Tuscany the Beautiful - a picture post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calgary, but no Stampede

I better get caught up on our Canada pictures, seeing as we are leaving for another vacation tomorrow night. A week in Tuscany/Italy with my sister, who rented a house there and invited us to come along. Nice, huh?

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But first things first.

We really enjoyed our time in Calgary. We got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa before they drove back to Saskatoon ...

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... enjoyed my favourite food: Vietnamese Pho Bo ...

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... and we met up with Angela, who not only knew where to get the best Pho in town ...
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... or that you can eat carragena blossoms ...

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... but also let us stay at her place! She is a soil scientist and had to go on a field trip for work, so she graciously let us make ourselves at home in her condo.  

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Angela and Neil met many years ago when they were singlehandedly re-foresting vast parts of British Columbia. They were dropped out of helicopters, slept in wilderness camps and planted thousands of seedling trees a day, running across the clearcut slopes of the Rockies (Angela was much faster than Neil at first, which brought out his competitive side in a major way), all while fighting off grizzlies and billions of blood-thirsty mosquitoes. And reportedly, when Neil got very sick he peed his sleeping bag at night and had to wash it in the river. Eew. (You're welcome, darling.)

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All this to say, Finn slept in Angela's tree planting cot at her place, and he slept like a rock. Neil says the cots are comfy. Which doesn't say much, really. After a day planting trees I would guess anything resembling a horizontal position would feel comfy. And Finn is the child who I have found sound asleep on the tiles in the hallway in the middle of the night. But anyway, he slept well and so did we. We loved your place, Angela, and hopefully you will let us come back, even though we blew the fuse with the dishwasher once. Or twice.

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By the way, if anyone is interested in this tree planting thing, here is a book suggestion for you: 'Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe' by Charlotte Gill . I haven't read it yet, but I think I'll order it. You know, maybe it will help me understand my resident  member of the 'tree-planting tribe' a little better. What he has been through and such. It might explain a lot.

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This is the view of downtown Calgary, as seen from Angela's balcony, circa 4:30. In the morning. Everyone else was still snoozing. Just me, my coffee, and my jet lag enjoying the sunrise, watching and listening to the city waking up. It was actually easy to imagine what this place looked like just a few short generations ago, you know, minus the city.

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We did a lot of fun things in Calgary, like, SHOPPING. (Neil begs to differ, but I think he is just jealous that he was the only one who didn't get new riding boots.)

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We went to a mall to shop the sales racks at Gymboree, my favourite children's clothing brand, and the kids spied a Build-A-Bear shop. Neil would later describe this experience as 'bizarre'. Finn and Lily had some spending money courtesy of Oma and Opa, which they promptly spent. At Build-A-Bear you choose a floppy animal skin, put a cloth or plastic heart inside (the plastic ones 'beat' - freaky!), then the thing gets stuffed, you can record your voice and put a sound chip in (no way), it gets accessorized and 'born' via registration in a computer data base. We walked out with a koala bear in a scuba diving outfit that Finn named 'Pandy' (because, you know, he is NOT a panda bear), and Lily created 'Gina', a big cat in pink cowboy boots with pink roller skates clipped onto said boots. Gina followed us around on her roller skates all over that mall. She behaved pretty well, as can be expected of a cat Lily just paid over 60 bucks for. Gina is also pretty good at giving 'Snowy' rides, Snowy being the little snow owl that Lily got from Kristine.

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Anyway. On to the really important things. Who lives in Calgary? That's right, Auntie Kristiiiiiiiine!!!

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Kristine took us hiking to the Rockies. She knew an easy trail that the kids would be able to manage. Of course, Lily lasted only a few yards into the trail because instead of watching the path she was busy looking at her apple to decide where to bite next. Next thing we knew she had tripped over a rock (hey, it's the ROCKIES!), and apple and girl went flying. Neil got to carry the girl with the bruised knee while Kristine threw the dirty apple far away from the path. Because of the bears. 

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The rest of the hike was uneventful and breathtakingly beautiful. And when we were almost back at the car we had finally managed to worry Finn about potentially running into a bear so much, that when a guy with a big dog came around the bend in the path Finn completely lost it. Another one down on the rocky slopes. Ooops.

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But in time we all recovered enough to go on to Canmore for a stroll around town and some food and drinks at the 'Grizzly Paw'.

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Of course, it took some of us a little longer to recover from the hike than others. I actually felt like doing this after my meal and the beer I had. The Grizzly Paw folks brew some very nice beer, and this is coming from a German!

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They also make their own soft drinks, like this orange cream soda.

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Neil couldn't resist the Canadian delicacy, poutine. And if you don't think fries, gravy and cheese curds go well together you clearly haven't tried this soggy mess!

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Nevertheless, I chose the 'Angry Buffalo Burger'. Boy, were my tastebuds angry. Hot stuff, loved it!

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And look who woke up! Well, if it isn't the Hiking Goddess, restored to life after a visit to the Olde Candy Shoppe, or whatever it was called.

