Summer 2022

In June we went on a family holiday to Mallorca for ten days. We've been a few times before but this was our first time going since our daughter was born. We love it because it's only a short flight away from Germany and it's a beautiful island. It has gotten a bad reputation at times in the past as being a hotspot for drunkenness and bad behaviour from tourists but it's very easy to avoid those areas! We stayed in the Play de Muro region.

The beaches were long and beautiful. We stayed at a very family friendly hotel which was perfect because they had kids disco in the evening followed by an entertainment program with live music /dancing etc. They also had a kids club from age 4 which we brought Mini to a few times. My Dad and his partner as well as my sister and her family all stayed at the same hotel so it was a really nice way of spending time with family while also having a holiday! Mini hasn't learned to swim yet but she had great fun splashing around in the pool with her arm bands on. Oh and the food was delicious too!

August photos

The first two pictures are from the Center Parcs resort at Lake Bostlesee in Saarland where we stayed for several days.

The next pictures are from Ettlingen a pretty town near Karlsruhe where we visited. I ate some delicious duck and potato gratin at a French restaurant.

It's rare to see hippos out of the water so I enjoyed seeing this Mama hippo with her baby going for a walk at the zoo.

Summer 2021

The good news is I'm fully vaccinated! Such a relief. I got the Biontech (Pfizer) shot both times. Hubby is fully vaccinated too.

The bad news is the pandemic is far from over.. The Delta variant is raging through Europe but at least the hospitalization and dealth rates are decreasing as more and more people are vaccinated. Even though young children generally don't suffer badly with Covid-19 from what I've read, we are still trying to be cautious for our daughter's sake as we'd rather she doesn't catch it. On top of that we also don't want to contribute to the spread of the virus.

That said, my Dad is planning to visit us soon which is exciting and we're even going on a little holiday within Germany for a few days. I've also been out a few times to outdoor beer gardens to meet friends which has been really lovely. Here are a few photos from a family boat trip we went on recently and some strawberries growing in our garden.

Staycation

Typically I try to save my holidays from work up in order to go on trips back to Ireland. This August I had some time off planned and initially it felt rather sad strange not to be travelling due to the pandemic. We had thought about the idea of going somwhere within Germany but hubby had a Covid-19 scare (negative thankfully) and we didn't get around to planing anything. So we ended up having a two week statcation instead and.. it was great!

It was refreshing not to have the stress that comes along with travel actually. The planning, packing, unpacking, train and/or car journeys. I've heard that a lot of holiday spots around Germany have been extra packed lately as everyone has the same idea which carries a higher Covid-19 risk. The past few months have been so busy that I hadn't seen some of my close friends here since before the pandemic so I decided to use this free time to arrange meetups - some with kids and some without (having my hubby finally available for more minding was great!).

We also filled up our days with some nice family trips too - going to feed the ducks, picnics in the park, getting ice cream, walks in the woods, spending time at lakes. Lots of cycling and time outdoors basically which was good for the soul. Having a break from work deadlines and stress is always welcome too, of course!

Here are a few random pictures from my camera roll.

How have you been spending your Summer?

Feeling the distance

It is over ten years since I moved to southern Germany. Life has, for the most part, been good. There are many advantages to living in Germany. Of course there are times when I miss Ireland, although it is mainly the people there I miss the most. I think back nostalgically on my memories of growing up in Dublin. However, I am settled here now and Germany feels like my home.

It has always given me great comfort knowing that if I ever want to go back to Ireland for a vist, I could. Flights usually cost anything from around 80€ to 350€ return depending on whether you book last minute or whether it's peak season. Between travelling to the airport, the flight and getting to my family home in Ireland, it takes around eight hours in total.

Flying back to Ireland for every event I am invited to there of course isn't possible (unfortunately!) but over the years I have been able to make it over roughly 3 times a year. Friends and family have also visited me here which has been lovely, and between the various visits back and forth and the help of technology to keep in touch (whatsapp, skype/google hangout, phonecalls), Ireland hasn't felt all that far away.

However, now with the current Coronavirus pandemic, all that has changed. Suddenly Ireland may as well be as far away as Australia, because that's how it feels. I am still in touch with family and many friends but it's frustrating and even heartbreaking at times not knowing when it will be safe to tavel again. Other expat friends I have spoken to here feel the same way. I have been comforting myself with the thought that once there is a vaccine widely available (maybe by next Summer?), we will plan a really long trip to Ireland to try to make up for all the missed moments now.

Totally unrelated to the pandemic, my father has put our family home on the market. He had been talking about it for a several years so I did have lots of time to get used to the idea but there is something really sad about the thought of not being able to stay there when I do eventually make it back to Ireland..

Surviving a heatwave German style #MicroblogMonday

We are currently in the middle of an extreme heatwave in Germany. Even Ireland is experiencing one at the moment, though a heatwave there is just like a lovely summer with weather around 26 degrees Celsius, and a nice breeze whereas here it is more like 35-40 degrees and unbearable!

Thankfully my office has air conditioning! It's interesting seeing how the Germans dress in this extreme weather. One guy at work wears socks with his sandals - keeping that particular stereotype alive and well! Others wear shorts and even flip flops. The girls at work mainly don summer dresses. Pretty much anything goes I've noticed!

In general German women don't tend to dress up much or wear feminine outfits. For instance, when they attend birthday parties or events they normally go casual in trousers and a nice top so it's been unusual seeing them all wearing pretty dresses now! It's a good way to keep cool in this weather.

At weekends the best option is to go to the local pool or lake for a swim, or hang out in one of the many beer gardens. We also recently bought a new fan for our apartment, which helps.

I'm hoping this Summer I might manage to get a nice tan. Right now I'm as pale as ever. That's the problem with having Irish skin! We go from white to pink. I have to always make sure to apply lots of sun cream and then maybe I'll get a light tan after a few weeks.

How do you manage to keep cool in a heatwave?