Video: ABCs

It has been too long since our last video post! Here is a little clip taken this morning. You will have to forgive Daisy's "morning voice." Daisy is very into saying her letters and colors these days. I have actually started finding old Sesame Street songs on YouTube to show her! (Granted, this started yesterday when Chris and I were both terribly sick and were hoping for a break!) Now, we can just show her this video and she's entertained. Hope you are, too!

More Munich pictures

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Stories from our Munich trip

Daisy and Chris playing soccer in the Englischer Garten





Daisy saying "Wawa" in the Hofgarten





On Schloss Nymphenburg's grounds


While Chris was working hard at Lindau, Daisy and I passed the time in Munich. We fell in love with the city in the middle of winter, and could not wait to see the gardens in bloom and the fountains running. Since we had lived there for two months - and had seen all the highlights - we didn't need a map or travel book and could truly spend our time as if we were locals. It was probably the most relaxing way for us to spend that week.


I had contacted some friends from the winter - Chiara and Francesco, the Italians living in the IBZ. One morning, we met at their apartment and walked to a playground that is actually in the middle of a cemetery. Chiara informed me that birthday parties are often thrown there, and you can see balloons peeping through the grave markers. She commented that it was nice to have life and youth in the place. Sunbathers scattered the quiet park. While we were there, I met some other mom-baby pairs who Chiara knew. I learned of one extraordinary coincidence: Chiara had worked with an Italian woman named Anna in a museum in France, had lost touch for about 8 years, and then ended up sharing a hospital room as they were both giving birth in Munich! So Daisy and I both had fun at the park. I have a strong attraction to Italy and will probably never forget how Anna yelled "Mamma mia" as her daughter Penelope narrowly missed getting whacked on the head with a see-saw. We joined Chiara, Francesco, and Chiara's husband Luca for lunch at their apartment, where I enjoyed some olive oil, cheese and marinated tomatoes they carry back with them from visits home. Luca's uncle is a pizza-maker in Naples, and as we discussed cooking he passed on a tip he once extracted from his uncle. I still haven't tried it. But he was told that the secret of Neapolitan pizza dough is to use a small amount of yeast and let the dough rise slowly in the refrigerator, over 3 days, kneading it down every time it doubles.

Later that day, we took the tram to Schloss Nymphenburg and explored the gardens. We had a picnic despite the threatening clouds and actually survived the whole evening without a rain drop. Daisy loved the swans, the water, and the stairs. I learned that the main "courtyard" looking garden, with fountains and statues, is a French concept, and that some English-style gardens were added in around it, which feature winding canals and thickets. Chris and I later came back here on the weekend, and it did rain then. We took shelter on a bench under the trees, watched people clear out, and had the thunderstorm and the gardens to ourselves.

It was wonderful when Chris joined us. We stayed at a hotel on the same street we lived before, and frequented our favorite bakeries and restaurants. We enjoyed breakfast at Cafe Puck, where we had our first morning in Munich, January 3! How far we'd come since then! Neither of us had taken a German course yet. 6 months later, we had adjusted. It was certainly trial by fire.

It took some effort to remember the 4th of July. I sang a little "Yankee Doodle" for Daisy.

One night, outside the opera house, they showed a live feed of "Lohengrin," an opera by Wagner. It was basically standing-room only and crowded, but we made it through about half an hour before Daisy protested. Blueberries get the credit for getting her that far.

I almost forgot another story! On the train ride down, Daisy and I met one of the most interesting people we possible could have met. He is a novelist named Thomas Meinecke. Over our shared few hours on the train, his conversationalism never wore off. His daughter attends Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, where he himself graduated from. Here is an excerpt about him that I found online:
"Thomas Meinecke is a writer whose numerous novels and stories published since 1986 by Suhrkamp Verlag have helped to make him a leading figure in contemporary German literature. As a musician, his new work includes a recently released album with his band F.S.K. on Daniel Richter’s Buback Label, collaborations with Move D., and solo projects as the one on the Clicks and Cuts compilation (Mille Plateaux label). Moreover, he is a dj who regularly performs in urban nightclubs, with his own show broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk. He lives in a Bavarian village with his wife Michaela Melián and their daughter Juno. Focusing on the threatening undertones of the afro-futuristic Diaspora related to scenarios that occurred in relation to Detroit Techno in the 1990s, he describes the archetype of the imagined threat of the other."

He spoke with me about philosophy, music, schools, his work, and his strange relationship with Elfriede Jelinek, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004. He knows where she lives in Munich, but she is a sort of recluse and they have never met, despite occasional plans that hatch. However, they have exchanged letters and emails for over 5 years and know everything about each other. And now I know everything about her.

The train ride home from Munich was another story. We had tickets which brought us home super late, around 1:30 AM! However, a late 2nd train caused us to miss our 3rd connecting train, which meant that we had an hour to kill in a deserted train station, watching the hands crawl to 2:45 AM. Miserable moment.

I will post a larger collection of pictures from our trip on Shutterfly.

