In case you wondered if we dropped off the face of the earth the past three weeks, here's what we've been up to and where we've been:
At Schönbrunn Palace, there is a wonderful Children's Museum about the lives of the Hapsburgs, the last ruling family of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Much of it is focused on the life of "Sissi", or Kaiserin Elisabeth, who was the next-to-last empress of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. A beautiful, but tragic figure, she was the Princess Diana of her day and is still a pop icon within the German-speaking world.
From Vienna we moved on to Hungary where Mom and Dad attended a very fun and refreshing conference while the kids played, swam and made new friends.
My son turned eight the day after we returned from Hungary and we celebrated his birthday at the the Naturkunde Museum (Natural History Museum) here in Berlin.
And then we started school! Both I and my son have been so busy with our new classes, that I haven't been able to do much blogging.: ) As soon as I get back into the rhythm of things, I'll post a few more things.
In Vienna at Schönbrunn Palace
At Schönbrunn Palace, there is a wonderful Children's Museum about the lives of the Hapsburgs, the last ruling family of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Much of it is focused on the life of "Sissi", or Kaiserin Elisabeth, who was the next-to-last empress of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. A beautiful, but tragic figure, she was the Princess Diana of her day and is still a pop icon within the German-speaking world.
There is a costume section where the whole family can dress up like the kaisers. |
Here my daughter practices royal hair-dos with a mannequin of Sissi in the background. |
The Royal Siblings |
My son wasn't too crazy about the princess stuff and preferred the zoo at Schönbrunn. He also loved the Prater, an amusement park, in north Vienna. |
At a castle in Hungary
We watched Hungarian folk dances and held a live falcon at a castle near Lake Balaton. |
Celebrating a Dino-riffic Birthday
My son turned eight the day after we returned from Hungary and we celebrated his birthday at the the Naturkunde Museum (Natural History Museum) here in Berlin.
The children got to visit a pile of fossils that the paleontology students at Humboldt University had inspected and thrown away. Each child got to pick out 2 fossils to take home. |
Starting School
And then we started school! Both I and my son have been so busy with our new classes, that I haven't been able to do much blogging.: ) As soon as I get back into the rhythm of things, I'll post a few more things.
This a traditional German "Schultüte" or School Cone that each new first grader receives at a welcoming ceremony. It is filled with school supplies, candy and toys! |
Wow Sheila! Such an eventful few weeks and such fun sites to see and enjoy (especially the birthday party). Maybe we can visit those spots someday. Yeah for good stuff!
ReplyDeletewe made those for the German classes (first graders) in the German immersion programme here in turku. Fun ... no candy though, only sugar free gum and school supplies. The healthy Finns :)
ReplyDelete@see through faith - Our Berlin kids would be appalled! But how fun that you have a German immersion program in Finland.: )
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