Corban got some glasses from McDonalds, it made it very hard to concentrate on our game of battle ships. Man bag vs handbag, yep Leo likes to carry his cars and dinosaurs with Corban's little black bag. Very practical of him!
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
School Ski Trip
My most favourite school trip, which has now also become Allan's favourite school trip as well! The weather was perfect and Allan and I both had nice groups of kids that were good at skiing. This year I skied for two days with the older children and Allan skied for 1 day with the younger kids. Unfortunately no photo of Allan on the slopes, just one on the bus heading back to school.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Book Group
For the past two years I have been attending a book group once a month where we have read and discussed some fantastic and not so good books.
Each month we take turns hosting, this month Helena (cut off face on right) showed us how to cook traditional Swedish food. We cooked our meats and vegetable on the hot plate while our cheese melted below. Everything is put in a bowl with potato and bread, the melted cheese is then poured over the top; it's delicious and fun to make.
Can't wait to borrow the hotplate and have a go with Allan and the kids.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Climbing Door Frames
All kids love climbing door frames.
Some climb them like this.
And others climb them like ... Spiderman!
Saturday, February 21, 2015
BMW Factory & Krone Circus
A trip to the BMW factory and museum were a
must do while in Munich. We had an early
morning start at the BMW factory joining the first tour of the day. The tour began with a short movie about BMW
before heading into the factory.
The factory was amazing; it produces 950
BMW’s per day to order! Each stage of
the production is fascinating; we saw the tools/moulds used to create the body
of the cars, assembling the 3 layers of the body, painting, seats being made,
electronics being fitted, motors and the final assembly.
There were thousands of robots and the
accuracy of the robots was astounding for example they place parts with a
0.04mm accuracy/tolerance. Alongside the
robots there are 7500 staff working in the factory. The precision, detail and order of the
factory is outstanding.
We were not allowed to take photo’s or video,
in fact you are not even allowed your mobile phone and there is video
surveillance everywhere to make sure you are doing the right thing.
After some lunch we headed across the road to
the BMW museum. The museum holds 400
BMW’s from it’s just over 90 year old collection.
Another place we visited while in Munich was
the Krone Circus. The Krone Circus is 4
generations old and is probably the best circus we have been to. Once again no photos allowed, we took a
couple before the actual circus started.
The circus had lots of amazing acts like
trapeze artists, balancing acts, clowns, Asian dancers/strongmen/gymnastic type
routines, horses and dogs. They are also
famous for their lion show. The lion
tamer had 24 lions and tigers, we felt a bit sorry for them although most of
them had been born at the circus and hand reared by the tamer.
The weather has warmed up as the week has
gone by, once again we have enjoyed another holiday and home exchange. Off to Switzerland in 5 weeks!
Friday, February 20, 2015
Neuschwanstein Castle
A day trip to Neuschwanstein was a must do on
our visit to Munich. The drive through
the countryside and mountains was absolutely stunning. The castle itself is nestled in the mountains
over looking a small village, Hohenschwangau castle and lake Alpsee. Before heading to the castle we walked on the
frozen lake and around the village.
Neuschwanstein Castle is a relatively new
castle in Europe built in the 19th century, King Lugwig II of
Bavaria built the castle with his own fortune and personal borrowing. Only 1/3 of the castle was completed due to
the death of the king and was opened for public viewing only 6 weeks after his
death.
The castle was the inspiration for Walt
Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty Castle’ and has been in many movies. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take
photos on the inside; it was beautifully decorated. Corban liked the throne
room and Leo liked the Kings bedroom.
One of the rooms had over 100 swans carved or painted; it even had swan
door handles because swans were the kings favourite animal. In English Neuschwanstein means New Swanstone
Castle.
We finished our day with a play in the snow
and a walk up the road to take a photo of a white chapel in the snow.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Taylor's Visit to Japan!
Taylor is having an adventure of her own, her first trip to Japan!
It started off a little crazy with her flight from Osaka to Sapporo being canceled due to bad weather, but luckily Todd had also been delayed even though he few in the day before her so he was still in Osaka and they were able to meet at the airport. Due to the schedule of the flights he had to leave before Tay, but she meet an American family who she traveled the rest of the way with.