Lindau Meeting of the Nobel Laureates in Chemistry (Chris)

Traditional Bavarian Dance

First Panel Discussion on Climate Change

Nobel Laureate Mario Molina

Countess Bettina Bernadotte and E.U. Commission President José Manuel Barroso

Two weeks ago, I attended a meeting of 23 Nobel Laureates and about 600 young researchers in all fields of chemistry (or in other fields closely associated with chemistry) on the beautiful German island of Lindau on the eastern edge of the Bodensee, which borders Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This annual meeting, which rotates between the disciplines awarded the Nobel Prize, is chaired by Countess Bettina Bernadotte, who hails from her personal island, the Isle of Mainau, on the western edge of the Bodensee. The meeting also attracted political figures, including Commission President of the European Union José Manuel Barroso, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, and Kapil Sibal, Indian Minister of Science and Technology. The meeting was comprised of lectures by the Nobel Laureates, Q&A sessions with the Laureates, and two panel discussions on Climate Change, with the second including figures such as Nobel Laureate Mario Molina and the polarizing Danish economist Bjorn Lomborg. The second panel discussion took place on Countess Bettina’s own beautiful Isle of Mainau. I stayed up late every night having good (and sometimes rather heated) scientific discussions with chemists from all parts of the globe, and left the meeting with a broadened perspective. I immensely enjoyed my interactions with other attendees, but was admittedly very happy to see Holly and Daisy again in our beloved Munich. Although the meeting in Lindau was very inspiring, there’s nothing like being with my favorite people in my favorite city in the world.

"Doe, a deer, a female deer!"

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Aachen, Father's Day 2009

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Father's Day

For Chris' second Father's Day, we took the train two hours west to Aachen (also called Aix-la-Chapelle), which borders Belgium and Holland. Aachen had a quarry in Neolithic times, was a source of hot springs used by the Romans, and home to Charlemagne around 800 AD. He lived in a palace and built a wonderful cathedral that is still standing today, though it benefited from Gothic add-ons. When Charlemagne died, he was buried here, and his body and other important church relics are still objects of pilgrimage for many. Because of Chris' love for history, this city was a perfect place to go to celebrate. (Another silly detail is that "Charles the Great," Christopher Charles, and Daisy Charlotte are all connected by name!)

I will post some pictures to our blog through Shutterfly. During our train ride, we read the current favorite book, "Daisy to the Rescue!" many times and snacked snacked snacked. In Aachen, Daisy loved running around in the courtyard by the old town hall and Charlemagne fountain, eating an ice cream cone (Eis! Eis!) and chasing pigeons.

Play Group

Also known as "Eltern-Kind Spielgruppe." Daisy and I joined this group which meets every Thursday morning for an hour and a half at a local church. It is a 15 minute walk from our apartment. There are 5 other mom-baby pairs that attend and one facilitator named Silke. She pulls out different toys every week and provides the structure of song time and snack time. Daisy and I practice the German song lyrics and hand motions at home, so she gets very excited when it is music time. Snack time is another story: all the other babies (around 16-18 months old) sit politely in their chairs and eat their food. Daisy takes one bite and runs back to the play area, maybe seizing her moment when the beloved baby buggy is free. It is obvious that Daisy is the sole child at home; besides giggling and chanting "Baby! Baby!" and chasing the other kids, she is not used to sharing. Recently, she has been screaming when someone else plays with "her" bucket of autos, batting their hands away and even pushing. Most of the time I intervene and try to teach sharing, but our facilitator wants me to let the babies work it out for themselves. Over the weeks, I've noticed Daisy grow more assertive. The first few weeks, Daisy would hand over her toys to more aggressive babies. Now, at least she's sticking up for herself, I guess.

Here are some pictures of our play group last week. I ran out of batteries in my camera before snack time and song time. Maybe I'll take a video next week!

Berlin Pictures

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Hamburg Pictures

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Pictures from Holly

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Belated March Post: the Girls go to Paris!

Here are some belated photos of Holly and Daisy in Paris! Since Chris was just starting his new job, he stayed home and I gave him time to devote to work. We did the quick plane trip and stayed 3 nights, 2 with Grace and 1 with Amberly.

At Trinity Vineyard in St. Charles, IL, I made friends with the May family: Jesse, Susan, Amberly, and Allison. Jesse and Susan now live in Zurich, and Allison, Amberly, and her husband Nate were all in town, too! I joined them for a day on their family vacation in Paris. They all were terrific with Daisy and totally included me.

Grace, another friend from Wheaton days (and before, in Yorba Linda!) lives in central Paris. She was so kind as to let us stay with her for two nights, pick me up from the airport and help me with transportation, guide us through the Louvre, and walk miles - or rather, kilometers - around the city with us to see the sights. I also got to meet her nice boyfriend, Gerald.

I remember embarrassingly few words from my 3 years of French in high school, but the few phrases I mustered were great fun to use. ("Merci beaucoup, bonsoir!")

I bought a bag in Paris. I use it as my diaper bag since it matches the stroller, plus I can fit groceries in since it is huge.

And if only I could import the croissants and crepes. Daisy and I both dined on these. Continuously.

Can't wait for another trip to France - next time, with Chris!

