Tierpark Feldkirch

In Nashville we were members of the zoo. We absolutely loved it! We spent many hours there and we still talk about it a lot. Unfortunately the next "real zoo" is in Zurich and we have not made it there yet. But it is on our list.
Close to home here we have some smaller zoos with petting areas. They are not as big, but they are free! Which is awesome. And it makes for a perfect morning excursion with the kids.

A few weeks ago we went to the Tierpark in Feldkirch with my brother and his family. It is about 30 minutes from Alberschwende. This zoo is special because it only has animals that are from the region. Some of them you do not get to see much anymore.
This park is also great because it has a big playground that is in the middle of the trees with lots of shade.

Finn and Goete Bernd feeding the goats.

Finn and Philipp went to check out the deer.

Lilly, my brother, Hannah

Best friends!

Finn loved the tunnel at the playground.

Mama wird 55!

My mom turned 55 this month and we had a family BBQ for her. Everybody was here and we had a fun time. Ben was the "Grillmeister" :-)

We also found another use for some of our left over chocolate Easter bunnies and made some Austrian style smores. The kids liked them - Ben did not approve.

Gym Class

Very common in Austria are also gym classes for kids called "Eltern Kind Turnen". We found a great location in Dornbirn, about 20 minutes from our house and the kids really have a great time there.

It is a big gym/ hall were we meet every week on Thursday morning. There are about 10 kids in the class if all of them are there. Our teacher is called Sabine and we start off with a welcome song. After the song we do some different movement games every week before we have time for our "free play". We can swing, bounce, climb, run, play, etc. We then all help to clean up, have some apple together and sing a good bye song.
We look forward to it every week and we have already made some new friends who we met up with outside class as well. Here are some pictures.

Finn likes to climb up this thing and jump off.

Lilly likes to bounce on the cow.

They have some cool swings. This one is Finn's favorite.

There are swings, bouncers, tunnels, climbing things, etc.

Dandelions Part 2

As much as we like the dandelions when they are in full bloom and bright yellow we have fun playing with them once they are ready to blow.

Dandelions

Ok - May 16th and it is snowing in Alberschwende. Buh! What crazy weather! We already had a taste of Spring and I guess today is a good day to cherish those pretty pictures from the nice days.
The fields around our house were covered with dandelions. We had fun being outside and looking at all the pretty flowers.

Heuen (Helping cut the grass)

We live on the country now and our neighbors are farmers. There is always a lot of work to do and our neighbors kids are usually helping.
Finn loves to hang out with them and help as well. The other day they were cutting the grass for the cows. Finn had his own tool to help.

Shopping in Germany

Living in Vorarlberg has some fun advantages to it. We are so close to our neighbor countries that we can go swimming in Germany in the morning, shopping to Switzerland in the afternoon and have dinner in Liechtenstein at night - but still be in bed in Austria before midnight. As children I remember my parents to always carry 3 wallets and their passports with them: 1 wallet with Swiss Francs, 1 wallet with German Marks, 1 wallet with Austrian Schillings.
With the European Union and the Schengen everything is much easier these days. Traveling across the boarder is possible without even stopping and in most places you can pay with Euros. But some things are still better in other countries :-)

Last week my friend Judith and I went to Germany to look for Dirndls. There is a small town just across the border from us (Oberstaufen) which is known for selling great Lederhosen and Dirndls. Judith is invited to a wedding and needed to find a dress. Unfortunately we did not find anything, but we had a nice day anyway.
We stopped at this great place for coffee and cake - Das blaue Haus.

Delicious coffee and cake! 

 Trying to take our picture.

Trying again!

Trip to Bregenz

The capital of our area is called Bregenz. It is a beautiful little town by the lake of Constanze (Bodensee).
One Sunday morning we took a little trip there to take a walk along the water, to feed the ducks, to play on the playground and to admire the flowers.
On Sundays everything is closed in Austria and therefore on Sundays we usually take little trips to explore.

Chocolate covered Strawberries

We still have plenty of chocolate bunnies from Easter and what better to do than making chocolate covered strawberries. We got some pretty strawberries that are just starting to be in season and covered them in melted chocolate bunnies. Finn and Lilly were helping and had fun.

The supplies are ready.

Lilly mixing and breaking down the chocolate to be melted.

