Saturday in Paris, Let's walk

What a great day with our personal French tourist guides.  We wandered the streets of Paris, to Galleries Lafayette, Champs-Elysees, the Eiffel Tower, a boat cruise!

First, a boat tour down the River Seine, which was great. Lots of interesting buildings to see along the shores, with tons of information about the history of Paris. A good introduction to the city of Paris

Next, the Eiffel Tower. I was not keen on the long queues to wait to get to the top, but the four of us were able to talk and talk and laugh whilst we waited. This made the waiting time go a bit quicker. 

We went to the very top of the Eiffel Tower...a long way up. Exceptional views! Here I am with Sonia, Charlotte and Nathalie! 

We were a long way from Sydney.

We went to the Galleries Lafayette and was went to the observation platform to see some great views of the city. I lost my sense of smell in the perfume department, there were so many fragrances.

   

We had lunch at a great French restaurant. This was Nathalie and Sonia's dessert...they were very wobbly on those plates!I will leave it to your imagination on what we were discussing right at this moment.

A girls' weekend in Paris

Sonia and I left Berlin for a weekend in Paris. A good flight, but we could not identify the food served by Air France. We managed the train system really well, but not so good on the street directions to get to the hotel. The street signs in Paris were tricky to find and read, and I think I need to get my glasses rechecked. We eventually found the hotel A quick check in to put our bags in the room, then a 15 minute walk down to the Louvre! WOW.....fabulous. 

I saw the paintings I have only ever seen in my art books at school and university.  

Later that night, Charlotte (my French penfriend, living in England) and her friend Nathalie (French living in France) arrived. They quickly checked in to the same hotel, and we headed out to wander around Paris.

On our travels we wandered around the stores on the Champs- Elysees. We found the most amazing DVD and CD store, and lots more. Back at the hotel by 12.30am.

Singapore Sunflowers

On our way back to Berlin, with 4 kilos of Milo, 4 kilos of Vegemite and lots of other creature comforts. We were delayed in Singapore airport for 2 hours 

 

That meant we missed our connection to Berlin fromlook at while we were waiting in Frankfurt. We had to wait around for another 2 hours before the next flight to Berlin. Lucky these Sunflowers were so lovely in Singapore. There are always lots of interesting things to look at in the Singapore airport. Grateful we had the Nintendo games to keep us occupied in Frankfurt.

Rosie

Cameron's favourite dog. Rosie got her exercise this trip with Cameron chasing her, and Rosie chasing Cameron around Nana and Pa's house. 

Rosie will be relieved when we get back to Berlin, and she can have an undisturbed rest.

Phil -in South Africa

Unfortunately I had to leave Nicole and the boys in Australia, and head off to Singapore and South Africa for work. Both were great trips (business-wise) and also enjoyable from a personal perspective! 

In particular, I was fortunate that a colleague took me camping to the Vaal River, which is about 1.5 hours drive out of Jo'burg. It was the middle of winter, nights were freezing. I had bought some woolen longjohns in Australia and some suitable jackets, thankfully these kept me warm.  

It was really relaxing, the company was great and we had a Braai (BBQ in South African parlance!). It felt like camping back in Australia. We cruised on the river, had a few drinks, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Then it was back to Midrand for 5 very long, but worthwhile days of business, then back to Berlin to see the family again!

Eltham Mini Trains

Every Sunday, the Eltham Mini trains are open to the public. A great way to spend an afternoon.

A couple of train rides and then some football kicking in the park. 

 

Kelly, Ashton, Grace Alexander and Cameron 

Grace had a pony ride,Cameron wasn't interested, "ponies are for girls" he tells me! (Note to self....make sure all kids faces are clean, before trying to take photos) Sorry Grace!

Cameron's 6th birthday.

Cameron has many cakes when we come to Australia for the school holidays. Cakes with various relatives, and friends. 

When we get back to Berlin, we have promised to take him and his friends, ten pin bowling, and ice cream and more cake!

Hawthorn

Off to Nana's football club for their weekly dinner. Nana and Pa loved being able to show the boys to their friends. One of the players came to have a chat, Robert Campbell.  I had no idea who he was, but he was great with the kids, and the kids had no idea who he was either. . Mum's birthday is tomorrow and we had cake after dinner.

