A Night Out

Berit and Dennis came over to babysit Sophie tonight. Sophie seems to quite enjoy it when we go out at night. Maybe because Berit will buy her kinder surprise eggs for dessert or read her a goodnight story three times the length of what I would read to her. 

 Anyway, we had the evening to go out and enjoy Duesseldorf after sundown (not that it was sunny today).

The Altstadt was busy as it was Friday night and a football match with the local team.

We went to the Schluessel brewery for a real German dinner.

 We were not disappointed. While we kept the Altbier flowing, we had pork ragout cooked in Altbier gravy,

 marinated beef with potato dumplings and red cabbage, 

 and the classic pork knuckle.

It was delicious, although heavier than what we are all used to.

So, of course we had to have a Killepitsch (or what Auntie Sandra calls "like red wine") to wash down the food. 

Back on a low-meat diet in a couple of days. 

Anyone for Crunch (Cars + Brunch)?

What better way to start off the day than with a delicious brunch at the Classic Remise Meilenwerk in Duesseldorf. This is an old restored roundhouse and maintenance station for trains, now filled with expensive cars both old and new. 

We even found a Shelby.

Sophie and Nanny looking for their favorite cars.

When does Sophie ever get to have both Nanny and Oma at one table in Germany?

Eating in style.

Sophie and I decided to take pictures of each other.

My favorite color on a car (this is a Jag)

Sophie's favorite car because it was red.

I liked the row of Porsches.

(The restaurant behind me.)

Another red favorite.

Subsequent food coma. There must have been a sleeping medication in the waffles.

But the weather was pleasant and we had places to see.

Sophie learning a pat-a-cake game from Nanny. 

Posing in front of city hall for the blog

International Children's Day Festival along the Rhine shore.

This is where we ran into our neighbors Sissi and Jessica.

Time for an altbier (the local brew) at one of the oldest breweries in town. 

Caught on picture: Andrew laughing with some Germans! Just give them a beer and their frowns are turned into smiles.

A fun bunch.

Ending the day in style with some of the best ice cream in Duesseldorf. We lined up around the corner and it was worth it.

By the way, for anyone who has been wondering how we can be buying ice cream on an almost daily basis. It's 80 cents/$1 per scoop here.

Rhine Tower and Medienhafen - Sightseeing in Duesseldorf

We decided to do a little sightseeing in our current hometown today. After all Andrew has vacation this week and that is what you do on vacation. Neither one of us has made it to the fairly modern looking area south of the Altstadt (old town) called Medienhafen so far.

 We promised Sophie that she would ride up in the tallest building she has ever been in to make the trip more enjoyable for her. We also went to Duesseldorf's largest bookstore first with a huge children's book section.

 And on our walk to the Rhine Tower Sophie discovered this fun slide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheinturm

 View of the Medienhafen at 168 meters (551ft).

 The Rhine and the Landtag (the Northrhine-Westphalian parliament) below.

 Looking further north up the Rhine. The Altstadt on the right bank.

Unfortunately, we cannot recommend the self-service bistro on the viewing deck. We had imagined something along the lines of Pret A Manger, but were disappointed when all we found was a chips and an ice cream vending machine. 

 I was all the way up there!

...and now I want some ice cream!

The most photographed buildings in Duesseldorf designed by Frank Gehry

Then off to find some ice cream.

Outdoor Theater

We have been seeing the poster for a nearby outdoor play of "The Adventures of Pettersson and Findus" all over town this summer and Sophie has been begging to go. So today was going to be the day. We packed a nice picnic, change for ice cream during the break and hopped on the bike. It was a 13 km bike ride through the hinterlands of Duesseldorf (one way) with some mean hills (never realized it could be so hilly here). But now we know where the rich people in Duesseldorf live. 

 The theater was in an old quarry and the stage looked very picturesque. We managed to get seats in the front row near a lone duck that was scavenging for food from the audience. 

 Here are Pettersson and his cat Findus trying to lure the hens into laying some eggs for their pancakes.

 Pettersson and Findus fishing on the lake that even housed some turtles.

 The promised ice cream during intermission.

 The grumpy neighbor Gustavson chasing the fox on a tractor. Gustavson ended up falling into the lake three times during the play! There is no better way of keeping the younger crowd entertained. They are full of Schadenfreude. What a good thing it was just above 20 degrees today.

 Autographs from the stars after a brilliantly entertaining show: Pettersson.

 Findus the cat

 For Sophie from Sophie the hen

... and hen Henni and rooster Caruso

After the first uphill on the ride home, I felt that my legs felt too tired to make it all the way, so we decided to take the train home. However, the return trip took just as long if not longer.

At the Lake

One last warm and summery day before a predicted cool down. We arranged to go back to the nearby Unterbacher See this time with our neighbors Sissi and Jessica from China. When I apologized to the girls' mother, Chris, that it might be crowded there, she reminded me that in Shanghai this kind of place would be absolutely packed. It's all just a matter of how you look at it, I guess.

Anyway, the girls were happily playing in the water for hours, just coming back to us on a regular basis to refuel on snacks. 

Unfortunately we had to leave early as some dark thunderclouds were approaching rapidly and they were closing the beach. 

The girls continued playing inside and Sophie and I were invited for a delicious home-made Chinese vegetable and noodle soup. 

Captain Hook's Pirate Ship

As this might be our only week of summer and warm temperatures, I have decided to let all house chores be and spend as much time as possible outside with Sophie soaking in the sunshine and warmth. 

Today we were going to meet our new friends Jonathan and Lia and their mum Tali at the water playground in Volksgarten. They had just moved to the Duesseldorf area via Munich from Israel last month. 

 Jonathan seemed a little bit overwhelmed by the crowds - poor guy. He was concerned for Sophie who was just running wild in the park.

 Jonathan found Sophie as they are walking by the pirate ship. 

Towards the end, Sophie found yet another playmate.

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!

Kirmes - Fun Fair

The annual fun fair is in town, being advertised as the largest one on the Rhine River. It can be somewhat trashy at certain times, but we went when it opened on a Monday and had it almost to ourselves. We gave Sophie 10 Euros to spend as she liked. 

 The first fun ride she saw was this race car carousel. Good choice with the Ferrari, I thought. 

At this point it had already started raining again.

 Next she wanted to go on a balloon ride. She was the only one on the carousel. Were we the only crazy ones to venture out in this weather?

 But then she found her favorite. The flying machines carousel. She was a bit jerky at first trying to figure out how to handle the lever. Why is it that they always play such terrible music for the poor waiting parents at the children's carousels?

 Then Andrew had us all go on the ferris wheel. The ride provided some marvelous views of Duesseldorf. Here is the famous Altstadt (Old Town) on the opposite river bank. 

 These are some expensive apartments in Oberkassel with a nice view of the Altstadt, but for 12 days a year the inhabitants have to put up with the noise of the fun fair.

 The Medienhafen.

 Then Sophie decided that another 2 Euros on the helicopter was money well spent.

It was hard to find a ride that only cost 1.50 Euros, but then we saw the kids auto scooter. Hilarious!

One hour later and Sophie 10 Euros lighter, we headed back home to dry off and warm up. Hoping for better weather at next year's Kirmes.