May 8-12 My Parents visit

Wednesday May 8

My parents, "Oma and Opa", walked the middle girls to school. Then we borrowed bikes from our wonderful Scottish neighbors and took GE to Kindergarten, followed by my normal grocery shopping in Bad Godesberg. We made time for a cup of coffee at my favorite French cafe, the Epi Boulangerie, and a little shoe shopping before heading home to make lunch for the girls. After lunch and homework, my parents and I were itching to get out and move again, so I suggested we take the bikes for a ride through the Rheinaue and along the Rhein river. The sky threatened to rain the whole time, but we made it home with only a little spritzing. In the evening I went to my running group.

ME and HR in front of their school (my Dad took this when he walked them to school Wednesday morning).

GE at her Kindergarten showing her Opa and Oma where she plays and her favorite puzzles. That's her little Moroccan friend, Y, in the pink, and her Polish friend, P, with the glasses.

Shopping in REWE Center in Bad Godesberg.

Loading up my bicycle with the groceries.

Packing the paniers! It's an art: heavy jars, cans, non-squishables on the bottom, bananas and squishy things on top; plus you gotta balance them--one on each side!

Using every space: berries, eggs, and lettuce go in the front basket. Anything else goes in a bag that's strapped into the Kindersitz.

Coffee at the Epi Boulangerie in Bad Godesberg.

Epi Boulangerie

Getting Walnussbrot (a Rheinland specialty) from the Merzenich bakery in Bad Godesberg.

A Beethoven statue outside the Bosch Buchhandlung.

If you look carefully, you can see me through the glass at the counter buying fresh salmon for dinner (the cashier has it in his hand.) He's looking funny at my dad who's taking pictures of the display window. I'm sure he thought my dad was up to no good!

The new shoes! I have the winter boot version and liked them so much that when I saw this spring mary-jane, I couldn't resist!

A barge on the Rhein on our bike ride through the Rheinaue.

Thursday May 9

Today is Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension). It's a public holiday so schools, banks, grocery stores, etc. are all closed. The weather is shifty but promising to be at least warm and with the sun showing up every once in a while! Plan for the day: take the train and the car over to Königswinter and take the cograil train up to the ruins of the Drachenfels. It was a little complicated meeting up with the car folks (my dad drove with all the girls while mom and I took the train because we wouldn't all fit in the car; J was in the lab running his experiment) because the trains weren't running as frequently (holiday schedule). There was a fair amount of waiting... There were also gobs of people out for a holiday outing: hiking or such. It rained while Mom and I walked to the train and waited. Thankfully that was about it! We ate lunch at the restaurant at the top. It's Spargel (asparagus) season and all the restaurants are offering "Spargelspeise" (asparagus food).

Waiting for the U-bahn to take us to Königswinter. Dad had driven the girls to Oberdollendorf and parked while Mom and I took the U-bahn from Bonn. Then Dad brought the girls down to the platform and we went together to the Drachenfels.

My parents at the base of the walk up to the ruins waiting for the girls to finish listening to the Drachen puppet tell the legend of his defeat by the hand of one of the Helden (Siegfried? Can't remember which one.)

HR couldn't resist climbing the stones.

Then I *had* to take her picture.

The view down from the Drachenfels.

Part of the ruins.

Watching the cog rail going back down the mountain.

Alternate transportation up to the ruins! Donkey rides! (That's me and HR down to the right, loaded up with our "outing" gear, plus it got warm while we were there and we had to shed our coats!)

After lunch we walked back down the long hill, past the Drachenburg, and back through Königswinter. Stopped for some Eis cones and then took the train back a few stops to where we'd left my parent's rental car. From there Dad drove the girls up to our friend's house, the SD's. Mom and I walked up. From there we took two cars (the rental and one of theirs) to the horse stables where they keep their pony, Jara. When we visited Germany 3.5 years ago for a week vacation, we also went riding one afternoon and the girls have been forever asking to go again. They all helped to clean Jara and then took turns riding her while my parents, the SD's, and I sat around talking and drinking the most amazing coffee (might have been the best coffee I've had all year and it came from a little barn in the center of the stable yard!!).

