Skateboarding in Meissen

Dadda was determined to make the most of our trip to Zwickau and explore some of the surrounding countryside so we decided to head even further east and go to medieval Meissen which sits 30 minutes north of Dresden, an enchanting little town with a castle and lovely old town overlooking the Elba river...

The old city...

...and the view over the Elba river...

Mamma and I chatting and nibbling away....

Later on, as we descend from the elevated old town..

we caught a glimpse at the pretty colourful houses below and...

..I began testing out my new skateboard...

.....I recalled through my self taught Youtube erudition that more experienced folks use that skateboard tail this way...

.... we stopped for a lovely lunch to celebrate Omi's 60th where I could refresh myself... 

...and familiarise myself with my new toy a little more while the rest gobbled their food!!

I may not be as into horses as I once was but am always blown away by these creatures any such time i bump into one.  You could ride these ones for a tour around the town but I had other things on my mind!!

I wanted to practice skateboarding a little more....

....so Dadda (who once fractured his leg on a skateboard) started showing me the basics!!

I was getting a little tired so we eventually made it back to the car and drove off and it wasn't long before we spotted a wine estate which turned out to be the real target of our tour at least according to Dadda's plans!!  

Schloss Wackerbarth was well worth a peak...

A delightful stop for me to play with Opa and Omi a little more...

...we enjoyed an ice coffee outside, picked up a couple bottles from their shop...

...and headed off back home...

...head first!!

Zwickau - Spring 2012

It's amazing how different Zwickau looked just a little over two months ago when we last came... it was -10C with snow everywhere then and beautifully sunny and warm this time!!  A lovely opportunity to check in with Omi and Opi as Mamma has left her old job (Helvetia Wealth) and is finally starting a new working adventure in her field next week!!

I hadn't noticed the rocking horse downstairs before!!

Omi and Opi took me to the funfair that had opened in town so we took a stroll through town to get there... (rigorously with my scooter).  We walked past churches...

...and parks...

...and finally we were in a little dreamland where I could ride flying dragons...  

...and ride motorbikes...

... under Opa and Omi's close supervision!!

As Oma and Opa took me back home, Mamma and Dadda went for a walk in the old town..

...where they picked up a toy that would soon antagonise my scooter as my dominant means of transport...

....a retro 80s style skateboard!!

Somebody That I Used To Know

Featuring Franzi

Solo version...

Scooter Masterclasses

You've seen me scooter around pretty much everywhere if you've been following this blog...

here are some fine examples of my dedicated practicing down the ramp at the back of our house...

.... ice-skating version....

Montrachet

... per il pranzo pasquale ci siamo sbizzarriti.   Sapevamo dei vini prelibati di Montrachet (Puligny) e dunque abbiamo fissato li la meta.  Prima pero' pellegrinaggio per paesini sulla Route de Grand Cru passando per le Chateaux Pommard

...e i suoi giardini...

...poi Volnay e Monthelie raccogliendo qua e la qualche bottiglia da portare a casa...

..e infine raggiungendo i terreni di Montrachet...

Dunque... Tavolo per 8 a Le Montrachet!

Un bel pranzetto in compagnia con i piccoli a guardare un film sul computer.. Ariel, il primo film visto al completo e di gusto....

...almeno fino a quando non sono arrivati i titoli di coda che mi hanno provocato un incredibile sensazione di vuoto che mi hanno portato a interminabili e inconsolabili pianti!!  Ma perché' mai dovrebbero finire queste bellissime storie mi domandavo... e' così' ingiusto!!

Sazi e deliziati dall'ottimo vino abbiamo fatto due passi in paese e raccogliendo qualche bottiglia anche qui ci siamo rimessi in macchina...

... per ripercorrere una volta ancora le bellissime strade tappezzate da vigneti in ogni fazzoletto di terreno!

Caccia al Tesoro

... malgrado il pancione pronto ad esplodere la funambolica Chiaretta ha messo in piedi un magnifica caccia al tesoro al risveglio mio e di Maia!!

Chiaretta ha preso il bigliettino che era posto sul camino ed ha iniziato a leggere una serie di indovinelli ...

....che ci avrebbero portato verso cioccolatini e sopresine...

...era il momento di uscire in giardino per andarli a cercare!!

...tutto cio' era in Italiano e sapete che malgrado ci provi non e' che capisco proprio tutto ma mi pareva d'aver capito che il prossimo indizi sarebbe stato su un muro che avremmo raggiunto saltando come il canguro!!!

....wooooooow!!! i cioccolatini!!! E un altro indizio!!!

Che dice che dice?!?! Io non capisco!! Un palloncino giallo!?

... eccolo qui Maia!!

...ho trovato un coniglietto di cioccolato nel vigneto!!

...e altri due ovoni giganti della Kinder... per me e per Maia!!

Grazie Chiaretta per aver organizzato questa meravigliosa caccia al tesoro...

...io pero' non lascio i resti a nessuno e me li piglio proprio tutti!!

Beaune

On the Saturday morning we headed off to explore pictoresque Beaune...

... we headed straight to see the colourful market full of stalls and interesting things to look at... we picked up a few veggies and plants...

...and there was lovely musical entertainment on the way too!

..the centre of town was almost entirely pedestrian lending itself perfectly for more scootering.. Beaune gave me inspiration for my new trick... the scooter jump!

...here is another shot of me executing the trick...

...we explored every back street in town...

...and it became hard for the crew to keep up with my pace...

...they were all grateful when we found a little green opening with a mini funfair where I decided to put the scooter to one side...

...and give this unhappy looking French girl a ride on the roundabout!!

Eventually we found a cosy little place to stop for a bit of lunch...

... where Maia and super pregnant Chiaretta joined us as well!

Chiaretta looks like she was exploding so Mamma took good care of her placing her in my stroller...

...while I attempted to convince Maia to come and have a go on my scooter...

...that didn't really work out but she did rest her hand on the handlebar for a picture with me!!

...while the older folks stopped for a digestive moment in the sun!

Finally we couldn't miss a trip to the impressive Hospice...

...and how possibly could we miss the temptation to head into one of the hundred odd cellars in town... 

Beaune c'est très joly!