Monday, May 18, 2009

schnitzel spaetzle

We finally used one of our Christmas presents this weekend.  My parents gave us some money to go on a little weekend getaway, so this past Saturday we dropped the girls off at Nana and Baba's and headed out to the Amana Colonies.  It's the third year we've done this.  And really the only 3 nights (one night each time) we've ever been away together without the girls since Adeline was born almost 4 years ago!  I know, it's pathetic, but we really just haven't had many opportunities to get out on our own.  So this weekend was great to be with just each other, even if it was for only 1 night!

The weekend started off looking pretty grim.  I somehow hurt my hip (pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve or something) on Friday night and could barely even walk.  Each step I took shot pain into my hip.  I've had a hard enough time walking normally this pregnancy anyways, so that definitely didn't help!  I prayed it would go away by Saturday morning, since much of the Amanas involves walking around to the shops.  But, much to our dismay, Saturday morning it was just as bad.  When we dropped the kids off at mom and dad's, it was so bad that mom and Chad were trying to think of where they could get a wheelchair for me, which I definitely would NOT allow!  Can you imagine Chad pushing me through the streets in a wheelchair?  NO WAY!  It's different if you have to be in one and have a reason to be, but I'm just pregnant with a bad hip, not incapable of walking altogether.  Although I was wondering where I could pick up a Hoveround... (click on that link for a classic commercial)  Fortunately, God answered our prayers and about an hour into our excursion, I was able to walk without too much of a limp.

We stayed at Rose's Place (pictured below) in Middle Amana.  Wonderful place - we highly recommend it.  The breakfast they serve is AMAZING!  And the owners, Betty and Jerry are delightful.

I couldn't wait to have my favorite German dish - Chicken Schnitzel with Spaetzle!  It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  In fact, I like it so much that I ordered it for lunch and dinner.  We had lunch at the Ronneburg and dinner at the Colony Inn.  And I can tell you that the Ronneburg's schnitzel and spaetzle is 10 times better!  Love that restaurant!  And since saying "schnitzel and spaetzle" is so much fun, we're thinking of naming our son Schnitzel Spaetzle Brooks.  Has a nice ring to it...
Who's that fat lady posing by the sign?!  Oh, wait... just me...

Chad found a super-cool chicken hat.  Should've bought it.  I'm sure we'd get a lot of use out of it.  Who doesn't need a chicken hat?
In case you've never been to the Amana's, I'll warn you that pretty much everything shuts down around 5 or so (besides the restaurants).  Or you can pay $25/person to see a play, which we weren't about to do.  So Saturday night, we headed into Coralville to catch a movie.  It's the first one I've been to since Live Free or Die Hard (our super romantic anniversary flick 2 years ago).  Shows you how much we get out... 

So, thanks Mom and Dad for the night away.  We had a great time!

4 comments:

Sarah said...

Hilarious! Schnizel Spaetzel Brooks! Hahaha! We actually named our puppet dag Schnitzel...which is really funny since Schnizel is basically chopped up meat. We even thought about naming our real dog that when we get one...oh, how cruel. I know. Anyhoo, glad you had a fun time away, even if for a night! I've only been there once w/ a Ladies Retreat...I can't wait to take Jim there. I went to this store called "German..." uh, I forget all of a sudden. Anyway, there were TONS of culture and language books. I bought some as we prep to go to Germany. And the owner's name was Lotar and was very nice. From Berlin even, which is cool! So, it'd be fun to meet him again and introduce him to Jim. Why am I totally rambling on your blog?

peter marie said...

Sounds like fun! Glad you got to get away before the baby comes.
Hope your hip is feeling better this week! I remember those pains all too well.....but the second that baby popped out I could walk (almost) normally!
Have a great week!!

Jenny said...

Katie, it's Jenny Mark, Chad's childhood friend. I love your blog!! This last post made me ROLL!!! Love to you guys - say hi to Chad for me!

Amy said...

You don't even look pregnant in that picture :) We went to the Amana's for our first anniversary but we didn't know about everything shutting down at 5. Luckily the B & B we stayed at had a pool so we had something to do that night!

Hope your hip starts feeling better!