Travels.

Hallo! It is herbst holiday here so the kids are off school. Last weekend we went and stayed at a ranch/ hotel called Rückerhof and it was beautiful. There were animals for the kids to pet and feed and whatnot. They had fun with that. There was a medieval times festival going on and the kids got to learn how to shoot arrows and Bennet got to be a blacksmith and all that fun stuff. The house was so cute that we stayed in and there was a restaurant there that was really good.  

The house we stayed in is the one on the right. 

this is where the restaurant was. 

Bennet at a blacksmith

the kids with ponies, which they got to ride. 

the room I stayed in with the kids. There was a loft on top with 2 beds where they slept and I slept on the bottom. 

this is their little loft nook.

the living room area with a breakfast bar, a table and a lovely fireplace.

the kitchen and breakfast bar. the room the kids and i stayed in along with the toilet is to the left and Nina and Florians room along with the shower is on the right side. 

there was a porch with a lovely view :)

the table and front door from the breakfast bar

It was a nice weekend and interesting to spend time with Nina's family. Her 2 sisters where there with their husbands and they each have 2 kids. Her mom was also there so there were 14 of us total. 

Monday Nina and Florian were at work and I had the whole day with the kids. I made them Pancakes in the morning. Just call me Mary Poppins... :)

Bennet asked me how I did this and I just told him it was magic.... I think he believed me.

We went on a bike ride and then to the church and had a little picnic since the weather was nice. We had some snacks and Uno and some Dr Seuss. It was nice to sit out in the sun and let them just run around and I think we all had a good time. 

Tomorrow we leave for Lubeck to stay with Nina's mom for about a week. We will also visit Hamburg which I am excited for. I have been reading a lot and just started a book recommended by good old Schmalice about traveling the world and finding yourself and all that good stuff. I also bought on the road by Jack Kerouac to read since I never have. 

German's going well. I need to muster up the courage to start trying to speak it.....

Tuesday I went to a waterfall with Tina and her German Mama, Hilda. It was so pretty. It is tucked away in the forest and the colors of fall were so pretty in the sun. There was also a little cafe there as well where we had coffee afterwards. It was a really nice afternoon. 

Today we went to Königswinter and hiked up a giant hill and the view was amazing. There was a castle and some ruins but it was right on the Rhine and it was really amazing, especially with all the fall colors. 

Okay thats all for now. 

Tschüs!