Weekend of Riding

This weekend brought about many different rides for us in our weekend outing with Eric's company. Friday afternoon, us gals enjoyed our train ride to Munich. I was very happy we had reservations as the train was full with many people who were also heading to the Bavaria area for skiing. The timing worked out great for Eric to be done with work and us to arrive in Munich. We were on our way to the Alps to ski, even if the current temperature was 45 degrees. What an awesome sight traveling on the autobahn and suddenly around a bend, you see the mountains in front of you.

We arrived in Lenggries and checked into our hotel right in sync with his co-workers.  A two room suite was reserved for our family. Eric joined up with his co-workers for the evening festivities at the Alte Mulistation, a restaurant at the base of the mountain. Adeline, Emmie and I strolled around town for a market stop and then to have dinner as the evening weather was enjoyable to be out and about.

Saturday morning, we woke to a great view from our balcony. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel with some of his co-workers and then were the first ones to leave to go skiing.  First, we had to rent my skis and then we went to the Brauneck Mountain ski area.  Some of the lifts were closed because of no snow, but the bunny hill had snow. Adeline and Eric went up the tow rope first for Emmie to watch. Emmie then went with Eric, did not like it and cried. We enrolled her in ski school. 

Emmie was fitted with shorter skis that had gummi bears on them and rode the magic carpet for the first time. She was all smiles about this experience. Within 15 minutes, she was taking the magic carpet and starting to descend the little hill all by herself. 

On Adeline's third trip down the hill, Adeline was zigzagging back. Unfortunately, the icey snow and new skis did not make a good combination for Adeline as she fell at the bottom of the hill trying to stop.  A half trip up and down the bunny hill for me as I heard the screams of  knee pain from her as her legs were twisted like noodles. Numerous people came to our assistance as we waited for the ambulance. Adeline and I took our first trip in a Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (ambulance) to the Bad Tölz hospital. Emmie completed her class and ate some gummi bears while Eric packed up our skis before joining us.

X-rays revealed no bones had been broken, the orthopedic surgeon said all major ligaments were still intact, and she just needed time for the tendons to heal from stretching. Her knee was given some ointment and wrapped to  reduce the swelling. We are so thankful God protected her in what could have been a serious injury. Eric handled the insurance and payment information since they could not locate our provider in their system on a Saturday.

Even though we missed meeting up with Eric's co-workers for lunch at Panorama Restaurant am Brauneck, we still went to the restaurant for our lunch. We carried Adeline to the gondola and enjoyed the ride up the 1500 meter mountain. The view was great and since it was a sunny out, Adeline and Emmie finished their drinks outside on the terrasse, while Eric went skiing.

Adeline, Emmie, and I took the gondola back to the mountain base and went back to the hotel. Eric called a few minutes later to say he was on the other side of the mountain of where we agreed to meet when he was done skiing. He informed me the top was ice and due to some of the lifts being closed he could not make it back and here was his address of where he was at. With the help of the navi and few phone calls, we found Eric. He said the mountain top was like ice and very steep and then the middle was muddy due to the warm temperatures.

In the evening, we all relaxed as it had been a long day and enjoyed our family time together.

After we found a delicious bakery for our breakfast and lunch treats on Sunday morning, we returned to the ski area where we picked Eric up at. We enrolled Emmie again in ski school with a longer magic carpet. Initially she was fine, but after a few times on it, we had to coax her, so this ended her first weekend of skiing.  Eric bought a pass for a few rounds of skiing even though more lifts were closed since he toted his skis around Europe for this weekend. Adeline and I had some beverages in the restaurant at the mountain base while they were skiing. 

 We packed up and headed for home after making the most of a ski weekend with warm temperatures and little snow. As we drove north east to Frankfurt, the temperatures dropped. When we left Lenggries at noon it was 51 degrees and every half hour the temperature kept dropping. We stopped for a traditional bavarian dinner in Aschaffenburg and it was 41 degrees. The three local ladies we stopped to advise us on a place to eat, took us to a fantastic local restaurant as the food, beverages, and atmosphere were just what we needed to finish off our weekend on a good note.

Band-aid Week

This week we have experienced many indications that spring is coming. The weather this week has been sunny and warm. The temperature was above 50 degrees on Tuesday. Some low lying flowers have bloomed in the gardens and the birds can be heard chirping away in the morning.

The spring air also brought bumps and bruises. On Monday, Adeline and Emmie were racing down the sidewalk after school. Unfortunately, Emmie fell and scraped her knees on the brick sidewalk. In dance class later that afternoon, Adeline scraped her arm on the balance railing when she was twirling around.  Tuesday was not another good day for Emmie either. We were at the park and proceeding to stroll around the pond, when she took off on her bike, hit a bump, lost control, and scraped her chin in 3 spots on the wooden handlebars. We have gone through numerous band-aids and ointment cream in helping these wounds heal. 

Friday afternoon, we will take the train to Munich and then Eric will pick us up in a car to drive to the Alps. We are excited about the weekend skiing trip in southern Bavaria in the town of Lenggries.

Daddy Daughters Date

Eric took Adeline and Emmie to Hofheim's Altes Rathaus Cafe on Saturday. Upon entering the cafe, they first viewed the display case of over 12 plus different cakes and tortes before selecting a seat. Adeline ordered a cherry crumble cake and Emmie picked out a rhubarb torte. Both girls had a big cup of hot cocoa to accompany their treat. When Emmie's torte arrived, she immediately consumed the whipped cream topping; however, when she tasted the rhubarb, she did not like it. Eric ate Emmie's rhubarb off of her torte and then she resumed eating the cake portion of it. The cafe was only part of their outing while I was in teacher training at church. They also visited the market, playground, and the Wendels. 

