Croatia.

It was Destination Croatia during the fall break earlier this month. I don’t think I have ever visited a country and then not rave about it! So Croatia was no different. In fact, it will easily be in one of the top spots. What a spectacular place! We had a fantastic week and came back glowing! We landed in Split and rented a car and drove straight to Plitvice National Park. On the way, we made an unplanned stop at Krka National Park and one look at the view, the walk and the waterfalls and I was in love. I was wondering how Plitvice could be any more beautiful than this! But I was so so wrong! The next morning, we left early for the Plitvice lakes. Parked our car, bought our tickets and ventured inside. It was quite chilly until the sun came out. It is a huge park with 16 lakes and hundreds of waterfalls. Theres a wooden boardwalk all around the park. Short hikes. Caves. Stunning views. Boat rides. We spent about 8 hours there, walked about 12 kms and with barely any lunch as the choice of food inside the park was not great for vegetarians. But we did nt mind. It was a magical place. A slice of heaven on Earth. I was telling HD “Lets go back home now. Nothing else we see in Croatia is gong to match this!” Famous last words!

The next day we drove back to Split stopping in Zadar for lunch. It was a quaint little port town. We found an amazing Italian place for lunch. Then we reached Split, chucked our luggage in the house we were staying and walked to the Diocletians Palace. We spent some time at the sea side, walking around and then called it a day. The next day, it rained in the morning. So we left late and drove to Trogir. Thankfully, the sun came up and we had a great time in Trogir. Its a small town by the Adriatic coast. The historic centre of the town is part of Unesco world heritage sites and it was pretty as a picture. Small alleys, cute shops, loads of restaurants,… We explored a bit and found a nice place for lunch. Then we drove back to Split and walked to the palace again, visited the city museum and hiked the Marjan hill before stumbling into a vegan restaurant for dinner.


Day 5 was the highlight of the trip. Giving stiff competition to Plitvice was Brac Island. We took a ferry from Split to Supetar and then drove to the Bol beach. I swear that that was the most beautiful beach and the most beautiful spot in the world. White pebble beach. Bluest of blue water. So calm like a pool with no waves. Absolutely no crowd. Water was warm enough to go for a swim. And the most interesting fact is that the beach is V shaped with the Adriatic Sea on both sides and I have never seen anything like this in my life. I was going round and round like a dog exploring the small stretch with pine trees on one side, beach on either side. We swam for a bit and then I sat and kept looking at the water in a trance. I never wanted to leave. Hd and Antu had to be dragged out of the water too. We had a blast. Ashu was happy that she found a crepe stand and was stuffing her face with a nutella crepe. Not wanting to miss the ferry back, we drove back with a small detour for a breathtaking view of the beach from a cliff! The ferry ride back to Split with the spectacular sunset would be etched in my memory forever.

Day 6 we drove to Dubrovnik and usually I am not impressed with hyped up places and I was like “bring it on”! But clearly I don’t learn a lesson. After a pizza lunch, we walked to the old city and it felt like we walked into a movie set or went back in time! I also realized why Plitvice and Brac Island were almost empty. Everyone was in Dubrovnik! It was mad crowd everywhere. We explored a bit and then walked back to our house. Though it was about 15 mins walk, we had to climb like a million stairs! Every side street is  a staircase, I tell you! Am glad we went when we went. I don’t think my knees would take this in my old age! Which is not very far!!! On the next day, Hd and I woke up early and walked to the old city to look at the sunrise. With no crowd, the place was even more beautiful. We came back after breakfast with the kids and visited the Fort Lovrijenak, Rectors Place, a few churches, went for a walking tour inside the city and had lunch at another nice Vegan place we found. We also bought tickets to walk the city walls and it was a stunning stunning view from the walls. By the end of the day, we had walked 16 kms and climbed 78 floors. Kudos to the girls!

Our last day, we drove back to Split from Dubrovnik. We decided to drive via Bosnia and make a quick stop in Mostar to see the pictueresque medieval old bridge. The drive was long in narrow roads with no village or town in sight. And hardly any cars. Finally we reached Mostar, grabbed some lunch and took a few pics and were on our way to Split. There were like a million Pomegranate trees lining the road and a kind man gave me two for free! They were yummy! Our flight was early next day and I don’t know how one week flew by. For the first time, we stayed with Airbnb for the entire trip. Usually I hate to make beds and fix our own meals in vacation because thats all I seem to do in my life and always prefer hotels. But this was a pleasant experience. Lots of friends have warned us about food in Croatia. So it worked out well that we managed lunch outside and fixed ourselves a simple dinner almost every night. There was more space and character and it was nice to talk to the local hosts. So thats that! Croatia - I will be back!

 

Out of Hibernation.

Antu: Amma, can you come and play with me?

Me: I am making lunch, Antu. I can't come now.

Antu: I don't know what to do.

Me: Go and stand in the balcony and soak some Vitamin D from the sun.

Antu: Ok.

Five minutes later, I had to stop what I was doing to take this photo. :)

Breakfast in France, Lunch in Italy and Dinner in Switzerland.

Last year when it looked like we might move out of Zurich, we started writing lists of things to do before we move. Hd and I had a long list of places to see, Ashu wanted to go to a theme park with her BFF and Antu, of course, did not want to move and refused to make lists. Smart one she is because she's the only one who got what she wanted! :) Anyway, one of the things we wanted to do was this day trip where we drive around and see three countries on the same day. We have technically done this before while driving back from Austria or Germany or France. (Even 4 countries at times if we include Liechtenstein!) But we also wanted to sightsee and relax and enjoy the trip. When a friend suggested we go to Geneva region and go to France and Italy, we thought it was a great idea.  The kids had never seen the Chillion Castle in Montreux so we decided to make a weekend trip. 