Once in Sapporo, her and Todd made their way to Niseko where they are staying. There is lots of snow and Taylor is enjoying skiing every day. She's having a great time, but I still can't wait to pick her up from the airport on Saturday!
Munich Home Exchange and Munich City
Munich City and Home Exchange
Another holiday and another home
exchange! This time we have exchanged
with a family from Munich. Our apartment
is funky, modern and in the center of Pasing, a 1-minute walk to the train
station.
We have arrived during the festival
‘Fashing’. This festival involves
dressing up from the young to the old, enjoying music and dancing. ‘Fashing’ is a celebration before Ash
Wednesday and Lent when people start fasting before Easter, so there is also
lots of food.
To learn about the city of Munich we began
with a walking tour of the city, our tour guide was from Dunedin so we
understood his accent without any problems.
Our tour began at New Town Hall where we
watched the 11am Rathaus-Glockenspiel which was finished in 1908. The Glockenspiel re-enacts two stories from
the 16th century with 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the
marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famousHofbräuhaus) to Renata of Lorraine. In honour of the happy couple there is a joust with
life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white).
The Bavarian knightwins every time, of course.
This is then followed
by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflertanz (the coopers' dance). According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in
Munich. The coopers are said to have danced through the streets to "bring
fresh vitality to fearful dispositions." The coopers remained loyal to the
duke, and their dance came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to authority
through difficult times. By tradition, the dance is performed in Munich every
seven years. This was described in 1700 as "an age-old custom", but
the current dance was defined only in 1871. The dance can be seen during Fasching (German Carnival): the next one is in 2019.
Our tour also took us
to Our Church of Our Lady Munich ‘Frauenkirche’, which has a legend about the
devil helping to build the church. The
legend says he even left a footprint when he stamped his foot because the
builder of the cathedral had outwitted him.
We also stopped by the National Theater,
learned about the King Lugwig II and the origins of Oktoberfest, Hitlers beer
hall, visited the royal residence, Church of St Peter and the Hofbrauhaus beer
house.
Not so many photo’s today because it was so
cold, but still a full and fun day out in Munich.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Burns Night 2015
Burns Night is a fundraising evening that Riverside School hosts, it is a Scottish evening with poetry reading, singing, speeches, piping, raffles, auctions and cèilidh music and dancing.
Eating haggis is mandatory along with Scottish whisky! Allan and I enjoyed that haggis and skipped the whisky (not very Scottish of me) but I did get a photo for mum and nana. I also got a fun photo with my boss and some other Scott's from school, Graeme is actually from the same area as my nana!
Allan and I enjoyed the dancing even though we weren't that good. It was a great evening and the money raised went to a little disabled girl that our school supports, the local hospital and also our friend Jiri who's wife died in child birth at the end of last year. A great evening and 124,000kc raised!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Last Days Before Departing :-(
As the count down to Lisa and the kids leaving we ticked off the last minute shopping, a trip up Petrin tower to look at the view of Prague, a play at the mirror maze and a walk past the monument for those who lived through communism.
Taylor brought home sparklers for the little kids to play with. Corban, Leo and Riley had taken to sleeping in a tent in the lounge. It was a great 3 weeks! We'll miss Riley and Liam and the fun that cousins have. It's been great catching up with Lisa and spending so much time with her ... it's been years since we've just been sisters together!
Monday, February 2, 2015
Kutna Hora and Ice Hockey
I guess a trip to Europe isn't complete without seeing something a little unusual, so a day trip to Kutna Hora it was!
The weather wasn't great but we jumped in the car and headed to Kutna Hora, we've now been about 4-5 times so Lisa and the kids did the Bone Church and Gothic Cathedral on their own. We wondered through the little streets while Allan went to get the car because it was freezing cold and raining.
On our way home we stopped at one of Allan's favourite places 'Fashion Arena', nothing like a little outside shopping to really chill ourselves to the bones (ha ha ha)!
Because the boys endured ballet we thought we should even out the playing field participating in another Czech tradition by going to Ice Hockey. Little did I know, that I LOVE Ice Hockey. The whole experience was entertaining from the lighting, mascots, dancing, drumming and singing supporters, music and of course the hockey. We couldn't figure out all the rules but it was such a great game to watch! It's fast, it's rough, family friendly and great entertainment. We'll definitely be back.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
New Years Day and Vysehrad
More Images
The best thing about New Years Day in Prague are the family fireworks, but we needed to fill in the day before they started.
