Trip to Darmstadt - Day 7-9

Day 7 What a sunny day today! Today has the best weather since we reached Darmstadt on 13 April 2006. Being the last second day of our trip, we decided to take it easy. Ipapa's friends, Kourash and Alex, gave us a farewell dinner treat at a Persian restaurant.

It was the first time we tasted Persian food and they tasted yummy, though it took imama sometime to get used to it. Day 8 The day of our departure and Iden was down with diarrhoea. His stools were lose and smelly.... wonder what's wrong with him (could it be due to the Basmati rice I fed him last night?). Diarrhoea or not, we just had to get ready to head for the airport in the evening. After the usual check-in formalities, ipapa and I were ready to face the battle on board the flight with Iden. Thank goodness, Iden was so tired (likely due to the sedative and lack of sleep) that he slept through the whole journey, despite the bassinet being too small for him. Day 9 15 hours of flight journey later, we reached Singapore finally and ended our short but relaxed trip to Darmstadt. It would be years later when the IT family visit the place and our friends again. Meanwhile, we could just re-live the wonderful memories by reading this blog.

Trip to Darmstadt - Day 4-6

Day 4

We woke up very early, 6 am, to be exact, to a cold and rainy day - typical April weather in Germany. Since we were up early, we decided that we should venture far. Ipapa suggested a day trip to Heidelberg and off we went. We had to take a train to go there and along the journey, Iden couldn't resist the nice weather but to catch a nap. Heidelberg was very windy and cold. It was a Sunday, hence most shops were closed. We had a simple lunch at Hard Rock Cafe Heidelberg and then proceeded to enjoy our leisure walk.

Heidelberg isn't a large place. We spent most of our time in the old town. Starting at the Bismarckplatz end, we worked our way down the pedestrian Hauptsrasse. It was a long walk and Iden was enjoying every moment of it! In the afternoon, we headed back to Darmstadt-Eberstadt to meet Steffi for dinner. She brought us to a cosy restaurant - Almhuette(http://www.almhuette.org/index.htm), for delicious Schnitzel. Hmm... so sumptuous!

Day 5

Germany was still in Easter holiday mood today. Darmstadt was like a dead town, where no shops were opened and no one was working despite it being a Monday. We didn't want to be caught stranded in the hotel, so we planned a trip to the Frankfurt Zoo (http://www.zoo-frankfurt.de/).

As it was a public holiday, there were a lot of families in the Zoo since there was nothing much to do with the shops closed. Maybe because of his brown hair, Iden was approached by a few German kids. Iden was not sure how to handle such attention, or rather, I think he was shy. He kept close to ipapa and me and was more interested in pushing his stroller than seeing the animals there.

The IT family was so tired after the trip. We took a nap and guess what? We only woke up at 10 pm for our dinner! Iden was more tired than us. He slept from 6 pm till 4 am the next day. What a day!

Day 6

Today is the curry day. We brought along Prima Deli Curry Mix to cook up a storm at Steffi's place. Our friends like the Singapore Curry, so we thought it would be nice to give them a treat.

Darmstadt was back to normal working day today. We did some shopping at Luisenplatz and bought the necessary ingredients for our cooking session tonight.

The dinner gathering was a success and thank goodness our friends liked the curry, just as much as we did. We realised that the curry tasted much better with the German brotchen.

Trip to Darmstadt - Day 1-3

Day 1

The IT family is all set to depart for our holiday to Darmstadt, Germany.

This time round, we chosed to fly with Emirates (to enjoy substantial savings since their airfare is half the price of Singapore Airlines). Emirates' flight to Frankfurt is via Dubai, so for the price of one, we get to visit two countries. Good deal huh?

Well, the real reason for booking a non-direct flight is so to make the long flight journey (15 hours) more bearable for imama and Iden, bearing in mind that one is 6-month pregnant while the other one is an active toddler who is not willing to be confined in a place for such long hour.

We left Singapore at 0325 hr, caught the connecting flight at Dubai to Frankfurt and reached Frankfurt at 1315 hr (Frankfurt's time). Carsten and Steffi, our German friends, came to receive us at the airport. Thereafter, we went straight to the hotel and tried to adjust Iden to Germany's time. Since all of us had a long day earlier, we went to bed from 6 pm till 7 am the next day!

Day 2

After more than 12 hours of sleep, all 3 of us were geared up to start our Darmstadt's adventure. A good way to start was to catch up with Carsten and Steffi. They invited us to their place for a hearty brunch. Both of them really made an effort to provide us with a sumptuous spread. They even bought a high chair for Iden so that he could join us at the dining table! So thoughtful of them! We had a good meal and Iden was warmed up with them by the end of the brunch.

In the evening, we had a wonderful Mexican dinner at Enchilada's. Iden was the attention in the restaurant as he was wearing a pair of flashy sport shoes. You know, the kind of sport shoes that blinks with lights as a person walks. The diners were so fascinated with his shoes!

Day 3

The shops were opened after the Easter holiday yesterday. The IT family quickly grabbed the opportunity to do some grocery shopping at Darmstadt's city centre - Luisenplatz. It was really a rest and relax day!

1 April gathering

Imagine this scene - 5 families with kids, ranging from 1 to 4 years old , gathering at Swensen's Marina for a dinner. Chaos? Havoc? Disaster? Well, I think it is none of the above, but rather, a night of fun, laughter and enjoyment!!!

Imama and her group of pretty and sexy mummies (otherwise also known as yak yak mummies) met for a dinner just now. It was indeed a challenge to get everyone together, but we made it! The adults (or I should say the mummies) enjoyed the company while the happiest were the kids. They were so carefree, so innocent and thoroughly enjoyed themselves!!

Here is a picture of the Ho family - Don, Shihlin and Lucas. Luc is a very expressive boy. You should see the way he walks and rolls his eyes. Ipapa said that Luc's hairstyle has character. I couldn't agree more.

This picture shows Vivien with her two gems - Javier and Damian. Vivien is a pretty mama blessed with a loving husband and lovely kids. Javier is so cute and Damian simply melts your heart!

This is Wenli with Wee Teck and Keira. Keira was the only gal just now. Surrounded by so many cute boys, I am sure she must be 'confused' who to play with :-) But I think Luc stands a higher chance to be Keira's pal as he knows how to win Keira's heart by calling her Mei Mei and offering her french fries!

Last but not least, this is Veronica and Vilmos. Veron's boys are so friendly and hyper-active! Now I know the secret to Veron's slimness. The laughter of Jarrell (sorry, Jarrell, ipapa could not get a nice picture of you to show here) and Vilmos are so contagious that ipapa and I couldn't help but kept laughing.

On the whole, it was a fun-filled night. Don't believe? Take a look at this link for more pictures: http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c291/irwin74/1stAprilGathering/

Now the IT family can't wait for another gathering to happen.....