February was a really fast month for the Taylor Household. Naturally, we like it that way, so we had to cram in some more travel while we still could. Ron is going to share with you his experience in Asia for a business trip and after that you'll get to read all about the fun stuff we were able to do while we were in Singapore, even though Ron had to continue working that week. At the top of our list for enjoyment during this trip was the weather, it was sunny, warm, tropical and the air was fragrant. It was a complete change from the winter time in East Germany. What a huge treat to get to have this opportunity.
Ron was approached at work to be part of a team of auditors heading to Asia to look at a couple of suppliers associated with his work. One company is on the island of Taiwan and the other is in Malaysia. This was of interest to him from many different aspects, so he decided to go. The plane ride to Taiwan was really long - it is 13 hours to Singapore and another 4 hours to Taipei from there. After a long day in planes, they landed and found their hotel. They had a few free hours before dinner, so he took off to look at the area around his hotel. There were little side streets with vendors of all sorts in them.
The main roads were filled with motorscooters and they surrounded you at redlights. They seem to have their own set of traffic rules - riding between cars and going to the front at red lights. When the light changes to green, they all take off like a swarm of locusts down the street. Taiwan was less modern and more "gritty" than expected.
The audit lasted a day and a half. At the end of the first day, a marvelous dinner was eaten at a restaurant at the top of the Taipei 101 tower - 101 floors high with a commanding view of Taipei. It was an awesome experience; the food was also excellent. It was a great evening.
Around noon the next day, they took off for Malaysia for the second audit. They flew through Kuola Lampour and on to the island of Penang. The plane arrived at 10 PM and it was late before arriving at the hotels. Up early for the audit and it was busy, busy for the next three days. There were restaurants along the road called Hawker Restaurants and they served (of course) Hawker food.
The restaurants have outdoor seating and the food is prepared fresh. A couple of them maintained aquariums where you could choose your meal to be prepared for you. It was very interesting. This was typical dining for the Malay people, it seemed.
Malaysia has a large Muslim population and there were women with burquas and head scarfs and veils. Taxis were dirt cheap to rent and provided much of the transportation for visitors, it seemed. The town closest to the hotels, Georgetown, was settled by the British in the late 1700s with Fort Cornwallis.
The town has some of those grand British style buildings and has a charming downtown section with small streets full of vendor stands
and shops with a second story probably for living accommodations. There is an interesting blend of new modern buildings and hotels and old colonial British architecture - and a variety of in-between.
He went to a huge mall to shop (he was there with three German ladies),
but this mall was different. Most of the shops were livingroom-sized stores with an unbelievable array of items for sale.
Lots of cellphones and iPods and other electronic items for sale. Asia seems to be really connected electronically. This is the view looking out over Georgetown from the top floor of the mall:
Being next to the sea, fishing was a big part of the Malay life. The fishing culture was very apparent along the shore.
Jackie, Jacoba and Ruby landed in Singapore and Ron was at their gate to meet them. His business trip continued with a visit to his company's sister site, Fab7. While the girls were out exploring Singapore, he was in the office. Jackie tells the story from here...
We weren't even off the plane 5 minutes and Ruby spotted Ron waiting for us and he wasn't even waiting for us for 10 minutes. Remarkable how we came from the other side of the world and boom, there is RON! We were so excited to see him and arrive in Singapore. The girls were serious troopers on this flight, I made them promise me they would try to sleep so we could play when we got there. Singapore Airlines has to be one of the top airlines I have had the pleasure to fly on. They treat you like royalty, amazing service, so refreshing-you would think other airlines would learn from this, there were no empty seats on any of our flights. We were fortunate to catch the very tail end of Chinese New Year celebrating the year of the rabbit. Some decorations were still out and it looked really festive.
Our adventure started immediately by learning the rapid transit system, we figured out how to get to our hotel for the first stop. Singapore's public transportation system is very well used, we learned that in order for you to purchase your own private car you must first purchase a $50,000 certificate that allows you to buy a vehicle and after that you can buy your set of wheels, thankfully the certificate is good for 10 years so you have time to save up for your luxury car. Our hotel, the Royal Plaza was located in the hub of downtown at the intersection of Orchard & Scotts Road, we couldn't have asked for a better spot. During certain times of day, taxi's are very reasonable and we also opted to get around via taxi frequently. It is a unique experience to get in a cab and be driven on the "opposite" side of the road and see traffic coming towards you from the other direction, this took some real getting used to.
