Announcing Keith Andrew Armstrong!

Hello friends and family!

Jim and I had a new kind of adventure this holiday season! In the middle of November, we packed up and "moved" to Germany to "Storknest". Storknesting is what the military calls it when you are assigned to a remote location and must travel to a US hospital to deliver your baby. For us the closest location was Landstuhl, Germany.

Once we arrived in Germany, we set up our home which was a temporary living facility with one bedroom, a kitchenette and small living room. It was conveniently located a three minute walk from the hospital and we made it feel more like home by decorating for the holidays. We even got a little Christmas tree! During our time waiting for the baby, we had the opportunity to meet up with several friends and make some new ones.

We balanced our time between appointments with doctors and getting out to explore the surrounding area. Two weeks before my due date we found out that the baby was still breech and I went in for a procedure to manually flip the baby from the outside. This procedure generally has only a 50% success rate and even then it usually takes several attempts before the baby turns. Fortunately, "Scooter" turned on the doctor's first attempt, surprising everyone in the OR!

Since "Scooter" was in the right position, we spent the days prior to my due date (December 24th) taking long walks, all around the base.  On the 23rd, we had to move our walk to the local IKEA because the weather was rainy and cold. About 3:00 in the morning on Christmas Eve, I started to feel some pretty strong contractions and knew I was in labor! At about 10, we walked across the parking lot and into the hospital. Once in Labor and Delivery, they told me that I wasn't far enough along yet and I needed to go back to the room and wait a little longer. That is not what I wanted to hear!

Once we got back to the room I didn't last long! We came back over to the hospital at around two. I made it all the way to 4:30 pm laboring naturally before I got an epidural. After that, things progressed quickly until it was time to push. I pushed from 10:30 pm until 2:03 am before our precious son finally came. He was being very stubborn! We hope that's not a sign of what is to come! All was worth it once we held that beautiful boy in our arms. Jim was an amazing coach, support and partner throughout the entire pregnancy, labor and delivery. I couldn't have done it without him!

We would like you to meet our son, Keith Andrew Armstrong! Keith was born at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany on Christmas Day at 2:03am. He weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Keith was named after his late paternal great-grandfather, Keith Armstrong, and his maternal great-grandfather, Loftus Andrew Morrissey. Jim and I felt really special about honoring our grandfathers in this way. They are both very important men in our lives!
We can't wait for you all to meet our little guy! We think he's pretty great!

Here's to all new adventures as a family of three!
The Adventuring Armstrongs

 

A Summer of Visitors, Part II

It's well past time for the second installment of our Summer of Visitors! From the middle of August to the middle of October, we had 4 more groups of visitors come to see us in Montenegro! We were so blessed to have such a wonderful crew come all the way to visit us and our little country.


In August, some of our best friends from DC came to see us. We met Stacey, Gavin, Janae and Bobby in Dubrovnik and spent a couple of days there before heading south into Montenegro. Our next stops were Kotor and Bar and a very rainy drive through the mountains. Speaking of rain, Montenegro had one of the driest summers on record but of course it rained almost the whole week the DC Crew was here! Fortunately, we didn't let a little rain "dampen" their visit and we still had a great time. We really enjoyed spending time with them and catching up. It felt like an old time "friendcation", just halfway across the world!

The DC Crew at Porto Montenegro in Tivat.

Janae, Stacey and I made the most of the second torrential downpour we got caught in that day in Dubrovnik!

