Late April pictures

These are just some pictures from around the house and around the neighborhood in late April.

Here we were at the Opelzoo ... about 30 minutes from us.

One of my personal favorites.... shot from outside my work.

This was the free local zoo, the Fasanerie, where children pick up rocks to throw at the animals.

Albania: Dirty and cheap, just like I like 'em

I wanted to share a few pictures and thoughts from my last trip to my favorite corner of Europe (the Balkans).

I've been wanting to go to Albania ever since I discovered a little about its history, including:

• The economy and government were felled by a Ponzi Scheme in the late 90s.


• It has a set of laws called the Kanun that include honor killings which, if followed, would leave no male of either warring family alive.


• The previous dictator (Hoxha) was friends with Stalin and decided in a moment of clarity that Stalin was kind of crazy, so he cut trade relations with the USSR in favor of China. That didn't work out, leaving mineral-rich Albania cut off from the world. Fearing that some Army might invade to get to the minerals and land, Hoxha had bomb-proof bunkers put up throughout the entire country, even on the beaches. Here's a picture of a few.
  

Generally, it was a good trip that illuminated to me how rich Westerners really are and how infrequently we realize it. Here's the basketball "court" at one of the schools we're renovating. (This is pre-renovation, in case you couldn't tell)

Here are a few novel insights I had while there. It was poor but oddly filled with Mercedeses (is that the right plural?).

It had mountains, but only small, round ones that from a plane probably look like very large, green bubble wrap.

It had a very industrialized and modern capital (as seen in picture above), but incredibly, incredibly poor hinterlands. Here are the roads we drove on.

More (work-related) pictures here: www.flickr.com/europedistrict

Saturday ... In the park

Easter weekend

Yes, yes, it's been a while since we've told you about our lives. But you really haven't missed much. Mostly, we've been sick. I've missed more work for sickness in the past month than I have in the previous four years. Thankfully, Kate and Elizabeth only got sick once in the time we've been back in Europe. Most likely, it was caused by the bad ganja at the Rasta Party we threw for Elizabeth.


Or maybe it was the Cheetos.

Really, though, it was this dude, Typhoid Phil, who is seen here with a completely empty stomach at an Easter Brunch at the Ramstein Officer's Club.

Elizabeth got the illness a few days later, but was a trooper through it all, having been fortifying herself all along on kisses.....

...and hugs....

from a new baby doll she got in her Easter Basket.

In addition to being very sweet recently, she's also been incredibly fun. She says "Mama" and "Dada" very well now, in addition to "Hi" and "Bah" (for "bye"). She's been very curious about things, pointing to them and saying "Dada?" while she waits for me to explain the thing she's pointing at. She giggles more. She laughs. She even smiles.

She even is wary of giant, overly happy rabbits. I guess she saw Donny Darko.

Here's a fun montage of the past couple weeks. Enjoy!