Thursday, June 4, 2009

Day at the Lake











The kids and I took advantage of a gorgeous day yesterday and headed out to the closest thing we have to a beach here in Germany...Lake Bostalsee.
Paul had to work so me, Aly, Ry, Kaylee, and David headed out there. It ended up being pretty funny when we first got there, being that we had never been there and didn't know where to go or how to do anything since everything was in German. There is a special parking lot and then different gated areas to go into that get you to different parts of the lake (the beach part, the marina, etc.). Also, you have to park for the day and pay at the German meter. Well......needless to say, we were having trouble. We found a nice young German couple who helped us figure out where to go and what to do (sort of). Then, we discover the parking meter accepts only Euro coins and not bills...which would be all that I had from the ATM. So, Ryan takes off over to a tour bus that has just unloaded what appears to be a field trip from a German retirement home. Fortunantly, all of the elderly German couples thought he was adorable (and he knows more German than we do) so he was able to make change for us to park. Then, we unload all that we brought...and you know me, I don't pack light. We have a beach umbrella, a couple beach bags, a blanket, a cooler, a beach noodle...you get the point. So we proceed in a train trying to carry it all and pass all the "Oohs and Aahhs" over David along the way. We end up down where the young couple have pointed us (which was a LONG way and included many times of stopping to rest our arms from the cooler and corral David back into the line), only to see no beach and not know where we were. After we stood there feeling stupid for awhile, I find an information booth with the one lady that spoke enough English (and understood my minimal German) to direct us to the right location. Turns out it was right out the back of the area that we parked!!! Then, we get to the gate where you pay to enter the beach area, and Ryan communicates with the guy a bit in German and I walk up and smile and say, "Pay?" to which Ry says very matter of factly and like he is embarrassed to be with me, "Mom, he speaks English!" Ahhhh.... what a day so far and it was only 11 am. Hehe

However, once we arrived down at the beach, set up, and got lathered in sunscreen, we had a great time! David loves the water and has no fear of it whatsoever, so alot of time was spent chasing him and dragging him back closer to shore. The kids had a blast, and Aly and I really enjoyed some time to lay out while David sat between us having his lunch. :) It was alot of fun, and we plan to head back out there asap....better prepared this time! :)
Love,
Brittany