Greetings from Rothenburg!

Hi folks! After a loooong flight with a baby and a very talkative Marine, we arrived in Stuttgart and were finally able to meet Jenny and Felix! They were such gracious hosts. We toured the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart (Jenny's first time, even though she works for Mercedes!), and then had a wonderful albeit FREEZING evening at the Weihnachtsmarkt in Esslingen. The Christmas market was exactly what I thought it would be, with an added bonus of a medieval theme. We sampled Glühwein (hot red wine) and Schöpfnüdeln (potato pasta with cheese and sauerkraut--Schwäbish-traditionale). We ended the evening with Felix's homemade French pizza. (Mom, you would have loved it!) We cannot thank them enough for allowing us to visit, and we are so thankful to have met family here!

We got an amazing 12 hours of sleep last night and are ready to tackle Rothenburg.

(Not my picture. I borrowed it from the internet...however, this is pretty much what it looks like right now!)

We have figured out the trains and had no mishaps on the way here. Did I mention there was snow? We stepped off the train in Rothenburg and were greeted with what would qualify as a blizzard in my "live in the South and never see snow" world. It is beautiful. Rothenburg is the oldest walled city in Germany, and we can't wait to walk along the wall tomorrow morning. For now, we are off to St. Jakob's church to hear an organ concert, then dinner and the Nightwatchman's tour of the city. I already have my eye on the cuckoo clocks!!!

Love to all. Alles Liebe.