UPD: 07-17! A Princess, a Tinker Fairy, and an Artist! - A Princess Half Marathon TR!

[Imbri]

Yhea for posting pics of your merchandise!!!

I wondered what those commerative necklaces looked like. I got the Wine & Dine Pin only... and ordered the commerative pin only for ToT races as well!

I have that Vinyl Mickey too with the medal! Only mine says 2013 and has the wine & Dine logo on the medal!

And I love the I did it shirts . I'm still soooooo sad they were sold out of them for Wine & Dine.

I find I usually will buy men's clothing vs women's clothing - because I'm tall and women's fit doesn't fit me well. Men's does better! And I like buying men's Medium vs. Women's Large or X-Large!! Mind game! Hahahaha!

P.S- I am also very shy in person until someone knows me.. then I tend to not be quiet ever.

Depending on what this years pins look like, I might preorder the pin for ToT 2015. I might just wait to see what's at the expo, though. Dunno. That's thinking too far ahead.

I was holding one of the vinyl Mickey's and I ended up having to explain to some older ladies what it was, and I wasn't quite sure how to. One of the things they seemed annoyed about was that you didn't know if you got the yellow or the green (I got the green, so excited! The yellow was more common, hehe), and I wasn't quite sure how to explain the concept of "well, people buy these things not knowing what they are...." I guess I could have said it was like gambling. I ended up comparing them to pin collecting, but that still doesn't quite equal out.

Next year for Princess, I probably won't end up getting one, since I don't plan to get down there until Friday, and I know everything is gone by then. That trip is going to be an exercise in not spending money though, so it's probably for the best, lol!

My chest and hips are too big for men's clothes. I end up getting just as big or bigger in men's sizes to get the room there, so I just face the music with the women's sizes. It's so much better now, cuz I lost 40lbs, and I'm pretty solidly into a Large (I can even do Medium in Old Navy clothes!)

I am a very shy person in real life...extrovert totally online...but once I get to know you...WATCH OUT!

I love the charm on your necklace, not so much the chain. And I had not thought of it as wearing your medal. Hmmm, maybe I will get one! Although I am not much of a jewelry person.

Yay for free samples...and Yay for mom winning the banana!

I hate crowded shopping places so I am sure that the expo is going to drive me crazy, but I so want to go and do all the fun picture props. I need to have this tattooed on my hand so that when I eat I will remember pictures...you want to be in them right!

I love your window. I decorated for ToT and it was so much fun! And I am already thinking what I can do for PHM!

Looks like you had fun in DTD...sorry about no place to sit. That is crazy! Your meal did look yummy. I have always wanted to try Cooks!

Yeah, the chain is pretty much the worst part about it. I could forgive the crown charm, if it weren't for the chain. Maybe I'll buy a nicer chain to put the charms on...hmmm

I skipped most of the photo ops because I'm not a patient person, and the lines were all too long (and disorganized). Maybe next year, since I'll be going to the expo later, there won't be as many people trying to get pics.

I've been trying to figure out what to do for the window when I go for ToT in 2015! I don't think many people make commercial villain decorations. I got my Tiana stuff at Party City, and they had lots of other princesses. =D

very eventful first day. I love that little princess shirt. It is some thing that I would purchase for my daughter

Travel days are always eventful for us, haha! Even more so now with a little one. He keeps us on our toes.

Thinking of PHM, if you are needing a roommate I am sure that we can find a place for you! I think you mentioned the need to Heather...those of us that are going without our entire family really are not making room reservations/arrangements until we know for sure who is going by who registers on July! I promise none of us are crazy stalker people...and everyone is good with everyone doing their own thing when they want or hang out as a group...remember we are cupcakes and there to enough the moment so we would love to enjoy the moment with you!

That'd be awesome! =D Do you know what hotel you guys were looking at yet? Haha, I dunno if it's good or bad, but I'm pretty trusting of most of the people on this site, especially the ones that post so many pictures. My plans are mostly to come down on Fri, do the GSC, maybe some JellyRolls with Nicole and Karen and then poolside the rest of the time. No park for me that trip, but that's ok. I'll have ToT '15. Some group cupcake time sounds pretty fun.

I know--don't judge me! my friend (I've known her since kindergarten, she's really like my sister) loves Disney more than I do and we've have this trip planned since she found out she was pregnant the second time. she wanted to go when her kids were a little bigger and we wanted to have something to look forward to since she lives in Nebraska and I'm in Missouri now. I'm so excited! I keep hoping AoA will be cheaper by then, but if it's not, you know we'll still be going!

that's funny--I just told someone about the BRAT diet the other day! I really think that the things you were super hungry for or liked when you were pregnant stick with them!

onto this update!

I can't believe you found your name on that huge wall of names!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the shirts you got for baloo and stormy! too cute! and the I did it one is super cute!

that arribas bros castle......so pretty....

your window decorations were such a good idea! maybe we'll do that next time. (totally ignoring that I see your name.... )

the day we went to DTD it was crazy crowded too. we've never been when it's that busy. what's up with the crowds there?

I like that Disney princess shirt too. I want to say that I've seen that as an iron on somewhere, but I could be wrong. I'm going to do some checking and see what I find....

can't wait for more!

Haha, I don't judge! I wish some of my friends were as into Disney as me. I've got one, but she's up in Canada and we've only been able to swing one Disney trip together (my first time, in 2008). She actually wants to do Tower of Terror 10 miler with me in 2015, so I'm excited for that to possibly happen! <3 She's pregnant right now, due in early July and wants to use ToT '15 to motivate her to get back into working out after baby is born.

The names were in alphabetical order, it made it a lot easier to find. I probably would have given up if they weren't in order.

(Lol, as a side note, I actually don't mind my name being known. I don't like posting my name, I try to stay as "unsearchable" as possible. Posting a picture of my name keeps it pretty unfindable. )

Oooo, if you find an iron on or something of that, let me know, I want one too!

 

[Monknmom]

It seemed to be a theme with this trip (it almost ended up being the title of the TR), but whenever we had to catch a bus, it seemed that where we had to go was the last one down. Pitfalls of staying in a value, I guess!

I don't think that the buses are fun at any resort, or the monorail! I always hear people not liking the buses!

The first thing we came across were people eating yogurt, which I thought was kind of odd, who just totes around tiny yogurt packs? We got to the walkway up, and I was greeted by a giant Oikos display, and it clicked. As we walked by, Baloo went "Yuuum, yogurt! I could go for some yogurt right about now." and kept walking.

