Inside a Berlin hospital

The kids and I flew from Palermo to Berlin. Phil hopped onto a different plane and flew to Kenya for work. Straight from getting our bags from the carousel, we hopped into a taxi. "Kinder Krankenhaus in Westend bitte!" (Children's hospital in Westend please).

The taxi driver looks at me very oddly, and I had to explain that Cameron had broken his arm on our holiday and we needed to go to the hospital. Cameron was reluctant to go to the hospital, until we got there, and he said "Oh, I know this place, the doctors are really nice here" (after needing stitches in his chin after a fall at ice skating, and outing my affair with Alan while Phil was in India, see 8th February 2006 post)

 

So, bags in tow, we arrive in the emergency ward at 11pm. Staff are great, and give us a place to leave our bags. I explain the situation, the doctor takes the Sicily xrays, has a look, and asks us to wait in the waiting room until we are called. We wait for a whole 5 minutes, before we are asked to come into a room, where they had already started to get the plaster ready! 

Cameron was very brave and we need to wait around for an hour to check the plaster sets properly, and the blood was getting to his fingers. Both boys fell asleep on my lap in the waiting room while we waited. We are given the all clear, staff call a taxi for us, and we are home by 1am! 

Thankfully the boys both slept in until 10am the following morning! 

We visit an Orthopedic on Monday, and we need to bring Cameron back next Tuesday to have this cast removed (the swelling will be gone by then) and another one put on - this one will stay on for 4 weeks. The cast should be off just in time before we fly to Australia for a visit.

Inside a Sicilian hospital

After dinner on our final evening we headed to the resort's piazza for some dancing. There was a kid disco, and adult dancing afterwards. Cameron was doing some dancing, when he slipped over and landed on his wrist. 

Crying out in pain, Phil took a look at it and says "I think it is broken" I said, "Give it awhile, he will forget about it, and it is probably only sprained." 

Cameron fell asleep for awhile, but at about 11.30 he woke up, he was crying out in pain. So, Phil took him to the hospital in the next town.....with our handy European language electronic translator in tow. The resort called a taxi, and Cameron and Phil set off into the Sicilian night. The hospital was very quiet and there was no one around. Phil was not impressed. The taxi driver was very friendly, and stayed with Phil and Cameron to try and help out. Although the taxi driver and the graveyard shift staff didn't speak any English, and all our Italian relates to food and "piccola" it became a game of international charades.

Cameron was examined. With the right sign language, it was made clear that Cameron may have fractured his wrist and was sent to X-Ray. Luckily Phil has dealt with these a lot at work, and was able to get Cameron all set up so the X-Ray could be taken (how do you tell a 5 year old to stay still whilst everyone else runs from the room to avoid radiation, when he doesn't speak the same language?) 

Phil and the radiographer checked the films and it was clear that there was a small hairline fracture. Cameron and Phil were sent back to emergency, where the staff were not too keen to plaster it they wanted Cameron to go to Palermo to have it set the next day. Phil was not all that unhappy with this, and got them to wrap it tightly as Cameron would be back in Berlin where he could get it set the next day. The taxi driver stayed with them the whole time. Phil was really grateful, he wasn't much help, but at least he tried! They finally made it back to the resort at about 3 am. 

From rested and relaxed to stressed and sleep deprived in one Italian dance move!

Cameron is no John Travolta.

Touring Sicily..hold on tight!

WOW, I will never complain about Sydney traffic ever again! (You can quote me on this!) Phil thought it would be a great idea to hire a car and tour some of Sicily. All organised the night before, and we picked up the car straight after breakfast and headed off towards Palermo. 

We rented an Alfa 147 diesel. It came with only 1/4 of a tank. So, one of the first jobs was to find a petrol station, and fill it up! We were expecting a big bill,, but we filled it for about 22 Euros! We then used the same tank all day, travelled for about 10 hours, and the little car was very impressive (and nice to drive).

