Piggy backs

Friends back for lunch today and the boys piggy backed their sisters part of the way home! Very cute.

Little apple festival!

Spent most of the day at a local event for children — the apple festival (Afpelfest), where kids can pick apples, chop apples, mush apples, juice apples, and make pies, crafts etc. . all from apples. Bea was very active on the picking department using a very long pinching tool—he was told he was the best at picking—and was also keen on the traditional apple press. Back to friends after for a BBQ, and apple salad!!

Last swim of the summer?

Had great plans today to bike along the lake; take the ferry boat over to the other side; funicular tram up; and cycle through the woods to end up in the garden. But all best laid plans. . .   when we got to our favourite swim spot by the lake, an Electro dance party was being set up nearby, and the cool tunes forced us to stay put and chill by the lake. Ili was happy running about starkers, and Bea got to swim out to the raft again. Surely, it must be our last swim of this season. . .

Heading out on our bikes. . .

Our swim spot.

Bums and bikes (Bea in the background)

Ili jumping off the lifeguard's board.

Bea and papa swimming from the raft.

Woods morning

At least once a month the Kindergarden children head to the nearby "Wald" (woods), where there's a cool Waldsofa and they play games in the woods, and of course grill sausages on fire. The kids in Ili's group went today, and here's a couple of pics sent to me by the other mums that were helping out—I'll have my turn to help out soon!

Little veggies

Trip to the garden this afternoon, and the children's little cucumber plants have finally produced equally small cucumbers, but Bea was very proud of his!

Loving our bikes!

We're loving our bikes and still getting used to the combined peddle power we now have, so on our Tuesday afternoon (no school for Bea on Tuesdays) we took another jaunt along the lake side, which is just perfect for those first bike outings — flat, plenty of places to stop, pedestrians to run over, etc. etc. Although starting to get a bit autumnal feeling, didn't stop Bea from stripping off to have a paddle while others sat watching wrapped in winter woolies.

First, off with their trousers!

Then, Bea's down to his pants!

Ili joins him in her knickers!

Just his pants left!

Happy as a sandboy!

Peddle power - a first!!

Rather than wait until November for Bea's birthday bike, we decided to give him his present early while the summer lingers on — so for the first time we were all four able to cycle down into the city and along the lake for a swim. We stopped in at the Nordiska (Scandinavian rowing club), which is private rowing club by the lake as both Bea and Ili had a friend with them (Z and T) and their father is a member. The kids made boats and Chris had a dip. We went further up the lake for an early evening dip altogether and swam to one of the rafts.

At the Nordiska rowing club, Lake Zurich

Bea and Zinnia with the boats they made.

Floating their boats

Catching their boats as they came under the jetty

The little boat in the middle of pic . . . .

. . . arrives at the next jetty.

Ili on her bike

and Bea on his new bike!

Had an early evening swim at Mythenquai.

Meandering

Here's Bea and Ili on our meander down to the lake. It's been hot and sticky in the city this week, so had plans to get to the lake again this afternoon for a cool off, but was teaming with others doing the same (headed to the wrong spot), so we retreated with an ice cream!

Little fish pond by the university.

By the Limmat river.

Maths test

Grades only start at 7-years here (and really just for fun), but Bea was very happy with his maths test result. 100%!

Gone fishing

Spent the afternoon down at the lake (Wollishofen) for some afternoon fishing and a quick cold dip.

Looking for a fishing spot.

Bea and Ili with their fishing nets.

Holiday Monday - Thermal Baths

Local holiday in Zürich today — so no school — due to a ancient Swiss festival (started in 1889) called Knabenschiessen, where teenage boys participate in a target shooting competition. Anyhow, all very odd in a Morris Dancing kinda way. Nowadays the event is also superseded by the massive fairground that accompanies it. At the kids request we took a visit to the Zurich Thermal Baths for their holiday Monday — much more enjoyable.

Hiking at Urnerboden

It's a holiday weekend (no school on Monday), so we took the opportunity of the good weather and long weekend to go for a Sunday hike in the mountains. We visited Urnerboden (near the Klausenpass) earlier in the year for sledging when there was tonnes of snow, and wondered how it would be for a hike. After the cable car up, it's 8 km downhill (steep in places) and in part through the woods. Had a picnic at the top and saw three marmots bounding around when we were peering down the cliffs (the kids highlight), and Bea loved feeding the Alpine Choughs. This is the same walk in the snow.

The cablecar up from Urnerboden.

Ili at Urnerboden.

Bea and Ili at our picnic spot!

Bea feeding the Alpine choughs.

We found some massive ant nests in the woods.

The river at the valley bottom.

Bea's standing stones.

Building standing stones.