Video: Apartment tour!

Here is a video tour of our new apartment in Muelheim!

London

We took advantage of Chris' first four day weekend over Easter and went by train to London. It was our first time to England, so we loved seeing the famous sights and consuming as much scones, tea, and ales as possible. Daisy kept begging for more tea and saying "mmm" after each sip!

Our hotel was in Notting Hill and we spent 2 full days and 2 half days in the city. During our weekend, we visited St. Paul's Cathedral and toured Shakespeare's Globe theatre, went to Westminster Abbey for church on Easter morning, went to the Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels, and checked out the National Gallery (Van Gogh, Monet, Raphael!) and the British Museum (ancient artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone). We walked a lot, enjoying the Embankment of the Thames river, Trafalger Square, and the beautiful parks. The parks and gardens were in full spring bloom, and it was amazing to see places we've heard about like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street. We both came away with such an increased interest in history.

An English-speaking country after 3 1/2 months...It took about a day before we lost the urge to speak in German in public. I loved feeling free to talk unashamedly in English. People often make nice comments about Daisy, and I've gotten used to just smiling and nodding...it was wonderful to be able to understand and make my own comments back!

Video: Daisy Dancing

This dance party happened in Munich before we moved. Does she have rhythm or what?

We're back...on the internet

Sorry for the delay in posts! We have suffered a month and a half without internet. To sum up our lives since Feb 25th:

The Move, Feb 28th! We packed up our four suitcases and took a 7-hour train to Mulheim. We arrived at our guest house and Chris started his first day of work on March 2. Our living situation consisted of a chic single room for the three of us, a shared kitchen with the other 5 members of the house, and, as I've emphasized before, no internet. The apartment hunt began in earnest, and after dozens of stilted phone calls conducted in German and many apartment showings, we decided on a new home. But the adventures did not end there, for we had to furnish this totally empty flat (including kitchen! Washing machine. Light fixtures.). We somewhat enjoyed the biggest shopping spree of our lives, but it was really way too many decisions to make all at once. If you've ever shopped at IKEA, you know that even the simplest things require assembly. Chris was a hero and built our whole apartment. We had some help, too: some of Chris' coworkers came over for an "IKEA party" and a physicist helped with the wiring of the oven/stovetop. I wish I had taken a picture of the leftover packaging. It took many trips down the four flightis of stairs and down the street to the dumpster before our apartment was trash-free. I still don't think it's sawdust free.

I'm working on some videos to be uploaded soon! Love to you all, watch for an email with our new address and phone numbers.

Daisy's 1st Birthday

As we reflect on Daisy's - and our - last year, we are overwhelmed by the joy a baby can bring. We also recognize the way we've been carried by our friends and families, helping us figure out parenthood and pouring love into our little girl. We are so thankful for you!
Here are some pictures from the big day - a bath (birthday-eve), a nap, and a delectable cake from Alois Dallmayr, est. 1700 in Munich. It was a Johannisbeere Mousse cake with fruit on top and a little chocolate coin which got a little messy!

Ski Trip

On Sunday, we took a train through the Alps. It had snowed for days before, and the pine trees were caked with snow. Seefeld, Austria was our destination, a charming resort town ranked one of the best places to cross country ski in Europe. It is a little north of Innsbruck. We were able to just get off the train, walk to a rental place, and walk to the trails, or "loipen." It was so fun! I was worried that it would be snowing (70% chance!) but it didn't, and it was very beautiful. We did the "classic" style of skiing, where you stay in the two grooves cut in the snow for the skis to follow. We felt a little safer skiing with Daisy that way. I did about 2 miles with Daisy strapped on in the Ergo! She made it a lot harder. There were 3 hills that we had to go down on our loop. Since we had grooves, I couldn't "plow" or whatever so I just had to go whizzing down! Many people smiled at the sight of Daisy along for the ride, and someone even asked if they could take a picture of us!

At the restaurant we stopped at for lunch, we heard Italians at one table next to us and French people at the other. An international destination! We were talking with a ski slopes worker in German and Chris at one point stumbled on his sentence, and apologized that his Deutsch was not so good. The worker then said that it was better than his French! We thought it was awesome that Chris was mistaken for a Frenchman.

Venice!!!!

Venice: Carnivale Masks, romantic Valentine's Day walks, the Basilica di San Marco, and Daisy's first tastes of gelato (loved it!) and tiramisu (tried to scrape it out of her mouth). We also fed her pizza for the first time! Italians loved her and called her "bella." Daisy started saying "Ciao" by the end of the weekend!
Apparently, we have programmed our brains to answer in German when we hear a language we don't understand! The number of times "Entschuldigung" and "Nein, Danke" just slipped out is astonishing. We realized how much German we've actually learned as we tried listening to Italian.
Our video starts out a little blurry, we think the camera was too cold! By the way, we are getting more comfortable with our degrees Celsius. It got all the way up to 7C (about 45F)!
In general, Venice is the best place in the world and we will be happy to return someday.

Blocks, Balls, and Books

Here's a snapshot of how Daisy likes to play these days! Do all baby words start with the letter "B"?