Sam and Tyler Joiner were our next visitors. Sam and Tyler are some of our best friends but we haven't had much time to spend with them in the past three years as we've both moved all over the place. It was such a great time catching up with them. They were up for an epic Balkan road trip so we took them to a whole list of places that we hadn't been before. We started our driving journey in Kolašin, Montenegro and stayed at a lovely lodge in the mountains. We spent the day hiking at one of our favorite places, Biogradska Gora National Park. Next we drove through Prizren, Kosovo and explored the beautiful old town before driving on to Skopje, Macedonia where we spent the night. Our next stop was in the amazing lake town of Ohrid, Macedonia where we spend the days relaxing in the lake and pool. After a couple lazy days by the lake, we drove to Tirana, Albania where we explored and spent the night. Finally, we drove through Bar, Montenegro where we showed Sam and Tyler our favorite parts of the beautiful Stari Bar before making our way back to Podgorica. Overall, it was such a fun week with Sam and Tyler and they made for great company to see parts of the region we hadn't explored yet! We've missed them!

Sam, Tyler, Jim and me posing in front of a beautiful mosque in Prizren, Kosovo.

Jim's dad and step-mom were our next visitors. They were technically here for two weeks but in the middle, they took a long-weekend trip to Rome and Florence and Jim and I flew up to Garmisch, Germany for an Olmsted reunion. While they were here we really showed them all that Montenegro has to offer! We spent a couple of nights in of Kolašin where we hiked and explored parts of that area we hadn't seen before. One day we drove up to the Tara River Bridge and Jim and Bob zip-lined across the second deepest canyon in the world! They were much braver than Vickie and me! We also took them to Kotor, Porto Montenegro, Bar and Lovćen. Overall, I think they got the grand tour of Montenegro! We are so grateful that they made the trip to come see us. It was a really special time with family!

Vickie, me, Bob and Jim at a stop at the Morača Monastery.

Jim and Bob at Biogradska Gora National Park.

Vickie and Bob exploring the fortress ruins in Stari Bar.

While Bob and Vickie were here, we took a few days to fly up to Innsbruck, Austria and Garmisch, Germany for an Olmsted Reunion. We stayed in Innsbruck on the front and back end and really enjoyed exploring this lovely town. Jim had been before and remembered it as one of his favorites so he was very excited to show it off to me. It did not disappoint! From Innsbruck we took the train to Garmisch to meet up with lots of other current and former scholars and their families. It was a really fun weekend of reunions and introductions. We especially enjoyed catching up with the Marshalls who we overlapped with only briefly in Monterey but made fast friends. They are now in Zagreb, Croatia with their two beautiful children and loving the region! It is always fun to be with other Olmsted Scholars and hear just how things are going for them in their respective cities. We are all having different experiences, but a lot of the joys and struggles that we experience are very similar, no matter where we are in the world!

Jim, Cam and John Shea on the hike at the gorge.

Amanda and me catching up on the beautiful hike.

 Our final visitors of the season were fellow Olmsted Scholars, Ryan and Ashley Stevens. They are scholars in Kiel, Germany and spent several weeks this summer traveling around Europe before Ryan started school this fall. They were only with us for a couple of nights, but we really enjoyed showing off our country to them! We took them to Lovćen, Kotor, and Tivat and showed them some of our favorite spots. One of the things we love about this program is how we are encouraged to stay with other scholars while traveling. It has been so fun getting to know the people, cities and countries on a deeper level. We welcome more scholars to come visit!

Ashley, Ryan and Jim at the top of Mt. Lovćen at the mausoleum of Njegoš.

It was great to have so many visitors this summer come visit. We really enjoyed showing them some of our old favorites and exploring new places with them. This week, Lonely Planet travel blog voted Kotor, Montenegro as the #1 city in the world to visit in 2016. We appreciate our friends and family for trusting our opinion that Montenegro is THE BEST even before that vote was announced! For those of you who couldn't make it this year, we hope to see you in 2016!