The roads are pretty good and the freeway is 2 lanes the entire way. Everyone stays in the slow lanes unless overtaking. However, as you head into Palermo, the lanes widen, and the white lines disappear. 2 lanes mysteriously can become 5 lanes, with cars trying to squeeze in anywhere, as well as motorbikes and mopeds as well! I would have taken a photo or 2, but my hands were firmly embedded in the cushion of my seat! There was no way I could even think about taking any photos out of the window...I was too anxious!

Sicily is really mountainous. the roads are really interesting, instead of winding around the mountains, they have drilled tunnels through the hills and drive through the mountains. It makes for quick driving (as well as driving at high speeds, no speed limit!). They really have the road system figured out and the autobahn type roads were really good to drive on. 

The town of Enna is called the belly button of Sicily. It sits in the middle of Sicily, on top of a mountain. This was the first stop on our 'tour' of Sicily. Enna sits high up on a mountain, and we left the highway and climbed up some narrow, winding roads to the town centre. 

Driving through one-way streets (that would have been narrow for a donkey-cart!) we found a park and toured the town on foot.

We found a lovely old church, a few interesting piazzas , and the Enna Castello (castle). We stopped at a small cafe for a coffee and a rest, then back on with the touring!

We re-joined the highway (always an interesting experience!) and headed for Catania - as we drove down the road we had a wonderful view of Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. It looks like it is covered in snow, but it is simply the ash and pumice. The boys were fascinated by it. We could see Mount Etna smoking.

We passed Catania and circled around Mount Etna, and stopped for a late lunch at a beautiful little town called Taormina. The town is regarded as a real 'Sicilian Pearl' and has heaps of history. It is set high on an outcrop of rock, and has winding streets and interesting little buildings and piazzas.

A known town for attracting tourists we had to park in a big parking tower at the bottom of the mountain and catch a shuttle bus up to the town. The town was packed with tourists, so stopping cars 

and buses at the bottom of the mountain was probably a good idea. 

 

We had a delicious lunch (although very expensive). We then had a lovely walk around the town and ended up at the ancient Roman ampitheatre. Currently there is some modern seating being added in some sections, on top of the ruins.

Through the columns you can have a super view of the smoking Mount Etna. It really was an amazing sight! 

We left Taomina and continued our drive around the coast. We had planned to make another stop (Cefalu) for ice creams and a sit on the beach, but Sicily is bigger than we realised and we probably bit off more with our tour than we thought! In the end, we decided to drive back to the hotel in time for dinner.

Sicily

Phil had a 3 day meeting in Palermo, Sicily at the beginning of the week. Thursday was a public holiday, Friday was a pupil free day, then the kids have a "half term holiday" for a week. I have never seen so many holidays at a school before, this is the British education system. It feels like we have only just got back from Legoland from the Easter break!  This is perfect for us, as we get to travel a lot throughout the year and make the most of our time in Europe.

Thursday the kids and I travelled to Sicily to meet Phil after the meeting, and have a few days of warm weather. Stopover in Milan, and we met Phil in the hotel about 4pm. Our apartment had a view of the bay from our balcony, and the weather is warm!

The resort we stayed at was really lovely. There was a kids club, so the boys went there for the morning 10 -12. The resort had a series of waterslides where the last one ended up in the sea (with stairs to get back up from the cliffs), an Olympic size swimming pool, a kids pool with 2 spa pools, and a kidney shape pool. 

It was a hard choice to decide which pool to swim in! So we decided to swim in all of them over the course of the afternoon.

 

After Kids Club we headed down to the waterslide pool. Each pool had a life guard on duty when the pool was opened. The waterslide pool was only open certain times of the day, and was closed when the tide was going in and out so no one was slammed into the cliffs on the last slide. When we got there, the water slide was closed, so instead we went to the pizza restaurant on the edge of the cliffs and had lunch! Great pizzas in Sicily! 

After lunch the boys had a few turns at the waterslide, then we the rest of the afternoon we went to each different swimming pool.

Cameron is the next "Steve Irwin"! On our way down to the waterslide one day, a black snake slithered across the path in front of him. Cameron was great and just stopped and stood still. He didn't try and catch it! Phew!

But that experience doesn't stop him looking for lizards. Any sort of beetle, bug or butterfly, moth creature needs to move fast, or Cameron will pick it up.

