And Another Bike Trip

Today, another bike trip. This time we rode along the Weser, from Wehrden to Bad Karlshafen, which is 33 kilometres return. There was hash browns, chicken nuggets and ice-cream on the way. Yum!

We enjoy our ice-cream on the way.

My delicious Spaghetti-Eis.

Me and my companion (not for long!)

An evening shot of the "bicycle-cade".

AquaLip

Today we went to AquaLip, a swim centre in Detmold. There was a massive tunnel slide, a roman sauna, a 50-metre pool with a 1-metre diving board, a salt pool, which was good for the skin, and a "whirlpool", a large circular pool with a current that would spin clockwise. Inside the whirlpool (the whirlpool only needed the outside ring of the circular pool), there was a pool with bubbles and a few underwater deck chairs were bubbles also regularly rose up. The slide was my favourite, I probably did over sixty rounds, with over ten different slide-poses (I had one where I sat cross-legged in a meditation pose). There was a screen near the pool that showed the last person to go down the slide's speed, the day's best and the best ever. The meditation pose took me 24.37 seconds! I had a great day in the centre.

School: Day 1

Today I went to school for the first time! I was nervous, but the teacher, Frau Vieweger, showed me around. The whole class had prepared for our arrival, with three cakes and a blackboard showing 'Welcome to 5D!' in both German and English. We seated ourselves in a big circle and started doing a Question Answer session. Since it was supposed to be English lesson, we were allowed to answer in English, and, if they wanted to, the other students could ask their questions in English.
The system in Germany is very different. The kids are allowed to wear mufti and the class goes to different rooms for different lessons, each with different teachers. The school layout is also different: the school is divided into separate blocks, each about three storeys high.
The teachers there give me a lot of homework: the German teacher made me write a page-long text about my dream school, which I have just finished, and the art teacher wanted us to finish an "artwork" that "taught" us about the different shades of grey: white, light-grey, middle-grey, dark-grey and 'almost black', and then write a paragraph about contrast. My favourite lesson was sport. In sport, we play a game called Völkerball, a game where the players throw balls with the aim to get everybody on the opposite team out. Hard thing is, the players that are out can still get the other team out, and, in doing so, get themselves back in.

Me in front of the Hermann-Vöchting Gymnasium.

My art homework.

All about my dream school.

Grandma enjoys her ice-cream.

Grandpa likes his more than grandma, he says.

Niklas likes his ice-cream a lot.

I'm loving mine. Delicious!

Another Bike Ride

Today we went for another bike ride around the lake, but this time there was one difference: we stopped at the Moses Hütte, a café on the north shore of the Schiedersee, to have some ice-cream. There was one problem. The only flavours left were strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. There was also no cream! Still, everyone got three scoops of ice-cream and we were happy with that. (Sort of)

Everyone enjoying their ice-cream.

Bike Ride, Library and Theo

Today we went on a round trip on our bikes: a quick circuit of the Schiedersee and then to the local supermarket, Rewe. Then we went home, and four hours later, we walked to the library, which only opens at 4 o'clock and only on Tuesdays and Fridays. There, we borrowed 15 German books, although I only picked 7 of them. These included lots of English books turned German.

My newly stocked bookshelf.

Some of the books that we borrowed (All German).

After we had borrowed our books, Aunt Petra and Theo picked us up straight from the library and we drove home to my Grandparents in her car. Then, Theo, Niklas and I started playing viking chess on the lawn. It was Niklas and me vs. Theo, and each team won one round. Theo was surprisingly good! After that, we ate cake and then straight back to the garden, to play kick-tennis and catch. Again, it was Niklas and me vs. Theo. Afterwards, still in the same teams, we played four-in-a-row. It was all so much fun!

Arrival

Today I arrived in Germany after 24 hours of flight. I am super jetlagged and wanted to go to bed at 2 o'clock (in the afternoon!) After getting out of the plane at 6:25 AM (German time) we rushed to catch a 4 hour long train to Altenbeken and then a half-hour long train after that to Schieder. Tomorrow a boy called Theo (an old friend) will come to my house and we'll have a great time. I'm so excited!

The flight from Sydney to Bangkok.

Some yummy pretzels on the train.

Before the Trip

I am about to leave Sydney for another trip to Germany. This time, mum has enrolled me at her old high school! From Thursday 27 September I will be attending the Hermann-Vöchting-Gymnasium in Blomberg. We have emailed with my classroom teacher, and I have been sent the time table. It'll be so exciting! It will also be easy to get along with the other kids, since the school has only started two weeks ago, so nobody will have made any (proper) friends yet.

Niklas is raising my unopened can of Fanta. Cheers, Niklas!