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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011

Our Last Two Days in the Land of the Schintzel...

Well this is it.  We are completing our last installation in Germany.  In two days we will be heading to the Netherlands, than onto Belgium, the UK and finally Spain.  Spain will mark our last European country on tour.  Instead we head back over to the East and hit the islands known as Japan.

Some highlights of things to look forward to in the next couple of days on this blog:

--Posting from another blogger (the Household 6 Diva).  She got to see the show with her kids and interviewed both Alexis and Katlin.  From what I hear she also took some great shots.

--Show Pictures.  I realized I have not shared pictures from our show.  So I will am in the process of collecting some photos to share with everyone.

--Pictures from our USO/Sesame Street photo shoot we had while in Kaiserlautern.  It was a lot of fun.  I can't wait to share  the pictures we took.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011

A Special Day with Joanna...

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Throughout this tour, we have been able to touch so many Military Families during the show.  It is truly an amazing experience to watch the faces of the Dads, Moms, Brothers, Sisters, Grandparents, etc as they hear Katie's story and learn that change is a good thing, your will always have your friends (new and old) and that they are truly supported.

It even hits closer to home when we get to really experience that excitement one-on-one.

Before yesterday's shows, Elmo and the Gang got to meet Joanna's Family.  Joanna is a little girl who is truly a fighter with a HUGE heart.  She was diagnosed in January 2009 with a large brain tumor and after two operations, as well as, a residual tumor, her family is in a "watch and wait" period. So they choose to "live life to the fullest".

Joanna, Gavin (her brother), Bianka (her mom) and Will (her dad) not only got to meet the entire Gang in a "Celebrity Meet and Greet", she was also honored with front row seats at our show that afternoon.  A few days later, Elmo even received the picture above with a special message from Joanna.

Below is the entry her mother created about the day on their Family blog.  If you want to learn more about Joanna and her family, you can visit it by clicking HERE.

"Thank you, Joanna, for sharing yesterday with our Sesame Street/USO family.  You are loved and you are not alone.  Take care and continue to be strong.  And remember, 'We'll always be here for you...To keep you smiling and see you through.'"

Ciao.

Joanna's special day with Elmo and his friends from USO

A few weeks ago I found out, that the USO would bring the Sesame Street Tour to Germany. For the non military people a short note what this project is about:
“The Sesame Street/USO Experience for Military Families” is a project developed under the Talk, Listen, Connect initiative, which Sesame Workshop launched in 2006. The initiative provides support and offers significant resources for military families with young children who are experiencing the effects of deployment, multiple deployments or when a parent comes home injured. 

Since Joanna is a huge fan of Elmo it was clear, that we would go to the show. I also was able to get in contact with the tour manager and told him about Joanna's health condition and that she would love to meet Elmo and give him a big hug. And wow, his response was awesome. Believe it or not, a few hours before the show started we were invited to go to the KMC Onstage and Joanna was able to meet ALL the characters from the USO Sesame Street show. They all came early just for her...
It was awesome, Joanna felt so special and was smiling the whole time, she also asked were the other kids were and why the Theater was still empty....she couldn't believe that Elmo and his friends were just there for her...

Every character came and gave her a big hug....Cookie Monster...
Grover

They all smiled and waved at her....
And of course we did several group pictures
And a family picture....Cookie Monster was holding Will down.....

And more hugging with Elmo....

and kissing...
and sitting.... I know to many pictures on here...but I just love to see her smile.....
and we even got Gavin on a few pictures....of course he thought he was too cool for all of that...but actually you could tell that he enjoyed it too...
specially when the Cookie Monster talked to him...
After the photo shooting we had two more hours until the show started.....we had something to eat and came back to the Theatre. They reserved us seats in the front row, so we had a pretty good view...
All the kids got some Elmo toys and some USO bandannas....aren't we special ???
Look at this pictures.......haha....
Goofing around...
The show started and Joanna was dancing with Elmo...

The songs were really good and the kids were all dancing...

ELMO

Joanna was in heaven and really enjoyed the show.....and Gavin did too, of course he didn't say it, because he is way to cool...

Thanks again to the people from USO....that was awesome.......

MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 1011

A Trip to Frankfurt, Germany...

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We all took a fun day trip into Frankfurt.  At the urging of Klaus (our bus driver), we walked along the river and got to see a lot of beautiful things.  Frankfurt truly is a beautiful city.
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Robby, Kyle and Hilary 'monkeying' around...

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2011

A Trip to the Schloss of Heidelberg

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For those of you who may not know: "Schoss" means "Castle" in German.

The crew got a chance to visit the town of Heidelberg and walk the grounds of the castle that overlooks the city.  I was excited about visiting this amazing landmark for the first time until I experienced a moment of deja vu!!

I realized my Dad (HI DAD!!) brought us to Heidelberg a few summers ago when we had our family vacation out here.  Imagine my surprise when it call came flooding back to me.  I also remember enjoying a festival of some kind and fireworks by the river.

It is amazing when things like that happen.  Don't you agree?
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Above:  The Before Shot.

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Above:  What is known as a Photo Bomb. 
Thanks, Alexis!

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Above:  The After Shot.

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Hilary was suppose to be taking the picture on the Left.
This is what she took instead: a pic of herself.
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Good bye, Heidelberg!!!


WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

Rothenberg, Germany...

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Some history of the town (taken from Wikipedia):

Rothenberg went, as Rodenberg, in 1535, along with the villages of Ober-Hainbrunn and Unter-Finkenbach, and Vogt rights in Moosbrunn, as an Imperial fief to the Lords of Hirschhorn. After they died out in 1632, ownership passed to Otto von Kronberg, and after the Counts of Kronberg died out in 1704 to the Barons of Degenfeld-Schaumburg. Through marriage, ownership was held from 1786 to 1801 by the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau and then lastly to the Counts of Rothberg. By the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine, Rothenberg and the other villages, but not Moosbrunn, passed along with the County of Erbach in 1806 to the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1835, Rothenberg was, with 1,098 inhabitants the third biggest village in the Landratsbezirk (roughly “administrative region”). When in the course of industrialization traffic routes were being expanded, this handicraft and market community’s high elevation, which did not favour transport, became a curse. There was no industrial development, and the community’s population figures fell. To this day, the community is strongly characterized by agriculture. In 1971, the hitherto self-governing communities of Ober-Finkenbach and Raubach were amalgamated. The hamlets of Kortelshütte and Hinterbach were established in the 18th century as settling communities for newcomers and those without property. Kortelshütte has developed itself since the early 20th century into a climatic spa after a highway link and new housing estates were built, while Hinterbach earned importance in the 1930s for its mineral springs.
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011

Walking around the city of Bamberg, Germany...

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The one thing that I have found is how amazing each city/town we visit in Germany.  There is so much life.  So much history.  Germany is a country full of so much. 

If you ever get a chance to visit, I encourage you to do so!!
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I found my Restaurant in Bamberg!!  Who knew?


WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

Katie and Elmo play in the USO office at USAG Grafenwöhr...

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Check out the fun times Katie and Elmo had visiting one of our USO offices in Germany.  They definitely had a great time in the 'Sesame Street' Play Area.
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DISCLAIMER:

Photos are collected from my personal camera, fellow tour mates' cameras, the USO website, Fred Greaves (USO photographer) and throughout the internet.

Video are taken from my personal camera, fellow tour mate's cameras, the USO YouTube account and throughout the internet.

If you see anything you wish for me to take off my site, please contact me using the Contact Tab. 

Thank you!