 |
| Leaving the ferry in Denmark |
Being parked with the enormous tractor trailers had its advantages, after all, as we were the first off the boat which allowed us to get underway that much quicker! We pulled out of the ferry terminal area and quickly pulled over to get ourselves organized. I, Carrie L., was driving and Carrie B. was my navigator. We typed in the address for the hotel in Germany and got the kids situated with their first car school lesson. We introduced the world map and had them determine where Europe, America and Singapore are and then started in on their journal entries. They loved having their own travel kit with crayons, pencils, clipboards and stickers! The kids then marked how far we traveled by adding stickers on their individual laminated maps to mark the locations of Stavanger, Hirtshals and Hamburg.
 |
| Starting the workbooks |
Once we were driving again, Grace read the informational picture book on Germany to Elise and Ellie. Grace was so “teacher-like” as she read each page and showed the girls the pictures. They were able to use the info in the book to complete the Germany printable pages. They loved referring to the book to write in their answers. We even learned basic German words and they remembered them during our entire car ride!
 |
| Elise |
After a bit of Germany “car-iculum” they asked for a break and out came the ipods, iphones and ipads. Carrie and I welcomed the quiet as we took pictures of the windmills and farms that seemed to never end in Denmark. The entire ride to Hamburg was to take about 5 hours so half way through we stopped at Burger King (we looked for other, healthier options but we weren’t successful) and Elise and I went into get lunch for all. Carrie took her turn at the wheel while I handed out the lunch. As soon as Carrie got into the driver’s seat both Ellie and Grace yelled, “You can DRIVE, Ms. Carrie? I didn’t know that!” We realized that they had never known Carrie to drive a car, and for that matter I didn’t either! I did think, at that moment, this information could have been helpful! What if she was the worst driver ever!?!?! I had nothing to worry about, actually, as she was fabulous behind the wheel and about 2 1/2 hours later she was following our GPS to our hotel in downtown Hamburg, Germany!
 |
| Grace |
While Carrie drove, I led another lesson with the kids. This time I read “Always Remember Me” which is a touching story about how a Jewish family survived World War II in Germany. The girls were so interested to hear about what happened and that we would be going to the country where the story, and the war, took place. We talked, at their level, about Hitler, the Holocaust, the war and what it means to be Jewish. They really took in the learning and asked incredible questions. After about 45 minutes, we were wrapping up and the girls started talking about why Hitler did the things he did and why he was so bad. Ellie had her hypothesis, which Carrie and I were astounded at. She stated, “I think he was so bad because he was probably abused as a boy and wasn’t loved.” Let’s remember....Ellie is FIVE years old.
 |
| Hotel in Hamburg, Germany |
We found the hotel with only one extra drive around the block, as we missed it the first time around. True to Europe, the parking spaces are miniature (no wonder the Smart Car is so popular around here!) and our big Ford S-Max family car managed to only barely miss the sides of the car park entrance. Once parked, it took a few trips back to the car from the hotel to bring all our stuff in, but finally, around 5:00 we were settled in the room and ready to take on Hamburg!
The girls and I watched a quick video on You Tube about Hamburg and marked the “must do’s” on the map found at the front desk. (Those hotel maps are the best and you can never get them online!) At one point the woman on the video mentioned the fish market as a “must do” and Grace yelled out, “Fish markets are for old people...but not old like you, Mommy, old like Apol. What is she, in her 20’s?” (For those of you who don’t know, Apol was our nanny in Singapore and she is in her late 40’s.) Once we got through laughing about that and watching the movie, we established our basic plan of action and went out to walk around our hotel area and find some good German food!
 |
| Hamburg, Germany |
It didn’t take long to find a presentable, authentic-looking restaurant and we were ready to have the kids try German food. However, Carrie and I realized that we didn’t really know much about German food so we looked for something that resembled the word, “Sausage” as that was all we could link to “authentic.” After a while of hopelessly trying to make sense of the all-German menu, the waiter asked if we preferred one in English. “Ja, Bitter..”
 |
| Dinner in Hamburg |
Although we aren’t experts in German food, we are pretty sure the lasagna and Greek salad on the menu weren’t German, but it was what we were in the mood for so we went with it. The girls were so proud of themselves for saying all their new German words to the waiter, who seemed to appreciate their efforts.
By the time we all ate too much and got our bill, we couldn’t wait to get back to our rooms to shower and sleep! Poor Carrie B. was battling what seemed to be a sinus infection and the rest of us had the sniffles too. We all needed a good night sleep.
 |
| Journal writing before bed |
After our quick walk to the hotel and welcomed showers, the girls wanted to finish up their travel pages. We worked together to determine how far we traveled today (881 km) and how far we traveled so far on our entire trip (881 km). We determined that the weather in Hamburg today was chilly and partly sunny. They reflected upon their days and while Elise thought the day driving in the car was “exciting because she was with Grace and Ellie” both Ellie and Grace decided that the day was “boring because they just sat in the car the whole time.” I guess you can’t please everyone but Carrie and I fell asleep knowing we provided the girls life long lessons with life long friends....and this was only Day 1!
How many times did the girls ask “Are We There Yet?” Yes, we kept track!
Grace: 4
Ellie: 5
Elise: 3
Memorable Quotes: While Carrie L. was talking to Peter on the phone...
Carrie L.: "Daddy said to try the wieners."
Ellie: "What are wieners?"
Carrie L.: "Sausages"
Ellie: "I thought wieners were boys privacy."
Grace: "Or dogs."
No comments:
Post a Comment