Trips 2013: Spring Break Part II - Barcelona!

Can I repeat again how fantastic this trip was? If any of you would like to travel with the Hayes Family Five, we will welcome your buffer and your help with the apartment costs - because we scored a FANTASTIC apartment in Barcelona. I went through airbnb.com for the first time and it was a great experience. Our owner was SO helpful. Stuart had given up coffee for Lent, so we needed a kettle to make tea. But sadly, no kettle. I mentioned it to her and the next day she had purchased a kettle and delivered it! Not to mention, she had a cool apartment in a great location. Barcelona is a beautiful city, and the Catalan people are so friendly. From the shopkeepers, to the restauranteurs, to the average Joe on the street, we really only experienced a wonderful friendly and open vibe. Sadly, we did not get to practice much of our Spanish here (because they speak Catalan - which sounded a bit like a mix between Portugese, French and Spanish), but the language barrier was not an issue. Smiles, nods, pointing and more smiling was the universal language. But because words just cannot do this trip justice alone, I will let the photos do the talking.

A table for 8 - yes, please! (One of my favorite parts of the day - where we all sat down together.)

Beautiful tile - everywhere. Original and just stunning.

Silas agrees - this apartment is the BEST! (yes, of course we had wireless)

Someone's room - I can't remember who - mine and Stuart? (not Luke's, for sure) - should have taken a picture of our windows and little balcony!!

Our first day involved a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours again. I have to say, thus far, our least favorite of the Fat Tire tours. It all hinges on the guide, and I thought she was good, but not great. Our Paris was the best, and later that month we did the London tour - he was second. However, I would still repeat the experience. One of the best ways to get a flavor for the city. Poor Suzanne had caught the illness the night before (the one we ended up sharing so nicely), and had a rough go of it on the hills of Barcelona - but she persevered! I would have been out of there - well, I probably wouldn't have even started the tour!!!

Zee & Stuart get their tandem bike.

Clearly Zee thinks you are all something special!

Really Mom - another picture??

Group picture in front of the Arc de Triomf

The Cascada, in the Parc de la Ciutadella

Always with the Tiger rag. (Gina, Monica, Suzanne)

Some good eats at Barcelonetta Beach  - our lunch stop on the bike tour

That night, we ate in and then decided to head out to the Magic Fountain light show. We were pretty sure we could walk the entire route from our apartment. It turned into a decent 25 minute walk (remember, we have little ones with us), but was well worth it. A fun night at the Magic Fountain music and light show!

Those probably speak for themselves. The next day, because you ALWAYS need a beach day, we did just that and headed for Barceloneta beach. This beach was built just for the 1992 Olympics that Barcelona hosted and is actually a really nice beach. It is also a European beach. Know what I mean? And it was a good weather Sunday - which meant it was packed with people. Some of them not fully clothed. Well...when in Barcelona! KIDDING KIDDING. We maintained our American sensibilities and kept ourselves fully clothed (I didn't really think it was warm enough to be topless or bottomless at any point in the day - and trust me, we saw both!)***

 What do we see here?

 For Stuart's pleasure reading, he re-reads books we had to read in middle school/high school. HUH?

 Gina and Stuart were obviously discussing something really interesting!

 Luke is buried.

 Zee has to join in the fun, too.

 Football on the beach (not the American kind)

 Playing on the beach!

Silas and Zee made this awesome double chair for themselves.

This post is already so long, I will need to make a part III - we saw SO MUCH in Barcelona. I haven't even touched on Gaudi!!! 

***A note on how we handled the nudity - so, there were several topless women, including one very pregnant bouncing up and down, splashing her stomach with water. (We were wondering if there were specific health benefits to the Meditteranean cold water for the baby?) We handled it by not making a big deal out of it. This is typical here - in Germany, you can be nude on any beach you would like - the whole family, playing beach volleyball, in the nude. So we just did our best to not make a thing out of it. We also employed distraction techniques to keep them occupied. And we didn't get hung up on it. We had a great day at the beach! 

