Sunday was our last day of vacation - so to speak. After a leisurely morning, Alex and I headed out to our friends for lunch. Sherry had made a delicious lasagna, no ricotta in sight, just how I love it and Alex gobbled down copious amounts along with a pile of tomatoes which Sherry had graciously put in front of him. News of the tomato-monster spreads quickly apparently. Appropriately fortified, we set out on a walk/hike along the famous Philosophenweg. It's a path that snakes along the hills that line the Neckar river and once we had made it up a steep climb, the view of the city was spectacular. Upon seeing me huff and puff, Christian declared that this was only my warm-up for bigger and better things to come. Hopefully by the time spring comes, I'll be in good enough shape to be able to tag along with the Föhrs without too much complaining. Though the weather was not great, we had an panoramic view of the city of Heidelberg and Alex just couldn't stop talking about the "olden times."
I was thrilled to see 11-year old Annika taking him under her wings and telling him all sorts of tales of knights and castles along the way. At some point we clambered down a steep staircase/mountain path which dropped us off right in front of one of the really old bridges across the Neckar that leads directly into the Old Town or "Alte Stadt" as Alex likes to call it. He was sort of surprised to see the old buildings inhabited and being used. I guess my descriptions of Old Town had made him think it was more of a living museum than an actual living city with Starbucks, etc.
Even though it was Sunday and the weather was getting worse by the minute, the city was full of people wandering around, many Souvenir shops were open (and we bought a postcard to be sent to Mrs. Hamm's Class at New Pathways that prominently features the castle) and we had a hard time finding a table for 6 in one of the myriad cafes. In the end we went back to Sherry and Christian's house and had our well-earned Kaffee and Kuchen there. Alex did a great job keeping up and I know this was only the first of many such adventures. In the late afternoon, we all went home to prepare for the end of vacation and the reality of school and work that lay ahead the next day.
Monday was Alex's first day at his new school: Kindergarten Neuenheim. Here is Alex on his first walk to school.
Since Annika had gone there a few years ago, Sherry had shown us the premises a few days earlier, and they had sent detailed information, we both felt like we were well-prepared and would know what to expect. In some sense that's true. Nothing really surprised either one of us, except maybe, how much we would both love it. I knew instantly, as soon as we walked in and saw all the happy little kids giving hugs to their teachers after 2 weeks away (the Germans take their vacations much more seriously than we do in the US) that we would both love it. Alex joined one of the three classes in the school. His group is called the Drachengruppe (Dragon group) and is made up of 15 joyful kids and 2 very welcoming teachers, Nicole and Jenny. The groups are age-mixed and range from 3 to 5 years in age, so he fits right in. He was shy for less than 5 minutes and then he was off playing cars with a bunch of other boys and waved me off. I had arranged to come back at noon (before lunch) to pick him up and when I did return, all the kids were on the playground outside in their rubber boots and angler pants. Alex was sitting on a teeter-totter with 2 other children perfectly content. He only got upset when he realized that I was there to get him and that he wouldn't be able to stay. The vibe at the place is very kind, relaxed, and welcoming, though there are also very organized. They were clearly expecting us, had all the paperwork ready for us and Alex's hook/cubby for his stuff was all ready for him. Since none of the kids can read (more on that another time), everyone's stuff is marked by a picture. Alex got a bicycle, which seems appropriate. So if he looks for his shoes (all kids wear slippers inside), his rubber boots, his coat, his folder, his toothbrush (!), all he has to do is look for the bicycle sticker and it's there. He figured it out immediately. Once I picked him up that first day, I took him to one of the many many bakeries in town and he had a soft pretzel and chocolate croissant for lunch. Not the most nutritious, but it was a celebration after all.
And my coffee:
Alex's verdict was that he absolutely loved the school and was eager to go back the next day. I am so thankful to New Pathways for so many things, but they get a lot of the credit for his easy adjustment to the new school. Once we got home, we had fun playing dress up and figuring out the laundry situation (more on that at a later time, as well). Here is Alex pretending to be a diver. Somehow this was related to reenacting an episode from Fireman Sam.
Today was his second day at school and it went equally well. He was cheerful and excited this morning, even taking the 20 minute walk from our apartment entirely in stride. I actually kind of like these morning walks with him. We'll see if they stay this harmonious. He stayed at school a bit longer today and even had lunch there, while I headed into the city to do a bunch of bureaucratic errands. I got us properly registered with the city, picked up my Gastwissenschaftlerausweis (how's that for a long German word that means visiting scholar ID) from the administrative headquarters of the university, got my rent squared away at my bank, and also picked up a few special things for Alex (who will be 4 tomorrow!!). This is the entrance to the main administrative building.
By the time I got back home, it was almost 1pm and time to get him. I watched him finish his lunch with his group (a thoroughly German lunch of boiled potatoes with sour cream dip, followed by fruit). It was so cute to see them all at the table eating and interacting. I haven't seen this very much before and was glad for the glimpse into his life at school. After school we headed to see his local pediatrician who was to clear him for school. I had found her on the Anthem website and her office is in walking distance from Alex's school. She was terrific and Alex passed with flying colors. I'm glad we met her, so if we ever need a doctor we now have a great one. Also, Lisa Martin has been so wonderful with Alex that he had no fear of the Dr. at all. Thanks, Lisa. Here he is being a ham as we're waiting to see the Doctor.
This afternoon, our little kitchenette became the backdrop to a baking bonanza. Since Alex is allowed to bring home-made goodies to school for his birthday, we have baked an enormous batch of his favorite oatmeal-raisin-chocolate chip cookies. Since, there also has to be cake, of course, we braved that as well. We had borrowed a few baking dishes from our friends, but sadly the first cake (a delicious lemon cake that was supposed to be in the shape of a castle) was a complete disaster. Well, the cake is indeed delicious, but I couldn't get the cake out of the castle-shaped pan. Not enough butter? I don't know. The cake is now sitting like a ruin on a plate and I set about to bake another one, this time chocolate chip, in a regular loaf pan, thank you very much. In the meantime, I had run out of butter, but you can bake with canola oil, right? Well, once the chocolate icing and the colorful sprinkles were on there, it looked awesome, so who cares what it tastes like. It's for 4 year olds. How we will get all these goodies to the school tomorrow I'm not sure yet, but a solution will come to me, I guess.
Right now Alex is asleep with blissful anticipation of his birthday and I wish the very best for him for tomorrow and the year ahead. I love him.
Happy Birthday, Dear Alex! We miss you both very much. I hope today is wonderful.
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