Bike ride & Picnic

It was such a nice day in Berlin, we organised a bike ride through the Grunewald forest,down to the Havel for picnic. We stopped at the Havel, and the kids found this teepee. They played in there after lunch, (photo is a great ad for a chip company) We cycles on the forest paths. There were quite a few bumps, and lots of sore bottoms later on! Gordon has a speedometer on his bike, and we worked out that for us from door to door, we cycled about 25 kilometres. 

On the way home we stopped at the Reichstrasse festival to do a bungee trampoline. Cameron was hilarious. The straps must have been pulled too tight, he was too light and he couldn't get back down to the actual trampoline. So he just hung in the air and did continuous somersaults while laughing his head off (much to the amusement of all the parents standing around watching). Alexander was a little more reserved and was happy to bounce up and down without any spinning! The kids were in bed and asleep by 7.30pm tonight! The adults were not far behind.

The Water Princess Anniversary Party

Alexander, Emily and Isaiah have been writing, and illustrating their own book for the past year. They all contributed to the story, and illustrations. It is quite a complex book, and they love writing it. 

Alexander came home from school on Thursday to tell me he had invited his friends to our place on Saturday to have the 1st year anniversary party for the Water Princess book.  After a quick discussion with the other mums, we organised a play date, that would be the "Party". 

This morning I made a chocolate cake. When the other musketeers arrived, they were in charge of icing and decorating. The cake was delicious, and we had chocolate milkshakes as well. The 3 musketeers are currently making a Lego Castle for the Water Princess and discussing the next book. 

Cameron and Phil wisely organised to go for a bike ride to Bradley's house for the afternoon. They kids have had great time playing, and I love having the 3 musketeers together, as they all play so well together, and are no trouble at all!

ANZAC DAY in Berlin

War Cemetery, Heerstrasse, Berlin-Charlottenburg 10.30am Australian Ambassador, H.E. Mr Ian Kemish. New Zealand Ambassador, H.E. Mr Alan Cook.

Lest we forget.

Phil - a few quick trips

It has been a busy time for work related travels. 

Last week I was off to Tehran for 3 days. I had some serious doubts about going whilst the UK marines were held hostage (I didn't want to be in Tehran if Tony Blair decided to send a couple of out of date tridents over the horizon), but with this settled, I had no problems about going. 

Don't believe everything you read in the press. I felt safer in Tehran that I do in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and parts of London. The traffic is more dangerous than anything. The book of road rules is obviously a 'how NOT to' guide! 

It is a city that sits at between 1400 and 1800 meters, on the side of a mountain. There was snow on the mountain and it was 27 degrees in town! They even have ski resorts, but I would not personally recommend them based upon the quality of the other amenities! The people were great, and there is massive opportunity for business if you can work with the interesting dynamics of the regime. It was a hectic trip but really worthwhile. 

This week I had a flying visit to Moscow. Two days and it snowed on Monday and was about 11 degrees on Tuesday. Business in Russia is again interesting and challenging, and it fun working with the local people to get their businesses to work better. Whilst I was in Moscow, Boris Yeltsin died. There is a very wide opinion amongst the Russians about whether he was a hero or a villain, and the reporting was very interesting. 

I can imagine the the Vodka industry is now forecasting a sharp downturn in sales.... I am now back in Berlin until Sunday, when I am off again.

Baking ANZAC cookies

Anzac Cookies for tomorrow. 

4 batches. 

26 for Alexander's class 26 for Cameron's class and some for our New Zealand friends & us.

International Kinderfest 2007

This weekend was the annual Kinderfest. The street leading up to the Brandenburg Gate is blocked off, and lots of stalls, games, rides and other activities for the kids line the streets (like the Fan Mile last year during the World Cup, with a little less beer) The Polizei were out in force and the kids got to sit on motorbikes, in police vans and cars, wear hats, ake badges and talk on the loud speakers.

The German Help Service had activities for the kids, including this pulley system used to rescue people.

Magic Mountain Climbing Centre had a rotating climbing disc for the kids to try out. Cameron scaled up like a spider, with no fear. Alexander was a bit more hesitant, but still did well.The ADAC (German road help service) had an amazing display with road and car safety. They had a car accident simulator that you could get in ,and see what it is like to be in a car that has rolled over. We rotated very slowly, and the feeling was really awful, I would hate to think how this would feel in a real accident. It was a good safety lesson for the kids to understand why wearing seatbelts in a good idea.

The Berlin Zoo starring Knut!

