Any english speaking mum´s in Germany

[chrissi1]

I live in the Wiebaden/ Mainz Area and like to meet up with english speaking mum´s.My son´s 4 1/2

Mixed up the dates we go to Turkey in August.Wondered if it will be too hot???
Last year we went in May/June and it was a bit chilly in the evenings.

Ooooh -Turkey in august will be hot hot Hot! My MIL goes there twice a year and in July/august she goes to the seaside (Izmir) as it's slightly cooler than the city. About 35-40C she says. Too hot for me! I am coming to Cologne in early August and I hope it will not be too hot. In England these past few summers we have had 30-35C which is really hot for england. I don;t like it!
I was intending to do some 'hostelling' this year with the boys, but a friend got involved also and it ended up being a week in Spain, (Alicante) with a few days in Barcelona, then she goes to Palma Mallorca, and the boys and I fly to Dusseldorf, then train to Cologne to meet DH, who is flying there. Then we have an apartment there for 5 days (hoping to do the Fantasialand while there) and then train to Amsterdam for 3 days. Then Ferry/train back to Surrey. We live very near Gatwick so it is convenient for flying.

So you wish to come to England this year? Where will you come to? London? I am not far from london, dh works there and travels by train every day into town.

(I googled HandKaese mit musik and it explained the 'musik' - very funny!!)

I think about going to England somwhere around 21-27th July.Don´t know why I had August in mind.Yes to London.Maybe can visit a friend in Suffolk for 3-4 days or so,maybe she´s not at home.Then it will be only London.London for a week will be too expensive so we´ll stay max 4 days or so.
I wish it would be a week so Owen can benfit a bit from it.
Maybe if I stay at this Student home I once stayed.Though it got shared toilets and I´m not that keen on that.Esp with the little one.
I´m not too picky and used to cheap engl.hotels,they can be a nightmare sometimes.
Once I had to fight like a lion to get my money back because it was such a dump.I made a real fuss using all my bad language I had. Perhaps I impressed him.
All the hotels next to it said noone ever got his money back,well I did.

You could come and meet us( it´s only me and Owen) I´m sure that would be fun.
Ha Maybe YoU know where nice playgrounds are.
I never realy looked ,because I had no child then.´
Is it very noisy,Gatwick??
Like to go to Ruesselsheim( nice little town) it´s very close to Frankfurt Airport.The noise is moderate but maybe it´s different if you live there.

Oh what a shame - I am leaving Gatwick on 21st July to fly to Alicante!!! We come to Cologne on 29th August, i think.
There is a new hostel in london, brand new just opened last week. It's in the centtre and I beleive they have private rooms, ie with private bathroom. I can find out about it if you like, i read about it and it was quite cheap - i think about £18 per person per night. (about 26 Euro). I don't like shared toilets - my DH will not even consider them - one reason why I am not backpacking this year(again). I did say to dh I should be taking the dc over in the long 5-6 week holidays in summer to germany to speak german. But we couldn't find a house for rent for just 5 weeks, they are either for 1 week (holiday home) or for 6 months, (short let).
My aunt in Detmold (Bielefeld) has a flat downstairs that i could stay in maybe, but it is in the middle of nowhere, and I would need to drive, there are not even buses, so not ideal. But the dc would have to pick up some german, as she doesn't speak english.

So if you come to england you will maybe fly into Gatwick? It's not actually that noisy here, the planes do not come our way, but we can see them, they are very low to the ground (obviously!) and we drive under them sometimes going into town. We are about 2 miles from the airport.