Shopping is a form of breathing to Asians so there are numerous underground walkways, tunnels, and passage ways that lead you from shopping center to shopping center all interconnected with public transportation and let's not forget about food, they put a food court in the center hub of all of these. Really, all you need is within 1 blocks distance. Our first night we had received some recommendations of places to eat so we stopped at the first nearby food court for Chicken Rice, a traditional dish of the area. We happened along some stuffed little pastries for dessert, filled with adzuki beans & bananas & chocolate. They make them fresh, so when they are warm they are really tasty, the girls took quite a liking to these.
We knew that our first day there and really the only play day for Ron was going to have to be action packed, mostly to help us get over our jet lag and enjoy being outdoors. We headed to an area called Sentosa Island which is a large resort area with numerous activities, all you need is time and money. First, we visited a small butterfly garden and insect museum, it was a pleasant way to start out the morning. The climate in Singapore is very condusive to butterflies unless it rains because one raindrop is the equivilent of a bowling ball landing out of the sky on one of us. So, that is why when it rains, butterflies must take cover. They had a large exhibit of unusual insects that we have never seen.
Next up, the Mega Zip! Oh, this was SO much fun! They harness you up and you climb up a tower to the top of the highest hill, when you get there the view is gorgeous overlooking the lush green treetops and emerald waters. Then, your heart starts beating a little faster as you realize they are going to clip you on to this cable and send you sliding down towards the water. It was one of my favorite things I've ever done. It was a blast. Jacoba also did a ropes course and Ruby conquered a large climbing wall before they zipped down to the beach. We didn't feel sleepy or jet lagged at all after we did the Mega Zip...
But why slow down there, after that we rode a Luge Course a couple of times, we had heard how much fun these luge buggies were, you could really get going fast. (Still not sleepy...plan was working).
Sentosa Island is so nicely planned out it has it's own monorail and complimentary bus system, all with convenient shopping & eating establishments right at your fingertips. We visited the Underwater World Aquarium complete with a dolphin show, these were no ordinary porpoises, they were PINK! We never grow tired of visiting aquariums, this one had a really long tunnel you rode a "people mover" through to view the fish swimming right over our heads. While we were waiting to enter the aquarium we enjoyed watching a couple of monkeys nearby and a Momma peacock and her babies.
That's it, Day 1, mission accomplished-fighting jet lag! After dinner we were all ready to head back to the hotel and call it a day.
Monday morning meant going to work for Ron and we had to decide where to start venturing out. We walked from our hotel a short distance and visited the Botanical Garden and National Orchid Garden. These botanical gardens have been around since the mid 1800's and we learned that much of it's initial interest and success was brought through the experimentation and promotion of the rubber tree. It was a major crop that brought prosperity to the South East Asian region. Then in the 1920's the botanical garden spearheaded orchid breeding and now features 2,000 hybrids and over 1,000 species of orchid plants. It was lovely, colorful and fragrant.
Several of Ron's coworkers moved to Dresden from Singapore and so we had received many suggestions before our trip but the icing on the cake was learning that one of these families would also be vacationing in Singapore during our exact same time frame. We were fortunate to spend time together and in doing so, we had built in guides during our stay.
Chinatown is an area that we were very anxious to visit for various reasons. It is always great to experience different cultures, traditions, foods and unique sights. We got all of that and more on our guided visit to Chinatown. While there we visited a Chinese & Indian Temple, sampled our first aroma & flavor of Durians, and saw many unusual items available to purchase. We stopped at a local eating spot for an typical asian afternoon treat-flavored shaved ice. On our way to be seated I was overcome by a smell that instantly made me think they had a gas leak inside the restaurant and certainly there was a 1-800 number we should call immediately to alert them of the leak. Guess what, that was our shaved ice treat! Durian's smell like the worst natural gas leak imaginable, the flavor reminds me a bit of mangos, but you just have to get past that odor. We came by a shop that had homemade jars filled with liquid and reptiles/insects. Apparently, you can purchase a swig of this liquid to overcome ailments for men and women, I am pretty sure that Hugh Heffner shopped there before big pharmaceutical companies brought Viagra to the US. That's all I need to say about that. It was much more colorful and cheery picking out chopsticks.
