Mallorca

What a relaxing week! 

We seemed to miss out on Summer this year, with heading over to Australia, and Phil travelling. So this was our final chance to get a bit of sun before the winter sets in! We had a good flight, and got in late, and it was dark. We had a transfer to our hotel, which took about 45 minutes. Thank goodness we decided to get a transfer, and not hire a car. The roads are windy and Phil was certain we were just going around in circles. The hotel was reasonable, all inclusive. The pools were lovely, and we were walking distance to the beach!

For the first few days we didn't leave the hotel. The boys were eager to go to the Kids Club each morning for 2 hours. Each day was a different theme, with different activites. They really enjoyed it. They spoke mainly German as most of the kids were German at this resort. Mallorca to Germans is like Bali to Australians. In the afternoons we either went to the beach, or stayed near the pool. 

Each day was about 24 degrees, warm, but not enough to get sunburnt! The food for all meals was terrific and very fresh. Each night was a different theme. I think we all enjoyed the seafood night the best!

Each night after dinner. We would settle down into the bar area of the hotel. We took a few games with us, and played these while we waited for the kids disco to begin. The boys enjoyed their cocktails (non alcoholic of course). Each night, the staff of the kids clubs held a mini disco for the kids. The songs were Spanish, French, German, Italian and English. The kids had a great time. After the mini disco, there was a show for the adults and the children. One night we had an acrobatic act that kept everyone amazed. It was a great way to end the day, and the boys are getting a bit older to stay up a bit later to watch this sort of stuff!

Phil in Kiev

Phil had a business meeting in Kiev on Friday: 

I flew in on Thursday night and got to the hotel about midnight. Friday was stuck in the office all day, but the business meeting went really well. 

That night I went out to dinner with the local General Manager and his wife, then out to 'Art club 44': a basement rock venue in central Kiev. The band was great, but I didn't understand a thing they were singing! The music was really good though! Had a great time. 

Saturday morning the weather turned to rain (after being perfect blue skies whilst I was stuck in the office!), but I still did a walking tour of the centre of town with the local GM and his wife. Interesting city, clean, quite modern, and influenced by Russia from one side and Poland on the other. Very 'Western', too, with all of the big brands, billboards etc. 

However, once out of Kiev, everything really changes and it is apparently like stepping into another world. The photo is of me in 'Freedom Square' - this was where the Orange revolution was last year - apparently a great event, peaceful and almost like a permanent street party. We also saw the Sofia Cathedral and the other main sites in the centre of town. Back home on Saturday evening.

Frankenstein & Tropical Island boy

We had a good time at the Berlin International Women's Club Fest. They were raising money for a children's hospice in Berlin. 

There was face painting and lots of international stands. There was an Aussie stand, and we ate vegemite sandwiches, anzac cookies and lamingtons! Ahh..a taste of home!

The UK stand had a competition for guessing where Canterbury was on the map...we both failed that one!

One of the kids projects was to contribute to a large canvas for a wall in the hospice for the children. All the kids were invited to paint something on the canvas.

 

Here is Cameron with his giraffe (it has a red hat on), and Alexander with his aeroplane, (the red tail is for Qantas!)

The Blue Man Group

Phil got tickets to see "The Blue Man Group" , what an awesome show. 

We were thinking about taking the boys to see it previously, but after seeing it, we both agreed that they were a bit young for it. They would love the music and the colour. 

There was a lot of social commentary, and all of it in German..The concepts were a bit too much for a 5 and 6 year old! 

If it comes to your town we recommend you to see it!

Wallace and Grommit

or should that be Grimace and Vomit? ! Great movie, lots of fun, and lots of laughs.

Interesting day though... Phil had taken the boys out for a bike ride in the morning. Alexander had a fall and hit his head on a metal railing. He was wearing his bike helmet.  Alexander looked and seemed fine, except for a bit of crying. They came home, rested and had lunch.  Before we left, we checked Alexander out again. He was fine, no pains, headaches or anything apart from the bump on the side of his head.  We decided we would go to Potsdamer Platz as planned to see a movie with Sonia and Bradley. 

