Bayerwald 2012

With Kindergarten being closed for a few weeks, we took a family weekend of R&R to the Bayrischer Wald (Bavarian Forest).  We had an apartment in a small village with a small lake closeby, with a decent 'natural' playground, with wood carvings and logs to climb over.

 We took our fair share of hikes -> to a super cool Baumwipfelpfad (Tree Top Path), where the stilted path structure had us up to 50m it the air, with super cool bypasses to allow the kids to read about the trees or bugs in the area or to test their balance.  At the end, there was this huge 'egg' which brought you to a huge panorama of the area.

Quinn really made my heart melt when he said:  Emily, we are just going to hike tomorrow morning.  That is what we do.

 We tried to find great kid friendly hikes that were not too long, had caches along the way, or had super cool sights to discover...like the Stone Church (Steinerne Kirche) or the Wackelstein (Wobbly Stone).  Thanks to the great ADAC Kinderwanderführer (Kids Hiking Guide), we found some great paths that had some great diversions along the way...like an upside down tree.

 At the beginning of the week, it wasn't particularly warm, but we still could go bathing in some natural lakes and ponds.  One day, I forgot to bring my swim trunks, so instead of not going in the water, I just went in my undies.  Eva had the 'fat' function playing on the camera that day.  One pond had a super cool tree swing (whose video I posted on Google+ / YouTube).  Emily played most of the day in the sand.

 As the week went on, it got steadily warmer...making it more comfortable for the kiddoes to swim.  Poor Quinn, the waterbug that he is, would go in the water for as long as he could, until his lips were practically purple, and then warm up...and do the whole routine again.  Emily, in contrast, didn't want to get her hair wet.

 Of course, we ate well...which is easy to do in Bayerwald, which is known for great beer and very hearty dishes.  Naturally, there was plenty of ice cream for the whole family.  We did some caching as well, and Emily found her first cache all by herself.  She was practically vibrating up and down as she pointed to the 35mm film canister, telling us that she found it (before Quinn and I).

 I was able to forget about work for a week, and we were all able to energize our batteries a bit.  The following Monday, Quinn and Emily would start at their new Kindergarten, also being Emily's first day in Kindergarten and being Quinn's last year as a Kindergarten kid.  More pics on that shortly.

Finally and thankfully, we had not only a great time on vacation, but we had some great time together as a family, in nature, doing (and eating) the things we love the most.  Before we know it, the weather will begin to change...and Fall (and the college football season...and Bundesliga) will be upon us.