Welcome to Our Flight to Hawaii

It is about time that I write about Sophie's favorite game with Daddy. She is (almost) stepping in his footsteps by wanting to play airplane with him. I have heard that he used to play the same thing when he was little. Her room serves as the airplane. Then Daddy has to don his full pilot regalia including his old hat while Sophie gets the airplane ready. 

Some popular destinations are Hawaii, Disneyland, Hawaii, New York, and Hawaii. Oh, and India once.

Sometimes I get to be the passenger (first class, of course), but recently I have been degraded to cleaning personnel. Andrew has been bringing back everything you could imagine from his flights: magazines, boarding cards, napkins, plasticware, drink stirrers, you name it (talk about clutter).

I am sorry that the pictures are so fuzzy, but I had to sneak into the room and be quick. There was also a really cute video, but Andrew refused to let me post it, as he was not prepared to be caught on film. I will need to try again next time. Andrew is also concerned by what the neighbors might think when they see his head staring out the window wearing his pilot uniform. Then suddenly the blinds go down when the airplane flies into the night. 

 Pre-flight briefing or flight attendant taking the pilot's order for dinner?

Andrew keeps trying to persuade Sophie to become a pilot, but she insists on wanting to become a flight attendant. Well, she still has a couple of years to think about it.

Taking Daddy to the Lake

As it felt kind of warm during our morning run in the nearby forest (the one you can see in the background of the pictures below), we had a quick change of plans for the afternoon and decided to go to the Unterbacher Lake in the afternoon rather than taking a trip to the city. Sophie loved the idea when we told her after preschool.

 It was perfect this time. Enough kids for Sophie to play with, but otherwise pretty empty even though it was sunny and warm. 

Plus, finally Daddy had the opportunity to join us.

Back to Work

It was time for Andrew to go back to work and since Sophie is still off from preschool, we decided to get up somewhat early and join him on an outing to Duesseldorf airport.

At the airport, Sophie tried very hard to spot flight attendants.

 Sophie and I paid a visit to the giant giraffe and her baby courtesy of a car rental place when Daddy was checking his bag. He was flying to Leipzig this morning to then work a flight to Cincinnati.

After a small breakfast at the airport together it was time to say goodbye. We certainly got some stares. Yes, a pilot has a family, too. ;-)

Sophie and I wanted to look at some more stores (they have a proper toy store there) before returning home on the train. My shopper girl.

... and here is a picture of Daddy's airplane in Leipzig that afternoon. See you in a couple of weeks!

Off to Daddy's Old Stomping Ground

We headed to the West Country towards Andrew's hometown of Weymouth for a day trip today. Sophie had been there before, but the last time was two years ago and she was too young to remember. Today, she was taking it all in and very interested in learning which house Daddy used to live in and where he went to school. 

 On the way I asked to stop at Shitterton to have this picture taken (Andrew was embarrassed). The town finally figured that this stone will be impossible to steal as a souvenir. 

 Our first stop was the Royal Navy cemetery in Portland. It is a very quaint cemetery on the hillside overlooking Portland harbor. Since Andrew's grandparents' ashes were scattered (partially at this site), the family donated a  bench in their memory here. The view is fantastic. Unfortunately, Sophie was acting a little grumpy at the time. Probably getting a bit hungry.

 Thus, we headed back to Weymouth for some real fish and chips by the harbor. Sophie is not so sure...

 With our stomachs filled, Andrew insisted we take the row boat ferry across the harbor. It was not just a first for Sophie but for Sandra as well who had lived in Weymouth for years. That is not Sandra in the picture by the way. 

 Frolicking on the beach. It could have been a wee bit warmer. 

Not too cold for a traditional donkey ride on the beach, however. Reliving her daddy's childhood.

{If anyone has a picture of Andrew on a donkey - I would love to have a copy}

Afterwards we visited Andrew's other aunt Susan and her husband Dave for some tea and cake. By then the rain had set in - in time for our upcoming jubilee pilgrimage to London.

Here is one picture of Sophie's last trip to Weymouth two years ago visiting with great-granny, who has since passed away. 

Leipzig!

As it was looking more and more like Andrew was going to be "stuck" in Leipzig on reserve over the weekend, he came up with the brilliant idea of having us come out to see him there. We were quickly packed and on our way Saturday morning. On the ride there, the blissful silence in the compartment was ruined on both trains after only an hour by stag parties joining us headed east. Leipzig must be a popular destination for these groups, as the city was full of them in the afternoon.