We drove to Montreux from Zurich on a Saturday, visited the castle, ate a packed dinner there and then drove on to Chamonix in France and stayed in a most charming B&B with a view of the Mont Blanc. When we got up the next day, the weather was awful and it rained non stop and we could nt even see the mountain because of the fog. The couple who ran the B&B cooked us a scrumptious French breakfast and we ate home made breads, cereals and crepes. We read and played board games and lingered there for a bit before driving on through the Mont Blacn Tunnel. (11 kms long and a bloody 41 Euros one way to pass through it!) 

Once out of the tunnel, we were in Italy and the sun was shining and all was well with the world! :) We continued to Aosta, parked our car there and roamed around the charming town centre full of Roman ruins. We window shopped, people watched, walked in to churches and of course found a great Pizza place to fulfill our "Lunch in Italy" plan. After a fantastic pizza and bruschetta, we found a shop which was selling "Gelato in a Stick" in all kinds of flavors and colors. Slurping on it, we got back to our car and started driving towards Zurich, wisely skipping the tunnel and taking the longer, scenic route instead.

While we were debating whether to go home and eat a home cooked meal for dinner or stop at a restaurant, the girls voted for a Mexican restaurant and we planned to stop in Bern and have dinner there. Around 7.30 pm, we reached Bern and parked our car near the city centre and were walking towards the Mexican restaurant, when we crossed a restaurant serving Swiss food! The universe had to conspire even for a silly whim of ours, huh? We high fived each other and entered the restaurant with our cameras ready! :) Fondue was out of the question since it was not yet winter but we lucked out with a fantastic selection of Rosti! They had a special Rosti menu with 12 kinds of Rosti and half of them were even vegetarian! (Thank you, Universe!) 

Thus a trip we decided on the last minute without much planning turned out to be one of the most interesting weekend trip we have ever had! I strongly recommend.

Heidi Trail.

Last Friday was a holiday as it was Swiss National day and even though the weather was a bit iffy, we decided to get out of the house anyway and headed to Bad Ragaz to explore the Heidi Trail. We parked our car at the cable car station and took the cable car up to Pardiel. It started to rain a bit but soon the sun came out and all was well. At the ticket office, the girls got a Heidi passport and they have to find Peter's goats at each of the 12 stations and get a stamp on their paper and all the 12 stamps make a word (which I won't tell since it would ruin the surprise of future adventure seekers who might be reading this! ) Then they can post this on the Heidi post box and wait to see if they win any prizes! So the girls were thrilled with the whole thing. And instead of us motivating them to walk, it was them who were dragging us all the way! It takes around 2 to 3 hours to finish the whole trail since there are play areas on the way, fake goats to milk, hammocks to laze on, zip lines and swings with views to kill, water falls, bird houses, Heidi story boards and last but not least, so many photo oppurtunites! :) 

The trail was a bit uphill for about 10 minutes which the kids did nt mind but my knees sure did! The views were so amazing that the kids got very impatient with me that I was standing and staring. At one point, they went ahead of us, found the next goat, got the stamp and ran back to us because they just could nt wait! It all started as Team Antu and Team Ashu with me in Antus team and Hd in Ashus. But towards the end, it was the kids against us! :) I had packed some sandwiches to eat on the way. And then after the hike, we went to the restaurant near the cable car station and treated ourselves to ice cream and a fantastic apricot cake with fresh fruits and cream. Yum! The kids played in the play area nearby and around 5 pm, took the cable car back, posted the passports at the Heidi post box and headed home. A great alpine experience for the kids! 

Friends, Romans, countrymen,...

It was our 14th wedding anniversary on June 5th. It happened to fall on a long weekend, so packed our bags and went to Rome and Naples for 4 days. Was a fun trip. The girls had a blast eating Pizza in the birthplace of Pizza. The two days in Naples, we hunted down the oldest pizzeria, the best pizzeria, the famous pizzeria and ate pizza like it was going out of fashion! According to Antu, the best trip ever! And we also got two rooms with a connecting door in our Hotel which was the highlight of the trip for Ashu! She would nt let me use even the bathroom in their room!!! :)

For me, the highlight was Mt.Vesuvius and Pompeii. Man, Pompeii was amazing! A city which was destroyed by the volcano 2000 years back and then discovered intact 200 years back! Its like The Mummy meets Tomb Raider! We went to the Mt.Vesuvius first and walked along the rim of the crater and Ashu was all "we are walking on a volcano! which is active! which is very dangerous!" And in the afternoon, we went to Pompeii. Ashu had read a Magic Tree House book on Ancient Rome and Pompeii so she was fully prepared! We saw the houses, ovens, baths, port, temples, ... even the chariot marks on the roads! Water fountains, scribbles on the walls, frescoes, plastered dead bodies, pots, furniture, Forum, Amphitheatre,... Even a Brothel! I took a candid photo of Hd coming out it and have threatened to use this evidence against him! ;)

We also went to the Capri Island from Naples and it was so beautiful! We went quite late though so could nt go to the Blue Grotto which is supposed to be amazing! Next time, perhaps! Since Hd and I have been to Rome before, we did not do much except walking, walking and more walking and showing the sites to the girls! Poor things cooperated well without complaining too much. There was always the Gelato break whenever we were too tired or or making Ashu tell some trivia about the ancient Romans and traumatize Antu! (Did you know that they washed their clothes in urine, they ate Flamingos, etc... ) I, for my part, traumatized Ashu by describing the battles in the Colosseum and she just could nt understand how people can watch people getting killed and be entertained! ( Did you know that sometimes the Romans flooded the Colloseum and had boat battles?!)

Italy has become truly out favorite destination! So much to see and so much to do. Relatively cheaper, great food. Its hot and dirty and but the place is alive! I guess its a lot like India! :)

Winter Sports.