Hi what a shame !
what I could do is ask around here.We have a Trainstation in town.It´s not far from Mainz,Frankfurt,Wiesbaden.Castles etc around, though to visit the castles you need a car.We got only a small car so it would imposs to get them all in one car.You could take a train from colone.It´s not far and a picturesque route.
If you like, that is.
Owen would be the perfect person to talk to.You say something in english and he aswers back in German.Always asking,can you speak german?? DH says it might be too long,5 weeks but ideal to learn,no question.
The agegap between our dc´s is a bit big but because you have a train at hand you can do something on your own.What about renting a car?? Wrong side urhh I know one reason I never drove. DH once nearly drove into a bus .in Windsor,and my father drove on the wrong side in Coventry. Thank god the streets were deserted.To his excuse I have to say our car got robbed out in Birmingham, passports and all.His mind was elsewher.

oh please please do check about the hostel.
you´r an angel!Even if Owen has to pay for the room too,most likely it would be cheaper. Perhaps I could stay longer.
Maybe even come a week later.

Before Ryan Air,back in the other century,I used to fly to Gatwick but since Ryan Air the prices can´t be beaten,though I could/ should check the prices for flights to Gatwick.Perhaps we would walk past each other and don´t know.
I know what you mean flying very low.Sometimes we drive past the Airport in Frankfurt,driving to our bathing lake.Owen got very frightened once,as he´s been still little.He thought it might drop down on our car.You cansee them take off on a special spot, called Startbahn west( a runway).There were huge protests about building it in th 80´s

Hope you had a nice Mothers Day ,and a good journey.
It´s realy stormy here and there should be snow next week.Though not here I´m afraid.
It´s the warmest area in Germany.

Hi CHrissi - we had a very busy weekend, down to my mum on saturday and had dh's mum on sunday. We went out for lunch, but everywhere was booked already, so we only squeezed onto a table for 4 - all 6 of us!
My boys did breakfast in bed for me (toast crumbs all in the sheets now) and chocolates and flowers - lovely. Back to normal, school, cleaning, shopping now....

Anyway, I've been looking at hotels for you in july - I know what you mean about london being expensive! Wow! I have looked for that Hostel I was talking about, a room with 3 beds is £60-£65 per night, I suppose it is en-suite but I would have to do a bit of searching to find out for sure. It's so new there is not much information on it, but I have a phone number. You may find it is better to stay outside London and travel in on the train; I am ashamed to say London is dirty, not particularly safe and not really child-friendly either! A bed-and-breakfast hotel/guesthouse may be better - one round here (we have lots round here for the gatwick travellers)will be about £35-£50 per night, but then the train will cost £10 to get into london. Depends what you want to do I suppose. Let me know and I can look more into it if you like.

So have you got snow yet? We are supposed to have snow this week, it is really getting colder now.I was talking about this with mum and sister - I remember we used to get loads of snow - maybe 1 metre of snow when I was young, but we haven't had any for years! My boys will love it.

Hi
Breakfast in bed sounds good.
Thank you so much for your research.
I did look today .Hostels are cheaper thanks for the tip.
A 3 bedroom would be imposs.as I would have to pay for all 3 bed´s .Children under 16,sometimes 18 are not allowed in shared bedrooms.Understandable!
I´ll go for the center,as
1.journey won´t be long in tube.You know yourself how the tube can be sometimes,tube too late or problems ,chilly platform dep.where you are.
2.you pay a lot more for all zones,everyday. This I can add to the hotelcost.
3.it takes a lot of time to travel 45 min or so in and out of town.
I found one near Bayswater.Also found some in Earls Court though I´m not a geat fan of the District Line.
The one I found is 68ish per room!
Very confusing sometimes.
On one webside they talk about per person on the other per room.
68 with a ensuite bath is the cheapest I came across.Everywhere else Owen has to pay also.
Well can´t book now,as my hols are not official confirmed.Can you believe that!
I know I should soon as some hostels already have no rooms available.
B&B´s are not cheap either.In center( Sheperds bush area-zone 2)It´s 50 ish per person again.I don´t know why they can´t let the child go for free.
They say you can have a single room with extra bed but still charge the child.

no snow,should be cooler mid week.
I remember once I got snow in London,2001 in spring. That was the only time.
As a child we had lots of snow and noone would have thought it to be different.

