This was a short week for us as we did not get back from Sardinia until Monday evening. As usual, the week flew by with millions of activities and school events!
Thursday was Parent Night at the kids’ school. Ironically, neither kid could attend with us as they were each at their commitments; Ryan had Scouts, and Brooklyn was working. So, Matt and I split up, each taking one kid’s school schedule and meeting all their teachers. Afterward, Matt showed me his {huge} office in the school. It’s pretty nice!
Friday night was the first home football game of the year. Ryan worked concessions for JROTC, and Brooklyn alternated between working a fundraiser for the Junior Class Council and taking photos for the yearbook. Matt and I alternated between watching the game and helping both kids with their ventures.
Sadly, Stuttgart lost its first home football game in something like four years. It was a good game, though. Brooklyn’s friend Kenneth is on the football team, and it’s much more fun watching when you know someone on the field.
Saturday, we slept in for the first time in forever! Ryan and I ran some errands around the base while Brooklyn went to the pool with friends. Ryan eventually left me to go hang out with his friends as well. Matt and I planned to clean out and organize our pool/storage room that day, and it seems like the kids were smart in making themselves scarce that day. Regardless, Matt and I got everything in order on our own and got rid of so much stuff. It is so great to be able to walk through our storage room again and find things!
On Saturday evening, we went to Waldenbuch for the 2024 Waldenbuch Marktplatzfest, AKA The Meatloaf Festival. Each year, the city celebrates its marketplace and vendors, and Saturday is the special day they celebrate the city’s butchers. The butchers all get together to create a 3-meter-long Fleischkase, or a meatloaf, which is then paraded into town, preceded by a band and guard of honor. The butchers then serve the meatloaf to the festival-goers in exchange for a small donation. The city sets up several tents and fest tables, and a special beer is brewed for the event.
We met several friends and filled a table to enjoy the evening. Matt and I tried the meatloaf last year (it tastes like a hot dog—not bad), so we passed on it this year and had rotisserie chickens from the chicken truck instead. We also enjoyed the music from Waldenbuch’s not one but two city bands, which played all night.
Sunday was the first day of winter. Saturday had been sunny and 80F, but it started raining early Sunday morning and brought cold air with it. It continued to get colder throughout the day until it was about 55F in the late afternoon. Apparently, we are going to skip right by Autumn this year, as the forecast says it will remain in the 50s for the foreseeable future.
Either way, it was the last day of Stuttgart Weindorf, and this is the first year I haven’t visited it yet. Luckily, another friend who had never been wanted to go, so we jumped on the train around lunchtime to head into the city.
Every time I’ve visited the Weindorf in the past, it’s been packed with people, so much that it’s hard to walk around, and it could take hours to make it past each market stall. I’m unsure if it was the sudden change in weather or because it was the last day, but hardly anyone was there! We didn’t have to wait in any wine lines and could sit wherever we wanted. It definitely had a different atmosphere, but it was highly enjoyable. We grabbed lunch and tried several different glasses before returning home.
At this point, we were all feeling pretty lazy, so we got Thai food from our favorite Thai restaurant in town and spent the rest of Sunday lying around relaxing.
Gilcrests Abroad 