Knorr Family Adventures

I read about one of the biggest Strawberry Festivals in our area a while ago and marked it in our calendar since we always enjoyed going to the ones in Pittsburgh area.  We usually had lots of fun picking way too many strawberries, ate a bunch of strawberry-related foods (strawberry pancakes, strawberry lemonade, strawberry ice cream, etc.) and had fun doing kids activities.  German Strawberry Festival was yet another new experience for us.  Granted we came early (around 11AM) but all it had were some booths set up to sell food which weren't all that strawberry oriented and a a big stage with some folk singers.  It looked like later in the day a mini-amusement park would be opening but we had no idea when.  We decided to leave the festival since there wasn't much to do and we weren't quite ready to go home yet, we found Schloss Johannisberg.  The surroundings is amazingly beautiful, and while you can't get inside, you can walk through their vineyard.  We also had lunch

On the last weekend that my mom was here (after a very tumultuous week that included a hospital stay for Anton) we decided to go to Rheinfel Castle which is in ruins.  The castle is from 13th century and is super great for active kids like mine.  There are tunnels to go through, many steps to climb and overall not a trip for those that have trouble walking, climbing, etc. but really amazing ruins nonetheless.  There is a Russian proverb that stats "Better to see it once than to hear about it 100 times"; thus, our pictures :)

This is the last week that all 3 boys go to their current school and  I figured it would be nice to recap our experience so far.  When Chris came to Frankfurt back in September/October, he had to pick school for the boys, we had no idea where we were going to live and basically we were faced with many uncertainties.  The school has been great to help us make our life a bit easier in our first year here.  All 3 boys go to the same building, the school has plenty of outdoor green space and teachers speak English; however, in the long run it's just not the right environment. The school is loosely based on Montessori method which means it's self-directed.  It's a mixed age classroom (grades 1 -4) and kids get to decide when and what subject they are working on.  Specials such as physical education, art, and music are held together but things like math and German are self-directed.   My kids just aren't made in that way. Ilya has perfected his copying skills but hasn

A while ago we have noticed how different Germany and USA when it comes to driving, car seats, and things that we used to assume were the "correct" way.  Everybody knows that autobahns have no speed limits; however, if there is a car accident and you happen to be going over 130 km/h (80mph) you will most likely be at fault.  We have also seen many times when you go from no speed limit to 80 km/h (50mph) which is a pretty drastic change.  Instead of looking for a cop car around the corner, there are speed cameras everywhere!  We've seen them in the most ridiculous places including but not limited to on the curve changing from one autobahn to another both of which have no speed limits but the curve does.  Within city limits the speed limit is 50km/h (30 mph) and it does not have to be posted so many speed cameras are right at the entrances to the cities. People are very polite on the road.  It's pretty important to make sure you use your signals and learn how to drive

Summer has sprung in Germany and according to weather forecast in Paris as well.  The highs during the day are between 90 and a 100 but thankfully it drops down to mid-70s  at night.  The idea of air conditioning hasn't arrived in Germany yet but we are surviving. Most of the kids in school here have same bookbags what boys asked for.  They are kind of huge and heavy but it seems that they ensure that you wear them correctly and wait is evenly distributed.  Here is the best part of that book bag - they cost between 150 and 200 euros.  Nope, my boys aren't getting them! During the spring semester boys participated in track and field - my idea obviously!  Apparently, running is not Andrei's sport but Ilya did ok.  The practices were really good for beginners because the coach varied what the kids did all the time.  The started and finished each practice with running but also did jumping, throwing objects, played various games, etc.  Anyway, the practice is only cancelled