tackling stuttgart

A last minute entry and my first attempt at a full marathon distance run 42.2kms. I took the train extra early from Stuttgart to Frankfurt (1hr 15 min) ran the marathon (with about 10,000 other mad runners) then was back in Stuttgart by tea time. I finished in 3 hours and 30 minutes. The weather was cool and a bit rainy. Not bad for running conditions at all!

No big trips this week past - just school, home and around the neighbourhood a bit.

We all rugged up for an afternoon stroll on Saturday.

Autumn 🍂 is well and truly here. The trees are losing their leaves at a rapid pace and I think it'll only be a matter of a week or so before they are bare. Despite this we've had relatively warm days. The "green" view from our balcony will also change. It's been interesting to watch the weather here - quite different to Thailand.

We had a trip to a German theme park called Europa Park near the French border. Another dog friendly spot! The weather for mid October was spectacular at about 23 degrees and sunny - and consequently that brought out the crowds. Wait times for the main rides was 45-60 minutes which wasn't great but we still had fun. They had plenty of pumpkins around the park for Halloween.

School isn't easy for the kids. The language is proving a real challenge - more than we thought. The teachers say there is no special treatment allowed and they can't have a dictionary or use a translate app to help when they don't understand. And they're not the type of kids to interrupt and ask a question. The homework is also much more than in Phuket. There have been tears and frustration, almost every day, but we persist. Mum is a great help to them both.

Final set of pics from London. We did the very British thing of having afternoon tea - at the top of the National Portrait Gallery. If you look closely you can see Big Ben is under renovation (scaffolding).

A few pics from the Harry Potter studio tour. Max was nearly jumping out of his skin the entire day. The drink is Butter Beer - something Harry and his friends drink in the books.

The kids had Thursday and Friday off school for Germany's unity day (the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall). We headed off on a British Airways flight to spend the weekend in London. We've been a couple of times before and ticked off the main sights. This trip the main attraction was the Harry Potter studio tour. Tickets have to be booked in advance and weren't easy to get - but we secured a 3.30pm slot on Thursday. Weather was overcast and cool but not too bad for walking around. We used the Tube and the big red buses too. The first thing Max said when we landed at Heathrow was: "all the signs are in English!"

This deserves a special mention - a super scarey ride. Swings for two connected by thin chains with very little visible safety devices swing around in the air then the whole thing rises 86 meters up. Max was the only one with a stomach for it but he convinced Tanja to go with him. Max reports it as the "best ever" but Tanja wasn't as gushing. After a day at school, afternoon/evening at the Volks Fest, Max hit a new step record today too!

Sausages, fairy floss, roasted nuts and food halls.

Stuttgart is hosting the Volksfest at the moment. It's like the Oktoberfest in Munich but on a smaller scale. It runs for two weeks and is similar to a show in Australia with rides, food and plenty to see. We rode the big ferris wheel before dark to get an overview of the park and great views of the city. A few more photos to come!

Georgie is having some respite from us for a week or so while we trip to Belgrade (last weekend) and London (this weekend). We found a German lady who is a dog sitter and lives just out of Stuttgart. She has sent these pictures and confirms Georgie is having the time of her life. In fact she thinks Georgie is unbelievably cute ( unglaublich niedlich ) and doesn't want to give her back!