Hi chrissi - have a look on YHA.org.uk , hihostels.com and hostelbookers.com, those are the ones I used to look for hostels in spain and germany. I thought spain was expensive until I looked at germany. But then I thought Germany was expensive until i looked at London! It is sometimes a bit confusing, as you say, whether it is per room or per person. Having children is expensive, we have to have 2 rooms when we go away - it's posssible to get a family room, that is 1 double and 2 single beds in sone room, but nowhere does a family of 5! Still, my eldest is 15 now so will be going on his own holidays soon.

Talking of snow, I remembered when we lived in Celle we had a lot of snow, every year it seemed from october to april. We had skis and snowskates - no-one here knows what snow-skates are! They know ice-skates and snow-shoes, but not snow-skates.

I just say SNOW!!!
It snowed this morning til noon but was gone straight away.though Owen thought it was great.The Kindergarden children did a long walk in the snow.

Wow you brought back memories.Snowskates!!!
Were´nt they brilliant? Over Xmas ,as we had so much snow ,I thought about them and how sad it is that you can´t find it anymore!
Well noone needs them anymore.With a winter like last year and this year.Spring and especially summer will be a nightmare.Your poor mum ,poor me.know what I mean?
Hordes of insects,slgs and more.
Last year it was worse but no winter again!!!

Thank you for your reasearch.I came across YHA hostels but they had nothing for us at thatz time.I´ll check the others.
I came across a german webside with hotels.looked ok if I don´t get the hostel i set my heart on in Bayswater I look there and the other host. you mentioned.
you´re a great help,thank you!!
Even more confusing is some write it in Euro and some in pound.In the end I was fed up big deal and decided to go for my old hotel until it drawned on me that they meant Pound and not Euro.
I dare say Internet research can be very tireing.It seems as ther is always something better comming along.
Poor you must be a great organizing talent going on hols with your family.
Ever beeing in the Provence?I´m sure you were.

I actually like doing research - it's so easy on the internet! I am lost if the computer goes down! Organising the family holiday was a bit of a pain because there is just so much I want to do, we were going to do germany, belgium, holland and then right up to Sylt and Denmark, but ran out of holiday time (and money) and have ended up with Spain and germany, then Amsterdam and home.

Did you have snow-skates? We had those ones that fit over the soles of the shoes, just a metal plate. But the winters seemed to go on for ages, and the summers were always hot. It's how it is in your childhood, we remember things differently. I remember going to school by bus and being chased by a huge dog each day, that, thinking about it, was probably a tiny thing!

It was a bit like Bullerbü( Astrid Lindgren) is it the same name in english??
Near to no cars,no traffic, you were not affraid of strange people lurking somewhere.in my early teens we lived in a area where they build lots of houses,so we had lots of adventues.I remember once going sledging down the hill on a in plastic wrapped toiletseat,well the plastic was gone afterwards.
I had to walk 30 min.to school and was cased by a boy,about 2 years older.It was realy frightening.He liked me as a girlfriend but honestly he was not alloneif you know what I mean.I had to go home throu another house and walk throu the cellars to my house.Thank god you could do that.He stood in front of my house. He chased me and gave me little letters.Eugh!
Apart from that it was a good time thinking back.Sommer on the lake with friends,stealing huge Kohlrabi plants on a field,or sweetcorn.The reason I did´nt ate sweetcorn anymore until 2 yrs ago.We ate too many at the field.
Yes I had snowscates and maybe you forgot or you had non,I had ice scates too.They looked like snowscates but had 2 runner(s ?)left and right.Much easyer to go with,especially if the ice was not flat. ( humpy?? bumpy?)
I once broke into the ice with those scates but only with one leg.
Yes,you put then under your shoes.
We also had better scates ,so it seems.Metal one with small wheels.They ran sooo fast.also for under your shoes. the best to run on was asphalt.
I plan to give Owen Fireman Sam ( he likes him) scates, a shoe you put your shoe in .I think you know what I mean.Hopefully Sam helps him not to be affraid.Completely plastic of course and not very fast, hopefully!
You had the snowscates in Germany or England??