These little lizards moved way too fast for him...but he still liked to chase them! These little critters were everywhere around our hotel.

Phil in Palermo

As part of a European Business group, we have representatives from the major EU countries (France, UK, Spain, Italy, Germany) some smaller ones too (Portugal, Hungary and Turkey) as well as those of us from the regional office. 

Every second meeting we 'escape' from Berlin and one of the countries host the meeting. This time, it was Italy's turn - so we went to Sicily! Palermo is the capital of Sicily, and a reasonable place for flight connections for all (via Milan airport). We arrived at the hotel at various stages on Monday - I arrived after midnight. I think the hotel must have been an old palace - the place was really impressive and was very much a hang out for the 'Gucci' set. No wonder they would not extend my stay when I asked if they had any family rooms. I think it is basically a no kids type of resort

Meeting was very lively (as always) and the group are great company, so we have very entertaining nights out. Being in Sicily, we went to a couple of superb little restaurants - a local trattoria, and a seafood restaurant on the seaside. Bonissimo! 

 

When the meeting was over, I transferred to the resort where Nicole and the kids would join me for a long weekend. I have been travelling so much that this really would be a great chance to relax and spend some time together!

Lego sorted

Well, we did it....it took over a week to do, but the boys and I have been sorting out LEGO! 

We have so much Lego, and the boys want to make the helicopters and trains etc...but always have trouble finding the little specialty pieces in an enormous box. Then it is up to Phil or I to help find the tiniest piece. There had to be an easier way! So off to Ikea to buy some storage units, and Cameron helped assemble the units after school. He liked to hammer the dowel pieces in, and help with the screws. 

Tonight we will label the boxes, and all will be perfect in the world, just like my tupperware! 

Maybe I need to get out more! all sorted by colour. It looks much better, but I think we need one more unit, back to Ikea next week!

Spring = Bikes and ice-cream

When not away travelling, I have been getting home early and taking the boys out bike-riding after school (and on the weekends, too). 

We plan our course together. The more exotic the better, particularly if we can find a forest track to belt along. 

There is only one prerequisitew; we must stop at one of the local ice-cream shops on the way home!

Alexander is fairly accomplished and can handle his bike on most normal terrain now. Cameron has learned really well, and after a scare last weekend (had to pluck him off his bike as he raced by down a hill out of control) he is finally understanding the need for braking. He has since been more cautious, and is now getting the idea of using the brakes to stop (rather than running into expensive cars, for example!).

Cameron likes to push the boundaries, and has come up with a few beauties like "Look, I can ride with my eyes closed". You have your heart in your mouth enough as they get the hang of riding a bike, but this added 'excitement' is not really necessary. 

We have lots of fun, and it is great for us to get out into the nice weather and spend lots of time together.

Phil, and Berliner bike riders

On our 'learn to ride adventures', we make use of the fantastic bike paths around Berlin. 

The only problem with them is the small number of Berliners who don't understand that kids, especially ones learning to ride, are wobbly and slow. 

General description:  Old male moustached Berliner on a women's style bike, often in bike shorts.

Attitude: I will not ride around you (even when invited politely to do so). I will give you a mouth-full and ride right behind you complaining until you move off the bikepath entirely.  Note, the bike-path is 1 metre wide, continuous with the footpath that is another 2 or 3 metres wide. 

All other 'normal' bike riders understand and go around. 

Number of times seen: 3 (twice with my boys, and once when riding with a friend, whose son was also just learning tp ride his bike.)  If it was just me, I wouldn't really care. But to sit right up my tail when I am trying to shepherd the kids makes me see red. 

Benefit: It provides me with an opportunity to enter into a robust discussion with a Berliner in German, particularly using many new colourful words and phrases I have learned from colleagues in the office. 

I simply cannot understand this attitude, and the inability to simply go around. But then again, I don't fit their general description (which I am quite happy about). One of the joys of an international placement, interacting with the locals.

World Cup Fever

The World Cup is fast approaching, and Berlin is really getting into shape. 

There has been lots of road construction. They have added a new entrance to our local U-bahn station (including lift - but it is only on one side of the railway, so you can go, but not come back again if you are in a wheelchair??). Some of the announcements on the trains and stations are now in English. .The Fernsehturm in Alexanderplatz has been painted as a soccerball.   