We spent Saturday afternoon at a Familienkonzert. Hohfeim hosted a concert for children which consisted of storytelling from a portion of a book about Mozart as a 6 year old and then followed it with piano music. The pianist first read a few pages from the book and then him and his partner would play a dramatic piece on the piano. They did six continuous sets like this. It was a unique way to keep the children interested with the story and then the music. It was a nice family outing. 

This week I start my next session in the German class series, so it is another adjustment week for me. The weather forecast is indicating it will be a warm sunny week for this time of year. I am looking forward to a week of temperatures in the mid to upper 40s after our snow and ice days last week.

Changes

We finally got into our routine since the holidays and they changed Adeline's school plan for the second half of the year. This week, I forgot about her schedule changing, so I was there to pick her up too early one day and then another day, she came home and surprised me as I was not expecting her for another 45 minutes. She is enjoying the two simultaneous sport sessions on Tuesday afternoon. As for me, I am enjoying the later start on Thursday morning.

In kindergarten on Monday morning, the dentist visited Emmie's class. Emmie was very excited to receive a tooth stamp for being a good patient. The dentist did send home a note about tips for weaning a child of their pacifier. I wish she did have a pacifier  we could just get rid of, but her thumb is something we cannot just toss out.

In school on Tuesday, Adeline started learning cursive. They are introducing cursive along with printing some of the letters. She is very excited about this as she likes the fancy writing. In addition, they have been given a new math workbook as  they are now learning math with double digit numbers.

Wednesday morning we had snow on the ground. This is the first snowfall since we returned. The girls were very excited to play in the little bit we got during their school breaks. They tried to build a tiny snowman in the afternoon, but the snow was too wet.

Thursday morning brought about anxiety and excitement. Ice covered everything except the middle of the streets. Even though Emmie fell twice on our journey to school, the girls found it fun to be skating on the sidewalks. I walked in the street, but many parents were driving their children to school, so I used the fences and bushes as support when I could. What is normally a 15 minute round trip for me took over 35 minutes with the icy conditions. It all melted by mid-morning, but the girls are now asking to go ice skating.

We are enjoying Emmie's stage of dressing up. Everyday for the past week or so when she has gotten home from school, she has put on a dress with the crown and her sparkling shoes. It is interesting how Adeline finds this not as exciting anymore and tells her, but then I remind Adeline that she did it too when she was her age. After that, Adeline finds her Spidergirl costume and becomes the superhero who rescues the princess.

Weekend Spectators

Saturday afternoon, we took the girls to the Galli Theater for the "Little Mermaid". The small theater was ideal for them because they could sit right up front and see the performance. The girls had a good time watching the show and liked the various colorful costumes. Their favorite character was Little Mermaid. The play's storyline was not the Disney version, so the Little Mermaid did not marry the prince in the end and this did not make the girls happy, as they were anticipating the wedding.  Overall, it was a nice afternoon outing. 

Sunday afternoon, we spent in the Brühlwiesenhalle. This is where Adeline plays basketball as well as the local basketball teams. Sports here are organized through clubs within the towns and not the schools, so they play teams from other clubs within their region. We watched the girl's Rhein-Main Baskets (local area team) play against the USC Freiburg. The skill level and age group is equivalent to college level and this game was a league game. The team is ranked 4th out of 12 in their region. Adeline and Emmie watched them play the game and cheered them on with the crowds chants, while Eric and I noted how the game is played different from how we know the game. We also discovered some tasty homemade treats at the snack counter to nibble on during the game. Even though Rhein-Main Baskets lost, we had fun cheering for them.

Mimi visits

We have finally got back into our routine with school and homework. We have not gotten over our colds, but the warmer temperatures are allowing us to get some fresh air to feel somewhat better. It is different not having snow right now on the ground, but I am not complaining as it makes the walk to school much easier.

Mimi, Adeline's class pet, visited us this week. It was Adeline's turn to bring the mouse home for a day and care for it. She was super excited about this. Adeline created a story page to share with the class everything Mimi and her did while at our house.

I am managing to find spots in my reorganization projects for the new items. In the process of sorting and organizing the girls room, I have also had to locate a new set of clothes for Emmie as she has outgrown majority of her 4T clothes from before Christmas break.

The church's social committee group I am part of hosted a Bunco night on Friday evening. Unfortunately, the organizer was stuck in the US due to a snowstorm, so I ran the event. 28 ladies participated in the event and we all enjoyed the sweets and treats everyone brought to share. The ladies have already said they want to have another Bunco night soon because it is so much fun.

Time to be out and about

With the weather still being warmer than normal, we went on a few outings this weekend to take advantage of it.

 We visited Wiesbaden's Fasanerie on Saturday afternoon. It is an animal and plant park on the edge of the city.  The walkways were muddy from the snow melting, but they had numerous  platforms for the girls to see the animals. There are over 50 animals within natural habitats in the park. The animals can all be found within Germany. We could not find the bear, but we did find the wolves sleeping, and a deer with an 18 point rack. 

We strolled through Idstein on Sunday afternoon. Idstein is a neat old city. The witch's tower was not open to go in, but we did pass by the old city jail. The houses have charming character and it is interesting to see how they are incorporating the remodeling to fit the leaning or falling timbers in some of them. The afternoon ended with an ice cream treat on the park bench.

This week starts my three break from class. I am hoping to completely finish unpacking. Eric and I only put clothes away when we initially returned. We emptied the suitcases the first weekend so they could be stored away due to space constraints; however, now I have some reorganization projects to find areas for the new toys and items that came back with us.