A few weeks ago (I’m getting very behind on my posts!) I attended my final German class. I’m so happy to have my evenings free again. It’s hard to imagine how productive I must have been before spending nearly ten hours a week in class. At the same time, though, I feel a little sad. I probably won’t see my classmates or teacher again and I will miss the laughter, camaraderie, and shared struggles that brought us together each week.
On Tuesday, my parents arrived in Germany though! I picked them up from the airport and brought them home so they could rest after the long flight.
That evening, the kids headed off to Kaiserslautern for the Euros Championship, where they would spend three days competing in the end-of-season tournament.
Once we got them loaded onto the bus and sent off, Matt and I took my parents out to dinner to kick off their visit. After dinner, we stopped for ice cream at the lake in Böblingen.
Wednesday was nonstop from start to finish. I worked most of the day before leaving early to pick up my parents and drive to Kaiserslautern for the baseball and softball bracket games. Traffic was awful, and to make things even more stressful, Ryan’s baseball game started early; something that somehow kept happening all weekend long. Thankfully, we still made it in time to catch the final hour of the game. Ryan had several great hits and some impressive plays in the field, making the rushed drive worthwhile even though the baseball team ultimately lost.
From there, we hurried over to the softball field. The softball game, which was supposed to begin after baseball, had also started ahead of schedule. Once again, we managed to catch the last hour. Brooklyn was out in center field making great defensive plays and contributing with solid hits at the plate. This time, Stuttgart came away with the win, giving us all a much happier ending to the evening.
After the games, we made the long drive back to Stuttgart. At first, traffic moved quickly, but as luck would have it, the three lanes narrowed into two just as we got stuck behind a convoy transporting a large tank down the Autobahn. No cars were allowed to pass, so we spent the next thirty miles crawling along at only 35 mph. It was excruciating. Eventually, we were finally able to get around them, and I flew the rest of the way home. We made it back around 10:30 and promptly fell into bed.
The following morning, we were up early again to drive back to Ramstein. I got an earlier-than-expected wake-up call, though, when Matt’s parents called to say their flight had been canceled. They had boarded the night before after waiting at the airport for hours, only to be told about thirty minutes later that everyone needed to deplane. I helped them get rebooked and found them a hotel near the airport. It didn’t take too long, but it did make us late leaving the house. We raced back up to Ramstein and arrived shortly after the first baseball game had already begun.
Sadly, the Stuttgart baseball team lost and would not advance any further in the tournament. The softball game was scheduled to begin immediately afterward, but once again, it started ahead of schedule.
We hurried over and managed to catch most of the game. The team was on fire, making play after play. Brooklyn pitched an incredible game and contributed with several great at-bats as well. Although Vilseck came out strong, Stuttgart rallied late and secured the win, advancing to the next round later that evening at 5:00 p.m.
I hadn’t realized until then that there would be a second softball game that evening. My parents were more than willing to stay for the rest of the day, but none of us were thrilled about driving all the way back to Stuttgart that night only to return to Ramstein the following morning. And also, my parents were a little tired of my driving, I even overheard my dad complaining to my mom about how his knuckles were hurting after our last drive 😂.
After a quick discussion, we decided to book a last-minute hotel room in Kaiserslautern. We grabbed lunch at Five Guys, did a little shopping at the PX, and then headed to the hotel for a short nap.
After about an hour of rest, we left early for the next game since everything had been running ahead of schedule. The hotel was about twenty-five minutes from the ballfields, and as we pulled into the parking lot, we discovered the game had already been underway for thirty minutes. We were furious! The game had started a full hour early. To make matters worse, Matt had left work early to make the two-hour drive himself, but with the earlier start time, he was likely going to miss most of it.
Stuttgart faced a team from England, and both teams battled hard from start to finish. The competition was intense, and Brooklyn moved behind the plate as catcher to help strengthen the defense. The score remained neck and neck throughout the game.
The turning point came on a play at home plate when Brooklyn tagged a runner attempting to score. To everyone watching, it appeared obvious that the runner was out, but she was called safe. Afterward, the umpire even admitted to Brooklyn that the runner had been out, but the call stood because of the way the tag had been applied. The team seemed to lose momentum after that. The game eventually went into extra innings, but Stuttgart fell in the final moments. With the loss, the best they could now finish in the tournament was third place; it was heartbreaking.
Matt arrived just as the game was ending, and Brooklyn was in tears, so at least he made it in time to give her the hug she needed. After everything was packed up, we drove back into Kaiserslautern and had dinner with friends at an Italian restaurant before heading straight to bed. I was incredibly thankful not to have to make the two-hour drive back to Stuttgart that night and then turn around and do it all again the next morning.
The following day’s game was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. We arrived at 10:30, which turned out to be lucky because the game was just about to start. Stuttgart was playing Vilseck again, a team they had beaten the day before.
Brooklyn played a great game and she played just about every position during the course of the game; pitcher, catcher, center field, short stop, and first base.
Unfortunately, they simply couldn’t regain their momentum after the heartbreaking loss the previous evening. It was difficult to watch them fall short and finish in fourth place. The loss felt especially emotional because it was the seniors’ final season. Once again, Brooklyn ended the game in tears.
