Icicles.....

Cameron loves to break off any icicles he finds...

When I dropped Alexander off at Theatre Club this morning, we found these icicles...




When I showed Cameron the photos, he has decided to come with me when we drop Alexander off at Theatre Club next week.

Somehow I am wondering if we need to take the Esky with us to collect his icicles...

Alexander's Birdhouse and Fish Food

Part of Alexander's homework this week was to feed some birds, and see what birds came to visit the bird feeder.


While we were watching, this little bird visited. After Google searching, we found out that he was a "Kohlmeise" or in English, Great Tit.

While we were at the pet shop, we boought some extra fish......so now we are back to 10 fish again.


We wait to see if the 2 killer goldfish will eat the 8 new ones.....it's an expensive way to buy fish food!

How to get rid of the old Christmas tree when you live 3 floors up...

Open up the window,

Check no one is coming along the path, and then give it a push! Drag the tree to the gutter, and the council comes along and gets rid of it for you.

Vacuum up all the old pine needles, and room is back to normal!

From +25 degrees to -5 degrees in 5 hours....

It was quite a change - 28 degrees and sunny, to minus 5 degrees and heavy snow! On the weekend we arrived back in Berlin, there was at least 15 cm of fresh snow, deepening an already thick blanket of snow that lay over Berlin.
we had to clear a small path to get to the edge of the terrace, and sweep off the satellite dish to get reception on the TV.

Alexander's ugg boots...sweeping up the terrace
Just enough to get a signal....

Then we did an experiment with some tea candles in the snow on our terrace.

In 1/2 hour, they had melted to the terrace flooring.

Over 30cm of snow had to be cleaned off the car, and I had to shovel snow from under the tyres so I could drive out.
View from the terrace, our car is the silvery colour, covered in snow
A neighbour's car, which hasn't moved for 4 weeks, and not likely to move for quite sometime!

Alan and Phil took BJ and Cameron sledding (or as the English say "sledging")on Teufelsberg - really the only hill for miles around. It was packed, and in true German form, there were queues for each of the sled runs. They all had a turn, including the 'big boys', and it was a great few hours out in the fresh air.





lots of fun...even for the "big kids"



It makes quite a contrast from sunlounges and diveboats, to deep snow and sledding!

Sandcastles and tunnels and beach fun....

The kids played happily on the beach for hours..... collecting shells, looking for starfish and crabs

Trying to catch fish

Building cities in the sand...

Building lots of cities in the sand!

Speaking German to 3 girls who were fascinated with their city....


Building the pyramids and the Sphinx
and having a great time!

Fun around the resort....

Just some happy snaps taken around the resort...
Our family
All of us!
The Scots...
Cameron found this crab on the beach...he brought it back to show us, and wanted a photo...he said "I'll put it on Mum's knee to take a photo, she's used to crabs"...I am not so sure about that!
Our "crepe man", Wahid, knew exactly who we liked out crepes, as we had at least one every day.....then the big boys decided they would have a turn...
Cameron loved his hot chocolates...more chocolate than milk in most cups!
Playing Chinese Whispers before dinner was always a laugh...
Somehow we never got it right...I am blaming the "beer cordial"

Cameron made this bouquet for his Mum
Alice the Camel was very patient


Someone stole Alan's thong......(surely it wouldn't have been Nicole)... James got blamed and it was stacks on....

Everything is for sale..

Lying on a sun lounge on the beach was pleasant, but was often interrupted by individuals trying to sell you something. On one morning, I had 11 interruptions before I had finished 4 pages of my book. There would be everything from Diving lessons, Spa treatments, camel rides, safaris, 4 wheel bike tours, trips to Luxor, Snorkelling, Glass Bottomed boat tours... Most of the salespeople were polite and reasonably pleasant, however a few were quite pushy. It seemed that the beach (as opposed to the pool) was public space, so they could operate freely there. Of course, nothing had a ‘fixed price’, and everything could be ‘discussed’. As all of these guys were on commission, it was easy to understand their point of view. Eventually some of them were known to us on a first name basis, we had spoken so many times!

The Resort had a Spa/Wellness complex, Nicole arranged for a series of massages across the 2 weeks we were at the resort. She opted for a couple of Turkish Baths and a couple of Cleopatras. As if she wasn’t relaxed enough already...


Just before we left, Nicole couldn't resist a few henna Tattoos...
they should last about a month!