlier this week and it just made my day. My nephew Nolan on his way to daycare in his business attire. We gave him that onesie for Christmas and it looks so cute on him. If you want one my friend Keight made it. I would take him to work any day!! Hope you have a great Friday and it is a good start to an awesome weekend! -- Marisa

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-66776331999679319552011-02-14T20:55:00.002+01:002011-03-03T22:45:07.052+01:00

One show that I still watch living in Germany is Top Chef, yes American version in English on our computers. This season is Top Chef Allstars and can I say AMAZING. They brought back contestants from past seasons that either got 2nd, 3rd or 4th. So these are the best of the best competing against each other and it gets intense in the kitchen. I am team Richard Blais, but a close runner up would

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-53053098713745631482011-01-30T17:45:00.001+01:002011-01-31T20:47:41.664+01:00

Back in November or so our coworker saw a deal on AerLingus for cheap flights to Dublin in January and we said why not. My good friend Shaun moved to Dublin about nine months ago and we hadn't seen him. In that time he had also gotten married and we needed to celebrate that big step. So last Friday we hopped a flight to Dublin for a fun packed weekend. Since we have been to Dublin before we were

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-31984026028925025622011-01-26T20:15:00.004+01:002011-01-26T21:54:37.244+01:00

Time flies wherever you are and I can't believe that I'm already celebrating my second birthday in Germany. The only thing significant about 29 seems to be that it makes you feel dreadfully close to 30, which seems like the time when you're supposed to be doing big-boy things in life...............buying a house, starting a family, listening to talk radio, having your prostate checked......

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-8850783329769087502011-01-19T21:19:00.000+01:002011-01-19T21:19:24.290+01:00

After a year and a half of lugging full crates of beer nearly a kilometer from our beer store to our apartment and carrying the empty crate back to refill I finally came across the discovery of a lifetime..........beer delivery service!  I was making the monthly exchange this week when I noticed the store's van outside that advertised "Lieferservice" (delivery service).  I found out that these

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-19506687290110769432011-01-16T21:59:00.000+01:002011-01-16T21:59:19.079+01:00

The second time through Atlanta featured some family time and a memorable New Year's Eve celebration spent with friends. Top 5 Things to Do in Atlanta Before 2011: 1. Hang out with the Jackson family in Acworth. Nice little get-together with, from top left: Jason, Dad, me, Arden, Candace, Krissie, Deb, Marisa, and Jake. Arden was full of personality this time around.....and decked out in

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-64770729055413557812011-01-11T21:06:00.001+01:002011-01-31T20:48:32.830+01:00

To stay with the list theme I will give you the top ten of our trip to Cali. This is not a ranking just what comes to my mind first. Lots of pictures! Top 10 from our trip out West for the Holidays 1.) Meeting my adorable nephew, Nolan, for the first time! Love the hat and love the drool In his shark towel. Absolutely love this picture, his eyes are so blue. He is so adorable So I am totally

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-13950391956630053532011-01-06T19:47:00.004+01:002011-01-07T19:14:06.412+01:00

Ever since we bought our plane tickets in September I'd been looking forward to coming back Stateside for the Christmas holidays. After spending Christmas in Germany last year without friends, family, or Target I couldn't imagine a second year away from the homeland.School got out on Thursday and as we had dinner with our coworkers who would also be heading home that weekend the snow started

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-83853542409845272422011-01-04T21:07:00.000+01:002011-01-04T21:07:45.967+01:00

Before I can even start blogging about our trip home to the States I must wrap up on the events leading up to that. December is one of my favorite months in Germany mostly in part to the amazing Christmas markets. One Saturday we headed out with two of our friends, Kyle and Janice, to a few markets. Our first stop was the nearby town of Wiesbaden (the capital of our state, Hessen). Janice and I

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-77870070624330364652010-12-26T00:17:00.000+01:002010-12-26T00:17:12.288+01:00

 You might remember this guy from last year, but this year he has a few more ornaments. It might be small, but it is full of spirit. My favorite pick up. It represents all our travels. Who doesn't love a moose? Justin's new favorite Our favorite purchase of 2009 Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are enjoying yourself no matter where you are or who you are celebrating with.

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-19164876369827348082010-12-13T20:41:00.000+01:002010-12-13T20:41:30.768+01:00

Two Sundays ago a few of my lady co-workers got together to get in the Christmas spirit. We picked a recipe and bought supplies and had a go at cookie-making. You think it sounds easy, but you try finding baking supplies in German or just finding vanilla extract at all in this country. Either way we knew it was going to be a good time. My recipe was spiced sugar cookies other recipes included

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Some of the students at my school do some impressive things and this past Friday was a great example. Last year a group of 9th grade girls started a student organization with the goal of raising money and awareness for women in Africa. Throughout the year they put together various fundraising efforts with the biggest event being "Entertainment Evening", where students and teachers perform songs

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-57727562382609629352010-12-08T21:52:00.000+01:002010-12-08T21:52:23.623+01:00

We were so lucky this Thanksgiving because we had three visitors come to Frankfurt! We didn't cook a traditional American Thanksgiving, but we had a darn good time and threw in a few American things. Our visitors included Jason Tatum, our college buddy who is doing campus ministry in Birmingham, England. He works near the University of Birmingham at a place called Canvas, you should check it out.