"Don't you want yogurt?"
"Not that badly."
"Not badly enough to stop and get a sample?"
"Sample? Wait, they're not selling them??"
"I don't...think so?"
"...Hold the baby!"

Oh Baloo. I really don't know what to do with you sometimes.

My son would be all over that greek yogurt! It's his snack of choice, we buy a huge thing of plain yogurt and then he loves to add a tiny bit of honey! Me, I can't do yogurt because I think about all of the living things I am eating and can't get past that.... but Damien, he would be just like Baloo!


There are a lot of things that I expected WWoS to look like.

This was not it. It's BEAUTIFUL. I want to go back and see some sort of game or something there! I've always thought of sports arenas as utilitarian, and I love that Disney changed my perception of it. It sort of makes me think how people kind of go "Oh, but...Isn't Disney for KIDS?" and you try to convince them it's not. WWoS ended up sort of representing that to me, something being able to be so much more than what you think of it.

I have never seen it before and would not have known that was the building if I did see this! You are right!!! I would have expected something not so "pretty"!!!

We were given direction on where to go first. We parked Stormy's stroller and entered the middle building. I collected mine and Stormy's (he was doing the Kids Race on Saturday!) packets with no issue, picked up my commemorative necklace that I'd pre-ordered (I don't know that I'd waste the money on it in the future. It was $20 and it's a silver pendent with the logo stamped on, with a second crown shaped charm that's pink with teenage-esque sparklies and the year). Don't get me wrong, I love wearing it (as I can't wear my medal around all the time!) but I think next time I'll check out what Etsy sellers have to offer.

Yeah, I like this stamped metal one that they have on Etsy! I want that one! I am not a big jewelry person so it's simple like me! This one doesn't look that bad though!

We were able to sign up for the Runner Tracker here, and I wrestled with the computer for about 5 minutes, trying to sign Baloo up. After I thought it had gone through (we wouldn't know until race day, but it had. You can sign up ahead of time, on your own computer. We'll definitely do that next time), we left the first building.

I signed up for that tracker for Tammie during the TOT! It was great! I kept making jokes to my sister in law though that I was going to be in labor and the thing keeping my mind off of my contractions would be how my friend was running!

Confession time. I'm an introvert. It might be hard to believe, I sort of thrive online. But in real life, I am as quiet as a mouse. It's basically a joke whenever I start a new job ANYWHERE that I don't talk, and barely anyone notices me. I worked as a hostess in college, and on my fifth or so day, I walked into the kitchen and a cook pointed at me and said "There! That one!" and the other replied with "Ooooh, her! Yeah, no, she don't talk at all, does she?"

Isn't it funny that most of us on here are pretty shy in real person?



The first thing we encountered was a bean bag toss, where you could win a banana. We were going to walk by it, but Stormy spotted the bah-nas, and by goodnes, he would have one! He went into full meltdown mode while we waited behind the 5+ people ahead. And to get a banana, you had to actually get the bean bag in! All the people ahead of me tossed it in no problem, but I decided I'd be that first person who missed. My turn came aaannnnddd....I got it! Yay! Stormy got his Bah-na, crisis averted. Baloo had waited in line behind me (in case I missed) and handed me some temporary tattoos. "Guess who was the first sucker to miss and not get a banana? THIS GUY." Apparently the consolation prize was a temporary tattoo and a banana paper crown. I'm still not clear how those are cheaper than a mini banana.

Awesome eye for Stormy and good arm for mom! Hey, even though Baloo didn't win I am sure that Stormy will still enjoy those things later! I am sure that you were thanked ever so much for getting him that bah-na!

The next booth was the shirts, I picked mine up, and made a beeline to the official race merch! I wanted one of those "I Did It!" shirts! I was very nervous about buying one. I'm not overly superstitious, but still....
I heard that they sold out like THAT, though, and when I saw the color purple the shirt was, I decided it would be coming home with me (I bought a large. It fit perfect until I washed it. Now it's a bit small. Ah well, live and learn). Stormy and Baloo each got a shirt. They say "My Favorite Disney Princess is my Mom/Wife" and are totally awesome! We got Stormy's a size up, so he can hopefully wear it for awhile.

I love that they have that mommy/wife shirt! Wonder if my guys would wear it... yeah probably not they are too "macho"! And good thing you got the shirt beforehand! SO MANY people are talking about them having nothing left at the end of the race!

I tried on and bought a pair of 'recovery' flip flops. Silly me forgot to pack my own, so this was sort of a stupid tax. They're comfy, but look a tiny bit like shower sandals.

I didn't even think of these! I will have to remember to buy a nice pair to bring for the race! I need a "what to pack for a RD race list"! They look cute though in the photo below!

In front of the back part of the New Balance display.

This is not a happy face, if it's not apparent. SOMEone thought he wasn't being given nearly enough freedom to run amongst strangers. Not naming names.

i am looking forward to some of these! I didn't know that they existed until recently!

The New Balance name wall!

I had to have another runner take my picture, because by this point, Stormy had gone into meltdown 7 bajillion and Baloo had taken him into the hallway to play.

I am surprised he lasted this long! He is a really good toddler! I didn't know that they had this wall... is this the names of all the runners? Oh man, I can't wait to be part of a wall!!!


We packed up and headed back to the hotel. Stormy finally fell asleep (briefly) so we let him rest up a bit, and I decorated our window!

I think I'm going to do this any trip we go on, special occasion or not. It made coming 'home' each night so much more welcoming. (aaand we're gonna ignore that my name is in some of these. Shhhhh)

I like decorating the windows! I forgot all of my decorations for the Christmas trip we took! I have to remember them this time! That few minutes really does make a big difference when you come home tired at night! I keep seeing a theme... green slippers, Tianna window decor.... is this a hint to the costume?



There was a HUGE group ahead of us. It took 3 buses to transport their entire group to DTD, so we waited an extra long time. I'm not sure where exactly they were from, but they sounded like they were speaking some sort of Spanish/related language. I noticed it was an all female group, and the 5-10 girls ahead of us in line spent our wait cooing over Stormy. Somethings translate so well.
You would think that they would have let a family of 3 just go ahead with some of them or at least before them! But it's great he had some "feel good" time!