We had the snowskates in germany only - in england they don't know what they are, they have no need of them, we have so little snow.I know what you mean about the ice skates,2 blades are so much easier. Scary to go throught the ice though, you must have to go home straight away. Where we lived there was a river at the bottom of the field behind our house, we could go swimming in the summer. I was on another thread with some girls who live in this town now, I think the field has been built on. Houses everywhere. We used to walk along the river to the next town, but i don't think you can do that now.

Those skates with the wheels are called Roller Skates, you can get ones with 4 wheels, one at each corner, or the ones with the wheels all in a line (In-Line Skates) but they are really fast. Better to start on the easier ones! I remember falling over backwards with rollerskates on and really hurting my bum! (Po in Deutsch!)

I don't know what BullerBu is!

In english you call it The 6 children from Bullerby,or The children of noisy village.
A Astrid Lindgren Book.I loved it as a kid.It´s so idyllic,a remote village...

I meant rollerskates( for ds)-I bought inliners for me but only went a few times.It´s ok if you can go on ice scates but I don´t do this anymore either.

Here they built houses like mad.With tiny ,tiny gardens you can hardly turn in.
It looks like sombody pressed them all together. But then at least the´ve got their own house.
I always have to point out to Owen that it´s 7 pm or that he should stop hopping now or play marbles.

Hi Chrissi - I think my computer knows when it's the weekend, and it has a little rest! I've never heard of that book, sounds lovely. There is a series of books, 'Anne of Green Gables' about a girl growing up in a remote area of Canada; I always wanted to do that!
I know what you mean about tiny houses and tiny gardens, they are building 2000 new houses here on farm fields, but no new schools/pool/bus or train routes. I wonder what will happen to all those people. They all have about 1 metre of garden all round. For 4 bedroom houses.

I was reading my german/english book the other day and came across the word Karnickeln. It translated as Rabbits but I thought that was Kanienchen? My aunt had Kanienchen and Schweine at her house in Detmold in the 1960's. For eating! Do you know this word? The story is about a refugee from between the wars, so it's possibly another old word.
I sent my dh to a newpaper shop in London in his lunch hour to get me a german magazine called GALA, it's about the Oscar winners and their dresses - now I can read that, no problem!

Hi
Anne of Green Gables.I loved that.still got it somewhere.In german.
You said always wanted that.
Read the book or live in a remote area of Canada??
Canada is soooo nice but also sooo big.Have you been there ? We like to go back for a holiday someday but then we need lots of time.

Karnickel!!!Die Karnickel,das Karnickel
It´s a common used word though maybe a bit oldish but still used.
Karnickel kommt von lateinisch cuniculus.Das r kommt von ueberkorrekter Aussprache ,so it says in the book.

Postwar novels I also read them though about England not Germany.At the moment I
read crime novels.
I like history especially pre war and Victorian times.Not so popular in Germany ( Victorian times,as in GB).
I once read a very shocking book about servants in Victorian times.I´m happy I dont live in the ´Good old time.

I see you do exactly the same as I do.
Pay for overpriced mags.Only I go to Wiesbaden or Frankfurt. I try to get hold of mother and children mags.Nearly imposs.here.A few years back I went as mad as subscribing the Evening Standard .It was a bit pricy no question but helpful for my ´´Homesickness``.
Do you know a good mother and children mag.?
I subscribed Mother and Baby until 2 yrs ago but it´s no good if you´ve got older
children.Junior is too posh.
I like the Good Food mag.