Bright, Victoria

We drove up to Bright for a few days to stay with Phil's parents. The boys love feeding the fish with Grampa. We have to remind them they are not allowed to throw stones in the fish pond. You are only allowed to throw stones in the river behind Granma and Grampa's house. 

Every morning Granma takes Jasper out for a walk. The boys love crossing over the "wobbly bridge" 

Scooter rides are always fun, and going down the hill is even better fun on the way into Bright on the walking and cycle track!

Watching the rosellas at the bird feeder

Playground in town

Painting rocks from the river

Melbourne, Quilt show at Jeff's Shed

Arrived down in Melbourne, and the first weekend was the Quilt Show! I spent lots of money on bits and pieces that I cannot get in Berlin. My best buy was the Q snaps for cross stitch. The angel pictures that I am working on are too big for the normal tapestry frame I usually use, and I cannot get the tension tight enough. The Japanese quilt exhibition was amazing, but you were not allowed to take photos.

Sydney

We went into the city to visit the regular sights. 

Our ferry friend Charlotte was in Circluar Quay, but the Alexander ferry was out in the harbour somewhere. We went up to the top of Centre Point Tower overlooking all of Sydney as well.

Visiting old haunts

We made a few visits to Gloria Jeans on this trip. Alexander and Cameron have missed Freddo Frogs. 

Funny how we have been gone 11 months, but Cameron remembers all the different colour sprinkles you can put on a baby chino!

Hannah

Karen and Steve had a baby girl last October. This is our first meeting.

 

Such a cutie! Note to self, remember to wash children's faces before taking cherished photos.

Sydney with Briana and Caitlin

After 27 hours of flying and airport stopovers, we arrived in Sydney. 

Staying at Briana and Caitlin's, and catching up with friends was great. 

Keeping Cass up until 12pm (alright for me I am still on Berlin time, but Cass has to get up for work in the morning). 

Phil had a course to do in the city for 5 days, so he stayed in town. Caught up with Douglas and his sisters, Thomas, and other friends...even a quick visit to the old school. Kind of felt like we have hardly left.

Winter in Summer holidays

The boys finished school today, 12 noon. We were on the 8.30pm flight out of Berlin heading back for 6 weeks. Berlin to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Singapore, Singapore to Sydney.

Breakfast on the Reichstag rooftop

Lots of school families are leaving Berlin at the end of the school year. As a farewell to the friends we have gotten to know and love, we went to the Reichstag for a fancy breakfast. 

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Maureen, Frauke, Sonia, Anne, Michelle, Sarah, Leah, Jude, Jocelyn, Libby Anne, and in front, Nicole, Phoebe and Carol.

Italy wins 2006 World Cup

Photo from the Munich stadium 

ITALY have won the 2006 World Cup, and the incredible party that has been Weltmeisterschaft 2006 is over! Nicole and I were at a friend's birthday bash on Saturday to watch the Germany/Portugal (Germany 3:1) match, and we had a great time. It was a very pleasant evening and the results made everyone very happy! 

On Sunday, we went to Ingrid and Ulf's house to watch the big game - we settled into the garden and had wurst on the barbie, salads and a few beers. Ulf set the TV up outside and we all sat on garden chairs to watch the game. It was another warm evening, so it was great to sit outside.  Italy won on penalties.  

It has been a brilliant four weeks! Germany has had the best party atmosphere, and Berlin with all its live venues and events has been a great place to be. I have been very fortunate to have had the chance to see some games live, and have also enjoyed all of the different venues that were on offer for the public. The event was wonderfully organised, the weather was great and the football, for the most part, was good to watch!

As for the sweeps, Jocelyn and Alexander were the winners! When asked, Alexander still wanted France to win 'because they knocked Australia out'!, but he still takes home 80 Euros from the sweep.

The Modern Language

Alexander went swimming with his friend Isaiah today. They had a great time. They were playing a game where they pretended being eaten by sharks. Alexander was shouting "SMS, SMS, SAVE ME SOUL, SAVE ME SOUL".