My first 'rude' moment happened on our way to get food. We were trying to move through the crowd and forward as best we could, but it was very slow going. All of a sudden I felt something come down HARD on the back of my ankle. I turned around to see a woman glaring at me and lowering the STROLLER she was pushing! She flipped her hair, turned and walked away! I truly hope at the very least hitting me was an accident, but she didn't say a word, and the angle it came down at (from above, on top of my ankle, not from the ground, at my heel) makes me think it was intentional. I limped for at least a half hour after.

Yeah, people stink!



I could see the crowds in the Lego store, so we didn't try (and I was worried Stormy might get ahold of the tiny Legos. He loooves loves loves blocks, but I didn't know what he'd do with Mini-blocks)

My favorite part about the Lego statues was that the people were shaped like Lego people! It cracked me up.

My son could have spent HOURS in the lego store! I keep meaning to take him to the one in NYC before he gets too big to not be happy! It is amazing what some people can build! Me, I only build rooms! My son is the great builder!

We had decided on Cookes of Dublin for our DTD meal, which was in Pleasure Island.

(This was taken on the last day, when we went back to DTD during the day)

We thought we'd have a tough time deciding what to get, but turns out, it was the easiest decision ever!

We ordered what they weren't OUT OF.

Yep. This place had so many people that they had no tables left and had run out of a large portion of their menu.

I had wanted the Chicken and Field Mushroom pie, but settled with the Beef and Lamb pie "Ground Beef & Lamb, Fresh Carrots, and Potatoes" I remember the description they had also said it was in a red wine sauce. I ended up getting the last Beef and Lamb pie, so good timing!

Baloo got Georges Bank Atlantic Scallops (See? More seafood)

They had a whole array of delicious desserts. What were we allowed to pick for dessert?

A cookie or a fruit cup. So we got one of each.

The food was delicious. The pie was basically a pot pie, but the crust was much flakier, and the red wine sauce inside was super tasty. Baloo's scallops were basic deep fried scallops, but his fries were fantastic, and they had something called "Dalkey mustard".

I'm still not sure what it was, but it was amazing with the fries. We kept calling it Dalek mustard. Heh...

There was one major downfall to Cookes. Because we were only allowed to get the cookie or fruit cup, the cost of the meal was around $25, so it was a HUGE waste of a dining credit. That's the only complaint I really have about it. If you try it, I'd consider just paying out of pocket.

As I mentioned, there were no tables, so we sought out a place to sit.
This is what we found.

(this is again from our return trip to DTD)
Yep, we sat in a corner on the concrete. It wasn't actually that bad, the lights were lit above us, we were out of the way of alllllll the people and it was quite cozy and picnic like.

I would have rather had a table to put Stormy at...
I hear that place is very good! I guess that others have heard as well! That stinks that they only had a few things left, but it looked good! And I am sure that Stormy had fun being able to jump around a little without a table, although feeding a toddler without a table is probably not the neatest of tasks!

We hopped inside Once Upon a Toy and I found this shirt.

So cute! I love stuff that has subtle nods to the princesses, instead of just slapping picture of said princess on a tee. It comes with a cost, though. The shirt (a child's size) was around $35! Yikes! It was all embroidered, so that helped. Obviously I didn't buy it, but if Stormy were a girl, the temptation would have been hard to resist!

i love that! I am scared to go to Disney with a daughter! I remember seeing all of this cute little girl stuff and kept thinking if I ever had a daughter... maybe I will keep my debit card and cash in K's hands... he has the heart to say NO!!!
Fed and tired, we made it back to the hotel (after what seemed like an eternity on the bus. We were on the bus were it was the end of the driver's shift, so we had to wait while he switched with the new driver).

Goodnight, Pop!

So ended Day 1! Next up, Day 2. Which park will we go to first??

Loving the TR so far! Excited to read about the rest of it!

Thinking of PHM, if you are needing a roommate I am sure that we can find a place for you! I think you mentioned the need to Heather...those of us that are going without our entire family really are not making room reservations/arrangements until we know for sure who is going by who registers on July! I promise none of us are crazy stalker people...and everyone is good with everyone doing their own thing when they want or hang out as a group...remember we are cupcakes and there to enough the moment so we would love to enjoy the moment with you!

Yes, this is who I was talking about Glad that you found her!

 

[Imbri]

Loving the TR so far! Excited to read about the rest of it!



Yes, this is who I was talking about Glad that you found her!

I love the monorails, but have barely used them on past trips. I think once per trip, maybe? Baloo wants to stay in the Contemporary (somedaaaay *siiigh* lol!), then maybe we'll use it a lot more.

Have you/your son ever watched Burn Notice? The main character eats yogurt all the time. At one point he's giving advice to a young boy, and mentions his love of yogurt, and the kid goes "So...you're saying I should eat more yogurt?" "Couldn't hurt."

The runners tracker, sadly, didn't work very well for the PHM. I heard on the course reports of the texts going funny, so I texted Baloo myself at mile 11, and he said it was a good thing (he even was able to spot me crossing! We really didn't expect that!), because he got the text for me crossing the 5k mark AFTER the text for me crossing the 10k mark. So yeah, runner tracker has some...bugs to work out.

Stormy's basically a little angel, unless he wants to be running around. Usually we let him (you'll see as the updates go, it's about 50/50 for when he's walking vs in his stroller), but at the Expo, we really couldn't.

I actually walked by the wall a couple times, before I saw people posing in front of it, and was like "What....is going on?" They have it broken down by race too, so this giant wall had the 10k on the other side, I think they had the GSC and then the PHM on one side. It's insane. I loved it!

Lol! I actually posted my running costume in my PTR, so there's no secret of who I dressed as. I do like green quite a bit, though...

I'm scared for if I ever have a girl. Or well, for my wallet. Whenever we go clothes shopping for Stormy, it takes me forever to find stuff I like for him, but by the time I've picked out one outfit for him, I've seen about a thousand things I'd want if I had a girl.

Haha, thanks! It's a lot of fun going through the pictures and reliving it a bit. <3

Thank you for mentioning me to her!