Leading Jara from the paddock over to the grooming station.

Brushing Jara, the SD's Icelandic horse.

GE took her job very seriously! She kept going back to the grooming box to get different brushes. Jara was *very* patient with all the attention!

MK was first.

ME was next.

Then HR...

LD even got her to trot a little which HR thought was hilarious and laughed the whole time.

ME thought it was pretty funny too.

GE was sooo proud of herself!

Too cool girl in riding gear!

I think she looks like she belongs on a horse, don't you?

ME got to ride a bit without someone leading. She praised Jara when she was done.

Lots of Icelandic horses getting their dinner (we estimated there were 100-150 horses at this stable!).

After they were done riding, Jara got her pedicure.

Old friends: my parents with VD and MSD.

Watching the ponies eat their dinner. (The main breed of horses at this stable, including the SD's Jara, are Icelandic.)

 After everyone was finished riding, drinking coffee, and helping to brush Jara down, we loaded up and went back to D's house in Königswinter for some good German grillen. All of their children joined us for supper.

VD at the grill in their garden.

Sitting up to dinner! Counterclockwise starting in the forefront: MSD, K (eldest son PD's girlfriend), PD (he was 6 when I was his au pair), me, ME, MK, (then hard to see: J, LD), my mom.

from the other end of the table...

youngest son, LD (he was 6 months old when I was his au pair!)

With PD--haven't seen him since he was 6 years old and I lived with the SD's family as their au pair. He's now a pilot for Lufthansa. Great fun to see him all grown up!

PD and his girlfriend K.

Friday May 10

Our plans for today were simple: go to Köln for lunch with my parent's other longtime friends, HM and UM. We left mid morning with my parent's rental car and had time to wander the Dom plaza a bit and then met our friends at the Gasthaus Früh at 12:30. Lots of catching up, good food and conversation...

I'm in awe every time I see this cathedral!

My dad ordered the "Hämchen" ("little ham") which turned out to be NOT so little! This was similar (if not the same) as the "Eisbein" that J had in Berlin.

lunch with UM and HM, our old friends from Hesston KS years (mid-80's!!).

 We were home late-afternoon and just hung out, took naps, etc. Then my parents and I went to see "La Traviata" at the Bonn Oper. It was a sold-out crowd and the applause went on for at least 5 minutes. Violetta was sung by Sigrun Palmadottir. Alfredo was sung by Mirko Roschkowski. Loved it!

Saturday May 11

Mom and Dad picked up a bunch of Brötchen for breakfast, then Dad and I went with their rental car to get groceries. When we got back, we biked over to my favorite Turkish market for a few odds and ends that I can't get at the German stores. After putting that all away we loaded up for an outing into Bonn. It was Saturday Markt day! Lots of yummy stalls (should have waited to get some groceries here!). We ate a light lunch at the Grill Station.

At the Saturday Markt in Bonn.

White asparagus: "Spargel"

It's asparagus season! Used to be that you could only get white asparagus in Germany. The green is pretty much available everywhere now, but in restaurants the "Spargelspeise" are still mostly prepared with the white variety.

An herb stand with lavender!

The flower stalls were having brisk business: tomorrow is "Muttertag" (Mother's Day).

Lilacs--they have the dark purple variety here in Germany that is nearly impossible to get in the States.

Grill food for lunch. J and I shared some stuffed eggplants from one of the stalls.

After lunch we took the long way around through the pedestrian zone, stopping for my parents to walk through the Munster church while J took the girls over to another flower market to get some bouquets for me for Mother's Day! Rode the U-bahn home and settled in for some quiet time...

In front of the Sterntor. Now that the weather is warm, the fountain is running again. Had to work hard to keep the little girls out of the water!

