Canary Islands

Back when it was -15 degrees C here, we were desperate to get out of the cold and see some sunshine.  So we headed off to the Canary Islands for a week.

So nice to see the sun!

While it wasn't too hot (around 20-21 C / 70 F), it was a vast improvement over snowy, icy Luxembourg.

The beach was gorgeous:
 



The kids built sand castles,

splashed in the pool

built elaborate canals,

and enjoyed the local wildlife:

Unfortunately, we all got nasty colds while there but if you have to be sick, it's not so bad to recover while lying by the pool or beach with a good book.

Will, sick and feverish on day two

Kate, sick & feverish on day three

My view as I recovered

Fortunately, by the fourth day we were all sufficiently well to take a little submarine ride.  We saw some great fish:

Kate was really impressed!

Will was so impressed he forgot to hide from the camera!

We also visited a local market 

where Kate picked up a pretty Spanish dress

to wear to the hotel's nightly "Mini Disco":

One day we rented a car and drove around the island, which is literally covered with volcanoes:

We also got to see some very cool Spanish windmills:

It was really windy!

Will wasted no time in climbing to the top of the windmill:

But the highlight of the day -- if not the trip -- was the sand dunes of Corralejo:

Check out the pattern:

And isn't it amazing something can actually grow in that?


These dunes were incredible.  They seemed to stretch on for miles:

The kids deemed them perfect for climbing up and sliding  or rolling down:

Or, even better, having Dad race down the hills, dragging them behind:

They may still have some sand in their ears.

Well worth it, I'd say.

So a couple of weeks ago we took a quick trip to Berlin.  Why you ask?  Well, at the end of this summer, we'll be packing up our things and moving to Berlin!  It'll be a big change for us but we're excited... or most of us are.  Will, who's older and fairly settled in his school now, is more than a little apprehensive about the move.  

This trip gave us the chance to see the city (first time for me and the kids!), check out a couple possible schools, get a feel for the various neighborhoods and even tour a few houses, but even more importantly, it gave us the opportunity to introduce Berlin to the kids in the most positive way possible.  This meant no boring museums, no long treks to crowded touristy sites, not one thing that could be construed as boring to the little ones.  So did we see the Brandenburg Gate?  Checkpoint Charlie?  The remnants of the Berlin Wall?  No, no and no.  We hit exactly zero of Berlin's must-see tourist destinations.  But we did manage to do some pretty cool things during our visit:

1. Walking on a frozen lake:  Berlin was cold.  Colder than any place I've ever been in my life!  While we were there it got down to -19 degrees Celsius (that's -2.2 F) with a wind that I swear swept straight in from Siberia.  Brrr!  Not such good weather for sightseeing but perfect for sliding around on one of Berlin's many frozen lakes.

I can't believe I'm smiling in this picture.  I literally could not feel my face.

2.  Visited the Berlin Aquarium  -- We'd intended to go to the zoo but then we decided it was just too cold.  Perfect weather for the polar bears but not so much for us.  So instead we stopped by the adjacent aquarium to check out the aquatic creatures.  It's not as impressive as the Monterey Bay Aquarium but the kids loved it anyway.

This is actually just outside the zoo.

3.   Stumbled upon a Carnival parade --  This had to be the highlight of the trip for the kids.  As we were walking back from the aquarium to our hotel, we happened upon this incredible parade:  

Tons of floats, marching bands, dancers and, best of all, people throwing CANDY and TOYS!  

Kate was literally stunned with joy.

Will was so overcome he even forgot to be annoyed when his sister hugged him.

The kids were in heaven.   They ran around like maniacs filling their pockets and ours with as much candy as they could scoop up.  We're still working our way through it two weeks later.

