School

I have quite an interest in education, being a teacher and all that.  So when it came to Katie starting school we didn't really have any discussions about International or English speaking schools, but we probably should have done.  My feeling was that if we are living here then she should go to the local school as for me, having local friends and going to the closest school with them is pretty important I think for a good social life.  So I didn't really think too much about it and unless you say something, then your child automatically goes to the nearest school.

She had to do a "test", the "schuleingangsuntersuchung".  What a pile of rubbish that was.  Main aim: to find a reason why your child is not good enough for school.  We survived it though.  Then from April onwards, life was a waiting game to just start school as she became bored of kindergarten, ( I think this is normal) and there is such a build up and preparation to start school, which is such a big deal here, that in some ways we couldn't wait for September.

Starting school is a really big deal. First we have to fork out a fortune on the Schulranzen (glitzed up box/school bag).  This is a must and actually has a proper back system which makes it really easy for a small 6 year old to carry.  We went shopping at a specialist shop where it was fitted properly.  So, even though it's glitzy pink and massive, it's good and kinda worth the money.   

Then there is the schultüte which is a big cone shaped thing which is filled with goodies to take on their first day of school and then sits on top of the wardrobe collecting dust.  We made this together at kindergarten and then I filled it.  They carry it to school and have photos with it. 

First day of school

Massive schulranzen on her back

Waling on the first day with the neighbours

First seat - next to Charlotte who she didn't know

The first day of school is not really a proper school day.  All the family go (including extended family if you have them around), and we all went into the classroom where the children sat down and we all stood at the back.  As a teacher this would have been my worst nightmare!  There was a bit of blah blah and then the parents all left the room and went outside to drink prosecco and orange juice for an hour and chat while the kids did who knows what in the classroom. Then they all troop outside and sit on benches in a circle and there is chat by the head and songs sung by the second class. And that's about it and we are home before midday!  Katie opened her schultüte, Matt went to work and we met friends at the beer garden.  A funny old day really.

And then after the first "week" the real school starts.  We get the timetable (which of course changes after a few days)  at the first Parents Evening which is when we organise all the school supplies for our children.  We have to buy everything and were given a list of the exact stuff we needed.  It looks a scary list but you just hand it in at the stationary shop and they get it all for you.  We sit at parents evening and put all the right covers on the exercise books. 

So, my thoughts so far on the German system?  Well, I am actually pleasantly surprised - so far.  I know it is quite an old fashioned system and not so hands on and involved as I am used to so my benchmark was low. 

The school itself is old and not unlike my primary school (except they do have indoor toilets!).  It is very traditional with the children sitting facing the front in twos or four. There are still blackboards and the teacher's desk is at the front facing the class. 

The school day is short.  11:15 is the usual finish, one day is 12:15 and  one day is 1pm.  No school lunches, you come home or go to "mittagsbetreung" (after school care) until 2pm, or the "hort" (homework and activiites) until 3:30 earliest.  Good and bad points to that.  Good points being that we can do stuff in the afternoon.  Bad points being I don't have much time to do anything in the morning, and thank goodness I don't work in a proper job! 

They get homework every day and it is pretty easy really. Always some reading, writing and maths.  This is not the same throughout the three First Classes.  Each teacher does there own thing it seems like.  Katie has a strict but well structured teacher and all the class seem to like her.  I actually like the German and Maths workbooks they use.  Quite nice.  There is strong emphasis on writing and speaking most correctly.  And apparently,  I found out today, the two halves of your brain only work together properly when you are sitting properly with your legs together. When your legs are sprawled apart or wrapped around your chair, your brain doesn't work well enough!  Good teaching Frau Ernst!