I meant I always wanted to grow up in a remote corner of the world, with wide-open spaces and a little village where everyone knows everyone else. I suppose it sounds nice but my mum grew up like that and she hated it! Everyone knowing everyone else's business...
I did go to canada once, we went skiiing in Whistler, and had a few days in Vancouver. It was lovely. It's all so clean and freindly and shiny, food was fresh and healthy (they love seafood/sushi) and the scenery is soooo beautiful. We went to the area where they were building the new Winter Olympic bobsleigh/luge run and came down it on snowmobiles. Great fun, I keep trying to get dh to consider a move out there. Schools are not great though, although they are not great here either.

I'm off to the shops now so I'll look for a 'mother and toddler' magazine for you. There are lots for teaching your child (Muffy I think is one, or it might be Muzzi) - i'll look.

I like the Good Food mag too; I subscribe to Delicious magazine, but never get the chance to sit down and read it!

Yes i liked it in canada,the people were very friendly.
My husband went a few times there before we met and surprised me with a 2 weeks trip.i had to ask my boss for short notice hols.I did´nt realy belived him as he said there are bears arround and went on my own for a short walk in the forrest.well that was until i found bearfur and suddenly realized the birds stopped to sing and it was very quite.I went back as fast as poss.

a remote village can be nice and bad at once for the reason you said I would´nt like it.People ther have nothing else to do than look what others do. On the other side it´s nice if you have somebody to turn to if you need help.it´s fantastic for kids.
I see what it can make of you,as my in laws live in a village.Nicht wirklich ein Dorf.wir sagen Ort.Ich bin nicht sicher aber Dorf is kleiner.Is it Hamlet in engl?
They´re always concerned what the others might say.That the neightbours don´t approve..I hate this.Ok to a special ammount you have to care of course but not always.

I never came across Delicious but the name sounds good!
Ha ! I looked and found a Delicious magazine from 2006.
Can´t throw them away,but much worse I can´t stop buying books and hardly sell them.
Only if the bookshelfes tereaten to bow and make sounds I know it´s time to sell some of my husbands books!!

I bought Time Out London for children.
My god I need a month to do all the nice things like puppet theater, child museums nice park visits ( I love Kew but not the prices) and shopping.
It also gave some tips about accomodation.
why can´t my husband win the lottery......Not just 5 Euro but a little bit more would be nice.I´m sure he won´t give it to me ,as he knows I´ll ship it over to England and buy something nice like a cottage .
have to do easted crafting now.
my fathers birthday is next weekend.
I travel over there this Sunday for one week.

thank you for looking out (magazine)

Easter Crafting of course,sorry about the mistakes,did´nt read it before I sended it.

So whereabouts in Canada did you go? My dh has been to Quebec and toronto and vancouver, and says that vancouver is definitely the best. I'd live there! Maybe in a small town or large village, I'd need space around me, but also shops and schools within walking distance. A small village is called a hamlet if it doesn't have a pub! If it has a pub it is a village. If it has a townhall it is a town, if it has a cathedral it is a city.
Time out is a good mag, I have the timeout for barcelona for when we go in summer. I think barcelona is cheaper than london! I keep waiting for dh to win the lottery, I'd buy a house in Cornwall, one in germany and one in Thailand or New Zealand. And then spend a few months in each, redecorating and remodelling!

I've looked for magazines for families, there don't seem to be many. Junior magazine as you mentioned, but also one called Family Fun - familyfun.go.com. It seems good, but I couldn't find a subscription cost for them. It must be on their website but I couldn't see it straightaway.

Where do you need to go for your father's birthday? It's my sister's birthday soon (april) - she is going on a schifffahrt (3 f's in that!) round the mediterranean with her dh, 3 dc and my mum! Mum and my schwager do not get on, so one of them will probably get chucked overboard!

Hi
My husband went to Alaska ( urg Grizzlys),Rockys,Vancuver and Vancuver Island
We went together+ a friend,with a caravan from Snowy Calgary(September) over the Rockys to Vancuver and back.
Snow in Calgary but we walked in T-shirts in Vancuver.There we visited a schoolfriend of my father. He emigrated 1966 with family.

