New school year starts in August and Visitors!!!!

I'll never get used to the school year starting in August but ready we were. Last school year the Monkey joined the sailing club at school and it has been such a fabulous experience. She knew no one when she signed up but quickly meet a crew and started sailing with them. Luckliy enough so far the weather has mostly been lovely if a bit lacking in wind and this second day of school was probably the most beautiful. The rest of us took the opportunity to pick her up and enjoy possibly last warm day.

The Mouse has been studying potatoes at school and due to the warm summer the harvest happened the first week back at school. This was the sneek preview potato before the big Kartoffelfest on the last Friday in August. She has been wanting to try spiral potato cooking after a good one at the Royal  Adelaide Show 2 years ago and this day and this potato were the perfect combination. The class festival coincided with the arrival of Family M who popped in whilst on their Europe Grand Tour. As always a train is late and you miss the bus when you really want to be eating potatoes but we made it in time having dropped off the majority of the tour group at home and shown them where the food and drink was. Hey we brought a big bag of potatoes home later and you don't get a better welcome than a bag of potatoes and sharing stories with great mates!

There is no better incentive to try your language skill than to be given 2 euros and dragged to the lolly stand with your friend. The grown ups stood back and watched as all kids (yes I still call the teenagers the kids) were amazing and gave it a red hot go. It must have worked as they all came back with a bag of lollies and a couple of extras thrown in for their effort.

After the Wochenendemarkt and the kids just swimming and hanging out catching their breath we headed out for a Radtour on the Sunday. We packed up the bike bags and backpacks with rations for the day and off we went. We picniced and wandered in the grounds of two grand houses and rode around 25kms. Bless the kids they all wore their Berlin shirts! 

Trying to decide weather to try the other way home...it was a winner!

Monday morning was tricky as our kids had to go to school but off they went and Familie M and I prepared to head into the museum. Luckily we are a slow moving machine as around 9 30am the Bear comes unexpectedly home from school. After we heard him ring the bell we all curiously gathered around the door. As a mum you get worried when your kid comes home early looking flustered and panting from riding fast and running up the stairs to the door. As he entered his victory arms went up and he managed to get the word "Fliegebombe" out. Turns out a WW2 bomb had been found on a building site nearby and they got evacuated. So with one kid home I am wondering where his sister is. After realising my phone was on silent and I had missed 2 calls the Monkey got in touch to make sure someone was home (as the school directed) and came home too. Then I got an email from the school explaining. I love that the Bear heard go home if you can contact your parents and so took off faster than Speedy Gonzalas but the Monkey followed the rules and went to the 'safe' area. Appartently the Bear's backup plan as he didn't have a house key was to head to Herr F's office in town. 

New word for the day... Kampfmittelraeumdienst  = bomb squad

So we all went to soak up some art and culture with the aid of icecream.

Much to the disappointment of the Bear and the Monkey it was all very efficiently sorted out and around 4pm we got the email saying school would be on the next day. We all had such a fantastic time showing our friends from home our home away from home. 

Unbelievably 10 people can, for a short time live in a small appartment with one toilet in the bathroom and still be best friends when the time is up. We also made it through the long list of possible (I had promised Herr F that I wouldn't explode the guests) adventures to do with Family M including a ladies lunch, lads beer tasting night and a cuppa afternoon with Herr G who was surprised to see our dining table in the apartment foyer when he entered. 10 people only requires a bit of furniture shuffling.

Theatre, Atari, school preparations and looking forward to friends visiting.

We lapped up the continued fabulous weather the last few days of the summer holidays provided by going to see the classic german story, "Emil und die Detektive" at the Freilichtbuhne (outside theatre) in Billerbeck. A combined Familie Bearmonkeymouse and Familie N excursion is always fun and as this is probably the last time we'll get the kids to go to kids theatre the mums relished the moment, the Herr with his worry of amatuer theatre which are more acute when it is childrens theatre got to see what we love about it. I went underprepared ie I remembered the kids and the tickets and when your kid sees a family walk in with an esky your blood runs cold because you know the next question. Luckily Frau N had a bag of sweets which we eeked out between 9 people.

We visited the kindergarten that all the kids have attended during our years in Germany, caught up with a couple of their past teacher and tried the bike that they all played on only to really realise how much they have grown.

 

In our French infrastructure programme The Arc de Triomphe was assembled and the streets radiating out started to take shape. No visitors have helped with this puzzle, we are on our own by the looks of it. Our eyes definitely suffered but the bight summer sun help see the tiny grey lines.

The Bear finally worked out how to attach his prized possession the Atari he bought at his favourite place in the world the video game shop in Enschede to a modern TV. Thanks to the patient guy in the electronics shop and you tube he found out he had to tune a TV into the right stations...Both the Herr and I had forgotten about this step as it is automatic now but it was a regular occurance in our teenage years. You don't know the happiness we all felt at seeing the screen below. (Update: we now own Frogger too!)

Lastly we did the pilgrimage to get all the school supplies sorted for the new school year to start on the 29th of August. We have done this before so all the numbers and line types were code we understood. 

Now - 2018

Then - 2014

And we started planning all the fun things to do with Family M who we are very excited to be seeing and showing around our wonderful town...on bikes of course.

Last weeks of school holidays and plans so many plans.

A full calendar can make the Herr and the Bear break out in cold sweats but really, we are in Europe and it will be cold again soon and, we will be a 24 hour plane ride away (not to think of the cost) before we know it so we have to enjoy every weekend we can. 

First stop: the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven. I know what you are thinking, scenic Bremerhaven I am so jealous. Scoff as you may, Bremerhaven is home to 2 excellent museums and Familie N took us on an adventure around the 8 degree of longitude in the Klimahaus. It was fascinating, humid, freezing and impressive all at once. Each area was vast and we spent ages exploring the different countries the 8 degree line of longitude passes through. Except the Antarctic where we tried to linger but it was too cold.

While weekends can include excursions, during the week in the school holidays while the Herr is ploughing through the libraries and archives dismantleing and reassembling history I try to create balance where everyone stays sane in a small apartment and can relax but, also get out and about. According to different children on different days my outdoor expectation is way to high. Go through the photos and pick which kid it is on which day!   

A mini environmental disaster rescue attempt is always a good distraction to the disappontment of being dragged outside by your mother. Horribly enough whilst we enjoyed the pool in the hot weather the fairly shallow man made lake was loosing oxygen fast and this resulted in tonnes and tonnes of fish suddenly dying one day. This happened while we were away but it was the talk of the town. So, when we stumbled upon the giant filters the fire brigade set up at various points to reoxygenate the water we just had to sit and ponder the world's biggest fish bowl and the effects of global warming.

With big topics covered, the end half of the summer school holidays also saw the beginning of the "Floor is Lava" season and these crazy peeps play it everywhere.

Next stop: Cologne

We have often had visiting academics stay at our house as uni budgets doesn't always stretch to include accommodation and this visit was a return invitation from one of these scholars.  Again we jumped on a train and headed to Cologne to be shown around by a local. The Herr and I have been to Cologne lots, and it has always been freezing so to go in summer is a totally different if, wasp filled experience. Oh, and there was the time we saw Belle and Sebastian there, but that is a whole other blog post but in short it was brilliant, if somewhat blury.

We caught up with Frau E, got the insider tour of the cathedral and surrounds then we went off to do a bit of  interactive museuming at Odysseum having swapped telephone numbers to organise meeting up to barbeque in the park later. 

The time you and the Mouse thought it was a good idea to put her in a zero gravity machine!

We knew which train station to go to to meet up but nothing else and if you have ever heard me rant about how technology and I have a very bad under pressure relationship you would, at this point be thinking of course her battery suddenly died then briefly came back to life, then there was a bit of switching of batteries between the Herr and I as he only exists on free wifi and this all on the train nearing the station we think we have to get out at. I have never before been so happy and sweaty to see the sent tick and get a reply confirming station and meeting. We had heard rumours that there was an excellent comic collection to be seen and the Bear has come away with visions for his future. 

Parenting 101 states don't keep the kids up to late and get on the early train home especially on a Saturday night. But, summer picnicing 101 contratdicts this and states enjoy the company and the weather and just don't miss the last train. 

Our plan was to catch the 7 30pm train home and continue our unblemished record of being outstanding parents but this wasn't to be as food, conversation and park sitting were to good to cut short. After the best gourmet portable barbeque cook up ever, chats about history on one side and Dr Who and Star Trek on the other side we ended up on the 9 30pm train home.The station was packed but we got a seat and the kids learnt a valuable lesson from a group of fellow travellers who got on at the second station. We had already seen the hens and bucks parties, with specially printed t-shirts or costumes no less that were starting pre lunch drinking and games out side the Cathedral. They learnt that starting too early and a basket of hard booze (think your mum's ie my shopping basket) isn't a good idea. As you will inevitably leave one of your party behind because they stopped for a wee at a building site. But you can, and should spend the trip calling them to actually work out where you lost them and giving them the variety of train connections the Deutsche Bahn app suggests they catch to get home. These guys were really loud and after about an hour of this it wore pretty thin but they weren't obnoxious or aggressive so it was an interesting situation for us to talk the kids through. When you only have public transport there are no quiet trips home where the kids fall asleep and don't notice how late it is but there aren't many that are too crazy either. All in all public transport shows the kids the real world. 

Back home in Germany, we caught our breath but just for a second.

After 10 days in the heat and excitement of Italy we all needed a little time to recuperate and relax, yes even me. The Herr went back to work, the Bear was pretty happy to play video games and read and I sneakily got Grandma to help the Monkey and the Mouse with a sewing project that I really didn't have enough skills to start. I really should have been more patient as a kid but I learnt enough to pick it up quickly but I will always be frustrated by threading needles. As the weather continued to be beautiful and warm we lounged around the pool with friends, wandered around town including a trip to the art gallery and Peace exhibition around the city and took a quick trip over the border to the Netherlands for a day so the kids could show off all their favourite things to Grandma.

He just really wanted to get to the best computer game shop in the world but indulged his mum maybe for the last time before the teenage years really kick in.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and I got to accompany her up to the airport the night before where took time for dinner and a drink together. 

Did I mention we have access to a beautiful pool. It was often green last time we were here and the fishing out of a dead mouse once has become part of the family mythology but, a new filter meant that it was perfect everyday this year.

Sorrento and Capri

Heading down the coast

Heading down the coast has to be one of my favourite sentences to say and do and, to do it in Italy with the Herr, kids and Grandma was such an adventure. We caught the cheapest train from Rome to Naples. After a restless wait for the platform to be announced, a divide and conquer mission to get seats and the tickets validated simultaneously (only one machine working on platform) which caused the kids to ask the big question, "Will Dad make the train with all ouf our tickets?" answer being "I really hope so!", wild waving to confirm tickets were validated, Herr F jumping on the first carriage he could and walking through the train to join us we had a lovely, air conditioned ride to Naples. It was hot, I have probably mentioned that a thousand times and Naples train station isn't my favourite place in the world but it was easy to find the connection to the Metro to Sorrento. Those trains mostly aren't air conditioned so our main aim was to get Grandma a seat (though she is a trooper and would have survived) as the trip is about an hour and a half. Mission accomplished easily and after not too long enough people had gotten off and on that we all managed to tetris our way into seats and sweat off some of the gelato eaten in Rome.

 

Walking is probably the thing the kids don't like about our holidays as we do tend to overkill that part. It often leads to meltdowns of varying intensity and duration but we all get there in the end and see lots of things we wouldn't have seen from a bus or a train. Though, next time we promise a taxi in the scorching heat we probably shouldn't reneg. You would have thought we'd learnt our lesson in Rome.

Walking and waiting... these are things we excell at.

And are both worth while as we got to do these things...

Pompeii with our tour guide the Monkey. Actually we tried to find a guide at the gate but there was a serious lack. Herr F and I have been before, I think this was Herr F's third visit but we both felt that this was the visit we got to see the most and understood the most. Maybe it is because they have opened more parts or have it better signposted but it was probably because of the curiousity of the kids, our brains trust and maybe a better map. We all had something we wanted to see and this lead us around from the forum to the theatre to the colosseum and back past the brothel (this was accidental as we hadn't highlighted this feature of Pompeii)  to the  House of the Faun and to the artefacts including the figures and household items. At the end of the day we were exhausted but everyone was elated to have explored this magnificent place together. The bonus at the end of the day was the Metro back was one of the few air conditioned ones, you have never seen 6 happier people.

To back track a bit, upon arriving in Sant'Agnello at the hotel Purple to do our exploring of Sorrento and Pompeii Herr F and I realised that we hadn't really done our "best places to swim in the Mediterranean" homework and were mildly surprised that the coast of Sorrento is all cliffs with access to the water through hotels. Needless to say our hotel didn't have beach access. That said, we loved our little hotel and enjoyed that we had to bumble through with a few Italian words as only one person on the desk spoke English. The kids and I had a great view from our room and we all had the best view from the window at the end of the hall. 

So, with the sea so tantalisingly close I googled the best way to swim in Sorrento and the answer was; the hotel pool. Luckily our hotel had a pool. The kids claimed it to be the best pool every, but in reality it was a 1980s above ground pool that went heavy on the chlorine and paled in comparision to the one we could see next door but, the fact it was there, cool and not crowded made it fabulous. So instead of paying 40 Euros to access the sea we admired it from above, explored on foot, swam in the hotel pool and sat in the lemon tree garden imagining the amazing parties we could have if it was ours.

That said, you can't get to the Mediterranean and not go swimming, so one day, instead of taking the cheap ferry we splurged and took a small boat trip to the Isle of Capri! It was pure luxury. Door to door shuttle bus to the boat and only 12 people on the boat, of which we were 6 and colonialisation states that we were entitled to imagine it was our very own boat.

The weather was amazing, it went from cloudy and atmospheric to brightly sunny. No one wanted to wait the hour line at the Blue Grotto so we went straight for the smaller grottos, at a more relaxed pace.  

After we had asked many times if we could jump in and had been told to wait we finally dropped anchor and the 6 of us wasted no time jumping in to the most amazing water ever. There was a brief moment when, as parents you really hope the swimming lessons worked and then they popped but up laughing and skrieking with joy you breathe a sigh of relief. Then we continued on to Capri to swim there and look around. Probably should have taken Grandma and the kids to the town but the water was so nice...the beach not so but oh the water. On the way back to the harbour we were surprised by a quick dip under a freezing cold waterfall. The captain angled his boat in and we all got to stand on the backboard and be refreshed by the amzingly clear water. 

After the treat of a lifetime we spent the next day exploring Sorrento's tourist streets, swimming in the pool,  eating in at the "Little Burp" restaurant where we'd had take away from the night before, taking in the view and atmosphere one last time and sitting in the hotel garden playing card games and catching up on travel journals.

Sentimental moment here as I want to say thanks kids and Grandma for joining us on such a wonderful holiday. I will treasure these memories and know you will too.