 

[momabaarjo]

My choices for resorts:
1. BCV (rent a big 2 bedroom DVC and have a slumber party...but I can't book this until August and who knows if availability will be there...we going on a huge European Trip in July and all my money is going towards that, so no way I could swing the $2300 to rent right now...if it was meant to be then in August we shall see)
2. POFQ-I have stayed at POR but not FQ. I hated POR, but that was before the renovation. I love the theming of FQ.
3. CS-Not stayed here...but I am wanting a pool and hottub
4. CBR-Loved my stay here for ToT so I would be happy to stay here if the other 3 don't work out

Yes, there are no Value on my list...just because I want a pool, hottub, and feel like I can relax. While I love POP...it is just too busy for me. I might think about AoA if we got a suite...but then again no hot tub and that I want for my body each day after I run!

 

[Imbri]

My choices for resorts:
1. BCV (rent a big 2 bedroom DVC and have a slumber party...but I can't book this until August and who knows if availability will be there...we going on a huge European Trip in July and all my money is going towards that, so no way I could swing the $2300 to rent right now...if it was meant to be then in August we shall see)
2. POFQ-I have stayed at POR but not FQ. I hated POR, but that was before the renovation. I love the theming of FQ.
3. CS-Not stayed here...but I am wanting a pool and hottub
4. CBR-Loved my stay here for ToT so I would be happy to stay here if the other 3 don't work out

Yes, there are no Value on my list...just because I want a pool, hottub, and feel like I can relax. While I love POP...it is just too busy for me. I might think about AoA if we got a suite...but then again no hot tub and that I want for my body each day after I run!

We stayed at POR for our honeymoon, and I loved it (it was before the renovation), but I've heard it wasn't as popular before the reno. I think a lot of it was that I expect we'll pretty much always stay in a value on our trips, so I was pretty geeked to be in a moderate. FQ would be awesome, it looked so pretty!

So I've always loved the look of Boardwalk, and I notice that basically no one ever wants to go to BW, so I wondered why. Turns out, I just love the outside part of it, the rooms are kinda blah. Oh well.

BCV and CS are both gorgeous.

If it got to CBR, then you should go with the pirate rooms.

I think half the fun of splitting a room with a bunch of people is to be able to stay in the nicer, not value ones. =D Although AoA would be pretty sweet, if it came to it. (I'm planning AoA for our Oct '15 trip, I think, hehe!)

 

[Imbri]

February 21st, 2014 Day 2, Part 1: To THE FUTURE

Stormy was extremely perplexed (but quite pleased) that not only were both Mommy and Daddy home at the same time (we work opposite shifts, Baloo is mornings, Mon-Fri, I'm evenings, Fri-Sun), but we were also awake BEFORE him. So much so that instead of eating his breakfast, he tried to get all the playin' in he could, before one of us disappeared.

Good news, Stormy! We were all going to be one unit for 6 more days!

After finally convincing him to eat (See Stormy? Mommy and Daddy are sitting and eating breakfast! Don't you want to too?), we took his morning picture, which I believe I stole from Lori (a picture in the morning for an as up to date as possible image, in case they were to go missing during the day).

He was having none of it. Since this was the start of Day 2, he still hated his stroller at this point, and just wanted to move if he HAD to be in it.

We had a lunch reservation for 12:20, I think it was around 9:30 by the time we left the room. I've never been an early riser, and now with Stormy, we move even slower, haha! We knew this trip we wouldn't get absolutely everything done, so we tried not to mess with Stormy's schedule as much as we could.

My heart sank when I saw this, as we walked to the bus lines.

And then I practically fist pumped when I realized they were NOT going to the same park as us. Bullet dodged!

In fact, there were so little people going to where we were headed, that not only did we wait for 3 Hollywood Studios buses (where the group was going), but Stormy got his OWN seat.

This is the rare photo that Stormy is happy on the bus. As I mentioned, almost all meltdowns involved the bus or a line in some way.

So where were we headed? Stormy didn't know, but he decided he'd lead the way!

After checking out all the "trees"...(He learned a new word on our trip. Several, actually. Coming from MI, it's been awhile since he's seen anything growing out of the ground. So when we arrived in FL, he noticed a pretty green tree, and we told him 'tree'. Everything else that was green or growing is now 'tree' )

...we finally made it (After bag check and the gate, of course). Where were we?



EPCOT!

This is the best of all the attempts.
(No, I will not behave for a single family shot, Mom. Sorrynotsorry.)

Since he wouldn't look at the camera...at all...I attempted to make the shot look candid.

Did it work?

Attempt number 2 at a Photopass picture.

Fail. I pretty much though failures like these were tv staged...He managed to knock BOTH our glasses off. Way to go, buddy!

Maybe another try?

Weeeellll, That's probably as good as it's gonna get...
(I'll sit still, but I ain't smiling, Mom)

We decided to let him roam a bit, as he was being soooo good for the pictures. The next thing we came across was a souvenir kiosk, with a little girl blowing bubbles. As soon as he ran over, she got freaked out and stopped. Hilariously, he was running over to the tall lady. I dunno why, but he mostly ignores kids, but adults, he needs their undivided attention.

Next he ran over to this thing. I assume it spits water in the warmer weather.

(Neat, Mom, but it's not doin' anything)

We had now reached the entrance to World Showcase. Our plan for the day was to get through all of WS and do whatever of Future World we could (I know, my title for this update is a bit misleading...) Last time we'd done it the opposite way, so we wanted more time in WS.

Picture time?

Nope

Nope.

Nope!

First up: Mexico!

Even though there was basically no one coming over on the bus with us, and very few people at the park entrance, WS ended up being SUPER packed. (I believe that night was one of the nights for the Pasta in the Park party, for the PHM, which probably explains the crowds)

Despite all this, we did let Stormy do his own thing, mostly.

(You really think Dad holding me is going to change the picture turn out? NOPE.)

So one of my favorite animals are owls. I saw these, and I had to have one! (Mine is blue and green) When I bought it, I decided that since I hadn't spent nearly what I had anticipated at the Expo (namely, not getting a Dooney wristlet), I would "Buy around the World" I know most people drink around the World, but I saw the drink prices, and this stood to be waaay cheaper.

After thoroughly exploring the marketplace, we were onto Stormy's first ride!

Sorry for the blurry picture. My camera is pretty good, but when I suddenly change lighting, it takes extra long to adjust. And Stormy doesn't sit still.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros! I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it, he just wasn't sure what to make of it. This was really his first time on anything like this, and he spent most of it a bit baffled. (Better than screaming, though!)

Lights of the marketplace/dining area.

The temple

Fiesta Skeletons! I love sugar skull stuff, these guys are awesome!

Here's where he figured out the ride was cool. He's watching the little "fireworks" on the ceiling at the end.

No sooner had it begun then it was over and we exited (much to Stormy's dismay. Again, again!)

It was getting close to noon by now, so we decided to let Stormy color for 5 minutes...

(I color outside the lines, Dad! I'm a rebel!)

...and had to hurry out the door for our Lunch reservation!

Next up: Where are we eating?? (As if you can't guess, haha!)

 

[Tinker326]

Lauging at the attempted pics with a toddler!



I still can't get a good picture and my kids are considerably older. I'm forever on the quest for 'the perfect Disney picture'. It will happen one day, I feel certain of it!!!

Sounds like a great start to the day! And yhea for bypassing the bus line to HS! That's the way to go! Woo!!!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

oh my gosh....stormy is ADORABLE! I don't care if he couldn't be bothered to take a picture (that's your agenda mom, clearly not his plan for the trip!), I just can't handle the cuteness! and all the binkie pics! makes me remember Hannah's days with it dangling out of her mouth.....how do they get big so fast?

I love the picture with the frame--that's so cute!

we took almost the same picture of the skeletons on fiesta tour--I don't know what it is about sugar skulls, but I'm just fascinated with them.

shop your way around the world!! what a great idea! can't believe I haven't done that yet....

can't wait for more!

 

[blueangel2]

whats wrong with you Mom...dont you know that he has better things to do then to stand there and smile at the man/woman holding a black box

At least you have good memories and will be able to look back and laugh Cant wait for more toddler anticks. This is just preparing me for my trip...We leave in 51 days with an 18 mth old

 

[momabaarjo]

Trust me, it doe not get easier taking pictures of your children...just wait until they are teenagers! Ugh, I would much rather try to take a picture of Stormy!

 

[Imbri]

Lauging at the attempted pics with a toddler!



I still can't get a good picture and my kids are considerably older. I'm forever on the quest for 'the perfect Disney picture'. It will happen one day, I feel certain of it!!!

Sounds like a great start to the day! And yhea for bypassing the bus line to HS! That's the way to go! Woo!!!

Haha, the sad part is, he used to be the hammiest little ham! He loooved getting his picture taken, if anyone would point a camera at him, he'd look at it and grin. Then around when he was 12-15 months he just...was done. I guess there was just so much else to look at, I dunno.

This is from when he was about 10ish months old, we did an Easter shoot. There's over 80 shots (you can look at them on FB, lol. It's the easter mini shoot album) and he's front and center in every. single. one. Looking square at the camera, and in about 90% of them, smiling. He's like that in almost all his other pics, up until just past his first bday too. And now whenever I pull out my camera, he laughs and turns his head, until I put it away. Little punk!

oh my gosh....stormy is ADORABLE! I don't care if he couldn't be bothered to take a picture (that's your agenda mom, clearly not his plan for the trip!), I just can't handle the cuteness! and all the binkie pics! makes me remember Hannah's days with it dangling out of her mouth.....how do they get big so fast?

I love the picture with the frame--that's so cute!

we took almost the same picture of the skeletons on fiesta tour--I don't know what it is about sugar skulls, but I'm just fascinated with them.

shop your way around the world!! what a great idea! can't believe I haven't done that yet....

can't wait for more!

Haha, I don't think there are many pics that don't include a binky ("dee dee" I have no idea how he got that out of "binky")...

Man, the frame one. I saw the people ahead of us use it, and I went to pick it up, and the photopass person kinda gave me a funny look. I asked if it was ok to use it and she was like "Oh, yeah...I guess..." Um...ok? I dunno.

whats wrong with you Mom...dont you know that he has better things to do then to stand there and smile at the man/woman holding a black box

At least you have good memories and will be able to look back and laugh Cant wait for more toddler anticks. This is just preparing me for my trip...We leave in 51 days with an 18 mth old

So many better things to do than pose!

Baloo said it was funny, in like 10 years when he's looking through the pictures, we can be like "And here's the back of your head at EPCOT...and here's your hand at the Castle....and that's the side of your face in front of the Tree....TRUST US. IT'S YOU."

So close! It was so much fun with him, you'll have a great time!

Trust me, it doe not get easier taking pictures of your children...just wait until they are teenagers! Ugh, I would much rather try to take a picture of Stormy!

Lol!
My dad's side of the family are all photographers (2 did it as a side business, my dad and all my uncles all own the nice fancy cameras, with the multi lenses, and actual FILM. It's insane) and so me and my cousins, from a young age, got really used to posing. One cousin jokes about how "Look, look! We all look exactly the same, we've got our "picture" smile. It's like second nature to us!"
She's right. Anytime a camera comes out, I tilt my head slightly sideways and have this big ol' cheesin' grin, with my hands all nicely at my side.

 

[Imbri]

We left Mexico and entered Norway, which was where we needed to be for our Lunch ADR.

Of course, we were head to:

Akershus! (Awk-er-shoes? That's how I've been pronouncing it!)

We checked in (there was a line to check in, yikes!) and were given a pager. Off to play!

These are probably the best pictures I have of his shirt. It was supposed to be Wilbur Robinson, but I'd run out of dark shirt iron on transfers. Bad idea to use the light tee transfers. Ah well.

We were called up to the front. The hostess who called us told us to wait where we were for a moment, and after she walked away, Baloo walked forward. I grabbed at his shirt and asked what he was doing, the lady told us to wait for a minute! I probably sounded angrier than I was (Baloo has a looong history of not fully paying attention, so you have to snap him into it So I was using my "Listen!" voice, which sounds a lot like my "Scolding Stormy" voice. Probably cuz they're the same...), because a man in line said something about how the hostess had just motioned for us. I admit I had a 'not nice' moment and rolled my eyes at him and followed Baloo. I made sure to apologize to Baloo (out of earshot of the busybody) for snapping at him, and he went "Huh?" Typical, lol!

Anyway. We waited to see what princess we'd get to meet!

I fell in love with the decor of Akershus. I was comparing everything to CRT, and we were only in the hallway and I liked it all so much better!

Onto the princess!

Today we had:

(Here's my standard 'pose' that I'd mentioned, Tammie)
Belle! We got a photo package with our meal, and that photo turned out much better than this one, I just need to scan it in. This was the first experience with meeting a face character for Stormy! Back in Oct. we took him to Zoo Boo and he got to meet (knockoff) Buzz and Woody and Mickey and Minnie, and he LOVED them. But would he like non-masks?

