Mastihari Beach Sunset

We took a small break from the sun in the late afternoon and did our best to remove the suntan lotion and sand from the beach before we left  for a sunset dinner on Mastihari Beach.  

We walked the boardwalk down to a small restaurant on the beach. Here we found a beachside table with a fantastic view while we dined.  They did not have what we wanted to order from the menu beacause it was still low tourist season, but they created a Greek sampler for us to replace it with and we were not disappointed by the substitutions. The house wine accompanied with our meal was superb and the girls enjoyed their lamb dinner while we watched the sunset. 

The local cats began to gather around us when our food was served and one even jumped up on Eric's chair while he was away taking a few sunset pictures. 

Before the sun completely disappeared, we pretended to try and catch it by running straight to the water's edge to catch one last glimpse before it was gone. It was an excellent ending to our vacation day.

Paradise Beach

This morning was our first day with the rental vehicle. The girls were excited when they saw there was no roof. They had a fun time riding in the open air. The view was stunning as we approached  Paradise Beach. 

We picked out our beach chairs seaside and unpacked our bags for another beach day. The water was clear, warm, and shallow for a long way out, so the girls had a huge area to swim in. The small catering truck at the edge of the parking area provided some good beach background noise as they played Greek music during the day. We also took a stroll over to the cove's edge. The water was beautiful shades of blue here. Emmie was brave climbing around on the rocks and then Adeline decided she would join in. The beautiful water, fine sand, and gorgeous scenery definitely created paradise beach for our family.

Nisyros

Our morning started with a ferry ride to the small island of Nisyros. It is a picturesque island with an active volcano. Our rental car was waiting for us when we disembarked the ferry, so away we went in search of the volcano. 

While traveling on the narrow road upwards, we saw some beautiful sights over the Aegean Sea. We finally reached the top and then wound our way down towards the crater. The girls picked up the scent of the sulfur real quick as they thought the smell of the rotten eggs was disgusting as we got closer. We parked the car and hiked down to the crater.

 It was very interesting to watch the steam come out of the numerous vents. Even though it was still morning, the temperature was quite warm while we were walking around the crater.

Our next stop was the small mountain village of Nikia. We knew this was not a tourist town as there were pretty flowering bushes growing over a portion of the road since the buses did not travel this route. 

We enjoyed our walk through the little alleys. We stopped for a snack in the little town center where the entire floor was a beautiful stone design. We then strolled through the town to enjoy the scenery from the top of the mountain. 

Our final stop was in the harbor town of Pali. We had a light lunch in the fishing village before heading back to the main town and boarding the ferry back to Kos.

Our day ended with some time on the beach in the late afternoon and Mediterranean pizza on the balcony.

Great First Impressions of Kos

Our morning started off sitting on the outdoor patio overlooking the resort and out onto the other islands while enjoying the delicious breakfast buffet. With so many options to choose from, it took us about an hour to sample a little bit of everything. 

By late morning the clouds rolled in and there was a cool breeze, but this did not stop us from going to the hotel's beach.  The girls picked out our beach station with chairs and an umbrella and immediately started playing in the sand.  Eric tested the water and it felt a little cool with no sunshine. We camped out at the beach for a few hours and then switched to the pools to go swimming. When the girls tested out the main pool, it was cold even though the sun was out and it was not heated, so they did not stay long in the big pool. However, they found the children's pool where they could stand and play around in and felt this was perfect for the early afternoon as the wind was blocked in this area. The clouds had blown over and the sun became intense, so I sat poolside while Eric played catch with Adeline in the pool and Emmie climbed around the nearby jungle gym. For the late afternoon, we returned to the beach and this time the water felt a little warmer since the sun was shining.

In the evening, we caught the local bus to Kardamena. We were the first stop to get on and it was a good thing we were going to the town center because there were other riders who wanted to get off earlier, but the driver never stopped when they pushed the button, but he did stop for the town center. We confirmed our car rental reservation for later in the week, booked a trip to the nearby volcanic island, and then had our first of many delicious Greek meals. 

Scala's on the harbor front was recommended and we dined on a delicious Greek meal. Our first meal consisted of numerous appetizers and then roasted lamb and Moussaka for our main course. We shared everything since it all sounded so tasty when we were reading the menu. We caught the bus back to the hotel and then listened to the singer in the nearby hotel bar while relaxing on our balcony to finish our first wonderful vacation day.

