The month that was!!

This post should have been up yesterday, but let's just say it has been a crazy weekend!! And it will be an even crazier week.

Here are the pictures which made it to my Facebook page last month. 

I love interacting with my followers on Facebook and have small dialogs along too. 

March saw the onset of spring, my fascination with little german towns and villages continue and yes, I have begun going on walks again. I need to shape up before we are headed back home...:D

And here's my favorite of the month. What do you love to do with your kids on a rainy day? We love to Karaoke! In fact, when we are at it, I wonder when will the neighbors be knocking at our door to quieten us down!! :D

Happy Week Everybody!!

Sundays in my city

German villages are not hard to fall in love with......

You can be smitten by them easily.

The brightly colored timbered houses with romantic towers protruding out gives way to fairytale like imagination....

Did a Rapunzel lean out of this tower??

The wrought ironed shop signs remind you of the medieval times gone by...

The cobbled pathways may have been worn out with the horse drawn carriages of the past?

Sigh...my camera and I can go on and on.

Do you get smitten by quaint villages and get the urge to return?

P.S: All pictures taken at Miltenberg. Am gonna return cause I have to see the geraniums hanging out of every window in the above lane.

Sunday's in my City.

I hope everybody's Sunday is going on just as it should be. 

We've had a mix of rain and snow. Not a pleasant feeling, but the sight makes up for it.

Sundays in my City

I hope everybody has had a lovely week. We have been experiencing the warmest Advent season and I have never been so happy. In exactly a weeks time we should be touching down in India. Yes, I will be home for Christmas!!! There are no words to describe the excitement we are going through and not to forget the countdown the kids are having. 

The kids have been busy with their christmas preparations in school. They know that I love everything hand made and when it is made with their own hands, I go giddy with joy and excitement. They love giving me little hints as to what they are making and when the day finally arrives, they bring their treasured pieces home. And like any mommy, I proudly display their work of art for all to see. 

P.S: The above nativity scene was hand sculpted by my daughter at school. Apparently Joseph was mixed up with another girl's and there was no way she could find the one she made. Once home, she begged me not to display cause this figurine looked funny to her. I had to convince her that they all looked great and that I was not willing to trade this for any other nativity scene. 

First sunday of Advent.

With the season of advent comes the german christmas markets. Something everybody looks forward to. We try to visit at least 3 to 4 markets every year. Though people say that all the markets look the same, to us there is something different in store in each one. While hubby and I love to sip on some gluhwein and home made liquor, we also love wandering and admiring stalls with plenty of craft and handwork. Its amazing to see the creativity of Germans and I cannot help but admire their finesse and talent for such fine art. Not to forget, we do end up taking an ornament home. 

And while we do the above, the kids do try to also look out to things that appeal to them. And this particular ladies stall caught their eye.

To those who do not know, this is bannock or simply campfire bread. One of the ways to prepare it is to cook it on a stick on a campfire.

While the fire not only cooked  bread, it also gave us the much needed warmth.

We did have a lovely time and not to forget, I was grateful too for there was no snow....:D 

Tomorrow I will share some more pictures of the Weihnachtsmarkt.

Sunday's in my city.

Remember my post here where I said that I would be taking a german timbered building back home with me..:)

I like this one...

Husband likes this..

Between the two of us we will have to select one..:) Since our last time window shopping, a new collection has been added. Which one do you like??

Sunday's in my City

The kids and I were home for a week'a autumn vacation. Generally, I look forward to the school reopening, but not this time. For those who do not know, I have been attending full time classes for the past 6 months in an attempt to learn the Deutsch language. So, this means I too need to drag myself back to school tomorrow......:( 

If you do drop my home tomorrow morning, I will be like a little kiddo repeatedly muttering to myself..." I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go". And then hubby dear tries to make me feel better by saying.."You have come this far. Another month to go and then you are done!!" My man sure knows how to slowly encourage and motivate me to learn something new.

