The Mercedes-Benz Museum

Due to the German holiday schedule, we got a four day weekend for Easter.  If I haven't mentioned it before, everything in Germany (as well as other places in Europe) shuts down on Sundays and that goes double for holidays.  The few places that remain open on holidays and Sundays are museums and castles (with the exception of Christmas and New Years).  That makes them the perfect days to visit museums since nothing else is open and it's better than sitting around in the house all day.  So, on Good Friday, we headed to the Mercedes-Benz Museum which is located in Stuttgart, since that is the world headquarters.

Like a good portion of Americans, I was naive and thought that Henry Ford was the genius behind the automobile.  I couldn't be more wrong, though that's basically what we were taught in school.  Henry Ford made his first vehicle in 1896, and the Model-T wasn't produced until 1908.  Henry Ford became famous because he was the first one to put the mass production of automobiles into effect.

The actual "inventor" of the internal combustion engine in 1879 and the use of it in an automobile in 1886, was Karl Benz.  I put inventor in quotation marks because Gottlieb Daimler also filed a patent for the internal combustion engine the same year, but Benz filed for the patent first, so he gets the credit.  They teamed up eventually to created Mercedes-Benz (initially named Daimler-Benz) in 1886, a full 10 years before Henry Ford made his first automobile.  We thought it was cool to live in the Motor City, but now we live in the actual birthplace of the automobile.

Brady and Andy outside the museum.

The boys striking a pose near Andy's "dream car." I call it his dream car because he can dream on ;) I could never justify spending that much on a car that might only live 10 years and isn't really practical.  He already has one of those.

Once we made it inside the museum, they had an elevator that takes you to the top floor (there were 10 total).  The way the museum is laid out, each level is for a specific time period (from the beginning until present day), and then ramps lead you down to the next level.  On those ramps are pictures and small excerpts, citing events that were both important for the world and the auto industry.  It was a really fluid design and you could see the famous German efficiency.

1886-1900

The Invention of the Automobile

The first displays were small dioramas of specific places in the area, depicted in the time before the automobile.  The one above is of Heidelberg Castle, which we visited just a few weeks ago.

The Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (main train station).

Schloss Solitude (a castle within the Stuttgart city limits).

The Stuttgart Marketplatz (market square) located downtown.

This is what started it all.  Daimler's first internal combustion engine, dubbed the "Grandfather clock," because Daimler thought it resembled an old pendulum clock.

Two of the first automobiles with internal combustion engines.

Daimler and Benz also ventured to put engines into other modes of transportation.

1900-1914

Birth of the Brand

Most people see Mercedes-Benz and think that it's two people's last names who created the company.  The Mercedes was initially the name of one of the car models that was introduced in 1901.  It was named after the daughter of an Austrian race car driver, who promised to buy 36 automobiles for a large sum, if the company would agree to make a race car to his specifications.  The name stuck and in 1926, they started branding all cars under the name Mercedes-Benz.  Above is an original Mercedes.

1914-1945

Times of Change

This next era dealt with the cars that were created during the times of and between WWI and WWII, in which Germany did not fare very well.

1945-1960

Form and Diversity

This era dealt with the ability of consumers being able to have more choice.  There was the introduction of more colors and individuality when purchasing a vehicle.

Reminds me of the Delorian about 25 years before Back to the Future.

1960-1982

 Safety and Environment

Although we are over 5,000 miles from home and in another country, the Pittsburgh influence is worldwide ;)

Starting to get into the Mercedes we recognize from the 70s and 80s.

1982-Present Day

The Road to Emission-Free Mobility

Race Cars

The next level featured race cars from past and present that Mercedes-Benz has manufactured.

This Marlboro race car again boasted the Pittsburgh influence with the PPG logo and the double whammy of having Bosch.

The same Marlboro car because a triple threat with the Detroit connection as well.

The cars above and below, they removed the hoods and showed what's on the inside of these particular race cars.

Starting to get to some of the older race cars.

Really, really old race cars.

The bottom level was dedicated to cars and ideas that are in production currently.

I love the aqua car above and below.  Not only is it a gorgeous color, but I love the way it's designed with the all glass compartment.

The steps of making a model, starting by sculpting with clay.

This made me think of Mrs. Doubtfire, when Robin Williams pulls the Mercedes logo off of Pierce Brosnan's car.

