Trick or Treat

Today, the day after Halloween, is a holiday in Germany (surprise!) - All Saints Day. For us that is another day with everything closed. We were happy to see that some English-speaking parents had organized a little trick or treat get together at a park. Too bad it started raining just as we exited the subway. 

 We moved the candy hunt under the trees which provided some shelter. Sophie was dressed up as Belle today.

 But after some time, we were all ready for some hot chocolate or coffee to warm up.

 Somebody knew of a wonderful, kid-friendly, cafe nearby that specializes in home-made chocolates, cakes and ice cream. 

Bo and Sophie are enjoying their kids ice creams.

The big attraction was a brand new baby. 

Despite the rain, it was a fun afternoon with fun people.

Revisiting Bambi

Sophie and I met with our friends Tali, Jonathan and Lia at the wild animal park in Grafenberg today. Even though we still have so many places to explore in Duesseldorf, we make regular trips back here because it is so close and a fun place to quickly escape into nature. 

 Jonathan and Sophie on the seesaw.

 This time we brought the right food: potatoes for the boar and carrots for the deer.

The carrots were gone so fast!

 Lia being silly with Sophie

And a final ride on the seesaw.

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

Kingston Lacy

After a somewhat quick obligatory stop at the shops in Bournemouth (some of us needed outfits fitting to meet the Queen), we took a drive to the countryside.

This is Kingston Lacy - a beautiful country house which was given to the National Trust in 1981. 

Auntie Sandra was so kind to take Sophie on the preschooler tour so that Andrew and I were able to stroll through the house and take it all in. 

We entered through the laundry house or should I say the turn of the century Miele showroom?

Collecting ideas for our own interior decoration

Princess stairs

Talk about a library! 

Somewhere on a desk was a bust of Kaiser Wilhelm, who had visited Kingston Lacy. The bust was tucked back into its box and stowed in the cellar for a few years in 1914.

Isn't this how everyone in England still sets their table for dinner?

Love the pink.

We spotted a painting of Kate Middleton!

A spider in the bathtub

Sophie was fascinated

All that separated me from the cows was the ha-ha. 

 The highlight of the preschooler tour of Kingston Lacy was finding the hidden chest full of outdoor toys.

 One more view of Kington Lacy.

Finally, here is the dress which Auntie Sandra had bought for Sophie. I think I have seen Kate wear such a dress on a couple of occasions. 

Wildpark Grafenberg

Sunshine again, so we packed a picnic and headed to a nearby park with wild animals local to the area. As I took us down the wrong track initially (thus not helping Elly's bad back - sorry), we decided to stop for a snack halfway up the hill (yes, there are indeed hills here) by a very well designed playground.

 Sophie and Ciaran let their imaginations go wild, sailing on pirate ships and sitting in a bird house, while Elly and I soaked up the sun.

 I was waiting for them to discover this reindeer in the woods bordering the playground for some good pictures.

 Is it any surprise she is looking so battered?

 Moving on to the animal park. The kids collected their own walking sticks, copying the numerous Nordic walkers, such as the one ahead of them on the picture.

There were little mice all along the sides of the trail much to our entertainment.

 The long march was well worth it: the young boar were so cute. Munching away on our apples we brought. (You were allowed to feed them with certain foods.)

 There was a steep downhill trail past the boar enclosure, where Sophie's knees kissed the asphalt. She is on the best way to have her knees look like her mother's. Fortunately, a very nice elderly lady had some bandaids for us. By the time we reached the deer enclosure, she was much better.

 The deer walked right up to us.

 Especially if we offered them food (again only certain foods which they normally eat).

After a long walk back to the bus and fueling up on a scoop of ice cream, it was time for a bath!

Sophie has been through the wars. That little bruise under her eye also happened on the playground yesterday. Mummy needs to keep her skills up after all. ;-) 

Again, Elly's link:

http://babyblogging.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/woodland-fun/

Picnic in South Park

We are back to Germany Sundays. That usually means a lazy morning in bed followed by Zumba, i.e. childwatch at the gym for Sophie. She enjoys the play structure inside the childwatch very much. The gym borders a large park, called Südpark with a big lake and a small petting zoo (see earlier blog). As the weather continues to be gorgeous, we packed a little picnic and rode the bike to the park after the gym.

 Sophie really enjoys taking pictures. She took both of these shots.

All Bundled Up

It's cold here and Sophie is having to get used to wearing many more layers than in California. 

I think she looks just like a fluffy Elmo on his tricycle with this snow suit and the helmet. 

I love to watch the little kids wobble across the playground in their snow and rain suits. 

By the way, despite near freezing temperatures, Sophie insisted on having ice cream today. 

Sunny Sunday at the Park

The rain is taking a break and we fueled up on Vitamin D at the large park behind our gym. I had just bought a guide to 'Düsseldorf with Children' the day before and it pointed out that there was a small petting zoo in one corner. 

 Sophie even dug out her sunglasses for the occasion. 

 These geese survived the holidays.

 As did these rather skinny looking ducks.

 I think they were called Indian Running ducks or something along those lines. We just found they looked hilarious.

Muffins, rhubarb cheese cake and café au lait al fresco in January. We are growing a thick skin.

Just too bad that these blue skies are not meant to stick around. 

Breaking New (Play) Grounds

As Daddy's arrival home was delayed by a few hours today, Sophie and I had time to explore. We grabbed the bike and ventured to the other end of town (about a ten minute ride) to discover a nearly perfect playground. It had all the rides Sophie likes... and more: giant slide, regular swing, tire swing, see-saw (double and single), roundabout, and this fun Tarzan-like rope swing, the name of which Andrew can't remember. We spent a good two hours there. I couldn't tell who was more tired by the end.

 We even spotted some other kids there at times to Sophie's delight.

 Pusteblume (dandelion)

 Time to pull on the old parachute pants.

 You spin me right round, baby, right round.

The rope swing-thing.