We made it up to Oberammergau....just...

I think it is best to say that we made it to Oberammergau. That is a positive way at looking at things. Wednesday morning was a comedy of minor irritations, as occurs with travel! Firstly, Ross needed more medical attention and now has a supply of brown juice safe anti-pestilence medication. Following much annoyance with Hertz we managed to convince them that even though Teagan was five years old, we still needed the baby car seat as ordered as she is only 14 kg, not the three point harness they decided upon. With a smile they provided us with said car seat for us only to find it was broken, so an exchange had to be sorted out...and then there was the tariff issue...and then there was my navigation using a German language map and no logical connecting map between a detail view and whole country view.....Yes, we made it (Ross did say that I was quite good in my navigation as we did get here!). And boy, it has been worth it so far.

I have included a photo of Teagan in front of our wee Christmas tree...we have decorated our hotel room ready for Christmas! And a certain someone kept herself entertained writing labels and "Sally Taping" up the parcels that she had created (not matching cousin Jasmine's talents...but going a part distance).












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Location:Bavaria

The Residenz

With our pre-Christmas time here in Munich, we have been shop focused and allergy recovery focused, all exciting museums will be explored when we come back after our Bavarian Alp break. However, Teagan was not satisfied and neither was Ross so I had to leave the shops and visit the Residenz Palace...and we were not disappointed. Many ceiling paintings were gone or replaced with more simple attempted replicas thanks to that &$@?!$@@@@ World War II. Note: Teagan had a go with the camera...some were good and some were headless!

Annoyingly, Ross cannot drink beer at the moment (can you believe that Tony), so coffee houses are our alternative...good ambience but not a replacement for a big brown juice hall.

Tollwood

Today started with a rush. Ross seemed to develop a dramatic allergic response to something (unknown). His hands, feet, ears, scalp etc all swelled right up...Teagan was not impressed! So it was a quick trip to a clinic to get dealt to. Meanwhile, I went off with Teagan to sort out the all important Christmas shopping (and Kara's prize) so we did not get a lot of sightseeing done. That said......

......our hotel is a stone's throw from the famous Tollwood festival! Hence we spent our evening there and I with Teagan in a makeshift front pack! And no, I didn't break my back!

Now to the snow....it is melting at the moment but forecast to return with avengence in a couple of days...and we now have over pants for Teagie so no more wet pants!












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Location:Munich

It's is all about the snow....

We should have left Doha a day earlier! We would have had more time on holiday and we would not have got ourselves nearly trapped in our home due to National Day traffic. Our taxi could not get to our home and nor could replacements.....we drove though some back streets in our car, around D ring and will now pay the extortionate longterm parking rates...better than missing the flights!

Our reward in making to Munich was fabulous. White snow and a real atmosphere. Dutifully Teagan fell asleep as we were moving about and insisted on not waking up......how does she do that! She was able recharge her batteries and then deplete our remaining batteries as she enjoyed throwing the waft fluffy snow everywhere all of the time.

For Tony....we ate lunch and drank brown juice in the Hofbrauhaus!





























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Location:Munich

Quick fire competition for my nieces..One assumes the nephews are too young?

Okay girls....you must answer this one very very carefully:

(1)  Firstly, your answer must be sent to my gmail account: Paul, Tony, and Grandma have a copy of this
(2)  You must answer BEFORE the 8pm GERMAN time on Monday 20th of December (late entries will not be considered at all)
(3)  If you answer correctly, I will post you a small treat purchased at the Munich markets to you once I return to Doha

Now......three questions:

(1)  At the top of my blog is a photo of a lighthouse, what is the name of that lighthouse
(2)  What region of New Zealand is it located in (i.e the term commonly used to describe the area)
(3)  When was it built (you will need to look the answer up using the internet), Flower St Merriman's, do not trust your father's answer!

This time, your first answer will be regarded as your final answer, so if something is not correct, I will reply to your email and tell you that it is wrong (you will not receive a prize) but I will be very nice about it as I do love the effort.

However, the good news is, all correct answers will receive a prize.

Another post...as I miss camping..

Again, it is Friday morning.  Isn't funny how they come around so quickly. Teagan and Ross are doing colouring in bed and I was contemplating a camping trip.  So I am indulging in two of Teagan and my adventures from the 2008 / 2009 season...