Those who know Brady best know that he LOVES cars.  When we go for walks, he's always pointing and screaming, "A car! A car!"  He loves to watch both Cars and Cars 2, and has way too many toy cars.  He was in car heaven at the museum, which was good for us because it kept him entertained while we got to read all the little captions.

Now, what museum about cars would be without a car you could play in?

I can already see Brady being one of those kids who literally counts down each day until they get their learner's permit.

We'll Miss You Aunt Mary

Our hearts are very heavy today, as we have lost a very treasured family member.  Mary Trapuzzano was Andy's great aunt and Brady's great-great aunt.  She passed away unexpectedly, but surrounded by family yesterday afternoon.  She was 88, and is survived by her husband, Uncle Ted, her three daughters, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.  She was truly loved by all who met her.

I met Aunt Mary almost five years ago, when I met the rest of Andy's family at his younger brother, Patrick's, high school graduation party.  Andy "abandoned" me to play football and since I didn't know anyone, Aunt Mary came and sat down with me and we chatted for a good long time.  She's always been so funny and loving and never missed an opportunity to tell us all how much she loved us.  The light of her life was her family surrounding her. 

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ted lived in a duplex, with Andy's grandparents on the other side, so Andy grew up going to huge Sunday dinners every week, which his grandma and Aunt Mary prepared.  She was such a huge part of his life.

Aunt Mary with some of her local great-grandchildren.  Nothing made her happier than having the kids around her.

 At our wedding, Aunt Mary and Uncle Ted, were the longest married couple in attendance.  They had been married for over 60 years.  When asked for marriage advice on that day, Aunt Mary simply said, "Love each other."  I don't think there is any better advice for a married couple.

 Andy and Aunt Mary dancing together on our wedding day in May 2009.

 Aunt Mary was so youthful.  She's seen here kicking her legs up at our wedding.

Brady is Aunt Mary's only great-great nephew on the Trapuzzano side.  When we told her we were expecting, she was overcome with joy and couldn't wait to meet him.  She's seen above holding Brady on Memorial Day 2010.

It had been several years since we'd lost anyone close to us, so both Andy and I were nervous at the prospect of leaving the country for six months.  We have so many older relatives and we are very sad that we can't be with our family to celebrate Aunt Mary's life.  This small tribute is the most we can do until we are reunited with our family in three months.  It's little comfort, but we know that Aunt Mary is with the angels now and is watching over us with all of our loved ones who have gone before her.  We love you Aunt Mary and we'll miss you terribly!

Our First Ever Easter Away from Home

It's been almost two year since we've called Pittsburgh our physical home, although it's remained our home in our hearts.  Being away, we've made every effort to be home for any holiday we could.  There were some, especially when we were in South Carolina, that we just couldn't make it up because it took a day to drive each way.  Even though we missed some minor holidays, we never missed a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.  This year, we had no choice but to miss Easter and that really made me sad.  There were no pictures with the Easter bunny for Brady and no family gathering to attend.  I brought only a few small gifts for Brady from home and didn't bring his basket, mainly due to it being too fragile to ship.  Without the family surrounding us, Easter seemed like it would feel like any ordinary day.

During our time here, I'd heard of some toys that were not available back in the States, and I wanted Brady to have them. That made them perfect to supplement the few things I'd brought for Brady to receive from the Easter bunny.

 What the Easter Bunny brought, waiting for Brady by the door.

 

When we opened the accordion doors and let Brady in, he went for the bike first.  This is a special bike that is very common in Europe.  It has no pedals, so the kids have to balance and push with their feet.  I've heard that this helps them not need training wheels later because they've already learned how to balance on two wheels.  Brady is so active, so this would be a perfect gift for him and to have forever as a reminder of our time in Germany.

 

 He's so used to his stationary bike, that he hopped right on.  It's a little too high for him, but by next spring it'll be the perfect size.  The seat is adjustable, so even when he's bigger, he can still use it.

 Next, he went for the pre-made basket I'd bought at the grocery store.  He's learned the word "candy" in the past month or so and knew there were goodies inside.

 So excited for a chocolate bunny.

 A big chocolate egg.  I know the candy looks huge, but everything here is hollow, so it's not as much chocolate as you might think.

 When he got to a smaller egg, he decided he was going to open it and eat it immediately ;)

 Oooh, a wrapped present.  I wonder what it could be.

 A Bosch tool set! Awesome!  Bosch sells both tool toys and kitchen toys here in Germany and they don't in the States, so this was something we had to buy to bring home.

