Golf

Daphne took up golf here in Germany (everything is cheaper here including clubs, shoes, lessons, memberships.... why not?)
The difference is that in Germany, you need to pass a test to play on a public course so that you don't ruin play for others. Now... I know several of my readers will be hopping up and down demanding this in the USA but I assure you that this does not guarantee fast play.

The most important thing is that she is really enjoying it and able to show continuous improvement. Today they had prosecco to celebrate passing the exam with the head pro.
He's the English guy in the picture who was smiling in spite of the fact that every one of the 300 German members in the club reminded him that Germany expelled the English in the world cup.

Looking back at September 2009 - Daphne has come 360 degrees.
Cheers!

Last day of school

Today was the last day of school. Is there anything better than the last day of school when you are in grade school?

We always take pictures of the first day of school but I think this is for the parents - they are happy to say goodbye and move on. Today we took a picture for the kids who where so happy. Brian even broke out the pirate shirt. Julia told me she left her backpack behind in exchange for her favorite purse.

At the bus stop, I caught Julia and David reading. For my family: Julia was reading a Peanuts/Snoopy comic book she got from my parents; originally from my Grandmother. The pages are yellow and the print date is circa 1960.
I know I read this book when I was growing up. Some of the things the kids connect with are funny to me.

Strawberries

Daphne is also looking for ways to entertain the kids with school coming to a close.

This week she went with another American family in our neighborhood to go strawberry picking. At the risk of sounding overly European, the fruit was so fresh and beautiful - it was incredible. No chemicals, no fertilizers (that we know of).
Everyone had a good day. These kids need something to do.
They're Mom is going to go crazy.

End of school / parties / school play

At the end of the school year - teachers are desperate to find activities to get the kids out of the classroom. Some of the basics are listed below.
Number one is the "field day" outdoor sports day. We've had some rain but managed to get this one in. Dave loved it.

Julia did the shot-put and discus - obviously based on her power thighs and ability in squat-thrust type activities.
Can you guess the color team Brian was on? Look at the natural athletic, killer instinct on his team. Teachers couldn't wait to get them outside, in front of the parents, so they didn't have to try to teach them to read in German.

Another Option: End of year school play.

Dave got this one. He played.... a dead guy. I know what you're saying: type casting. But no. He brought "life to the part".
Check out the photo: You're drawn to his corpse.

His mother was soooo happy to take his sport coat out of the dry cleaning bag so he could spread out on the stage.

Final Distraction activity: Pool party.
Even in Germany the teachers enjoy the pool party concept. Here you get the German version. Nice lake, sunny weather but a general attraction to the high diving board.
Brian bragged that his friend had to back down the diving board but he did it twice.

He did this while his mother and I looked at his satisfactory grade in math. He also is mastering the second grade swagger. The kid coming down the ladder probably got an A.

Fewer postings but lots happening!

I guess it's a good sign that we are having fewer postings. We are having a more comfortable time, have more interactions with friends, and the kids are developing more activities with new friends. So here's a quick update - still lots happening!

Football / soccer. First of all - we have the fever. We watch many of the games and the kids are really into it. They have 'public viewing' all over Germany including most large parks, all stadiums, and many of the city squares. We have been invited over to a German family's house to watch their first game with 6 other families. It was quite an experience. The superbowl and Olympics in one. We needed to teach Brian that he couldn't root against Germany as a guest (his teasing skills are blooming).
Siemens got into the spirit. We built a "beer garden" in the square outside of my office with a huge HD tv. Here's my cell phone picture.
It sounds cool - every game, free viewing, food and beers. The problem is I have conference calls and meetings all day long while the party is literally going on outside of my window! I know some will say, "if you can't beat them, ..." but I need my job.

Celebrate. - This weekend was both Father's day and our 15th anniversary. Now.... I don't know what father's day is for you, but for us: Monster Trucks in Starnberg at the local grocery store. Believe it or not, at the last minute Julia and Daph wanted to back out. I even pulled the, "...blog worth pictures..." but to no avail. We had a big breakfast and a day at our local park.

Having our anniversary here was also nice. Daph wanted to surprise me. She saw that there were concerts at the palace by our house.
She went to the website and booked it. The problem was her German is not perfect and a single ticket arrived with assigned seating. Once we arranged to fix this over a couple of weeks, our night was set.

Here is Julia's picture. Take note: 1. We are sooooo late. 2. The frame is a bit skewed - Julia needs more practice. 3. Daph is trying out a more daring look. 4. I am celebrating the dutch soccer win with an orange tie.

Only two more Saturdays for Daph and the kids in Germany before the summer!

Modena

On the drive home, our route went through Modena. Foodies will know that means Balsamic Vinegar. The Daphne car stopped and bought some local product. Some Modena vinegar costs $400 for a couple of ounces.

I cannot properly convey the importance of this stop. Daph tells me it's important but I don't get it.
Happy wife, happy life.
I'm glad she stopped.

Great tree

There is a wonderful tree on the property of the villa. It is huge with wonderful branches that provide shade for the entire porch and yard. To give you a sense of how big it is we took some pictures.

From the other side, you can see the castle.

Daphne was already trying to take a picture for Christmas but I was able to convince her that a Christmas picture in May is a bit premature.

Final BBQ

Our final day on vacation we decided to have a barbecue - Italian style.
Our villa caretaker, Alex, took Mebane and I to the local butcher. The butcher was an experience unto itself. We wanted to enjoy the beautiful pergola and grill.
The grill burns wood which then drops onto the stone pad to make charcoal.
It is so nice - Daphne took 40 pictures so future builders could build a larger version at one of her future homes.
The pictures give you a sense of the evening - relaxed, good weather, nice wine (we bottled), and good food.
Totally lost on the kids.

Italian wine

The sign on the vineyard door said it all.
While staying at the villa, the owners told us we could drink as much of the white and red wine as we wanted from the wine cellar.
One of the fun activities the owners invited us to do was to bottle the wine for the villa.
You start by cleaning out the 75 liter glass jugs and driving to the neighborhood vineyard.
The vineyard sells bulk wine, cases of bottled wine, and olive oil.
With our 75 liters of white and 75 liters of red, we also got a bag full of corks.
The caretaker of the villa showed us how to drain the wine into each bottle.
The final step is to put the bottle into the "corking" machine, have a kid drop in a cork, and to pull down hard on the handle.
Finally - replace the wine in the wine cellar for future consumption!
Even with spilling and our helpful child labor, we were able to produce around 90 bottles of white and 90 "rosso."

Everyone got into the action. I would claim it was hard work but you can see Daph has her sunglasses on her head and flip-flops on her feet.