Joe and Glo's WILD European Adventure

Dad, Mom, and I in front of the Tübinger Rathaus.

    After five kids and forty-one years of marriage, Joe and Gloria finally did something for themselves. They packed up their bags and came to Europe to visit, who else, but their one and only daughter, ME! I'm quite the lucky lady to have such adventurous parents (depends on how you want to interpret it, but their is some sarcasm to that). I don't think the idea of traveling abroad came to their minds until their last three children actually did it. First Robert ( fourth in the line), traveled in 2005 throughout Europe and also played volleyball in Slovenia, then I followed suite in the summer of 2006 and backpacked. Kevin ( third in line) and his wife Megan jumped ponds and moved from Seattle, Washington to Prague in 2006. For those of you who are completely confused with the order of my family it goes like this: first born- Joey, Andy, Kevin, Robert, and then me (das Küken ).
Mom and pops tried to visit my brothers Robert and Kevin while they were living in Europe, but life just got in the way, and they weren't able to do so. So in March of 2011, the parentals made the leap and flew from Colorado to Deutschland! I was so proud of them. But after their visit and seeing my new life in Germany, I think they were more proud of me. They thought it was impressive that I could be so independent (self sufficient) and live in a foreign country. Grandma always says, " She's seen the world, she's seen Paris, how are you gonna get this girl back to the farm?" Which translates to... how are you going to hold me down, keep me in one place? The answer to your question Grandma, you won't. I will probably be moving around till I am ready to settle down. We'll see when that is. In the meantime it's study, travel, and work.
Driving home from the Stuttgart airport, my father was not only impressed by the non existent Autobahn speed limit, but was also scared shitless. You can tell the man was uncomfortable with the way my friend was driving. He is used to the annoyingly slow and pointless speed limits in Aurora, Colorado .  I introduced my parents to my floor mates and showed them "Hotel Julie". A four star Hotel in WHO the student dorms in Tuebingen. My room is an 8x13 sardine box. It fits three in "extremely" comfortable and tight circumstances. I had an air mattress fully equipped for a luxurious stay. I have to admit, it was great seeing my parents, but I think they can agree with me... we probably shouldn't do that again. Making three's company and squeezing ourselves into my room. But hey, it was for only two nights. We survived. My parents enjoyed Schwäbisch food and drinks in my quaint little town. They also loved my friends. It was a pleasure showing them my new life and the things that I love about this country. By the end of the trip, my parents could understand why I love Germany so much, and my father even said, " I guess it would be o.k. if you marry a German, just do it for love!" Wise words from a wise man : ) But yes, he saw how happy I was and how beautiful this country is. 

Mom and Dad boozing it up in Neckarmüller.

They're  pretty cute .

     But we didn't just stay in Germany. The parentals and I traveled to Vienna and through out Italy (Venice, Florence, and Pisa). 
Five years ago when I backpacked through Europe, I fell in love with Vienna. I was captivated by the culture and the arts. I had to go back. This time, I brought mom and dad. I think they might have been a little overwhelmed by not only the beauty of this enchanting city, but also by the size. I enjoyed using my German in Vienna. Everyone warned me about how difficult it would be to understand the Viennese dialect, but somehow we managed. I didn't think it was that difficult to understand. My German came in to use when my parents and I missed our train from Vienna to Venice, Italy. That was fun. Apparently we never got the memo that the time changed by an hour. Ooops! We were wondering why all the clocks were different from ours. Weird. Anywho, after freaking out for a minute, I had to take control and figure out Plan B. This trip made me   step out of passive mode and take control of all the situations. I was the boss lady, the one in charge. I was the planner, negotiator, communicator, and leader. Usually when traveling, I like to sit back, relax, and let others take control. Not this time. I had to be the tour guide. And it was great, because now I feel like I can travel anywhere. It gave me even more confidence in my travels. So back to the missing train situation.... 

Stephansplatz, Wien.

I went to the ticket counter, explained my situation "auf deutsch" and managed to switch our tickets to Venice. The only problem was, instead of a 10 hour trip, the duration was now 14 hours with more train changes. I was quite impressed with how my parents kept up with the travels. My father was literally "Super Dad." At the age of 70, this man was running after trains, carrying not only my mom's bags, but mine as well. He literally made sure the women were on board first and then basically threw our luggage onto the trains. He is in better shape than me.

Feeding rats with wings in Venice.

Victory sign in Venice!

 We arrived in Venice, ate, and then hit the sheets. Out of all the Italian cities we visited, we all could agree that Venice was our favorite. Even though the food sucked in each city (probably because we were in super touristy areas), the "Floating City" won our hearts. We all were back near the water which I think we all craved and missed. I always thought I would visit this historically rich and romantic town with a boyfriend or husband or whatever, but no, I was there with my parents. Hey, who needs romance anyways?

I think in the beginning my parents were a little worried we would get lost in this city of canals, waterways, and confusing streets, but street signs are useful and so is a good sense of direction. Again, I impressed myself with my navigational skills and basically knew the city like the back of my hand. You don't need a map in Venice, just read the signs. 

Our next destination was Florence, Italy. I was excited to see "The Athens of Italy, the Birthplace of the Renaissance." Plus I wanted to have some great Italian food. Again, we were disappointed. Tourists flock the streets of Florence and the food and restaurants as well have become mainstream and we were quite unimpressed with the food. But we didn't let the food ruin our perception of Florence. How could we let the lousy food spoil  the essence of this art capital? Forget the food situation, we set out for some culture and history. I couldn't believe I was walking around in the same town as once did Mr. Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei, and of course the famous Medici family. To me, Europe is a magical whimsical place. I am stepping back in time. I am a dreamer and with a huge imagination. So it's probably a good thing I study Art History. I like to learn about the past and pretend I am living in another time. The atmosphere consumes me and in my mind I pretend to be Italian noblewoman discussing theological issues as well as political ones with my other noble counterparts. As my mother would say, "dream on girl!" The most impressive monument and most famous is Michaelangelo's "David." As Germans would say, "Wie die Nase eines Mannes, so auch sein Johannes." Americans say, " It all depends on the size of the hands and feet that determines one's size." Well the statue of David had large hands and feet and even a decent size nose, but he was lacking in a certain body part. Michaelangelo worked diligently on this piece from 1501-1504 and maybe didn't feel the need to give the "Beloved One" a reputable package. Come on Ladies, we all know that David wasn't known for his male parts, but was a biblical hero and favored subject in Florence. So get your minds out of the gutter!

On a lighter note, lets discuss the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It is the cathedral (Duomo) of Florence, Italy. The construction of this cathedral begun in 1296 in a Gothic style and was completed structurally in 1436. The dome was engineered by Signor Fillipo Brunelleschi.  Walking up to the enormous cathedral, you are completely enthralled by the beautiful polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, bordered by white.  It has a 19th century Gothic revival facade by Emilio de Fabris. This by far was my favorite attraction in Florence. My parents and I had to laugh at how Italians are so enamored with the male form. Outside the cathedral, vendors are selling everything and anything with a penis on it. Their fixation was somewhat comical and a little disturbing. I just wanted to go into the holy cathedral and feel clean, instead I came out of the cathedral and was bombarded with too many phallic images, that contaminated my mind : ) It's always fun having a good laugh over these things. 

It's art, right?

One happy family. Who do I look like, mom or pops?

Florence, you were a fun town, but it is time to move on. Next stop, Pisa. We only stayed in Pisa for two days, and that was probably enough, because it is an extremely small town, but of course it has the Leaning Tower. We thoroughly enjoyed the quaintness of Pisa. It was easy to navigate through and there were great street vendors. Of course the Leaning Tower was amusing as well. This cute little town is located on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno in central Italy. It has around 88, 000 residents and contains more than 20 historical churches.  Again, as always I forced my parents to drink and mom got drunk again. It only took a shot of lemoncello and she was "schnockered"  that means drunk. It was amusing for me every time, I think that is why I encouraged the drinking. But hey, we are in Italy, we must enjoy ourselves and also the great alcohol in which the Italians provide. It would be rude to turn down a great bottle of wine or lemoncello, and of course we don't want to be rude. So SALUTE or Cin cin!

41 years of marriage. I hope I will be like that too one day.

Bye bye Italy, Hello Deutschland! It was nice to go back home. I wanted to be around a "familiar" language and back to my security zone. I missed Germany. After traveling around non-stop for the past two months, it was nice to return back to familiarity. But before returning to Tuebingen we made a stop in Ravensburg, where my mentor's family lives. The Buchmaier family. It was a true treat introducing my real family to my German family in Ravensburg. The two cultures connected and it was a true honor to experience that. My parents were a little apprehensive and nervous at first. They were a little intimidated at first, but once they met the Buchmaiers, they were completely at ease. The Buchmaiers always welcome with open arms. We stayed the night and ate the greatest food and drank plenty of delicious Baden-Württemberg wine. My parents said that this part of the trip was their favorite. Two families, two different countries, together at a dinner table= a beautiful thing. I agree with my parents, it was my favorite moment too. 

Mom and her Dirndl

                                                   Mom and Dad with the Buchmaier Family


So I leave you with this. A happy ending to a happy vacation. Next time my parents come out to Europe is when I marry my European man in a castle of some sort.... I should probably start saving my money now. Till next time my fellow blog followers. Much love!


Yours truly,


Julie a.k.a Julietta/Jewels/Jules/Juli

                             This is when their excellent adventure began. Mom and Dad looking quite dapper.