Off to the zoo (with 40,000 other people) to see Knut. Berlin Zoo are raking the cash in after the arrival of Knut the Polar Bear. Knut makes 2 appearances during the day, each an hour long. Security has been brought in to keep the anxious crowds from causing a mob frenzy, and the lines are long! 

We waited 45 minutes, just to get tickets into the zoo (never ever had to wait more than 5 minutes), and the queue to line up to see Knut were quite long as well. We were told by another mum to get to the kids playground. The kids got up on the play equipment (with heaps of other kids, and they had a great view of Knut, without us having to line up to see him. He is very cute!!

Here are Holly, Bradley, Cameron, Meghan, Alexander and Kirsten with the statues of the Polar Bears.

Knut's mother, who abandoned Knut, can't understand all the fuss. The Elephant can't seem to understand all the fuss either!

Holly, Kirsten, Alexander, Bradley, Cameron and Meghan

Discovery in Dundee

Today we all went our separate ways.

The Ramsays went off to visit the Grannies in Dundee, and the McLeishs went to Stirling to catch up with relatives. 

As we have no relatives in Scotland, we were on our own for a day of touring! First stop was an ASDA superstore. This store had school trousers for the kids and a few other bits and pieces that Nicole wanted. We loaded up the car (now bulging at the seams) and headed to Discovery Point in Dundee, where the Antarctic research ship, the Discovery, is moored. It was sailed by Scott and his crew on a scientific expedition and was stuck in the ice for 2 years. It was a fascinating exhibition, with lots of movies and hands-on things for the kids.

When we were skiing in Austria, Cameron made friends with a boy in his group called Sam. They have been emailing each other, and as it turns out they live in Scotland, not far from Dundee. 

After the visit to the Discovery, we thought we would try our luck and find him! The small village was not difficult to find on the map, and we thought in such a small village, it can't be too hard to find anyone. 

Firstly, the Newsagent didn't know them. We then stopped at a park to let the kids play, and we asked some of the parents - they didn't know, but one old fella pointed out the Janitor of the School's house - the one where we knew Sam went! Nicole knocked on the door, and after a check (probably illegal), we had some clear instructions and were able to find our way to Sams house!The boys played with Sam for about 45 minutes (mainly on the trampoline) whilst we had a coffee inside. It was quite a surprise for all that we were able to find them, and we had a pleasant afternoon.

We then set off for Glasgow, where we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express right on the airport. We dropped off the car (750.7 miles, and 45 pounds of fuel) and checked in. 

After redistributing all of our luggage to make room for the new purchases, we were ready for our early flight home. 

It was a fantastic holiday, and all the organisation by the Ramsays (being Scottish) and the McLeishs (who have been to Scotland before) went perfectly and was highly appreciated! The company was the best!

Urquhart Castle

No visit to Scotland is complete without visiting the ruins of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. It was very atmospheric, was a really interesting site and the scenery was spectacular! This castle stood over the Loch for hundreds of years, and was blown up by its occupants to stop the invading Jacobites from controlling and using it. It seems like a waste of such a wonderful castle, but must have made sense to them at the time!

 

Who said we didn't see any monsters.

The four of us in front of the old tower.

The ruins of Urquhart castle, looking north east up Loch Ness.

The site is well preserved and you can roam all over the ruins, look out over the Loch for a Nessie sighting, or visit the gift shop and cafe (remember, every attraction has one!). Combined with our Loch Ness visitors centre, a super day for the whole family.

We then hit the road and drove back to Inverness, and down the highway to Dunkeld for the night.

Loch Ness Monster

One of the highlights for the boys came after Inverness when we stopped at the Loch Ness exhibition at Drumnadrochit. It shows the history of the area and the loch in great detail, and explores the myth of the Loch Ness Monster.

The boys had their hearts set on seeing Nessie, who they decided was a Pleosaur trapped in the lake. After the exhibition, they are not so sure.
 

We decided that the old lady that runs the hotel wins the award for the best marketing ever.  Funny how her 'sighting' of the monster and its related media reports was the big story which got the legend going. It increased traffic to her hotel, and to her visitors centre which is a valuable legacy for her family.

The exhibition was excellent and the boys (and us) loved it!

Loch Ness is a fascinating environment with more fresh water than is held in England and Wales combined. They say it is over 220 meters deep off Urquhart castle, and it sure is massive and very impressive to see.

We looked and looked for Nessie in the Loch. A few times we thought we saw her.  Look closely, maybe you can spot her too!