I managed to buy an Australian World Cup jersey! Nothing in kids sizes, but they were happy with caps and lanyards. 

I expect to go to three of the games in Berlin, and have been invited to a 'party' to celebrate the final. If the atmosphere is anything like the 'buzz' that descended on Sydney during the Olympics, then it will be a fantastic few weeks to be in Berlin. 

The boys' school has a charity competition and we have put in a bid for the Australian team (with a couple of teachers who lived there at some stage). The bidding for Germany and England is ferocious. I may also bid for Iran, as I can't see too much action for them in the current climate.

 

So, even though the Socceroos will only appear in Berlin if they make the final, we will be cheering them on. 

Phil in Cairo

I flew out on Sunday to Cairo. It was my third visit, and each time I find the city fascinating, really vibrant and I always enjoy outstanding hospitality from my hosts. 

 

Third visit and third time to the Pyramids! 

The first time was a visit with a tour guide (a professor of Egyptology), the second was dinner in the desert, and this time I went to the 'sound and light' show. Using lighting and lasers, they tell the history of the pyramids and the Sphinx. The lighting makes the Sphinx appear to be narrating. Very loud commentary, and very '60's.

We then had a seafood dinner in a restaurant nearby. When the lights were on, the pyramids looked so close you could touch them. 

Work went well, but at some point I let my guard down and ate something I shouldn't have. I came home with a dose of 'spruhwurst' [ a German slang term for 'spraying sausage' - that is diarrhoea]. It first hit me in a shop. I asked for their toilet and raced against the clock up the stairs, through the back of the store and found the toilet.  Ahh relief. Only then did I notice NO DUNNY PAPER! After that explosion, it was really needed. Big problem! This is why I don't travel anywhere without a pack of 'babywipes' in my bag. I can't think what I would have done without them (maybe bought a few ties I would never wear...??)

 

Tough weekend to follow, but lesson learned. DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN with the food.

After 18 months of travelling to the most exotic (and dirty) places, I have never had a dose.. until now. . I have one week in Berlin before I head off again. Hopefully my innards will be back to normal!

Spring in Berlin

Spring in Berlin is colorful. In a matter of weeks from the snow melting the bulbs that have been hiding  underneath grow and bloom. 

This is a garden in an apartment block I pass often close to home.

They have the most immaculate garden, and it always looks gorgeous. The fountain is a series of fish on top of each other, and spurt water from their mouths. All the tulips out at the moment. I love the colours, and the grass is so green!

What's for Dinner?

The school runs all sorts of different clubs over lunchtime breaks and after school. The lunchtime clubs are ideal when it is Winter, and too cold to play outside. In summer lots of sport activities outside and other clubs. 

Since we have been here, the boys have been involved in storytime, cricket, football (soccer), playground games, board games and others I cannot think of at the moment. This term they are both in cooking club. 

Last week they made a pasta dish, and we decided to make it together last night! YUM 

Here is the recipe for anyone interested....it is a nice quick meal to make, and really delicious. Next time, I think I will chop up some sun dried tomatoes as well! 

Salmon Pasta 

500 grams pasta (dried, not fresh) spaghetti, spirals, penne, any really 

water to boil pasta  and pinch of salt.

1 tablespoon butter 

1 onion, finely chopped 

1/2 cup pouring cream 

150 grams smoked salmon, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste 

fresh parsley, finely chopped 

fresh Parmesan cheese(optional) 

Boil water, add salt and cook pasta "al dente" 

While pasta is cooking, fry onion in butter until onion is transparent, not browned.

 

Add cream &  salmon and salt and pepper to taste 

Drain pasta, and add to mixture along with parsley 

Serves 4 people top with cheese (optional)... 

Yummy with Herb or Garlic bread!!

Well done boys!!! :)

Phil having Fun? in Istanbul

Who said international business travel was glamorous, or fun?? 

I spent three days in Istanbul, and it went something like this: 

Flight delayed because of security. 

Arrived in Istanbul and was run into by a taxi (good thing I bounce!) 

