Rain, Rain, Go Away

My beginning German class which meets every day from 9-11.

Cooking dinner.



At the public library taking refuge from the rain.

At Maddie Sue's pre-school when we picked her up today.

Some days are just plain unfriendly here. The gloomy cold weather coupled with the non-stop rain made me long for an indoor McDonalds play area. Instead, after picking up Maddie Sue at school this afternoon we walked in the pouring rain to the public library to spend a few hours reading books and playing board games.

Once we returned home we all took baths, got in our PJs, made and ate dinner and I just finished painting Maddie Sue's toe and fingernails. I am completely out of ideas and therefore the two of them are watching iCarly in German until bedtime. Austin has turned into our family historian and has chosen to document our entire day with photographs. Here are some of the ones he has chosen to share. I had to veto the bathtub ones he snuck in to take!

Austin and me after school. He likes to go get hot chocolate and talk about his day before we pick up Maddie Sue. It's been nice to have some time alone with him on this trip.

Maddie Sue shows off her new scarf- she claims she looks just like me now- great.

Maddie Sue with Austin in front of her pre-school showing off her new stoller that I bought to encourage her to walk to and from school and walking around town rather than just relaxing in her own stroller then have tons of energy at the end of the day while I have none.

In our kitchen- above our heads is a HUGE lobster poster that I have cropped out to spare you.

Eating the dinner that Mary and Andy made for us in exchange for letting them use our washer and dryer. Sweet deal; no one ever cooks for me.

Mary and Andy and Maddie Sue, who is in love with both of them. Of course, that doesn't keep her from making lots of noise running around the apartment early mornings when they are surely trying to sleep in their bedroom right below our kitchen.

Yay- a nothing to do day!!!

in our kitchen

I caved in . . . I'm a bad Mom.

Pizza Delivery Boy- his pizza was fine. The one Maddie Sue and I shared had been tilted by the delivery boy and the cheese was served separate from the dough.

At Andilli Playarea

Finally a boring day! The kids and I walked to the mall in the rain and we bought day passes to play on the indoor playground. I worked on a mountain of unfinished work I had brought with me from the States and Maddie Sue and Austin played.

Although they stopped for a quick lunch, they pretty much played nearly six hours straight and I was able to get a lot of work done. The fact that they serve espresso everywhere helps with efficiency too of course.

Late afternoon we walked home in (more) rain and I put Maddie Sue down for a short nap. Austin was thrilled to be allowed to go downstairs and order pizza from the restaurant across the cobblestone alley by himself. He doesn’t realize I can watch him from the windows . . .

After dinner I packed Maddie Sue’s bag for her field trip tomorrow. All I know is that they are going somewhere by bus and will be gone all day. She’s very excited. I’m just happy she isn’t in the 4-year-old class since on Friday the parents all delivered those children with large suitcases for their weekend field trip with their teachers.

The kids and I are now hanging out cozy in the upper half of the apartment with its' slanted walls. I have the angled windows open and the rain pounding on the panes of glass would be sooo amazingly relaxing if I didn't have a two year old jumping up and down on the couch singing LOUDLY "It's raining it's pouring". . . Explain to me again why we can't give little kids cold meds to "help" them sleep anymore.

Half-way through our ride taking a break at, what else, a bakery.

Playground on the way

Yes, she doesn't have a helmet. The rental place only had one and at some point early in our day after watching him ride far far ahead of me I took it off her head and made Austin wear it.

Bike path between two castles we visited. I have almost caught up to Austin.

My biggest mistake of the day was casually commenting to Austin at the onset of our day-long bike tour: "Last year you really stuggled with bike riding. I wonder if you are in any better shape this year."

Our entire day consisted of me trying to keep up with him and him calling over his shoulder: "Mom. Hey, Mom! You still think I'm out of shape?"

Sigh.

Finally Friday!

Watching "Zach and Cody" in German.

Everyone is showered and in PJs and ready for bed. We rented biked this afternoon and since sun is predicted we're going to bed early so that we can grab our picnic and have a long bike ride tomorrow before the storms arrive on Sunday.

Changing into "outdoor" shoes from the "indoor" school shoes outside Austin's classroom. Austin now stays for Hort- afterschool program. He's been having great days. There is currently construction going on at his school of an underground gym for the students. Until that is completed, three times a week the kids and their teacher jump on the public bus and take it to a gymnasium nearby.

Austin's multi-age classroom.

Maddie Sue in her pre-school's bathroom. She and a little boy across from her had just finished having a long conversation while using the potties.