On Tuesday we went back to Sentosa Island with our dear friends and spent the day at Universal Studios. The kids had a ball on the rides and watching the shows, for Donkey Live (from Shrek) the girls got to have a visit on stage with Donkey. He taught them to "Trot in Place" and do the "Rump Shake", learning a new dance is always fun and it was a big hit.
Singapore loves showing off it's skyline, so we took the Jewel Box Cable Cars over the water to get back to the main island, it is the highest "natural" point in Singapore, Mount Faber, these cars can be reserved for dinner and priviate functions, they were fancy. It is a frequent spot for proposals and weddings. The view did not disappoint us.
Before our trip I had researched some of the top things to do while there, I learned that the Ritz Carlton hotel had a permanent art exhibit that they would provide you with I-pods and you could tour for free. Sign me up! The 4,200 pieces of artwork and sculptures represent one of the finest and most extensive collections of modern & contemporary art found in Southeast Asia. We were treated to pieces by Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Henry Moore, and one of our favorites, Dale Chihuly. It was very enjoyable.
From the Ritz Carlton we then took a walkway bridge called, the Helix and it is built and designed after human DNA. It is really, really cool and Jacoba gave us a science lesson the entire time we walked across it. It is an architectural marvel and provides an outstanding view of the area as you stroll across. Naturally, it lead us straight to Singapore's newest and most impressive casino and hotel: The Marina Bay Sands.
The Marina Bay Sands. It is described as the new epicenter of leisure, entertainment and business in the heart of Asia. For us, we were just plain blown away! We travelled to the 56 & 57th floors to visit the Skypark and observe one of the most astounding views anywhere in the world. We sat right on the edge of the Skypark overlooking Singapore and enjoyed a hot dog lunch. The Skypark features a swimming pool that gives the illusion you can swim right off the edge of the building. You must go to Marina Bay Sands Singapore and Google this. My photos are good, but certainly cannot capture the complete awe of this structure and surrounding buildings. I watched a documentary on the building of this complex on our return flight (because Singapore Airlines has more entertainment options than Warner Bros. & MGM combined) and this film was fascinating.
Time to spend a day with the animals. Next we hit the Singapore Zoo by day and their Night Safari on Thursday. It was beautiful because of the lush and green plant life, all the animals looked natural in their Rainforest setting, it didn't even seem like they were captive, it was complete with a daily afternoon downpour - and we are talking POUR, this would happen most every afternoon between 5-6 pm and that was when you realized those underground walkways and passage ways they have are REALLY useful. We bought rain ponchos... The Rainforest is beautiful at night, especially after a big downpour, the nocturnal animals are all very active and make lots of NOISE, howling, squawking and prowling around. We had a 40 minute ride through a huge area and then after a great animal show, we sampled the walking trails as well. Jacoba was called up on stage and got to play hide and seek with a critter called a Civet, afterwards all the Indian guests kept coming up to her and calling her by name while we were touring the trails. (It was a little creepy, like they'd become her new "fan" club). Long day...back to the hotel and time to find a pillow.
What a week, but we can't just end it there. We MUST spend a day at the beach and enjoy the sunshine while we still can. We ventured back to our original spot on Sentosa Island for a big beach umbrella for Mom and sand & water for the girls. It was the perfect ending to our busy week, playing on the beach has never been a hardship for Jacoba & Ruby. The difference about beaches in Singapore compared to others-they are manmade and completely surrounded by enormous freight ships as far as the eye can see. They dot the water either recently unloaded or waiting to be loaded and these boats are HUGE. Everything is shipped onto the island and mainly arrives by container-across from Universal Studios are thousands and thousands of containers, it is just amazing.
The only way I could convince the girls that it was time to leave the beach was if I promised them they could swim in the hotel pool for a while before we got cleaned up for dinner. When Ron finished up work we all headed out to the Clark Quay area in search of Chili Crab for dinner. We were supposed to eat at Jumbo Seafood. They had a 2 1/2 hour wait. Alas, no Chili Crab for us, really the only thing we didn't get to have while we were in Singapore. Chili Crab is a very famous dish with locals and tourists as well and we'd been told, you've got to try it! Ruby was immediately ready with a suggestion (she wasn't to eager about the crab idea). Mexican! Because every food type was available at this shopping center, we enjoyed quesadillas, fajitas, salsa and sour cream-a rarity in Dresden, Germany.