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-37515656344958409712010-12-02T21:11:00.000+01:002010-12-02T21:11:28.188+01:00

Translated to English- Is that it? And I have to say NO WAY! I finished up my first German class last week and I have to say I really enjoyed being in a learning environment again. Yes it got annoying going to six hours of German a week for two nights a week three hours at a time, but I can confidently say I can now put a whole German sentence together. My teacher, Michael, was great and made the

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This year Marisa has had her hands full getting familiar with her new position as the University Counselor at our school. Since August she has been meeting incessantly with students, working with them on their college essays and helping them meet their deadlines for early decision etc. At times she's been so swamped that I have felt bad for her. Two weeks ago was definitely not one of those

Justin Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909878418998872040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-23454459780272018992010-11-19T17:59:00.000+01:002010-11-19T17:59:23.520+01:00

CLARE!!! Justin was definitely rocking Bon Jovi's -Livin' on a Prayer.  The funny part about this giveway is that Clare has been living in Germany for the past year and I am sure she has some other great finds from German Christmas markets.  Now she will have something from Frankfurt. Kerry, you were a close second so maybe I will bring something home to HB for you around Christmas. Thanks for

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Last Friday night we managed to wander into an Irish Pub that was having karaoke. After listening to about five depressing songs in a row (think Armageddon soundtrack) someone had to step up and get the party going. And guess who that was......? For a chance to win an authentic wooden Christmas ornament from the Frankfurt Christmas market try and guess what song Justin sang.  Tom Jones-It's not

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To wrap up our week in Portugal, we took a train north from Lisbon to Porto, a city most famous for its "port wine".  We stayed in an apartment on the Douro River, directly across from the many port-wine "caves" where the major producers age their wines, and in sight of three of the six bridges that span the Douro (one of which was designed by Gustav Eiffel himself - he made more than towers

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From the Algarve we headed to the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. I was pretty pumped about Lisbon because I didn't have any expectations and for some reason I just thought it would be a cool city. Lisbon did not disappoint.  With our trusty Rick Steves' Portugal guide book we were off on a night stroll. For those of you that don't know Lisbon is the city of seven hills. They had these funiculars

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-77049859267957621682010-10-31T16:38:00.000+01:002010-10-31T16:38:05.154+01:00

After a year and three months I decided it was time to get a haircut in Germany. I got my haircut back in the spring when we went home by my girl, Sarah, but that was eight months ago. It was time and I needed a trim real bad and I couldn't wait until Christmas. I decided try out a guy that a lot of my co-workers go to named Rico. Rico was great and I will definitely use him while I am in

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-32863365329160556962010-10-30T12:17:00.000+02:002010-10-30T12:17:26.607+02:00

As the temperatures recently dropped like the US dollar, we decided to head somewhere warm this Fall Break.  It's hard to believe that we have already made it through two months of this school year, but it definitely felt like an appropriate time to have a week off to go and visit sunny Portugal! There aren't too many people that I know that have been to Portugal and it's definitely not a huge

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I really can't believe I was just here.... and now I am back in Germany with the heater on and wearing a winter coat. More to come from our trip to Portugal, but all I have to say is it was amazing! --Marisa

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Right after the Frankfurt Oktoberfest we headed down to Stuttgart to visit my aunt and uncle, but also to enjoy Volksfest, Stuttgart's version of Oktoberfest. I love those places that are only an hour and a half away, but it feels so much further. Going to Stuttgart gives us the much needed relaxation that we crave while also enjoying some family fun. It is just far enough away that all the

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-36850676320890372032010-10-11T21:08:00.000+02:002010-10-11T21:08:30.913+02:00

Weeks ago the month of September brought us the ever-popular three weeks of "Oktoberfest".  Last year we had to indulge our curiosity and visit the real Oktoberfest in Munich, but one can find similar knock-offs all over the country during the same period of time.  This year we went to Frankfurt's celebration with a group of our co-workers.  Specifically, we went on a night to see this famous

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-30267574172092208572010-10-04T22:31:00.000+02:002010-10-04T22:31:15.976+02:00

As all of you enjoy American football we are enjoying the exciting game that is fussball aka soccer. Pardon the photos they were taken with my little point and shoot from like 2003. A few weeks ago we headed to our annual Eintracht Frankfurt game. Justin was bound and determined to go to a Bundesliga (1st Division) game because last year we only made it to a German league game against a 2nd

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-21386524098503331862010-09-27T21:21:00.000+02:002010-09-27T21:21:57.081+02:00