The large Beethoven statue in the Munsterplatz, Bonn.

The Munster against a dramatic sky. The weather has changed everyday from hour to hour: sun, then clouds, then wind, then rain, then clearing off again. We take everything with us: coats, scarves, umbrellas...

My mom wanted to shut her eyes for a little bit. GE wanted to snuggle... Baby knock out.

Flowers from J.

HR and GE both picked roses out for me. GE got me the white and HR got me the red ones.

ME picked out another variety that I don't recognize. Love flowers!!

At 3:30 our friends VM and her husband CN came over for Kaffee und Kuchen. I'd picked up some bakery cakes while grocery shopping and had some leftover cookies from MK's school program earlier in the week. Then we walked down to the Friesdorfer Kirmes, a little neighborhood carnival with food and rides. The girls rode the bumper cars, carousel, and a sort of mini roller coaster.

At the "Kirmes" (lawn party or carnival/fair) in Friesdorf.

Watching and waiting their turn. They rode their bicycles and then I thought it probably not a bad idea to keep the helmets on for the rides. They didn't complain...

MK driving with GE as passenger.

ME is just a blur!

GE takes a turn with ME.

HR with MK. Love the face!!!

Enjoying a Kölsch Bier with VM and CN.

GE concentrating on her pedaling. I think she thought she was actually doing the work!

HR with MK (doesn't she look cool and smug while HR's face shows the enthusiasm of a 7 year old on an amusement park ride!). ME is riding with her classmate JK.

GE "flying" on the carousel. She rode this while the big girls were on the coaster.

Sunday May 12

Muttertag: I got to sleep in. J got the girls some breakfast and made me some too. Mom and Dad brought more Brötchen. I will miss those crusty, warm, mouth-watering rolls! The weather is dramatic and "wechselhaft" (changeable) again today. My parents love to be in the woods and take walks, so I proposed walking up the Klufterbachtal from our street and then looping up past a field of horses and coming back down the Annabergerstr. GE wanted to come too. We wore jackets and took umbrellas and the weather was indeed changeable: sun, then clouds and wind, then rain with hail, a few flurries (yes! My dad saw flakes!) then sun again!

GE walked for over an hour! She did the whole uphill part (quite steep in parts) without complaining. That's my trooper!

One of the holes left by a bomb during WWII. They're all over the place. Wouldn't have known what they were except for an historical plaque explaining what they were.

The clouds moving in... Just after I took this, the wind started to whip around and then rain and hail!

As we were coming down the Anabergerstr. back into Friesdorf, I saw a movement in the woods and caught this big guy landing on a branch. He was huge!

A Maypole! These are all over the place. On the eve of May Day, young men traditionally decorate saplings (usually birch) with streamers and hearts with their love-interest's names written on them, and strap them up near their girlfriends' homes.

GE's little legs gave out at the end, so she got some piggy-back rides from me and a shoulder ride from Opa.

A little garden up against the woods with a bright azalea and a fire in the garden house wood stove.

A favorite house with wisteria near our apartment building.

When we got home, I made a quick spaghetti meal for the kids and then the 4 grown-ups (my parents, J and I) went to Muffendorf in the rental car to walk along the old main street with all the quaint Fachwerk houses. We ate a late lunch at the Weinhaus Muffendorf. 

The sun was shining but it was cool. We sat on the patio since the inside tables were full. There were gas heat lamps on either side and fleece blankets for our laps.

The first courses came: my asparagus and smoked salmon salad and a glass of a Mosel region Riesling.

The first course for the others was green and white asparagus with scallops and some kind of cream sauce (they all got the 4 course "menu" but I got the Lachs salad because there was cream, butter or cheese on the "menu" items.)

The main course: white asparagus with a cheese sauce, herbed potatoes, and a small Schnitzel.

Waiting for the last course: a vanilla creme brulee topped with a tart rhubarb compote. Forgot to get a pic of the 2nd course, a soup: a wild garlic cream soup.

