Farewell to My Favorite Father-in-Law

I wanted to pause my usual type of blog and take a moment to honor my father-in-law. Pete passed away last week from esophagus cancer.

I'm sure that, although he was imperfect like us all, he looked back and was very happy and content with how he lived his life. Scott and his siblings were overwhelmed in the days following his death with stories of how Pete helped so many people in ways big and small. He was incredibly generous in spirit.

He loved his family, his dogs, being busy, talking on his cellphone, helping people, drinking coffee, his Ukranian heritage, roadtrips, and he elevated negotiating/haggling to an artform.  He was very traditional and a showman.

He completely adored his wife of nearly 45 years, Leigh.

I met Scott's family when I was 16, over 20 years ago, and I watched Pete mellow through the years as his fatherly responsibilities diminished and he could enjoy being silly with his grandkids. One of Pete's favorite jokes was to say, when I answered the phone, "Hello, it's your favorite father-in-law". It's one of those things that might make me roll my eyes on occasion, but I can tell you that I will sincerely miss never hearing that again.

Munich, Germany

Back in August we spent a long weekend in Munich. We really enjoyed the city and were lucky to have beautiful, sunny weather. So Mapquest had promised a drive of about 5 hours, but it ended up being 7 hours there and 8 hours back - too much for a long weekend trip, and I had been warned that construction was bad on the freeways leading there, but we were still glad to have gone. It was a beautiful city to wander, with all the German charm and architecture you'd expect, but it also had some interesting "extras" like surfers in the middle of the city and the gorgeous Olympiapark where the 1972 Olympics were held.

While driving in the city we were stopped at a red light & a scooter pulled in front of us - and the guy was wearing this Detroit helmet - so random!

The city's most famous square, Marienplatz. This is the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus), finished in 1908, which survived WWII bombings

Detail of a cherub surrounding the Virgin Mary statue (Ethan's cool shot)

Close-up of the famous Glockenspiel - unfortunately we missed both of it's daily "performances"

Views from the top of the Neues Rathaus

Another cool detail shot from Ethan - looking up at gargoyles

Ethan detail shot

Two views of the yellow Theatinerkirche (church)

Feldherrenhalle on Odeonsplatz, honoring Bavarian Generals

Ethan in Frauenkirche

Griffin with a street performer

A maypole in the center of the outdoor market. Apparently, represented on it are the city's beer brews and the jobs that go into making it.

I never figured out what building this was, it may have been semi-temporary, but I love seeing modern contrasts in the middle of traditional cities.

Griffin at a cool fountain

In the Hofgarten

Bavarian government building

Looks like an ordinary river in the city's Englischer Garten, but they've made it into a...

...surfing area! So cool to sit in the shade and watch.

On the outskirts of the city was Olympiapark, a sports complex built for the 1972 Olympics. I like the way it's been turned into a city park, with some of the facilities still in use, but those out of use were still maintained and clean. I think the "cobweb" architecture is still modern looking today.

Building with swimming pools

Track & Field stadium

BMW headquarters in the same neighborhood

Ethan was so happy to get in a few shots!

Brussels, Belgium

We really liked Brussels, a 3 hour car ride away, which we visited in mid-August. As we tend to do, we didn't pack too many museums or tours into this trip, just a few key sites and then lots of time walking and enjoying this pretty city. My camera wasn't working for most of the trip, so most of the pictures were taken by Ethan - it's a hobby he's getting into and I think he has a good eye for capturing interesting shots (I'm totally unbiased of course ;-)).

Museum of Musical Instruments

The main square Grand Place (next 6 pictures)

Manneken Pis statue - one of the biggest attractions in the city (he's only about 1 foot tall)

Lots of Manneken Pis souvenirs

One of the prettiest places in the city, and we only found it getting lost on our way someplace else! The garden is the Place du Petit Sablon, just across the street from a gorgeous Gothic cathedral Eglise Notre Dame du Sablon.

The Palais Royal

We also went to Bruparck just outside of the city, where they have this crazy Atomium structure (built for the 1958 World Fair), which we walked inside to the top, and a Mini-Europe.

View from inside the Atomium

Inside Mini-Europe

There's Big Ben in the background

Scott & Ethan spotted this in one of the mini city scenes - the A-Team!!