So much for my lessons. Coming back to what we did. Kids and museums, this combination can never go wrong during a holiday. I must admit that Germany does have many impressive museums. The museum of Natural History in Coburg was one where we accidentally stumbled into. A visit to the fortress coupled with an autumn walk was the plan when the museum came into view on our path. And then to pleads of "bitte, bitte" which means "please, please" we had to give in. I am glad we did. 

As much as I am not waiting for winter, it's funny how the wild boars in the fake snow excited me....:D Really..lol!!!

To me, they all looked real, just like in the zoo. Only difference being these were up close!!

I love bears!! They remind me so much of Brother Bear..

Check out the otter with a fish underneath his paw watching out to see who is eyeing his meal. Impressive??

This lioness was a beauty. I also began to wonder whether these animals at some point were real?? What do you think? 

Sundays in my city

This is our third year experiencing autumn and I honestly feel it is the best....

The first year I was too overcome with sorrow of having left our loved ones behind, the new country seemed all strange..... I seemed to have overlooked the changing colors.

The second year I waited, but autumn was wet, gloomy and too cold. We really could not experience a good rustle of the leaves as they were always wet..

This year, autumn is at its best!! Perfect in every way....truly!!!

Are you waiting for old man winter?

As the leaves change color.........

The days get shorter............

and colder too .............

(LEM photo challenge 'anything')

What do you do? 

How do your prepare for old man winter?

Are you glad to greet him or want to run away from him?

Farmers market in Lohr am Main

Today, I thought I would give you a peek into our farmers market held every Wednesday and Saturday at the marktplatz(market square). As I told you before, ours is a very small village, hence the market too is very small. Twice a week, a few farmers from nearby villages come to sell their fresh produce of veggies, fruits, dairy products, fresh pressed juices, conserves, wines, fruit liquors..... It is encouraged to buy from these farmers not only to help them in their daily living, also that their produce is fresh and chemical free(bio as the germans call it).

Did you know that there are so different kinds of apples? At first I found it weird, but then remembered that the Indian mango is also of so many varieties all with funny names. So, why not an apple too? I have yet to learn either the names or the purpose of each apple(juice, jam, wine making??). 

Want to quench your thirst with some freshly pressed apple juice? Its available too!!!

Flowers for your loved one??

Remember the nightwatchman's tour? Guess who we bumped into?

The last countess of Lohr!! She was on her guided tour of Lohr am Main with tourists. 

My little one didn't feel it right that I clicked pictures of her when we weren't a part of the tour.

Wanna know how the weekends are in the rest of the world? Visit Unknown Mami for you will find a plenty there!!!

Nürnberg Zoo.

I have mentioned many times before as to how in Germany we plan our outings and excursions depending on the weather. At first this methodology seemed very strange to me, but now I must admit that when it comes to weather forecast and planning I am half german...:D Last weekend was one of such days plus the added advantage of a long weekend meant a day out at the zoo in Nürnberg. When you have kids you have to expect umpteen visits to say hello to the animals. While each one seems different to them, to us adults they are all the same!! This is our third visit to a zoo in Deutschland, and personally till date I feel the Stuttgart zoo numbers one. 

Nürnberg Tiergarten boasts of a dolphin show, something different from the other tiergarten's. I must say that it indeed was very impressive and delightful especially for the little children to watch. For us, it was our first time with dolphins. Having read quite a few articles on them, they are know to be very friendly creatures.

I loved the way the trainers communicated with them. It must be a pretty interesting job to work with animals and be able to understand and talk to them.

All along they obeyed and performed marvelously. The actual thrill was when they began these leaps and somersaults in the water. The gasps of delight from the children in the crowd was equally pleasing to hear.

The dolphin show is worth the visit . You will not be left disappointed. It helps to go early and take the best seats for an enjoyable show cause it can get pretty crowded!!

(waiting for their treats after the performance)

Do not forget to visit and say hello to Unknown Mami and all my other bloggy friends.
HAPPY SUNDAY!!!