holiday snapshot number five: the garden

Posted on 16. July 2015 by erdhummel

After almost two weeks at the Baltic Sea, the little one and I went to my parent’s place and spent some wonderfully relaxing days at our very own summer resort. Our normal rhythm each day: waking up, then reading books (the little one in her grandmother’s bed, and myself in my own bed…blessful moments with a chance to actually finish two or three books!). Then breakfast, followed by various activities such as trampolining, picking berries (strawberries, blueberries, black currants, white currants, cherries…), garden work, watering flowers, discovering the old barn, reading books, trampolining, water splashing, trampolining, relaxing on the sun bed, watching the bumblebee nest….After lunch a lunch nap for all of us (and more time to read), then trampolining, eating ice-cream, drinking juice, relaxing, more discovering of the old barn, swinging, water splashing, collecting snails, occasional drawing, playing with dolls, trampolining…..and some occassional trips to the city, the forest or the zoo. And at the end, dinner and bed time (only after reading two or three bedtime stories), finally falling asleep to the sound of birds and running water from the dwell. Heaven. And just the right rhythm for hot summer days.

While the trampolining was exclusively done by the little one, I tried to be a bit creative in the garden as all those flowers were just too tempting. You just need some wire, flowering lady’s mantle and four or five additional blossoms:

Posted in Garden, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

holiday snapshot number four: the BEACH!

Posted on 14. July 2015 by erdhummel

One of the big advantages of Northern Germany is definitely…the beach! Or the seaside, in general. Depending what you are looking for. I love the seaside. And I miss the seaside whenever I am not there. Stormy autumn weather? Perfect for a walk along the seaside! Sunset? Best at the seaside! Waking up to the sound of the seagulls and the waves? What better start could a day have?

But I would never say that I am a beach-holiday-type of person…..spending more than a few days on the beach, especially when it is hot, just doesn’t sound very appealing to me. I don’t like big crowds of people. I don’t like the heat. Why would I want to spend time on the beach on a hot summer day??

Well, turns out that I can sometimes be proved wrong. When it started to be really hot in Kiel, there was no better way to spend at least part of the day at the beach. Not during the hottest time of the day, admittedly. But lying there in the shadow of a beach tent, with a slight breeze and enough to drink, watching the little one play in the sand or collecting shells, and enjoying the cold water every now and then just seemed to be the exact right thing to do. At least on week days while the holiday season in Northern Germany hadn’t started. Spending your time along the seaside with children is definitely among the most relaxed holidays you can have…

Posted in Germany, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

holiday snapshot number three: picking strawberries

Posted on 13. July 2015 by erdhummel

One day before we left Zurich I cleared our first strawberry bed as the season was more or less over. At the Baltic Sea, the season had just started. So? Trip to the nearest organic strawberry field. Result? More than four kilograms in less than 30 minutes….Oh my, these strawberries were superb! It’s a miracle that we managed to stop after half an hour (it’s incredibly hard to suppress the impulse to just bend down and start picking when you see these amounts of ripe strawberries. The trick is to stare at the horizon and to continue breathing….)

Perfect snack for hot summer days!!

Posted in culinary bits and pieces, Germany, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

holiday snapshot number two: Open-Air-Museum

Posted on 11. July 2015 by erdhummel

During our first year, Karsten and I had a discussion about which part in Germany is most suitable for a holiday. Being from the Black Forest, Karsten of course said Southern Germany. Being from the Baltic Sea, I of course said Northern Germany. Which caused Karsten to voice one of these sentences which will stick with him for the rest of his life now. He said: “How can you possibly hang around Northern Germany for more than a week??” Oh dear…

I am glad to say that, in the end, he proved to be quite North German, this guy. That is as long as there is a stall selling soused herring and shrimps somewhere.

One thing which is always on my list when I am in Northern Germany (especially Kiel) is a visit to the open-air-museum Molfsee. It’s one of the places where we already went to when I was little. And then with my nieces and nephews. And then when doing an internship there. And now with the little one. The smell of the old farm houses brings back so many pleasant memories. If there is one perfect work place for me, it would be here.

