Day 21 to the very very END

Obviously I will never be a blogger who earns a living from blogging.  I cannot seem to keep up with the daily - or weekly - requirements of blogging.  What to blame    1) Werner 2) the laundry 3)  laziness 4) whatever 5) all of the above.  Well. You get what you pay for.

So, here's the summary of The End of the Summer 2011 Visit.  We last saw each other grilling and watching Women's FIFA......

The next day, not much.  I had a last lesson with the Monday English group so we cleaned and organized and kinda had a day off.

Tuesday it was off to Affinghausen and another Family Visit and another Grill Out.  We have been grilled out as far as I am concerned!!  The boys kicked a lot of football, Werner and I took Hannah on a bike tour, we all watched Fußball again and, well, ate well and played well.

Wednesday!  Clean up!  Get ready for Mom!  OH NO!  Wrong day.  She's coming on Thursday! That's a bummer.

But she arrives in great shape and the kids are ecstatic and  all's right with world (except they had to wait to get home and be with Dad and Riley to make it ALL right!)  In the meantime, there's places to go and people to see.

The Best Laid Plans got all rearranged because of weather and my miscalculation on arrival.  Friday, it was off to Hamburg, check out the Michael, the harbor and the Minature Wonderland.

But first we ran across a stone shop/museum that was definitely worth the time to check out.  Geodes TONS heavy, beautiful polished slabs of petrified wood, amazing stones in breathtaking colors and shapes.

At the Michael, after looking at the sumptuous interior and hearing just a hint of what the organ can do, we climbed the tower for a view of Hamburg.  Though the sun was out, it was windy and right chilly on the top!

Then to the harbor, a bite to eat (fish patties, Bratwurst, BIER) we got on the tour boat to go around the harbor.  The huge container ships were huge and the myriad canals so pretty with more bridges than Venice, according to the captain.

And finally the Minature Wonderland, the dream of two brothers to make a really really really big minature train set up.  They did.  Switzerland greeted us with Alps and villages and waterfalls and of course trains going through it all. We had barely got through the gate when Hunter said Mom!  You gotta see this! There was way too much to see, but lots of fun looking.  There were always little surprises, like the hundreds of naked skiers and the burglars tunneling into the bank vault and the dinosaurs chasing the hunter. The detail was amazing and after a while just a bit numbing.....

We closed the book on Hamburg at 630 and headed back to Bremen for a dinner at the local Greek restaurant.  Great day!

Saturday was of course Market Day which was its usual fun.  But the weather was not and we sorta hung around and then took the bikes out for a run and ended up at the local antique/old stuff shop.  The kids totally forgot that they were hungry and we poked around and looked and gaped and took pictures of each other for a couple of hours. Food and cooking and the day was quickly done!

Sunday was supposed to be Go Walk the Watt Day.  NOT!  Cold wind and lots of gray cloudy skies, but we opted for the ride anyway and were shocked! shocked! when we got to Wremen and there was no Watt - just lots of water!  We'd never seen so much water there!  We bravely walked a bit, stood in shelter of the little lighthouse, had some fish patties (!) and Bratwurst (!) and BIER (!) and decided we'd done our duty to the Watt.  A side trip to Bremerhaven harbor rounded out the day. The wool cap Hannah bought came in handy - it has not been very summery.

Monday - Rowing Day!  No choice here.  This date had been set about 4 months ago with the Monday night English group.  Rain or shine, off we go. And rain actually fell as we were leaving the house, but never really took hold.  Michelle was a bit impressed by the boat, the procedure, the music.  Without our dear Margot who died earlier this year, it was not the same for our English group, but it was still a fun afternoon.

Tuesday, last day.  A trip to town for last  minute shopping, a quick look for Michelle at some familiar sites from the last visit 5 years ago, and a short visit to see Ulli, minus Ilsemarie who had a conference.

And it was over.  That fast.  The picture tells the story but there are always stories behind the stories and I hope there are lots of good memories to keep and relive.

Day 18 - 19 - 20

Good grief!  Where does the time go!

Saturday was Peggy-Felina-Julika-Wolfgang Day.  But it was Saturday, so it was market day too.  Don't want to starve.  Werner and Hunter stayed busy reassembling the bike carrier for the car while Hannah and I took care of all the marketing.  But quickly,  since these kids seem to be first cousins to Rip van Winkle and sleep until market time is practically over.

The weather continued iffy - not so warm, lots of clouds, threatening rain.  But we got on the road, bikes on top, and arrived to warm hellos.

But it's got a bit awkward - the kids are all older and a bit less inclined to just run around and jump on the trampoline and use hand signs to try and communicate.  We biked to the Melk Hus - a nice 30 minute ride from the house - and had a refreshing milk drink while Hunter and Felina's new friend kicked the soccer ball around.

Back at the house, our hosts got a lesson in how to play "31" and kept themselves occupied while the older folks got the food together.

It turned into an early evening since we were having problems with the headlights on the car (fuses? bulbs?  age?  We don't know yet!) but really after so many late nights and so much travel, it was good for us all.  The kids balked when I said "no story" but we had finished Football Hero on the way to Peggy's and starting another was no where to be found on my list.  SO FUNNY (and sweet) how they still want to be read to !!  Part of the tradition of being in Our Germany......