Trips 2013: Rotterdam, The Netherlands for NECIS basketball

At the end of February last year, Luke got on a double decker bus with his team, the U12 Girls' team and the U14 boys' and girls' teams and headed to Rotterdam. Because they left on a Thursday morning, and were missing school, Zechariah and I left after school on that Thursday to take the little over 2 hour trip to Rotterdam. (Stuart and Silas stayed behind for work, school and soccer.) 

I attempted once again to put "The Netherlands" into my Garmin - only to be thwarted and reminded that my Garmin thinks all of The Netherlands is Holland! Not true!!  Ask any Netherlander! (Holland is only the central, western portion - but the terms are clearly used interchangeably at times.) We arrived in time Thursday to see the 2nd half of their first game. This tournament usually involves about 9-12 other International Schools competing for the NECIS title. It is absolutely fascinating to meet parents and students from these other locales and hear about their expat experience. We ran into several fellow Americans and even a Southerner or two! (Are there not as many Southern expats? There don't seem to here...I'm curious about that.)

I remember very few details about individual games except they had an amazing comeback against one team (down by 15 or 20 and came back to win it in the last seconds) and that we had to play a VERY ROUGH Amsterdam team twice and I believe we won the first time and lost the second time. And they had a lady coach who was not very nice. I don't know where we placed in the tournament - 4th, I think? (Side note: difference between most men and women here - I remember hardly any details from any sporting event I have seen over the years. Most often only in the big games do I remember who even won. However, my brother and dad can recall specific baseball games my brother played, to detailed hits, pitches and the like, in addition to CHURCH LEAGUE basketball games. Not to mention professional and collegiate sports they watch and when my brother played collegiate baseball. I promise you, my mom and I remember watching the games and cheering - and that is about it. Am I right, Mom?)

Anyway, Zee and I explored a little bit of Rotterdam. But most of our free time we hung out in the hotel and chilled. We did spend a pleasant afternoon at the Rotterdam zoo until they kicked us out. :-) (They REALLY should put their closing time in other languages, particularly on their English brochure!!)
And we enjoyed a fun dinner in the hotel restaurant - it really was fun! 

Bonn was an easy victory this time!

Luke in motion.

Covering his man (for those basketball folks, NO ZONE DEFENSE ALLOWED - only man to man - and I could not spell defense just now - too long here where all they use is British spelling!!)

Coach Jonas (pronounced Yonas) and the team

We look happy? Once again - terrible memory for these things.

Copenhagen International School - we beat them, but in the end they got us! ( I will explain below.)

Swimming over us in the cool aquarium tunnel

This kangaroo has a cutie!

Really fun playground with super tall, fast slides

Okay - this is gross, but this was the garbage can - thus the reason I wouldn't let him put his head all the way in - what a great disguise for garbage!!

The animal they brought from North America!! (No, not Zee!!)

So one last note: in one of the pictures above I mentioned the Copenhagen team. Apparently, 2 of their kids got sick on the bus on the way to Rotterdam. The parents all thought it was car sickness. Then two more kids went down. By the end of the tournament, they were down to 7 guys or so (12 man roster), with one really starting to get sick. Well, we played this team and also got along well with this team at the same hotel. Yes, we beat them when they were 10 strong, but they beat us in the end. Our first guy went down with the virus Saturday night - his parents were there, so they took him home the next morning. Next two guys went down on the bus on the way back. Eventually, most of the team succumbed as well as siblings, parents and then, lo and behold, half the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades as that wonderful "Copenhagen" virus was shared all over the school. Jonas literally had no basketball team except 6 kids for one game (and our Sportverein team has 15 players!!) Yes, that Copenhagen team definitely got us in the end.