It’s a perfect location for a day-trip. Old farmhouses for the adults, lot’s of stories to tell for older children, farm animals and lots of space for the little ones. History, farmers gardens, flowers, lovingly arranged details, perfect photo shots. A blacksmith, a toy-maker, a weaver, a basket maker, a potter…still doing their business on most of the days. An old dairy farm as perfect stop for lunch. Beautiful walks. And a big playground (under old beech trees!) with old roundabouts for free (the guy will even start it if it is just you and no children). And if you are as lucky with the weather as we were….well:

Posted in Children, Family, Germany, the little one, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heavy garden traffic

Posted on 11. July 2015 by erdhummel

While the rest of my family is on vacation, I am at home, working the weekends!

At least it gives me the possibility, to really convey the beauty of having a garden – and if you do have one already, to urge you to plant some flowers which attract lots and lots of pollinators: vetches, sainfoin (of course), cornflower, viper’s bugloss, heather, buckwheat and lavender are just a few of those, which come to mind. The advantages are obvious: not only do you help establish and maintain a healthy population of pollinators, which are also supposed to pollinate your vegetables, but also weeding is just so much more interesting when the air is buzzing around you with life! I used the 2 hours this morning before temperatures became unbearable, to weed the strawberry bed, and here are just a few minor impressions of what I was able to observe: This really is like a small vacation on its own, refilling the batteries to spend the rest of the day at the computer, typing away.

Karsten

DSC00330 DSC00292DSC00317 DSC00282

Posted in Allgemein | 1 Comment

holiday update (snapshot number one)

Posted on 9. July 2015 by erdhummel

After two weeks of holiday, many beautiful impressions and activities and several too-hot-to-sleep nights we suddenly have a temperature drop of more than 20° celsius and pouring rainfall today. Which is, I must admit, a bit of a relief as the last days where incredibly exhausting for a late-pregnancy-belly. And while we are waiting for the rain to stop so that we can do some shopping (I don’t fit into my waterproofed jacket anymore) I take the chance to write up some holiday snapshots for you. Here is holiday snapshot number one:

The windjammer parade in Kiel:

Two weeks ago, we arrived in Kiel (Northern Germany) on time for the last weekend of the Kieler Woche. For the unknowing among you: it’s a sailing festival in Kiel which takes every year and basically consists of two weeks full of concerts, international food, sailing regattas, tall ships and lot’s of alcoholic beverages. There also is an awesome program for children with wooden houses to be built and a huge mud bath. While we normally do enjoy the good food, the tall ships and the children activities, we were quite happy to avoid all the rush and the crowds with the little one this time as it’s really more stressful than entertaining with a toddler. What we didn’t want to miss, though, was the windjammer parade which takes place on the last weekend of the festival when all the tall ships are parading along the fjord as kind of a good-bye. The best way to watch the parade is to take your child, a good breakfast, sunscreen, bathing suites and waterproofs (you never know!) and to spend the day along at the beach. And that’s just how we started our holiday.

Posted in Family, Germany, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

these days…

Posted on 2. July 2015 by erdhummel

….we are busy with watching boats, playing in the sand, admiring cousins (the little one), visiting open-air museums (ok, just one, but my favorite one), drinking non-alcoholic cocktails, waking up and going to sleep with the sound of the seagulls, picking strawberries (Northern Germany is almost two months behind our Swiss garden season, so we just stepped from one finished strawberry season into a new one), running around barefoot, avoiding stomach bugs, removing splinters from tiny feet, petting goats, lying in the hammock, watching movies, listening to the little one’s newest words and enjoying a fresh breeze while the rest of Germany and Switzerland suffers from over 35°Celsius (a possible third child will be born in early spring, that’s for sure). Pictures will follow later next week when I’ll have proper internet access again. Cheerio, everyone!

Posted in Family, Germany, the little one, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

summer on the balcony

Posted on 25. June 2015 by erdhummel

This evening, the little one and I will be off to Germany where we will spend three weeks with my family. I am feeling a bit biased about it – on the one hand, I am looking forward meeting my family and visiting Northern Germany again, especially since the temperatures are going to be so much more agreable for a by now 8 month pregnant belly, but on the other hand…well, 8 months….I think it is going to be one last exhausting journey that I will make before the baby is due at the beginning of September.