And so, that wrapped up our week. Our 13 hour flight to Frankfurt was very pleasant and although very long, it went better than expected. Now we have to worry about jet lag in Dresden, but my plan is already working-send the kids to school!!
Ron was approached at work to be part of a team of auditors heading to Asia to look at a couple of suppliers associated with his work. One company is on the island of Taiwan and the other is in Malaysia. This was of interest to him from many different aspects, so he decided to go. The plane ride to Taiwan was really long - it is 13 hours to Singapore and another 4 hours to Taipei from there. After a long day in planes, they landed and found their hotel. They had a few free hours before dinner, so he took off to look at the area around his hotel. There were little side streets with vendors of all sorts in them.
The main roads were filled with motorscooters and they surrounded you at redlights. They seem to have their own set of traffic rules - riding between cars and going to the front at red lights. When the light changes to green, they all take off like a swarm of locusts down the street. Taiwan was less modern and more "gritty" than expected.
The audit lasted a day and a half. At the end of the first day, a marvelous dinner was eaten at a restaurant at the top of the Taipei 101 tower - 101 floors high with a commanding view of Taipei. It was an awesome experience; the food was also excellent. It was a great evening.
Around noon the next day, they took off for Malaysia for the second audit. They flew through Kuola Lampour and on to the island of Penang. The plane arrived at 10 PM and it was late before arriving at the hotels. Up early for the audit and it was busy, busy for the next three days. There were restaurants along the road called Hawker Restaurants and they served (of course) Hawker food.
The restaurants have outdoor seating and the food is prepared fresh. A couple of them maintained aquariums where you could choose your meal to be prepared for you. It was very interesting. This was typical dining for the Malay people, it seemed.
Malaysia has a large Muslim population and there were women with burquas and head scarfs and veils. Taxis were dirt cheap to rent and provided much of the transportation for visitors, it seemed. The town closest to the hotels, Georgetown, was settled by the British in the late 1700s with Fort Cornwallis.
The town has some of those grand British style buildings and has a charming downtown section with small streets full of vendor stands
and shops with a second story probably for living accommodations. There is an interesting blend of new modern buildings and hotels and old colonial British architecture - and a variety of in-between.
He went to a huge mall to shop (he was there with three German ladies),
but this mall was different. Most of the shops were livingroom-sized stores with an unbelievable array of items for sale.
Lots of cellphones and iPods and other electronic items for sale. Asia seems to be really connected electronically. This is the view looking out over Georgetown from the top floor of the mall:
Being next to the sea, fishing was a big part of the Malay life. The fishing culture was very apparent along the shore.
Jackie, Jacoba and Ruby landed in Singapore and Ron was at their gate to meet them. His business trip continued with a visit to his company's sister site, Fab7. While the girls were out exploring Singapore, he was in the office. Jackie tells the story from here...
We weren't even off the plane 5 minutes and Ruby spotted Ron waiting for us and he wasn't even waiting for us for 10 minutes. Remarkable how we came from the other side of the world and boom, there is RON! We were so excited to see him and arrive in Singapore. The girls were serious troopers on this flight, I made them promise me they would try to sleep so we could play when we got there. Singapore Airlines has to be one of the top airlines I have had the pleasure to fly on. They treat you like royalty, amazing service, so refreshing-you would think other airlines would learn from this, there were no empty seats on any of our flights. We were fortunate to catch the very tail end of Chinese New Year celebrating the year of the rabbit. Some decorations were still out and it looked really festive.
Our adventure started immediately by learning the rapid transit system, we figured out how to get to our hotel for the first stop. Singapore's public transportation system is very well used, we learned that in order for you to purchase your own private car you must first purchase a $50,000 certificate that allows you to buy a vehicle and after that you can buy your set of wheels, thankfully the certificate is good for 10 years so you have time to save up for your luxury car. Our hotel, the Royal Plaza was located in the hub of downtown at the intersection of Orchard & Scotts Road, we couldn't have asked for a better spot. During certain times of day, taxi's are very reasonable and we also opted to get around via taxi frequently. It is a unique experience to get in a cab and be driven on the "opposite" side of the road and see traffic coming towards you from the other direction, this took some real getting used to.
