Easter Vacation

For Easter vacation we visited my brother in Brussels, who turned 45! It was really nice to have my parents there as well.

We did not do much in Brussels except visited the Africa Museum. Imagine one part ethnography, and one part natural history museum that did not discuss Belgian colonial rule in Congo. That pretty much sums it up. Mark found it quite boring, especially all the stuffed animals (I have to agree with him). Of course Victoria liked all the stuffed animals...

After this all of us drove south to France, and spent three days in the Champagne wine region. We stayed in a peaceful village house that we rented from a proprietor. We explored the wine region, visited Moet & Chandon wine cellars, and bought some bubbly stuff from our proprietor.

We finished our trip by spending three days northeast of Paris in a charming Bed&Breakfast. We promised the kids a day at Parc Asterix (the French answer to Disneyland). However, there were some strings attached. We had to visit six cathedrals, two churches and one ruined abbey during this trip!! Also, the kids were prepared by us about the various architecture styles from Romanesque to High Gothic, and Adrianne even had made worksheets for each to fill out at each cathedral. Amazingly they now know stuff that we just learned when preparing for this trip (e.g. what a transept is, or a choir etc.). We even had our binoculars with us to enjoy the gorgeous stained glass windows (some of them 800 years old).

Wine making process sign in French village:

Sunlit aisle in the Reims Cathedral:

Original stained glass window in the Soisson Cathedral:

The splendor of the Noyon Cathedral nave:

Our favorite was the Amiens Cathedral with her 139ft (42.3m) tall nave vaults:

I have more pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/bajtaya/EasterVacation#

Skiing in Italy

We spent a wonderful week in San Cristina (Dolomites - Italian Alps) skiing. We had five days of sunshine and two days of snowy whiteout. We came here because of the weather (last year in Austria we had only one sunny day skiing), and were not disappointed. Our appartment had a gorgeous view of the town and surrounding hills (above you can see the panorama view from our appartment).

Victoria took ski lessons all week, while the rest of us explored different runs. We also had an all day ski tour around a group of mountains. It was fun, but too many lift and gondola rides for our taste.

Being Carnival time, the ski school of the town put up a very nice ski show on Fat Tuesday. They turned the main street into a ski run by covering it with snow and then performing stunts. It was fun.

Last day on our way home we stopped in Bolzano, where we visited the famous Ice Mummy (Otzi). He froze on an Alpine mountain pass around 3400BC. It was extremely interesting since all his clothing and tools were remarkably well preseved. Even the leaves placed in bark basket to protect it from the glowing embers he was carrying were preserved. His frozen body was also put on show (not so nice).

Victoria in action:

Mark in action (it was really steep):

Break during our all day ski tour:

Ski show downtown San Cristina:

Christmas In the Serengeti

We spent the Christmas holidays on safari with Adrianne’s parents in Tanzania. It was great fun. At the beginning five days of the trip we hooked up with friends of ours (Rick, Andrea and family) from Vancouver. It was really fun. We saw the “big five” (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Cape Buffalo). Also, we saw the great migration of about 1.5 million Wildebeast in search for fresh pastures. One of the most amazing site was heards of Wildebeast scattered on the vast Serengeti plain as far as the eye could see! It was unbelievable.

We visited four national parks (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Parks). We also saw a fishing village at Lake Victoria, and visited a Massai village as well. We had an amazing guide, Ephata. We will remember him fondly for years to come.
We were mostly staying in Lodges, but in the Serengeti we slept in tents (think of a big tent each with wooden floor, flush toilet, shower and sink). The weather was nice, although we managed to catch some remnants of the rainy season. The bugs were under control. There were some Tse-Tse flies and mosquitoes in the evening when you were outside. The warmth of the African hospitality was touching. The food was excellent, although the kids got sick (it later turned out to be salmonella) at the very end of the trip.
I have posted some of my pictures at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/bajtaya/AfricaSelect#

Ngorongoro Crater view from the comfort of our room:

The vast Serengeti plain with rainfilled sky:
Some wandering Wildebeast:
Serengeti Zebras with scattered wildebeast heards in the back:

Fall in Southern Bavaria

We had some spectacular fall weekends. So we enjoyed an early November trip to Neuschwanenstein and other sites in the area. Here are some shots of southern Bavaria.

Venice getaway

In the middle of October Adrianne and I could elope for four days to Venice. My mom watched the kids. It is only a 50 minute flight for us. South of the Alps - in Venice - the weather was very pleasant (back home it just hovered above freezing). Since we both have been here several times already, there was no pressure to do the "must see" sights. Instead, we strolled the back alleys, hopped on a vaporetto (water bus) when we were tired and explored some lesser known parts like San Giorgio Monastery and Giudecca island. It was great fun. I researched some restaurants ahead of time, and so we could really avoid the tourist traps.

My lunch (baby cuttle fish with salad & polenta):

San Giorgio Maggiore Island and Monestary from the Doge Palace:Back alley:

Victoria's 10th Birthday

Yes, she turned 10 on October 7th. We had some cake and celebrated as a small family. The following weekend we celebrated with seven of her best friends (see picture). They competed in groups of two and had tests on horse knowledge, puzzle and did craft (a cute horse head out of Champaign cork). Of course the obligatory pizza and cup cakes was also served. She has nice friends here too. They had fun.

In early October the weather was also quite nice for watching some soccer games. Our town's team of 11&12 year olds - where Mark is playing - is doing well. He is either in midfield or defense. They still have two games to play, but have so far 4 wins, 1 tie and 1 loss. They are right now in third place.