I also feel a bit sad to leave the garden behind for such a long time. So many vegetables are just about to be ready, and I find weed to pull out every single day….how is it going to look like when I return in three weeks?

But instead of the garden, I will show you our balcony today as I have promised a balcony update for quite some time now. My goal this year is to make the balcony as green as possible while still being able to eat and play there (kind of a compromise for all the trees that are gone around our building…).

So this is how the balcony looked like in March when I started to clean up:

And this is how it looks nowadays:

Special treats are the cherries, the woodland strawberries, tomatos and a Peruvian ground cherry (though I am not sure whether it will grow big enough to have any berries this year). And of course the new hanging seat that Karsten got for his birthday – such a great and relaxing thing to have on a balcony!!! Only the blueberries, one of Karsten’s most wanted plants for the balcony, are turning out to be a slight dissappointment…so far we counted maybe ten berries. 🙂

Posted in Garden | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

two years (or how you know you live together with a toddler)

Posted on 24. June 2015 by erdhummel

This month, the little one is turning two. TWO! Unbelievable! Time flies and while I was preparing her birthday present (a photo book of her second year) and couldn’t help but wonder how fast our daughter is developing and growing.

Last year, I wrote a list of things which changed since we had a baby. This year, I was wondering how life changed with a two-year old. Some points are still the same than last year. The tidying-up, for example. I think I have never tidied up more often and more disciplined in my entire life, yet I fight a constant daily struggle against the chaos. The restroom issue….well, it evolved in the sense that I can now close the door again, but next to me is probably a toddler sitting on the potty, commentating the sounds I make….very flattering!

So here is our new list of how you will know you live together with a toddler:

– You will have mastered the art of multitasking. It is not anymore about avoiding to step on your child, but more about cooking while trying to save your child from cutting, bruising or poisoning…

– you will still get very nervous when you don’t hear a sound

– on the other hand, you will wake up with an immense adrenalin kick when you suddenly hear footsteps or crashing sounds early in the morning and you realize that your child is now able to remove the sleeping bag and to get out of bed by itself

– you will find clothespins, coins and spoons in every possible place in your flat

– one-third of your bookshelves will now be occupied with children books

– when travelling, about three-quarters of your luggage will be taken by children’s stuff

– you will know every playground in town (including their pros and cons for both mothers and children)

– you will always have a box of various snacks with you when going out. And always a piece of chocolate somewhere hidden in the flat.

– going to the supermarket will now take at least twice as long as before

– you will be able to scan new places immediately for possible dangerous spots such as sharp edges, steep steps or poisonous plants

– you will still spend a considerable amount of time on the floor

– your reflexes are as fast as never before when it comes to the question of who is allowed to carry the full potty to the restroom

– when doing pregnancy yoga, you will have extra support by a thirteen kilogram weight sitting on your legs

– you hope that the lunch time naps will continue for many happy years (though you are well aware of the fact that the weeks are numbered)

– you know how to make a babyccino

– you master the art of “oooommmmm” when waiting next to a tantrum-throwing child (you simply learned to take earplugs with you wherever you go)

– if you are lucky you will have an amazing help in the household and the garden

– your partnership will reach a new level and you might discover aspects of your partner that you were never aware of (or do you think he would perform an improvised poo-dance without a child on his arm?)

– your heart will overflow with love every time you hear your child laugh or giggle

– you will see things flying through the air that you would prefer to keep safe on top of a shelf (you just forgot to put them there)

– you will have adapoted your parents way of saying “I count till three……one…two….”

– you will get to know your child better and better as it starts talking. What an immense and heartwarming insight into your kid’s world. Who would have guessed that the little one’s first correct sentence would be “I like butter!” (immediately followed by “I like apricots!”)

