Benediktbeuern Trip

About a month ago, MadHatter's entire 3rd grade went on a 3 day/2 night trip with school.  I thought they were in for a bit of a challenge with 26 8-year-olds on their hands but I was assured that they had done this for many years and it always turned out to be a great time.  And according to MadHatter they were right. She had an incredible adventure and even now, a month later, I get regaled with stories of the time she spent with her friends in the woods.  

The kids were all asked to pack according to a list sent home.  And they truly meant that the kids would have to do the packing as they would be the ones who would have to pack it all up and bring it home so they needed to know what they had.  And they were even quizzed on what was in their bags before heading out to make sure that parents hadn't just gone ahead and done it for them.  MadHatter's question - what color are your pajamas and do they have a character on them?  Of course, she got it right because any chance I can get to make her responsible for her own things I am certainly going to take it.

Here is MadHatter with her suitcase, her backpack full of hiking supplies and a small snack for the road.  She is bursting with excitement!

I dropped her at school that day and received instructions on how to follow along with their adventures.  The teachers would be posting photos to a private twitter account so parents could get a glimpse of what the kids were doing and how it was going.  The only restriction was that none of the children's faces could be shown in full so we would be getting a good look at all of their backsides.  Which brings me to why I am just getting to this post, a full month after they left.  The kids were not allowed any electronics on the trip which meant no digital cameras.  I sent MadHatter with two disposable film cameras and I am just now getting the pictures she took back from processing.  The pictures she took will be the ones with the grey borders around them...the pictures the school sent us are the others.

And they are off...

On the bus ride there...

The checked into their hostel and were immediately put to work.  They had to make their beds and set up for lunch.

A selfie before heading out into nature on their first hike.

MadHatter and a friend getting a lesson on poisonous insects to watch out for in the forest.

Just some pictures of the hike.  They ended up in the moor - literally.  MadHatter said she sank to her thighs and had to be pulled out by one of the teachers.  And loved it!

Some of the kids getting stuck.

They ziplined...

Played oversized musical instruments...

And generally just had a great time.

Back at the hostel, after a hearty dinner and some showers, MadHatter and her friend P wrote a song about the Mud they encountered in the Moor.

And they finished it up with a movie.

Day Two started with a bit of breakfast (and a picture of what Maddie was wearing so I knew to look for a black tshirt and white shorts in the pictures).

Ready for another day of fun!

The group hopped a train that took them to the mountains - right about to where the kids are pointing.

Walking to their destination in the mountains.

They passed a few cow on their way...

to this gorgeous lake...

And, of course, the first thing they did was jump in - clothes and all.

After a snack and some drying off, they crossed a bridge or two to get to the waterfalls.

Heading deeper into the woods to play a game of survivor (love that MadHatter had the red backpack - so easy to spot her in the photos).

Playing survivor - they are all blindfolded and being asked to find their way around an obstacle course.

The classes were quiet that night with no further check-ins to report but bright and early the next morning we got a picture of the sunrise from their dorms.

Today was a short day as they had to be back at school for pick-up at 1:30 so they toured (and were amazed by the Abbey.

This monastery was founded in 739 and is one of the oldest in all of Bavaria.  MadHatter loved every second of it as she is simply fascinated by churches of all types.

And then they were home.  Tired (exhausted), a bit dirty, and with a lot of new friendships made.  The trip got two thumbs up and she keeps asking where they are going next.

Wollmarkt Vaterstetten

The weather has truly changed here in Munich.  Gone are the days of sundresses and sandals and here to stay are the mornings of cozy sweaters and tall boots (you won't hear me complaining until it gets really cold in January that is).  Few and far between are there sunny, crisp days during a German fall so when they come you make sure to get outside if only for a little while.  And if your friends invite you to join them on a farm for a wool festival on a gorgeous Sunday, you jump at the chance.

Put on by the Association of Bavarian dairy sheep farmers, the Wollmarkt has been held annually for the past 25 years.  It has grown in size each year - from 20 exhibitors to over 120 this year - and all of the wool products on offer are handmade and all natural (no chemicals allowed).  The vendors are mainly small businesses that come from all over Germany and the market provides them a way to spread the word (and sales) of their products.  Products which included traditional sweaters, sheepskins, paintings, hand felted dolls and ornaments and so much more.

But not only were there products, there were also demonstrations on sheep shearing (we missed this), hands-on demonstrations of how to spin raw wool, music, kids felting activities, pony rides, and food and so much more.  Sadly, it is only one weekend in early October so you will have to wait a full year before being able to join us next time.  But you will join us, won't you?

A Surprise from Prague

This past weekend was a 5-day break for us.  I am still not sure why we had Thursday and Friday off from school (Monday was a national holiday) but I wasn't about to argue about a bit of down time.  Normally with that many days off I would pack up the family and we would go on an adventure.  But B was traveling in a foreign land until late Friday night and I just wasn't up for packing it all up for a quick jaunt.  And thankfully, I didn't because if we had we would have missed seeing these guys!

Saturday morning we got a text that friends from Prague were wondering if they could come visit for the weekend.  After some changing of plans and a bit of quick packing on their part, they were off and at our home by late afternoon.  The big boys were off to Oktoberfest for the evening and the girls and 5 kids were left to play, watch movies and catch up...

These two were so happy to see each other!

The next morning we spent some more time just enjoying each others company but knew we had to get this bunch of kids out and moving.  So we headed over to Sea Life.  It was a rainy Sunday afternoon though so most of Munich was there, standing in the rain, waiting to get in.  Thankfully we have season tickets to Legoland which also gets us into Sea Life so we skipped the line and headed in.  

Ready to see the aquarium.

The kids were all fascinated and loved watching the fish and sea life pass right in front of them...

The girls tried to see who could hold their breath the longest - Stinkerbell kept winning.

The kids all got inside one of the tanks and tried to find Dory and Nemo.

Success!

I let the rest of them wander around a bit while I took pictures of the Jellyfish.  I am fascinated by Jellyfish and love watching them propel themselves around the tanks...

Can you see how you could be mesmerized by them?

But I had to catch up with the rest of the group and I found them equally mesmerized but by the rays and the sharks in the large tanks...

And we even got to measure ourselves against the sharks.

At this point, we were all a bit hungry and our visitors had to be headed on their way back home so we had a quick lunch and said our goodbyes.  Sad that they had such a short time to spend with us but so happy that they came!  Surprise visits from dear friends are always welcome!