The arrival of winter meant that our weekend was also snatched by the kids. They have ice skating bang in the middle of the afternoon on Saturdays and Skiing on Sundays which takes up at least 4 hours of the day. Hd is in charge of weekends but still the cooking, cleaning, getting the kids and the husband ready and throwing them out of the house in time takes such a toll on me! Hd also conveniently went off to India for a week during the kids Ski break which meant I had to take Antu almost every day skiing on my own. 

Ashu, thankfully, agreed to go to a ski camp again this year. So she was gone from 8.30 to 4.30 every day for five days. She had fun, got a medal but swore she is done with skiing and will never ever ski again. This was two weeks back. She went skiing again today of course! :) Antu had started skiing last year and hated it. But she warmed up to it this year and also had her best friend for company so that went well. She moved up a level and took the T bar and skied in a beginner slope today which was a big deal for her and made for a proud dad! :)



The skating show was yesterday and Ashu had fun even though she complained shes in the babies group and they just have to go in circles! :) Some of the girls who did solo performances were amazing! Made me wonder how much much more dedicated and hard working the olympians would be! Antu agreed to ice skate this year but she said no to participate in the show! "Because I am not good at it, Amma", she said! While Ashu is the exact opposite. So Ashu had to take a test to move up a level in Ice skating and she was desperate to pass the test because she thought she was too old to be in that group with 5 and 6 year olds! So the doting dad signed her up for a few private lessons so that she gets individual attention. I took her for a few lessons and she enjoyed them immensely. The day before the test, she asked when the next private lesson will be and I told her that there will be no more private lessons and she better focus on the tips and pass the test if she wants to move up. So she says "Its ok if I dont pass the test. I loved the lessons and I would like to do more. I just want to keep learning, Amma."

"Naan karai eritten. Neenga innum karai eraama nikkarele?"* moment!

* Slap in the face

Morocco.

We were in Morocco for a week from Xmas eve to New years eve and had a fantastic time. It was a great escape at least for a week from the bitter cold here although the evenings were quite chilly and the nights were freezing there too. We landed in Marrakech and roamed around the city for 2 days visiting museums, madrasas and mosques and shopping like crazy in the souks and drinking mint tea by gallons! Then through a tour operator went around the country up to Sahara and back the rest of the 5 days. Another family also joined us from here and their 7 year old son and Ashu were quite a company for each other and a sick/throwing up/starving/low energy Antu was quite a company for us!! But of course everything was worth it when we saw the sand dunes! The camel ride and the hike to the sand dunes, the sunset, the sand,.... everything was mind-blowiningly beautiful! We camped in the desert for a night and slept it in a tent in the freezing weather under many, many blankets and the starry night sky was too beautiful to describe. Ashu and Antu have never seen that many stars in their lives and were totally blown away! The winding, curvy roads through the High Atlas mountain range and the landscapes and the gorges and valleys were straight out of a hollywood road movie!

Our Bedouin driver for 5 days was a sweet guy and kept calling the girls Fatima and nagged us to play bollywood music in the car and I am proud to say that I  introduced him to Ilayaraja music! :) Everyone in Morocco knows Shah Rukh Khan! And at the end of a week, I kept saying Insha Allah after every sentence! Its very infectious, I tell you. We saw many, many cats. Marrakech was like 80s and 90s small town India and it was like going back in time. The people are extremely nice and polite and the Riads (tradtional Moroccon houses turned into hotels) we stayed were awesome! I might go back just to stay in these Riads. From the outside, there is this small door in a dark alley but inside its like an Alibaba cave! With huge courtyards and spacious rooms and so unique and charming. And beautiful terraces. And the staff bend backwards to make you comfortable. The last day we stayed at a mountain retreat in the High Atlas and that place was amazing too and the location was fantastic. But the access road was pathetic!

Vegetarian food was a little hard to get especially at the remote restaurants we stopped for lunch but breakfasts and dinners made up for it. At least Hd eats omelettes. I ordered a salad and stuffed them inside the bread and had to make my own sandwich everyday! Ashu survived on bits of bread and salad and the junky snacks I carried with me while Antu went on a hunger strike for her right to starve! :) The five day road trip was a bit much for the kids and us too but when the destination is Sahara, theres no other way, I guess. Now back home and fondly remembering the desert. I think if I give a good shake to our sneakers, I might still find some sand and it would be a sight to the sore eyes!

Happy New Year folks! Hope 2014 brings you all the things you wish for! Insha Allah! :)

French Riviera.

We were off to South of France last week and had a fantastic time in the coast. Seven days of bliss. We stayed in a beautiful apartment in Nice with swimming pools and the girls had fun. It was very hot during the day so we did the beaches only after 5 pm. While it is completely a pebble beach in Nice, its sandy in Antibes and Cannes. Mind boggling really since they are so close to each other and yet the beaches were so different!

Monaco was so pretty. A funny thing happened. I was entering Monaco in the GPS while driving from Nice and the damn GPS just would nt recognize. We just went in the general direction and once we were in Monaco I tried again to find some place and it did nt. I thought it went kaput and then the light bulb hit me. I had the country selected as France and I had to change it to Monaco! duh! The Oceanographic museum and The Exotic Garden in Monaco are must see.

Ashu enjoyed the Matisse museum and seeing his works kept repeating "This is easy! I can do it!" loudly much to my embarrassment! :)

We went to Marineland in Antibes one afternoon and man! did we choose the hottest day ever! The killer whale show was worth it. The entry price is ridiculously expensive though!

The medieval villages in Vence, Grasse,... were simply beautiful. The cobblestone roads, the narrow alleys, restaurants, cute shops and galleries,.. It was so nice to just walk through the numerous alleys!

