Zander’s Birthday Party

June 5, 2010

Zander is not 9 yet, he doesn’t turn 9 until July 19th, as a matter of fact, but since everyone disappears off the face of the earth in the summer in France, we decided to have his birthday party a bit early this year.   He decided, since he was inviting kids who like to make a ruckus, it was best to have the party in the Foret de Chailluz – and have it be a bike party.

We worked together to make an awesome bike cake….

  

Zander planned everything for his party and even had me help him make an agenda:

1. 2pm to 2:15 People get there – Activity: collect leaves/flowers, then squish them into paint
2. 2:15 to 2:45 Bike Ride
3. 2:45 to 3pm Water, watermelon and chips
4. 3 to 3:15 Scavenger Hunt
5. 3:15 to 3:30pm - Following Rope/Blind games
6. 3:30 to 3:45pm - cake and presents
7. 3:45 to 4:30 - cabane building
8. Give out goodbye gifts!

He invited 8 people, but only Jolan, Benjamin, Arnaud and Elie could come – and they had a hard time finding where to meet us in the forest!  But finally, everyone arrived, turned out that Benjamin didn’t know how to ride a bike at all.  Thinking ahead, I had brought Callie’s bike and helmet and I taught him.  He is a bit of a tough kid, but very physically gifted and was riding around on his own amazingly fast.  It was a total thrill to teach him – it’s like giving a kid wings….

 

Then it was snack time… It was a hot day; so very nice to hang out in the forest…

After the ride, they did a scavenger hunt – looking for things like rocks, leaves, sticks etc….

Then a crazy game we found in a book Aunt Melodie gave us where you blindfold the kids and they have to follow a rope that is wandering through the woods – it would have been better if we had a longer rope – but it was still fun!

Finally time for cake and presents, Zander is proud to be able to light the candles himself.

 

He got some fun toys and movies but my favorite was the picture Benjamin drew for him… It said: To Zander I love Zander and his mom (and his sister and brother).  He also gave Zander some of his own marbles – it was a gift made out of love… the best kind!

   

The last thing we did was try to build a cabane (little shelter) out of wood – unfortunately the area was pretty picked over since there were lots of picnickers in the area… so we didn’t finish.  Poor Andre had only returned from Norway the night before and crashed before the end of the festivities – as you can see!  Luckily Augustin was there to help out.

 

The party was fabulous, and the least stressful one I’ve run yet – getting them out in the forest is a great way to help diffuse energy and, when they get bored, they just run around behind some trees.  I am definitely picturing more forest parties in our future.  Most important, Zander had a great time.  Happy early birthday buddy!

GRS – the final chapter

May 9, 2010

So, the same day Daddie ran the Trail des Forts, Callie had another GRS competition.  Lilou’s mommie took the girls and we tried to make it in time to see her perform.  We only caught the tail end of her last show….  She is the second one from the left, with the other girl dancing around her.

After the performance, she did races and games with the other  students – between activities she hung around us a bit.  Daddie was so exhausted from his race, he ended up going back into the car to sleep for a couple hours!  I took a couple pictures of her in her fancy duds, and with her good pal Lilou…

   

At the end, a group of older girls (high school teens?) did an amazing, circus quality performance – it was awesome and then they finally gave out the medals to the kids.  Here is her group and her coach….

 

In fact, there was an end of the year spectacle as well – and Callie missed it because we went to Italy that week.  I came early to her last class of GRS in order to see them practicing it – she was very excited about it because she got to finally use the ribbons.  Here is the video (she is the one mostly in the back in a black leotard and white tights):

Callie seemed to like GRS and was certainly excellent at it, but is not interested in returning.  When I ask her why, she says it is because it is too hard – but then I tell her that is a bad reason for quitting.  Then she says she doesn’t really like it – even though she always seems happy while she is doing it.  Oh well!

Regensburg

April 14, 2010 (photo above thanks to wiki)

We had cut Regensburg from our last visit to Germany due to time constraints. Since our trip back from Austria cut right past it, and we needed to eat and stretch our legs, we stopped.