The chocolate is melted and strawberries are getting dipped.

Final Product: we also had some bananas to dip.

Lilly eating one - she usually does not eat strawberries, only with chocolate.

And Finn ate about 10 of them!

Tanzzwerge (Music Class)

In the US we went to music class called Music Together. We had a great teacher called Leslie in our neighborhood and we loved going. If you are still in Nashville, go check her out, this is her site Leslie.

It was a great activity to do with both of my children and they each enjoyed it in their own way. I knew that Music Together was something special and we still listen to all our CDs on a regular basis, but I looked for something similar here in Austria.

And we were lucky enough to find Tanzzwerge ("Dancing Dwarfs"). It is actually very similar to our music class back in the US and my kids fit right in. Finn actually called it "our other music class".

We always start with the same song, then do different other dances and songs, as well as some running and movement games. We have a little snack close to the end and finish our lesson with the same song as well. The music is on all the time and my kids don't stop moving and dancing. Finn even started singing some of the songs at home and little Lilly bounces as soon as the music comes on.

Here are some impressions from our last class:

We play with hoops and scarves.

Having a drink and a snack.

Finn singing.

Being frogs and jumping from hoop to hoop.

Lilly on the move.

Waldspielgruppe

In the last post we introduced Finn's Spielgruppe to you. They have a great facility with lots of room to play: a "bounce area", dress up clothes, and a great outdoor playground.

But they also introduced a new concept in Alberschwende 2 years ago and it is called "Waldspielgruppe". It is 2 mornings per week (9-11:30) and they spend the whole time outside in the woods. They have build a little shelter for bad weather and extreme cold, but usually they spend the time all their time outside. We decided to take part in a testday one morning to see if we would like it.

We met at 9 am sharp at the edge of the woods and started with a morning ritual. We then trekked about 30 minutes to the actual campsite that they have. It took us about 30 min because we had to cross little brooks, pick up pine cones, look at mouse holes, stomp over snow, listen to birds, etc.
Once we got to the actual campsite we did a gear check to make sure we were not too hot or cold. That is actually a very difficult question as the temperature might change during the time outside.

We then played in the woods, swung on the wood swings, had a snack in the tent out of sticks, played some games and hung out with friends.

After about 1.5 hours at the site we packed up again and started heading back to the street. Finn was pretty tired and I had to carry him for a while. But he had a great time and is looking forward to going back. Now we hope that next year Finn will be able to spend one morning per week in the woods with the other kids.

On the swings. 

They are listening to a story about creatures of the wood.

We were all bundled up.

Spielgruppe

We got several questions from our friends regarding our days in Austria. We were pretty busy in Nashville and we took part in several activities there: school (Mother's Day Out Programs for Finn and Lilly), Music Class, MOMS Club,  the Y, East Park Community Center, etc.

Things are different here in Austria as many mothers don't go back to work for a good period of time after their children are born and they tend to spend lots of time at home or with family. When we got here I knew Finn needed to go back to school as soon as possible. He loved going and when we arrived in Austria he kept asking "Mommy, when am I going to school again to see my friends?" So I started searching.

In Austria most kids start going to "school, pre-school, etc." around 3 years old and it is called Spielgruppe = Playgroup. And that is what it is all about: playing. They can go from 2-5 mornings per week and once they are 5 years old Kindergarten starts. But also Kindergarten here in Austria is different, not so much educational, more like learning through playing. With Finn being only 2.5 years old, I had a little problem. And of course I would have preferred if he would have spoken English at school. ..
There were some English speaking options in other towns, but the one I liked did not have space right now - we are on the waiting list there. And the other English speaking place we visited I did not like very much. So the English part would not work.

There is a Spielgruppe in our village and I had tried to get Finn in but they were full when we arrived in Austria. But I was pretty persistent  :-) and kept calling and finally something became available. They had an opening for one day per week. I was very happy and Finn too. He marched in the first day and owned the place. The teachers are great and Finn is really happy and exhausted after each day. Those days he takes a really long nap. And we were lucky enough that another day opened up and Finn goes 2 days per week now. He absolutely loves his new school and is working on making new friends.

They have a great outdoor play area.

Finn at the entrance. It is called "Dean und Duss" - Inside and Outside.

The other day they were collecting flowers.

Miss Petra is helping Finn to walk on stilts.