We have been back at school for a bit over a week now. Which doesn't sound like a long time but when everything is new and different it can seem like a very a long time. Trust me on this one. Because nothing is the same - not the way I drop the kids off at school (outside where they will get themselves in the door and to class), how to sign them up for after school (first come-first served as soon as the enrollment opens so you better be fast), and even how their daily schedules work (it's weekly instead of a 6 day and they get out 2 hours early on Friday, and they have to wear their PE kit all day on PE days). And if all of this has been a challenge for me, I worry about how all of these changes have affected the kids.
Yesterday, I got my answer.
The girls are adapting just fine, as will we. Yesterday afternoon, the BIS community welcomed us with open arms and hearts at the Welcome back picnic. We shared good food, a few drinks and a lot of laughs. We had a chance to meet and talk to the other parents; to ask the questions about who has a good electrician or more importantly, a good hairdresser. We got to share our stories about how we ended up here at BIS. As for the girls, they said they had a great time. I will have to take their word for it as they were not to be found most of the day. The only time we ever saw them was when they came to pick up a few more tickets for a treat or to play in the bounce house or have their arm tattooed (with fairy dust and sparkles). Usually coming hand in hand with a friend from class. That makes a Mama smile...
The city campus is a small school. It is also a new school, having just opened in January, which means each and every one of us is a newcomer, even if others have lived in Munich much longer than we have. We are all learning new routines and making new friends and forming a new community. And if yesterday was any indication, it will be a fabulous new community to be a part of.
Showing us the playground.
MadHatter and her friend D.
Stinkerbell and her friend M.
This little guy, in his Tracht, was just too cute!
Our school Principal
Stinkerbell's teacher - Ms. Oswald
Comparing who sold more - Beer or wine/soda/water (Beer won)
MadHatter was hot. They cooled her off with the ice bucket. She loved it!
And the kids loved playing in the ice water while we celebrated a successful start to great friendships.
We awoke late on our second morning in Liechtenstein. We met the S family in the restaurant for a leisurely breakfast before meeting up with our guides. Yep, guides. A few days before heading out on this trip I looked up what unique things there are to do in this small micro-state. A few things popped up but I was intrigued by one especially. I texted N and asked if her family was up for it and she almost immediately responded in the affirmative. We booked our tour to begin at 10 am (which was very lucky indeed - you will see why later) and our guides told us to be waiting in the lobby for our transportation.
Marc and Anna-Lena were right on schedule (even if we were running a few minutes behind). And 2 minutes after loading into two separate cars we were at our destination and were asked to wait a few minutes while they went to get the Llamas and Alpacas. You read that right - Llamas and Alpacas. We were going to take them for a stroll through the mountains and town!
The views were stunning. I truly felt like moving in and never leaving.
MadHatter with Chippy (one of his ears was chipped) and Stinkerbell with Julia.
Julia and Stinkerbell led the way - fearlessly and quickly. Stinkerbell loved her Llama and kept stopping to talk with her.
The rest of us just followed behind, enjoying the scenery, or a ride on Daddy's shoulders...
As I said, the views were stunning and nothing my camera could take this quickly would ever do it justice (I would have loved to have stopped and really taken some shots but the Llamas were leading)
And then we stumbled on this...like we were in a movie...
We somehow ended up on the right mountain, in the right city at the right time. This is the only day of the year that the Liechtensteiner Weisenblasen is held. Started ten years ago, musicians from all over Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein come together to play alpine folk music in a truly alpine setting. Setting up in small groups all over town and in various places in the mountains, they regale the sightseers (and anyone within hearing distance) with beautiful music played with traditional instruments. We were lucky enough to be walking by just when the alpine horns were beginning their song. So we stopped to appreciate the moment. I captured it on video (see below)...And see if you can hear the cows/goats/sheeps bells ringing in the background...it's not just a myth - the animals all wear bells around their necks.
And then the animals were raring to go - and to pose for their close-up...
Both these guys had such character, but Elvis (on the right) was just soo cool.
We walked and talked and enjoyed the view. I learned some interesting tidbits about Liechtenstein from our guide Marc - who grew up right there in Triesenburg.