We had three sites to hit – the Cathedral, the Stone Bridge and the Historische Wurstkuchl (also known as the sausage shop).  Regensburg, located along the banks of the Danube, has an amazingly well preserved medieval center city area and has been inhabited from at least the Stone Age onward.  It is not a large city, and we had no trouble finding the Dom – as the Regensburg Cathedral is known.  You could see that it was an ancient place by the Celtic knotwork found in the crypt below… When the Celts lived here, they gave the city its first name, Radasbana.

The interior of the church was lovely and understated, it is the best example of German Gothic architecture in southern Germany.  The structure was built over time, between the 12th and 16th centuries, and some of the stained glass dates back to the 13th century.  I was particularly fascinated by the wall art featured at right. (OK, I know that wall art is not right. There is some official name for it, that I do not know) As you can see, it is a female saint wielding a sword – and it is not Joan of Arc! (She is always in armor or on a horse)  Her face looks remarkably serene, and her other arm seems busy just gathering up her robes.  I assume she needs to get them out of her way so she can chop your head off without tripping….  I looked at the wiki site for the Dom and do not find her mentioned, and she had no plaque or information next to her on the wall.  I’ve been to a lot of cathedrals, and she is unique, wish I could find out more… Who is this meditative warrior woman?

Typically, the cathedral also features a Judensau (pic thanks to Wiki) on the side of the wall that faces the old Jewish quartier.  Of course, there are no Jews living there now, or at least very few.  They have been persecuted throughout the history of the city.  “In 1096, on the way to the First Crusade, Peter the Hermit led a mob of Crusaders who attempted to force the mass conversion of the Jews of Regensburg and killed all those who resisted.”   I am guessing there must have been new settlements, or those who said they converted went back to the old ways since the Judensau was deemed a necessary addition to the Cathedral walls.  I read here they were completely driven out in 1519 due to being blamed for a bad economy.  Now we blame banks, Wall Street greed, Democrats, Republicans, gays – but back then it was the Jews!  Not trying to say the Jews aren’t still persecuted here – but maybe now there are more targets that the veniality gets spread around on.

Not since Belgium have I given a shout out for a local store – but there was a place in Regensburg I totally fell in love with.  We only found it because it was right next to the bathroom and ended up staying in there for almost an hour.  It was a mineral/fossil shop (I love these) but what made it unique was 3 things.  The prices (unbelievably cheap) was the first – he was selling strings of amber beads for 20 Euros!  The second was the unbelievably friendly proprietor, Dr of geology Reinhardt Aepler, who invited us and the children to touch and experience the stones and fossils for as long as we wanted – no pressure to buy.  The last thing was his collection. This man had an amazing collection of all sorts of fossils, polished rocks and stones and (most attractive to me) had many many turned into unique beads at amazing prices.  A large bead was 4 or 5 Euros.  I bought two pendants and Andre got me an amethyst chain with pendant for Mother’s Day.   The place was called Mineralienladen and it is at Waaggaesschen 5 93047 Regensburg. It is open Mon-Friday 10 to 6 and Saturdays from 11 to 2.  If you want to give them a call it is 094167863.  Tell them we sent you…..

We went onward, passing beautiful architecture and looking for the Steinerne Brücke (Old Stone Bridge).  This is a very famous bridge, according to  wiki: “The Stone Bridge, built 1135–1146, is a highlight of medieval bridge building. The knights of the 2nd and 3rd crusade used it to cross the Danube on their way to the Holy Land.”  That is pretty awesome, especially when you realize it is still standing today and in heavy use!  The thing has 16 arches and is over 1000 meters long.

But the best feature of the Bridge is the oldest fast-food restaurant in the world, and the first sausage house in all of Germany - Historische Wurstkuchl.  It can trace its history at least back to the 12th century – that would be the 1100’s, when the bridge was built.  Kind of blew my mind to eat in a place where knights used to snack nearly 1000 years ago. I guess it was ‘location, location, location’ even back then.  But, I also must say the bratwurst and sauerkraut with spicy sweet  mustard on hard rye rolls was one of the best things I’ve ever been lucky enough to eat.  Must return someday…. 

Melk Abbey

April 14, 2010

I decided to start dating my blogs – since I am sooooooooo far behind.