In No Rush

 Saturday afternoon, we were packed and ready for our trip to Kos, Greece to begin. Unfortunately, the taxi did not appear as scheduled and after a brief conversation with our neighbors about driving us, three different phone calls claiming a taxi was on its way, and 30 minutes later, we were rushing to the airport in a taxi that did show up. 

We checked our three small bags of clothes and one bag of beach gear and toys and made our way to the gate. The terminal exit was in a timely manner to board the bus out to the plane, so we were officially on our way. Once we were all seated, we were then informed, we would be sitting on the plane for one and half hours before we took off as this was the plane's slot at the busy Frankfurt airport. The girls ate some of the food I brought with me and did their activities while we waited. We finally took off for our two and half hour flight to the Dodecanese island. Adeline became concerned when she saw snow on the Alps as we told her were going to the beach. Since the plane was flying low, we could see the little islands along the route beaming as we got closer. We flew over our hotel which was really neat with their numerous staggered pools lit at night. We finally arrived at the little airport a little past midnight. 

We arrived at Hilton's Helona Resort exhausted and tired. The girls enjoyed watching the pool just outside the lobby change colors. After checking in, we waited a few minutes for the bellboy to take us to our room. When we got to the room, the balcony view over the resort was very nice from what we could see at night, but the warm breeze felt good after being in the airplane. Eric had only one room key, so he had to walk back to the front desk to inquire about the the second room as we booked adjoining rooms. He returned with the room key for the room next to us, but the adjoining door was locked, so he took another trip to the front desk. This time a manager came with him and then we all settled in and were fast asleep.

We awoke to a wonderful sunny view over the resort and the sea to start our first day of vacation.

Day and Night

Within a 12 hour time period, one week ago, I had two more responsibilities requiring my attention day and night. 

The first came as a result of my landlord living above us and seeing his green grass had turned brown. Due to the lack of rain, warm sunny days, and the yard is over the garage, the grass requires lots of water. However, since we live in a country with many rules and laws, we thought you could not waste water by watering the lawn, so I had not been. This was not the case and I was kindly asked to water the grass so it would come back. It is now coming back slowly, so in another few weeks, we should have a green yard again.

The second came to my attention from the teacher on Wednesday as lice was discovered in Adeline's class.  Adeline told me her teacher had not found any when she went through each student's hair and I did not find any the evening she brought the letter home, but the next morning, we found the beginning stages of them. 100 ml of Lice shampoo, 2 treatments for Adeline, 1 full bottle of laundry detergent, and a few hair washes with the lice shampoo for Emmie and myself as a precaution, we are finally lice free as of right now. I think I have done my months worth of laundry within this past week. In addition, I feel like I am one of those monkeys you see on National Geographic grooming another monkey as I sit and go through Adeline's hair since the comb that came with the shampoo did not work because her hair is so fine. 

Wednesday, Eric surprised us for lunch. His plane was canceled out of northern Germany to Copenhagen due to the volcano eruption, so he caught the train back home. He did book a flight from Frankfurt to Copenhagen later in the evening, but we hope he can return without a hassle at the end of the week.

Saturday cannot come quick enough as this is when we leave for our family vacation.  I hope my simple plan of packing a bathing suit and a summer dress works out. It will be a nice treat for us to relax poolside and on the Aegean Sea beaches.

Bundesjugendspiele

This morning was Adeline's track and field day with the school. The kids warmed up for the numerous events by walking 20 minutes to the track and field. The kids then competed against other classmates in a sprint, long run, long jump, and shot put. Adeline ran the 100 meter dash and threw 9 meters for her shot put. She ran 400 meters for her long run against her other female classmates and came in sixth place. They did the long jump during her gym time at school, so it was not done during this time. For their final event, Adeline's class competed against the 2B class in a relay race. All of us parents were very proud of the first class, as no one dropped the baton or fell when they were racing against the older kids.

A surprise visit

Our friend, Ella, sent Flat Ella to visit us this weekend. Flat Ella is Ella's school project based on the Flat Stanley book. Adeline and Emmie had fun showing Flat Ella around Hofheim and the area even though the weather turned cool and was windy with periods with rain for majority of her time here. We sent pictures back to Ella in Michigan with every new experience Flat Ella had. The girls took her to school so she could see how their classrooms are different than Ella's classroom. The highlight of her visit was an afternoon at the biergarten with our friends. 