Sunday we had an early brunch (Noon, please!) since the RvWs still needed sleep and then we went on a bike ride since the weather has taken a turn!  Sunshine!  Warm!

A short tour in our area led us to the little Blacksmith Museum where Hannah was totally b o r e d but Hunter found interesting - maybe in part because he got a souvenir used horseshoe for free.  Good luck we can all use!  After they tried to lose me (I have to admit I am a bit slow, but they are also a bit not-too-much-looking-to-see-if-I'm-there) we found our way through the park where the kids had to go and pose on the over-sized stone chair we discovered the first year they were here!
 

The chair seems to be getting smaller ........

Then further down the road and over the rails and back into Vegesack where we indulged in ice cream.  We only do that once or twice a day. 


THEN to Gerd and Renate's for a cookout.  BUT - it was Frauenfußball - Women's Soccer!  Germany v. Canada - we started watching here and finished there and between ate some food.

We don't want to starve, you know.

Days Flying Fast!

We haven't really lost track of the days, but after five days away from home, it takes a while to catch up.

Of course it was fun in the Harz!  We left Monday and stopped along the way in Goslar where the German Kings of the Holy Roman Empire had their major castle.  There's lots of slate and stone, practical and decorative, and lucky for us some relatively good weather.

Our hotel in Quedlinburg was as usual just charming.  The house was built by a "city farmer" in the mid-1600s and now has an assortment of hotel rooms and apartments along with a restaurant and Biergarten.  We do love a Biergarten.

Tuesday it was up the Brocken, the highest mountain in North Germany but of course pretty puny by The Alps' standards.  But it's a good walk and certainly steep enough to wind me and make us all sweat even though it was never over 65°.  The woods are home to witches and devils and trains and mountain bikers.  There's a clear view from the top only 60 days a year (!!) and we were lucky to get one of them.

The next day we stopped at an Antique shop we'd seen the day before and all of us came away with treasures - Hannah with cameras, Hunter with walking sticks, me with linens (what else?) and Werner with a double chopping blade.  Along the way to the Witch's Dancing Place, we stopped at the Devil's Wall.  Lots of danger around here from evil forces, it seems.  The myth of this geological oddity is that the Devil made a pact with God that he could have all the land he could wall in before the cock crowed, but the cock crowed much earlier than normal, before the Devil was finished.  He was so mad he knocked down part of the wall he'd built - and left the rest for us to marvel at.  It was the most impressive part of the trip for me.

We took the gondola to one peak and the chair lift to the other and between the kids rode on a bob-run - individual cars where they controlled the brakes.  Fun!!

Day three was spent in Quedlinburg, visiting the castle, convent church and seeing the treasury there.  An American officer had "saved" most of these medieval treasures by secretly transporting them back home to Texas after WWII.  When he died, the heirs gave them back to their rightful owners for a 3 million handling fee.   There were jewel-encrusted bibles and psalters, relics of Heinrich I, the first German king and decorated manuscripts.

So long, Quedlinburg!  On the way back to Bremen we walked UP yet another mount to look at the castle in Wernigerode, another of the seats of the German kings.  They had 90, so we could have visited a lot more, but you take castles when you can get them.

Back home again ....

Day 10 - Day 11 Saturday/Sunday Twofer

 Saturday

We are getting lazy.  Get up late.  Eat in shifts.  Make jam, first batch.  Go to market.  Go to recycling. Go to find Lord of the Rings Part III at the library.  Finish dress.  Make second batch of jam.  Oh, maybe we are not so lazy after all!!

Finally, after dinner of pastas and homemade pesto, watch Part III of the Lord of the Rings.  We insisted on doing it together though Werner and I had only sporadically watched the first two parts.  (We've seen it all before though it's been a while, and I've read them all though it's been a really long while!) What a marathon!  We were exhausted by the end and then when we got to the almost end, Werner hit the wrong button on the zapper and we had to find where we were and finally end this Quest!!!!  Hannah declared the ending dumb and we were torn on its meaning.  I was not torn however on discussing it the following morning.  Good grief:  1AM!

Sunday

Woke up Hannah at 11 and after her shower, Hunter.  "Breakfast" at 11:45.  Well, we needed our rest.

The day was rainy and downright coooool, so the plans to take the train with bikes to visit Werner's mom were scrapped in favor of car and warm dry clothes.  We stopped at  the hotel to pick up cake and took her a jar of the new jam.

It's pleasant and reassuring to repeat certain things, and one is the repeat visits to family.  They had more questions for Mutti this year and there was more back and forth.  We all enjoyed it.

On the way back we tried to take a walk along the Ochtum, a river that feeds into the Weser where we'll row on July 4, but 5 minutes was about all we could take in the wind and the chill!

Then it was Father's Day greetings to Joey followed by a quick walk to the harbor - the water was high and threatening to roll over the dike.  It didn't , but almost.

