I’ve blogged about Karneval a few times already. This post has lots of information about Karneval in Köln. Other Karneval posts can be found here and here. This year we decided to check out the Schull-und Veedelszöch- a Karneval parade especially for kids. Most of the schools in Köln are represented. Every school chooses a theme […]
Cultural Differences
Christmastime 2015
Köln is definitely a city where you can revel in Christmas. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to revel this year between my school and family commitments. We still managed to have some fun though… A new Weihnachtsmarkt popped up in a small square located between my school and home, so I was able to […]
Schultüten
Schultüten (school cones) are given to kids in Germany on their first day of First Grade (Einschulung). Parents usually put in a lot of effort to make them special for their kids. There are even clubs of Moms who meet up to make them together. You can even buy “themed” craft kits to make it […]
Kiera’s First Day of School (Einschulung)
Here’s a cute letter that Kiera’s new school sent to her right before summer vacation. Along with a very detailed list (below) of what we needed to buy before the first day of school. Luckily, Oma took care of that for us- we only had to swing by her place and pick it all up. […]
The German Language/ Where I’ve been
Hello! Yes- I’m still alive! Sorry for the unintended, unexplained five month blog break. Right after getting back from our summer vacation in the States the girls and I started school. Yes- me too! Kiera was accepted into the after school program (OGS), so I finally had time during the day to start my German […]
Oma and Opa’s Place in Italy
Oma and Opa bought their place in Italy when Simon was just a baby. Opa Friedel’s sister also bought a home in the same village around the same time. So Simon and Ruth got to make some great childhood memories here with their cousins. Opa’s brother eventually bought a home in the same neighborhood as […]
Italia!
We vacationed at Oma and Opa’s place in Italy twice this past year- October vacation and Easter vacation. Altogether we spent about five weeks in Italy (France and Monaco as well since they’re less than an hour away!). So there are lots of vacation blog posts coming your way! For October vacation, we flew to […]
New Apartment/ New Blog
We moved into our new apartment at the end of September, and then lived in chaos for the next five months while I unpacked all of our belongings and did my best to make our new apartment a home (along with juggling the rest of our lives- homework, laundry, cooking, sicknesses, etc.). I had to […]
Sundays in Germany
One of the things that drives me crazy about living here is that on Sundays, the world comes to a halt. Anything shopping-related is closed (besides a few kiosks). You can’t even buy groceries. When we first moved here I thought it was quaint. “Oh, that’s nice- it forces you to relax and unwind and […]
First Day of Second Grade/ Last Year of KiTa
Wow- this summer flew by! Compared to the States, it’s a shorter summer break here for students. The kids only get 6 weeks off, but they make up for it by giving them a two week vacation in October. August 20th was the first day of the school year. The girls were excited to see […]
It’s Pantoffeln Time!
The girls started back to school on Aug. 20th. I took these pics about a week before that, while we were doing our back-to-school shopping. For kids in Germany, that usually means a new pair of Pantoffeln (rubber soled slippers that kids wear during school). The girls were excited to pick out a new pair […]
Four Stars!!!!
Wow- I am really behind. I can’t believe I am just now posting about Germany’s World Cup win! Needless to say, things were CRAZY here. It was so awesome to be here to witness it all!! There was lots of shouting/ car horns honking/ fireworks, etc. – well into the night (and this is just what […]
Go Fourth and… Go to the Hospital
I knew we were going to have a low-key 4th of July because Kiera had already been sick for two days and wasn’t getting any better. She came home from school one day with a bump on her neck between her jaw and ear on her right side. Kiera’s neck bump day 1- before it […]
Fußball Fever!
It is an understatement to say that Fußball in Germany (and Europe in general) is popular. During the World Cup, it is CRAZY. Maybe because it happens only every 4 years? And why is it not that popular in the States? Especially since so many kids there grow up playing it- I mean, the term […]
May Day
Yesterday (May 1st) was May Day- a national holiday in Germany (no work/school/stores open). It’s similar to our Labor Day in America (but different as well). I had no idea it was such a big holiday here. Here’s a link describing May Day in Germany… I remember Simon telling me in a letter (when we […]
Oma, gib mir Schokolade (Grandma, give me chocolate)
There’s this awesome rap group here whose music is geared for kids called Deine Freunde (Your Friends). Their song Schokolade (Chocolate) has been in our heads incessantly over the past few weeks. I love that this group’s songs have wholesome and interesting lyrics (they don’t dumb it down because it’s for kids). And they’re very […]
Karneval 2014
Karneval was a blast and definitely lived up to it’s reputation! Since the previous post already explained Karneval in depth, I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking in this one… On the way to the Rosenmontag parade… (Opa, Papa and Quinnie off to the left) Love this couple […]
The Fifth Season
Köln is a Catholic city- so before Lent, they GO CRAZY. Karneval is such a big deal here, and is so ingrained in the culture of Köln that it’s called “The Fifth Season.” It goes on for about a week (the partying part of it anyways) and is a mix between Mardi Gras and Halloween. […]
New Year’s Eve 2013
New Year’s Eve in Köln is kind of like the 4th of July (in America), but on steroids. To most people it means it’s time to go out and buy FIREWORKS! This is a novel idea to us coming from drought- dry San Diego where all (private) fireworks are illegal because of the danger of […]
Christmas Idols
In America most kids (Christian ones at least) get excited for Santa Clause to visit. German kids have 3 different people to look forward to. I’ve found it somewhat confusing so I had Simon explain it to me. On December 6th they celebrate Sankt Nikolaus. The night before kids put a boot out and it […]
Things seen on the way to school
Sometimes Quinnie and I walk to pick up Kiera from school instead of taking the train. Here are some snaps from our most recent walk. I remember these round advertisement columns from when we lived in Amsterdam. Lots of these around the city. These street lamp posts are everywhere. This sort of represents Köln to […]
KVB
KVB is Köln’s subway/ transit system. It works on an honor system of sorts in the sense that there are no turnstiles- you just walk onto the train. They have machines where you can buy per-ride tickets or you can get a monthly pass (unlimited rides). To keep you honest they have ticket checkers who […]
Lastenfahrräder (cargo bikes)
One of the things that has really made an impression on me here is how creative people are with how they transport their children around (since lots of people in this city don’t own a car). Check it out! Here’s my friend Chloe on hers. The baby usually rides […]
Currywurst mit Pommes and Döner Kebab/ Street Food
One of the most popular street foods that you will find everywhere here is Currywurst (wurst with a curry sauce over it) with fries (usually with mayo to dip them in). Döner Kebab and Gyros are also popular and sehr lecker (very delicious). Currywurst mit Pommes. Curry is a VERY popular spice here. It’s everywhere- […]
Subways, Trolleys and Escalators – oh my!
According to the girls, one of the best things about living in a city is that they get to ride subways, trolleys and escalators EVERY day to and from school. After almost 3 months here, it still hasn’t gotten old. Oma is teaching Quinnie how to knit, so Quinnie was […]