Germany Reunification Celebration in Bonn~

Friday, October 2nd was the Celebration

of Germany's Reunification.

My German friend Lissy's explanation of the day

was that this celebration will begin to fade

over the years, that people will soon forget

the significance of it.

For now the city of Bonn had a water, lights,

music and video show in the main square.

This is the beautiful church on the square

where the celebration took place.

It was an impressive show!

The words and images were lit up, via lazers,

through the water with music to set the mood.

We stood in the back partly due to the crowds

and mostly because standing too close would

drench you.

There were three segments to the show,

each 20 minutes long.

They needed to fill up the water tanks

in between each segment.

Each segment covered a different part of

Germany's history. They showed a variety

of video clips of events, politicians and

other popular bits of history.

One of the many colorful shows!

I've included 3 videos to give you a taste

of our evening we enjoyed.

The first is a tribute to Michael Jackson,

the second and third represent some of

the popular artists and songs during this era.

It's Raining Walnuts!~

We have a bunch of nuts around here,

besides Jim and Cody!

Our backyard hosts a walnut tree!

I've never seen one and it is interesting to observe

the end of the growing process.

Jim cracked a few open for me to put

into our brownies!

Mmmm...

In this pile of nuts you can see a dark shelled nut.

This is a husk that covers what we know as the walnut.

They begin to crack open, kind of like opening

a peapod and inside is the hardened shell

of the walnut.

Earlier this fall I began hearing loud thunks

around our house. It took a couple of days to

realize that walnuts were falling and hitting

the roof of the workhouse in our backyard!

It was quite loud and startling especially in

the early morning hours. This represents a

small portion of what ended up in our lawn.

Jim said we've had a barrels worth of nuts.

Fun Activities~

In our new home we sought new activities

right from the get go.

Having fun at a local pool and taking some

of the wards youth to a stake activity were

the first events we were busy with.

Cody had heard of a pool that supposedly

had platforms to dive from. So the real

adventure began trying to find the pool,

find the pool open, find a pool that

accomodated more than women's

swimming times, and get the times

down for when the boards were open.

It took us three Saturday's in a row

to get it right, much to Cody's aggravation.

We wondered why some adults had wet suits

on while in the water. Cody and Jim soon

discovered why, the water was freezing!!!

To keep warm they had a constant wresting

match going on.

Dad always won.

One of our first Saturday's in Germany was

to drive a few of the youth to a Stake Activity.

Here are Nash and Cody with some of the

other German youth from the ward.

Not sure about this one......

Okay, all back together again.

This is the ward building in Duisberg, Germany.

Bad Godesberg Neighborhood Shopping~

These are a few shopping stops

a quick bike ride from our house

or on a nice walk if you prefer.

Here is one view of the main shopping square

in Bad Godesberg, the city we live in.

There are clothing stores here as well as hair

salons, shoe stores, locksmiths, grocery

stores as well as book stores and house

wares stores and on and on. They are all

just scaled down from the bigger shops that

you can shop at in Bonn, 10 minutes away.

This is a nice Saturday afternoon. It is always

busy with shoppers. They know they need to

be out and done by 4 p.m. on Saturday's,

because all the shops close down by then .

This tower is just off the shopping square.

Cody has hiked up to it a few times.

We need to take some time to learn its history,

and hike to the top with Cody.

This is further down into the square.

The crowds are beginning to thin as the time

draws near for the shops to be closing.

We've enjoyed a few ice cream cones sitting

in this square.

We are about halfway down the

shopping square. A Woolworth's store

is on the left side of the picture.

It was a fun find since it carried many

miscellaneous items I had been

looking for when we arrived.

This is a bakery store with all the bikes

in front. I loved walking along here on

Saturday's when the weather was very

nice because I would see many people

sitting and eating and stopping to talk

to someone they knew. It gave the

feeling of a small and intimate village

of families growing up together. Seeing

the people socializing made you want

to slow down and enjoy the day.

This is a Turkish store, another quick

bike ride from our home. It is great

because the fresh produce is so

reasonably priced and good. A bonus

shopping here is finding almost any

spice you would need when you can't

find it any where else.