We visited a perfume factory in Grasse, the perfume capital! One would think that the perfumes would be cheaper to buy there but no sirree! It was an interesting tour though.

Cannes is so beautiful. We visited the Palais des Festivals and took the customary photo standing on the red carpet! Not as glamorous as you think since you are sharing screen space with a dozen other strangers!!! The beach is great. Anitbes too. But Nice is the best since its all pebbles and no mess! :) And the kids loved to throw the pebbles in the sea! Win-win! But be warned that the kids will collect pebbles in all kinds of shapes and sizes and insist on bringing them home! I was just glad that I did nt bring my mom to this trip. She would have sure emptied the beach and brought all the rocks home!

Driving around the coast means lots of toll booths. We set the GPS to avoid Toll after the first day and that was the best decision ever. Not only did we save money but also drove through more picturesque roads with spectacular views!

I kept nagging Hd that I wanted to ride a jet ski the entire week and at last on the very last day, we found a place. Ashu was quite shocked! "Are you going to ski", she asked me with a worried look! Grr.... Hd and Ashu went first to test the waters and God! Was frustrating to look at them! Hd should get an award for the slowest jet ski rider ever! Then it was my turn and Ashu who was ready to ride again realized it was with me and wisely refused! The rat! I had fun though I realized why Hd was so slow. The sea was so rough since it was late evening and could nt go in a straight line at all! I kept going in circles! Thrillingly scary! I had no watch on me and did nt know how much time has passed and the guard had to come and escort me back! So it was paisa vasool! :)

We survived on pizza, pasta or panini for every lunch. Managed to cook dinners with very limited supplies in the apartment. Was so nice the four of us sitting in the spacious balcony and eating and chatting. I realized how relaxing it is when I don't have to do everything by the clock. Dinner was at 9.30 and kids went to bed at 10.30. We all got up late, had breakfast and stepped out only to find a restaurant for lunch. It was a true vacation. At home, Im such a stickler for time that to get the kids to bed by 7.45 means that  everything has to work like clockwork the entire day and its so stressful. 

A week flew by and I hated to leave. Hd tells me, "We are going back home. To SWITZERLAND! And you are sad?" Hmph! Whatever!

A conversation with Ashu at the Basel Zoo.

Look at those gorillas. They look so sad.

They always look sad, Amma!

But poor animals! They can never get out of that cage!

Its big, Amma. There are three or four rooms for them to walk around.

But still, they have to live there all the time!

Its just like us living in a house, Amma! 

!!!

*a while later after picking up my jaw from the floor*

But you go to school Ashu. Go to a park. They cant do that, can they? They can have so much fun in the forest, right?

Amma, do you know what a wingspan is?

Yes. Do you?

No, not wingspan. I mean life span. Do you know?

Yes.

So the life span of the animals is more in the zoo. More than in the forest. So thats a good thing.

*bangs head*

There goes my chance at making Ashu an animal activist. Shes too pragmatic for me!

On the zoo note, she also educated us on lady birds. And while telling us about eggs and larvae and aphids and lifespan she asked us, "Do you know what mating is?" and went on to explain how the male sits on the females back and the female lays eggs! Who is this young lady and what did she do with my little girl?

All about Ashu.

Ashu had quite an eventful week with a Violin Recital and an Indian group Dance, both at her school! Remember how last year she danced for O Re Kanchi? It was a mix of "Mukunda, Mukunda" and "Radha kaise na jale" this time with one boy and 8 girls! We had less then a month, we could meet only once or twice a week and add to it, I was the only one choreographing and making the kids dance to my tune since my partner in crime from last year has moved out of Swiss! What an uphill task! It was so difficult to even fix a date when all of us were available. At one point, I just gave up and asked Ashu if she wants to dance alone or with Antu. She refused instantly and proclaimed, "group dance or no dance, Amma!" Sigh! The things we do for our kids! But once we managed to meet, things started working out. We took turns and practiced in each others houses and after a while, I even started to look forward to these things just for the yummy food and chai! I think I behaved more or less like a circus animal trainer! The moms loved me and the kids sort of warmed up to me towards the end. Much like stockholm syndrome, I guess! Everyone was admiring me for my immense patience with the kids and I felt like a fraud! Why is it so easy to be patient with other peoples kids? The d day was last Saturday and the kids did me proud! It was so cute to watch them do the moves and try to be in sync. Though the day before the dance was when Kolaveri went viral and I had an acute case of earworm and was *this* close to actually playing this song instead of Mukunda for the kids to dance. Not that they would have known the difference! ;)

Coming to the Violin recital, it all started a couple of months back. Ashu was stubborn that she wanted to learn the Violin. She kept asking us last year too and we thought she was too young and I did nt have the time or energy to cart her to yet another class! But when I learnt that theres a class she can take once a week in her school during lunch recess, I jumped at the chance. At least, I dont have to drive her around! One fine day, we took her to the store and rented a Violin. Thats where I learnt that there are actually different sizes in violins and one always rents Violins for kids. Ashu was a happy camper. We also bought her the recommended book and a stand. And of course I threatened Ashu with dire consequences if she did nt practice regularly just before we paid the huge amount! One can always dream! The classes started soon and she quite enjoyed them. After a few classes, I had no idea what she was doing so I decided to attend classes whenever I could along with her. So much for less driving around, huh? But that helps both of us. (Poor Antu though who has to sit still for 30 mins!) A month alter, the teacher informed us about the student recital which happens in November every year and asked Ashu to choose a song she wanted to play. She chose A Mozart Melody. (popularly known as Twinkle, Twinkle!) Poor little thing practiced it almost every day for a month! Of course, I had to be a Tiger Mom at times but then who am I kidding? It is who I am! The improvement you see is tremendous though. It amazes me what one can do with practice. (I am there with her in every class but theres no way I can read the notes like Ashu does.) The teacher was also going to make a group of kids play a few songs and Ashu was part of it. There was much excitement on the day of the recital. (last Tuesday) Choosing something formal to wear, shiny black shoes, cameras charged, proud parents in the front row, the works! Ashu played beautifully and the group recital was very cute too. Some of the middle school kids were amazing! Unbelievable talent! Wonder how many hours they practice every day! ;)

There is nothing to look forward to now and Im wondering what to do with all the extra time I seem to have since yesterday! Pay attention to my poor neglected second child, you say?