 Sophie did so well on the train - there were no complaints despite the rather long travel time of almost six hours. Daddy was already waiting for us at the platform. We did not linger for long at the (very nice) hotel ready to move and stretch our legs a little.

 Be ready for a picture overload. I was fascinated with the wide array of architecture - old, nicely restored pre-war buildings, GDR-era prefab concrete high rises, and ruins with trees growing out of them all mixed in the city center. 

Here is a picture of the old city hall built in 1556. It was the size of a city block. The new city hall (1899) is even larger built on the remains of a castle. Unfortunately it was being worked on.

 The famous St. Nicholas church (Nikolaikirche), where the peaceful demonstrations against the GDR-regime began. 

 We went inside for an organ concert. Too bad I can't show you how Sophie acted and quietly danced away to the music in her seat. She must be imagining a whole court of princes and princesses in her mind. 

Oh, and this is a palm tree pillar in the square outside - just like the ones supporting the ceiling inside.

 So much interesting architecture...

 Old and new and old renewed.

 Taking a break with the comfy lion listening to the Russian brass band playing Händel. 

Just opposite of the famous Auerbachskeller restaurant, where Goethe already dined. Andrew managed to get a seat and a meal the night before we came and after we left, but not the night we were there. I guess we will have to come back for that.

Behind the curry wurst stand is another famous church: the St. Thomas church (Thomaskirche) with Bach's grave. He worked there as a cantor.

 We heard a lot of English-speaking voices inside.

 Painted window of Mendelssohn inside the church (there is also one of Bach). The original was destroyed by the Nazis. This one was installed in 1997.

Enough sightseeing for a day, off to enjoy some tapas and wine.

Sunday morning:

After an early night for all of us we felt well-rested to explore some more.

As if the hotel staff knew that Princess Sophie was coming, they had a perfect chair for her in the lobby.

Posing with the lion in front of the hotel.

 The Leipzig opera house performing Cinderella!

 Rapunzel

 Sophie discovered a trampoline in the ground near our breakfast/brunch place.

 Not only for kids

 Part of the university

 And here in the middle of the city the deserted post office building.

 Eerie!

Impressions near the hotel

 Time for us to head home. You might just be able to see our train in the distance.

Incidentally, this is the largest train station in Europe by area. Very impressive and with a mall attached. Since stores are allowed to open at a train station or airport on Sundays, I am so jealous they have this in Leipzig.

 Monument commemorating the last deportation train of Jews from Leipzig to Theresienstadt on 14 Februar 1945.

Andrew's office in Leipzig

The first time that Sophie saw Daddy's airplane in 3D.

Neanderthal

Since an annoying bug had me confined to the couch today, Andrew took Sophie on an excursion to the Neanderthal Museum in the next town over. It is pretty cool to think that the Neanderthal remains were found almost on our front door step. Currently they also have a special Lego exhibit with themes spanning through human history. And of course a Lego play area for the kids. 

Unfortunately, most photos are on Andrew's camera and he is back at work, so I will add more soon. I thought this was a really cute sample the two of them sent me, however. 

On another note, Andrew and Sophie have had some very valuable bonding time over the past few weeks. I love to see the two of them play together. Having to say goodbye when Andrew goes on a trip keeps getting harder for both of them.

Düsseldorf Boat Show

Another Sunday trying to find something fun to do. Since having worked for Messe Düsseldorf more than ten years ago now, I have been wanting to visit their boat show just once. People have told me how impressive it is to see the superyachts being hauled in to the exhibit halls. This year,  I had a chance to see it for myself. I knew Andrew would not object to scouting out our future yacht. We strung Sophie along on stories of the fabled kids area which in the end turned out to be rather mediocre. In fact, Sophie was far more interested in giving us her opinions on which boat we should purchase; preferably one with three bedrooms, one of which would be hers, one of which would be ours, and one for guests. She also liked big kitchens, bathrooms with showers, and flatscreen TVs. 

At this point I was ordered to remove a particularly unflattering picture of Andrew.

 Not wasting any time - straight to the superyachts.

 For some boats, one needed an appointment or invitation. We had neither. Their loss.

 One of Sophie's choices (her shot). It was actually quite reasonably priced.

 No expense spared on this exhibit - even carted in some real sand.

 Nice little boat, inspected by Sophie.

 The police boat.

 So much for the kids area.

 Canoe test track.

 A definite favorite, along with the waterslide paddle boat next to it.

The magic of 3D glasses - making everyone look like an idiot.