Trainer instructions before a game:

Bike Accident

September gave us a big scare. On his way home from school Mark had a bike accident. He had a frontal crash with another biker at a downhill curve entering an underpass. Stupidly he cut the corner. Within minutes the ER doctor was there, followed by the police and ambulance. They took him to the local doctor's office, from where he called us. Luckily he wore his helmet, so nothing serious happened. The other person (an adult) was not hurt. Mark had the biggest goose egg that I have ever seen! Gigantic. The next day we had to go to the police station, where he was questioned and an accident report was filed. Since he is under 14 he was not charged with anything. The picture shows him on the next day. By the end of the week the scabs were gone, and a couple days later the goose egg practically disappeared. I guess he won't be cutting corners any more.
It was nice also to get away from it all. So a week after the accident we visited Lichtenstein Castle and the Marbach Stud Farm of Baden-Wurttemberg (the federal state we live in). Both are about an hour away from our house. In Marbach some amazingly skilled Hungarian riders put up an amazing horse show including one guy riding five horses.

Lichtenstein Castle:
Riding on Five Horses:

Summer Vacation in Scandinavia

It was quite a trip. We traveled from Hildrizhausen all the way to the Songe Fjord in Norway. Over two and a half weeks we stopped along the way to explore cultural sites and natural beauty. Some of the highlights were the Lejre Experimental Station that is an interactive outdoor museum devoted to Stone and Iron Age culture. Here children can learn to make fire, or learn some Viking battle techniques, including how to break through a shield wall (there was no class in pillaging and other useful skills). One of the most memorable was to see the demonstration of the wounds the different types of arrow heads cause on a real pig (it was already dead, and suspended from a rope), followed by an autopsy for the children to see. Victoria could not take it, but the Danish children (think descendents of Vikings) were delighted.

We also rode in a Viking ship (Roskilde Viking Ship Museum), where with fellow tourists we had to row, steer and sail the ship (there was a guide, that told us what to do, but we did the work).

In Sweden we visited a fortified Viking village and saw a lot of Bronze Age petroglyphs. I thought that they were really cool, though Mark called them scratches. Sweden and Norway totally reminded us of the good old Pacific Northwest.

In Norway we visited the famous Viking Ship Museum of Oslo, and before reaching the Songe Fjord we did a 10mile hike in the Yotunheim National Park. The trail lead along a ridge above a beautiful turquoise colored lake.

The further north we got the worse weather we had (see picture above indicating 4 Celsius about 39 Fahrenheit at two in the afternoon on August 13th!). So we had to cut short our Songe Fjord visit. We sill had time on the only good afternoon to ride on kayaks in the fjord. But our glacier hike was done in the rain, and ferry ride was done in rain. To the kids delight we stopped in Denmark for a couple of days and visited Legoland, and the old capital of Denmark (Ribe). In all of Denmark we had gorgeous weather. We also stopped at my aunt in North Germany, and did a side trip to Greifswald (Northeast Germany), where I was born.

Pig autopsy in Denmark:

Fjallbaka fishing village in Sweden:


Yotunheim National Park hike in Norway:

Weekend in Munich

At the end of July we spent a nice weekend with friends in Munich. We caught up with Lisa, Scott and Jack (neighbors from Vancouver) and their niece Michelle. They were on vacation and passing through Munich. Friday night we were lucky to find a place for eight people in an absolutely overcrowded Hofbrauhaus, while outside it was pouring rain. The next day after a short walk in the town we stormed the Deutsches Museum (Germany's answer to the Smithsonian).

Then it was time to say good-bye, since it was time to meet my cousin Achim for dinner. We went out to a nice beer garden in Munich's main park.

The next day we had tickets to an absolutely fabulous Tutankhamen exhibit. It detailed the story of finding and excavating the treasures, and a set up of how the chambers were found. Finally the individual art pieces were displayed. It was truly an amazing experience. Here are some pictures.

Vacation in Crete and Rhodos

End of May and early June we spent two and a half weeks in Crete and Rhodos. In Crete we explored several Minoan palaces, but also had time to relax for six days on the beach. The beach place - Xerokampos - was an inside trip from my colleague who grew up on the island. We had a great place to stay at, there we practically no tourists, so it was nice.
After almost two weeks in Crete it was time to say good bye. We boarded our ferry and took an all day ride (13hours) to Rhodos. The ride was great fun. You saw many islands pass by. The ferry stopped at some of them. The trucks loading and unloading carried all kinds of stuff (from building materials to vegetables and gasoline). Not surprising, since the ferry system is the islands' only connection to the outside world.
Rhodos was truly amazing. The town and island was the seat of the Templar Knights and is today a world heritage site. We stayed at a wonderful family run hotel in an old Italian villa (note: untill 1948 Rhodos belonged for about 30 years to Italy). The walled city and palace was truly amazing. During the day it was teeming with cruise ship visitors. However, the back alleys were empty even during the day. In the evening when the daytrippers returned to their ships it was quiet. The famous Street of the Knighs was empty in the evenings. There was so much to see that we could not make it to the ancient sanctuary and Acropolis of Lindos. Oh well, we have to go back. Maybe next year.
Our final trip was a day long stopover in Athens. We really wanted to see the new Acropolis Museum, but it was not yet open (it opened a few weeks later). So I guess we have to come back to Athens as well. Instead we saw the National Archeological Museum and Acropolis again. And we met Cosmo again, who was still trying to get customers for his restaurant. We jocked with him last year, and at first he did not recognize me, but when he saw the kids then he remembered. Of course we ate at his restaurant. We all had lot's of fun.
The road to Xerokampos:
The modern Athens Archeological Museum: