I have a sneaking suspicion, that Henry actually hates when I come to visit because it's twice the giggling insults and twice the crying babies. Anyway, they allowed me to stay and claimed to "enjoy" my visit.
So we spent the weekend, as you probably already read at Midwesterners, visiting a second hand children's sale and a small amusement park.
The sale on Saturday was like a church rummage sale and seemed to operate on a consignment basis as each item was tagged with a price and vendor number. There was a wide range of clothes, shoes, toys, and other baby and child equipment like high chairs and bikes.
We arrived early, as recommended, and Silas wondered around outside the building, climbing up and down the stairs and stepping into some sort of pool/water feature sculpted into the stairs, rendering his right shoe sopping wet and muddy.
The doors to the hall opened and we entered. The first room had boxes of books to the right and tables of cakes, tarts, and coffee to the left. I checked out the books, but being Germany, the only thing that would have been of much interest would be children's picture books. There wasn't much in that department, so we moved onto the main room. I wanted to look for some shoes for Silas so we both headed that direction. Rachel and I each grabbed a couple pair before heading off to the next area.
Silas was asking to get out of the stroller and there were some cute toys so I let him play on a a couple. Of course, he fell in love with what I would consider the worst toy there. Charming
wooden push toys of juggling mice, clever inflatable bouncing horses to sit on, practical tricycles with tall handles extending up and out of the back, were all passed by for a crusty, scuffed, plastic ride-on turtle toy with all the decals missing. He screamed unless he was sitting on it, including during the five block walk home, when I had to carry the turtle with Silas aboard, across the street. Maybe it indicates that I am weak willed, and I shouldn't have given in to a tantrum, but it was less than 4 euro. And even after a week he still loves the scoot around on it. So, it seems money well spent. Now I am on the slippery slope of having to give him a quarter every time we go to the grocery store to buy a plastic bubble from a vending machine with a sticker or a key chain inside. The other bonus of this purchase is that we can't take it home with us, so Rachel is left to deal with the disgusting green turtle once I am back home.
Rachel made a more thoughtful purchase of a set of wooden beads on stiff wire curls that the babies can thread along. Both of the boys seemed to enjoy it, and it's an IKEA product so it matches the rest of the decor in their house and can be disassembled with any of the 500 allen wrenches in the house.
Sunday, Henry had to go into work again, so Rachel and I decided to take the boys to the top of the mountain where there is a small amusement park, Marchen Paradies (Fairytale Park). When we arrived both babies were sleeping, and, like the fools we are, we neglected to bring books to entertain ourselves. We played a few rounds of the animal guessing game before I dozed off for a 15 minute nap. Silas and Ellis woke up almost simultaneously, and we headed into the park. It was a really beautiful sunny day so the park was fairly busy, but not too crowded.
Silas and I bounced on some bouncy castles and played pirate ship on a flat bed car that could be propelled by pulling on a rope.
Rachel had stopped by the bakery that morning after dropping Henry at work, so we had a nice picnic lunch in the park of cheese and tomato sandwiches on pretzel rolls, apples, and chocolate. Meanwhile Silas and a two year old German girl bonded over the love of a molded fiberglass merry-go-round. The only way to pry him loose from the thing was to carry him over to the animatronic horses that rode on a track through a little forested area.
Of course, there is one horse out of the dozen or so on the track that has a small saddle that is not suitable for a parent and a child to sit on together. I, naturally, select this horse and am met with assorted directions in German, which I can only imagine are basically saying "your ass is too big for the saddle." Finally, I understood that I should get on the next horse, "the white one" a helpful man next to me says. The whole exchange probably took less than 10 seconds, but it genuinely feels like an eternity when people are excitedly directing/yelling at you in a language you can't understand. So we gave the man our token and we are off trotting through the forest. Rachel was entrusted with the camera, and we tried to coax a smile from Silas, but he was concentrating during the entire ride.
The sale on Saturday was like a church rummage sale and seemed to operate on a consignment basis as each item was tagged with a price and vendor number. There was a wide range of clothes, shoes, toys, and other baby and child equipment like high chairs and bikes.
We arrived early, as recommended, and Silas wondered around outside the building, climbing up and down the stairs and stepping into some sort of pool/water feature sculpted into the stairs, rendering his right shoe sopping wet and muddy.
The doors to the hall opened and we entered. The first room had boxes of books to the right and tables of cakes, tarts, and coffee to the left. I checked out the books, but being Germany, the only thing that would have been of much interest would be children's picture books. There wasn't much in that department, so we moved onto the main room. I wanted to look for some shoes for Silas so we both headed that direction. Rachel and I each grabbed a couple pair before heading off to the next area.
Silas was asking to get out of the stroller and there were some cute toys so I let him play on a a couple. Of course, he fell in love with what I would consider the worst toy there. Charming
wooden push toys of juggling mice, clever inflatable bouncing horses to sit on, practical tricycles with tall handles extending up and out of the back, were all passed by for a crusty, scuffed, plastic ride-on turtle toy with all the decals missing. He screamed unless he was sitting on it, including during the five block walk home, when I had to carry the turtle with Silas aboard, across the street. Maybe it indicates that I am weak willed, and I shouldn't have given in to a tantrum, but it was less than 4 euro. And even after a week he still loves the scoot around on it. So, it seems money well spent. Now I am on the slippery slope of having to give him a quarter every time we go to the grocery store to buy a plastic bubble from a vending machine with a sticker or a key chain inside. The other bonus of this purchase is that we can't take it home with us, so Rachel is left to deal with the disgusting green turtle once I am back home.Rachel made a more thoughtful purchase of a set of wooden beads on stiff wire curls that the babies can thread along. Both of the boys seemed to enjoy it, and it's an IKEA product so it matches the rest of the decor in their house and can be disassembled with any of the 500 allen wrenches in the house.
Sunday, Henry had to go into work again, so Rachel and I decided to take the boys to the top of the mountain where there is a small amusement park, Marchen Paradies (Fairytale Park). When we arrived both babies were sleeping, and, like the fools we are, we neglected to bring books to entertain ourselves. We played a few rounds of the animal guessing game before I dozed off for a 15 minute nap. Silas and Ellis woke up almost simultaneously, and we headed into the park. It was a really beautiful sunny day so the park was fairly busy, but not too crowded.
Silas and I bounced on some bouncy castles and played pirate ship on a flat bed car that could be propelled by pulling on a rope.Rachel had stopped by the bakery that morning after dropping Henry at work, so we had a nice picnic lunch in the park of cheese and tomato sandwiches on pretzel rolls, apples, and chocolate. Meanwhile Silas and a two year old German girl bonded over the love of a molded fiberglass merry-go-round. The only way to pry him loose from the thing was to carry him over to the animatronic horses that rode on a track through a little forested area.
Of course, there is one horse out of the dozen or so on the track that has a small saddle that is not suitable for a parent and a child to sit on together. I, naturally, select this horse and am met with assorted directions in German, which I can only imagine are basically saying "your ass is too big for the saddle." Finally, I understood that I should get on the next horse, "the white one" a helpful man next to me says. The whole exchange probably took less than 10 seconds, but it genuinely feels like an eternity when people are excitedly directing/yelling at you in a language you can't understand. So we gave the man our token and we are off trotting through the forest. Rachel was entrusted with the camera, and we tried to coax a smile from Silas, but he was concentrating during the entire ride.
Next, both the babies did a little bouncing on some trampolines. Then we all took a little train ride around and through the park. The park was the perfect size for us, plenty to do without being overwhelming to small kids or their perpetually exhausted parents. Ellis seemed to really enjoy the train, and although Silas occasionally made his "chug chug choo choo" sound he generally looked like the whole experience is just something to be endured. That is, until we were off the train, at which time the "chug chug choo choo" was accompanied by grunting and pointing in the area of the train.
We were down to our last token, but we found a pedal-propelled dragon that circled a castle tower. I pedaled around and around until Silas finally cracked the smallest smile ever and my legs were burning from all the pedaling.
I walked off the lactic acid and and we wondered past old fashioned animatronic displays of Rumpelstiltskin, some story of more than seven mining dwarfs, and a donkey that craps gold coins.
Rachel tried to convince me that bumper cars is a perfect thing for the last token. Especially since I'll likely be driving around the ring by myself. Not that I'm the only one in the car, but that I'm the only car moving.
Rachel tried to convince me that bumper cars is a perfect thing for the last token. Especially since I'll likely be driving around the ring by myself. Not that I'm the only one in the car, but that I'm the only car moving.
Eventually we found a magnetic forklift type piece of equipment that swiveled and allowed you to switch the magnet on and off and so lift and drop giant pieces of foam with thin metal plates on the outside. Silas enjoyed pushing the buttons and seeing the blocks drop.
It was a really fun weekend with the babies, but both of us wished our husbands could have enjoyed it with us. As usual, working husbands spoiling all our plans for fun.
You can see more pictures from the weekend here. I hope to get my own albums organized and available in the next few days.
2 comments:
wonderful account of your adventures in the German hills! it looks and sounds like you all had a great time - you all probably need a rest after that vacation. i'm sure having orrin back on the emerald isle and silas back with his papa will be a happy reunion for everyone. thanks for sharing the fun with us...
love you!
Good post.
Post a Comment