Weekend in Belgium

It's been cold here (20-30 degrees F) so we thought it would be a great weekend to find inside activities.  In Europe there are many resort parks that have cabins for you to rent.  We found one that included an indoor water park, ball play area, and various other activities for the kids.  It is in Peer, Belgium which is about 1.25 hours away from Dusseldorf.  We went with two other families and had a great time!  Here are some pictures to try to capture the fun!

Alex, Carter, Greg building a tower. 

 There was also an area that they shot foam balls with air cannons and had huge slides.  You can imagine the fun for little boys!!!:)

 We also spent the days enjoying the indoor water park.  It was very nice with lots of options of pools and activities (wave pool, hot tubs, slides and pools of all sizes, indoor and outdoor pools, lazy river). 


The boys loved these slides!  (It was hard to capture them in a photo as they were moving too quickly going back up the stairs to slide again!)  The slides were just the right size to be exciting, but not too scary...and they ended in a pool of shallow water that they enjoyed.

Everyone in one of the many pools.

The place was filled with tropical trees, very pleasant.

The boys and our friends.

All smiles:)  They were exhausted after playing so hard!

The Lazy River - a favorite!

Greg and Liam

Alex and Carter - we lost count of how many times they went around:)

 The second day the boys floated on tubes which made it even more enjoyable.  Kaleb even floated for a while.

Kaleb and Greg - watching everyone.

Time for a nap:)

Everyone had a blast!  There were tons of activities that we didn't even do due to the weather so we'll have to go back again.  It was a fun weekend!

Rhine River Rising

We had a great visit back in the States.  It was nice to be in our Michigan home for a while and see so many friends and family.  Our flight back was uneventful which we were thankful for.  Now we've finally gotten adjusted to the time change and are back in routine of life in Germany again.

They had snow (a dusting) while we were gone and we're told that may be all the snow we get here for the season.  It's been very rainy, although we're having a beautifully sunny, yet cold, weekend.

In November people were getting concerned at how low the Rhine River, due to less rain fall than usual.  Now we're having the other extreme!  The River is high.  I was told that it flooded over some of the pathways that go along the river.  One morning this week, after dropping the boys at school, Kaleb and I went to check it out. Here are some pictures.

Foggy morning - the Rhine River from Kaiserswerth

Usually the bridge/walkway on the right is on dry land.

The boats are happy now!  The red and white post is usually the edge.

Across the river.  The ferry that usually crosses the river here couldn't run - the ramps were under water.

Lots of debris.  I've walked along this path - right now it's difficult to pass through.

Kaleb checking out the river.

I was told that this is where the Rhine used to run 100s of years ago.  Then some Lord blocked the river to change its path.  This is normally a green field, now it's the overflowed river water.

Dusseldorf Aqua Zoo

It was a wet cold day so we headed to the Aqua Zoo here in Dusseldorf.  We drove to Kaiserswerth and then took the train six stops to our destination.  It was very convenient to get there and is a popular place that we had been looking forward to visiting. 

The Aqua Zoo from the train stop - very convenient

The Aqua Zoo - that's us on the right:)

It ended up that it was more like a zoo or museum than an aquarium.  There were skeletons of many water creatures.

Sperm whale - enormous!

Elephant seal

There were also many exhibits of live fish, reptiles, and insects.

Crocodiles (Krokodil)

In the crocodile exhibit

Octopus (Tintenfisch)

Shark (Hai)

Fish (Fisch)

Alex with a fish.

Kaleb checking out a skeleton.

We had a good time.  It's a nice place to visit, especially on a rainy day.  During the summer there are beautiful gardens surrounding the Aqua Zoo with a few playgrounds and fountains.  It's a great place in Dusseldorf for kids. 

The Netherlands Shopping Trip

We live about 40 minutes from the Netherlands border.  I've been told by many that I should go grocery shopping there.  Stores are open on Sunday, somethings are cheaper and other things you just can't get in Germany.  We needed to fill our cupboards and freezer again after being gone for awhile.  I decided to go yesterday (Saturday) with a friend of mine. 

Some of the treats that filled the van on the way home!

It was interesting to go shopping in yet another country with yet another language!  We've learned the foods in German and now we needed to figure them out again in Dutch.  It's amazing how one can make do using a variety of clues.  We were also surprised at the amount of people that spoke English...thankfully some of the workers did.  We were laughing when we were trying to respond to Dutch with limited German and then in English!  Talk about confusing!!:)

Hummus (not found often in Germany), LARGE packages of ground beef, bagels (not in Germany usually), trying their salsa and baby wipes to find some we like.

cheaper and more natural peanut butter, soft bread and hamburger buns, other treats just for fun!

I couldn't resist!  Tulips from the Netherlands!

Seems odd to have tulips in the middle of January since Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan is in May, but I couldn't resist getting fresh tulips.  Such fun in the the little things:)