Jucker Farm.

Last Sunday, we took the kids to Jucker Farm. The day was bright and sunny, just the kind of day to go to a pumpkin farm! It was pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! Pumpkin sculptures, pumpkin houses, lanes lined with pumpkins, the prize winning pumpkins,... Total pumpkin heaven! The farm had rows of apple and cherry trees and in Summer, they have strawberry and raspberry picking too! We took in the sights, went on a horse carriage ride around the farm, picked apples, sat on the hammocks and rocked, sat on the benches with the gorgeous lake view and drank Sussmost,... For lunch, we ate Pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, raclette with pumpkin and pumpkin brownies!!! Can you beat that?

Here are some photos.

1. Swiss Army Knife.

2. Odd one out?

3. All kinds, shapes and colours!

4. Orange is the colour of the season.

5. Pumpkin seats.

6. Picking flowers.

7. Bliss!

8. The first prize winning pumpkin weighed 701 kilos!!!

9. Pumpkin Art.

10. House made of pumpkins.

Elm.

This Sunday, we drove to a place called Elm which is a little over an hours drive from Zurich. I found out that that place has a kids friendly hike and made up my mind to put Antu to walk. It was also mentioned that the trail was stroller friendly so we took ours anyway. We parked at the Gondola (cable car) station and took the Gondola to go up. There was a nice play area up with trampoline, jungle gym, sand pit, swing, slide, a gold digging activity in the sand, etc.... The location was just breathtaking! The huge swing was just at the edge of the cliff and it was amazing to see the kids swing back and forth with a view to kill! One of the mountain peaks has a small hole and twice a year, when the sun sets, the light shines through this hole directly into a church, it seems! The kids had a blast in the play area but it was terribly hot. We had a sphagetti lunch at the restaurant there and started walking towards Tierliweg, the kid friendly trail.

Cows welcomed us and the noise of the cow bells were really deafening! Most of the walk was through the woods so we were nt roasted in the sun. And whenever the trees parted, the views were spectacular! The trail was too rocky to push the stroller with Antu so she was replaced with our backpack on the stroller. I guess they mean that the trail was friendly for mountain-friendly-strollers and not our "sort by price and choose the cheapest" stroller! Little Miss Antu walked the entire 1 1/2 hours without any complaint! The only reason being that there were wooden animal sculptures every 200 metres or so and that kept motivating the kids to keep walking! It was wonderful to see Ashu and Antu spotting the animals first and shouting excitedly, Ashu making me write a list of all the animals (more than 20), guessing what the next animal will be, debating if the animal was a pig or a bear(!), etc... etc... Not to mention the jokes. Like I suddenly screamed, "Look a Gorilla!" and when Ashu excitedly looked, I was pointing at her dad! She was nt thrilled, if you want to know!

I don't know whats with Hd and pushing stuff off the mountain slopes. This one time, he let his sledge go on its own and I had to hike back while he went doubles with Ashu on the second sledge! Another time, the canopy on the stroller slipped and flew down the slopes. This time, he was coming behind us with the stroller and the backpack and suddenly he says "pudi, pudi!" and what do we see? The stroller and the backpack are flying down the slope!! Thankfully, it hit a rock and stopped and he ran to get them! I was thanking the Lord that Antu was not on the stroller and at the same time rolling on the floor laughing thinking what hes going to push the next time! If ever Kamal Hassan remakes Guna, I think HD ll make a good body double for him in the last scene when he jumps off a cliff! I would love to watch that! Now thats a happy ending! Abirami, Abirami! (Sorry cant quote Guna without saying Abirami, Abirami! Can you?)

After a well deserved ice cream, we decided to go down to the car park. And thats when the adventure began. One can either take the Gondola back or rent something called Trottinett which is a Mountain Scooter and go down 5 kms. Me being me, of course I wanted to ride the Trotti while Hd and the kids took the gondola. I was riding like the wind soaking in the amazing views and wondering if I should have brought Ashu with me since the Trotti guy said we can ride with kids when I braked the front wheel instead of back and next second, I hit the gravelly ground hard on my chest. My right elbow and both my palms were totally scraped! Bloody, dusty mess I was! Shirt torn, hand bag torn! I should ve been quite a sight for sore eyes! But I managed to get up and continue the rest of the way in spite of my bloody palms. Hd who was waiting downhill armed with a camera took one look at me and was horrified! Thankfully, everything was just surface wounds and nothing deep and no broken bones. Phew.

Whats life without a little adventure, huh? So what if I could nt hold the tooth brush the next day or that I had an important school meeting to attend the next morning and shaking hands with a few people was just cruel? It was totally worth it! :)

Kung Fu Panda 2.