We headed off to Vysehrad to look at the Cathedral and fortress. Allan got some nice photos of the boats on the Vltava and everyone enjoyed the view. It's not as pretty at Vysehrad in the winter, but it was still a nice walk and outing.
After Vysehrad we stopped at a Czech restaurant that has an inside playground. Our meals took a little longer than expected so we were literally on the run to see the fireworks which we just made in time. Riley is a bit afraid of fireworks, she did well and the other kids loved them.
The photo of the drink is a 'hot apple', this is my new favourite winter drink. It is hot apple with a cinnamon stick and sultanas ... sounds unusual, but it's YUMMY!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
New Years Eve
We were back in Prague for New Years Eve. There wasn't as much snow in Prague as there was in Poland, just enough for a snowy/muddy slide on the hill down to Leo's school. We met the Britton's there and the kids had a great time sledding and having a snow ball fight. Liam absolutely loved sledding and Allan managed to swallow some yellow snow, that he gaged up ;-) Before it got dark the kids also managed to make a snowman in the back garden.
We took Lisa to a Czech restaurant called Restaurace Uveverky just up the road, it serves the freshest beer in Prague. It's quiet a challenge to drink such a huge glass of beer!
After putting the kids to bed we headed into the city to see in the New Year. We took a stroll through Old Town and ended up in Mustek where we had cake and coffee before the fireworks started. Lisa was in complete shock at the armed police and crazy fireworks. Prague on New Years is certainly not something you can imagine!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Krakow
Krakow, Poland was absolutely FREEZING! We decided to go to Auschwitz concentration camp first and save the more uplifting destinations for the following days. Everyone rugged up as warm as possible for our tour of the camp because it was -12. There are not many photos of our visit for two reasons, it was to cold to take our gloves off and we just felt that it was about taking in what had happened there and respecting those who perished there.
Like always, when I learn about horrific historic events I am left with many questions about humanity and how in the 21st century we still have cultures and religions seeking to destroy others. Auschwitz was a place of fear and terror, a place that was designed for killing! The thing that struck me most is how we would usually associate Auschwitz with Nazis, however it took engineers, architects, builders, doctors, lawyers, bankers ... to make the place run like a well oiled machine. Well educated people with free choice choose to design and create a death camp. Every detail of how the camp functioned was well thought out and planned for, down to using human hair as a resource. I had mentally prepared for our tour of Auschwitz, but didn't find it to bad. I think this was because it didn't have as many photos like in Terezin (Czech concentration camp).
Our trip to Krakow was not all doom and gloom, the following day we visited the Salt Mines. Because we were 135m below the ground with a constant temperature of 15 degrees we all felt warmed up and enjoyed being underground. Everyone had a lick of the walls especially Corban who loves salt and we all enjoyed the tour of the different chambers and chapels. The tour only touched on a small percentage of the mine and it felt massive, with over 300km of galleries it would be great to just explore!
Visiting Krakow Old Town was our agenda for our final day. The kids had been itching to play in the snow for a couple of days so everyone fell for the temptation before we began having a look around. There were plenty of squeals and screams as we pelted each other with snowball and the kids enjoyed making snow angels. We walked though the city centre where they were setting up for New Years Eve, found some markets were Leo let off some steam (video with the photos), peeked into the cathedral and walked up to the palace. Silly me didn't take my snow boots and after a few hours my toes were so sore we headed back to the car to defrost and head home.
A short but great stay in Krakow!
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Dresden
After having a few days at home over Christmas we were off on our next adventure, this time to Krakow Poland via Dresden. It was the long way, but we figured getting in another country was worth the drive.
Unfortunately we arrived in Dresden one day late for the Christmas markets. We were hoping to see the German markets because they sell different food, wooden toys and other interesting bits and pieces however they were packing up the morning we arrived.
Instead we walked through old market square, saw the Procession of Princes, the Frauenkirche Cathedral and walked along the river. We planned to go to the Green Vault but we were all absolutely freezing and the day was getting on so decided to skip the Green Vault and make our way to Krakow before it got to late.
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