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Dellbrück

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    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 13

      Raclette for Dinner!

      December 22, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

      Last night we had the most fun and fabulous night eating Raclette together. The photos show what I am talking about but you put boiled potato on the small grill plates and top it with your favourite meat. Perhaps ham, prosciutto, venison or beef and then a special cheese, that I cannot remember the name of. Then you put it under the special grill that sits in the middle of the table. Each person does their own and you sit around and chat, or in Philipp’s case, sing! It is a really social meal and we all loved it. It is traditional Swiss, so I am told we will have it again next week in Switzerland.

      We all totally loved it and of course drank plenty of wine and then enjoyed some great music.

      Oh and another similarity between Vern and Philipp that I discovered is that Philipp plays the saxophone as well! Also philipp and Katrin were married the same year as Vern and I. Just a bit freaky!      Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 13

      Cristmas Tree

      December 22, 2018 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

      Today was Christmas tree day!!
      We had such a great time choosing a Christmas tree and Philipp let Vern have the honour of cutting it down. I think Philipp just didn’t want to get his jeans dirty. Kids got a ride on a beautiful old tractor back to the shed where the tree was put through a machine shaped like a jet engine to be covered I netting for transportation. On the roof racks it went for the trip home. I have included a photo of louise which was taken for The Mercedes in the background. You will see they didn’t have roof racks so they just put the tree on a blanket on the roof! Inside the Barn was beautiful and had such a great atmosphere for having hot chocolate and bratwurst. I could have sat there for hours listening to carols.Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 13

      Phantasialand

      December 22, 2018 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

      After the Christmas tree was safely delivered home, we met up with Sonja and Maybrit and headed to phantasialand. This is the German version of Disneyland and I have to say I was really impressed. I was expecting something a step down from Disneyland but I was pleasantly surprised. I know many people say you can’t beat Disney, but for rides and atmosphere, this was right up there.

      Kids road one of the roller coasters over and over again with their German relatives and said it was the best! More food was consumed and after the fireworks we headed home.

      It was another amazing day of wonderful experiences. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.      Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 14

      Nikolaus' 18th Birthday

      December 23, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

      Today was Nikolaus’ 18th Birthday. As he had a party at home last night,he slept till late giving us time to prepare a few special items. Katrin prepared the birthday table and I made mars bar slice for Nikolaus.

      Roly took a long walk with Sonja and frank in the fields and the boys played.

      Karla and Gisela (Katrin’s Mum) arrived at 4pm for coffee, cake and gifts for Nikolaus. The cake Karla made was totally amazing. Nikolaus loves his gifts, then we had our usual late dinner at about 8.30pm, of pulled pork rolls. Philipp had slow cooked the pork neck under the bbq hood for 8 hours. It was amazing and came with a specially made sauce. It was so good, lochie had two pulled pork rolls for dinner!

      Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the holy night here in Germany and we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas the German way this year. Bring it on.      Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 16

      Cristmas Day

      December 25, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

      What a magical day we have had with our German relatives for Christmas. After an extremely late night last night (like 0130 this morning) we did all sleep in till about 9am but I still felt exhausted. With a slow start we watched Philipp prepare two geese for Christmas dinner at Sonja’s. One in his oven, and one in the neighbour’s oven. 4.5 hours on low heat. It was soooo worth the wait.

      Karla joined the three families for dinner in a beautifully decorated dining table as we had goose, red cabbage and potato dumplings. This was boiled potatoes that were then mashed and then mixed with something soft and rolled into balls. My kids called them potato balls but that doesn’t really do them justice. I can’t really explain goose but the meat was so soft and tender and was more like duck than turkey. Kyles I think you would love it.
      It was stuffed with plums and then covered with a beautiful gravy as it was served. The meal was enjoyed with great wine and conversation in both German and English depending on who was talking, but everybody was so understanding of my lack of German.

      For dessert Sonja made a mascarpone and Katrin made chocolate mousse. Both were sensational!

      It was so special to see our kids play with Sonja’s kids even though they didn’t know one another. Hide and seek outside in 2 degrees in the dark was loved by all. My boys didn’t want to leave.

      Tonight we are in bed at 10.30pm which is early by European standards but we are all exhausted. Tomorrow is boxing day but the Germans call it the second Christmas. I am hoping it will start with a sleep in.

      Merry Christmas everybody! Xxx      Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 27

      Fiescheralp to Cologne

      January 5, 2019 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

      Today we had to leave behind the stunning Swiss Alps we had all fallen in love with. The snow groomer collected all our luggage and took it as well as Jonathan and Will, to the cable car for the trip back down to the valley. It had started to snow which we all felt was just magical.

      After a quick stop at the supermarket Vern drove us out of town, through the beautiful towns in the valley, to join the queue for the train through the Furka Tunnel. It was now snowing quite considerably and with all the school holiday traffic we had to wait an hour before getting our slot on the train. Such fun on the train and it does feel a little strange to be moving along at such speed without doing anything.