Until the next adventure,
The Adventuring Armstrongs

Kiev, Ukraine

Last week, we were able visit our good friend and fellow Olmsted Scholar, Mike, in his city, Kiev. Mike and his girlfriend, Darina were fantastic hosts and really showed us the sights in this beautiful city. We walked all around (over 8 miles a day!) and took in the amazing architecture and life in this place. It was fascinating to be a part of the tradition and culture that fill this city. There was a very interesting feeling as we walked the streets, of a desire to be a part of Europe while at the same time being very aware that there is conflict within their borders. It is a politically active city. In the few days we were there, we saw peaceful protests as well as recruiters trying to raise money and support for those fighting in the East. Although it is a peaceful city, there is an undercurrent of unrest and dissatisfaction. Below is pictured Maidan Square where an originally peaceful student protest in 2014 grew large and violent and after 5 days and over 100,000 protesters, more than 700 people were reported dead or missing. On the day we visited, I was struck by the peace there and the somber feel of a place full of honor and remembrance for those fallen.

Maidan Square

From Maidan Square, we walked to St. Sophia's where I was struck by the facade of this bell tower. The original foundation for this church was laid back in the 11th century! The color and detail were fantastic. We were amazed by how much of the city we were able to see during our short visit. Walking many miles a day, we really felt the history, culture and architecture of Kiev.

Mike, Darina and me in front of St. Sofia's Church bell tower.

Mike and Jim climbed to the top of the bell tower and were rewarded with fantastic views of the city. However, as they were making their way back down, the clock struck the hour and they were directly below one of the giant bells when it rang. Fortunately, it was one o'clock so it only rang once!

View of St. Michael's Church from the bell tower of St. Sofia's.

Many of the churches in the city were either destroyed or converted to other purposes during the communist years. Unfortunately, St Michael's was destroyed with dynamite in the 1930s. Before they demolished it, a couple local architects performed a detailed study of the cathedral. Thankfully, these studies survived and were used when the buildings were reconstructed in 1999.

Just as impressive as the architecture is the cuisine!

Jim has always been a fan of borscht - a Ukrainian national dish, so he ordered it with just about every meal! Our friends from Monterey will remember what happened when Jim tried to make it himself.

Jim and me with a lovely view of the city from one of the many hilltops.

While a lot of Ukraine lies on a vast flat plain, the city of Kiev was built on a series of hills above the Dnieper River. It really was amazing to see how much green space has been preserved and integrated into this bustling city!

Unfortunately, the current conflict in Ukraine isn't the first time Ukrainians have faced hardships. We took time during our trip to visit a museum dedicated to the disaster at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl as well as to visit several memorials to fallen Ukrainians. Maybe the most touching was the one pictured above which is a memorial to the people who died in the Ukrainian famine of 1921.

Orthodox church inside Pečarska Lavra Monastery covered in beautifully painted frescoes.

This was one of the most interesting monasteries we visited. The current grounds are built on the caves that monks would use to isolate themselves to better study. It is a very reverent and holy place as several of the monk's remains are still housed inside. To go in, I had to borrow a long skirt and traditional Ukrainian head scarf.

"Rodina-Mat" who towers high above the city on the river at 102 meters (332 feet) tall.

You can see this statue from pretty much anywhere in the city. She is dedicated to the people of Ukraine following the defeat of the Germans in WWII. A fantastic museum resides in the area under the statue. It was incredibly interesting to see events of the war interpreted from the perspective of the Red Army. Instead of exhibits dedicated to D-Day and Pearl Harbor the action focused on the Germany invasion of Russia, the sieges and attacks on several of the major cities and the eventual liberation of occupied territory by the Red Army. In one of the exhibits dedicated to resistance fighters Jim spotted a traditional Montenegrin sword that had been given as a gift when the Red Army linked up with the Partisans to liberate Yugoslavia.

We spent so much time in the city and left feeling like there was so much more that needed to be seen to truly understand this country. To say we liked Kiev is an understatement, we loved it! What made it even more special was the opportunity to spend so much time with Mike and Darina in the place they live. In addition to all the history and museums, we bowled, visited the beach, performed feats of strength at the largest outdoor gym any of us had ever seen, drank at a speakeasy and shopped! I don't know if we'll be able to make it back to Kiev during the time we have remaining as Olmsted Scholars but I do know I absolutely must come back here one day.

