Penny and Alex made another run this morning. This time they rode the train downtown to start running at the castle park. There is a very long network of paths and trails. They ended up running beside the zoo and were able to see the Polar Bears from the trail.
Meanwhile, Finn and I popped out of bed again to head to the bakery and market. We were determined to redeem ourselves from getting lost yesterday. Finn lead the way. We walked straight there and got exactly what we wanted. The women behind the counter at both places even seemed to recognize us. That felt nice. We could get used to this routine!
We had a slow start. The kids watched some television. This morning we watched some Dora the Explorer, which was funny. In the US, Dora (a Hispanic girl) speaks English and then throws in occasional Spanish. In Germany, she speaks German and throws in occasional English. It's a good idea for beginner German because she keeps things simple and also repeats herself a lot.
About mid morning, we went to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens - Wilhelma. This is the best zoo I've ever seen. The setting was beautiful. The grounds, the walls, pathways, buildings and even the habitats were beautiful. The botanical garden green houses were also very old and had some incredible collections.
For the animals, the favorites were the penguins, the monkeys, elephants and the polar bears (which are famous in this zoo).
We had lunch at one of the cafes in the zoo. We also stopped afterwards at the snack bar to have some ice cream and coffee. Penny was tired. Ramona was getting a little bit tired too.
We started back and I got this idea that a good souvenir would be a sew on German flag or German soccer patch. I could put that on my bag. The boys could put it on their backpacks. It'd be cool. Alex offered to go downtown with me while the girls rode back home with the boys. Alex and I walked through the pedestrian zone, trying several different stores. We didn't really find what we were looking for. Eventually, we bought some sew on patches for the Stuttgart soccer team. These will do just fine. The best part was for Alex and I to be walking around. We could walk fast, without worrying about the kids for a change. It was kinda fun! We walked all the way from downtown to the apartment. I got to see some other areas of Stuttgart. (Forgetting, of course, that Alex had already been running in the morning and then in the zoo all day too!)
Back at home, we had a little time to rest before we left for dinner. We went back downtown to a place that Alex had picked out. This is a local microbrewery. They make some very, very good beers on a small scale and have a traditional German menu. The place is called Calwer-Eck-Bräu. We met some friends of Alex and Ramona - Felix and Steffi. Felix had done study abroad in Toronto at the same time Alex was in Auburn. I had seen pictures of Alex's trip to Toronto. We also had a special visitor from south of Stuttgart - our friend Cathye. She was in Auburn for the Fall Semester when Alex was there - doing an exchange semester. I had e-mailed her that I would be in Stuttgart and she drove up (over 1 hour) to meet us. It was great to see her again! She has finished her degree (and Masters!) in Textile Engineering. She started working recently.
[insert picture of Cathye]
The boys were tired again. They fell asleep in the pub (again!) so we did some piggy backing of Keane back to the train and then up to the apartment. We put the kids to bed and then stayed up a little while longer for one last time. We made plans to get up early (5:30) to eat breakfast and head to the airport. Alex and Ramona would go with us.
Ride to downtown
Shannon and Alex search for Patch
Back to rest and pack a little bit.
Dinner at Brewpub with Cathye, Felix & Steffi
Kids fell asleep
Home for a few more drinks
Make plans to get up early
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