Playgrounds in Europe

Yesterday was nothing too special. Did some more errands with Kathrin and mailed some thank you notes. In Austria, they charge for postage based on how big the envelope is, not how much it weighs. So the standard long envelope in America costs 2.70 euro to mail. But the lady was nice and gave it to me for 1.40 because the envelope was only a few centimeters longer than the cheaper one. 

Carolin gets out at 11:50 on Friday’s so she was home earlier, and after lunch we went to pick up Isabella at kindergarten because the grade was having a little picnic. It was at a lake about 25 minutes from the school and it was really pretty. I took tons of pictures. The kids had to do a scavenger hunt to receive a prize and the parents had to do some of the tasks too. It was really funny to watch parents walk across a tight rope. 

By the lake, there was this little playground and I immediately thought of last summer to the playground in Sort where Jessica, Olivia, and I told these Spanish boys our names were Cameron, Chloe, and Courtney. But this time, there was no Jess or Olivia, I wasn’t in Spain, and there were no boys to joke around with. It’s really nice here but I miss being able to have an in person conversation with someone my age.

I took a nap that afternoon, and woke up to see Carolin, Valentin, and Theo horse-playing in the backyard. After being pinned to the ground, Theo turned to me and said, “Hallo Brandi!” It made me smile. 

As the girls were getting ready for bed, I was IMing some friends when they finished and ran into my room and jumped on the bed. Carolin brought a book in English from Aunt Fredi and she read it to me as I corrected her pronunciation. I would then say the word in German and she would do the same for me. Isabella was beside herself. She took a liking to my snuggie (yes I have one and I LOVE it!) and I would cover her in it and say “Wo ist Isabella? Where is Isabella?” She’d giggle and I’d pat the snuggie not finding her and then she’d pop out, say hello and go “missing” again. She’s a little ball of sunshine in this overcast weather.