The best part of this was that, in preparation for our trip, I had bought a couple of children's books about Berlin, including this one about the Berlin Airlift.  It's a charming story about a little girl living in Berlin shortly after WWII when the city's supplies were cut off and American forces had to drop in goods by air to keep the people alive.  Much to the delight of local children, one pilot started dropping chocolate bars, each with its own little handkerchief parachute. It's a lovely book, very moving, so much so in fact that I kept getting choked up as I read it.  The kids loved it too.  Kate in particular was enthralled by this story, so when we found this parade and -- upon being hit in the head with a chocolate bar -- she actually shouted, "Mom, can you believe it?  They really do throw candy at you in Berlin!  I LOVE it here!"  :)

She may be in for a rude awakening when she realizes that candy doesn't actually fall out of the sky every day in Berlin.

But, all in all, it was a successful trip!

A Perfect Snow

I have a love-hate relationship with snow.  I love to look at it, I love to watch the kids play in it, but I hate driving in it, I hate how cold it is, I hate when it turns the sidewalks into treacherous sheets of ice, I hate the inevitable brown slush, and most of all -- did I mention? -- I hate driving in it.

But this week we had what I'd call a perfect snow:  just enough to cover everything with a light dusting, to let the kids fling snowballs at each other, but not enough for all the other unpleasant things that go along with snow.

Everything looks better with a light dusting of snow!

Perfect.

Two Years

So today marks the second anniversary of our arrival in Luxembourg.  Two years.  Can you believe it??  Here are some highlights from our second year here:

January:

Indoor skiing in Amneville, France.  Kate's first time on skis.

February:

Our trip to London

March:

Skiing in Austria

..and some hiking too

Springtime with friends in the park

April:

Someone got roller blades for his 7th birthday!

And Kate got her first bike.

May:

Making daisy chains in Echternach

And some trampolining

June:

Amsterdam!

National Day in Lux

July: Our trip back to the U.S.

Healthy American breakfast

Foggy beaches in San Francisco

August:

Schueberfouer here in Lux (after two years here I still can't spell that word!)

September:

Apple picking in Steinsel

The amazing castle, Burg Eltz, Germany

October:

Kate turned 5!

Will's arm ended up in a sling

Trick-or-treating!  (At least the sling went well with his mummy costume.)

November:  I was once again blown away by the fall foliage

And we went on a huge road trip through Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland:

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

A rare family photo in Venice

December:

Kate's Christmas play.  She was a doll. 

And we took another long road trip through France and Switzerland.

Somewhere in Switzerland

Snow angels in Chamonix, France

It snowed.  A LOT!!

And the kids enjoyed some excellent regional food:

Kate enjoying Tartiflette in Chamonix

Belgian waffles at the Brussels Christmas market

Whew!  What a year.  In total, we visited ten countries in our second year here, but we have so many more we want to see.  Don't worry, we have big plans for 2012...

Road Trip -- Part ?? IV I think

Even though we finished this road trip nearly two months ago (and have since undertaken another one nearly as long), I do want to post about the last leg of our journey.  It annoys me to leave things unfinished, so here it is.


View Larger Map

896 kilometers
9 hours 31 minutes

The last leg of our trip took us from Vicenza, Italy, to Lucerne, Switzerland, where we stayed one night, and finally, FINALLY, back home to Luxembourg.

It was a beautiful drive.


Though much of the mountains was hidden by fog,

we could see dozens of little waterfalls tumbling off the side of the hills.

We didn't have much time in Lucerne, but we still enjoyed walking around and looking at the sights.  Unfortunately, it was nearly dark by the time we'd checked into our hotel and set off, so we don't have too many photos. 

In front of one of Lucerne's covered bridges

The river running through the city was especially beautiful:

Silly girl.

The best part of the day for Kate, though, was her first taste of fondue.  Bread and cheese.--her ideal dinner.

This was good practice for our next road trip (Chamonix, France) in which Kate probably ate her body weight in cheese, most of it the really stinky kind much to her brother's dismay.

Will, who has decided that all cheese is disgusting, was not happy with our choice of restaurant.  Chocolate fondue for dessert cheered him right up, though...

Poor, neglected blog

I'm sorry for the long absence.  I've been writing entries in my head but they somehow haven't made it here yet.  But they will soon, promise!