Hello everyone. Yes we are alive and things are going pretty well. Both of us said a few days ago that we have not been motivated to write lately. After the summer of a lot of blogs I guess we needed a break. Another reason is we are a two full time job family now and that has made blogging a little difficult. Plus I am taking German classes (finally I know) two nights a week for 3 hours each. So

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Before the Summer left us, we took the opportunity to visit our very own Frankfurt Zoo during our relaxed month before school started back.  I must admit that "nature shots" are one of my favorite subjects to photograph, although the zoo is kind of a cheap way to get them.  Don't judge............just enjoy! Visit started off strong with the Sun Bear.  Before this he was standing up and

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-46577268264815262502010-08-26T21:13:00.000+02:002010-08-26T21:13:20.881+02:00

This summer I decided to tackle one of the elusive Ayn Rand books that I always intend to read, but never start because of their daunting size.  Knowing that I had a couple of months to travel and relax in-between school years I figured that this was the best time to take on the beast. First off, The Fountainhead was written in 1943 as Rand's third novel and the first of two that would bring

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-47020203450674947502010-08-24T21:17:00.001+02:002010-08-24T21:18:34.373+02:00

Two weekends ago we wanted to go explore some more of Frankfurt. You would think after a year we would have seen a lot of Frankfurt, which we have, but there are a few corners we haven't ventured to yet. We have been to Sachsenhausen many times, but for some reason had never made it to Old Sachsenhausen. Both these places are across the river from us and are famous for their Apple wine or in

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-42172687003544518012010-08-16T22:45:00.000+02:002010-08-16T22:45:58.121+02:00

To say we learned a ton is an understatement. The most amazing thing about this trip was seeing things you had read about in textbooks. It was awesome to re-learn all the facts and actually have a few stick. I wouldn't want to bore you with facts and figures that you could read in a textbook, but I will tell you some helpful life lessons we learned on the trip. 1.) Get to Know Rick Steves - We

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-89516266126882059832010-08-13T14:19:00.000+02:002010-08-13T14:19:45.374+02:00

Right before we left for our summer adventure I became an aunt to my first nephew. My sister, Kendra, and her husband, Jeff, brought a healthy baby boy into this world. He was three weeks early (just like me) and came right in the middle of them moving into a house. That is a way to make an entrance. Nolan Richard WintersBorn: June 21, 2010 at 4:50pm7lbs 6oz. 21" long Isn't he so adorable? I am

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-61090449275095534832010-08-12T11:21:00.000+02:002010-08-12T11:21:01.563+02:00

The last stop on our trip was Venice and it was a gem! We only stayed two days, but that was plenty of time to see everything. Before going to Italy we would tell people where we were going and when we said Venice no one seemed that excited about it. So we didn't really know what to expect. Our last night in Rome we met an American couple at dinner who had just been to Venice and were raving

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-25187968275375814792010-08-09T21:03:00.001+02:002010-08-09T21:05:13.714+02:00

We finished our cruise in Rome and decided to spend a few days here.  From all of our friends that have traveled extensively in Europe, they all said that Rome is a great city.....and it didn't disappoint!  We had plenty of time to walk among the ruins, tour the Vatican, and check off all of the famous sights.  Just being here made me want to start reading Dan Brown again - by the way, they

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-3946310087192341062010-08-06T19:48:00.000+02:002010-08-06T19:48:10.380+02:00

One place that Justin could not wait to see was Pompeii and after going there I can now see why. For a little background history on Pompeii (I needed it). In 79 A.D. the volcano Mt. Vesuvius that was only 5 km away blow it's top and covered Pompeii in volcanic ash for 3 days. Due to this the whole city is very well preserved. It even has people frozen in time from the ash. This place was massive

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-59265505057882063512010-08-05T23:39:00.000+02:002010-08-05T23:39:05.454+02:00

One of the stops we were most looking forward to on our cruise was the port of Kusadasi, Turkey which is near the ancient city of Ephesus.  Yes, this is the place where Paul visited and wrote his letter to the "Ephesians".  We shared a private tour guide with another couple from the cruise and got an in-depth look at this city and the surrounding area. What we didn't realize is the vastness

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-34678335020473619842010-08-04T23:22:00.000+02:002010-08-04T23:22:38.937+02:00

We are trying out a new Blogger template so bear with us as we try and figure out how to get the header in the middle. We were getting sick of all the white on the other template. What do you think? Moving along with our Summer snapshots here are a few of the Greek Isles we visited: Mykonos This was the beautiful beach we got to enjoy for about four hours.  Walking all the city and it was just

Justin and Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02403490744140366346noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294376660580752689.post-11744150509629558532010-08-03T21:12:00.001+02:002010-08-03T21:12:23.732+02:00

After Sicily, we spent a lovely day at sea where you lounge around and listen to a filipino cover-band play Jimmy Buffet and Bon Jovi (they were actually really good), while eating cookies and drinking fruit punch.   On the next day we arrived in the port city of Piraeus, Greece and took a bus over to see the sites in downtown Athens.  It was really awesome to see so many famous structures from

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