A neighborhood run~

Here are some fun houses in our neighborhood.

I see them in the mornings while on my runs.

Pretty good sights to start the day with.

This is my favorite home to run by.

The Gardenia's hanging from the windows

were huge a few weeks ago. The yard in the

back is quite large.

This is a pretty hill to run up. The road is

right next to a forest area. You can see the

leaves beginning to fall from a few weeks

ago. It is quite a different scene now.

I think this tree in front of this house is quite

interesting. Jim had to get a closer look when

he saw it. It has pine needles on it, but the

spacing is quite airy.

Another sweet house.

This is a neighborhood toward the end of my

run. This street is just above our street and

backs up to the forest.

I jump on this path toward the end of my run.

The forest is quite colorful now.

A canopy street just above ours.

I just love all the trees, its quite cozy.

Headed to our home at the end of my run.

Perks in Germany!

We have decided there are some definite perks to living in Germany,

here is just a sampling of some really good ones!

The Miller Family attends our Bonn Ward with us.

Heidi has been so gracious with showing me where and

how to accomplish the necessaties of life here.

Of course we have had some fun while she

drags me around Bonn!

Nash is Heidi's oldest son. He's been a good

friend to Cody already! Introducing him to

new friends, translating the "German world"

to Cody, making drama class bearable.

We think Nash gets his nack for entertaining

from his mom.....

Cody can't deny having an iphone while living

in Germany isn't just great, it's awesome!

Well, Dad's driving a pretty nice car over here.

Some kind of Audi. One of the best features is

the navigation system.

Jim and I are constantly amazed at how on earth

we ever got around Europe using a fold up map and

four kids in the backseat!

Cody's wishing he was driving this luxury car!

Boy are we glad the earliest you can get a

liscense here is 18!

Cody's First Day at BIS (Bonn International School)

Monday, August 24th, 2009 was Cody's first day of school at

Bonn International School (BIS).

The school was created in 1997 with the merger of 3 other local

schools: The Bonn American High School, the British High School Bonn,

and the Bonn American Elementary School.

Cody ready to take off for school!

When we had to spend $70.00 (45 euros) to

fill half the gas tank in the car, riding

a bike to school has become an expectation.

Which is one of the explanations why

there are many bike riders here!

It takes just under 15 minutes, and its

a pleasant ride as you will see.

I've run along this route just to enjoy

the beautiful canopy of trees.

This is an underpass near our home.

It is the busiest intersection Cody has

to cross. An underground train stop is just

under this bridge.

Once he is past the bridge the ride is pretty smooth.

For much of the way the sidewalks are marked for

both walkers and bike riders.

There are bus stops along the way.

Taking one to school is not a time saver.

With all the stops Cody would have to

get up earlier and be on the bus much

longer than a bike ride would take.

On the left is a small food store, on the

right is apartment type housing. The

whole road he rides is all for homes and

living places. Occasionally you will have

these shops for neighborhood convenience.

After crossing another somewhat busy intersection

the road narrows and it is more housing.

Now the bike path is on the road, as you can see

the markings. Drivers are typically very

careful of bike riders and pedestrians.

Although Jim did see remnants of a

car/bike accident on his way to work one morning!

This is a store mainly selling water and other

drinks in this neighborhood. It's a lot about

convenience and not having to go far for necessities,

to minimize the cost of transportation.

This is another pleasant part of the ride.

This is the first and only turn on

the road Cody takes to the school.

The road narrows here and cars/busses

take turns moving through at

this point.

Just around the corner, ahead to the right,

is the road the school is on, named

Martin-Luther-King-Strasse.

Following the road to the far right takes you

directly in front of the school.

Here is the front of the school.

BIS backs up to the Rheine River,

a plus for our cross country runners.

This is a view headed back home.

I'm loving that fall is beginning to

show its beautiful colors with the many

trees along the way!

This last photo is of a restaraunt

along his school route.

We love their mousse here!

Cody's already planning his birthday dinner here,

and any other event he can think of!