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Another highlight of our stay in Calgary was the day we spent at the Calgary Heritage Park. It is really worth going there, if you like hands-on history. The scenery is lovely, too, look:

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We paid an arm and a leg to get in, but it is a huge compound with a steam engine going all around, historic rides, settlements from different time periods and people in costumes 'living' there and explaining about things like the fur trade, what school was like in 1800, printing newspapers and so on. Of course Lily's favourite were the horses. She asked if she could ride them, but was only allowed to ride in the carriage. Just like her mama, she'd rather sit ON the horse than behind it. :)

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Finn found a musket bullet and promptly built himself a 'gun'.

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But his favourite place was the 'Native Encampment' (formerly and politically incorrectly known as the Indian village). He watched the ladies build a fire and a wooden frame, cut raw meat in thin slices and then smoke them on the frame.

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He hung out with Robert for a long time while we explored some more of the grounds. Robert carved this stick for Finn while they chatted.

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The big farm house was also a hit. Always company for dinner. Wait, the company IS dinner!

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And, last not least, the rustic side of things. The kids really loved this cozy cabin, especially the fire in the fire place. All the comforts of home. And Lily says: 'THE DEAD BURN BOARD LOOKS DIFFERENT!'

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(Now, to get the above statement, you'd have to be a real Bonanza fan. Like my kids. It's their favourite line when we're playing checkers or chess, taken from one of their favourite funny Bonanza episodes.) 

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For those of you not so familiar with every single Bonanza episode (if such people exist), watch the first two minutes of this.
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Oh, and I almost forgot: the Stampede! It's a bit like the Oktoberfest in Munich. The locals either work there or plan their yearly get-away around the event. We were in Calgary too early this year, but when I leafed through the Stampede program I wished we had gone there in July, not June. Because guess who played there? The MAN HIMSELF: Garth Brooks! He, who retired from performing and recording music more than a decade ago and yet is still one of the best-selling artists world wide. A concert because it was the 100th anniversary of the Stampede. And me not there. Oh well. Next time. :)

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End of an Era

Before I torture you all with more Canada pictures :) I thought I would update on life in good old Germany. August is here and an era has ended. After three and a half years in his Kindergarten Finn is officially not a "Kindergartenkind" anymore, and on his way to become a "Schulkind" in September! July was filled with activities to celebrate this transition to Elementary School.

Here all the Kindergarten kids are on their way over to the church. Every year the kids leaving the Kindergarten are recognized and blessed at a special service. (In Bavaria you are Catholic whether you really are or not :) , and although our Kindergarten is not officially Catholic, the church plays a big role in community life.)

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Finn looking at the camera, walking beside his friend Florian.

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Lily and her friend Anna

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The service (or is it called "mass"?) wasn't too long or boring, but Lily still found the paintings on the ceiling more interesting. But getting sprayed with holy water was apparently "really cool".

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The priest putting a cross necklace around Finn's neck.

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Finn's parting gifts from Kindergarten: a folder with selected artwork from the past 3 years, and a "Schultüte" filled with treats and school supplies.

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Other activities for Finn and his friends (6 kids from his classroom of 24 will leave the Kindergarten for First Grade with him) included a sleepover, complete with a treasure hunt and a campfire. Lily cried because she has to wait a whole year until it is her turn.

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She was VERY happy to see him the next morning when we picked him up. Finn cried because he wanted to do it all over again. He even asked us if we could keep him back from first grade for another year, just for the sleepover.

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And then there was the trip to Playmobil FunPark, my nemesis. One parent had to go with each child, yay. (I think I've been there about a dozen times too often by now.) But the kids had fun, and especially loved riding the bus there.

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Lily got to come, even though she is not leaving the Kindergarten. She lucked out because I needed to be with Finn and the Kindergarten was closed for the day (all the teachers were on that trip). For once she was happy about the absence of grandparents or other relatives. And I liked having her along, for sure. She LOVES that place.

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The long practiced "in-sync-sibling-jump".

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And now, with all the excitement behind us, we just hang out at home and enjoy summer. We only have a small pool at home this year, and a couple sprinklers, and if that is not enough water there are awesome outdoor pools a short drive away. So far the kids are having lots of fun though!

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And, of course, then there are the horses. With Finn and Lily in Kindergarten I went and rode Bella almost every morning. Now I guess we'll have to split our time between the barn and the pool.

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Bella is an okay horse, but because of her breeding (half Paint Horse, half Friesian), her temperament (not the calmest) and her (lack of) training she has her limitations and is definitely not a horse Finn and Lily can learn how to ride on.

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Enter Fritz the Pony. Same stable, same coloring (also a pinto), but shorter and sweeter. :)

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The kids are riding him on the weekends, and are learning how to take care of a horse. Leading, tying, brushing, cleaning hooves, saddling.

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And, of course, riding.

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The stable not only has two outdoor arenas and a big indoor arena, but also a big covered round pen, which is perfect for teaching Finn and Lily, and with the horse flies being SO bad outside this year, a real life saver. 

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Lily of course just wants to go FAST all the time, but I told her she needs to learn how to walk, trot, steer and stop Fritz before she is allowed to gallop on her own.

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Now, we only need to convince Neil that instead of  Bella and Fritz a seasoned, well-trained, calm Quarter Horse of our own is the way to go. We're working on it. :)

Edit: Neil says, if our financial situation was a TAD different he'd be with me 100 percent. Sooo - any sponsors out there? :)

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