Living here in Germany - an American's take on some of our differences (and similarities)

Let me start this post by telling you about a recent incident on the tram.  Me and 5 American gal pals were off to American Nails to have a pedicure. (I promise this is not all we do and I have not had a real pedicure in a year and a half, so no judgement, please.) We were celebrating back-to-school as all mothers do! Well, on our tram ride home, we were talking in our normal American voices. If you have not been here before, I will let you know something. Our normal American voices are considered VERY LOUD. And I wrote that in all caps for a reason. At restaurants, we have been told we are too loud. On the tram and bus, we get "the look." But I think this is the first time I have experienced personally the very demonstrative gesture. I wish I had a video, but this older gentleman, after a friend turned around to talk to me, made an expansive exasperated gesture with his arms, a disgusted noise, and then got up and moved to another part of the tram! All because we were talking. And really, I promise, it is not that loud. (Although, the silence on the rest of the tram makes you feel like it is. I think it is an unwritten rule that you speak in a very low voice on the tram - like facing forward in an elevator.) Well, it was soooo funny, we all laughed - and that WAS loud! 

Also, I had to readjust to people being a bit rude again with the beginning of school and the drop off and pick up. The horn honking that occurs at drop-off and pick-up drives me crazy!!!  These people KNOW there is going to be a back up in traffic and that there is NOTHING we can do to make the car line go faster. They still honk and still look at you like you are a CRIMINAL for driving your child to school as they finally inch past you after scaling the sidewalk. Now, normally I don't drive the boys to school, but Zee is a slow mover and I have been giving him this first week to adjust. But it is still allowed - I mean, I can drive him to school when I want, this street will ALWAYS be backed up during school drop-off and pick-up. I want to yell out TAKE ANOTHER STREET!!!  But instead I smile and wave and turn on my Southern charm in an attempt to lower my own blood pressure and annoyance level. I tell everyone the story of sitting at that red light in Clemson through 3 red lights before I finally put the van in park, got out and walked up to the sweet little old lady with the line of 10 cars backed up behind her. I literally walked to the point she needed to pull forward to in order to activate the light. Not one person honked. No one yelled. No one used expansive finger or arm gestures. And we were finally able to go on our merry way.

I was speaking today with a German friend here who has just moved back after being in the US for several years. She mentioned to me it is embarrassing to her to hear stories of how rude Germans are, to hear of the bullying in the schools, and to hear of the racism (a variety exists, but the Turkish people are a large target, as are the Polish). At that point, I felt called to reassure her that sadly, people like that are EVERYWHERE. I did not think it reflected upon her, and one of my first dear friends here was German. Our neighbors are all WONDERFUL German people. I confessed I was from the Southern part of the US - and sadly she immediately understood. I explained that I understood what it was like to have a reputation just by the very fact that you are from a certain part of the country. My friend from the Czech Republic said that she used to think all Americans were overweight and sitting in front of the TV all the time. All these stereotypes we build in our head - there are certainly elements of truth in them. That is how the ideas gain traction. But for the most part, they are exaggerations of how people are - and there are so many of us fighting those stereotypes, attempting to temper the ignorance with a little knowledge.

BIG BREAK

I wrote the above last September, but realized I never published it. Woops! So I'm publishing today while I am playing blog catch-up with another sick kid at home. I don't really have much to add, except I keep thinking about these things having just been back to the USA. And I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet and make friends from all these different cultures - what a privilege to have my heart and mind opened to new ideas and thoughts and people. I am blessed and thankful.

I threw in some pictures from last fall - because what is a post without photos? :-)

Us at an Oktoberfest party

Does the bag give it away? Brussels, Belgium for a day trip with Carin. (We are totally being American tourists here, sports shoes and cargo shorts!)

Where we spend a lot of our time - on the pitch! (Silas is near the front in orange shoes and black leggings with the white jersey.)

Celebrating Silas's 13th birthday at our favorite local Italian restaurant, La Bruschetta!

Christmas Markets in Germany

This post is being written with a little bit of planning and a lot of haste. I am presenting at our school's Tuesday Morning Club next week about Christmas Markets. I thought it would be easier just to share about them via my blog and I will be able to share with you, future traveler to Germany and family and any potential visitor during this season, as well as those who live here now. Christmas markets are something I LOVE about the Christmas season here. They do not have Thanksgiving here, and now that St. Martin's is over (another blog post about that, I believe), they are decorating and gearing up for Christmas everywhere.