Ashu's KG graduation gift was a movie - Kung Fu Panda 2. I was thrilled to go for a movie with her. Though her first movie was Toy Story 3 last year, she watched it with my Bil. So this was our first time to the big screen together. Naturally, I was making a big deal and she did nt care! The news spread and more moms and kids joined our plan. At the end, we were 4 moms and 9 kids. Hd could nt believe we were leaving him and Antu and going on Father's day but we reminded him that every day is fathers day and we don't believe in all this marketing scam! Mother's day is almost a year away. So he ll forgive and forget, Im hoping! ;)

Armed with 3D glasses and a pick-your-own-sweets bag (madam does nt believe in popcorn, the ultimate movie companion!) she walked to the dark screen and plonked herself in between two of her friends while I stood and glared at her! "Do you want to sit here, Ashu?", I managed to squeak. "No, Amma! I'm going to sit here!", came the prompt reply. hmph! I could have just dropped her at the entrance and gone home, I guess! The ungrateful child! Anyway, we loved the movie. Even though there were nt many laugh-aloud scenes, Ashu seemed to be laughing whenever Po was on screen! The 3D experience also enhanced the movie and the animation was just breathtaking. The colors were just brilliant. I could nt take my eyes off. I wanted to pause each scene and look at every little detail. What an effort! Lord Shen, the peacock was my favorite! ( But he seemed too stiff when he was walking. No offence to the Dreamworks team, but I have never seen a peacock walk without moving his long neck. Thats the classic movement of the peacock, is nt it? May be Lord Shen had a botox or something? ;)

After the movie, Ashu said that she liked this better than Toy Story. (Come on, Pixar! Do something!) I asked her if she understood the story and she said she did. "But I did nt understand one thing, Amma. What is Inner Peace?" Err.... A profound question indeed! But I expect no less from Ashu. "You know how Amma is on a school day morning, Ashu? When you cant find your water bottle and Antu refuses to drink her milk and your dad is on a phone call and I'm making tea and breakfast and lunch and trying to comb your hair all at the same time?" "Yes....", Ashu gulped. "Well. Inner peace is exactly the opposite!", I declared. She, of course, did not get it. But I found inner peace alright, even if it lasted only a minute! :)

Schloss Neuschwanstein.

This year for our anniversary, we were in Fussen, Germany. It happened to be an extra long weekend here last week and in continuing our tradition of being in a different city for each of our anniversaries, we pulled it off successfully for the 11th time. When we went here 8 years back on our first visit to Germany, I was so looking forward to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle. But it was a foggy day and we could nt see a thing. While we did take a tour inside, the picture postcard views were sorely missed and I vowed to go back again just for the views. My dream came true last Saturday. Ashu was thrilled to see a real castle and the weather was just perfect.

We bought a combo ticket for both Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle. We booked it online so that we dont have to stand in long lines and also theres a mad rush in Summer. One can see the inside of the castles only with guided tours and chances are that we might not get a time we want if we buy it directly from there. So in spite of the online booking fee, its worth it. (Though kids go free, there was a booking fee for them too. Go figure!) We drove from Zurich to Fussen which is around 3 hours and stayed there overnight. The next morning we drove to Schwangau which is 10 minutes drive and parked near the ticket office. From there, its a 10 to 15 minutes walk to the Hogenschwangau castle. Theres also a horse drawn carriage which takes you to the castle. But we used it for the Neuschwanstein Castle since its a 40 minutes uphill walk and also time was tight between the two castle tours. Its a very good idea to take the stroller for young kids.

Hohenschwangau was King Ludwig's childhood home. He built the Neuschwanstein Castle later but never completed it since he died under mysterious circumstances.(He drowned in the lake at the age of 41 along with his... wait-for-it... psychiatrist!) After the tour of the first castle, we walked back and took a carriage to go to castle no. 2. There was a long line but we did nt have to wait long since there were many carriages. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the royal ride! Neuschwanstein Castle is just breathtakingly beautiful. And what a location! After the tour, we walked to the Marienbrucke (a bridge) which is around 30 minutes walk from the castle for the fantastic view. It was totally worth hiking with the kids. Then we walked back to a restaurant near the castle and had a late lunch. (A platter of asparagus in hollandaise sauce, anyone?) Fussen is also a beautiful town and the town centre with the cobbled roads is very charming with shops and restaurants lining the street. The next day we drove to Forggensee, a beautiful lake, and did a one hour boat cruise. The views were beautiful. A perfect anniversary weekend getaway.

Five lessons that Motherhood has taught me.

I think I have been tagged after eons. I have to be blamed because I mostly forget to take up tags. Apologies. So let me do Kiran's tag before I forget. Thanks K for shaking me awake from my blogger's block!

So here are the five lessons that Motherhood has taught me.

1. Patience. I never knew I had so much patience in me. And that its never enough. Like today. We came back from school, cleaned up, ate snacks and after packing every sand toy in the house left for the play area downstairs. I asked the girls to use the bathroom before we left and Antu was very sure that she did nt want to go! I even threatened her that I will not bring her back home if she said that she wanted to use the bathroom as soon as we reached the park. And what happened 10 minutes later? Madam says she has to use the bathroom NOW. This has happened before of course. I tell Ashu to play and that I ll go home and come back in 5 minutes. I walk home with Antu. When we cross the water fountain in front of our apartment, Antu says that she wants to play in the water. "Did nt you want to go to the bathroom NOW?", I ask. "No! I want to go to the water!" I give her a dirty look and drag her home. She sits in the bathroom for 10 minutes and declares that she does nt have to go after all! ARGH!

2. Motherhood has also taught me to shut up. When one does nt have a kind word to tell a mother, especially a new mom, then one has to really shut up. Especially things like "I chose not to take epidural" to a mom who is just being wheeled out after a C-Sec or "I nursed my child until so and so years" to a mom who is struggling with breast feeding are a strict no-no. Hold your tongue, woman! Just stick with "the baby looks just like you" and you will be fine!