– you might have experienced various emergency units by now

– you will not go to a zoo alone anymore because you would always have the feeling that someone important is missing

– you are thrilled about the fact that you can know start to really explain stuff and to play real games with your kid

– when travelling you will be a master of organisation and packing (that is, at least, if you are the mother)

– you will fall onto the sofa with a sigh of relief every time your kid has finally fallen asleep

– yet you might have somehow found the prospect of more sleepless nights and full diapers so glamorous that you are pregnant with a second child

– there won’t be a single day when you don’t think at one point how happy and thankful you are and how your child is the cutest and best child in the whole world ♥

Posted in Children, Family, the little one | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

one way to kill time on a rainy afternoon…

Posted on 18. June 2015 by erdhummel

Thursday afternoon. We just had a small snack, it’s 3:30pm and I decide to make a trip to the local library to a) let the little one practice her running bike, b) return overdue books and c) kill time until Karsten comes home. It looks slightly grey outside but I am in summer mode, so sandals and a fleece it is.

3:35 We start our trip to the library. The little one on her runners bike, I pushing the stroller with the books.

3:40 After five minutes we reach the sidewalk in front of our buildings.

3:42 It starts raining. I decide to go back and tell the little one to hurry up.

3:43 It stops raining. Since we only went back two meters anyway (so far, the running bike hasn’t been faster than our normal speed..) I decide to turn around and walk to the library again.

3:55 We covered about 150 meters. It starts raining again. I ask her to sit in the stroller and we find shelter under the bike shed at the local school

3: 56 I ask the little one to perform some magic to make it stop raining. She waves her hands and shouts “socks! socks!”, giggles and almost falls off the stroller.

3:57 It does indeed stop raining. We continue our walk.

3:58 It starts raining again. We find shelter under a tree. I ask her to perform magic again. She murmers “black cat, black cat” (German equivalent for a proper spell!) and waves her hands.

3:59 It stops raining and we continue.

4:04 Rain. Shelter under a tree.

4:05 Rain stops. We continue.

4:06 Rain. No trees available. I continue walking (and make sure that the books are covered)

4:16 Rain stops.

4:18 We arrive at the library.

4:20 The little one puts all the books on the counter, then marches of to the children corner.

4:25 I join her at the children’s corner and try to identify where she took all the books from.

4:30 There are about ten children books in our basket which I haven’t chosen. I am trying my best to put them back.

4:40 The little one complains about the crafting book I put in the basket as it is too heavy for her to lift. I carry my book while she carries the basket with the children books (two! I managed to put the others back onto the shelves. Not sure though whether I found the right spots))

4:50 I am trying to choose another book for me. The little one continues to put random books into the basket

5:00 I am done selecting and on my way to the counter. But it’s raining outside. So the little one and myself sit down in the children’s corner again and read a book.

5:10  It’s still raining outside. We read a second book.

5:20 It looks like it stopped raining. We quickly pack our stuff and open the door. The librarian asks me whether I would like to have an umbrella. I decline the offer with the words “It doesn’t look that bad and we don’t live far away anyway!” (Mental note to myself: redefine “far” when letting your child walk independently)

5:21 The little one practices her running bike. She is getting better. And faster. It’s drizzling .

5:23 It starts raining again. The little one drives into a puddle. I should have chosen rubber boots over sandals, I guess…

5:24 It rains heavily. We don’t have rain jackets with us. But the little one is happy driving her bike.

5:25 She stops to check out a gully which is gurgling loudly.

5:35 It continues to rain. My sweater is wet. The little one’s shoes are wet.

5:38 The little one stops to say hello to another gully. It is gurgling louder than the first one…

5:40 I try to convince the little one to sit in the stroller again so that we can be home faster.

5:41 The little one climbs into the stroller, but has to say hello to a street sign first.

5:42 We are speeding home (at least if you can call my current speed “speeding”….Karsten normally starts to walk in circles while he is waiting for me to catch up…whatever, I am still faster than the running bike!)

5:43 The little one opens the top of the stroller to shout “hello rain! hello rain!”. Yes, hello rain, how are you?

5:50 We arrive home. Pretty wet. The books stayed dry though.

5:51 Time for a hot chocolate!

Posted in Children, the little one | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments