Birthday party

Today my favorite (haha and only) German nephew turned 2 and we got to go to his awesome birthday party. Lots of great people to chat with, looooots of good food and so many cute kids :-).

ready for the party!

I made a construction site cake for the birthday boy

he blew out the candles all by himself

so hard to concentrate on eating when there are toys on the cake :-)

lots of congratulations :-)

the guests chatting away

then outside for more food, but don't be fooled by the t-shirt of the grillmaster...

... because it was COLD

Preparing

We have spend the last days hunting through the stores, (and the internet - yay for online shopping :-)) trying to find good deals for things we still need for our big move and new life in Pacific Asia.

Some of the things we got were a good quality backpack (with a special airflow system in the back part, which I am sure we will be thankful for in the near future), an aluminum crate (airtight which is great for traveling and storing stuff in a humit climate), lots of cute summer clothes for Alia, even some she will need one or even two years to grow into and it is so weird to think that next time we will be back in Europe, she will fit into those.

little one preparing for sunnier times

It is very easy for me to get totally wrapped up in preparing, packing and planning what things to take and sometimes I have to stop myself and remember that it is not about things at all and that it won't be the end of the world if we don't have all the things we are used to here over there with us.

I have to stop and remember why we are going, why we are leaving our families behind, why we believe our place is in Pacific Asia. Then I usually get so excited about the task ahead, about the people we will meet, the friendships that will hopefully form and most of all about the message we have to share.

Sometimes though, before I get to that point, I get sad because it hits me more and more what or better who we are leaving behind and what it means for them.
And then, in those teary moments, I remember a very good sermon I heard once where somebody who I admire deeply said, "Our question should not be, "Is it worth it?" but, "Is HE worthy?"".

I hope I will always answer this question with a strong YES, even in the midst of culture shock, language study and climate adjustment that lies ahead

hail storm

We had the biggest hail storm I have ever seen today, look!

 10 min before this pictures was taken we had sunshine and 34 Celsius!

the hail had a good time bouncing on the trampoline :-)

these are Erlend's hands, and he has big hands!

hotter

Today it was even hotter than yesterday! 32 Celsius, that is a lot for where I am from!
So we spend the day wallpapering (stay tuned for the big before-after post) because it was too hot to be outside.

In the evening we went out with my mom and little brother to grab some dinner. My wee brother, who is not wee at all anymore, tried out the playground at the restaurant.

 notice the flipflops, which I converted him to last week

(I feel that Germans, as a nation, need less sandals (and socks) and more flip-flops)

At around 9 pm it was actually nice enough outside to just sit and enjoy and play some cards

concerned parents might have noticed that there is no security equipment on or around our trampoline...

What can I say? That is how the Kuhs-family rolls... :-)

Alia enjoyed hanging out with the grown-ups in her extremely cool onesie, which was a gift from our brother-in law's family (Danke Ursl, Svenja und Max!)

hot

It was so hot today - good day for babies to just wear diapers and have a wee swim outside.

 ours is the one with the bald spot on the back of her head :-)

 they like chilling together

At this point Alia is undecided how she feels about bucket-baths

having to be creative

Tonight we spontaneously decided to have our Bible study group outside because the weather was so nice. It got chilly after a while and I did not have a hat for Alia, so here is what I came up with...

there was an extra pair of tights in the diaper bad, so those turned into a hat - stylish, right? :-)

working and eating

The last few days have been so nice (FINALLY!!!), it was a great time to work a bit in the garden.

We also had a big FIRST for Alia today, she ate for the first time and it seemed like she liked it - so she does come after her parents :-).

 first bite - hmmm, what do I think about this?

I like carrots !

Southern Europe road trip!

So it's time that I, Erlend, post a blog again.

I just came back from a 6 day road trip with my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and a friend.
A few pictures are missing, unfortunately, because my phone, that was also my camera, got stolen...
But, anyway, here we go:

We had already planned the route before we began:

We started in Germany

We stayed over night in Rosenheim

Then we drove to Austria

First to Innsbruck (there was no snow, I had to copy this picture from the internet)

And then we crossed the Brenner Pass to Italy

And after crossing into Italy, we drove along the coast of Lago de Garda

But Italy was not our goal, so we drove on until we came to Republica di San Marino

Which is a 61 square kilometers large independent republic that borders Italy on all sides

It's the worlds oldest country, and has been independent since year 301

My broter-in-law enjoying the view from San Marino City towards Italy and the Adriatic sea

After visiting San Marino, we drove back into Italy, and stayed over night in our 28 year old camping van at a truck stop on the autostrada close to the city of Modena

The next day we headed west wards along the Italian riviera. At the rest-stop in this picture, we experienced the highest temperature on the trip: 29 celsius.

The next day we drove to a "country" I would be surprised if anyone has heard of:

Principato de Seborga

Seborga is what is called a "micronation." It is a village in Italy that claims independence based on historiacal documents they say prove that they are not a part of Italy. 

The population of this village is only about 300-350, but they still have a king, flag, constitution, army (one man, a lieutenant), currency (the Linguini) and serious national pride. The entire village is covered in flags.

They also have a national motto: Sub Umbra Sedi. It means "Sit In the Shade."

Oh, and also; if the Linguini would have been an real currency, it would have been the most valuable one in the world. The exchange rate is 1 Linguini = 6 US Dollars. 

My sister-in-law Doro at the Italian-Seborgan border

Our friend Alex in the guard post of the Seborgan army

The guys hanging at the Seborgan border

While at the border, we actually decided to attempt a take-over, and invaded to set up our own country, but nobody noticed, so after looking around we just left...

Main street in Seborga

Seborga is not far from the French border, so that is where we headed afterwards

But france was only part of the way, because our goal after Seborga, was the second smallest, and most densely populated country in the world: Principauté de Monaco

Those of you who know flags will notice that it looks identical to the flag of Indonesia, just a little shorter.

Border to Monaco

Stefan checking out the boats at the port in Monte Carlo

Monaco is only 1,95 square kilometers in size, but still has a population of over 36 000.

In my opinion, they also have Europe's worst traffic. 

It is the only place I have experienced to have to leave the country while looking for parking...

After leaving Monaco, we drove along the French riviera, stayed over night close to Montpellier (thats where someone broke into the car, while all 4 of us slept in it, and stole my phone, with out anyone noticing. We drove down to the beach for breakfast, and then headed up the Pyrenean mountains

The reason for this was to cross into Spain

And the reason for that, was to cross into Principat d'Andorra

Andorra is about 470 square kilometers in size, and the only country in the world to be officially ruled by two people who both come from other countries. Legally Andorra is ruled by the French President and the Bishop of the Spanish city of Urgell, even though it's a independent country. 

We headed into the capital city; Andorra la Vella (again, a picture from the internet)

Andorra la Vella is 1023 meters over sea level, and that where we experienced the coldest temperature during the trip: 6,5 celsius.  

Me out side of the Andorran government building

And then I could finally eat something i always wanted to try: snails!

Most people think this is disgusting, and, to be honest, that was what I expected, but it was good! Seriously, I'd not mind eating it again.

After leaving Andorra, we drove through France, and crossed back into Germany close to the city of Baden-Baden, and stayed overnight there at my wife's uncle's house. Thank you for your hospitality.

Conclution: 

The country that impressed the most: Republica di San Marino

The thing that was most fun to do: Visit Principato de Seborga

The country that disappointed the most: France (partly because that where someone stole my phone)

If you have a camper-van, or know someone that does; I seriously recommend this trip. The 4 of us only paid 150 Euro each, and that included all the fuel, all the food and all the road toll. 

Doro, Stefan and Alex: you're awesome people to travel with. And Stefan; seriously good driving! Absolutely no problems what so ever during 4040 kilometers.

And thank you God, for keeping us safe.