Chocolate Face

Berit treated us to ice cream today. 

Sophie did not like it at all.

Swimming then Ice Cream

After we all went to the gym today while Sophie had her swimming lesson, oh wait, except for Andrew who almost cut off his finger with the newly sharpened bread knife this morning, we treated ourselves to some more ice cream on the way home.

It was a relaxing ending to a rather hectic day during which Sophie was kindly treated to her first lunch at preschool while we were at the doctor's with Andrew to have the gaping cut in his finger sealed. Guess who will not be chopping vegetables for a while?

A Quick Visit from a Hamburger

Berit is moving into her new studio about 2 km from our house and our dear brother Stefan came down from Hamburg to help her. He brought along his son Thore. Sophie was happy to practice being a "big sister" to him. She even read him a story at one point. Really cute. 

Here is a picture of the two of them eating some ice cream at the playground.

Best Ice Cream

Sophie has been on summer break from preschool for a week now (of a total of three weeks). Unfortunately, the weather has been absolutely miserable the entire time (ever since our BBQ pretty much), anything but summer-like. It has been so bad that I finally caved in and bought a pair of wellies.  At least now I can jump through the puddles with Sophie. 

 Despite the rain, we ventured out to check out another area of Duesseldorf called Flingern today. It is meant to be a hip area with little boutiques and restaurants. Of course, we arrived fifteen minutes before the stores closed. Typical.

But the ice cream place was open. By far the best one we have tasted here so far - and the competition is tough. An absolute must for any future visitors. 

Andrew had pistachio ice cream topped with fresh strawberries (organic) and old balsamico. I had the raspberry bowl. Sophie had blueberry in a waffle bowl.

Nom nom nom!

Oh Say Can You See...?

... is that an American flag I spot over there right on the Burgplatz in the Old Town of Duesseldorf?

"Vote From Abroad," sponsored by the Democrats is doing a bus tour through Europe to get US citizens living abroad to register for the elections. And they passed through the metropolis of Duesseldorf today. Enough reason to don the rain gear and make the trip downtown.

 If nothing else, it felt really uplifting to be speaking to fellow Americans for a few moments. Sophie and I had our picture taken and were filmed and interviewed twice once for the Vote From Abroad You Tube video and once for the local German TV station. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to watch it a few days later. 

Afterwards, I promised Sophie and myself some ice cream. We tried another parlor on the top five list. Huge portions of creamy gelato. Yum.

Puppet Show, Gelato and Playground

Sophie and I had a special afternoon out to the puppet show (there is an excellent one here in Duesseldorf: http://www.puppentheater.de/).

 We watched "Cowboy Billy and the Singing Pony." Very well done, adorable little theater, perfect for little people like Sophie. We will definitely be back.

 How convenient that there was an ice cream parlor just across the street from the theater. It looked a bit crummy from the outside, but their flavors were a cut above many of the other's. I found my favorite there: panna cotta crunch! (We have already been back since.)

 And even more convenient, a large playground just down the block. The local kids' club had provided extra toys for the children to play with. 

 This was just a split second before she fell off this vehicle. 

Fürstenplatz, Friedrichstadt, Düsseldorf

The Beginning of a Fantastic Holiday

Here we are. Finally on our way to see the Queen (and Kate). For the next two weeks we will be touring Britain from the coast of Dorset to the Highlands in Scotland. 

Cute pilot for our Easy Jet flight to Gatwick. 

 It has been a year since Sophie flew with Daddy. The flight was so empty that I had the row to myself in front of them. Although it was sunny in Duesseldorf we had to wait a bit for the fog to lift at Gatwick. That did not bode well. 

 Auntie Sandra fetched us from the airport and here we were in the middle of the New Forest after an al fresco ploughman's lunch and some tea.

 The New Forest is full of wild horses. We spotted some right next to the road.

 Then we walked down a path to look for the wild deer. They were hanging out in the distance.

 We found the truck with the Dorset ice cream. Spicy ice cream (mint chocolate chip) of course for Sophie and rhubarb custard crumble for the rest of us. Yum.

 After a long drive to Auntie Sandra's house in Bournemouth, we quickly stretched our legs at the playground.

- Flashback to March 2010 - 

England in Jubilee fever. Buntings and flags everywhere. All the papers were full of specials on the Queen. We kicked off our Jubilee celebrations in style with this Victoria sponge cake.

 Sophie had the Queen on her piece. 

