Wild hair, Dutch flair...

Last Thursday was a public holiday in Germany so I decided to take Friday off to make it a four day weekend. We decided to go out with some friends (Thomas and Andrea) to the Altstadt in Heidelberg on Thursday night. I’m headed to London this week on business so B was talking about making a trip there later this year (with Andrea) to visit a cousin who’s living there. One thing led to another in my slightly inebriated mind and I decided that Thomas (not Wolverine!) and I should go to Amsterdam the next day.

I found a good rate at the hotel where I stayed with B and her best friend so I booked a room at midnight and fired up the family truckster at 7:15 and was off like a stray bullet. Thomas decided to not to go so I went solo. It took about four and a half hours each way.

As always seems to be the case with Amsterdam, I can’t describe how much fun I had. The weather on Thursday and Friday was unbelievably beautiful. I’ll stop blabbering and let some of the pictures do the talking.Suffice it to say that I haven’t found a better way to clear my head than a weekend in this incredible city.Also shot a little video here and there for days when I need a flashback…

Math hiccups...

Emily has been working on multiplication tables so I wanted to film her reciting sixes. She was able to do them but not without a few hiccups (literally).



You can watch it in high def on youtube (follow the instructions in this post).

Our lives in high definition...

I reluctantly bought a new toy to capture the kids' cuteness for posterity. We already had a video camera but the resolution wasn't that great and I got really sick of capturing videos to my computer from tape. I bought a Canon Vixia HG20 that has a hard drive. I can just connect it to a PC and copy and paste the movies.

I'm pretty impressed with the image quality. Take a look at this short, random clip with Robert below. Be sure to click the high def button at the bottom of the video frame when Youtube opens.
See Bobber here. By the way, he's saying hello to his grandparents in Portuguese.

You can see the video full screen by clicking the button below.

My apologies for the exaggerated guidance to anyone below the age of 50 who reads this blog. My parents (for example) will probably appreciate the guidance.

I've started a blog on using the HG20 here.

Go’n green…

As the weather has been almost perfect, I’ve been walking to work. I finally lugged my camera along to share a bit of the experience. I walk about 5 minutes before I cross a cultivated field that really mellows a guy out this time of year.Not hard to remember we’re near Frankfurt with the ever-present contrails. Here’s a bridge over B39. It’s kind of cool that the “weeds” in these fields are flowers!At Thomas’s (Wolverine’s) wedding, some of his relatives were telling us about where they live near the Dutch border and remarked that “it’s not as beautiful there”. I must admit it makes me feel privileged to live in the part of Germany. If only work were this pleasant… (I guess for the farmer it is!)

Goodbye to a good friend (for now)…

On Sunday, we went to a barbeque at Thomas’s and Andrea’s house in Malschenberg. Thomas’s parents had come in from Münster. Although they didn’t necessarily know it, for me it was a goodbye party to a dear, dear friend: beer. We’ll be headed to Brazil in a couple of months and it’s time to get my carcass into at least slightly better shape. That means that I must give up beer as it overloads me with calories and robs me of sleep and the will to do cardio.

If you’re reading this beer, fret not: I promise we’ll be reunited in August in Rio. I will do my best to make up for lost time. (Did I really just leave a message for beer?)

Anyway, the get-together was exceptional. The weather was absolutely perfect and we were all in good spirits. As a matter of fact, many of us continually imbibed good spirits.  There were four houses in a row all having outdoor barbeques! After taking photos at Thomas Wolverine’s wedding (yes, a different Thomas), I was a bit disappointed at how bad I am at taking portraits. I’m trying to get better and, with the forbearance of those in attendance, I actually got some good shots. Thomas called this morning claiming he was still seeing spots from the flash. I personally put all the blame on the cachaça. I finally managed to capture one of those rare images that actually takes you into my melon. This is my view at most parties; only the scenery around the edges seems to change!

A warm reception for the Völkerings…

After the Wolverine wedding, we went back home and rested up for the reception a few hours later. We left the kids at home not realizing that the place they chose, Wimmers Landwirtshaft, was extremely kid friendly.It’s a really interesting restaurant with an enormous buffet and tables situated in tents. The weather was perfect to celebrate Wolverine’s nuptials.

We all had our share of wine, beer and multilingual communication (Portuguese, English and German).Gabriel minded his manners almost perfectly (and looked really cute doing it).   We stayed there until fairly late, enjoying the incredible buffet and good company. A most auspicious start for the Völkering family!We plan to go back with the kids and have lunch or dinner there (before it starts getting really hot). I’ve literally never seen a bigger buffet and the food was great. There’s also a huge play area for the kids.

Birthday Party Part Swei...

(I’m getting caught up on some posts I started but never published.)

As is the custom, we had a little get together at the house for the adult crowd to celebrate Sophia's birthday. It was pretty mellow. B made hotdogs Brazilian style served with Caiperinhas and cold Hefes. The day started out with Sophia opening her present. She got the Nintendo DS she's been asking for (or as she calls it "Intendo").

Robert and Emily got the normal consolation prize she always spoils the non-birthday kids with (this year it was watches).Emily still has a spokes model reflex that amuses and concerns me.B managed to make another good cake and, as tradition dictates, plenty of brigadeiro.

This year we set a record for singing Happy Birthday, singing it in five languages: English, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Hungarian. A few of the guests were from B’s German course, so we had a few continents covered.

 Speyer hydrant…

On Sunday we spent a glorious day in Speyer.On the way back to the car, the kids found a fountain to play in. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking… That morning I took them to the forest (Wald) in Walldorf. I think they really enjoyed it so maybe next weekend we’ll do a picnic there Today B bought them a blowup water whale. Ain’t exactly the pool at the Copacabana Palace, but beats sweating in the backyard.

Tying the Knoten...

Thomas (Wolverine) went off and got himself hitched. The civil ceremony was held last Friday within the hallowed walls of the Astor Haus right here in (sunny) Walldorf. The ceremony was dignified without being stuffy. Between the ceremony and the reception, yours truly shot about 1,000 pictures (of which 5% or so were really good).

Although it was Thomas's and Valeria's day, I must say the kids almost stole the show: All four of them behaved pretty well.

The Astor House is named after one of Walldorf”s most famous sons, John Jacob Astor, considered the first American multi-millionaire. Great place to hold a ceremony as far as I’m concerned. More on the reception on the way...