So a system I am not used to but there are parts which I really like.  The best bit is the fact they go to school and come back by themselves.  One of the smartest things that the school does is split the classes up depending on where the children live.   This is smart because it means that the children can all go to school and more importantly come home together. How obvious when you think about it and so sensible!  As the classes do not all finish at the same time, they need to be able to come home with others in their class.  I like it as we are on the pick up route, so in the morning two girls come and pick Katie up to go to school.  One of us mums goes with them, but I would be happy for them to go alone.  She then comes home with up to five other children.  I hear them as they all have scooters that rattle noisily along the path.  I love the fact that they have this independence, and they love it too.  It's less then 1km to school and along one road (it's busy but there is a wide path). They have to cross one road but there are automatic lights.  Also, there must be about 30 children all scooting along between 7:30 and 7:40 in the morning! It's really nice.  It's also handy when we need help with homework as there are at least 5 people very close by which I could ask.  (We haven't needed it yet!)

Doing homework with Charlotte

What I also like which is connected to this, is that they have worked on road safety at school.  So, how to cross a road, riding a bike, colours to wear in the dark, and road signs which are relevant to them.  They have also all been given a high vis safety vest, which is a jolly sensible idea don't you think?  They are not allowed to ride a bike to and from school unless they are with an adult or are 10 and have done the bike safety test.  So they all have scooters which are pretty fast.

We have a ten minute parents evening on Tuesday for the teacher to tell us everything about Katie. Probably everything where she "struggles"  as this is the way, but she is not struggling and manages quite ok.

I tried to take a picture of them scooting to school but they were so fast and I was on my bike!

Parking scooters at school

7:30  in the morning with her new high vis jacket

A page from her book on road safety.  I particularly like the picture of herself on her scooter with her massive bag!

Isarradweg Bike Tour

I spent hours on Google Maps planning our epic bike adventure.  That makes it sound like a massive 6 month bike trip instead of a fairly tame 3 days on the Isarradweg! However, I wanted to get it right and in four days I wasn't sure on the distance we should cycle (I am not at my fittest bike wise) and also the uneven placement of overnight stops.  It changed to three days as Katie had a birthday party on the Sunday afternoon.  But all went swimmingly in the end except for the slightly poor weather on the second day which was a bit poorer than forecast but nothing too terrible.

We got the 7:30am S-bahn into Munich and then had to get on the big train to Scharnitz. Fortunately we were there nice and early so after hopping onto the wrong carriage we had time to get into the right carriage and be the first bikes on board.  Lucky we did as a dozen more bikes and people came on and it all got very busy.   Matt handily hung our bikes on the bike rack thing only for Mrs happy the ticket lady to tell us to take them down and stand them all stacked side by side.  So much for bike racks.  

It was a two hour trip on the train which was ok and fortunately all the bikes got off before us so we had no stress getting ours off at Scharnitz.  The the cycling began!

 

The train leaving us behind on its way to Innsbruck.

Scharnitz Bahnhof

It was really nice gentle cycling along wide paths with nice views and all slightly downhill.

The first bit

Happy Katie

 We soon passed from Austria into Germany but you wouldn't know except for the sign.

It got a bit cloudy and cooler but was perfect cycling weather.  We tried finding a cache that was too far up a steep bank and resolved to only find treasure when it was easy and directly on the path (more or less).

We got to Vorderriß which as I recalled, was in the middle of nowhere at the end of the toll road and I could only remember the weather being bad.  Well the weather wasn't too bad and I was surprised by the number of people.  We had beds in the bunk house in a room of ten, but the children were extras.  I hope the eight other cycling men didn't mind us too much!  The children were well behaved though.  

Playing on the river bed of the Isar. It reminds me of New Zealand.  Alex is playing a French Horn by the way!

We had to me to play in the late afternoon/evening, have dinner and go to bed nice and early.  I was a bit concerned as I had forgotten to bring a torch but didn't need to get up in the night.


The next day the weather was a bit ominous looking.  It was a bit tough to start with as we had to go uphill  - yes uphill!!!  On the road too which was a bit horrid.  It got a bit chilly for the kids who were on the trailgators. We stopped at Syvensteinsee where we went up to the viewpoint to find a cache and then stayed there too to keep out of the rain.

Setting off the next day.

Finding a cache at Sylvensteinsee.

We had to do a bit more road and then turned off onto a nice tarmac trail so we let the children cycle on their own.  As it had been raining there were tons of big snails on the path which we successfully avoided smashing.