Signs of Summer

We have gone from a mild winter to a very warm spring and it is starting to feel like summer. The flowers are in full bloom, the bees and flies are buzzing everywhere, and our strawberry plants have little green strawberries on them. 

Tuesday, we had another 80 degree day, so we spent the afternoon at the pool again to help cool off.

Thursday afternoon, Emmie's class had a project at their school. After cake and drinks, the parents made a compost garden outside the classroom window and the children helped out where they could. The girls liked ripping up the cardboard into small pieces. Two large containers were filled with sticks, cardboard pieces, peelings from apples and potatoes, and dirt according to the directions. Then a variety of vegetable and flower plants were planted on top.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's wishing everyone a Mother's Day

That's filled with every pleasure,

And a future that's as happy

As the memories you treasure!

Tea Party

Saturday afternoon the ladies church group hosted a tea party. The girls were very excited to attend this event. Sarah also joined us for a girls afternoon outing. We arrived to a beautifully decorated dining room as all of the table hosts brought their own tea sets and their individual desserts were the table centerpieces. I created a little girls table which had pink cupcakes as their centerpiece. 

All of the little girls were excited to sit around their table and Sarah and I joined Rachel at her table. The afternoon started with all of us singing, "I'm a Little Teapot." The english version has two verses, so we learned a new verse and its accompanying motions. Our event coordinator than informed us of proper tea etiquette, which the little ones enjoyed practicing at their table. We then dined on petitie sandwiches and fruit kebabs along with our tea. The speaker was very thoughtful in her presentation about helping us to discover the true image we see in the mirror everyday. After she spoke, we did a mirror craft to remind us of what we learned. 

We then returned to our table to enjoy the delicious raspberry chocolate meringue torte, Rachel had made while the girls enjoyed their cupcakes. The sunny afternoon was a wonderful time for us girls to be  together. 

When we returned home, Adeline and Emmie were very excited to share with Eric everything we did and learned during the afternoon and there was even one cupcake left for him to enjoy.

Back to school

Spring Break was over me as I had school on Monday morning, but Adeline had one more day off due to a teacher training day. Even though the temperatures were the cooler than the past week,  the girls had a great morning at the Opel Zoo with their grandparents. 

Tuesday afternoon we spent in Wiesbaden. The town is very nice to stroll through and we found the yummy gummi bear store for some souvenirs. We also stopped in Cafe Maldaner for afternoon tea time.  All of our torte choices were delicious. 

Wednesday evening we visited the wine town of Hochheim. We enjoyed our local German meals in the small winegut, Weingut Preis.  Afterwards we strolled through the little old town and into the vineyards before sunset. 

Late Thursday morning, we taxied my Mom and Ray to the airport. Their vacation was over, but we had a wonderful visit with them and the weather was excellent for them to enjoy Germany. 

In the afternoon, we celebrated Marie's 1st birthday with Melanie and her family. The celebration was festive and nice to attend to after just saying goodbye to our visitors.

Celebration of Marriage

Friday morning, we watched the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. For us, it has been interesting to watch the behind scenes on BBC World News and learn about the preparation for their big day, plus past royal events. We enjoyed every moment of the broadcast during their special day.

This past week also marked our 10th  Wedding Anniversary. On Friday evening, Eric and I left for a weekend get-away on the Mosel River. Our hotel, Weinhaus Kolb, welcomed us with a glass of their family wine even though we arrived later than planned.

After a nice German breakfast on Saturday morning, we set out on our on our bikes to tour the Mosel River. We spent the day along the river visiting weinguts, local families who produce and sell their own wine from their homes. We came across a family hosting an open house where we could sample all of their wines and various other food specialties made by their friends.

 Weingut Reinhold Fuchs was a nice break from riding as we sat in their courtyard while conversing with their eldest son and sampled wine and champagne. We purchased a few more bottles of wine and a bottle of oil made with Riesling to add to our collection. Since my basket was full, we decided it was time to head back.

When we were less than 20 minutes away from our hotel, it started to sprinkle and then pour, but we managed to find some huge trees to stop under before continuing on our way. It was a fabulous day cruising along the Mosel River.

Sunday, we returned home to hear about the adventures my Mom and Ray had with the girls during the weekend. Adeline was their personal translator while shopping on Saturday morning at the market and in the stores. They had a good time while we were away and kept Meme and Poppa Ray quite busy. In the later afternoon, we walked downtown for a nice meal in the historic part of Hofheim.