Half Term Holidays - Part 2, Trip to Cologne

As I mentioned in my last post, we had a fun filled break from school last week. We ended our break with a quick weekend trip to Cologne, Germany. It was a very last minute decision, as in, I booked our hotel four hours before we left! We left after dinner on Friday night, drove two and a half hours and got to our hotel and settled in for the night. We actually stayed in a nice family room in a hostel…with a private bathroom! The room even had bunk beds which Cameron called a tree house. The boys loved climbing and playing on the "tree house!"

On Saturday morning, we had a nice breakfast at the hostel and then headed out for the day. We started out by letting the boys run around the city a bit.

Excited to go explore!

After we got rid of some energy, we headed toward the Cathedral. I have seen many churches in Europe, but in my opinion, this one is the most breathtaking churches from the outside that I have seen so far. It is so huge and intricately crafted…just beautiful! These pictures can't and don't do it justice!

It's also beautiful inside!

We had some time to kill after our tour of the Cathedral before our mini-train tour through the city, so what else would we do but go to the train station and watch some real trains?

Waiting patiently for the mini-train to arrive!

Here comes the train!

We took the train through some parts of Cologne and then walked across the Rhine River to get to the Rheinpark. It's a huge, beautiful park with so much for kids to do.

We obviously rode another mini-train through the park because you can never ride enough trains!

Watching our train leave

After the park, we walked back across the river to catch our mini-train back to the center of Cologne so we could get some lunch and let the boys (and us) nap.

Beautiful view of Cologne from the bridge over the river

Waiting for the train

Sleepy boy on the ride back

 In the evening, we had dinner at one of the famous breweries in Cologne called Früh. We were able to sit outside and enjoy some yummy German food. 

Special brewery sausage with fried potatoes and cabbage salad

Marinated beef with red cabbage and dumplings

We also had some delicious gelato for dessert

And made one last stop at the Cathedral before going back to the hostel for the evening.

Sunday morning, we once again let the boys run around and play as boys do before heading out to explore.

After some playing, we drove to the Cologne Triangle to get a panoramic view of the city.

Climbing to the top!

Cologne Triangle

Watching the trains below

We had a little time afterwards before we needed to head home, we we spent some time walking along the Rhine River.

It was fun to be spontaneous and spend a beautiful weekend together as a family, but I was happy to be back in Gent (and to see Dutch) when we arrived home!

Half Term Holidays - Part 1

Cameron had a week off from school last week for half term holidays. Of course I love spending time with the boys, but it was especially sweet to have Cameron home with us now that he is in school. We took full advantage of our week and planned lots of fun activities. We started the week by spending the whole day at home playing, reading, coloring, singing, dancing, and laughing and we ended the day with a fun photo shoot! 

Love these silly boys!

Tuesday, several moms were able to come to our loft for a play date. There were five moms and eight kids running around the house (the kids, not the moms). It was a little crazy and pretty much every toy was out, but the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. Despite the noise, I think all of us moms were able to sit back and enjoy some adult interaction while the kids played together!

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to spend the day at a spa with a good friend of mine…and by all day, I mean from 10:30-7:30!! It was such a treat for me to be pampered all day and to spend so much time with Kseniya. The boys also really enjoyed spending the day with daddy! Although I had to adjust to some European spa customs, some of which were little uncomfortable, we had a great time! As a side note, we had to go on Wednesday because that is the only day of the week where it is required to have a bathing suit, otherwise, everyone is naked!!! 

Kseniya and me in our comfy robes!

On Thursday, the boys and I went to a dinosaur expo in Antwerp with our new friends Cherise, Zane, and Ryder. Other than the train being completely packed on the way there (no seats at all!), we had a great time!

Waiting for the train

Thankfully we found a little floor space for the boys to sit!

Harrison was not amused!

I'm not really sure what Harrison is so excited about!

Cameron kept telling me that he was sitting on his dinosaur egg 

Digging for dinosaur bones

pretend to sleep on the train ride home

Harrison fell asleep on the walk home after missing his nap

On Thursday night, Cole and I decided to take a trip to Cologne for the weekend, so I spent most of the day Friday packing, cleaning, and making plans for the trip. Late Friday evening, we drove two and a half hours to our hotel. More on that trip in the next post!

Carnival and First Field Trip

The week before Cameron's half-term holidays was filled with lots of fun for the kids. They finished up their bear studies, celebrated Carnival, and took a field trip to the zoo. Here are some pictures from the week.

Bears!

Cameron and his bear bed

 Carnival

I didn't really know what Carnival was until they celebrated at Cameron's school. From what I understand, it's a pre-lenten celebration that lasts several weeks and involves wearing costumes, drinking, eating, dancing, parades, and general loudness! The children only participated in the costumes, eating, and a little parade around the school. 

Before school…of course Harrison had to get in on the fun!

Cameron and some classmates

Time for the parade around the block

My little police man!

Trip to the Zoo

The last day before break, the children took a trip to the zoo to visit some real bears. They spent the first half of the semester studying bears, so it was nice for them to see some real bears. This is the first real field trip Cameron has been on, so I was a little bit of a mess, but he seemed to have a great time! Cole dropped him off at the train station in the morning to head to the zoo with his class.

Heading into the train station

Waiting for the train

Eating lunch by the fish

We are looking forward to the second half of this semester and many more adventures!