Then the weather changed... Those are little pieces of hail on the table!! They shot over the gutters and through the gap between the roof and the glass cover over the patio.

Hail flying off the roof!

... and gathering in our laps (thankfully covered with fleece blankets that the restaurant had provided for us)!

Afterwards we returned home to hang out with the girls and have a quiet evening. I packed a small suitcase that my Dad had brought and gave them one of our huge ones (full of winter coats, pants, scarves, hats and souvenirs) to bring home. At bedtime we said good-bye--they're leaving early tomorrow morning to drive north to visit other friends. I can hardly believe all our visitors have come and gone! Anyone want to make a last minute trip to see us? Only 1 month and 3 days to go...

April 29-May 7

Monday April 29

I am feeling wound up and have a sense of winding down all at the same time! Writing the blog has gotten harder and harder to do because it just seems to point out all the things we'll miss when we leave. The girls are expressing more homesickness and are snippier with each other. I'm feeling disoriented and grouchy too. Thank goodness the weather has turned nice or I might just crawl into bed and stay there!

A typical Monday: got up early for a workout and run (we have "homework" from our trainer!), dropped GE off at Kindergarten then raced to Bad Godesberg to get groceries. Then I rode over to SL's for coffee and chatting. So good to keep that up! Keeps me from getting to far down in the doldrums. After that, I got a bunch of stuff checked of the "get ready to leave Germany" to-do list.: Letters notifying the school of the girls departure, emails to the dance school and MK's German tutor. ME went to dance with her friend Y after school and MK went to Deutsch tutor. GE fell asleep on the couch! I made a sweet & sour lentils recipe from the More with Less Cookbook and the kids ate them!

Tuesday April 30

Another typical day. Picked GE up from Kindergarten in the afternoon and she voluntarily went to bed for a nap again! They've been outside a lot--hope it's just lots of fresh air and not that she's getting sick or something! HR's friend (E) came over after school and to spend the night. Tomorrow is "Tag der Arbeit" (Labor Day) and everything will be closed. J leaves for a trip to CA for a conference early on Wednesday. He'll be gone until Monday.

It's so warm! One of the best advantages to the sunny, warm weather we've been having (aside from it just being AWESOME!): getting 2 entire loads of laundry dried in less than a day, getting to fold it and put it away and using the drying rack to prop the balcony door open instead of the rack always being in the way and full of drying wash!

One pile done!

The few tidbits that were still damp get a second chance in the sun while I drink my afternoon tea.

Wednesday May 1

Slept in late--what luxury--national holiday and everything is closed! HR and her friend E played. ME and GE joined in. MK read and drew. I made a big pot of simple black beans using a traditional Guatemalan recipe. Turned out really good. All the kids had some for lunch (and only grumbled a little bit) with rice and tortillas (although I can't find whole wheat or corn ones here! I'll enjoy being able to get those again when we are back in Virginia). Made a wheat berry Waldorf salad to take to my friend SL's house for a cookout tonight to celebrate her birthday. After lunch the big girls went to the movies to see "The Croods". The little girls and I went to our Scottish neighbors for a little playtime in the garden and a cup of tea (for me!). Then biked over to the U-bahn station near SL's house to meet MK and ME, then went together to SL's. At 7 hurried everyone home to bed so I could race over to the Catholic school for running group! Big girls were my "babysitters".

Edit: As I read over this before publishing, I find it myself thinking it's plodding and repetitive--more a diary of my daily tasks than insightful or amusing. I'm a little afraid to going any deeper at the moment because I don't want to examine why I'd rather stay here (at the moment, I really would!) than go home. I'm also sure that that will change once we're back, but at the moment, I want to stay in the moment, be HERE, live HERE, even though I know it's just a few weeks longer. So forgive my superficiality...

