Germany

My very good friends Krista, Dan, and Sophie live in Hamburg, Germany. keep saying I’ll go visit, then something always comes up. One year, wanted to visit during spring break, only to learn they were planning to be in California at the same time. Another year, spring break fell during Passover and Germany is not the place to be when you are not eating bread. We all thought they were moving back to the US in June, so I thought this was my last chance to experience their life in Germany. I booked tickets for my spring break and off we went.

It was nice visiting someone with a slightly older child. First, we didn’t have to bring a lot of things that we took to Canada. We didn’t need to bring a portable crib, they had a car seat, a changing table pad, toys, books, utensils, dishes, you name it. We just needed clothes and some things for the plane. We took two planes to get to Hamburg. The first, a ten hour ride from LAX to Heathrow, the second an hour and a half from Heathrow to Hamburg. I thought the first flight left at 5:30pm, which would have been perfect for Fiona, but it actually left at 3:30pm, leaving us with four hours of having to entertain a little one who is used to running around outside all afternoon. To say she was bored was an understatement. She didn’t want to read any of her books or play with any of her toys. Luckily there was another little girl about the same age in the next cabin up who came to play a lot. The flight was crowded and the aisles narrow, with only one bathroom, that always had a long line, so running up and down was not really an option.

We booked a crib for Fiona on the plane, but it turned out to be a seat like her old bouncy chair. And for once in her life, she was too big for it. Her legs and head hung off. No way she was sleeping in it. And eventually she did sleep. She slept for five hours of the nine and a half hour flight, falling asleep not long after her usual bed time (hurray for routine). Unfortunately, we had to land and so she only slept for five hours, instead of her usual 11. She was fine in the airport and British Airways really takes care of families in their London terminal. On the way back they gave us a stroller to use and speeded us through all sorts of lines. We played in the play area and walked around for a long time, then boarded the next plane. Fiona was asleep before we finished the taxi before take-off. I slept as well, and woke up shortly before landing.

We were greeted by Sophie and Dan who whisked us away to their charming and warm house where Krista was waiting with delicious meatball soup. At last, we had arrived!

Fiona in LAX eating lunch:

Fiona and John playing in the BA Terminal 5 children’s play area in Heathrow, before I read the sign that said that no photography was allowed:

The play area is divided into two sections: children 0-3 and children 4-10. The 4-10 side had slides and other fun, physical toys. The 0-3 side had a lot of baby toys that Fiona has already outgrown. She really wanted to go to the other side, but they would not let her. Sad.

Fiona not really sleeping on John:

 

Jet lag in adults = we’re a little tired but can manage. In children = wide awake at 1:30 in the morning, ready to play. No lying quietly reading for us:

Fiona was up at 1:30 the first night, eventually going back to sleep at 4 or 5, then at 2:30 the second night. By the third night, she was back to her usual 7-7:30pm bed time. It was bliss. She slept the first two nights in bed with me, then requested to sleep in her own bed, where she also likes to play  sometimes during the day. It was just like being at home.

Sophie leading Fiona around the house:

Fiona discovers stairs:

It was bitterly cold in Hamburg. It rained a lot and snowed one day. We had to layer Fiona. Luckily, she does not mind. If it’s warm out and you put a hat on her, she will take it off. If it is cold, she will wear the hat without complaining.

Discovering the Easter eggs in trees in the backyard, and preparing to go outside:

 

A tea party at 3am:

What better time? I ask.

Walking around outside:

 

We spent a lot of time hanging out at home and going around the little suburb that our friends live in. We didn’t really feel like being tourists (mostly because of the weather and because John had already started feeling sick) and we wanted to experience life with Krista and Dan, so we walked around a lot, rode the bus and the train, and went to the park. We made one trip to downtown Hamburg, which Fiona loved, and one trip to the Tropical Aquarium that we all really enjoyed. She slept on the bus on the way home. It was very cozy.

Fiona in the stroller:

At Krista’s favorite cafe:

We have the same apples at home:

 

First photo is in Krista’s kitchen in Germany, the second is in my kitchen after I came home. Same company and everything. The world is a very small place sometimes.

Some lemurs at the aquarium:

Not a lemur, but wearing matching stripes:

Literally, “Ass Flower” and it smelled like it too:

Both Fiona and Sophie liked the big tanks with fish:

And climbing into the jeep at the end:

John keeping Fiona awake on the bus on the way home:

Dads reading to their little girls:

Sophie the glamour star:

Two girls working at their own little projects:

Dancing:

On the way to downtown Hamburg:

Fiona wanted her own seat:

Here she is running around, trying to step only on the squares and not on the lines, and yelling and generally having a ball:

Yes, my shy daughter went to a foreign country and ran around, really far away from her Mommy and Daddy:

 

John, Fiona, and Krista:

Just Krista:

It was bitterly cold (have I mentioned that?) so we went indoors and found a cafe with warm milky drinks and sweets, but only after making a stop at H&M.

Some scenes of Hamburg and city hall:

 

 

 

Hamburg is a very beautiful European city. I’m sure it’s even lovelier when it’s not freezing.

The water in some of these photos is actually two lakes. One year, the water froze about a foot deep. There were all sorts of celebrations and activities. Krista said they went and cross country skied on the lakes. Over a million people participated. On the day we were there, the water was in liquid form even though it felt like it was cold enough to freeze.

No one was taking a lake tour that day:

The view from the cafe:

Is this a cabin in the woods, or just Dan and Krista’s tool shed?

Fiona sleeping in the car:

Even though she was forward facing here, it was no problem to put her rear facing when we got home, and also proved that she can fall asleep anywhere.

Trying on a new hat and reading in Daddy’s lap:

Just like home!

Taking a bath:

Our last day was a real toddler day. We began by driving to another part of Hamburg that has a cafe with really good food. Unfortunately, Fiona fell asleep in the car, so we drove through some posh neighborhoods and then walked around the grounds of a historic building.

 

 

Krista took a picture of me taking a picture of her:

Fiona discovered some stairs:

We returned home to collect Sophie and try the cafe again, with a promise to go to a really fantastic park. But alas, everyone falls asleep in the car:

Sophie slept through all of lunch and only woke as we were getting back in the car.

Here is Fiona in a really old high chair:

The chair:

Fiona was a bit fussy in the restaurant and while Sophie was crying because she missed lunch, Fiona fell asleep! Aah! The park plans were scrapped and we returned home so that Krista could feed Sophie. John and I sat in the car for 45 minutes and finally woke Fiona so that she wouldn’t ruin her chances of falling asleep at a normal time that night.

Our visit was too brief and we didn’t do everything we thought we would, but it doesn’t matter. It was so nice to visit with Krista, Dan, and Sophie. Their home is warm and welcoming, and so comfortable. I especially liked the heated floors and the roll down anti-zombie shutters. Krista’s cooking is nourishing for both body and soul, and we ate more that I have in a long time. Plus, who can resist all the good German bread and pastries?

The flights back were fairly uneventful. Here we are in Heathrow with the stroller from BA:

Lounging in Prada:

 

Fiona finally decided to play with this little lap top. We usually don’t let her play with it at home so we thought she would love it on the trip as a special treat, but she was uninterested until the journey home. Airports are starting to look like upscale malls. Heathrow has a lot of stores that I normally wouldn’t shop at, but Fiona picked this one to wander into, and they can’t ask us to leave if we are not destroying anything, so we stayed for a while. John considered shoes, while I walked around smelling all the leather. Prada is not my style (except one perfume that was a gift that I actually wear), but it was a nice quiet place to relax during our 4 hour layover. We also went back to the play area for a while, and spent too much money buying more airplane toys. It paid off though, because she was entertained for a lot of the time with new books and new cards with pictures of baby animals.

Showing off the dates she was eating:

All in all it was a great trip. Over too soon. And those souvenir colds we came back with (pretty much the only thing we brought back from Germany that we did not take with us) made the return all the more painful.

We adjusted to life in Western Standard Time easily, but I’m really glad that there are only eight weeks of school left, both for work and at UCSB. I think I need a vacation from my vacation.