Alex talking to a big snail.

There was another tedious road bit but then we turned off onto a back road and found another cache in the forest. Fortunate,  as it also poured with rain and we were sheltered, so were our bikes. 

At Lenggries it got a nice again and we went along a bit of the river that I always wanted to see but we drive on the other side of it and never stop.  It was nice.

Building cairns

We powered on up to Bad Tölz and just before we turned up to the hotel we found a nice playground for a play.

Katie climbing

 

 

 

The place we stayed in reminded me more of an English guest house than a German one. I think it was because there was carpet everywhere instead of wood floor.  We went out to eat and the nearest place was Croatian which was very nice but the children were so tired.  Hurrah!  Another early night for us!


The next morning the weather was good and we climbed the long hill out of Bad Tolz onto some nice country lanes and for a while we were a long way from the river but going through the forest on nice trails.  Got back down to the river again and the going was good all along to the Mühltal where the rafts go down the slide.  Too late to see that but time for a beer and food. 

Rest spot after coming out of Bad Tölz

Nice tracks

Look!  Downhill!

On the banks, of the river. . . .

Beer!

From the river we had to head uphill to home.  It was a long third day.  Katie had only done about 12km and we gave her the challenge of cycling all the way up the hill.  It's not that steep but long. The first bit is the steepest but on tarmac and the it's a long steady up on forest track.  Anyhow, she rose to the occasion after some bribery and blinkin did it!  I couldn't catch her, but then I was tired, gave her a head start and had a dead weight to pull (Alex).  We were most impressed by her steady cycling and I think she was when she got to the top.  She was even more chuffed when someone came up pushing their bike!

At the top after cycling up from the river

 I was tired after that and Matt led us through some bumpy and I'm sure not the easiest track to get onto the main route home.  We stopped at the biergarten just up the road from our house and had dinner there. My legs were aching!

Späzle dinner to finish

All in all it was a very successful trip and now to do it again.

Things to bear in mind:

• I hate carrying such a large pack but we have no panniers (as we don't do bike touring…)
• Stop frequently for change of scenery and child entertainment -playgrounds, ice cream, geocaching, river bank playing.
• Make sure terrain is varied.
• Next time I need to pull Katie as she "helps" a lot by pedalling and her bike has gears and bigger wheels.  Alex is quite hopeless! Matt got the better deal there!
• Our days were 30km, 35km and 50km.  50km was a bit too long fir one day as we kept having to push on.  Had to get back for a birthday party on Sunday though.
• Just because you are following a river down, do not always assume you are going downhill too . There was more uppage than I imagined as I'm sure Google Maps got the profile wrong!

It's not a cheap thing to do these bike tours as you have to stay somewhere different every night and unless you camp (which means carrying shed loads more stuff) you pay premium rates.  The train gets expensive.

I felt I had a good work out for my legs though and we all enjoyed it. 

So where to next?

Biking Family

OK, so I haven't blogged in AGES!  But life just ticks on as life does.  We went on a ski holiday, we went to England at Easter and now it is summer!  And this evening we just got back from a great little bike tour!

Before children, Matt and I always liked mountain biking and decided to save the flatter bike touring for when we were old - or had children.  So seems like we are a bike touring family now.  Last weekend we took the s-bahn to Holzkirchen and biked the 25km or so home.  Katie did 20km and Alex did 11km.  We have two trail gators so they can have an easy tow if need be and that gives us more of a work out than if we just potter along at their speed.

Snack stop in a field on our Holzkirchen bike trip

Katie and I waited for Alex and Matt to catch up

The Holzkirchen tour was a one day trip so this weekend we did a two day trip - The Chiemsee Radweg.  A flat trip round Chiemsee.  We did 60km in all.  The weather was good (otherwise we wouldn't have gone)  and we had a lovely time cycling round the lake interspersed with stops for cache finding, playground playing and food eating.