A house in New Zealand good choice.I forgot about redecoration.Then my husband won´t see me so soon.
Thats interesting with the pub no pub.I did´nt knew that.I wish we had a nice Pub around.

I found a delivery service for english food in germany who also sells mags.
I ordered BBC parenting see what it´s like.
I nearly did a sommersault as I found the website. I prefer english Parenting mags to German. I cant put my finger on why.The engl. is more orderly. Ha Germans beeing disorderly.It´s not like in the old times (order ,beeing on time.....)

We go to Erfurt.There we´ll go to a Restaurant of some kind. I´d prefer Italian,I love it,but my father hates it.
Normaly we would celebrate with friends but as it´s Easter it´s not so easy. They´ll have a party the weekend after Easter but then I´ll have to work.
Die Scifffahrt sounds not much fun.

HI chrissi - over the rockies with a caravan sounds fun! We flew over the rockies but I suppose whistler must be on the rocky mountains. We won't be going back to Canada for a while though, too expensive. We hope to go to China next year. (When we were inMunich the german people we met tried to get me to say Chinisische - I can't say it! ) Last year we had a Chinese colleague of dh's who was stuck in england for christmas - he came to stay with us for the christmas time. he was lovely, taught the dc to say Happy Christmas in chinese, told us all about Beijing and invited us to stay with him whenever we like! Anyway, we are not going to do it this year, (the olympics) so next year is the earliest. Dh wants to go back, he was there in january and enjoyed it.

DIese schiffahrt ist nur die erste diese jahre, sie werde in November noch mal fahren, nach Carribbean. Fur drei woche! Mutti hast ihr 80sten Geburtstag in november, und sie wolle mit meine schwester und ihr kinder und mein schwager um urlaub fahren. 3 woche mit mutti und schwager ist nicht gut. Meine schwager, nicht ihr schwager. Was heisse son-in-law auf deutsch?

Please feel free to correct that paragraph.!!

Hi
Long time no hear.
Came back from Erfurt on Sunday. i only say SNOW!!!
We went hunting easter eggs while snow was falling.did your mum let you hunt eastereggs?
i think it´s a bit diff. in England.We hid eggs in the house(flat)and in the forrest if poss.
Though we could not stay to enjoy the snow .We had to leave the day we got 10 centimeter snow.
It snowed here today,so I try my luck at 4pm and drive to the highest hill here.It´s just 20 min til there .Cross your fingers.Suppose it´s the last chance for snow !
Owen always says Nee How in a chinese restaurant (meaning guten Tag)
China wow.though I´ve got enough communism for a live time.maybe sad but call it a slight fear to get locked up.Though it could happen anywhere.
I think germans like to try and teach you ch but don´t give you a hard time there are a lot Germans who say Kinesisch, with a hard K.
Maybe it´s a bit like the th.I can say it and always could but there are some who never will.I have to take care on Owens th.Now that he started to talk a little more.

Diese Schifffahrt ist die erste dieses Jahr.
In die Karibik
mutti hat ihren 80.Geburtstag im November und sie will mit meiner Schwester,ihrem Mann und deren Kinder in den Urlaub fahren.

Well son in law ist genau was dein Schwager ist! Schwiegersohn. son in law- Schwiegersohn.
only a little mistakes.
nap time!
Owen watches My friend Totorro.He loves it so much.I tried to buy a stuffed toy but was so expensive that I did one myself.Creative me!Made it of nice fake fur.
Do you know the film?? It´s so cute you have to see it if you don´t know.They have some pics in the internet.it´s Japanese.im not realy fond of those Jap.Trickfilms8 animated films??).but this is just sweet
Take care

Don´t give yourself a hard time I meaned,(k-ch)
.Sorry for all the mistakes I wrote .

So your Mum is also a Scorpio,like me.They´re not easy to live with sometimes.