Biking

Ili is getting to like the balance bike, and she raced Bea around on the Polyterrace today doing laps.  I'm happy for now that she doesn't have a peddle bike in the city, as she'd be unstoppable! But by this summer, we should all be on wheels having weekend trips out and about!!

Snow at last

The children were excited with the snow this morning (first this year in the city), so we took the sledge up to Uetliberg this afternoon and messed around in the white stuff. Not enough to whiz down the sledge run, but it was great that the children wanted to pull each other on the sledge, and had as much time falling off as they did staying on. We had great fun!

Lakeside

So very grey this week, and even Lake Zurich looked a bit dull at the weekend. However,  Ili got to have a long lakeside ride on the "like-a-bike"on Saturday, while Bea had a boulder on the free climbing wall in the China Garden play area. We needed to get out and about!

Piano perfection

Bea worked really well practicing his pieces for his third performance in front of the other students and parents, and although he was nervous, he seemed to have enjoyed it and was in fact gloating when he came home that it was only him and another student that completed their pieces without making a single mistake. He was very proud indeed!

Back in Zurich

Shameful that these are the first couple of blogs of the year, but we're settling back to life in Zurich after a great Christmas. Bea is fine at school and has completed a whole week of what is only a very short five-week term until the "Sports Holiday"—hurrah!—and for the last couple of days at school they've had a drama teacher in to take the regular morning classes. Ili has been fine too, and while I was concerned she'd find the language change difficult, she instead seems to have gained in confidence with her German. We've had lots of friends over for the children to play, so have kept busy in that department. We've only left the city limits once, up to Uetliberg last weekend (the hill we can see from our apartment), and climbed the observation tower for the first time since we arrived in Zurich. While we could see the mountains, it wasn't such a great day to do the climb—cold, wet, windy—so we will have to return. Bea surprised me in that he was a little afraid of the height.

Can just about see Lake Zurich under the cloud of mist.

Ili and Bea

Just made me laugh. . . .  here they both are after Bea's piano lesson last Wednesday. We tried to fly one of Bea's Christmas presents on the playing field, but no joy. They had better fun without it!

More advent singing

Bea had Advent singing again before school today, and as Monday's recording was a little quiet, this might be better. Songs are a mixture of Scandinavian (ja dan duia), Italian (Dormi dormi, del bambin), African (Amani leo) sung in Swahili, German (Leise rieselt der Schnee) and Spanish (Feliz Navidad). 

https://soundcloud.com/zurichsounds/fulladventsinging

Rocking around the Christmas tree

Picked up our little Weihnachtsbaum today! Just a wee one, and enough for the children to decorate and run around—at Swiss prices, there's no dosh left to buy pressies to put underneath!

Advent singing at the school

It was the first day of Advent singing at the school today, where the children can be heard, but not seen! The parents/grandparents are invited to listen from the school foyer, while the children sing higher up the stairs. Here's a few samples of the children in voice. . .

https://soundcloud.com/zurichsounds/advent-singing

https://soundcloud.com/zurichsounds/advent-singing-second

https://soundcloud.com/zurichsounds/advent-singing-third

The Circus!

Bea had his birthday treat with friends today, which went really well. His friends were well behaved (apart from one little moment) and very cutely entertained themselves with Chinese Whispers all the way to the Circus "Salto Natale" on the tram (it was out near the airport). They happily stuffed popcorn, coke and ice cream, and all seemed to enjoy the circus performances, which were a great mixture of acrobatics and comedy. Back home for a fondue dinner and play afterwards. It was certainly a lot easier that a big party — so just a few children was a great formula. I did think for a moment it was going to be a complete disaster, as about 10 minutes into the show, and the first hair-raising performance (two stocky guys propelling a female performer high into the air for her to somersault, and land back down on a thin flexible plank perched across the guys shoulders), when a guy a few rows in front of the children collapsed and had what looked like a heart attack! Of course the children didn't know which way to look. But luckily for him (and us!), he walked out after the paramedics sorted him. . .  All the fun of the circus, and more . . . 

Saint Nikolaus Day

Samichlaus, along with his helper Schmutzli, visited children in the Hof this evening, where he traditionally brings fruit and nuts in a little jute sack and gives the children some "words of wisdom". I volunteered to make and fill the bags for everyone this year, so the kid got a few more chocs, a little less nuts, and a few more Christmas cookies than usual!

Visit to the woods

Took a trip to the woods after school today (Zurichberg) to collect pine and fir cones for festive decorations. Nice, but freezing cold . . . !

Wobbly tooth

Bea lost his second tooth today. Here he is giving it a wobble and helping it on it's way!

More candles and crafts

The children wanted to join the last candle-making session today, so we did that this afternoon — they're getting very productive now! And then afterwards, one of the children's grandmother runs a Christmas craft session for the children in the Hof here, and Bea came back with these creations! Table decorations with candles wrapped in crepe paper, surrounded by cardboard on a base of highly flammable polystyrene!! They looked lovely for the five minutes I'd allow them to burn!! What was she thinking . . . !

Singing Christmas Tree

The "Singing Christmas Tree" is in full voice at the moment, and I took the kids there tonight which happened to be a performance by an International school, so most Christmas songs were in English. Funny that Bea and Ili are more aware of the Swiss and German songs than the English ones. In a weeks time, Bea will start the Christmas singing at school, and parents are invited to listen in the mornings before school starts.