Autumn 2014 - How time passes...

Time for some autumn reflections - the pictures show it clearly, the kids are growing up quicker than we ever imagined.

World Cup Fever

 

This is a dream come true - we spend the summer in Munich when Germany wins the World Cup.

Needless to say, we took it all in and immersed ourselves in the party.

Spring in Catalunya - Sitges and Barcelona

 

Pfingstferien! In Bavaria, school kids get two weeks of Pentecost holidays. So, we headed to Spain, Catalunya to be precise, where we spend a wonderful week in Sitges and Barcelona.

Ski Holidays - Planneralm, Austria

Faschingsferien!
Germany has it's own variation of Carnival, and it's called Fasching. Depending on what part of Germany you're in, it's either a really big deal, or not so much. In Cologne and surrounding areas, it's huge, and they celebrate it for weeks with lots of parties and extravagant costumes with the culmination of a giant festival at the end of Fasching. Here in Munich, it's not as popular as other areas but each school still has a whole-day event where kids and parents come together in costume, and celebrate with a giant carnival with lots of music, dancing, games and delicious treats! But if you ask me, the best part of Fasching is that the kids get a week off of school!! So naturally, we headed to the Alps for a week of skiing!!
Let me just say, that even though the traffic was terrible, and at times we were almost at a standstill on the Autobahn because almost everyone else in Europe was doing the exact same thing, I will never be jaded by the experience, and will always appreciate the time that we are able to share as a family and the adventures that we have been having!
What made this week even more memorable, is that we were joined by our relatives. My aunt Sonny, cousin Selma (7 mths pregnant at the time) and her husband Sebastian (Basti), and his parents Michael and Barbara (Babsi), all met us in the mountains and we stayed across the hall from each other in the same chalet. And for a change, I didn't do any of the cooking! My Aunt is an amazing cook, and did all of the food preparations and planning well in advance of our trip, so that all we ever had to do was take off our ski boots and sit down to eat :)
So we knew that we were going to have lots of great company and delicious food, but we had no idea that we were also going to experience some of the greatest snow and skiing conditions of our lives!! Before we arrived, it basically snowed for almost 2 days straight, and then it snowed again throughout the following evening, and then again 2 nights later, to the point where we had powder like conditions on most of the runs!  It was amazing!! And it was never cold (minus 5ish). Every morning we bundled up, like good Canadians do, and after a couple of runs everyone was looking to shed all of the layers that I was diligently forcing them to wear. Luckily, our chalet was only 50 metres or so away from the lift, so this was hardly an inconvenience.
And due to the fact that we were never cold, we never really had to combat cabin fever. So when we weren't skiing, we could play outside in the snow, either sledding, digging tunnels or even finding cars that were buried under the snow! Seriously. For days we thought we were playing on a snowplow drift that had been covered in fresh snow. Can you imagine our shock when we discovered that we were actually climbing on someone's van, that was actually covered/buried in snow right in front of our chalet?? Needless to say, we played a little further away from our front door after that...

Before you check out our latest video, I would like to add one more thing: We are clearly not professional sport videographers. We're also not professional skiers! While we would love to show you some amazing Warren Miller like shots, it is not easy to ski and and take videos with a tiny "point and shoot" pocket camera at the same time. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun, even though we couldn't take videos of some of the more challenging runs. Who knows, maybe one day, we'll actually get a proper "Go" camera :)

Enjoy!

Skiing in Garmisch-P.

 

After skiing on Brauneck Mountain last week we made our way to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, arguably Germany's prime ski resort. Glorious does not even begin to describe the sunshine we had this day. After busy traffic on the Autobahn (many Bavarians had the same plans as us given the weather) we were able to enjoy some great skiing and hospitality. Speaking of the latter, ski chalets are simply in a different league here in Europe - great food and drinks in a fun and rustic atmosphere. In terms of skiing it is a pleasure to see the kids have so much fun. After this wonderful day we can hardly wait to head back to the mountains for more great skiing and après-ski in the coming weeks.

First Skiing Holidays in the Alps

 

After a warm Holiday season with little snow and one failed attempt to go skiing when torrential rain fall resulted in the closure of the ski resort of our choosing, we finally had an awesome outing to Brauneck in the German Alps. Fresh snow and great weather awaited us, and Sam and Jenna took full advantage of it. We hope to do lots more of it in the coming weeks. It is so exciting to be so close to the mountains!!  Hope you enjoy the video.

Christmas in Germany

 

After weeks of anticipation, finally came Christmas. We celebrated at Oma and Opa's in Pierre's hometown of Bückeburg. We started our journey to the north of Germany as soon as the kids came home from school. On our way we stopped for the night in Würzburg, where, once again, we visited a beautiful Christmas market.

Season's Greetings

  

For several years have we been looking forward to being in Germany during the Advent season. After all, Germany is the home of Christmas markets, with all the atmosphere, treats and warm drinks that get you into the right holiday spirit. When living in Edmonton Pierre always felt homesick during Advent and Christmas time. So naturally we made every effort to make the month of December extra special. Munich has quite a number and variety of Christmas markets to offer. We really liked and often enjoyed the traditional Christmas market in the courtyard of the Residenz, the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs near our apartment in the center of the city. Competing for our attention was the nearby medieval Christmas market at the Siemens headquarters, and of course the Christkindl Markt am Marienplatz in the Altstadt (to name a few). But even the alternative Tollwood Festival on the Oktoberfest fields excited us with all its lights, young crowds and ethnic cousine. But we didn't limit ourselves to our Munich backyard, so to say. We traveled to Innsbruck in Austria and to Verona, Italy, where we experienced a magical time visiting the display of numerous nativity scenes from around the world in the ancient Roman amphitheatre.

And then there was our trip to the small town of Ried in Austria. We had heard about the 'Nikolaus' procession and subsequent 'Krampus', which is a tradition in Austria and particularly in the area of Tirol. We had no idea of what to expect from this event.

Well, the Nikolaus procession was nice, with Nikolaus and two angels coming to the tiny town square, where children and families had gathered to traditional Christmas brass music. All the kids swarmed Nikolaus and his helpers, and even Sam and Jenna got gift bags with sweet treats.

Then, families with little kids retired for the evening, and members of the local fire station moved their firefighting equipment into place, barricades were positioned and the crowd of older kids and adults gathered behind them in anticipation. After some time something truly bewildering started: Groups of devilish creatures entered the square accompanied by techno and hard-rock music. The creatures blew on horns producing bone-chilling siren sounds and carried all kinds of fireworks and torches (hence the fire crew). Kids who got too close or were taunting the devils were beaten with rutes made from sticks. Jenna was scared and Karla took her to the warmth and safety of a nearby restaurant, while Sam stayed on Papa's shoulders to watch the mayhem. Who knew that Austria could be this 'tribal'. Our video gives an account of this crazy event. 

****WARNING****GRAPHIC CONTENT****

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi

I have been lingering over the keyboard for some time, not quite sure where to begin. We have been having such an amazing journey, and have been blessed to encounter many wonderful and amazing people along the way. As we have learned, all too often, people come and then they go. We've had this disheartening realization many times before, back home.

Meeting people is easy enough, it just takes a quick "hello" or "how are you doing?"...but if you're careful, and if you're paying attention at the right time, there is always an opportunity for so much more. Before we had children, we made friends through mutual friends, or the University, or through clubs or organizations that we had joined. Now we happen to meet them in the park or at the playground, or even the entrance at school (children are, after all, the universal magnet for drawing people together). Inevitably, something just clicks, and if you're like me, you eventually invite them over for dinner and the rest is history.

Luckily at IBZ (our host organization), we have a trampoline and a giant sandbox with a slide, and that is where all the kids congregate and where we first encountered our German friends from Australia (or are they Australians now, from Germany?), Finn - 5yrs old, Felix 19mo, Folker and Stephi. At first, it was nice to sit outside while the children played and just have another adult to speak with, but the children quickly developed a strong bond and it didn't take much longer before we were all intertwined in the daily routines and functions of each others lives, and happily so! We thought moving into the smaller apartment would be so terrible, but it put us next door to SFFF, and suddenly it was like having two apartments instead of one! The kids beat a path back and forth to each others apartments day and night, and eventually so did we.

We never intended to spend very much time in our apartment, because Bavaria was waiting for us, but SFFF gave us a reason to call this place home, and we looked forward to sharing it with them :) Sadly, though, their time in Germany has come to an end, and they have returned to Australia. And where the hallways were once alive with the sound of children coming and going, now the doors are closed and only an empty echo remains. And the silence is deafening.

Stephi, you once called us beautiful souls, and the feeling is truly mutual. I will always appreciate your unique perspective, and be grateful for your invaluable insight. It is so appropriate that the skies are finally grey and misty over Munich.
Safe travels, SFFF. May the sun shine even brighter over Brisbane, now that you're back home.
Thank you for the love, our hearts will always be with you.

KPSJ

Oma and Opa in München

Oma and Opa came for a visit to Munich on the last weekend of November. And we made sure they had a great time. It is Glühwein (mulled wine) season in Munich. Needless to say, we went to the Viktualien market as well as to the Eiszauber festival at the Stachus square where the grownups sampled delicious Glühwein and the kids Kinderpunch. We took them to Starnberg to meet Karla's Aunt Sonny, Uncle Erich, and Cousin Selma and her fiance Basti. We crisscrossed Munich on foot, by subway and bus to show them as much of our new home city as possible (Oma and Opa probably fell right into bed every time after we dropped them off at their hotel). Dinner and beers at the famous Hofbräuhaus was a must. We went with Oma and Opa to the Olympia Park, the Sea Life aquarium, and capped off the day with a view from the Fernsehturm (TV tower). It was a great weekend.
Did we mention that Maggie was there? She was in Augsburg for the weekend, and took the train to Munich to visit us for half a day!

Berlin

Jenna and Samuel on Tour

 

 

We hopped on a high-speed train with our parents and went to Berlin, where we saw awesome things and had a lots of fun. Even better, we met Maggie! She came for a day and became part of our adventure. We toured the Reichstag (German Parliament Building) at the Government Centre, the Brandenburg Gate, the famous Ku'damm shopping boulevard, the television tower at Alexanderplatz, the Sony Centre at Potsdammer Platz with 3-D movie (Hotel Transylvania) and Legoland Discovery Centre, the Berlin Wall, and much more...

Check out our Berlin video!

Munich

Festivals ohne Ende...

MUNICH, and not a moment too soon! It's great to finally be here, and have a place to finally call our own. We realize that we've been in transition, more or less since May, and despite the fact that we've enjoyed all the places we've been to, and all the friends and family that we've seen, it's great to settle down and resume a normal existence again :) 

At least that's what I thought...

Ever since we got here, it's been one huge party after another, and there always seems to be something exciting going on! We haven't spent very much time in our apartment at all, because once again, we always seem to be on the go!! The greatest thing about our apartment is the location. We are less than 10 minutes walking distance away from the Altstadt (historical downtown), and closer than that to Englischer Garten, which is larger than Central Park, and where we can ride our bikes along the river and then stop for refreshments at one of the many beer gardens that seem to be everywhere (Yippee!!)

Although our new neighborhood is extremely busy, and always bustling with people because we live right in the middle of the University district, the location is amazing. 

Our apartment is 1 block away from Leopold Strasse, which is the main boulevard leading into the heart of the city. So whenever there is a festival, or a party, or a special date that needs to be commemorated, they basically just shut it down to traffic, and have one giant street party after another. Best of all, though, is that we live smack dab in the middle of all that! We just go out the back door, and around the corner, and we're there! And because school doesn't start until the middle of September, the kids seem to think that they don't have to go to school in Germany. So we're going to let them live with this illusion for a little longer, because their reality is looming around yet another corner...

In the meantime, we invited Grandma on very short notice to join us for Oktoberfest, and surprise Samuel for his 8th birthday! We had amazing weather while she was here, and the city of Munich did their best to roll out the welcome mat for all of us!!!!

Watch the video: Tag der deutschen Einheit - "German Unification Day"

The following video was actually taken from YouTube. It's not necessarily in chronological order, but they did a really great job of splicing it together, and it really captures the essence of the moment. Tag der deutschen Einheit is the German version of Canada Day. It's their national holiday. 

We consider ourselves so fortunate to be able to take in all of these wonderful moments, but there's also a sombre side to this day. Being of German descent, we are well aware of Germany's history, and the terrible atrocities that Hitler and the Nazi regime were responsible for. We also know that Germany, as a nation, has atoned for many of these actions; though no one can ever really set a price for crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, this is the burden of history that all future generations must bear. 

The neighborhood that we presently live in, was very relevant to the history of that era, and we often find ourselves pausing to reflect on the magnitude of that. Military parades and political rallies once took place along Leopold Strasse and Odeonsplatz; not street festivals and open air concerts. 

Personally, I have always felt that with great privilege comes great responsibility, and as parents we are trying to convey this to our children by example. We consider ourselves so fortunate to live in Canada, and live in an era where our children and our cities are not affected by war. Tag der deutschen Einheit is a good example of a nation moving forward, but it also serves as a stark reminder that we need to maintain our vigilance as good citizens, and take action against the many perils that exist in our world today.

We were very moved by this day. We hope you enjoy the video. 

Hannover to Starnberg

August - a time for family and friends

Well, Austria was lovely, and we're feeling extremely rejuvenated, so it must be time to travel from one end of Germany to the other again, and head north towards Hannover and Bueckeburg so that we can celebrate Jenna's birthday with Oma and Opa! The kids are REALLY excited to see them again!! And it's always special for Pierre to come back home, and show the kids his old stomping grounds :)
It also means we'll finally catch up to the Kiltz family, and we can spend Danielle's birthday together in Hannover on August 3rd. Unfortunately, we won't get to see Kristin because she'll be staying with her friends by the time we see them, but the kids are really excited to see Konrad and Landon, and hear all about their adventures!
It will be hard saying goodbye to the Kiltz's, especially since Danielle and I have been in constant contact while they've been over here, but we're thankful for the time that we'll have together.

Soon enough, we will be reconnecting with many of our friends from Bueckeburg, and we're really looking forward to that! Especially since we'll be staying with our friends Jenny and Volker, where the kids will have lots of room to play, and there's always ICE cold beer in the fridge!

Austria

Our Germany trip begins in Austria... (thanks to Family Kiltz)

I'm going to take a moment to retrace our steps...

This year in Germany had always been a goal of ours on the far-away horizon of our distant future, pretty much from the time Pierre and I got married. We travelled to Germany as a family in 2010, 2 years in advance of our trip, so that we could get a feel for the city and the area, check out the kids school and begin the gradual process of preparing the kids for our eventual journey. Pierre and I even came back the following year to register the kids (a year in advance) at their future school. We also went to IBZ (host organization for visiting University Professors) and confirmed our rental arrangements (a year in advance) for where we would be living in Munich. Needless to say, we were prepared. We had all the details covered, and we were very well organized...

What a difference a year makes! Looking back on everything now, the past 12 months seem like sooooo long ago, but at the time, it felt like we were under siege! And I have to give full credit to Pierre for being the amazing man that he is. When some of our well organized details began to unravel in Germany, or Visa details, German passports, Grant applications, final exams, his career, etc.  became complicated and time consuming issues, he never cracked. My decision to help coach and manage Sam's soccer team also did very little to alleviate the pressure we were under, but once again, Pierre juggled his schedule some more, and picked up the slack when we weren't there. When we bought our new house, we were thrilled to finally be moving into the same neighborhood where the kids go to school. I still don't know what scale to use to measure how quickly our excitement turned to disappointment when we realized just how much time and energy we were going to have to throw into the new house before we could leave for Germany.

At the time, it was hard not to be as involved at school as I would have liked. It was a hard decision not to be playing soccer, and it was hard to not be more involved with our church. It was also really hard not to have the time for our friends. At the end of the day, time was becoming our enemy, because we simply didn't have enough of it.

But with a little bit of prayer, and a lot of God's blessings, we managed. We also managed because we have amazing friends, neighbors and family!  To all of those who were there in the trenches with us, Thank You! Thank you for picking the kids up from school; for taking them on playdates; for running errands; for making us meals; for your prayers; for babysitting; for garage sales; for cleaning; for packing; for yard work; for listening; FOR EVERYTHING!!  No task was insignificant, no offer ever went unappreciated! To the staff at Rio Terrace School, and especially Heather, thank you for all your support in the final few weeks, and in the support we know is still there. And to Agnes and Patrick (our renters), thank you for your graciousness. We are thrilled that our home is being cared for by your wonderful family.

Finally, Germany.

I find it somewhat ironic that when we finally reached our destination, after more than a decade of anticipation, we basically dropped our suitcases off and went straight to Austria! The Kiltz family made us an offer we couldn't refuse, and we had the use of their rental apartment for a few days (sadly, without them) in beautiful Maria Alm, while they made their way to Munich! And we loved it!! Our only caveat was the weather - torrential downpour and grey skies one minute, blue skies and sweltering heat half an hour later...

Nevertheless, it was nice to finally just exhale. After the chaos back home, the whirlwind tour through Niagara Falls and Toronto, it was great to realize that we did it!! And being surrounded by the beauty and splendor of the Alps was the perfect tonic for our tired family.

So my dear friends and family, as you view our blog, we promise you this; though we will never forget where we came from, and those we left behind, our eyes and minds are firmly on the path before us. We want to embrace the time that we finally have for each other, and really make each day count. Our children are so precious, and their love for us unconditional, and we can't wait to share in this adventure with them, and see how they grow and learn during this journey away from home. If you don't hear from us very often, then that's a sign that we're taking it all in! But don't let that stop you from getting in touch with us. This blog is a work in progress, and we would love to hear your thoughts and comments. It's our way of staying connected to you, so please share in it with us, and share it with anyone you think we may have forgotten.

Lots of love,
KPSJ

Toronto

T.O. awaits us... 

 

 

We got to Toronto in the middle of a heat-wave...36 degrees by day, and massive thunderstorms and lightning by night!! Neat introduction to the big city, but unfortunately, we spent most of our time at the hotel pool (too bad Pierre had to work at his conference). I made the mistake of trying to walk to the hockey hall of fame from our hotel, and the kids had melted in the heated and totally disintegrated by the time we got there, so we took a taxi back to the hotel and went swimming instead. (everyone had the same idea of beating the heat inside a huge air conditioned building, and the-line up was massive)
We did manage to get to the Ontario Science Center, which was super cool, and Pierre was totally in his element there! We also went to the Royal Ontario Museum, CN Tower (the glass floor was super cool), and Centreville Island; which we had to take a ferry to get there, and it had another amusement park so we got to go on some more really awesome rides!!!
The kids thought our hotel was pretty swank, and were once again spoiled by the luxury of staying at a conference hotel. We overlooked the "new" City Hall, and were two blocks away from Yonge Street.
We really enjoyed going to the Distillery District for dinners, and Samuel tickled the ivories of a public street piano that was there. Before we left the big city, we also made it to China town for some cheap tourist shopping, and good eats!

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls Vacation - Our Journey begins...

 

 

We kick-started our journey to Germany with a quick family vacation in Niagara Falls. Grandma, Auntie Heide and our little cousin Emily also came along! We stayed in a great hotel that had an awesome waterpark, and loved going on the waterslides. Seeing the FALLS was really cool, and going on the Maid of the Mist was even better - we got super soaked!!
But the best of all was going to MARINELAND!!! (everyone loves Marineland) We got to see lots of marine life, including an ORCA, and we went on lots of really fun rides. Sammy even went on the SKYSCREAMER!! (watch a Skyscreamer video here). He had so much fun, he wants to go back there on our way home to Edmonton...