Took a one hour taxi ride to the hotel. 

The taxi driver would fail his licence in Tehran or Cairo, he was that bad. He was very caring and offered us all a cigarette before he lit up himself! 

Got to the hotel and felt nauseous for the next two hours. 

Dinner was fine. I found a great restaurant and enjoyed really good local cuisine. We were told to go by taxi, which took 20 minutes and cost 7 Euros. We later found out it should have cost about 3, and we walked back to the hotel in less than half the time. 

Then, in a 'taste of home', I discovered a Gloria Jeans Coffee shop. I ordered a large caramel latte, to remind me of Sydney. I emailed Nicole about GJ's, and I think she was green with envy as this was where she 'hung out' with her girlfriends in Sydney. 

The second day, I lost a button off my shirt about 5 minutes before an appointment (found a sewing kit for running repairs), then I lost one off my trousers (not through putting on too much weight, mind you!), then my belt buckle broke. I managed running repairs as required. 

That evening we caught a bus from the hotel to dinner. It took the bus 40 minutes to go the same distance I had walked that morning in 15 minutes! The bus took us to the Bosporous, where we had a boat cruise to the dinner venue. 

At dinner I had red wine spilt over me by a colleague.  This was just before I found out that the two most important guests didn't arrive because the organisers had not sent a car for them! Big apologies were now called for (I had walked to their hotel earlier and personally delivered invitations) 

The flight home was packed. The people directly behind me on the first leg spent most of the flight complaining about the bad service (poor air hosties were going flat out!).

There was a screaming infant on the second flight. If the child had a cold or something, it would have been no fun at all with blocked ears. As it was, it was little fun for the rest of us. 

Arrived home at 11.00pm. 

One day with the family then off to Cairo on Sunday. Hopefully I have a somewhat 'luckier' experience there.

Show bag.

Looks like an Easter show bag! It came in a very cute Pumpkin Patch carry bag , including some apricot curry chicken mixes and a couple of magazines. 

Sarah has been back to Australia and brought us back some goodies...(and a few weeks ago Paul got us some Violet Crumbles). I left them on the bench. When the boys came home from school they were beside themselves when they saw everything. They both decided that they would have 1 of each, as they couldn't decide which one to chose! mmm. I don't think so! 

Thanks Sarah, you are a life saver! 

We will return the favour when it is our turn, start writing your list!

Spring has sprung.

6 weeks ago we had a garden full of snow and looked like this!

In 3 weeks the leaves have grown so quickly on the trees and shrubs.

The change of seasons in Europe is amazing. I love seeing how quick the leaves grow, and it is lovely to see lots of daffodils and tulips growing in the gardens.

I am not a big fan of gnomes, (there is a little known fact about me). 

These 2 in our garden are hilarious....about 2-3 feet tall. 

There is the hunter, and then a gnome with a deer.  I wonder if the hunter is waiting for that gnome to move so he can pop that deer?

Tierpark Zoo

1st May is a public holiday here...celebrating the "workers"...it's a Northern Hemisphere thing, epople here are amazed we do not celebrate it in Australia.  An extra day off to spend with the family, so we are not complaining! 

We took the kids to the Tierpark Zoo, over in the old "East" Berlin.  The zoo was built on the former grounds of the Friedrichsfelde Palace. the palace and gardens were taken over by the GDR. It was decided to use the grounds for all the people. The castle still exists in the middle. 

It is quite a large zoo, and a good collection of animals. Here are the kids in front of the kangaroo statue (although there were no kangaroos in the zoo...only wallabies), and a photo of the new baby elephant, only 1 month old! Very cute!, but hard to get a photo of, he didn't stand still for very long! 

We have been in Berlin for over a year now, and still are not used to the locals taking their dogs (and some of them are very large dogs!) into the local shopping centres, department stores, cafes etc....well today was the icing on the cake. You are allowed to bring your dog into the zoo! I have never seen anything like it. People took their dogs into the "big cat" hall. You should have seen these pumas, lions, tigers, panthers etc react to the dogs. The dogs probably look like a great afternoon snack! Amusing to say the least.