He was super bashful! He said hi and tried to hide behind me (while I was holding him). She asked what his name was, how old he was, where he was from, the usual little questions. We quickly took pictures and were lead to the dining room. Our Belle was super sweet and adorable! When we walked off, he tried to run back to her.

The ceiling. So pretty!

Our waitress came and told us how everything worked. They had an open buffet for appetizer things, our meal included that, a drink, an entree and dessert served family style. She rattled off drink choices (I was still getting Stormy to settle, and usually they have the regular tea/coffee/pop choices, so I didn't quite listen) and I ordered an ice tea. Baloo ordered a Pomegranate Lemonade (a house special) and I went "WHAT? OH. I want that please." S'what I get for not listening.

She left us to look at the entree choices and place our drink orders. As she walked away, she said "Oh, and since he's under two, his entree is free, you can pick any of the kids choices." So awesome! We didn't have him when we went to CRT, so I don't know if that's something they do as well or not. If not, another point to Akershus!

We made our first trip up to the buffet. So many tasty things! The description they give online is an "sliced deli meats, seafood, and a grand selection of prepared salads and cheeses."
Pretty accurate description, although the cheeses were fairly generic, except for one. They had a brown goat cheese that we tried. It was really creamy, some pieces were stuck to the serving plate and hard to get up a whole 'slice'. It was sweet with an earthy taste. It reminded me of something I've had before, but I still can't put my finger on what.

It doesn't look very pretty, but it's worth a try, if you're feeling adventurous.

Other buffet appetizer items. They had at least 3 different types of fish, and as suprising as it was, they were types/prepared in a way we hadn't them before (peppered mackerel and Glassmieser Herring!) Delicious! Baloo went up for seconds, but I was saving room for my entree and dessert (Good thing, too!)

We had grabbed some crackers and cucumbers for Stormy from the buffet (we offered him cheese and meat, but nope! Just the crackers, please!).

He may have done more building than eating.

Our waitress came back and took our orders and they were brought pretty quickly.

Baloo got the Salmon (Suprise! More seafood!) "Pan-seared Salmon - with Potato and Celery Hash, Salmon Bacon, and Maple Gastrique" When we first booked Akershus, he had planned to get the Traditional Kjøttkake (meatballs), but I think he decided against it because of Ikea. We have one near us, and serves something that sounds identical. He loves the Ikea version, and I think he was worried about spending 50 and liking Ikea's better. So Salmon it was! You'll notice that we end up having very little criticism of the food, and this was no exception. The asparagus and potato mixture were delicious, the salmon was cooked perfect, and it all came together amazingly with the maple glaze they had on top, just the right amount of sweet.

Stormy got the "Meaty Macaroni - served with Broccoli and Fruit Salad. Choice of Small Lowfat Milk or Small Dasani Water." He didn't get a milk or fruit salad, but that's ok, it was free! He didn't really eat it, he decided playing was more fun that day. He dipped his crackers in and ate those, so he got a little meat sauce, I guess...
Baloo and I tried it, it was pretty typical pasta. If he was older and I'd paid for his meal, I may have been a little disappointed in it.

Finally, mine! I got the "Mushroom-stuffed Pasta - with Swiss Chard, Shiitakes, and Parmesan Cream" This was their vegetarian dish. Our waitress said it's what she recommended, because it was the only veggie dish, and so they made sure it was EXTRA fantastic.
I just. Can't. No words to describe the deliciousness. She was right, it was one of the best dishes I've had from our trips. (Baloo's Ratatouille from CRT ranks up there too! Another veggie dish). The sauce was really mild, the pasta was perfectly al dente and I loved all of it. For me, it was perfectly portioned too. I hate how big restaurants make dishes. I'll come back to that in a second.

While we were eating, the princesses were making the rounds! We had 3 that day (in addition to Belle at the start).

First up was Sleeping Beauty. Stormy looked up when she approached the table, but...

(Nope. I don't think so mom. No face pictures, plz)
He was SO shy. He wouldn't look at her, and busied himself with his food. Aurora didn't seem interested in coxing him out of his shell (understandable. She had a lot of tables to get to! There were plenty of little girls dying to chat with her, so we snapped a quick picture, but didn't get him out of his chair) She walked away and he looked up and watched her leave and looked sad that she'd gone.

Next: Cinderella! Maybe now that he'd expressed a little interest...

(Hope springs eternal, huh Mom?)
Nope! He had lots of interesting things, uh...over in that direction. Not looking at the princess. Yeah.
She tried a bit harder to get Stormy's attention, but to no avail. She asked us about our vacation (and I admit, having some attention on us as people, rather than us as parents, was really nice!), got a quick picture, and continued on. Again, he wistfully watched her leave.

Last up: Ariel!

It seems he's a fan of redheads! He lit up when she came over and started chatting! He didn't quite look her in the eye, but he wasn't blatantly ignoring her, success! She chatted with him for a good couple minutes and asked what he was making. She asked if he'd made her a seaweed sandwich (he had piled the cucumbers between two 'slices' of crackers) and that those were her favorites! That was when this picture was taken, when he was showing her his building supplies.

Still not a good shot, he was still discussing the virtues of the crackers, but that's ok! I appreciated the extra time from her (especially since he responded so well to her), and I think we had gotten it because they announced it was time for the Princess Parade! She said goodbye (and again, he stared after her) and the three princesses led all the children around the dining room. Super cute. Can't wait til Stormy is old enough to participate! Then she continued to the next table.

And now back to the portion sizing. I had said that I was pleased (and a little confused) about the portion size. Turns out, Akershus is an "all you can eat" thing. Which I had seen on the menu when we were deciding where to go, but I thought they meant that for the appetizer part. Imagine my surprise when our waitress asked us if we'd like more pasta or salmon! Baloo was now very sad that he'd taken a second appetizer plate, and declined, and I had already had more than enough and declined as well. So it was time for desserts!

We thought we would be picking one of the 3 choices they had, and that was served family style.

Wrong again! We got ALL THREE! Eeeee!

From top, then clockwise: "Apple Cake with cardamom whipped cream,
Traditional Rice Cream - topped with Strawberry Sauce, Sweet and Savory Chocolate Mousse" Baloo felt the apple cake was a bit dry. It was a bit more muffin like than cake-like, but I enjoyed it, and it was just fine as long as you had some whipped cream with it. The Rice cream was mine (and Stormy's) favorite! I think Baloo's too. It was light and fluffy, and not anything like rice pudding (which is what I expected). The strawberry sauce was a good complimenting flavor. Last was the chocolate mousse. It was SO rich. Sosososo rich. I only managed a couple bites, and I actually had to request a glass of water for it. I loved it, but wow. You can see that the outside is darker than the inside. The outside was actually a layer of a ganache like chocolate and then the lighter inside was the actual mousse.

We put the desserts a bit to close to Stormy, and he decided that they'd make GREAT finger foods and started picking up pieces of the Rice Cream with his hands. This eventually culminated with him smashing his hand into the rice cream. Thiiiis...is where pictures ended for the meal. He was a mess by the end. Our waitress asked if we'd like more of any of the desserts (which is also all you can eat. This place just gets better and better!) and we asked for more rice cream. After eating our fill of it, we handed it over to Stormy with a spoon. Which was all futile. Hands again!

Our experience and meal was wonderful, but it did come with a bit of a price tag (50/person. Ouch). For my money, though, I'd go there again over CRT. The experience at CRT (on our Honeymoon, so this is a 3 year difference, it may have improved) was decent. We got a picture and everything, but the princesses just didn't seem too interested in the newly married couple playing pretend. Although Baloo's ratatouille was fantastic, the duck I got was pretty bad (or maybe I just don't like duck, I'm not sure), and at 2 dining credits, it just ended up not being worth it. I don't know if Akershu's takes one or two dining credits, if it just takes 1, it's far more worth it than CRT.

As far as the decor and feel, I just liked Akershu's better, and I don't know why, because CRT is beautiful too. Akershus was just more my style. There's also a bit more breathing room, I think, in Akershus than in CRT. They're both lovely and great experiences, but we're far more likely to repeat Akershus in the future.

We got Stormy cleaned up as best we could, and popped into the bathroom to clean him the rest of the way.

Isn't that cute?
Ok, so the bathrooms at CRT are way prettier, and you get to explore the castle a tiny bit to get to them.

Fed and happy, we left to go explore the rest of Norway!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

seriously.....I see architecture in stormy's future!

does anybody know how to really pronounce Akershus? i'm pretty sure that I say it different every time.

did stormy get any lipstick kisses from the princesses? I thought they kissed all the boys. I always love the pictures of boys with lipstick all over there faces after a princess meal.

how sweet that he wanted to make a sandwich for ariel--she was probably hungry. I love the picture of him telling her all about his cracker!

baloo and my DH sound a lot alike--he's always thinking about 100 things at once and not giving anything his full attention, which leads to me using my "voice" too. more than once he's told me "hey--you're not my nanny!" sometimes it's hard to remember that.....

you had a good Cinderella--pretty!

I remember those desserts from our trip. I loved the mousse one and the girls loved the pretty "straw" on the top!

 

[Imbri]

seriously.....I see architecture in stormy's future!

does anybody know how to really pronounce Akershus? i'm pretty sure that I say it different every time.

did stormy get any lipstick kisses from the princesses? I thought they kissed all the boys. I always love the pictures of boys with lipstick all over there faces after a princess meal.

how sweet that he wanted to make a sandwich for ariel--she was probably hungry. I love the picture of him telling her all about his cracker!

baloo and my DH sound a lot alike--he's always thinking about 100 things at once and not giving anything his full attention, which leads to me using my "voice" too. more than once he's told me "hey--you're not my nanny!" sometimes it's hard to remember that.....

you had a good Cinderella--pretty!

I remember those desserts from our trip. I loved the mousse one and the girls loved the pretty "straw" on the top!

No, he didn't get any lipstick kisses. Not from any of the princesses we met throughout the trip. =O Maybe he was just too young, not sure.

I hadn't really looked before, but our Cinderella was really pretty. I remember noticing our Ariel looked spot on, I dunno why I didn't notice Cinderella!

I thought Stormy would like the 'straw' on top, and gave it to him. He crushed it and sprinkled it on the floor. Rotten kid. I woulda eaten it!

 

[momabaarjo]

Oh Stormy...someday a princess will get your attention and keep it! The food looks really good! I have only eaten breakfast there, but we were thinking about Princess brunch or something after the half! And 3 desserts...ahhh YUMMY!

 

[Tinker326]

I had a whole long conversation on the pronunciation of this restaurant on my TR.. so I am, of course, the official expert.....

It's...

"Ak-er-sauraus" (as in the distinct and extinct relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex)

True Story.

(not)(I totally made up that pronunciation because that's how I say it!)

We went for breakfast and even with the hefty price- I LOVED it.... it was sooooo good! I would totally go there again!

Lunch looks less appetizing to me except those desserts which I really did just drool on my keyboard over!

I have the same exact type of pictures of my middle DD when she was 18 months old at character breakfasts... being shy, playing, eating with her food.... ahhh, the memories...........

Great update!

 

[Imbri]

I had a whole long conversation on the pronunciation of this restaurant on my TR.. so I am, of course, the official expert.....

It's...

"Ak-er-sauraus" (as in the distinct and extinct relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex)

True Story.

(not)(I totally made up that pronunciation because that's how I say it!)

We went for breakfast and even with the hefty price- I LOVED it.... it was sooooo good! I would totally go there again!

Lunch looks less appetizing to me except those desserts which I really did just drool on my keyboard over!

I have the same exact type of pictures of my middle DD when she was 18 months old at character breakfasts... being shy, playing, eating with her food.... ahhh, the memories...........

Great update!

Ahahaha. That's totally how I'm gonna pronounce it now!

How is breakfast there? Did they have anything out of the ordinary?

Haha, toddlers can be so frustrating. Last summer for vacation, he was running up to strangers in a gift shop and hugging their legs! And now he's all "oooooh....yeah, I think....I'll look this way." Hopefully next time he'll have come out of his shell a bit! <3

 

[Tinker326]

Ahahaha. That's totally how I'm gonna pronounce it now!

How is breakfast there? Did they have anything out of the ordinary?

Haha, toddlers can be so frustrating. Last summer for vacation, he was running up to strangers in a gift shop and hugging their legs! And now he's all "oooooh....yeah, I think....I'll look this way." Hopefully next time he'll have come out of his shell a bit! <3

I thought the breakfast was awesome... specifically the lingonberry muffins and the cheesy potatoes - both of which I ate my weight in- and still dream about. They were SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!

