Festival of Cultures at SAP

Like last year we went to see the festival organized by the people from other countries that work at SAP. There was food an many different stands and music and songs on a big stage
The children could join an African dancer on the stage

Weinwanderung Freinsheim

We used to go to the Weinwanderung in Freinsheim with a group of friends on a regular basis more than 10 years ago so we had to revive this tradition with Claudia in town. It is a1 10 km course through the vine.
ards around Freinsheim with frequent stops at the 16 food and wine stands of the local wineries.
Of course we took a train and not the car

We showed Claudia how to play Crazy 8

Once we made it Claudia had to order a special local dish

At one of the first stands Claudia had to order a special local dish

Mia preferred a crepe - potato dumplings filled with blood sausage are not quite her thing yet

The adults tried different wines

The third bottle was a rose

 Mia had to show everyone how strong she is

Heidelberger Herbst

The "Heidelberger Herbst" is a big fall festival in Heidelberg with music and many events all over the old town. This year Claudia, an old friend who used to live in Heidelberg for many years, was visiting so we planned to meet.
First we checked out some of the program like the brass band performing in front of an church

Some refugees showed tricks with an ball in front of the "One World" store

Mia tried the ladder in the medieval market like the year before

She did pretty well but - like probably everybody else - couldn't reach the bells.
The next stop was a play area for children were Mia showed how she can walk on stilts

At the Marsstall - an old warehouse that is now a cafeteria for the Heidelberg University students - we met Claudia and a friend of hers who has a two year old child

Mia was a good playmate and later everybody listed - and danced to - the pretty loud live music

Bad Dürkheim Wurstmarkt

One of the biggest fairs in the area is the Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim with big Octoberfest like tents for drinking and eating and many rides.

We didn't know it was so big and were surprised the size of the place and the size of the crowds - many of them Americans = probably military from the big Ramstein airbase.
Mia discovered a fun house she also tried at a fairground in Hamburg this spring

Then we had to do the big Ferris Wheel which was 50 m high and offered a great view

Weekend in Porz

On the last weekend of Mia's summer vacation we headed to Porz to see her grandmother. Also, the school where her father went to had a 50 year anniversary and and on Saturday evening was open to look around.

The tree the graduating class had planted 32 years ago had become really big

The climbing wall didn't exist 32 years ago but now was fun for Mia

It was a beautiful evening for a beer on the school yard

 The next morning we checked out Bug Wissem not too far away

The was a a nice playground a park with animals and a picture book museum

For lunch we stopped at grandma's place - so Mia saw all her three grandparents within one week.

Trip to the Bund

During two weeks in Shanghai we didn't see much of the touristic highlights so on the second last day we did a trip to the Vund - the famous waterfront along the Huangpu River. Unfortunately it was a very hot and steamy day.

We crossed the river on a ferry to get a closer look at the Shanghai tower - with 632 m the second highest building in the world.

 Luckily there was n air conditioned shopping area beneath

The last day we all met for a family dinner with the grand parents