Submarine Excursion - U2540

Atticus is one very lucky boy. While Grandma and Grandpa were here, he got to go on a very special excursion with them all on his own. They took him to the U-Boat Wilhelm Bauer (U2540) in Bremerhaven. Since I wasn't there I can't really make too many comments on it, though I can comment that Atticus came home beaming with excitement about everything he got to see and getting to do it on his own. One-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa is pretty awesome.

Apparently Atticus was a little apprehensive to go inside the submarine, but once inside he was pretty captivated by all the little gadgets to look at and hallways to explore.

And once he got into the captain's chair, he was sold.

 Can't say that I would ever want to do a 6 month stint on a fully staffed submarine (58 people for this particular one) but judging by the pictures and Atticus' account it looks like a pretty cool thing to at least go and explore. Perhaps Atticus will have to take us and show us around one day now that he is the expert!

Klimahaus - Bremerhaven

We were very fortunate while Grandma and Grandpa were here to go on a few outings as a family. One of the places that we went was Klimahaus in Bremerhaven. And, man, is that place cool.

The main attraction of the Klimahaus is a trip around the world on the 8th Meridian East beginning in Bremerhaven and traveling on from there to Switzerland. 

See the gold line on the floor? That's the 8th Meridian. See that funky discoloration and choppiness of the photo? That's my faulty camera...

We got to "visit" 8 different countries and see some pretty incredible things and "meet" some very neat people. The various rooms were set up to reflect the scenery and the climate of the country that we were visiting. So when we made it to one particular city in Italy, it was incredibly hot and dry. We visited a very warm desert in Africa and even walked through large columns of ice in Alaska. 

Family photo in the dessert

We took tons of photos. Unfortunately, something went haywire during the uploading process and most of them were lost. The ones that were saved had some funky defects on them (like the one above) so pictures of our trip around the world are few and far between. Thankfully, I was able to get a few from my mom's camera, so hopefully between those and the couple that were salvageable from my phone you will get a teeny, tiny idea of how incredible this place actually was.


We were shrunk to the size of insects...

Tossed in the air on trampolines...

We explored the ocean...

I adore those hands pressed up against the glass, trying desperately to be closer. Pretty certain Milayla would have dived right into the tank if she could have

Oh, those little hands!

Went off in canoes...

We traveled across suspension bridges. Milked cows. Hung laundry. Walked the railroad tracks (and took a rest on them).

We studied the galaxy under a blanket of stars. We climbed the stairway to heaven (seriously!). We went on archeological digs. We learned about new languages (and even needed to practice them to gain entrance through one of the doorways).

We were inspired by famous thoughts and quotations sprawled across the walls.

There was something new to inspire and educate around every corner and we soaked up every minute of it. We loved it. It was a great outing and it left us all pining for that next great adventure to explore a new culture, meet new people and learn new languages.

How fortunate we are to have a place like this at our fingertips. A place that seeks to inspire travel, knowledge and acceptance of other cultures. And how even more fortunate we are to have shared this with Grandma and Grandpa! It was a day greatly enjoyed by all. Thanks for treating us Grandma and Grandpa!