Alexander wasn't feeling too well on the train, and said he had a little headache. Once we got out of the train station he was sick on a tree. He said he was feeling better and was OK to see the movie. We thought of taking him to the doctors, but he really sparked up again. 

The cinema shows all movies in their original language. The local posters advertise "Wallace and Grommit - auf dem Jagd nach dem Reisen Kanninchen".  Movie was great, except for 2 incidents of Alexander vomiting in the cinema. I took him out the 1st time, and found an employee to tell him about the mess in the cinema, and which seat we were sitting in. His reaction? "don't worry, swap seats and we will clean it up later".  Luckily the cinema was fairly empty.

Alexander said he was OK to see the rest, so we went back in, and changed seats! 5 minutes before the end of the show he vomited again. Phil thought we should take him to the hospital and get him checked out. Luckily we ran into other 2 families from school, both who know a great kids emergency room and speak much better German than us. They got us a taxi, and told the driver which emergency department to take us to.

Sonia took Cameron back to her house. 

We waited a whole 5 minutes, before we were taken to see the doctor...incredible! :)  The doctor confirmed it was mild concussion. The thing was that even though Alexander felt OK, the stimulus from the movie (sights and sounds) were way too much, and this caused the vomiting. The doctor said "Well he shouldn't be reading, playing video games or watching any TV. That will make him feel nauseous." (Oops, that was a pretty big TV screen!) 

The doctor said it was unnecessary to admit him, just to take him home and let him rest for 24 hours...any more vomiting or other symptoms to bring him back!

All is well now, back to school on Tuesday, just a nice little graze on the side of his head! Now he knows why we insist on wearing a helmet every time they get on a bike! Lesson number 1 :) Hate to think of what would have happened without it... nice to dint a helmet and not a head!

Oktoberfest in Berlin

ohh.....should have taken my camera last night! We went to a German restaurant beside Schlachtensee (south-west Berlin). 

Beer was served in 1 litre steins! Boy, were they heavy!!! 

The kids were served lemonade in 1/2 litre steins! 

A lot of fun, lots of beer swilling men and women, music played by lederhosen wearing men. After 2 1/2 beers Phil was a bit worse for wear, and so were the other guys we were with.

Eis bitte!

Translates to "Ice Cream please".

We are fluent in German at our local Ice Cream Shop. The boys can order their own ice creams and drinks by themselves...."Ich mochte ein kugel Schokolade und ein kugel Zitrone in einen becher mit bundestruese bitte" I would like a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of lemon, in a bowl with 100's and 1000's please! 

The 2 waitresses who usually serve us are really friendly, and very patient with our "basic" German. (although I must be improving, because today she asked me why we hadn't been for awhile ,and I was able to talk about chicken pox) The boys get spolit with extra wafer cones and little flags in their ice creams...we haven't had any Aussie flags in our ice cream yet, they are all EU countries. 

Our first attempt at ordering ice cream was very poor. In my next German lesson, I asked my tutor to tell me all about ice cream, how to order, all sorts of flavours, bowls, cones, 100's and 1000's etc. (She thinks I am a bit mad) In my first German lesson I asked her to check my sentence for "Could I please have a cappuccino". and then "Could I have another one please"

Phil in Cairo & the end of chicken pox

Phil is in Cairo, he will be back on Sunday night! Here he is on his last trip to Cairo (August). Seems to be good shopping in Cairo, he always comes home with really good quality suits and ties. He tells me today he bought himself a new pair of shoes! I am sure he has more clothes (and definitely more shoes) than me! When he rang today he was in a fabric store (one of the girls is looking for dress fabrics), but nothing good for patchwork. 

In our "chicken pox bubble" I have managed to do a bit of fabric shopping via the internet. I love that I can buy fabric without leaving home. The credit card gets a bit of a wholloping! 

Thank goodness, you only get Chicken Pox once in your lifetime. Imagine if it was like a common cold! Cameron is over the worst, and will be back at school next week. His case was more severe than Alexander's. We have a public holiday here on Monday (Bank Holiday)

We are sick of being at home....the boys and I are off to our local ice cream cafe! YUM YUM!