This video is of Austin biking in a circle around the Theaterplatz this afternoon- The National Theater of Weimar is behind the famous statue of Goethe and Schiller and is where the Weimar Republic was founded in 1919 when the first Republican constitution was drafted. The yellow building is the museum of the Bauhaus University which was founded by Walter Gropius.

Field Trip to Leipzig

Gewandhaus Orchestra before the concert (click to expand pictures)

Parisa playing at the Mendelsohn Haus

One of the best things about Germany- life stops at 3 p.m. for coffee and cake

Mary (conducting teacher's wife) and me - chocolate factory where we ate lunch from 1775 in the background

Maddie Sue and Austin- breakfast this morning

Walking to school

Yesterday we took our first long field trip with the SMU students. In the morning I walked the kids to their schools then walked to the train station. Amazing that before 9:30 a.m. I had already walked nearly three miles without trying to exercise. That would explain why my calves are killing me I guess. It's also rainy and chilly- therefore you will see me in my "Germany only" purple rain jacket and obligatory German scarf. I'm not sure if I am just paranoid or what exactly, but Germans believe that you can catch a cold from wind gusts on your throat and so I wear my German scarf religiously as soon as I see other women wrap theirs around their necks.

All but one of the ten students made it to the station on time. The last student was able to run and jump on the train just seconds before it pulled out of the station on its’ way to Leipzig. In Leipzig we braved the cold wind and the students learned a lot about the inner-city area of Leipzig (which covers only one-half of a square km) our two hour walking tour. I ate lunch with the other “adults” on the trip at a fun chocolate factory that first opened in 1775. In the afternoon we toured the Mendelsohn House and one of our SMU graduate students in piano played in Mendelsohn’s concert room.

I spent the afternoon drinking café au lait, eating rhubarb cake and shopping for gifts for celebrations that we have been invited to attend during our stay. The more often the kids and I come to Weimar, the more people we meet and the more invitations we receive. Although I love Weimar, it is very much a tourist town and not the best place to buy gifts, so it was fun to go shopping in a large department store.

That evening we took the students to listen to the famous Gewandhaus orchestra. Since our music students are studying conducting we bought seats in the choir loft and had an amazing view of the 27-year-old conductor and his orchestra. Although we had chartered a small bus to take us back to Weimar we still did not get home again until after midnight. The babysitter had picked both kids up at school, fed them at her house and then brought them back here for baths and bed.

Luckily, although they both like to wake up with the early rising German sun (or clouds as the case is today), at least they are over their jet lag and no longer wake up in the middle of the night anymore and think it’s time to play.

One of Austin’s favorite parts of the day is going downstairs and just one building over and buying our breakfast bread by himself each morning at one of the many bakeries. After we eat breakfast together we bundle up and depending if Austin has his first class first or second period (each day his schedule changes), we either walk Maddie Sue to her school and then him and then I walk to work or we walk him first and then drop off his sister.

This afternoon we are picking up the bikes that I rented for Austin and me- mine with a baby seat on the back. Although it is now pouring rain, I have high hopes that it will be a gorgeous day tomorrow. If not, no matter, we’ll still take a picnic and bike along the river to a nearby castle. Hopefully now that I've been walking a week the biking won't be quite so hard. With Maddie Sue pushing 45 lbs I have a feeling it's going to be tough going up the hills. . . At least I won't feel guilty when 3 p.m. rolls around and we stop for coffee and cake!

Austin's 1st Day of School

This afternoon we walked to the mall. There is a great indoor playground there where you can pay by the hour and let kids just run wild. Since bathrooms are free- woo hoo- no paying a Euro ($1.25) each time (!), with a potty training toddler it’s pretty much a wash even though you have to pay to play.

Today was Austin’s first day of school. In usual German school fashion they went on a field trip of which I was completely unaware. There is a circus training school in Cambodia that had partnered with Austin’s German school and the whole school walked and saw a preview performance today in town. Many of the kids recognized Austin from last year and he has a really good day. This evening he had even switched over to talking to me in German sometimes.

Tomorrow is a long day. Maddie Sue and Austin will be picked up at school by their babysitter and spend the evening with her and her kids while I take a train in the morning with the SMU students to Leipzig for a day filled with a walking city tour, a tour of the Mendelsohn house and in the evening a classical concert by the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra. We take a chartered bus back to Weimar, but still don’t get home again until well past midnight. I don’t mind the length of the day, I’m just hoping that the reports of pouring rain storms prove to be wrong because it's been my painfully learned experience that city tours go on regardless of the weather.