My parents and I drove back to Stuttgart, took a much-needed nap, and then headed to Da Gianni’s for pizza before returning home. Later that evening, the kids finally arrived back home after staying for the awards ceremony in Ramstein.
Saturday was the big day for me: my German B1 exam. I got up early and made coffee, which I somehow managed to leave sitting by the front door. I arrived at 8:00 a.m. for check-in, where we had to surrender everything; jackets, bags, watches, glasses, and phones.
The first portion of the exam included listening, reading, and writing. Although I had done well on the practice tests for listening and reading, this version felt especially difficult. Ironically, the writing section, which I usually struggled with, felt surprisingly easy this time.
After the written portion, we had a one-hour break. Some classmates and I grabbed coffee at a café next door before returning to the library at noon for the speaking section. We had to hand over all of our belongings again and wait to be called in pairs. Phones were not allowed because the examiners didn’t want anyone communicating with people who had already completed the speaking exam, so the wait felt endless and incredibly boring.
I had hoped to be called early, but naturally my number wasn’t selected until nearly 2:00 p.m. The speaking section consisted of three parts. First, we introduced ourselves and shared basic biographical information. Next, we were shown a picture and asked to describe it in detail, including what the people were doing, what they looked like, what they were wearing, and the overall theme of the image. Finally, we were paired with another student and given a scenario to plan together. Our prompt involved organizing a class trip to a city museum.
Honestly, that final section was the hardest part. My partner was obviously nervous, and so was I, and we stumbled through much of the conversation. Now all I can do is hope I performed better than it felt in the moment and managed to earn a passing score. Unfortunately, I won’t know the results for another four to six weeks.
Happily, while I was taking my German exam, Matt’s dad and stepmom arrived in Germany. Matt picked them up from the airport and brought them home for a quick rest. Matt also picked up our rental car since we would be spending the weekend in Switzerland.
Because I’m still in the middle of our vehicle trade-in, we only had one car available for the trip. Originally, we had reserved a large van, but the rental company called the night before our departure to let us know it had been damaged. To make matters worse, they said there were no other vans available anywhere between Stuttgart and Munich.
As it turned out, they were right. After a frantic last-minute search, we managed to secure a smaller vehicle that would work for our needs. It wasn’t our ideal solution, but it meant our trip could go ahead as planned. The only adjustment was that we would need to caravan to Switzerland in two cars.
As soon as I got home from my German exam, we loaded everyone into the cars and began the four-hour drive to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Even though it was after 8:00 p.m. when we arrived, the sun was still shining. After checking into our hotel, we relaxed with a few drinks on the terrace and enjoyed the beautiful mountain views before heading to bed.
On Sunday morning, we slept in and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Our plan for the day was to visit the picturesque villages perched high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
We started with Mürren, which required taking a cable car from the valley floor up the mountainside. The cable car from Stechelberg to Mürren is one of the steepest in the world. I conveniently neglected to mention that fact to my parents beforehand, especially my mom, who tends to get nervous about heights. To her credit, she climbed right in without a single complaint.
After the short ride, we arrived in Mürren. The weather was absolutely perfect; warm, sunny, and nearly cloudless. The views across the valley and surrounding peaks were breathtaking. We spent the morning strolling through the village, taking photos of both the scenery and the charming alpine buildings. Along the way, we stopped for drinks and a snack while the kids played a game of giant chess.
After walking the length of the village, we continued on another cable car to the neighboring village of Gimmelwald. There, we enjoyed pizza and drinks while exploring the quiet streets and soaking in even more spectacular views.
Eventually, we took the final cable car back down to the valley floor. By then, the afternoon heat and our early start had caught up with us, so we returned to the hotel for a much-needed nap.
That evening, we met our friends, Nick and Natia for dinner at a local restaurant, where we sampled several traditional Swiss dishes. Afterward, we enjoyed a few more drinks on the terrace at the hotel before calling it a night.
Monday was our travel day back to Stuttgart, but not before one final adventure. Before leaving Lauterbrunnen, we visited Trümmelbach Falls, a series of powerful glacial waterfalls hidden inside the mountain itself.
The visit began with a short walk through a beautiful meadow before reaching the entrance. From there, we took an elevator deep into the mountain to access the upper viewing platforms. The falls were incredible. Massive volumes of water thundered through narrow rock passages carved out over thousands of years, creating a deafening roar and filling the air with a constant mist.
The kids, Matt’s dad, and I climbed farther up the pathways and staircases inside the mountain, stopping frequently to take pictures from the various observation points. The rest of the group stayed on the lower platforms, enjoying both the views and a slightly less strenuous experience. Eventually, we all made our way back down together, taking in the waterfalls from different angles along the way.
Afterward, we snapped a few final photos around Lauterbrunnen before beginning the four-hour drive back to Stuttgart. We arrived home around 4:00 p.m., and I even had enough time to make a quick trip to the commissary before settling in for a relaxing evening with family.
Gilcrests Abroad 