Inverness

On the road to Inverness we passed through more of the Highlands. At one point, we stopped for a break near some waterfalls (Rogie Falls) and the dads took the kids for a run around (the mums, had all slept on the last leg and were too sleepy to rouse themselves for a walk, so they sat in Sonia's car and chatted.) 

There was a wobbly bridge and the scenery was very reminiscent of Bright in Autumn. The kids ran around and had a great time, and blew off enough steam that we could load them back in the cars and continue on our way to Inverness.

At Inverness  we did a bit of shopping at some of the big department stores. Not particularly exciting shopping, but it had to be done. 

The boys needed new black school shoes. German schools do not have school uniforms, so trying to find school shoes for kids in Berlin is a nightmare. Everyone we know from school gets black school shoes when they go back to England. When I was back in Australia last August, I bought the next 3 sizes up for both boys, thinking they would be fine for the next 12 months. Unfortunately, the pairs they are wearing have worn out before their feet have grown to the next size.

Next was M & S to buy grey school trousers and grey school shorts, another boring purchase. The stuff they supply at the school shop are both expensive and crap quality. M & S had them at a 1/4 of the price, and the quality is by far much better. Off to the book store next,

Then some fun shopping, Waterstones book store. So much to chose from, it was hard to know where to start. Kids section first, to get the last 3 books of the Lemony Snicket series for Alexander, and there was a huge selection of cheap kid novels to pick over. 10 books later, we left the kids area, to move onto the adults section. Phil and I only picked a few books each (knowing that we had a weight limit getting back to Berlin).

Kyle of Lochalsh

We booked a tour of the Kyle of Lochalsh on a glass-bottomed boat. It took us around some bird colonies,  an old shipwreck, and over some kelp beds.

Here are the boys downstairs admiring the kelp, trying to spot a few starfish!

Unfortunately the weather had been unseasonally fine and warm, meaning that a fair bit of algae had bloomed in the Loch. This reduced the visibility from the observation windows, but we still got to see quite a lot. Alexander was on the lookout for the rare 'underwarter wild haggis', which unfortunately wasn't visible today. There were sea urchins, plenty of kelp, the odd fish and a few starfish. Here is the glass bottomed boat tied up, with the Loch and the Isle of Skye in the background.

Isle of Skye and Sheep

The first place we went to this morning was a Serpentarium on the Isle of Skye. 

This is a small (one room) reptile sanctuary where smuggled reptiles in the UK are sent. 

Often the animals are in such poor condition many do not make it. However  there was a few specimens still on display. There were constrictors, iguanas, frogs and other lizards. The kids loved it, and got to hold a python called Goldie, which they enjoyed. We then set off to find a jewelery and sword shop Gorgon wanted to check out.  To get there we had to go 'cross-country'.As we drove on the Isle of Skye, we went down many one lane roads (you had to pull off the road to allow other cars past), and wait for sheep to pass by.
Just stunning scenery. You could stop the car every 500 metres for fantastic photos. In the end, we drove down miles of road like this to find a Celtic Jewelry and Swords workshop. The stuff was lovely, but being handmade it was very expensive. In the end, no-one bought anything so we simply had a morning sheep watching and a driving tour of the Isle of Skye.

Stopping for a coffee, I spied a wool shop across the road. After seeing so many sheep on the side of the road, I hoped that there would be some good stuff here, and I was not disappointed! The bottom skein of blues and greens is handspun silk, the colourful orange variegated is handspun mohair mix, the pale purple and green is fine mohair, and the pink/purple is handspun boucle merino/silk. I think I will knit some scarves with these!

Eilean Donan Castle

This castle at Kyle of Lochalsh, is just stunning. The original castle was built in 1511, but destoyed in 1719. The current castle was rebuilt between 1912 and 1932. After I took this photo of the kids, Alexander told me I wasn't allowed to take photos in the castle. At least the kids could read the sign! So, I didn't get any photos of the stunning evening gowns on display. Although the doorways are so narrow, I have no idea how the ladies of the time managed to get in and out of their rooms! The tour guides in each room were really great, and the kids had some great questions for them about different objects and parts of the rooms. Which proved that we hadn't bored the kids silly with all the castles we had already taken them to! Alan playing the role of Rapunzel.....or Juliet, not sure which! Alex the tour guide let the kids hold this gun.....making sure it was not loaded first!!!

It was lovely to see so many daffodils in bloom everywhere we went.

Along the sides of the roads were masses of areas of daffodils. Although this photo is not in focus, taken from the car window, you can get the idea.