Schwangau

We stayed three nights in a little village called Schwangau - southern Germany - with some old friends, the Greens. We rented a place big enough for both families that had a great lawn space perfect for kids. The Green kids are similar age to ours. The German countryside was spectacular and we were able to walk down the village road each night and find delicious hearty food. It is daylight until around 10pm every night.

Hungary - last few

Village square, umbrellas for sale, our group and a sneaky pic of a Hungarian Vizla in a Budapest park.

Munich - 2

Good food and a gingerbread heart in Marienplatz.

Munich

A couple of days in Munich - a visit to the Museum and a well deserved icecream. The weather continues to be beautiful - warm and sunny.

So long Hungary

We are currently on RailJet train from Budapest (Hungary) to Munich (Germany), a 7.5 hour trip. The train is very modern and has great seats, food and free wifi internet. The kids are completely engrossed in the iPad, and are failing to notice the beautiful European scenery zipping past.

Budapest - 3

Crossing the Danube in our rental car; budding junior photographer. The weather is spectacular - between 25-32 degrees, but not humid at all.

Budapest - 2

Budapest - 1

We have arrived in Europe, and are firmly in holiday mode. Our first stop is Budapest, Hungary where we are staying in a beautiful villa with some friends.

Europe!

We leave tomorrow for a month-long summer driving holiday - mostly in Germany - but we will have a couple of days in Hungary, Switzerland and the Netherlands as well.  Here's a Google map of our planned itinerary.

Clothes lines

Holiday haircut

Last minute haircut today for 3/4 of the family today - before we leave on Saturday for our summer holiday.

Summer

37 degrees here today. Ice cream is the only remedy!

In other news...

Zara has another wiggly tooth!! Will be her second. Here she is taking a self-portrait on the iPad.

Summer style

Doesn't she look set for a London, I mean Shanghai summer? The handbag, the gloves, the hat and of course the regal Union Jack. Snapped just down the road from our place.

End of pre-school

On Thursday we parents were summonsed to the pre-school to watch a final performance by Zara's group. They sang some songs and did a little skit with brooms, where they metaphorically swept out the halls of pre-school as a final farewell before they move on to the big school. It was fun but an emotional moment as we think back to the little pink bundle of joy we held not that long ago - soon to start Grade 1 and moving on and up in life. Time doesn't stand still.

Dinosaur egg

This was one of Max's 4th birthday presents sent by Aunty S and Uncle P - a plaster dinosaur egg that he had to chip away to find what was inside. Yesterday he persevered with it and proudly "discovered" the little dinosaur skeleton inside!

Shanghainese

Chinese people from Shanghai are unique in many ways - and a Shanghainese man is known for his handbag. Not his though! So the story goes, Shanghainese men happily carrying their wives handbags while out shopping. Here's one happy couple.

Rice

Continuing on my theme of "oh great gat... can you believe that is on the back of a motorbike", here is a guy carrying sacks of rice on a low-torque electric bike. The poor bike was struggling.

Happy birthday Max

http://youtu.be/lCT8EE8v-iM

Birthday cakes

Max turns 4 tomorrow. He wanted a Spider-Man cake. Neither of us was clever enough but in true Chinese style we were able to find a bakery that did Spider-Man cupcakes.

Party table

Zara has had fun recently setting up tables for little parties. Complete with tablecloth, cushions, candle and fridge-cooled rolled-up face towels, for those sweaty Shanghai days!

Strange things

We see some strange things in China. Today a large statue of a Baileys bottle right outside my office building took the cake.

Trampoline

A new and very welcome addition to our compound over the weekend!

Pink hair

The photos don't really show how bright this mop of fairy floss was to our eyes.