The man, the myth, the legend: conquering the Zuspitz! 

Skiing in the clouds 

Amazing stained glass window inside the Castle 

Changing of the guard outside the entrance of the Prague Castle 

Outside the Prague Castle 

A view from the top! The famous Charles Bridge. 

A magical snowy night 

Prague by moonlight 

The Trifecta

I can’t believe it’s been so long since we posted our last blog! I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun—or working hard, or a combination of the two…

Sam has been staying busy and kicking ass at the clinic. They have a little healthy competition going on between all the “outlying” clinics—one of which Sam is the Executive Officer for—and he moved his clinic up from near the bottom to the number one position. It wasn’t without a lot of hard work and long hours, but he did it. What a stud! It’s definitely a different aspect of the healthcare process (more administrative) than he was dealing with at his last unit, and it’s posed some pretty tough challenges for him, but I think it’s a great opportunity and he’s learning a lot. He seems to enjoy it, too, and that’s the most important part!

As for me, my alleged job with Central Texas College still hasn’t opened up, but luckily my reserve unit has taken pity and put me on orders to work for them full time for about two months. It’s interesting work—always doing something new—and I am learning a lot. It’s pretty good money and it’s good experience for me as far as development of my military career, but the unit is located in Heidelberg which is about 100 miles from our home town, so that means I am living in a hotel out of a bag—and away from Sam—all week long, which I am not a big fan of. My orders end the middle of April and I think by that time I will be more than ready to work locally again. Here’s hoping my job opens up!

Spring has definitely come to Germany but, like I told Sam, if it’s anything like North Dakota we’ll have nice weather for a few weeks and then—bam!—a blizzard before it decides to warm up for good. We’ll see, but for now we’re just enjoying the sun and the balmy temperatures. It’s surprising how refreshing it is to see so much green; the rolling hills, patchwork fields, budding trees, and perennial flowers coming up all over are like eye candy and I can’t get enough. How did I ever survive the five-month winters in North Dakota?

We certainly enjoyed the sun—maybe a little too much—when were skiing in the Alps a couple weekends ago, and we both wound up sunburned. Sam’s face actually ended up blistering, scabbing, and peeling, but it was worth it, dang it! We went down to Garmish (southern Germany, aka Bavaria) again and skied the same mountain that we did the last time we went (when I had my several near-death experiences) and found that—due to the warm temps—the snow was pretty sloppy. But we stopped for a beer each time we made it back up to the top of the run and ended up having a lot of fun. The second day we tried another mountain that had been recommended to us by several people and we scored big time on that one. They had gotten five inches of new snow overnight and the skiing conditions were perfect: beautiful runs, picture-perfect scenery, sunshine, and not too crowded. We couldn’t have asked for better skiing and we stayed up there until the ski patrol said it was time to go home.

I can’t express in words how beautiful it was up there; Sam and I would come around a corner or to the top of a crest and be faced with an amazing view that would take our breath away, and I swear sometimes I thought I was looking at a postcard because it was just too perfect. It was one of those experiences that I will never forget, and was also one that I wish I could have shared with more of my loved ones. But getting to see it with Sam was a wonderful gift, and with the gift of today’s technology we can share the pictures with you as well. Hope you enjoy them!

Though skiing was our most recent adventure, we also took a road trip to Prague a few weekends before that. I was interested in visiting Prague because the Czech Republic is part of my ethnic background—probably why my dad always refers to us girls as “wild young bohemians”—but we were lucky because it also ended up being yet another amazing European city and one of our favorite trips so far. We drove the Volvo the six hours it took to get there and stayed at a charming little bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the city. We spent most of one day touring the Prague Castle, but also stopped by many other famous sights (including the Charles Bridge) on our walk through the city. Prague is a town with a lot of history and Sam and I really enjoyed learning about it. We got the opportunity to go out to some Czech bars and clubs and eat some yummy Czech food, and even to go shopping at a real mall! All of it was relatively inexpensive compared to most of the other places we’ve been, and on top of that the people were nice and the public transportation system was user-friendly; all in all it made for a really nice trip and we’d definitely like to go back to “the motherland” again.

Whenever we talk to our dear friends and family on the phone, more often than not we are asked how “the girls” are doing. The girls aka Henreys are doing well, but I’m sorry to say they have lost some of their charm. They are still incredibly cute, but cute just doesn’t cut it—unless it’s ME we’re talking about of course! Anyway we were hoping that with age they would get a little more rambunctious or playful or affectionate, but no. They are still scared of us and stay in their little house whenever we’re around, and when we do manage to get them out to hold them they retaliate by peeing all over us. Not to mention the wood chips from their cage smell up the room…What are we to do? Alas, I think we’ve resigned ourselves to the fact that maybe it’s time to find them a new home. Or we could just throw ‘em in the deep fryer and eat ‘em like they do elsewhere in the world!

Well this is getting long and I know you all have things to do, places to go, and people to see, so I will wrap it up. If you couldn’t tell from all this rambling, Sam and I are still doing very well, loving life, and remaining thankful for this amazing opportunity. A friend asked me recently if I am truly happy. I admit that it was tough for while there when I was not working and was feeling homesick and Sam was getting his butt kicked at work, but I never forgot all the things I’ve been blessed with and all that I have to be thankful for, and with Sam by my side and the love and support from all of you, I made it through to place I am now just fine—better than fine. So yes, here in Europe with the man I love, I am truly happy.

We love and miss you all and would love to hear from you—or see you!—whenever you get the chance. Please take care and keep in touch, and we hope to talk to you soon.

Love, Jenna & Sam

PS—be sure to check out the pics of our house below…

The master bedroom--where the magic happens! (wink, wink)

The guest room--where you'll be staying when you come for a visit!

The living/sun room

The kitchen, view 1.

The kitchen, view 2.