Last year there was a touch more magic to the Christmas market season because we were able to attend a few Christmas markets in the SNOW. This was at the beginning of all of the glorious white stuff, so it was still quite magical. (It lost its power when it was still snowing in April. We had literally one small snow the year before!!) We attended the Düsseldorf market and the market at Schloss Dyck in the snow and FREEZING temperatures. Just be truly prepared, stock up on the Glüwhein or Kinderpunsch, and dress warmly!!! 

Düsseldorf usually has one of the first markets to open, so it is always the one I go to first.  Because of all the construction going on downtown, this market is divided up into lots of little markets with themes. It is nice, but certainly not my favorite (and not just because my wallet was stolen there last year.) It does have its moments, however, plus a really nice big Ferris Wheel to watch it all from high above.

A typical stall at the Düsseldorf market

This felt like Narnia!

My oldest at the market.

Never thought I would capture the cartwheeler in snow!

People decorate with these paper stars in their windows for Christmas - so I had to get one!

The infamous smokers!

The cool trees that provide shade in the summer and just look funny in the winter.

Because of the size of the Düsseldorf market, you can find a great variety of items - it is just really spread out. Thus making it more difficult to find the good stuff. We went to this market with a good friend visiting last year (thanks for making time to see us, Rob!) and enjoyed the roasted chestnuts and Glüwhein in the cold. 

Later that weekend we went to one of my favorite markets, Schloss Dyck. It is extra special because it has a Krippenspiel. What is that, you may ask? Basically, it is a live Nativity! But not the kind you just come and see the Nativity - instead, we walked through candle-lit woods to come upon Mary & Joseph heading to Bethleham. Then you meet an Angel sharing news with the shepherds. Further down the road, you run right into the wise men. Then finally, baby Jesus with Mary and Joseph in the stable in Bethleham - singing traditional German Christmas hymns! (For a taste of that, go here.) The castle is cast in softly changing lights to your left the entire walk. It honestly feels a little magical - and last year in the snow??  Even more so. The vendors at Schloss Dyck are great, too. French soaps, homemade woodworks, knit items - I felt like they were a bit more unique than what I saw at Düsseldorf. But it is only open for 3 weekends, so take advantage while you can!

We arrived to a gorgeous sunset.

This is how you need to dress.

It was a heavy wet snow - and it was beautiful at this palace in the woods.

Lots of lights, fires, candles, lasers...

This is Mary and Joseph - the trek to Bethlehem was especially cold that year.

Gregorian chanting accompanies the sudden appearance of the angel. (Prepare your little ones - in the dark this can be quite suddenly startling!)

Winter wonderland!

They were freezing...the other boy was already at the car!!!

Schloss Burg is another one of my favorite markets. It is only one weekend, and this year it falls on Thanksgiving weekend. Not the best timing for us Americans celebrating over the weekend, but if you can make it, it is well worth the little drive. The coolest thing about this market is not only that it is within the castle walls - it is INSIDE the CASTLE!!  I didn't take many pictures because I was trying to keep up with the rowdy crew I was with, but it was so neat to move from room to room in the castle, down narrow outdoor passageways and winding staircases, through bedrooms and meeting rooms. The vendors had some great items, and it was a fantastically fun time. Some really good lunch food as well!

Need dental tools anyone???

Schloss Burg 

A great find for her little one!

Inside the chapel at Schloss Burg - better in person, I promise.

The only other market I have visited is in Essen. It is a great market, a lot of variety, easy to get to (just take a regional train to Essen or park at the Essen Hbf), and apparently beautiful at night. I went during the day, so missed all the lights at night, although they did look like they would be nice during the day. This market is great because of its vendors - you can get some legit shopping done here, making it a worthwhile market just for that alone. (They had a medieval market, with people dressed and cooking medieval food, selling products. Very cool.)

I intend to go to a few more markets this year (Aachen, Koln, Oberhausen). But sometimes illness gets in the way and I have to resign myself to just the little local one in Kaiserswerth - but at least they have the Glüwhein! Invite a friend and enjoy the markets!