Chicken pox

We visited a friend recently whose son had chicken pox — we hoped to catch it (a real 'pox party'). And sure enough, 12 days later, pink spots started to break out. Poor Bea. . . . but better now than later.

Little explorers

Snow arrived in the city today—and temperatures are said to sink to minus 10 later this week—so back to the Masoala glasshouses we went for the second time this month for some warmth. This time, the children (Antonia was over this afternoon), made their own books so they could record the animals they spotted, which they loved doing and ran around like little explorers. Leaving the hot house with the snow falling at dusk was lovely.

Snow and ice

With the temperature hanging just above zero, Bea and I headed up to the Dolder forest this afternoon for some ice skating. We did a few laps with the polar ice bear before abandoned him to try our luck on two legs.  Bea got his balance eventually, but was so interested watching others skate; and the ice hockey match in the next rink; and the ice machine gathering the loose snow; and others falling over — that he spent quite some time on his bottom himself.

Friday in the woods

The last Friday in every month Kindergarten go up to the woods to make a fire, play games and generally run around amidst the trees. January's Waldmorgan was very dirty indeed, and Bea and friend enjoyed their new mud-covered outfits.

Beathan and Severin after their morning in the woods.

The Godfather

In Kindergarten here, all second year children are partnered up with a newbie throughout the first year, known to the young ones as their 'Gote' (pron. ger-teh), or 'Godfather'. The Gotes help show the first years around Kindergarten. Bea loves his Gote, a gentle boy named Theodore, so we had a playdate at our place this afternoon. Bea was babbling away non-stop in German for four hours—I've grown accustomed to not knowing what anyone is saying around me now, but it's reached a new level now I can no longer understand Bea!

City chicks

There's an area of land nearby which is designated for new flats in 2014. Until then, however, some nifty creatives have claimed the land for play. A great bike 'pump' track has been made, with the help of some 200 school children, and Bea has been desperate to trial it again (he visited it with friends the first time in the autumn). They have also built a wonderful city chicken run, where children can feed and pet the hens—and the families involved with the cleaning rota get to grab the eggs. So although armed with his bike, it turned out too wet to ride. Turned out good for the hens though, as they got very well fed indeed.

Ili settles into Spielgruppe

Ili has finally settled into Spielgruppe, and for the first time she waved me off happily as I left. She even blew me a kiss. When I returned to collect her, she was playing with her new friend Johara (who minutes after this picture was taken, walloped the little boy Max in the stripey top). Something tells me these two girls together could be big trouble.

Lazy weekend at home

After the excitement of skiing and sledging last Sunday we opted for some more leisurely activity this weekend, with a visit to the zoology museum so Bea could see the polar bear. Then on Sunday we strolled around the back streets of Zurich with a cafe stop for coffee, chocolate cake and muffins along the way, then back home to make a papier mache igloo.

Bea on the Polyterrace, near the Zoological Museum.

Friends

Bea and Ili have a busy week spending time with friends.

Down by Lake Zurich

A beautiful afternoon, so we took Bea's bike and headed for some winter sun by the lakeside. Bea cycled well for nearly 2 kilometers down to Zurichhorn, and we all came back with rosy cheeks.

Ten below zero

Took to the hills on Sunday. It was minus 10 when we arrived at Brunni Apthal, but this hadn't kept the crowds of skiers away. Bea was not surprisingly a bit wobbly as it was the first time in a year. Unfortunately it wasn't that easy for him to practise. He did manage a single run wedged between Chris' legs before the cold and crowds had the better of him. But we had some good fun sledging, and Ili loved the speed coming down — no surprise there.

A tropical afternoon

Bea went back to Kindergarten this week, and the new theme is polar regions. 'Do you know polar bears and penguins never meet?' he told me. 'One lives in the north pole and the other the south'. So perhaps we should have enriched his education a little with a trip to the penguins, but opted instead for a warm-up and spent the afternoon in the Masoala Rainforest in Zürich Zoo.

We saw two types of lemurs (Red Ruffed and the Brown Fronted) and the flying foxes, but perhaps Bea's highlight was finding three cute Madagascan geckos. Family holiday in Madagascar maybe? I wonder.

Curly tops and curly kale

We checked out the allotment for the first time this year. Ili was disappointed to find there were no raspberries, but we did get a bucket load of curly kale.

First time on snowshoes

Frith escaped from the office for a day out in the mountains on a group snowshoe hike to the tiny mountain village of Stels (near Klösters). Treated to perfect blue skies and views over the Swiss and Austrian mountains he spent his first afternoon on snowshoes, and even made it to the top. Inspiration to get up to the mountains for some fun in the snow soon.