Bonn, Day 5

On Tuesday, Latham had to attend the conference and Lillian and I adventured in Bonn on our own.

First, we explored more of the grounds around our burg. We found crusty vines ...

... and creepy, almost petrified, cats.

This made us hungry for the chicken sandwiches from the day before, and when we had them again, they were just as great.

Next, we visited Das Arithmeum - a strange little museum that combines modern art and math.

It has abacuses from hundreds of years ago that you can interact with.

On the walls it has three floors of abstract geometric or constructivist paintings. And the touchable displays are chronologically arranged in the middle of the rooms.  Most of the walls are glass and thus it has a tremendous amount of light.

There are also old tablet calculators ... 

... and super old machines for clocking into work.

After the Arithmeum, we spent a few hours on the playground, where Lillian showed off her newly acquired swing skills.

On the way to our burg, we passed the Bonn Minster, another Roman Catholic church, one of the oldest in Germany, built between 11th and 13th centuries.

It has these great sculptures depicting the heads of Saints Cassius & Florentius, who were beheaded there.  Lill couldn't resist climbing on them.

It was an exhausting day, and before we got home, Lillian had to take a quick nap on the public art in front of the Bonn Minster.

Bonn, Day 4

On Monday, we took a day trip to Cologne. On the way there, we permitted Lillian to hang from the bars on the tram.

Then we stopped at a chicken sandwich place and Lill devoured her meal.

In Cologne, we went on the Kolner Seilbahn (Cologne cable cars over the Rhine river). It was an experience we won't forget ....

... not so much because we were suspended by thin cables many feet above the town ...

... but because we were suspended by thin cables over a nude resort.

We also visited the Cologne Cathedral. It's tall spires make it one of the tallest Roman Catholic churches in Europe. While it was hit 14 times during WWII, it did not collapse, even though the rest of Cologne was very nearly flattened. It has been under construction or repair continuously since work on it began in 1248.

It also contains a unique juxtaposition of very old and really modern stained glass windows.  The picture on the left is of windows from hundreds of years ago. And on the right is a photo of windows created in 2007 by Gerhard Richter.

Bonn, Day 3

On Sunday, we explored the town of Bonn. It was a 10 minute walk downhill from our burg into Kessenich.

We passed by an elementary school.

And had a brief lunch of waffles (in the shape of a pony) and nutella.

We then took a tram into Bonn itself.

When we got to Bonn, Lillian spotted a perfect mirror to help her pick her teeth (yup, that's a Porsche).

There was a huge fair in town.  They had an inflatable pirate ship for kids to jump in.  The ship itself was not interactive - it was the waves in front of the ship that were the main attraction.
Lillian jumped for more than an hour.

Our next stop was Beethoven's house.  It seemed like a nice house.

After having dinner at Biergarten Am alten Zoll, we discovered an incredible playground.
Somehow, Lillian made a friend immediately.  This is Lillian and Laura (who only spoke Polish).

In the evening, Latham and Lillian cuddled and watched a classic Russian mini series, "Guest from the Future," about 6th graders, time machines, and space pirates.

Bonn, Day 2

On Saturday, we saw my aunt Sveta and uncle Igor who live in a suburb of Cologne.

We took a day trip to Mosel, one of 13 German wine regions.

We ate lunch at a wonderful restaurant in town.

And I got to eat herring with cream sauce and drink delicious Riesling. 














One of the most amazing things about the Mosel region is that it houses an incredible castle: Burg Eltz. It is 850 years old and has been owned by the same family for 33 generations.  That family still lives in the burg today!!!!!

The burg is in the center of a luscious valley and is surrounded by a small river.  The river was super cold on the day that we visited, but that did not stop Lillian and Latham from dipping their feet in.

Lillian also could not resist climbing on some dangerous slopes around the burg.

Bonn, Day 1

Latham picked us up when we arrived in Germany on Friday morning.

We stayed in Bonn's southern district of Kessenich - best known as the birthplace of Haribo gummies.

Our apartment was in a burg (medieval fortress) on a hill in Kessenich.

The burg's grounds had a playground, a tire swing, a rose garden, and a soccer field.

There were also a ton of trees to climb.

On the first day, we explored Kessenich. We found a graveyard from the 16th century.

We did some grocery shopping.

And we enjoyed ice cream while walking on cobble stone streets.

Halloween starts early at chez Boyle

Today, I got Lillian Halloween tattoos. She picked a monstrous bear in a cave for her right shoulder and the bride of Frankenstein for her left.

She asked me to take this picture and to email it specifically to Latham, Matt, Osik, and Grandpa Jim.

weekend with Nana

Thank you so much for coming and helping this weekend, Nana.

Here's Lillian sleeping with Dave after an exhausting day.

And this evening, before bed, Lillian drew zombies with orange cones on their heads.

On Saturday, we went to a new farmer's market at Wychwood Barns, and Lill played on their playground.

"Rambut" means "hair" in Malay

Rambutan, a cousin of lychee, is now one of Lillian's favorite fruit.

take selfie here

Thank you so much to Anna and Peter for babysitting Lillian this weekend. On our way home yesterday, we found "TAKE A SELFIE HERE" stencilled on the sidewalk.  So, we took a picture, albeit not a selfie.

BTW, that's Lill's new stuffy - Dave.

comfy skyping

Lillian skyped with Latham while he was in Rome. He read her Harry Potter.

Anna Banana

Anna and Peter babysat Lillian last night. 
It was pure genius to decorate bananas. 
Lillian made this one -- it's Elsa from "Frozen."

Are sea monkeys real?

Are sea monkeys real?
Yes, yes they are.

Thanks so much, Mimi, for getting us the kit for growing our own sea monkeys.  We ended up having 4 of them hatch!  They were super tiny but quite voracious eaters.

They are all dead now.

Brunch and Science

Lillian entertained Anna and Peter during brunch by performing her spoon hanging party tricks.

While I was busy with chores, Lillian (all on her own) decided to do a science experiment.  She filled her test tubes with different amounts of water and then used one of her drum sticks to bang on the tubes.  She was trying to figure out how the amount of water relates to the sound test tubes make.