Once we said they were tools, he started saying "tool" every time he picked one up.

 He had to open it right away.

 The last few gifts were the ones I'd brought from home.  Shown above is a daily planner, that you put the days of the week, month, year, weather, etc. on each day with velcro pieces.  The teacher in me couldn't resist a learning opportunity.  He also got a small children's Bible that is seen in a few pictures here and there.

 There are also velcro pieces about what activity you're going to do that day.  Surprise, surprise, he found one in the shape of car that said, "Go to grandma's."

 Then he wanted to drive the velcro car around.

When we first found out we were coming to Germany, my godmother, my Aunt Rosemarie, called me and wanted to know which area of Germany we'd be in.  When I told her Stuttgart, she mentioned that our German (originally Austrian) cousins were living not too far.  My dad's first cousins are eldery, but their children and grandchildren are closer to my dad's and my age.  The granddaughter of my dad's cousin is actually attending university in Stuttgart.  My Aunt Rosemarie passed on their contact info and we got to meet not too long after we moved here.  Her name is Eva (pronounced Ava in Germany), and her mom, Ingrid is my dad's cousin's daughter.  Eva and I got together a few times in Stuttgart.

I got an email from Eva a few weeks ago, inviting us to Easter lunch (dinner in Germany) with her family.  They live near Augsburg, which is about an hour west of Munich and an hour and forty minutes east of Stuttgart.  We graciously accepted and were excited to meet more of our family.  Our families have exchanged Christmas cards over the years and my dad is the only one who's met them, when he came over to Germany before I was born. We got to meet Ava's parents, Ingrid and Joseph, for the first time yesterday, and they got to meet us and Brady.  Eva hadn't met Andy before since we usually got together during the day.  We had a very nice meal and lots of great conversation.  They gave Brady some Easter candy and let us have a Gotchee (the place where our family is from) cookbook, so we can keep our culture alive (my Oma still cooks the ethnic food for us).  We had a really nice time with them and certainly hope to keep in contact with them once we've gone home.

 After a full day, Brady passed out on the car ride home.

Alphabet Playtime

We found out we were moving to Germany right around this time last year, so I knew that Christmas presents would have to be adjusted due to limited shipping space.  I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to buckle down about the alphabet.  This had been an issue for us due to Brady was so active and never wanted to sit down and focus for even a few minutes.  Alphabet toys are relatively light and thus were perfect to fit in both the suitcases and the air freight.

I thought Brady might just be bored enough to settle down and let me teach him, but he remained the extremely active kid that he's always been.  He would much rather run around in circles than sit still and listen to me talk.  I think another problem we had was that when I would pull out one of the alphabet toys, he would have a set way he wanted to play with them.  So, when I started on my agenda, he flipped out.  He's very methodical when he plays and doesn't like it when someone tries to "mess it up."

Another great Christmas gift from fellow teacher, Aunt Leecie.  It has several modes, but of course, Brady would rather move the switch to change the modes than listen what it has to say.

I got him this really great Fisher Price alphabet zoo, that came with the tree mat that you see above.  It has an animal for every letter of the alphabet, and the mat has all the letters, that will either say the animal name or that animal's noise.  It even has a quiz mode for older kids.  Of course, he would rather drive his cars through the arch in the tree and press the M for monkey over and over just to hear the monkey noise.

He also likes to carry around the animals in their plastic bag.

This Leap Frog fridge alphabet seems to be a pretty popular toy and most houses we've ever been to has one.  It sings a little song for the later you place in the main unit and says what sound that word makes.  Brady likes to line up the letters and not put them in the main unit to sing.

I spelled out his name and then tried to switch it up by sorting the letters by their colors, but you can see the expression on his face.  He wasn't too happy that I moved them out of his perfect lineup.

I try to do some alphabet learning in the tub with some foam letters that stick to the side of the tub.  He prefers to swish them around in the water and sometimes even chew on them.

As a teacher, I know not to benchmark my kid against others his age, but sometimes it's harder than others.  I know girls are more verbal, so that usually doesn't bother me, but when I meet boys his age who are talking in full sentences, it kinda irks me that Brady doesn't speak more.  He's definitely in there, since he understands everything we say to him and will follow multi-step directions.  He's always jabbering on, but most of the time we don't understand half of the words he says.  We know he knows what he's saying, but they're not coming out in real words yet.  He's so physical, it's hard to slow him down long enough to get him to learn.