Until the next adventure!

The Adventuring Armstrongs

A Summer of Visitors, Part I

This summer, we have been very blessed to have lots of visitors! It means so much to us that we have had friends and family travel all the way to come see us while we're living this adventure in Eastern Europe. Here's a little account of them in reverse order. And this is only a start! We've still got three groups of visitors yet to come!

Most recently, my Mom and Dad visited us for a week. They took the opportunity while crossing the pond to stop in London and Paris before they joined us. I was so proud of them for taking this travel adventure and for exploring new places. I think this little taste of Europe has given them the travel bug. Hopefully their love of travel will continue for years to come! They left us only yesterday and will spend the upcoming week in Venice, Florence and Rome for the Italian leg of their European tour. I know they will have a wonderful time. It was so great to spend a week exploring Montenegro with them!

We ate lots of yummy food and showed mom and dad the best of Montenegrin traditional cuisine and culture!

Our dear friends from DC, Christie and Mark, came to visit us at the end of June. I have always been inspired by their love of travel and commitment to a regular adventure, even after having precious twins! We had a great two weeks with them and had a blast showing them the mountains and the coast.

Beautiful day for a hike at the Black Lake in Durmitor National Park in Kolašin, Montenegro.

My younger brother and sister-in-law, Brad and Lillie, came to visit at the beginning of June. They were here for two weeks and we went on a grand Italian adventure together. We drove from Podgorica to Split, Croatia and on into Italy where we visited Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples and Bari. In Bari we caught an overnight ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Dubrovnik, Croatia and then we drove back to Podgorica. While in Italy, we met up with my older brother, sister-in-law and two nieces and spent three awesome days exploring with them! Overall, it was such a fun trip filled with fantastic memories made with family.

Brad, Lillie, Jim and me in Rome.

L to R: Chris, Virginia, Abby, Ashley, me, Jim, Lillie and Brad at the Spanish Steps in Rome.

Our friends from DC, Jon and Kristina came to visit us in May. We had a blast showing them some of the best Montenegro has to offer. From the mountain town of Kolašin and the beautiful national park, Biogradska Gora, to the coastal towns of Perast, Petrovac and Kotor, and a peaceful stay just outside the ancient walled-city of Dubrovnik, a great time was had by all! We were so thrilled to have the opportunity to catch up and just spend time together in this beautiful part of the world.

Kristina and Jon at Our Lady of the Rocks church on an island made by local fishermen called Church Island in the bay off of the coast of Perast, Montenegro.

Brian and Christine Devlin were our very first visitors this summer. We met Brian and Christine while we were living in Monterey. They were both students in the Serbian/Croatian language program at the Defense Language Institute while Jim was there. They now live in Ljubljana, Slovenia where Brian is a Foreign Area Officer (FAO) in the Army. Unfortunately, we somehow didn't get a picture with the four of us while they were here but we will always remember their visit as our first guests!

Christine and me near Bar, Montenegro where we stopped to watch the sunset.

We have had such a busy and fun summer with friends and family and can't wait for more to come!  We hope this encourages you to get out and explore!

Until the next adventure,
The Adventuring Armstrongs

Parisian Wedding and Northern Europe

It's been awhile but, Adventuring Armstrongs is back! We've done a lot of travel, both regional and a little farther away in the past few months. I'll start with our most recent trip to Northern Europe. On this excursion, we visited Paris, Belleau Wood, Amsterdam, Ghent, Brugge and Brussels.

