Germany

Daddy Monkey and I had to go to Germany for a day to do exciting things like choosing wooden floors, lino tiles, rubber floors, ceramic tiles...

We drove past asparagus fields.

The wooden flooring company is in an old factory near Potsdam.

It looked very pretty. There was a nature reserve at the back for some kind of newts that are only local to this area.

Daddy Monkey has booked a nice car in form of a 3series BMW for us and was worried all during the flight that he would get a smaller one instead like the last few times. He was all prepared for driving another little Ford but alas it wasn't the case. We were lucky and got offered a very nice, shiny 6 series BMW cabrio. Not that we had any intention of opening the roof. Even though it got sunny around lunch time but it was proper October weather and temperatures.

Daddy Monkey was so very happy. He even got to drive it on the German Motorway.

It was very, very good to drive apparently and simply marvelous and he got to push lots and lots of buttons to adjust this and that and a lot of things you never knew that could be changed.

But we didn't fly all the way to drive nice German cars we came to look at nice German kitchens, which we did extensively.  Oh, the choices, what front, what colour, handles? And then all the accessories, oven in a drawer, oven with escalator? Black sink, white sink? Glass doors with big frame, small frame, metall frame... In the end our heads were spinning and that was even before we heard the price!

Peaches

I forgot to upload this photo of the peaches from our tree. In the garden of our house in Germany are two peach trees. When Daddy Monkey went there last week he brought back a bag full of them. They are a bit wonky and most of them have a little hole from moths but they taste wonderful. I didn't even know that peaches would grow that for north. Obviously they need a bit TLC as also a branch had broken during the recent storms but I hope for another crop next year. Homegrown peaches, yum! That beats plums and apples. A little bit only... Definitely beats walnuts. The tree is beautiful the nuts not so much.

Butterflies in Germany

We went away to Germany and stayed in a hotel where there wasn't any internet reception in our room in the outbuilding. Only on the courtyard which was already used by several mosquitoes who wanted to be paid...
Here are a few photos from the garden of our new house which we hope to move to at the end of the year.

Large White, when I was little my Grandmother always called it Lemonbutterfly, which might or might not its official name in Austria. In any case I do like that name better. Way cuter.


Small Tortoiseshell


My favourite, the Peacock. Aren't the colours gorgeous?


Red Admiral


I'm not sure what this one is called, I couldn't find it on this website for certain. Translated from German it would big oxeye.

Germany

We stayed in Templin which is a rather small town in Brandenburg. Interestingly though it's still the 7th biggest town in Germany by area. Who'd thought? There are so many little hamlets part of it that it spreads for miles it seems. We stayed there mainly because it has a very nice thermal spa. But it also still has the complete city walls surrounding the old town. There are three main gates plus a few openings in the wall to allow for traffic.

City hall

Berlin gate


Soon it's Easter! Lots of people had decorated trees and bushes outside their houses with coloured plastic eggs. When we arrived this provided some colour but by the time we left most trees and bushes had started flowering and got leaves.


This is Werder, where the old town is on an island in the river Havel, it's on the west side of Berlin which made for a long journey from Templin which is on the other side. They did have lots of coffee houses here though.

Germany

We went to Germany for a couple of week, we stayed in Templin and Grandpa came to visit for a few days.


The hotel had a big playground, all the equipment stood on sand. Little Monkey was desperate for a little spade to build sandcastles. The only thing he found was a big piece of bark that he used for several days. Then Big Monkey found a proper little blue spade that somebody had lost. Little Monkey was over the moon, he did not want to part with it anymore and carried it around all day.


Most days it was sunny but very windy. Only the weekends it was also warm but it was alright as there was a big thermal pool right next door where the Monkeys went swimming nearly every day. By the end Little Monkey had lost his fear and jumped happily even into the deep water.

Our trip to Germany

Here are a few photos to start with.


More later...