Helminski Elders in Europe!

We're back from our snowboarding trip to Switzerland. Here's a little taste:

This was the view from our apartment. Words don't do it justice.

Yeah, it was like that. Zermatt is a pretty magical place, and it was a fantastic trip. More to come on that soon. But first, we take a step back to the end of 2013...

Just a few short weeks after Gloria's parents visited, my parents came town to spend Christmas and New Years' with us. Obviously we were excited to spend the holidays with them. But this visit was extra special, because my parents hadn't seen Gloria since our wedding.

They're heeeeeeeeere!

Their trip started with a week in London, followed by a few days in Germany, and a big finish in France. Off to London we go!

We toured all around the city, doing the typical touristy things (Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, riding the tube, seeing the Crown Jewels, etc).

Adventures in London, Helminski style!

We also went to the Churchill War Offices, which I hadn't done before. Those are really cool, especially if you're at all interested in history. I highly recommend a visit.

A Christmas visit to London isn't complete without seeing Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park (which is a huge Christmas fair smack in the middle of London).

My Mom and Gloria found fur head rings. They're all the rage!

Kinda sorta accurate?

But wait, there's more! Not only is Winter Wonderland a Christmas fair, it's also a full on carnival, complete with games, and rides with questionable safety standards. Those carnies. Such scamps.

Classic carnival game ball-rolling form. Notice the intense concentration of the pursed lips.

Ok I know what some of you are thinking: all Gloria and Brian seem to post about is cheesy touristy stuff in London. Is that all they do? What about the glitz and glamour? Where's the Queen? Do they drink tea? Wait, did you say tea? Well do I have a treat for you! Oh yes, we went to afternoon tea. But not just any tea. We took my parents to tea at The Ritz.

For those that are not familiar with it, The Ritz pretty much invented luxury. Ever heard the term "putting on the ritz"? This is where it comes from. It is a ridiculously nice hotel, and it was an amazing experience. My Mom kept saying that when she's old and senile, she can always tell people about that one time she had tea at The Ritz.

Champagne before tea? Don't mind if we do! 

Happy ladies

My Mom was in heaven

Quite a snazzy crew

Our other big event in London was Christmas. You know, that holiday with the fat guy and the gifts and stuff. Well we certainly did have Christmas, complete with a big ol' dinner & everything. The clincher on it though was Gloria's brilliant idea to get us all Christmas pajamas. Matching pajamas. It was glorious.

We also introduced my parents to the British tradition of Christmas crackers. In true American fashion, they decided that the proper use of the crackers was as weapons.

Hiya! Take that!

Having dispensed with the touristy stuff, conquered the carnival, and celebrated a proper Christmas, we headed off to Germany.

In keeping with the theme of especially meaningful visits, this was another big one for my parents. They hadn't seen Sven or his parents since our wedding, and they hadn't seen Miriam in much longer than that. Add in the fact that this was also their first time meeting Sven & Miriam's new baby Carla and they were over the moon. After a few days there we hopped on a train and cruised on over to France. Gotta love the European rail system!

Early the next morning my Dad and I left to drive up to Normandy to explore some of the WWII battle sites. This was a really special trip, because my Dad used to be a high school history teacher, but he had never seen these places in person. So it was a real treat for me to take him there.

Due to a little whoopsie with the GPS, we ended up taking a bunch of back roads. Despite the extra driving time it was actually really cool because we got to see quaint little towns like this:

But that wasn't why we were there. This is:

This is Pointe Du Hoc. It's where the Army Rangers scaled treacherous cliffs to battle the Germans in WWII and helped turn the tide of the war. The site has been preserved in largely the same condition as it was during the war, so the bunkers and bomb craters are all still there. It's a surreal place and you can definitely imagine a war being fought here.

The weather was terrible while we were there, which seemed appropriate for the setting

We also visited the American cemetery, and Omaha Beach.

This is a truly sobering experience. It definitely felt like we were on sacred ground.

Omaha Beach was quite a contrast to Pointe Du Hoc. Here, there aren't many reminders that it was a major battle site, and it appears to be a beautiful sandy beach. It's hard to imagine what truly went on here.

In the end, the trip up to Normandy with my Dad was awesome. In the true sense of the word. We were both awestruck by the meaning and power of the places we saw, and I am really fortunate that I was able to experience it with my Dad.

With that, we headed back to Paris to cap off the trip in style! Once again, we hit up a lot of the touristy sites (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc). But the cherry on top of this trip was to ring in the new year in the city of light! And not only did we spend the new year in Paris, we actually stood in front of the Eiffel Tower as the clock struck midnight. I actually got really lucky and recorded a video just as the clock struck midnight:

Woo hoo sparklers!

It was fantastic having my parents visit and to spend the holidays with family. We are truly thankful for the wonderful parents we have and feel so fortunate to be able to share experiences such as these with them. What can I say....life is great...