A Walk in the Rieselfelder

Apple picking with 2 Monkeys and the right equipment.

I have long wanted to go and visit the Rieselfelder which is a nature reserve near us but until now it has always been put aside in the too hard basket. Now that the kids can ride further we accepted the invitation of the Big Monkey and her crew and headed out in crisp but clear weather for a wander about and some serious end of season apple picking. End of season meant that the only apples left were high up but, we had the gear and the climbing ability to get them. First of all we stocked up on pumpkin at the market for dinner together after our big apple adventure.

With pumpkin cut up and delivered ready for cooking we headed off on our bikes.

It is a large area and we wandered around on corner picking apples, looking at the birds and wondering at the size of the horse poo on the path. Then 2 Clydesdales trotted past and the horse poo conundrum was solved. We got bags and bags of apple as and the fruit brave amongst us tried them there and then.

September suddenly is nearly over.

For the sake of the truth I will admit that the rest of the blog is written not just a week or so after it happened, but 4 months later. I don't know where the time went, but with school going back, the October school holidays being action packed suddenly it was November, and then December and time to return home.So the blog got left behind but all the adventures are still firm in my mind and we are constantly chatting about moments from last year. Finishing off our 2018 trip diary/blog is something I really want to do. So not letting the fact that I am again sitting at my Australian dining table writing this and not my German one get in the way I will continue.

There was one last fleamarket of the season in September and the kids and I were determined to make the most of it. We were all on the look out for a couple of special things and some were found and some weren't...that is the nature of the flohmarkt. A chair wasn't on the list but a photo of this fabulous array was necessary.

A board game for Herr F was on the list and thanks to the kids insistence I asked about the one we were looking for meant we found it. As you can see there are quite a few games on offer and this was one of about 5 games stalls on what we call 'Profi Alley' which is in front of the castle and where all the professionals sell. 

With school back there were less random city/ ice cream opportunities but I still managed at least one with each kid while the sun was still warm enough for eating ice cream outside. By the way, Germans eat ice cream all year round it is just this wimpy Australian who likes to keep it seasonal.

As the Autumn began it was back to homework, cooking adventures and slowly starting to think about December and organising to head home and say goodbye to our friends in Germany...but I won't cry this far in advance (or as I am writing so long after I will only shed a few tears or else this post will never get written)

We have finally come to terms with cooking without self raising flour.

Wait a minute, that is homework Bear?

We also sent the Monkey off to the North Sea island of Wangerooge for a week with her class. There was too much excitement and handing over medication for her allergy when they departed so no picture was taken but this is the triumphant return shot. She had the most amazing time with her wonderful class and is so far the only one of us to have swum in the North Sea. Hopefully I can find some of her photos to add. 

Those of us left at home took the opportunity to stock up on essential supplies, finish off the Paris puzzle as a New York puzzle had been lent and take stock of the marvelous jam collection I had acquired from friends that I now had to make a serious effort to get through. Not to difficult as I love jam.

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.