Liechtenstein is one of only two double-landlocked countries in the world (bordered only by other landlocked countries). The other is Uzbekistan.
It is Europe's only absolute Monarchy.
It is one of the safest countries in the world. So much so that no one even bothers to lock their front doors.
It's the world's leading manufacturer of false teeth.
It has the 3rd highest GDP per person in the world and one of the lowest unemployment rates at 1.5% (now do you see why I wanted to move in?)
But I think the best thing of all were the views. I know, I have mentioned them before but it bears repeating. With such a small population and wide open spaces you could feel as if you had the country all to yourself.
And this guy seemed to think the same thing - and want me out of his personal mountain.
And this albino baby - sooooo cute!
We had made it back to the farm and the guides were taking our friends back to their pastures. The guides asked MadHatter and LM to write them a quick note on their adventure and so MadHatter drew them a picture of her Llama before we said see you later.
We left Malbun in search of some lunch in the city...
This is about halfway down to the capital city of Vaduz.
We were in town within 10 minutes and quickly made like royalty...
We tried not to get run over by the train that runs through the middle of town.
And confirmed that you cannot visit the castle. I do understand it, the Prince and his family do call it home, but it was still disappointing.
We had some lunch, wandered through a few gift shops and called it an afternoon. The city has a few museums but nothing we really wanted to spend a lot of time in and we still had one more stop to make before heading home - we had to walk to Switzerland.
The Alte Rheinbrücke was built in 1901 and is the only remaining bridge that spans the Rhine river. It is 135 m (443 feet) long and a bit over half way through you cross from one country into another. Something I just had to try. We had to ask policemen that were routing traffic away from the bridge for permission to park and cross but they gave us their ok and even pointed out a parking spot!
Not sure they have ever been in different countries at the same time! B and I crossed into Switzerland and joked that we had left the kids in another country, without a sitter :)
This was taken from the bridge - as close as we had gotten to the castle.
We hopped back in the car and headed home. It was a school night after all and we still had to cross 3 countries - Liechtenstein to Switzerland to Austria to Germany all in less than 20 minutes. And that still astounds me as it used to take me hours to just leave the state in the U.S. We were home just in time for dinner and headed to bed dreaming about the next time we could meet up with the S family for more incredible adventures.
As you may recall, a few months ago we packed up and said goodbye to our friends and our lives in Prague. It was not easy but this wasn't the first time we had moved so I had a few tricks up my sleeve to help ease the pain. One such thing was making a plan to catch up with old friends that very first weekend after starting school. That first week can be overwhelming and seeing a familiar face can really help. And when those familiar faces have also moved away and are facing the same overwhelming feelings, it is doubly cathartic.
We chose to meet in Liechtenstein because it is about half way between Zurich (where N's family just moved) and Munich and because neither family had ever been there. With only 37.000 inhabitants (in the entire country) and only 67 sq. miles of land, Liechtenstein is one of the smallest countries in the world and is located high in the Alps which made it the perfect backdrop for our reunion. Because it is so small, there really isn't much sight seeing to do so we were ready to just enjoy long, leisurly meals and let the kids catch up.
We met at the hotel just in time for lunch. And upon the recommendations of our hostess and the fact that we were all starving because Svetlana (my GPS - those of you who know me well, know Svetlana and her proclivities) took us to a spot in the middle of the road, in the middle of nowhere, we were running a bit behind. Our lunch spot was just 300 meters up the road and the food, the kids play room, the wine, the beer, the pancakes, the setting and the company were all out of this world. We spent a few hours eating and drinking and playing (the kids, not the adults) while it poured down rain. But when the skies cleared we headed across the street to the large outdoor play ground and let the kids go wild - young and old.
We finally headed back to the hotel, where we once again let the kids play at the indoor playground that happened to be right next to the sitting area for the bar (they really know how to make families happy). The adults continued to catch up as the kids played the night away. We finally took it back to our rooms and put some very exhausted, but very happy, kids to bed and went to sleep dreaming about what tomorrows adventures would bring.
Reunited! LM was one of MadHatters very first friends when we moved to Prague.