This was a good exercise for even longer trips which we have one planned in a couple of weeks.  The children are great cyclists and Katie can do 20km a day and Alex about 12km.  However we need to stop a lot and  vary the terrain.  A mixture of tarmac path and rough track is good with varying landscape and things to look at.  Chocolate and gummi bears are also very important and an ice cream stop (which we failed to do today so had it when we got home!)  I am also glad we purchased a second trail gator as we can tow them both when we need to and it gives us the flexibility to do longer routes and some small hills.  We still have the Chariot but that is a faff to transport and then whoever goes in the Chariot, their bike has to hang on the back which increases the weight even more.

As we have mountain bikes we are not used to carrying excess weight and luggage and not sure how wardrobes - aka saddle bags would look so we just use our rucksacks. It was the first time this weekend that I have carried my biggish rucksack on my bike and it was ok actually.  It wasn't over packed and was quite comfy.

So yesterday we drove down to Chiemsee and parked at Felden which is the first stop off the autobahn to get to the lake.  We parked and within a few minutes cycling we stopped to find our first geocache which was up a tree!  So I got hoisted up by Matt.  

Getting a cache

Lovely scenery along the way

Important to stop for ice cream  - or cola flavoured callipos.

And now time for a tow

Before we left I found somewhere to stay.  If it were just the two of us I might not have done but with tired children I think we need to be safe.  I was looking at somewhere to stay directly on the lake but couldn't find anywhere at the right distance, but 2.5km up the River Alz at Pullach.  Well, I think I did quite well!  On the way up there was an Edeka supermarket so we stocked up on food for today and the place we stayed was just great.  Just on the river in a lovely quiet spot, the house was huge and lovely. 

Think I did quite well for a room!

And the view too!

We had to just dump our stuff and then bike back down the road for dinner at the hotel I couldn't get a room at.  But that was ok.  As we had dinner, biked back, played outside for a bit and then went to bed.

Dinner

Set off not too early this morning and had a lovely day biking round the second half of the lake.

A tow to the start point on the lake.

Looking out over the lake

A rare family photo

And a nice bit of tarmac road -keep right Alex

A nice bit of wooded track. 

The end!

The weather was good, the children were well behaved and cycled well.  I towed Alex after about 13km and Katie got towed after 21km.  They were brill, and we had such a nice weekend.

Our next plan is the Isar radweg starting from Scharnitz, just in Austria, to back home, in a couple of weekends time.  It's a long weekend and we'll only go if the forecast is good as we don't want to get wet!

Ski Family

 I think we are definitely a proper ski family now!

Katie has been on the TSV Oberhaching Ski Course where she hops on the bus on Wednesday and Friday for two weeks running, along with lots of other tiny skiers and they go off to Lenggries and have a great time.  The weather was lovely on Wednesday so I decided to go down as well with Alex so I could teach him to stop and turn - quite important in being able to successfully ski!

We had a lovely morning and my mission was a total success as he skied form the small lift and them just wanted to go through the tunnels (all about speed!) I told him we couldn't go onto the T-bar until he could stop.  He soon learnt. Then we went up the T-bar and I skied with him between my legs until about half way down.  He was such a silly and didn't want to ski by himself as obviously he goes faster with me and it's easier.  Then suddenly he notices the big humps of snow made by the snow cannons and wants to go fast over them!  Such a boy.  So that was it.  It all clicked and he hasn't looked back. 

Tea break

And he's off!

 I hardly saw Katie as she was whizzing about all over the place with her group.  She's in the top group this year and totally chuffed.

We also went down on Lenggries on Friday as it was race and presentation day.  It was lovely watching all the kids whizz about then get their medals.

Serious skier

Pizza pizza!

Add caption

Off with her group

Alex loves the tunnels

Presentation time

 The bus went off and Katie, Alex and I did a couple more runs with Verena, Lina and Clara before heading home. 

skiing with our lovely neighbours

Lina, Clara, Alex and Katie

On the T-bar together

About to go home

 So after Alex getting to grips with the whole ski thing we decided to go for a family ski today.  We went to Scheffau and had such a lovely time.  Everyone was happy.  The sun shone. It was a little on the warm side but was so relaxing.  We are so lucky to have happy ski kinders.