Tapapakanga
Our last trip of the camping season was the very end of March 2009 and we went to TaPapakanga for an overnight adventure (and possibly my favourite).  Camping involves pre-organisation on my part.  All meals are pre-thought and prepared in a lightweight manner.  Snacks are divided into small parcels and I allow for a few spares.  Teagan and I share one sleeping bag and combine our air-mats to give me the illusion of increased comfort.  Once unpacked, we eat (a packed lunch) and then head off for a long hike (Teagan tied onto my back for most of it) and return in time for a hot billy meal, bit of a splash in the sea, rinse off then into the tent for the night.  Breakfast is generally spectacular as it is at sunrise and if I am not too tired, generally at a remote part of our campsite.

Hunua Ranges
Another special trip, and possibly my favourite (again huh!), was up into the Hunua Ranges, south of Auckland.  This was a real bush camping weekend and we took a work colleague with us who had come over from Sri Lanka.  We took our larger tent (it rained so it was good) and meals were slightly more standard (baked beans and sausages) as I didn't have to worry about transporting items on my back!!

Delaying the housework...

This morning I have no major plans.  Therefore, I have no idea where to start.  Yes, the beds are unmade, the breakfast dishes are on the bench and the washing is unfolded; so of course these things should not be attended to.  I am not going out so why tidy up?  Instead I am contemplating this blog post.

The Emir
Some weeks ago we received a letter from the Arabic department at school saying that the Emir was giving a gift to all young children (at schools in Qatar).  Dutifully we returned the letter signed and dated.  Yesterday, we had one elated little girl who could not believe that "Mr King Emir gave me all of these lovely things".  This morning there were many happy little children sporting new items ready for a long and protracted Show and Tell....


FIFA World Cup 2022
Now this is a sensitive subject.  A lot of the people I speak to are negative about Qatar winning the 2022 bid: English, Australian, and American namely. Thankfully, I don't care for soccer/football but interestingly I do care for "bids".  Hence, reading up the background and choice decisions has been very interesting.  I now see why I think England lost to Russia, I can see why Australian didn't get the bid (thanks to loss of media income) and possibly why the USA didn't win.  Qatar clearly met all of the FIFA requirements (if they didn't they wouldn't have had a show), more than enough hotel rooms contracted, training venues, government support etc.  Of course, a lot needs to be constructed and much of it is futuristic.  But hey, let us wait and see....let us let the poppy grow instead of chopping the head off the tall one.
Note: the material is all freely available on the internet, just surf and sift!

Germany and Christmas
Another thing I should be focusing on are the final details for our trip away to Germany in less than three days.  Am I getting lax? Of course not!  I planned this trip before we went to the UK with Mum so now it is just a matter of cross-checking the winter items, the home made itinerary and ensuring the upsized child's buggy has enough snow protection on it.
We head off at 0245h on Sunday morning destined for a direct flight into Munich.  We will spend three nights there visiting the brown juice cafes and Christmas markets.  On the 23rd we head up to Oberammergau for a traditional Bavarian Christmas (hopefully I have the details successfully arranged with the Pension we are staying in). Then we head back to Munich on the 27th for a further three nights in Munich.  Interestingly, it was cheaper to stay in Munich longer (with accommodation costs) than fly back to Doha.
Raisin is heading off for her hotel stay at another Vet place as the previous one was not quite big enough in space for both "Madams" likings!

School
Yes school, don't we love it!  For real actually.  Whilst Sherborne is not stretchy on reading, it is providing Teagan with such a rich (yes that is a pun) environment for her learning.  She is nurtured and has such a variety of experiences that Ross and I struggle to keep up.  Teagan's stories of school are interesting: they had a belly button parade at Assembly, Miss C changed her hair to pink and Mrs K had her baby in the classroom and Teagan helped.  However, the real stories, whilst far more believable are fascinating.  She is recognising some Arabic script, refering to items in Arabic, singing in French, and beating to homemade drums.  Her close friends are extremely ethnically mixed and she is one of the very few that only has one fluent language.  Best of all, she is "currently" well behaved, loving, polite and content (how long does this last?).

The Pool
I cannot finish without touching on Friday mornings by the pool-side.  This is special, Doha is shut down for prayer and we value our time as a small family.  The weather is beautiful and morning-tea by the pool is magic!