Our first stop was in Paris. Last summer when we'd first arrived in Podgorica, we made fast friends with a guy at the embassy who loved to travel around the country on the weekends. He had a car and was generous enough to invite us to join him in his adventures. During his time here, his sister and her fiance visited from Paris. She's American, living in Paris for her job and he is French. We really enjoyed getting to know them during their two week visit and were honored when we were invited to their wedding in Paris. How could we refuse?! An email sent a couple of weeks before the wedding by the bride's mother stated that fascinators (or little hats like Princess Kate wears) are all the rage in Parisian fashion for weddings. So, as soon as we arrived, we ventured off with our host, Jess Boswell, to find a hat shop. There were so many options! All kinds of shapes, sizes, colors...and prices, but we decided that the bright pink feathers were perfect for me! I had such fun wearing it to the wedding. There were lots of ladies, both American and French wearing them. I got several compliments (even from the local ladies) on mine!

Parisian Wedding selfie!

The wedding was quite a shindig. It was over 100 degrees in Paris that day and it was requested of Jim to wear his dress blue uniform. I had no right to complain that I was hot with him in that wool suit! The wedding was at 2:30 pm in a local Catholic church and the reception followed at a beautiful venue with a view of the Eiffel Tower. The cocktail "hour" was from 5:30 until 8 and we were seated for the first course of dinner at around 8:30. By the time our fourth course was served, it was almost midnight! Dancing began around 1am. Jim and I left at around 2:30 and it was still packed with guests! Those French sure know how to party! It really was a special occasion and we are so glad we were invited to be a part of it.

The bride and groom greeting their adoring family and friends after the ceremony.

During our stay in Paris, we were fortunate to be the guests of fellow Olmsted scholars, Tim and Jess Boswell. Jess gave us a great tour on the afternoon we arrived. We visited the Montmartre neighborhood and Sacre Coeur. Paris was having quite a heat wave so we headed back to the apartment and they took us to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I know it seems like a waste to have Mexican food while in France, but we don't have Mexican food in Montenegro and I'd really been missing it! It lived up to expectations and was delicious! Jess and Tim were so great to host us during our stay. We felt right at home. They even gave us a key and we came and went as we pleased! I had my first visit (of many, I hope) to the Louvre this trip. It is really one of those places you could just spend weeks and weeks exploring! Thank goodness for the Rick Steves app on our iPhones that took us through a tour of the high points so that we didn't miss the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Winged Victory!

Jess and me in front of the Sacre Coeur.

Louvre selfie!

Venus de Milo

On the Fourth of July, Tim and Jess put together a lovely picnic in the park with some friends from Tim's school. Dear friends from our church in Monterey, Abby and Josh Warburg, happened to be in Paris at the same time we were and we coordinated for them to join us for our Independence day picnic. It was so great to catch up with them!

What a great surprise to spend the 4th with friends from Carmel Presbyterian Church!

From Paris, we took a train to the tiny town of Chateau Thierry, France, site of the the famous "Battle of Belleau Wood from the First World War. The legend of the Marines that fought at Belleau Wood holds a special place in the lore of Marine Corps history. While part of a much larger campaign, the Battle of Belleau Wood gave the Germans their first opportunity to see that the Americans could really fight. The Germans were said to have described the U.S. Marines as "hounds out of hell" which is where they got their nickname, "Devil Dogs." Jim gave me a lesson on the battle while in the train so that I could better understand and enjoy the battlefield tour. We checked into a lovely family-owned chateau and took a taxi to the beautiful American cemetery and battle field.

Jim on the grounds of the beautiful American cemetery.

The property is maintained by Americans. It is an absolutely lovely tribute.

The battlefield was a short drive away from the cemetery. It had walking paths and plaques reading the events of the 21 day battle. There were still obvious trenches and fighting holes peppering the landscape. Since we arrived by taxi, the caretaker served as our chauffeur from the cemetery to the battlefield and then to the museum.

Jim drinking from the fountain in town that only Marines are allowed to drink from. Legend has it that if a Marine drinks from this fountain, he will have quick promotions and extra years of life! Drink up!

The visit to Belleau Wood was my first time to experience a battlefield tour and study. It was really an neat experience, especially because I had such a great guide!

