One thing I've learned from people visiting me over the years: when people say, I just want to hang out, we don't have to do anything, they don't really mean it. So I researched for days to have a long, long list of things to do, more than could actually be done in three weeks. But that was assuming there would be more than just two or three non-rain days while they were in Portland. It rained more than it didn't while they were here in Canby (though, thankfully, not during their week South), and that proved challenging to the visit. I got so desperate for things to do that at one point I posted to FaceBook for suggestions -- and every suggestion was something we couldn't do either because it was outside, because of the language barrier (movies) or just wasn't at all something three of the four of us would want to do (art museum, opera...).
Still, I came up with just enough to keep everyone from getting too bored. Among our various activities:
- Clackamas County Master Gardeners Spring Garden Fair (within walking distance of our house! Next year, if we're still here, I'll be taking some of the free workshops there and buying some plants for sure)
- Downtown Astoria (cute little city with a great view from the historic column above the city)
- Evergreen Air and Space Museum (home of the "Spruce Goose", which I was beside myself to get to see in person; but I was weirded out that no mention was ever made that the majority of the planes at the museum were designed to kill people. The IMAX movie of the Hubble space station was The Awesome)
- Ultra adorable downtown McMinnville (the day after the UFO parade, unfortunately; still so sad that I didn't get the job there)
- Mount St. Helens (the highlight of the entire trip for me; astounding)
- Mt. Angel, Silverton and Silver Falls State Park
- Woodburn Company Stores (TWICE)
- Downtown Portland, the Portland International Rose Test Garden, Döner Kebab on 4th street (where the owner happily spoke German with my in-laws)
- Hanging out in our back yard on the rare two nice days (warm and cloudy, but without rain), grilling and playing corn hole (everyone was terrific but ME)
Here are some of the photos from their visit. And here is me about to be crushed by a replica Apollo Command Module.
German wikipedia made this visit HUGELY better -- it could explain all sorts of things I couldn't (like what the "Spruce Goose" is, and why Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea are important and have monuments all over the place). I wish I had printed out several pages and put it together as a booklet for them.
Near the end of their visit, Stefan figured out how to stream the German TV station ZDF through his computer and onto our TV. His parents and he were all very content watching the German evening news. Wish we'd figured that out earlier... could have made a lot of evenings more enjoyable for them.
Albi loves Karin and Klaus. I can't figure out if it's because of how happy they make Stefan, or if they smell like Stefan and so she naturally likes them. When they left both times -- to travel South and then when they went back to Germany -- Albi went into mourning. When they would show up, she was beside herself with joy that they were back.
In the last few days of their trip, Eyjafjallajokul (pronounced ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl; let's all say it together) started acting up. If my in-laws were going to be stranded by a raging volcano, I was hoping they would be stranded here in Oregon and not at their midway point in Chicago (though there are certainly much worse cities to be stranded in; I just didn't want them stranded at an airport).
Good thing I didn't try making a real Southern country breakfast for them -- they talked about the "disgusting" white sauce they saw at breakfast in a hotel one morning that had pieces of sausage floating in it, that they didn't dare taste. No Lynn's Paradise Cafe for them, I guess. We stuck with a traditional German breakfast each morning: fresh bread rolls, cold cuts, cheese and coffee. Except for one morning, when I dared to make an egg omelet casserole (thank you, Betty Crocker!).
I had to finally surrender my kitchen during the visit. I wasn't up for the battle for control of it -- I was doomed to lose. Positive statements were made for my pot roast, chicken in paprika cream sauce and various thrown-together suppers. But ultimately, my mother in-law wanted to cook, and I slunk away.
Sadly, Sureway decided to stop selling Pyramid Hefeweizen the week the in-laws came to visit, so we had to settle for Widmer Hefeweizen and Firehouse Hefeweizen for a few days until someone at Safeway ordered us the Pyramid. We also found out that a store in Mt. Angel sells imported Franziskaner, which was delicious, but made us realize just how lacking American-made Hefeweizens are. Stefan's boss sent us six bottles of wine as a peace offering for Stefan having to go to Spokane while his parents were visiting. So, in short, we had a plentiful supply of alcohol, and that was a good thing.
All-in-all, a good visit. They've been to the USA before -- to Miami (Florida is a hugely popular vacation destination for Germans). I hope they liked this visit as much (and maybe even more).
Stefan will probably get to see his parents again in just a few months, when he has to go to Ukraine for work (he'll visit them before or after Ukraine). They really want us to come for a visit in Germany, and it scares me because I'm afraid I'll go regret even more this move to the USA...
Let's hope that their next visit to the USA (probably in 2012) will be to a place where Stefan and I are both employed, own a home, and love our community!
No comments:
Post a Comment