Shopping is a form of breathing to Asians so there are numerous underground walkways, tunnels, and passage ways that lead you from shopping center to shopping center all interconnected with public transportation and let's not forget about food, they put a food court in the center hub of all of these. Really, all you need is within 1 blocks distance. Our first night we had received some recommendations of places to eat so we stopped at the first nearby food court for Chicken Rice, a traditional dish of the area. We happened along some stuffed little pastries for dessert, filled with adzuki beans & bananas & chocolate. They make them fresh, so when they are warm they are really tasty, the girls took quite a liking to these.
We knew that our first day there and really the only play day for Ron was going to have to be action packed, mostly to help us get over our jet lag and enjoy being outdoors. We headed to an area called Sentosa Island which is a large resort area with numerous activities, all you need is time and money. First, we visited a small butterfly garden and insect museum, it was a pleasant way to start out the morning. The climate in Singapore is very condusive to butterflies unless it rains because one raindrop is the equivilent of a bowling ball landing out of the sky on one of us. So, that is why when it rains, butterflies must take cover. They had a large exhibit of unusual insects that we have never seen.
Next up, the Mega Zip! Oh, this was SO much fun! They harness you up and you climb up a tower to the top of the highest hill, when you get there the view is gorgeous overlooking the lush green treetops and emerald waters. Then, your heart starts beating a little faster as you realize they are going to clip you on to this cable and send you sliding down towards the water. It was one of my favorite things I've ever done. It was a blast. Jacoba also did a ropes course and Ruby conquered a large climbing wall before they zipped down to the beach. We didn't feel sleepy or jet lagged at all after we did the Mega Zip...
But why slow down there, after that we rode a Luge Course a couple of times, we had heard how much fun these luge buggies were, you could really get going fast. (Still not sleepy...plan was working).
Sentosa Island is so nicely planned out it has it's own monorail and complimentary bus system, all with convenient shopping & eating establishments right at your fingertips. We visited the Underwater World Aquarium complete with a dolphin show, these were no ordinary porpoises, they were PINK! We never grow tired of visiting aquariums, this one had a really long tunnel you rode a "people mover" through to view the fish swimming right over our heads. While we were waiting to enter the aquarium we enjoyed watching a couple of monkeys nearby and a Momma peacock and her babies.
That's it, Day 1, mission accomplished-fighting jet lag! After dinner we were all ready to head back to the hotel and call it a day.
Monday morning meant going to work for Ron and we had to decide where to start venturing out. We walked from our hotel a short distance and visited the Botanical Garden and National Orchid Garden. These botanical gardens have been around since the mid 1800's and we learned that much of it's initial interest and success was brought through the experimentation and promotion of the rubber tree. It was a major crop that brought prosperity to the South East Asian region. Then in the 1920's the botanical garden spearheaded orchid breeding and now features 2,000 hybrids and over 1,000 species of orchid plants. It was lovely, colorful and fragrant.
Several of Ron's coworkers moved to Dresden from Singapore and so we had received many suggestions before our trip but the icing on the cake was learning that one of these families would also be vacationing in Singapore during our exact same time frame. We were fortunate to spend time together and in doing so, we had built in guides during our stay.
Chinatown is an area that we were very anxious to visit for various reasons. It is always great to experience different cultures, traditions, foods and unique sights. We got all of that and more on our guided visit to Chinatown. While there we visited a Chinese & Indian Temple, sampled our first aroma & flavor of Durians, and saw many unusual items available to purchase. We stopped at a local eating spot for an typical asian afternoon treat-flavored shaved ice. On our way to be seated I was overcome by a smell that instantly made me think they had a gas leak inside the restaurant and certainly there was a 1-800 number we should call immediately to alert them of the leak. Guess what, that was our shaved ice treat! Durian's smell like the worst natural gas leak imaginable, the flavor reminds me a bit of mangos, but you just have to get past that odor. We came by a shop that had homemade jars filled with liquid and reptiles/insects. Apparently, you can purchase a swig of this liquid to overcome ailments for men and women, I am pretty sure that Hugh Heffner shopped there before big pharmaceutical companies brought Viagra to the US. That's all I need to say about that. It was much more colorful and cheery picking out chopsticks.
On Tuesday we went back to Sentosa Island with our dear friends and spent the day at Universal Studios. The kids had a ball on the rides and watching the shows, for Donkey Live (from Shrek) the girls got to have a visit on stage with Donkey. He taught them to "Trot in Place" and do the "Rump Shake", learning a new dance is always fun and it was a big hit.