I collected Alexander from Isaiah's house, and we found a couple of photo opportunities.  The official World Cup Berlin Bear, in the Kranzler Eck, and the soccer globe on the Ku'damn. 

World Cup #10 France/Portugal 1:0

I was down in Munich for the week on business, running a workshop for a group of countries at a lovely resort about one hour our of Munich. The opportunity came up for a ticket to the game.  It took me less than a nanosecond to say yes! 

So far, all of the live games I had seen had been at the OlympiaStadion in Berlin. I was very excited to be going to the brand new (1year old) Allianz Arena in Munich! This state-of-the art facility was known to be a great stadium to watch football, and it was! The stands are so steep that it took me a minute or two to get used to the height/steepness. After this, it was easy to enjoy the view - and it was clear that our seats near the back would still offer a fantastic view of the game. 

It was hot and humid, and the partly enclosed stadium ensured there was no breeze, so it felt very hot! What a game! The refereeing was the best I had seen all tournament - he didn't blow fouls for cheap diving, and allowed the game to be played in a tough but fair way. 

As soon as the Portugese (serial divers) understood the referees intentions , they stayed on their feet and played great football. The first half was a exciting to watch, and Zidane of France is so skillful he is a pleasure to see. It was open and exciting, with one goal from a penalty to France in the first half. 

The second half was slow paced, but with Portugal going to extra time against England, it was no surprise! The final result was fitting for the game, and now it is France versus Italy in the final in Berlin next weekend. 

 

After the game, I enjoyed the French celebrations, saw heaps of Aussies (there must be at least a 50 strong population of Green and Gold wearers in Munich for the game!), and stayed in Munich city overnight before heading back out of town to the workshop the next morning.

World Cup #9 Germany vs Argentina

Friday was a lot cooler than earlier in the week, and there seemed to be almost a 'hushed' sense of anticipation over Berlin. This was the big game between Germany and Argentina! In the office, everyone had zero focus on work tasks. Everyone was looking ahead to the game, what would happen, where were you watching it etc. 

We were off to the stadium again. This time I was lucky enough to get tickets for Nicole, Alan, Sonia & I. We walked to the ground (we had done the 'Japanese style subway experience' once, and that was enough!) and the atmosphere was very different to the previous 2 games, people were more tense.

 

Nicole and Sonia had their faces painted with a swirly, girly design and finished off the combo with matching pink World Cup T-Shirts. Initially Sonia and Nicole wanted the 3 stripes of the German flag. The face painting lady wouldn't allow it. Her reason, "I don't get many ladies wanting face painting, so I want to do something a bit "girly". That was alright with Nicole and Sonia, as long it was not a full face paint! I had a couple of German flags painted on my face (matched the Australian shirt I was wearing nicely!) and spoke to lots of locals about how I was now cheering for Germany now that Australia were out. 

There was much sympathy for the plight of the Aussies, and agreement that they played with courage and lost with dignity. Certainly the reaction from everyone toward Australians showed that the efforts of the Socceroos had enhanced their reputation.  

The Stadium was pumping! It was loud and the game was really good - this may have been the best match of the whole tournament, with great skills, good refereeing and a free flowing match. 

After an early goal by the Argentinians from a great corner, Germany seemed to lift a gear and with 10 minutes left it was level at 1:1! It went right through extra time to penalties - the German crowd was so tense! The German keeper saved 2 and Germany won! The crowd went absolutely wild, and we did too! 

There were some ugly incidents between the Argentinians and the Germans after the match, but it all happened so quickly, and everybody was celebrating so hard, that you would scarcely have noticed from the stands. I heard afterwards that they made a big deal about it in the TV coverage. Afterwards we went back to the hospitality tent and had a meal and a few more drinks. At the end of the night, a waitress asked Alan and Phil if she could have the bread baskets back, which were currently on their heads! 

We walked home again, and it had been a fantastic experience. Watching Germany win in Berlin was incredible, and to see so many Germans have true pride in their country and their national team (instead of continuously having to feel somehow ashamed about the past)- I think it may be a really important turning point for Germany for the future.