Summer in the City

We took the subway to the city today to look for some sandals for Sophie. Unfortunately, due to the lack of service and choice in the stores, I was much luckier on the internet that evening.

But our trip was not in vain, as we found a nice ice cream place right by the city hall (Sophie also calls this a castle). And to top it off, they had spicy ice cream for the princess.

A Sunny Sunday or Big Sister for an Afternoon

Dare I say it? Could it be that summer is sneaking this way? I am no longer pulling up my shoulders when I go outside either because I am cold or to keep the rain from going down my neck. How I have missed this weather! And I think I am the person who is the most excited about this in Germany because I have already heard so many complaints about the humidity. What humidity? If you want humid and muggy, go to the Eastern half of the U.S. This here is just right.

Finally a sunny (and warm) Sunday!

 Already in the morning, Sophie was busy playing with neighbor boy Andrés in the paddling pool. A big hit! Look at that blue sky over there! And note how we have taken down the wire on the fences (not sure if I had mentioned this before) so that they actually have three gardens to run around in.

 When Andrés had swimming lessons in the afternoon, Sophie got to play big sister for a few hours with little Adrian. She was being very good with him. She did not leave his side.

 She even helped getting him dressed so that we could take a walk over to the playground.

 This is where we ran into Sophie's other new friend, Talisa, who lives right above the ice cream parlor. After they rode their bikes for a while, a long while, we were all ready for some ice cream. A very nice couple let the girls cut ahead of them in line and then treated them to their ice creams. How nice!

And that was the last time we saw Sophie's bicycle in working order. The next day the inner tube had blown. Maybe it's time to upgrade to a seriously roadworthy bicycle. We will have to ask Dad because he is making the money (I quote Sophie).

Check It off the List

We visited a couple of food places we had missed today.

 Lee's (Vietnamese) Sandwiches

... and Yoogl frozen yogurt (although our local ice cream parlor is very good).

Ice Cream Date with Tiger

While waiting for Andrew to make his train journey home from Leipzig, Sophie and I took Tiger out for ice cream. 

 Chocolate was the flavor of the day.

Tiger enjoyed it, too. 

Making New Friends

Today, our next door neighbor and new friend, Andrés (just turned three) and his mum Gabi (originally from Mexico City) and baby brother Adrian joined us for some ice cream at the local ice cream parlor. I think we struck it very lucky with our neighbors. Had a great time celebrating New Year's together. 

Of Monsters, Rain Boots, Koffers, and Bees

With all the rain last week we had to think of some silly games for inside.

 How about this for a scary Halloween costume. Note to self: must visit California next year in October for pumpkin patch, Halloween and some of the best weather of the year.

 A perfect fit I say.

 They journey to and from Anke's was almost over and I had still not taken a picture of Sophie's own brand new 'Koffer.'

Finally back for more ice cream when the sun came back. We had a bit of a bee scare this time. Look closely - it's flying right by Sophie (it only looks as if it landed on her hand). Sophie of course panicked and screamed. Talk about getting the German stare from the other tables! The bee finally drowned in Sophie's ice cream. What a way to go. 

(Just noticed the shot of the cigarettes and lighter - yuck!)

The Ladybug Group

So here is our report on Sophie's first day of preschool (or Kindergarten as she calls it now). 

She was assigned to the Ladybug Group, as if they knew that we have a ladybug girl. It's a Catholic Montessori Preschool. We are amazed they accepted her even though we filled out 'Atheist' in the religion column. Pretty much all preschools are sponsored by the Church in Germany (especially in the countryside), unless you go to a Waldorf preschool. I guess we'll deal with the question of who Jesus is, when she asks us. On the other hand, I'm excited with the Montessori part of it. There is so much for her to explore, good discipline, but not too much structure yet. A lot of freedom. 

And thank goodness, they have more than a chest full of dress-up clothes!

 Sophie eating her snack. Fruit is sitting out all morning for the kids to eat, and they can eat their breakfast when they want anytime before ten (with a few gentle reminders by the teachers).
I left her there to play after about an hour. She seemed very excited to come back tomorrow.

 In the afternoon we walked into town. It was a busy day for the munchkin. She was actually dozing off in the stroller on the way home but only after she devoured her spicy ice cream. (Yes, they have peppermint/chocolate flakes ice cream).

 ...as for the boys, still in cat heaven!

On a mission to find more long sleeve/warm dresses for Sophers, as she refuses to wear trousers. She is such a princess.