 

[Imbri]

Oh Stormy...someday a princess will get your attention and keep it! The food looks really good! I have only eaten breakfast there, but we were thinking about Princess brunch or something after the half! And 3 desserts...ahhh YUMMY!

Haha, when I was writing the post, I was thinking how I could really go for those desserts right about now. I still really want some. So long to wait...

I thought the breakfast was awesome... specifically the lingonberry muffins and the cheesy potatoes - both of which I ate my weight in- and still dream about. They were SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!

Oooo, that sounds delicious! I haven't had cheesy potatoes in awhile.

 

[Imbri]

When we came out of lunch, our plans were to go on the Spirit of Norway ride and continue to China. The standby time was somewhere in the range of 65 minutes. Yikes! So I hopped onto the My Disney Experience app. Originally when picking FP+, I had gotten our first one as Test Track, but when our plans changed to do all of World Showcase and whatever in Future World, I hadn't changed it. I was able to easily swap out Test Track for Spirit of Norway, for the next time slot, in 15 minutes! So we had a few minutes to play.

We went into the little building across the courtyard from Akersauras to check out the Frozen inspiration display. I could never do any of the movie making thing, but I am jealous of their ability to go places to do the in depth research. That would be amazing!

(I'll take one of each, please!)

We didn't last long in there. It was small, crowded, and Stormy knew there was an outside right behind the door, and it was calling his name!

We were about 5 minutes away from our time spot, so we hovered near the entrance and let Stormy run.

I tried to get a picture of the boat when it passed, but I kept missing.

Contemplating the life of a baby. Or just refusing to let me take a face picture.

I'm pretty sure he was trying to figure out how to get to the 'bath' below him.

Finally, it was time to go in! We went to scan our bands, this was the first time we'd used them for FP+ (and I'd just switched them!). I tapped my band and...Success! Green means go!

We walked easily through the FP line (past a loooot of standby!) and got settled into a boat.

We're off! I'm not sure why these darn ride pictures aren't coming out. Boo.

Stormy really enjoyed it. He said "wee!" with us, when we dropped, and was sad when we had to get off the boat. But now it was time to explore the gift shop!

(Maaayyybe I'll check it out)

I checked out the little bit of Frozen stuff they had, but nothing struck my fancy. I also tried to get a peek of Elsa and Anna, who you could see from the Frozen merchandise area, but everyone else had the same idea, and I'm not a patient person, so I left.

This is what I came back to.

Oh, no! Where is my sweet baby boy??

(This is how it goes, Dad!)

(I'm a Viking now, Mom!)
So I have to admit. I did a little dance when I inadvertently got that shot. And then Baloo did too, when I showed it to him! Yep. We're those parents.

To continue my buying around the world spree, we chose this magnet (there was another cute viking one, but Baloo thought this one was hilarious, so we went with it). I was also doing Pennies around the world, we found the penny press machine and then headed out of the gift shop.

Goodbye, Norway! And goodbye, Mr. Troll!

Next, onwards to China!

I don't remember if all these shaped shrubberies were there last time, I think they weren't and this was set up for the Flower and Garden thing. I loved it! I tried to catch all of the ones out, although I may have missed some.

China is one of my favorite pavilions. It's so pretty and intricate, but it's a little bit simple and peaceful too. I feel like there's a lot less to see here than the other pavilions, but I like it for that. I can take in more.

Who doesn't feel calm just standing there?

We went to check out the Tomb Warriors exhibit next.

This is about the same angle I took the picture from last time. Next time, I need to remember to do it from straight on!

We were going to check out the gift shop, then head on to Germany, when we saw the acrobat performers setting up for a performance. Baloo wanted to check them out, so we went inside the building. It was already packed, so we ended up standing waaaaay in the back.

Stormy fell asleep.

Poor little sleepy Viking!
My feet were killing me, so I decided to sit on the floor next to Stormy. I spent the wait time taking in the ceiling.

That is one heck of a ceiling!

The show was pretty awesome, although I had to stand on my tippy toes to see any of it, so all but one picture came out blurry (I was holding the camera above my head. Way too many people!)

As shots go, this is probably the best one to have turned out!

We checked out the gift shop really quick and I picked up my China buy around the world (BATW) item.

I found this as soon as we walked in, and I loved it, and it was within price range! (I was trying to stay below $15 for each area, preferably lower. Mexico was $12, Norway was $5, now China was $7, yay! I was also attempting to buy something that was actually made in the country of origin. Obviously the Norway magnet wasn't, that's ok, but this would catch up to me later...) Even though I found what I wanted right away, I naturally shopped for a good 15 minutes more.

I searched for 5 minutes for a penny press machine, and finally asked at one of the little kiosks outside. He told us that the China one was in the 'International Gateway' building. Stormy was getting antsy to move on (he hates shopping!), so we left, although I had wanted to ask why. Does anyone know if there's a specific reason?

We passed by the Outpost, and I stopped to watch the Cast Member carve, and look at the other pretty carved pieces.

This little guy almost came home with me, but alas, he was waaaay outside of price range. Ah well.

While we were here, and I was looking at all the gorgeous carvings, another family came up. They were a younger couple, with a child somewhere around 5 or so. The conversation I overheard made me embarrassed to be a runner and an American (they had a very generic mid-western accent, so I'm about 99% sure they were from the States). I don't know if the employee asked about the couple's running shoes that they was sporting, or if they just asked him if he ran. I really hope it was the first.

They observed that he was from Kenya. I hope no one can see where this is going. I sure as heck didn't. They asked if he ran (and here is where I HOPE he had commented on their shoes, not that they said "oh, you're from Kenya. Do you run??") and they launched into the most stereotyping embarrassment of a conversation I'd ever heard. He said he used to run, but didn't anymore (and the couple seemed surprised!) The woman talked about how she was there to run the PHM, and "hehe, my son asked me if I'd win, but I told him no, it'll be a Kenyan for sure!" I tried not to stare, and decided I couldn't listen to anymore. Baloo felt half the same (He had no qualms with openly staring), but he was just as uncomfortable as me, and we hustled out of their. Which is sad, because I wanted to watch the guy carve some more and take pictures! I really hope the CM just thought they were a funny, awkward couple and wasn't insulted by it.

With that uneasy part of our day behind us, we stepped into Germany!