Thursday May 2

Up early and took GE to Kindergarten really early so I could go back to Bodelschwingheschule to help with the 4th grade "Fahrrad Woche" (bicycle week). Raced her to school then raced back to BSS. Spent 9 a.m.- 12:15 p.m. helping guide 4th graders from ME's class along a course through the neighborhood, calling out the rules and what to watch for, pulling over to the sidewalk to answer questions, etc. This was as much a test of their knowledge as mine (especially German vocabulary for which I have practically no previous context)! I learned a ton from the friendly Polizist who organized the training. Not sure when/whether I'll be helping again or not. HR had to hang out on the Schulhof while I helped since she was out at 11:30 and I'd forgotten to make other arrangements for her. Then we hurried home to get some lunch before I had to pick up GE. GE's friend K came home with us to play. Our landlord called and asked if he could bring a potential renter over tomorrow a.m. Talk about a kick in the pants! Despite being wiped from riding bicycle all morning, I ended up cleaning, de-cluttering, reorganizing, gathering up stuff to take to the attic for shipping home or out to the trash, and generally doing a lot of stuff I've been itching to do but didn't have the steam to follow through on!

Should have taken "before" pictures... Imagine these crammed with odds and ends, kids toys, disarray, etc.

The "Telephone Shelf" a.k.a. the-shelf-that-collects-anything-that-needs-repair/found/remembered/taken-care-of! Now just holding the telephone, a few frequently used items, the bus schedules, an extra city map for visitors, the wireless router, and my handy mug of pens, pencils and scissors.

When all was said and done, the kitchen was clean and the dishwasher running, it was time for dinner and the last thing I wanted to do was make another mess and have to clean it up! So, we ate downstairs (it's been ages!) and let them do it! Meanwhile GE and HR had played and played with K, then after K left GE had gone over to our Scottish neighbors to play in their garden, so with full tummies, and nothing better to do (i.e. clean up the kitchen), I stuck them all in bed at 7 p.m. and started reading. GE was out by 7:15 and at 7:30 HR said she couldn't stay awake any longer. Good. I went to choir. It was "Gemütlicherabend" (1st Thursday of the month) so I stayed for wine and nibblies... (Dear Readers Who Are Friends from the Rockbridge Choral Society: if you're reading this, I suggest we adopt this tradition! What do you say?!)

Friday May 3

Spent the morning in a flurry of last minute cleaning and de-cluttering before our landlord stopped by with a realtor and potential renters. I was glad there were flowers on the table and that I had made sure the shelves were neat. Our landlord thanked me for my "help" before he left.

The rest of the day was typical: girls came home from school, MK went to dance, we all went outside for a bit to enjoy the warm evening. I went to a concert at the Beethoven Halle with my Scottish neighbor--one more thing checked off my Germany "bucket list".

Saturday May 4

Went to running group in the a.m., then grabbed a few groceries. At 4 I met with the organist from the Pauluskirche to rehearse for May 19th. The violinist and flautist were there too. Went well.
Then I raced home and the girls and I rode bike over to my friend SL's house and went with her and her husband and son to the lawn party in the Rheinaue called "Rhein in Flammen". The weather was perfect! Sunny and warm but not hot. We ate fair food (Bratwurst and Pommes, cotton candy, Eis; I had a hot sandwich with goat cheese, mustard, arugula, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers--best fair food EVER!) and rode some of the rides. Probably the biggest ferris wheel I've ever been on!

Rhein in Flammen Kirmes (lawn party) in the Rheinaue

Riesenrad (HUGE ferris wheel)

The Rheinaue from the top of the Riesenrad.

My friend SL and her son, N, who had a little acrophobia on the first round (it went around 4 times). After that he was fine!

That's big sister MK with littlest sister GE on the huge slide. A big hit! GE even went down once by herself. The look on her face was priceless.

ME and MK on the bumper cars.

GE on a carousel car.

