The quiet before the storm

In the next 7 days, we're expecting guests - lots and lots of guests. First, one of my friends from grad school days arrives with 3 of her children, then my brother and his family, then another friend from grad school with her family, and finally a dear friend from DePauw and her family, including one of Alex's best friends from home. Also, Alex Kindergarten's annual summer party will take place during that time. Though we cannot host anyone here in our tiny apartment (we moved to a really small one-bedroom apartment at the beginning of June), we're thrilled all of these friends will be in Heidelberg in the next few days. We've been waiting for this blockbuster week for months. The weather is finally perfect and we cannot wait to show off some of our favorite spots.

In preparation, I've done tons of laundry, cleaned up our place, run errands, and spent a few quiet afternoons. Here, Alex is enjoying some after-school playtime in the sandbox near our apartment.

Yesterday, after school, we took a stroll down to the Neckar, found a shady spot on a bench and had some tasty treats. Here, Alex is devouring some sour cherry and cheese cake. This was after a rather large ice-cream sandwich had disappeared in record time.

I also took the time to admire some of Alex's group's artwork. The teachers had shown the kids a painting by Franz Marc depicting a monkey in the jungle and then asked them to reinterpret it. Here is part of the display.

And this is Alex's version. They stamped their names with corks.

Oh, and I wanted to share this picture with you as well, even though I took it a few weeks ago. It's Alex and his Kindergarten posse having a snack at tables outside in the garden as they do most days now that the weather is nice. All the kids bring their own morning and afternoon snacks, the school provides water to drink and a home cooked organic lunch. He's raising his hand to indicate that he wants some more water.

A summer weekend at home

This past weekend, we had some ideas for road trips, but in the end decided just to stay home. On Saturday, it really took us a long time to get going, in part, because Alex decided to build several elaborate constructions on/with our bedding. Here is one of the incarnations he called a bathtub for his stuffed animals in which he - somewhat inexplicably - pretends to be sleeping.

In the end all we managed was a quick trip to get groceries etc. and a long visit to his favorite playground.

On Sunday, things also took a while in the morning. Here Alex is finishing a piece of apple cake left over from our shopping trip the day before.

In the afternoon, we headed to one of the main outdoor pools, the Tiergartenschwimmbad. It boasts several pools, but also has vast lawns where people camp out all day, bring picnics etc. Today was a special family sports day where many local clubs had set up activities. We (well, mostly Alex) managed to complete all 14 activities and he received a rubber duck for his efforts which thrilled him to bits. Here are some shots of him completing several tasks.

At this tent, he had to stand on a tippy board and stack cups.

One of the activities was run by a local fencing club. They had some demonstrations by teenagers (in their white suits) which Alex watched enthusiastically (real fighting with real swords!) and he jumped at the chance to try to fence a little himself.

He did really well at the soccer activity, scoring on 5 out of 5 attempts. Surprisingly, soccer clubs don't start coaching kids until at least 6 or 7 years old and Alex outscored most kids in his age group. Hurray for PCYSA!

He even managed to walk on kid stilts along a slalom track,

stacked cups,

though was not really successful at jumping rope.

He also tried field hockey, which he said was just like soccer with sticks.

But most of the day, we spent in the water, picnicking in the shade, or exploring the terrific playground. Alex is in the white towel on the top of the plane.

All in all not a bad way to spend a Sunday in the summer.

München

On the first Friday in July, we took the train to Munich to spend the weekend with friends. We'd planned this trip several times and were thrilled when it finally happened. The train ride took about 3 hrs and unfortunately the air conditioning was broken in our car, so we were thoroughly sweaty when we arrived. Not the best first impression. My gopdparents picked us up and we spent a wonderful first afternoon and evening together catching up and tasting some delicious Bavarian beer.

On Saturday morning, after breakfast, my friend Rita picked us up and we spent a fantastic day together. Our first stop was the so-called Tollwood Festival. On the grounds of the Olympiapark there were booths selling handcrafts and snacks. There were many stages with live music, and a large variety of kids activities. Alex enjoyed his time on the trampoline.

We also had a terrific time in the kid's tent. Alex participated in a kids cooking class where a teacher made fruit salad with the kids. It was just darling to watch him take his tasks so seriously.

After they finished 'cooking', the kids enjoyed the fruits of the labors.

Our next stop was the recently-opened BMW-World. Though I was skeptical at first, we ended up having a blast. The huge building (the ceiling is supposedly big enough to span St. Peter's square!) displays BMW cars and motorcycles as well as other luxury brands. Just as we arrived, a motorcycle stunt driver performed for the astonished crowds as he drove his huge bike up and down a steep set of stairs.

Alex and Rita are duly impressed!

We spent some time exploring a variety of motorcycles and had a blast pretending to ride the open road. Here are Rita and Alex,

Alex and Mama,

Alex and Rita's partner Carmen.

The cars were also fun and Alex loved sitting at the steering wheel,

but needed help when "riding" the simulator.

We spent the balance of the day at a beer garden with integrated playground. Perfect!

Sunday was already our last day. We started with a lavish breakfast and Alex wanted to make sure to leave one of his drawings with our gracious hosts.

Before heading back to the train station, we went on a long walk through downtown Munich. Our first stop was the iconic Marienplatz

with the neo-Gothic town hall

and famous Glockenspiel.

We learned that the name München derives from the monks (or Mönche) who used to offer shelter in this location and who are represented on this metal decoration.

Here Alex is considering various souvenirs. Sadly, the shop was closed.

But he he did find an open ice-cream parlor.

We walked on to the Opera Square

where the Opera house was decorated for an Opera festival

and the Feldherrenhalle where a full size orchestra was rehearsing Dvorak's Symphony from the New World for an open-air concert that evening. Awesome.

The Theatinerkirche was our final stop and Alex insisted on lighting a candle.

From there we headed to the train station. On the ICE on the way back to Heidelberg, we were happy to find out that there they were piloting a kids zone on the train. They had games, crafts, and even face painting! Alex chose a pirate face.

All in all a great weekend!

From a chateau to a camping mattress...

Our friend Erik whom we had visited in his chateau in Luxembourg many months ago, came to Heidelberg to participate in a scholarly conference and then spent a few days hanging out with us. It was great to see him again. Unfortunately, the digs we could offer him were considerably more humble. When we stayed with him in Differdange, he literally put us up in a little apartment in a chateau. When he stayed with us, he had to make do with a borrowed camping mattress, since we recently had to move to a much smaller apartment. Thankfully, he was a good sport about it. Despite the modest accommodations, we managed to have a great time together and even took a day trip to Speyer.

The weather was glorious as we took our first snack break at one of the fountains on the main drag.

The cathedral also looked great in the summer sun and Erik and Alex climbed all  206 steps to the top!

We searched for and found an interesting war memorial in the back of the cathedral. The fallen soldiers of WWI are memorialized by themselves. The sentence about WWII includes both the fallen soldiers as well as the victims of the war.

At this point, a trip to Speyer always includes a long stint on one of Alex's favorite spinning contraptions.

By the time we were back on the train to go home, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep.

Saying our first good-bye

Our dear friends Kristyn, Irene, and Dave are heading back to the US after 6 eventful months in Germany. We met in early January at the guest house and it's hard to imagine our experiences here in Heidelberg without them. They quickly became great friends and we had many fun adventures together. We hope to see them again stateside, but for now, safe travels, dear friends! We love you.

Outings with friends

Now that summer is really here, we've been out and about a lot with friends.

One of our regular stops is the pool, of course. We've met up with different friends and have a great time exploring the various outdoor pools in Heidelberg. Alex has continued to make excellent progress in the water and can basically swim, though he doesn't have great form yet. Here is an underwater shot taken by a friend:

Another afternoon, we went back to the zoo with Alex's friend Claire and her family. The kids really enjoyed the petting zoo. First they fed some pellets to the goats:

then, they tried to brush the animals:

On another afternoon, Alex had a playdate with his dear friend Victoria. We started at a local playground and then headed back to our place where the kids played with playmobil and blocks. At one point they got a hold of my camera and started taking pictures of the toys and of each other. Here are the best shots of the day taken by the kids: