That’s what I’ve been repeating to myself over the last week. All I can say for myself is, I’ve been busy.

We spent the long weekend visiting the inlaws near Wittlich. On the way there we stopped at Idar-Oberstein, gemstone and jewelry capital of Germany, which I plan to blog about later. While at the inlaws, we spent a couple hours at the Wittlicher Säubrennerkirmes (Wittlich Pig Roasting Festival). There were so many Americans there, it had to be at least 50% American, mostly folks from the many nearby military bases. Anyways, this has given me an idea for yet another future post on How to dress like an American (i.e., stick out like a sore thumb) vs. How to be mistaken for a German.

We spent some time in Wehlen sorting through some classic books (Goethe, Schiller, you know, all those light-hearted, fun German authors) and picking up an old pendulum wall clock we’ve inherited from Rainer’s godmother, then we headed over to Bernkastel-Kues to do some wine shopping.

On the way home, we stopped for lunch in Vellberg. It is a really cute, small village just off the Romantic Road. There were very few tourists and the food at the Gasthaus was good, so I can heartily recommend it to fans of half-timbered houses who hate the crowds that flood Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

After Vellberg, we stopped for coffee and sightseeing in Dinkelsbühl. Dinkelsbühl is actually on the Romatic Road, so there were quite a few more tourists, but it wasn’t bad. The signs there are all in English and Japanese, as well as German, for those who haven’t learned the language yet. The town is lovely with a nice old city wall surrounding. Definitely worth a stop.

We got back late Sunday, and early Monday I was out on the Autobahn again heading to the Munich airport to fetch my mom. It’s been non-stop since she arrived, we’ve explored Regensburg and I think we’re going to check out some of the small, cute villages around here tomorrow. She’s only here for a week, so there’s a lot to cram in!

Sunday was the local town festival, and I thought I’d give you a sample of what you might see at a typical Bavarian fest.

And what would our little Bavarian be without his Lederhosen?

Spirit Asia, the biggest Asian Open Air festival in Germany, is taking place in Nürnberg this weekend. Anyone interested?

Off to baby swimming, a hair cut, and lunch with the gals today.

I’m around, just exhausted today and have spent most of the day asleep. Was at the ob/gyn today and she doesn’t expect that Oliver will be showing up before his due date (and he may be a bit late). She offered to have me induced at the hospital if it was getting to be too stressful for me, but we’re waiting for Oliver to decide it’s time to come out on his own.

A little information for folks in the Regensburg area: (1) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is playing Monday night in English at the Cinemaxx at the Arkaden, (2) the Nittendorf Bürgerfest is this Saturday the 14th, and (3) the Laaber Bürgerfest is next Saturday the 21st, the same day as the final Harry Potter book release, so I guess I won’t be able to get away with spending the entire day reading!