Visiting Claudia in Düsseldorf

Claudia had invited us to meet her in Düsseldorf so we took the 30 minute ride in the RE1 train from the main station in Köin to the one Düsseldorf.
Our first stop was the Reibekuchen stand in from of the station since the one in Cologne has disappeared

Then Claudia showed us her new place and Mia also checked out the new playground at the Schillerplatz around teh corner.
After that Claudia took us to the Wildpark Grafenberg where Mia could see the animals that live in the forest during a walk through the woods. Of course there was also a nice playground

Also,  Mia and Claudia had a discussion about ballet class - Claudia took one for many years and Mia took one in the summer. So Mia had to show some dance moves

We saw wild boars, wild cats and of course deers

On the was back we to took the much slower S6 so that Mia could take a nap. The last evening in Cologne we spend on Gabi's rooftop terrace putting some REWE collectors pictures into the newly purchased album

While we were sitting outside Ji cooked some great dinner and later we all enjoyed some great food

At the Rhine

On Tuesday the sun came out again and we decided to meet at the Poller Wiesen a grassy area on the Rhine across the Rhine from the main part of the city and not to far from Andrea's camp ground.
First we had to walk across the Südbrücke where one has a great view of teh city

After a little bit of confusion on where to meet the finally spotted each other and the three girls played a bit on the beach

After theat we all went to the camp ground for lunch and some play time.

Also Amira took the opportunity to paint Mia s fingernails

Then Mia had to try the hammock

In the evening we went back to the river for a one hour panoramic cruise with beer and french fries

After that it was time to finally say good by to Andrea, Amira and Linda. They drove back home and we spent the est of the evening in a beer garden in the Volksgarten with Gabi and Frank

Meeting friends in Köln

On a sunny Saturday morning we left Nürnberg and too the train to Cologne where Gabi was picking us up from the train station. Unfortunately it also started to rain but one day of rain didn't stop us from having a good time.
First we relaxed a bit on Gabi's and Frank's place and then Mia checked out the playground in the Volksgarten with Frank

 The next day we met Andrea and their daughters who and come all the way from Spellen were staying at a campground. The meeting spot was a little neighborhood flea market where Mia had her first cotton candy

Then it was time for lunch

The next day the rain had stopped and we met again in the Rheinpark which had a great playground

From the Rheinpark we headed back to the other side of the river in the old cable car from the 50'ies

Zoological Garden Nürnberg

Nürnberg has one of the biggest and nicest zoos in Germany we went there together with cousin Matz and Joshi.
Our trip to the zoo started with a ride on the modern driver-less U-Bahn. We all were standing in the front to check out the unusual view

The zoo is spread out over a large area just like in Washington DC

They also had a great playground

Playmobil Fun Park

Cousin Matthias and his son Joshi really wamted to take us to the Playmobil Fun Park in Zirndorf just outside Nürnberg. It turned out to be a great idea. There were no rides but children could play at every attraction and it was like a huge adventure playgound

There was a Playmobil castle where Joshi showed Mia the secret passageways

There were boats to play with and a lot of climbing 

Of course there was a beer garden for a little break

Like Matze had  recommended we did bring a bathing suit so that Mia could cool off a bit

There was also a pirate ship

and an "Adventure Land" with tree houses

At the end we could do everything but had to leave when Mia got tired