aka Dibble-Felty
Sunday Meg helped me make hot cross buns, one of my favorite Easter traditions that I learned from my mom. I realized I was missing a few tools I normally have, like a candy thermometer and a pastry brush, but I made do, and they turned out quite good
It is Easter break in Germany, and we are taking the opportunity to do a bit more exploring. Saturday we spent the day in Luxembourg city. It was surprisingly quiet, in my opinion. It felt much more like a Sunday than a Saturday. Perhaps this was partly due to the shoddy weather, which alternated between wind, snow, rain, and graupel
We managed to have a good time anyways. We got to experience a glass elevator which connects one part of the city to another. We explored the casements, a system of tunnels built several hundred years ago to connect the various military towers protecting the city. That was about all we had in us for the day, given the weather, so we then headed to Trier to find our apartment for 2 nights. We stopped at the grocery store on the way to grab a few things to eat. We made the kids some noodles, and then Clare and I went out to a very nice restaurant featuring local wines.
In the fourth grade in Germany, students have to take a bike test. This includes both a theoretical and practical test. They had about 6 days where they practiced on the road. I was fortunate enough to be able to go into work late one day and help out once. I was very impressed by how well behaved all the kids were and how serious they took the training. And indeed, there was quite a bit of traffic on the road that day, even in our little town of Würselen. There was a police officer there to help teach the kids, as well as the teacher and several parents. They had to practice how to enter traffic from the side of the road using UHU – Umsehen (look around), Handzeichen (hand signal), and another Umsehen. Also note that UHU is the sound of an owl, which of course can see very well.
The theoretical portion included learning many different road signs, and analyzing lots of different situations to see who has the right of way.
Spencer did a great job with it all, and was very proud to show off his license
This morning we let Clare sleep in and made her French toast for the newest incarnation of the sunshine cafe, which is one of the kids’ favorite ways to show her how much they love her.
