Hegehof

This was the last weekend when the maze in a cornfield outside Ladenburg was open for the public. Even though the weather was cool and grey we still went to check it out.

 Inside the maze we had to find seven boards, each with a ridle on it. The solution gave a letter and all seven letters together the solution which we then put into a big drum for a drawing later this month.

In the middle of the field was a light tower with a nice view of Heidelberg in the distance and the field from the top and a long red slide

 It took some time to find all the seven boards

 After we finished the maze Mia had to try the trampoline

Then we bought some fresh young wine, same home made jams, eggs, and some pear schnaps

Multicultural Festival at SAP

A friend had told us about international festival at SAP. It didn't get much advertising but it turned out to be really big with more than 5000 visitors and performances from groups from twenty countries plus stands with food and drink.
Mia's first stop was the face painting station

She asked for the cat design

 The Spanish stand had tapas and sangria

The first performance was a Croatian dance group

Mia had a spot right in front of the stage

Then it was time for some Indian dancing:

 The children had moved on to the stage but for the Latin dancers they had to make space again:

When it was time for a snack the combined US American and Canadian stand offered rice crispy and ginger ales

It got really late and we left during some Iranian love songs

Gut Leidenhausen

After a big breakfast at Haus Elmar and a walk with Claudia Mia wanted to see some deer and wild boars at a park nearby.
There we checked out the map and the animals and a big playground were just a few minute walk from the parking lot

 Before we saw the wild boar we already smelled and them.

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The deer were also close by and The male ones made a very load roaring noise

Then it was time to check out the playground

There was also a sanctuary for birds of prey

Then we were really hungry but luckily the former farm had a nice cafe with outside seating and some hardy lunch items in the menu

On the way back we checked out the wild boar again

The drive back to Heidelberg took an hour extra because of an accident that closed the freeway but we made it back to Heidelberg just before dark

Trip to Cologne

Claudia had invited us tto a big party for 50'th birthday in Rösrath not too far from Cologne. Before we went we stopped at Oma's place for lunch and a little walk with Mäxchen

Mia could walk Müxchen a bit as wll

The birthday party was not so exciting for Mia. Luckily Andreas showed up a bit later with his children and Mia could play with Carolina. One of their ideas was to throw apples that had fallen from an apple tree.

Carolina could throw the furtherst All the way ithrough an open nto the living room where most guest had gathered in a circle to sing peaceful spiritual songs. The apple came as a bit of a surprise..

The next morning we met for a little walk in the woods

Kid's Theater Festival

On a beautiful sunny October afternoon Mia and Ji checked out a theater festival for children on the Neckar. Before the show there was enough time to play.

The play in the tent was really nice and when it was over after 45 minutes we had dinner at a nice restaurant in Neuenheim

Heidelberger Herbst Festival

This weekend we checked out the Heidelberger Herbst Festival that was taking place for two days at many locations all over the Old Town and other parts of the city.
First we checked out the main squatre

Then we had lunch Kornmarkt at a smaller square where a Bundesliga soccerhad sponsored a stage with music and activities

We came back in the evening to see some medieval  themed performances at Universitätsplatz.
First a jester

Then Mia tried to climb a rope ladder

It was very difficult - looks like nobody could do it. Even Mia failed

 Then we walked back

 ..and stopped for an old fashioned carousel

T
he next day we returned and Mia tried some free bounc house

 And we ended back at Universitüatsplatz before we headed for dinner with our new neighbors