Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Down by the Lake

Monday was a holiday in Germany, and everything here was closed. Holidays are huge shopping days in the West, so I was hoping to get a ton of things I needed to buy and was a bit disappointed that the middle of the city was a ghost town.

So we decided to spend the day down by the water. Germany has seven natural lakes, and we are so lucky to live 10 minutes away from one of them. It's still a little cold to hang out in our swimsuits on the beach, so we bundled up and took a boat ride to a fun wilderness/cottage area.

There is a yacht club and a rowing club near our house. I look forward to joining one of them.

I always want Abby to be safe, but I think wearing a helmet on the boat is a little much.
I wish that I owned this fun cottage!

We had so much fun strolling up and down these tree-lined streets.

This island is fun of bike paths and running trails that follow the water.

This is Abby's German friend, Lenny. They totally can't talk to each other, but that doesn't stop them from living it up!


Spring is here!


People here are obsessed with Nordic walking. Someone should really tell them poles aren't really necessary on flat ground. They should also let them know that unicycles --their other obsession --are so '80s.


Abby was pretty afraid of these swans and ducks and hid behind Lenny for protection.



7 comments:

Callicott Family said...

Fun! Unicycles seem to be popular everywhere except the US (and Canada). We got detoured in Japan once by a unicycle parade.

You'll get used to everything being closed on holidays and Sundays. I still sometimes forget that everything is open on Sundays - late even - it's so exciting!

Jessica said...

Nordic walking--are these epic 10+ mile trips? Why the poles? I love all the walking and biking paths.

Holly said...

Lenny looks sweet. But I want to see a pic of your house you said you closed on...

A Friend's Perspective said...

Ah,I loved those tree-lined paths!! Looks like Lenny was super safe during the day with his helmet on!

Look for parking signs in the forests. Really. They are the beginning of GREAT walking paths!

Different holidays are GREAT. We used to go shopping after Thanksgiving dinner - no crowds!!

Be ready for Christmas Eve though. The ENTIRE country shuts down. Even McDonald's!

The Johnsons said...

I have so much to say. I loved your house hunter photo's. It is quite different from the "house" hunting we've been doing in the Westchester NY area. We will visit you, don't bother with our place :).

Everything continues to look so beautiful there!!

And I was really laughing about Abby's helmet on the boat. It made me laugh comparing it to Beijing and how overprotective they are of young children--like not letting them go down a 4 foot slide alone until they are 3 years old. And yet no helmets are required on the family scooter ride, nor seat belts on the airport expressway!

And Nordic walking looks awesome, I think I'm going to take it up!

Jena said...

Sheesh. I have been out of it for awhile! I've been taking it easy in UT and living in that world and no other! Not even blog world if you can believe that.

I can't believe all of the adventures you are on. What fun to be entering a new one. I can't wait to see how you like Germany. Crazy. Michigan is as foreign as I will go.

How are things going with your little trouble maker? I wish I had some magic secret that would make everything perfect. I'll email you some things I have done. Hopefully it will spark something.

Anonymous said...

Germany is so beautiful!