As we are getting ready to celebrate another Christmas we would like to write a few words and share all of our adventures, celebrations and happenings with you.
At the end of April we travelled to Quebec City and spend a few great days in old town Quebec. We had a lovely private room at the hostel which is located in a series of historical old buildings. We then rented a car and drove to Montreal where I was attending my yearly work conference. Annemarie was happy to enjoy the hotel and walk around and explore the city. We celebrated Annemarie’s birthday in a wonderful seafood Restaurant and also visited a Sucrerie (sugar Shack) where they make the famous Canadian Maple Syrup. We went on a city tour and drove by the house of Justin Trudeau, who as of last month, is Canada’s Prime Minister. After Montreal we also decided to visit Canada’s Capital Ottawa. The hostel there is the old jail and some of the rooms are in the old jail cells. We visited the Parliament buildings, enjoyed a few brisk walks and some good food and wine!
In May, Maicke accompanied members of the Bavarian Parliament to our provinces capital Victoria, where we visited the Provincial Legislatures and met some of our politicians including the Speaker of the house. At the end of the same month Annemarie and Maicke spent a week with a German group visiting Canada. We stayed at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel which the company had bought out. The evening of their Gala dinner, Annemarie and I enjoyed the five outdoor pools and it was just the two of us!
In June our good friend Henri and his wife Debbie were in Vancouver with a group from Switzerland. It was nice getting together for a glass of wine or two and a lovely dinner with the group at the Boathouse Restaurant.
In early July Maicke travelled with yet another group and spent a few days at an exclusive fishing resort about an hour flight north of Vancouver. Although it was “work” it really felt like a vacation. There were dozens of bald Eagles in the trees and porpoises swimming past the boat/plane dock. The food was delicious and it was all inclusive, so the wine tasted even better!
On July 15th Annemarie and Maicke left for Europe and Maicke took a well deserved vacation from my full time job with Hostelling International. We flew Iceland Air from Vancouver to Hamburg. With a short layover in Reykjavik, Iceland. Arriving in Hamburg, Evi and Arno (Sister and brother in law/aunt and uncle) met us at the airport and we drove to their home a short distance from the beautiful beaches on the Baltic Sea.
My brother Jes joined us a day later and we celebrated my cousins wedding on the weekend. Beautiful outdoor ceremony a reception with barbecue! We stayed at my uncle’s house in Kiel for a few days before leaving for the very north western region of Germany right on the Danish Border.
There we reunited with more family and spent time at my other aunt’s house. We explored some of the small picturesque towns, enjoyed some good wine and food and had some good laughs. We were also lucky enough to walk to the tiny Island of Oland (our almost annual ritual), had breakfast and enjoyed a Pharisaer (coffee, rum and whipped cream). A day trip to the Island of Sylt was a fun adventure, swimming in the warm waters of the North Sea.
Back on the Baltic Sea we spent a few days at the Beaches and found time to visit with my cousin and his family.
We then travelled by train to Frankfurt and met up with our friend Nina whom we met on a program this year. She toured us around Frankfurt and we had a fabulous outdoor meal in the old town.
The next day we gathered at an old brew pub in the city of Darmstadt, where on the following day, our good friend Gerd would be celebrating his 70th birthday. At the pub we enjoyed some hardy German food, good beer and reunited with some of Gerd’s friends whom I met 10 years earlier at his 60th birthday party. The birthday Gala was attended by 100+ people and we enjoyed cocktails a lovely dinner, life band and dancing until the early morning hours. After another day visiting with Gerd’s sister Ruth and her husband Detlev, whom we had met in Vancouver, and a daytrip out into the countryside it was time to say good bye to Germany and we flew back to Iceland.
We spent two days in and around Reykjavik and stayed at the wonderful Loft Hostel in the Centre of town. We went to the famous Blue Lagoon and Annemarie enjoyed a massage in the pool and we swam the warm natural spring waters and of course enjoyed a glass of wine at the swim up bar. We went on a day trip to visit some of the Geysers Iceland is known for and enjoyed the beautiful countryside. Our final dinner was at a well known Restaurant, called the Fish Market (Fiskmarkaðurinn).
Back in Vancouver in the middle of August we had some time to enjoy some more of Vancouver’s great summer weather and outdoor activities.
At the end of August we travelled to Vancouver Island to celebrate my nephew/grandson’s wedding to Amber! A beautiful outdoor ceremony was enjoyed on a very windy day, followed by a lovely dinner.
My birthday in September passed with little fanfare, just a nice little get together.
Annemarie attended another Gail Harker Seminar in La Conner, Washington. This class a four day seminar called “Free Machine Embroidery.”
Most recently we both took a class and made a quilt “the Heron”. We are still working on it!!
Now it is time to celebrate this special time of the year!