Continuing on with our holiday adventure in Germany last week, we are on day two which was Sunday. I did make a few plans beforehand but I also didn’t want to put the kids through a lot of traveling in the car and so we took it easy on this day and explored my hometown.
Again we got really lucky with the weather. The kids were happy to wear t-shirt and shorts.We started with a lazy morning and a 9.30am breakfast. We got ready to head into town and show the kids around. We ended up having a sneaky ice cream by the lake and stopped off at the playground. It was a bit windy down the lake front but still warm. The last time Matthew played at this playground, he was only 18 months old.
After the playground we had a bit of a walk around the town. We called into the bakery where my old school friend, who we were staying with, was working. In there we picked up a few cookies and cake for the afternoon snack. In Germany it is common to have tea and cake around 3.30pm. I still do that on a regular basis at home in Ireland, too. This is generally only a thing over the weekend though. It’s something that my grandparents made tradition. For me it’s a cheeky way to have some yummy cake.
It was coming towards lunch time and we decided to eat out by the water because the weather was just too good to head back to the holiday home and eat in the kitchen. We chose one of the restaurants by the lake front in the shade. With the food difference in Germany, it wasn’t easy to get the kids to eat out sometimes. They did the best they could but definitely ate less than on a normal daily basis.
Once we finished our lunch, we headed back to the car park. We did plan on going on a boats tour but they were at times we weren’t prepared to go. Some of them were two hours long and that was just too long for the kids. Maybe next time. I promised Chloe we would go to the museum to the see the fishys but on the way there, we got distracted and boarded the tourist train instead. A family ticket ( two adults and two kids) was just €21.50. It literally drives you everywhere in Waren. The tour is about an hour long and was definitely worth it. It is also a good way to rest the kids little legs.
When we arrived back in the holiday home, the kids dug into their cookies and hubby and I enjoyed a cup of tea with a slice of cake. Later that day we headed off again to the local lake. This is a lake I used to spend a lot of my childhood at. I went swimming there, climbed the trees, went fishing and so much more. It was literally only a short bike ride away from our family home. I did plan ahead and packed our swimwear but in the end we didn’t go swimming at all. I think it is more so because the kids are not used to an open lake.
After a long walk through the woods, we reached the, what we used to call, canyon. It wasn’t that high at all but back in the day, my mum and I would do a bike ride around the lake and stop off here for me to climb up and take a break. It was lovely to share this with my own kids as well. Even though Matthew wasn’t massively impressed by it. Kids, right? He more liked the fact that there were hundreds, if not even thousands of ants up there.
The rest of the evening we relaxed, watched some TV. Chloe and Matthew decided to make a “potion” outside. They collected leaves, pine cones, paper, grass etc. Then they put it all into a pan and stirred it. They can come up with the funniest ideas sometimes. As long as it keeps them entertained, why not. The holiday home we stayed in was in the garden of the main house. In the garden itself was a little pond. Each morning and evening when we got back from our trips, Chloe checked that the frogs were still there. She loved seeing them jump into the pond.
Monday… the next day we had the museum on the agenda, as promised. The Mueritzeum has only been around since 2007. Since then, I only ever visited once. As Chloe loves fish, it was a must to bring her to this place. A family ticket for two adults and two kids (any other additional child is free) was €28.
Before heading down to the aquariums, we explored the ground floor first. Here you could find out about the different national park, its forestry and bird life around the region. Matthew looked into a microscope to see a bug up close. Other than that they were not too interested in the other stuff. They were dying to go downstairs to see the rest.
Apart from all the fish and tortoise, there was also an area which Matthew was very interested in. You could stir a remote control boat, however only one was working unfortunately. We walked outside because there was a playground. It is all about the playground these days with the two. We had lunch in town once again. This time we went to an Italian place. Matthew enjoyed some pasta with tomato sauce, Chloe had fish fingers I think and the grown ups a pizza. That place actually does lovely pizzas and you get the view, too during the Summer.
Poor daddy was dealing with a sore ear for the last few days and so we brought him to the doctor to get him checked out. Better to be safe than sorry. Thankfully it was only something to do with his sinuses which led him to pick up nasal spray. In the afternoon we met my old school friend and her boyfriend in town for an ice cream. We had a good chat what has happened over the last few years. Of course it was finished off with a visit to the playground.
Tuesday was overcast and a little bit colder. We needed to get the jackets out. Despite the weather change, it didn’t stop us exploring the area a little more that day. While we were on holidays, Matthew lost one of this tooth and the way it goes, the tooth fairy came at night and left him a €5 note. He wanted to buy something in the toy shop from it. He is now the proud owner of a stop and go sign like the police have in Germany. Chloe was allowed to pick a new play-doh set. She couldn’t be left out after all.
While we were shopping, I met an old school friend. I told her that we were planning to drive to the near village Klink to see the castle. She told me how the hotel has been taken down. I didn’t hear about it until then. A shame really but I don’t think it was doing well for a long time. As a child, my mum and I went there for my swimming lessons. They had a big swimming pool in the hotel.
So we took on our walk on the way to the castle which was about twenty minutes long. The castle is also a hotel at the same time. We decided not to walk any further because it looked like it was about to rain. Before we walked back, we stopped off at a little shop right beside where the boats dock. The kids had an ice cream and we waited until the rain stopped.
The rest of the day we spent in the holiday home just chilling out and I was happy to watch my German TV shows. For dinner I got crispy duck with egg noodles and veg from the restaurant in town. It was absolutely delicious. I didn’t manage to squeeze in a doner on our trip but I wasn’t too pushed. The duck always tastes so different compared to what you get in Ireland.