MK (blonde ponytail, green shirt with feet crossed) with littler sister HR on the huge spinning-swing. HR *loved* it! GE was a puddle of tears because she was too little to ride it!

So, she got another turn on the carousel--this time on the pink motorcycle!

More spinning (and this after Bratwurst, cotton candy, and ice cream! I'm not sure how it stayed down.)

Sunday May 5

Some days I just need to Not. Go. Anywhere. Today was one of those days. We all slept late. We stayed in our pajamas as long as possible. I made pasta with jarred pasta sauce (boil water, heat sauce, done). Girls played and played. I opened up the balcony since it was another sunny, warm day. They ate lunch out there. I set up some shade using HR's Fort Kit supplies. We read. The girls danced to music. More play. Lovely day.

Monday May 6

I'm behind on the blog. I've been having trouble getting the photos to upload from my computer. J fiddled around with my computer, updated Firefox and messed with Add-ons and Plug-ins and still no improvement. Grr.

Got up early to do my running group "homework": one of the strength circuits and then a 30 minute run. I meant to get a lot done this morning: hitting a couple of different grocery stores in Bad Godesberg. But when I got to the Kindergarten to drop off GE, I discovered that all but 3 of the teachers were sick and they had consolidated all the whole-day kids into one room and were asking anyone who didn't absolutely need childcare to keep their child at home. So, GE got to tag along, but that slowed me down and meant I didn't have as much room to bring shopping home (I usually load at least one bag into the Kindersitz). I was supposed to go to my friend SL's for Kaffee, but I could see I wasn't going to make it home in time and didn't really want to bring GE along for "my time". So, I canceled and we went home. GE played quietly and I got a few things done around the apartment (another load of laundry washed and dried in one day!).

An otherwise typical Monday: MK to tutoring, ME to dance, J arrived home from his trip to CA, I met one of GE's Kindergarten friends and her mom at the playground later in the afternoon, squeezed out time to make Rice Crispie treats and Nestle Tollhouse cookies to send in with MK for the buffet at her school's "Bilingual Nacht" tomorrow...

Tuesday May 7

Raced around to get GE to Kindergarten on the early side (the teachers were back) so I could get some groceries before my friend SL arrived for Kaffee--this time at my place instead of hers because I wasn't sure when my parents would arrive. We chatted for about an hour and then my parents arrived! They joined us for a little coffee and then SL left to run her own errands.

I took my parents over to the Friesdorferhof and got them settled so they could take naps before coming back for a late lunch. Just when they were supposed to arrive it got ominously dark outside and started pouring cats and dogs! Luckily they had an umbrella along, but I knew that ME was still at school without one, so my Dad and I walked over to meet her, bringing an extra umbrella. We still got soaked (knees down--there's only so much an umbrella will keep dry when it's pelting rain)! It was nearly 2 before we sat down for lunch: Sweet and Sour Lentils again, to which I added a few bowls of "condiments" like chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, shredded fresh mint (this was an inspiration and totally worth it!), and peanuts. I also made Crack Broccoli which I thought was "Der Hammer!" (a German turn of phrase meaning "Freaking Awesome!").

Then it was the usual flurry of homework, cleaning up the kitchen, trying to visit with my parents while kids interrupt, J coming home from work with a bunch of flowers for me, then organizing a massive clean-out-the-fridge-for-supper effort (a little on the early side because we had to get to MK's school by 6:30). Tonight at MK's school was a talent show program, the annual "Bilingual Nacht". The students put together skits, poems, music, dance, and that sort of thing that all have English and German (although they held to that pretty loosely). There were scenes from "The Hobbit" and Shakespeare's "As you like it", ballet, and the band performed Adele's "Skyfall"... The girls from MK's class (including MK) performed a dance to a Rhianna song (not exactly what we'd typically encourage her to dance to, but the song had been picked out last year already). Took a lot of guts for her to be up there (she's usually rather shy about that sort of open performance).

Now, time to get this out the door so I can go to bed...