Our last stop leaving Austria was Melk Abbey – one of the most famous monastic sites in the world.  Pretty impressive, right?  (Thanks to Wiki for the photo) It is even on an Austrian commemorative coin.  I wonder, now that the Euro has taken over, what good commemorative coins are?  I mean, you can’t even spend them any longer!  Does this make them more or less valuable?  And hey,has the EU gotten together yet to do a commemorative euro?  Maybe they should commemorate our sojourn here, a worthy topic, I would say…. Blundering in Besancon 2010 -  but which image to use?

The Abbey is located in a small town and dominates the landscape for miles around.  We got there fairly early and paid our entrance fee.  The entire place was in magnificent shape, due to it’s prominence, this Abbey has been preserved through many wars and conflicts since its  founding in 1089.    The plaster work, the paintings, the sculptures, all seemed in pristine condition and lovingly maintained. 

We went through, reading about the history of the place and attempting to appreciate the modern art installation they had put in.  I never fail to find these installations jarring.  I guess there are so many old churches in  Europe, it makes sense to use the space for some good art, but it feels sacrilegious or something to walk through a formerly sacred space that is now lit with neon green lighting and features glass boxes filled with bizarre sculptures….

I really enjoyed the parquet floors and the views over the Danube River (that’s right, the Danube – I have seen so many famous rivers, people).  We also got to step into the Abbey Church – I was hoping to hear some of that famous Benedictine chanting live, but the kids were too antsy to wait for the moment of Enya (I mean, chanting)….

 

But the best thing about Melk, the thing that made it worth visiting, the thing that made my heart stop in awe and my eyes well up in tears, was the LIBRARY!!!  I couldn’t find much information on it online – but here is what it said on the sign in the room.  I hope it helps fellow web wanderers to learn more in their hour of curiosity:

“In order of importance for the rooms in a Benedictine monastery, the library comes only second to the church.  The artistic, valuable decorations, show the high regard the monks had for their library. The ceiling fresco by Paul Troger shows… a symbolic description of Faith. The central female figure represents Faith and the groups of angels surrounding her represent the four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance.  The four wooden sculptures represent the four Faculties: Theology, Philosophy, Medicine and Jurisprudence.  The library of Melk consists of a total of 12 rooms, containing 1,888 manuscripts, 750 incunabula (printed works from before 1500), 1700 works from the 16th century, 4500 from the 17th century, and 18,000 from the 18th century all together with the newer books for a total of about 100,000 volumes. (If you are wondering how that compares to an average library, visit here)  Only about 16,000 of them are held in this room.  They are organized by topics: Beginning editions of the Bible in Row I, Theology (rows II to VII), Jurisprudence (row VIII), Geography and Astronomy (Row IX), History (Rows X to XV) and ending with the Baroque lexica (in Row XVI).” 

   

So, if this room holds 16,000 books, that means it is less than 20 percent of their enormous collection. No wonder people gave up their entire lives (and still do) to live in this place.  I can’t say I wasn’t tempted myself. My favorite Disney heroine has always been Belle. The reason I like her so much is because she LOVES books. They set it up right from the very beginning when she visits the book shop and gets out a book she’s already read 3 times, then tells the goats about it.  She reads as much as she possibly can, wherever and whenever – even when walking down a crowded street. She also reads out loud. I am the same – I have even read while driving – but only at stop lights.  People think she is odd, she doesn’t quite fit in.  That has always been me as well.  The best scene in that movie was when the Beast gives her the library.  If anyone out there wants to woo me away from Andre – a library such as that one might be the only thing that would work!  (Of course, once you gave me such a place, I would be spending all my time in it, not with you)  I mean, don’t get me wrong, a regular library is a sacred space to me as well.  I love the school library, the public library and the bibliobus here in France and let’s not forget our own personal libraries.  I love to poke around on other peoples bookshelves.  One of the best ways to judge whether I will like new friends is to see whether or not they have a library in their home, and what kind of books are on the shelves!  But this library was something different – it was a shrine to books – and, though I don’t consider myself particularly religious, I don’t think it is a stretch to say the printed word is an object of worship for me.  To see such a magnificent library was a soul touching experience.  Just breathing the musty air surrounding all those books was a privilege. What a place.

And here, if you want, is a bit more of Belle: