Monday, February 6, 2012

Winter in Europe

As soon as I finished my semester, I flew back to Cologne to be with my husband this winter.  It was our first Christmas and New Year's as newlyweds, and we drove to Paris (~4.5 hours) after Christmas and flew to Berlin after New Year's for some short getaways.
The holidays in Europe is lovely.  My husband thinks that Christmas and New Year's are not as big a deal as in America, and that might be true, but I was gushing over the sparkling lights and decorations in downtown Cologne.  And Paris was another whole story.. so exquisite.  :)

I flew back to DC at the end of January, and once again, saying goodbye at the airport was heartbreaking.  I cried throughout the plane ride home; when I woke up from a long sleep and realized I wasn't with E, I started quietly sobbing again.  The next time we're planning to see each other is in May (~94 days from today..)  I have to say, being in a long-distance marriage is so hard.  I always feel sorry for us, that we're missing out on our first Valentine's Day, birthday, and wedding anniversary as a married couple.  We're both praying to be strong during this time, to cherish the time we have apart and to do what we can to maintain closeness and communication even while separated.

Anyways, here are some random photos from my iPhone:

Christmasmarkt near the Cologne Dom.  The lights were so lovely.
Reminded me of the movie Tangled :)
These are unedited photos straight from my iPhone.
The Eiffel Tower really is this stunning and beautiful.

CLASSY McDonald's in Paris
Montmartre
Avenue des Champs Élysées
Our apartment-style hotel in Berlin.
Small, modern, reasonably priced

Weather was gloomy, so we hit up the Berlin Aquarium

Mongolian BBQ, with all kinds of meat for grilling,
including kangaroo and shark
Christmas gift from my sister
Personalized heart mugs (notice my name is written in pink:)

5 comments:

  1. Looks like a fabulous winter! Love those mugs!

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  2. aww you and your hubs are so adorable susan!!! i'll be praying for you too.. i'm sorry it's so difficult right now :( i haven't gone through that long of a stretch away from the hubs.. but when he left for officer school medical training with the military for a month it was AWFUL for me.. because i was in texas by myself.. i cried everyday.. i think if i didn't have my dogs i would have gone crazy. when are you guys going to be reunited permanently?

    i heart paris!! it's just such a romantic city :) it def ranks as one of my absolute favorite cities in the world!

    i may be visiting P-town at the beginning of may if you're still around i'd love to meet up with you!

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  3. Gosh, it is tough being in a long distance relationship. US and Germany! I'm glad to read that you had a wonderful time in Paris and Berlin. I don't know how the military wives deal with long separations when they have little ones as well.

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  4. I don't know why but I got emotional reading your post. I'm also sorry that you are missing such special events, but once you're together the next time those dates come around they will just feel so much more special because you'll get to make up for lost celebrations! Those photos are beautiful, and those mugs are way too cute!

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  5. Thanks so much for the loving comments :) It is really hard, sometimes I feel like I would do ANYTHING to be able to just sit on the couch with him after a long day at school. I wish plane tickets to Europe were more affordable. :(

    But.. we hope that this will make us more thankful and cherish our time together even more..

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