      The snow was really coming down when we exited the tunnel and as we had a very steep descent with many hairpin bends coming up, Philipp drove from there. Wow was it steep and icy on the descent down the mountain. That’s why you have the winter tyres! It was quite a learning experience for Vern and i as Philipp explained all about driving in the snow and ice. The snow just kept coming down, and didn’t stop till we were north of Zurich. We passed some snow groomers clearing the motorway in the other direction but our side had quite a bit of snow.

      We stopped to see the Rhinefalls but due to the snow, and more importantly ice, the paths down to the falls were closed. We walked a little way down but it was steep and the second half of the walk had a sheet of ice over it so back to the car we went.

      At about 10pm we all arrived back safely in Cologne after an amazing week. One we will all remember as a very special experience with some very special family. Lochie said he loved it so much that skiing in Switzerland may even be better than going to Bali. A big call from the kid who adores Bali.      Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 15

      Christmas Eve - Frohe Weinachten

      December 24, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

      Tonight is Christmas Eve, the holy night in Germany. We started out the day with an early (well early for our European timetable) trip to the bakery at 8am. So many wonderful treats there but my favourite is still the Laugenstangen, which is the same dough as a pretzel but in the shape of a hot dog roll. Then cover it in philly cream cheese. Just divine! Perhaps this is why my jeans are getting too tight!

      We then slowly decorated the most beautiful Christmas tree with the Karallus family and got ready for church. We walked to the Protestant/Lutheran church and the tree and choir were just beautiful. The children performed a beautiful play and musical numbers. The service went for about a hour and then Philipp arranged for us to climb up the bell tower. Wow what a magical view. The whole experience was amazing. The village was so busy and flat out until 12 noon and then everything went quiet and Christmas began.

      On return from church Philipp told the children to go straight upstairs and that the family bell would be rung when it was time for them to come downstairs. Philipp lit all the candles on the tree whilst Katrin lit all other candles around the home. The room had such a magical atmosphere complete with classical music. The bell rung, the children ran downstairs and whilst they opened gifts, us adults drank champagne whilst indulging in chocolates and cake. I could really get used to this.

      Philipp and Katrin prepared fondue for dinner. I always thought of fondue as cheese or chocolate, but I have learnt that it is actually a form of cooking. So with the oil boiling in the pot we dipped in cubes of Angus beef to cook. The meat was so soft and tender and with the beautiful sauces, was amazing. Kids thought it was great fun and lochie just loved it cause it was an all meat meal!

      With more gift unwrapping, wine, beer and music, the evening went by so quickly.

      Thank you so much to the Karallus family for sharing their German Christmas traditions with us aussies and for making it so very special.

      It is 1.30am and we are now off to bed. Frohe Weinachten. Xxxx      Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 12

      Shopping and lunch on the Rhine

      December 21, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

      Today louise stayed home and we took Jonathan with us to the city. We started with some shopping at H & M and I got some more soft shell jackets for the boys for only $25 each! We purchased a few more items that we needed for our week of skiing cause we will not have any washing facilities. That requires a weeks worth of underwear for everybody. Also you can buy ice skates in the department store here for just €50.

      Lunch was at a beautiful Italian restaurant by the Rhine River complete with outdoor heaters and beautiful red blankets to keep us toasty warm.

      Kids played outside a bit then we had afternoon cake at my favourite cafe next to the Dom. The cheesecake was as awesome as I remember it. Then we spent a bit of time at the Christmas market next to the Dom. This Christmas market is world famous and I can see why. The lights are just magical. The photos don’t do it justice.

      Our final stop was a luggage shop for another suitcase. As samsonite is made in Europe, they are a fair but cheaper here and we need that extra case for the shopping and snow boots!

      Tomorrow we hope to get the Christmas tree if it doesn’t rain.      Read more

    • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
      Day 7

      London to Cologne

      December 16, 2018 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

      Well we left London this morning on the Eurostar to Brussels with a connection to Cologne. We had a great trip on the Eurostar but when we got to Brussels Midi we were told our ICE train would now be leaving from Brussels Nord. Midi is the central station and Nord is like Redfern. This was due to the schedule being out of whack due to the snow in Germany. At least that is what we were told.

      With our transit now being at Brussels Nord, I went looking for food to find most of the station shops shut down on a Sunday so we ate at an over priced take away shop and then went up to the platform. Clearly this station was in need of an upgrade. It looked like something out of East Germany in the 60’s. I have included a photo.

      Our first class compartment on the ICE was great and we really enjoyed the passing scenery. The last hour showed a dusting of snow all over the paddocks beside the train with some snow on the

      train platforms. Philipp had already sent us a picture of his backyard covered in snow this morning but it had already melted by the time we got there.

      Philipp met us on the platform and we headed to the car. From there we went to a Christmas market in a small village. Had gluehwein and currywurst for dinner and soaked up the amazing atmosphere. The lights were beautiful but it was so great to loo k at the stalls without a crowd. I bought a beautiful pair of gloves that are sooo warm.

      Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Dellbrück, Dellbruck

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