 

Then dinner - chicken fricassee with rice and green beans.  And strawberries.  Another first with the fricassee and I guess it went OK since they ate it all and asked for seconds.

Now we're packed, the blueberry cake is made and all is ready for tomorrow's trip.  See you in four days!

Day 9 - Sewing and Strawberries

The fabric we brought from Panama City has been giving Hannah an itch so we had to scratch it.  The boys went to take plastic and paper to the Recycling Center and do some heavy shopping (water, drinks, sugar) adn Hannah and I got down to sewing.  It took several fittings and several changes of mind about where waist and hem would be, but it is almost done.  The second one will be faster, maybe.

But then it was lunch time and time to get ready for dinner.  Good grief.  Our life is eating.  Last night Hannah asked, after the story:

I have three questions, Meemaw.  One, what's for breakfast.  Two, what's for lunch. Three, what's for dinner.

So we pounded the chicken and waltzed it through its various coatings, set the table and got the beans and potatoes ready.  

And then it was time for - strawberry picking!

When Alica got home from school and had walked the dogs, Werner took the three by bike to the Strawberry Fields. Containers in hand, they searched and searched and found and found!  Strawberries got gobbled as soon as they were washed and Hunter declared that there was nothing fresher than these strawberries and they were GOOD.  In fact, they didn't even want sugar on them at dinner.  How's that for sweet?

They were delighted to meet Nickolet and the food quickly disappeared off the table - I even accused Nickolet of having a hollow leg just like H+H !   Then while Werner whipped the cream for the chocolate ice box pie, we played "I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with ..."  We do it most nights, and it was fun to have a new player, though Nickolet's British English had her at a disadvantage on some of the rhymes!

Hey, another fun day!

Day 8 - Pasta

It's an "off" day today - sleep in and have a nice lunch on the terrace.  But then the rain came!  Good thing we were "off" !

Later I had a special retirement "Kaffee und Kuchen" with my English teachers - our last meeting together.  Next year it will be another configuration. 

But there's always at least one activity with H+H and today it was dinner - Pasta from scratch.

First the dough:

then make the filling:

chop up the herbs:

then through the machine:

Here's the ravioli ready to go:

H+H had a  lot of fun with this!  We did strips for the ricotta cheese filling that Hannah made and trimmed them all by hand.  I think a little form would be in order next time.  They made noodles with the leftovers.

Sauce?  This is one night we did do up a bit more restaurant-ish - everyone got to choose their own sauce:  tomato sauce for Hannah, sage/butter sauce for Meemaw, Alfredo for Hunter and Bärlauch pesto for Werner.

Conclusion:  Lots of fun to make !  Tastes good, too !   We ate it all, but next time we'll make the pasta a bit thinner.

Day 7 - Boats and Bikes

We live on a river, and of course there are lots of boats that ply the waters - huge container ships, barges carrying coal or grain, pleasure boats and ferries that go across the river or up and down.  All in all, a busy place.

Wednesday - a week already! - we opted for a down-the-river boat ride to Brake and planned to bike back as far as we felt like biking.  Always take it by ear.  Or seat.

This was the earliest we'd got up and out since the kids got here (except for the aberrant morning Hunter woke up at 6, took a shower, and sat watching a movie till the rest of us appeared).  Good grief, on the bikes and at the dock at 9:30!

The Oceana showed up right on time and we loaded up for the hour plus ride to Brake.  The weather was perfect - dry, just warm enough, and a few white clouds.  Hunter's become attached to Werner's sweatshirt since Day 2 even though Hunter's shampoo-soaked one has been ready to use again since then.  I'll have to remember to get it back before he packs to leave!

Brake of course has lots of maritime history and the first evidence of it was the HUGE anchor at the harbor.  Attempting to move it proved futile.

I'd read about the Maritime Museum but didn't really have much hope of a visit, but they happened to have a Technical Art exhibit - mechanical devices done as art - that interested the kids.  (Once again, no pictures allowed!)  But it was great fun to look at the weird and wonderful devices he'd dreamed up, including a Bremen Town Musicians "sculpture" that moved and wiggled.  Of course, we looked at the Maritime exhibit too and in the museum shop, they found ship whistles and key rings to buy.

Finally, off on the bikes!  Thoughts of getting to Elsfleth for lunch were a dream - we only got about 7K down the road before the hunger monster grabbed the kids and we were lucky to find a little restaurant along the river - chicken nuggets, Bratwurst, fries.  Perfect.

Then on up the river along the dikes, more sheep, more charming houses, more fields of daisies and poppies and buttercups.

The path crossing another river was an extension of the railroad trestle.  NARROW.  Hunter was really disappointed that a train didn't rumble pass when we were on the bridge.  I was definitely NOT disappointed!

Last year, Kenley, H+H had a fun time at a little playground at a camping place and H+H wanted to visit it again.  No problem - it was on the way.

Then negotiations.  Take the train back or bike?  The timing was a little off.  We had just missed the train from Farge and the next would be 30 minutes later which was about the time it would take to get home by bike.  So about 30K and 7 hours later, we arrived home.  Quite a day!!