3. I know all the Disney Princess's names. And I know who Ben10 is and what Bakugans are. I know how Tooth Fairy works. I know how to make a puppy from play-doh and hot to throw kiddie birthday parties. I know how to turn shoe boxes into storage boxes and I also have watched a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. I know all about potty and sleep training and the ups and downs of breast feeding. I learnt to appreciate Children's literature and can recognize Axel Scheffler's illustrations from a mile away! :)

4. Most importantly, it has taught me to walk out of my comfort zone and take risks. While I'm so afraid of deep frying that I don't ever make HD's favorite pooris or my favorite aamai vadai, I have no problem baking cake after cake for my kids even though many a disaster have occurred. Contrary to the popular belief, Im quite shy and suck at making new friends. I take a step if the other person takes a step but I wont initiate it. I'm too afraid that I might be stepping on their toes. But having a very reserved kid means that I'm her mouth piece. Whether its asking for a play date with Ashu's friend or targeting fellow Desi Moms and pouncing on them at the school entrance or volunteering in school or the numerous get-togethers that happen, I owe everything to motherhood. If not for the kids, I would have been very happy in my shell. But being a mother has taught me that the shell can pretty crowded for a family of four. I owe every friend I have right now to my kids. Including my very dear blog pals. :)

5. hmm.... What else? Oh yeah! I ve learnt that I can fake as a supremely patient and super mom when there are people around! When Antu refuses to leave the park and I tell her very nicely, "Lets go sweetie! We ll go home, eat dinner, read a book and go to bed. Come on now!" what I really mean is "kadankaari! Vandhu tholai! veetukku vaa, unakku irukku*!" Or whenever I write in the blog that I ve given up on Ashu's fussy eating habits and dont bother anymore, what I really mean is that meal times battles still exist but I am not going to write about it here anymore! ;)

* Come home, you brat! You will pay for this!

Real Muffins, Fake Cupcakes and Tiramisu.

Ashu's birthday celebrations seem to be extending for a long time. Since her school was closed for Spring break until the 1st of May, she had a small celebration in her class after the school reopened. The usual "going around the Sun 6 times", showing her baby pictures to her friends and teachers, eating cup cakes, etc... I baked rainbow cup cakes and they came out awesome thanks to the gel food colors Sis sent from the US. When I baked the rainbow cake last year, I did nt have gel food colors and even though the cake looked good, the colors were nt really vibrant. And I was quite apprehensive about making cupcakes because all that effort of mixing colors in four different batches for a simple muffin seemed tedious to me. But it turned out pretty easy actually. I had nt told Ashu that it was going to be rainbow muffins and when she got up in the morning and saw all the muffins, the expression on her face was priceless. Guess us moms are suckers for punishment just for that look on our kids faces! Whether its taking them to Disneyland during Spring break or baking rainbow muffins at midnight which are going to be half eaten and thrown in the trash by most of the kids!

We also had unexpected house guests the next week which Ashu thought was in her honor! We hardly have house guests and the kids were super thrilled. A very dear couple with their 2 daughters were on an Europe tour and stayed with us a night before going to Italy. Even though the friend claimed she was here to do laundry(!), we were excited to see them after ages! Ashu asked me yesterday if we can invite S and S for a playdate this week and I had to explain to her that they are in Italy now and will be going back to India and international play dates are nt the norm. Yet. :) The next day we had a small "cupcake" party at home with 2 girls who missed Ashu's birthday party. (Yes, you can say that again - Im a sucker for punishment!) Sis had sent a fake cupcake decorating kit for Ashu and the three girls went crazy making fake cupcakes while Antu and I were gobbling real banana muffins! Antu made sure to ask me "Is this real? Can I eat this?" though! Atta girl! The fake cream looked so real that whenever I got a bit of my cream in my hands while helping them, my first instinct was to lick it!!! Had to warn the girls a dozen times not to lick although Im sure a bit of it did find its way to their stomach! Well, a little bit of glue does nt harm anyone. Or does it?

The weekend was busy with back to back birthday parties for Ashu. What a busy social life these kids have! (And why does April/May have the most number of birthdays, anyway?!) And we had friends over for dinner on Sunday. And Ashu expected them to stay overnight! I made Tiramisu for the very first time and though it came out yummy, it was too much coffee for my taste especially since I dont drink coffee. Got to dilute the coffee more the next time I make it. Funny that when I was googling for Tiramisu recipe, I had to google "how to make coffee" because I did nt know the how many spoons of coffee powder to add to a cup of water to make the coffee! Yes, Im that girl who does nt even know how to make coffee that the Mothers-In-law love to complain about!! Come to think of it, I dont how to boil an egg either! I mean, I did nt! Have I told you how this one time I tried to boil an egg in a "microwave"?!!! God rest its soul! And I mean the microwave here! ;)

Atzmännig.

We had a wonderful time in Atzmannig yesterday. When our dear friend S left for India recently, I knew that I was going to miss a travel partner along with a best friend! Usually its S and her husband who pick out a place and we tag long with them! God knows how they do it but they are always finding just the perfect place to go as a family! So when S went to Atzmannig the last weekend she was in Swiss, she made sure to pass on the information to me and almost made me promise that I ll take Ashu there because she knew how much Ashu likes to climb! :)

Along with another family, we drove to Atzmannig yesterday and reached within an hour. The place is located in the most beautiful location ever. There is this leisure park on top of a hill one one side and a Rope Adventure Park on the other. The park's main attraction is a 700 m Toboggan run with 17 turns! Its really cool! Theres also something called a sliding tower with different kinds of slides where Antu had a blast! The kids went crazy on the trampoline, the play area, the coin operated cars, flying chairs, petting goats and donkeys, ...

After a picnic lunch, we went to the Rope Adventure Park which was the main reason we went there. Ashu and the other boy who are under 8 were geared up with the climbing gear, helmets and gloves and were told that they can do the two easy courses how many ever times they want! Hd and the other older kid were given a crash course for 15 minutes before they took the advanced course. Antu was napping in her stroller by then so I left her by a table near the outdoor restaurant and was happily cheering Ashu while Hd was somewhere up on the trees like a cliff hanger! It was such fun to say the least! Ashu went on the two courses again and again a dozen times! The park was closing at 6.00 and at 5.58 she was asking me, "Can I do a quick Route A and come back, Amma?" and hurried up to the tree and clamping herself to the safety rope, disappeared in the woods! Could nt believe this was the same girl who cried when she did it the first time because she was a scared of a slidy thing! It was so nice to see her so dedicated and walking on tight ropes and wobbly bridges and webs and hanging onto ropes. A mother's dream come true, I tell you.
A must-see place for the entire family near Zurich if you live or visit here. The Toboggan ride is from Age 3 onwards and the Rope Park is from Age 4 onwards. But the Leisure park has enough for under 3 too. Perfect place to do picnics and there is a restaurant too. Huge parking lot which is free. Take loads of coins for the rides though. For more information click here.

Ashu's Birthday Party & the Big Surprise.

Last week was a roller-coaster ride. Just before we left for Disneyland, my sister called up to tell me that my Bil is coming to Zurich on 26th as a birthday surprise for Ashu and asked me to keep it a secret. I, of course, immediately sent her the birthday party shopping list before going "WHAT?" Since no one in our family even goes to the bathroom without surprising someone(!), my antenna went up and I asked sis if actually she was coming! She denied of course and kept on denying the whole week and I believed her only after seeing my Bil in the train station standing alone! (Even then, I thought Sis might ve taken a taxi and gone home! One never knows when it comes to my family!) On Tuesday evening, I took the kids to the station and they thought we were going to pick up their father! When they saw Perippa, Antu royally ignored him and Ashu went absolutely speechless and we could see her heart racing! She just held his hand and stood there for a long time before hugging him. And she let him go only after a whole week when he was leaving for the airport back to the US! Plan 2 was to surprise my parents who had no idea Bil was here. The kids and I were skyping with them when cooly Bil came and sat with us on the sofa and it was incredible to see my parents face. My sis was on the phone with them at the same time and they thought she was here too! hee hee! Plan 3 was executed when Hd came home from office in the evening. Ashu planned it and asked Bil to stand behind the door. Hd entered and seeing me armed with a camera, he gave a look and then turned to see Bil and was shell-shocked! muahahaha! Missions accomplished!

Sis had sent a bunch of decorate your own fabric backpacks, fabric pens, wild animals stickers, goody bags and even paper plates, cups, napkins, etc... along with a dozen gifts for the kids! Hd was asking me why I was nt going crazy shopping for the birthday party earlier and he had his answer when Bil arrived! He scolded sis and me for using Bil like a courier service! hmph! What does he know? I wish Reva sent one of her fabulous cake through him as well! Then I would nt have had to lift a finger for the party! ;) The party was that sunday at the Wildpark nearby. Ashu and I decorated the backpacks and wrote each kids name on it and stuck some of the animal stickers. I packed the bag with a juice bottle, an apple, a chocolate cookie and a map of the park. (Inspired by my friend, S. She stitched the backpacks herself for all the kids when she threw a party at the zoo last year! Im not that creative but I ve a sister and Bil who are very useful! :) Once all the kids(15) arrived, we set out for a walk to see the animals. It was a drop off party but a couple of parents stayed back to help me out. Bil was the official photographer! The kids loved to carry their personalized backpacks and consult their own maps! We took a snack break half way through. Once we came back to the restaurant, we cut the cake and ate lunch. I had taken cake, sandwiches, cut veggies, dips, zucchini bread, chips, etc,,, and ordered pizza and fries from the restaurant. Later the kids went wild in the play area and the carousel. Everyone was satisfied after going on the carousel four times straight!

All in all, a very good birthday party. I baked a chocolate cake and glazed it and bought some sugar animals, flowers and sprinkles and decorated it! The cake was a bit dry and but looked good and thats all that matters! Added a goody bag with stickers and sweets to the backpack when the kids were leaving. All the kids cooperated so well and were in excellent behaviour much to my pleasant surprise! The three hour duration was just perfect. We saw bears, wild cats, wolves, mountain goats and loads of deers. Antu was stuck to my Bil the entire time and I did nt even hear a peep from her. Hd was mad at me for doing "so much" for a 6 year old party and was wondering how much he has to suffer at my hands when the girls are getting married! I wont let you down, dear! All my friends were in awe that Bil came all the way to be here for Ashus party and she was so proud! She had been nagging my sis and Bil to come to her party for the past few months and she was thrilled that her wish was fulfilled. Even though she missed her Perimma, she got over it as soon as she saw the Rapunzel loot that sis had sent for her! And the scooter. Bil came with a huge suitcase full of stuff for us and went back with an empty suitcase! I am so ashamed! What does one send from here? The only thing my sis would ve loved refused to climb into the suitcase!

Bil went back this Tuesday much to Ashus disappointment. She kept telling him to go one day later, poor thing! But she was glad that her school reopened after the spring break on Monday and she could take him to her class and introduce him to her teachers and show him around the class. It was so cute this time to see Ashu with her Perippa. She was so much "in love" with him! One day we went out for a walk and she plucked a flower and started picking the petals one by one chanting, "perippa loves me, perippa loves me not,....!" And she was thrilled that it ended with "perippa loves me!" When Bil asked what if it had nt, she said, "Its just a game, Perippa! I know that you love me!" She was literally glued to him, watched the IPL matches with him, made cards for him, played games with him, wanted him to read her bed time stories,... It was so heart breakingly adorable to see them together. Antu for her part charmed him and was attached to him too but I guess she can recognize "true love" when she sees it so did nt fight for his attention too much. Phew. Thanks V for doing this trip. The girls are so lucky to be loved like this. And yes, yes. I did nt forget you, Sis! You are the greatest Sister ever. Happy? :)