From Chateau Thierry, we took a train to Amsterdam. Oddly enough, we had dined the previous night with a couple from Amsterdam. During the course of the dinner they told us their favorite restaurants and recommendations for things to see. When we arrived at the main train station we found that Amsterdam was a beautiful city filled with canals, bicycles, amazing food...and of course, people smoking pot around every corner! We even took a quick walk through the Red Light District, just to say we did! That was enough for me!

From Amsterdam, we took a train to Ghent, Belgium where Jim's cousin Richard and his lovely girlfriend, Elena live. They hosted us in their beautiful apartment and showed us around the city they are so proud of. Of course it was wonderful to spend time with family, but we also loved Ghent! Ghent was voted the most bicycle friendly city in Belgium and we took advantage. Richard and Elena had us biking all over town! We took a day trip to Brugge, Belgium, a nearby town and explored there also. Both were great places to visit. We hope to make it back to visit Richard and Elena again soon!

Richard and me in Brugge.

Day trip to Brugge.

Its always a good idea to enjoy a delicious Belgian beer!

Real Belgian hot chocolate with Elena. They bring you a mug of warm milk and a dish of little chocolate chips and you stir them in and let them melt. Amazing!

From Ghent, we took the train to Brussels for one night. We really enjoyed wandering around and learning more about the history of the "capital of Europe". We were also able to enjoy dinner with former and current Olmsted scholars while there.

Overall, this was a fantastic trip for the Adventuring Armstrongs. We were able to spend time with fellow scholars, family and friends and also do a lot of exploring and learning about the culture and history of a very important region of Europe.

Until the next adventure,
The Adventuring Armstrongs

Dublin with the McCormacks

We had the special treat during this last trip to get to meet up with the McCormack clan while they were in Dublin for the girls' Spring Break. Carol and Paul are my sister and brother-in-law and they have 3 beautiful daughters who are three (of our five) lovely nieces. Paul was born and raised in Dublin and his mother still lives there so we were blessed to get to see Grandma Mary as well on our visit.

With some careful coordination (and lies, as Susan was quick to point out) on Carol's part, we were able to surprise the girls with our arrival. I hate that we didn't capture their surprised faces as the door opened but I will certainly never forget it. Their sweet faces went from confusion, to shock, to sheer joy in about 30 seconds. We were quickly tackled with hugs in the doorway. "Aunt Katie and Uncle Jim!!" I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.

When I moved to DC in 2006, Carol was pregnant with Susan, the oldest. So, my seven years in DC were filled with watching these beautiful girls grow up. Jim and I even lived with them for a month after our wedding when we were waiting to move out to California. It has been hard being away from them for the past two years but we were lucky that they visited us in Monterey and so glad to see them in Dublin. Hopefully we will see them again before we move back to the states. Thank goodness for today's technology where we can see pictures and videos regularly. It really helps us feel connected across the miles.

Thank you McCormack clan for including us on your Spring Break! It was wonderful to see you!

We went to visit Tom Tom's grave (Paul's dad) at the most beautiful old cemetery in Dublin. It was a really special experience.

It was a solemn place for a morning visit but really special for the girls to get to see where their grandfather is buried.

We took a little day drive to the coast to a charming little town where we had lunch at a coffee shop. Too bad it was so windy. We would have liked to walk to the end of the pier and explore more. Cecilia has gotten so big! She was attached to my hand pretty much the whole 48 hours.

Cecilia enjoying a "99" vanilla soft serve ice cream cone with a chocolate flake stuck in the side. This was one of Paul's favorite treats growing up. It was fun that he shared with us!

Susan, Anne, Paul, Jim and I went on a walking tour around Dublin with Paul as our tour guide. It was pretty great to be shown around by someone who grew up there! Here we are on the campus of Trinity University where the Book of Kells is housed.

Unfortunately, in the end, we weren't able to get a picture of us with all three girls but this one of us with Susan turned out great. It was such a special time to get to see the McCormack family after a year apart. We miss them greatly and can't wait until our next adventure together!