Singapore loves showing off it's skyline, so we took the Jewel Box Cable Cars over the water to get back to the main island, it is the highest "natural" point in Singapore, Mount Faber, these cars can be reserved for dinner and priviate functions, they were fancy. It is a frequent spot for proposals and weddings. The view did not disappoint us.
Before our trip I had researched some of the top things to do while there, I learned that the Ritz Carlton hotel had a permanent art exhibit that they would provide you with I-pods and you could tour for free. Sign me up! The 4,200 pieces of artwork and sculptures represent one of the finest and most extensive collections of modern & contemporary art found in Southeast Asia. We were treated to pieces by Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Henry Moore, and one of our favorites, Dale Chihuly. It was very enjoyable.
From the Ritz Carlton we then took a walkway bridge called, the Helix and it is built and designed after human DNA. It is really, really cool and Jacoba gave us a science lesson the entire time we walked across it. It is an architectural marvel and provides an outstanding view of the area as you stroll across. Naturally, it lead us straight to Singapore's newest and most impressive casino and hotel: The Marina Bay Sands.
The Marina Bay Sands. It is described as the new epicenter of leisure, entertainment and business in the heart of Asia. For us, we were just plain blown away! We travelled to the 56 & 57th floors to visit the Skypark and observe one of the most astounding views anywhere in the world. We sat right on the edge of the Skypark overlooking Singapore and enjoyed a hot dog lunch. The Skypark features a swimming pool that gives the illusion you can swim right off the edge of the building. You must go to Marina Bay Sands Singapore and Google this. My photos are good, but certainly cannot capture the complete awe of this structure and surrounding buildings. I watched a documentary on the building of this complex on our return flight (because Singapore Airlines has more entertainment options than Warner Bros. & MGM combined) and this film was fascinating.
Time to spend a day with the animals. Next we hit the Singapore Zoo by day and their Night Safari on Thursday. It was beautiful because of the lush and green plant life, all the animals looked natural in their Rainforest setting, it didn't even seem like they were captive, it was complete with a daily afternoon downpour - and we are talking POUR, this would happen most every afternoon between 5-6 pm and that was when you realized those underground walkways and passage ways they have are REALLY useful. We bought rain ponchos... The Rainforest is beautiful at night, especially after a big downpour, the nocturnal animals are all very active and make lots of NOISE, howling, squawking and prowling around. We had a 40 minute ride through a huge area and then after a great animal show, we sampled the walking trails as well. Jacoba was called up on stage and got to play hide and seek with a critter called a Civet, afterwards all the Indian guests kept coming up to her and calling her by name while we were touring the trails. (It was a little creepy, like they'd become her new "fan" club). Long day...back to the hotel and time to find a pillow.
What a week, but we can't just end it there. We MUST spend a day at the beach and enjoy the sunshine while we still can. We ventured back to our original spot on Sentosa Island for a big beach umbrella for Mom and sand & water for the girls. It was the perfect ending to our busy week, playing on the beach has never been a hardship for Jacoba & Ruby. The difference about beaches in Singapore compared to others-they are manmade and completely surrounded by enormous freight ships as far as the eye can see. They dot the water either recently unloaded or waiting to be loaded and these boats are HUGE. Everything is shipped onto the island and mainly arrives by container-across from Universal Studios are thousands and thousands of containers, it is just amazing.
The only way I could convince the girls that it was time to leave the beach was if I promised them they could swim in the hotel pool for a while before we got cleaned up for dinner. When Ron finished up work we all headed out to the Clark Quay area in search of Chili Crab for dinner. We were supposed to eat at Jumbo Seafood. They had a 2 1/2 hour wait. Alas, no Chili Crab for us, really the only thing we didn't get to have while we were in Singapore. Chili Crab is a very famous dish with locals and tourists as well and we'd been told, you've got to try it! Ruby was immediately ready with a suggestion (she wasn't to eager about the crab idea). Mexican! Because every food type was available at this shopping center, we enjoyed quesadillas, fajitas, salsa and sour cream-a rarity in Dresden, Germany.
And so, that wrapped up our week. Our 13 hour flight to Frankfurt was very pleasant and although very long, it went better than expected. Now we have to worry about jet lag in Dresden, but my plan is already working-send the kids to school!!
