Monday, October 26, 2009

Indian-Summer-Farewell-Tour

Last weekend the weather turned nice again, after a couple of terrible days. So we used the chance on Sunday to drive through the country side and experience Canada at its best:



We only had this one afternoon, but it felt so good to be out there again!




CANADA, WE WILL MISS YOU!!!!!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

RV Tour for a week 13-19 July 2009

Approx. a month ago I talked about the RV trip in Ontario. It was only a week, but a week of , fun, hiking, beautiful nature, with sun, clouds and in the end with rain...
On Saturday the 12th of July all our guests had arrived and we were all excited to leave Toronto for a week with an RV. When we packed our Jeep, to pick up the RV later, it was quite a challenge to have everything and everybody on board. The car was soooo packed including roof top that there wasn't space left at all. When I came back from my last walk upstairs a slightly panicked Kai (;)) came towards me and told me, that he couldn't find the keys for the car anymore....oh oh! All of us searched for it...I went upstairs again...While I did that Kai only saw one possibility which was the garbage on the 3rd floor parking garage...and...he found it!!! WOW!
Okay after clarified that we drove up to the north of Toronto to pick up our RV Chateau Sport! Which was fantastic. We were all impressed even it didn' t really feel like a sport edition...

When we left the RV park Kai and myself suddenly could remember how our last trip felt with a RV on the road...noisy...anywhere in the cabin things were shaking ...but after a few hours, it felt like waves of the ocean ;)

Our first stop was a grocery store where we bought everything we needed (or not?) for the next days...afterwards the cupboards were full and we had everything for everyone on board, ...just in case ;)
Then we drove up to Tobermory, to stay there the first night. We had our first BBQ and our first camp fire. The kids were busy to adventure the campground while we had a glass of wine.
Later on we had marshmallows and Kai was telling a story...(wasn't that the first EDWARD night?!?)
We went to bed early. Next day we organized ourself the ticket for the ferry which brought us up to Manitoulin Island. The ferry should leave in the early evening. So we decided to have our first hike along the Bruce trail in the Bruce Peninsula National Park ( a renowned 535 mile footpath that spans the Niagara Escarpment from Tobermory to Niagara. Some of the most spectacular scenery along the Bruce Trail is found in the park. The sculpted cliffs of the escarpment enable robust hikers to enjoy glorious views of Georgian Bay.)
The sun came out and we had a beautiful day! In the afternoon we had a late lunch on a patio in Tobermory and afterwards we went on the ferry. Everyone of us was happy and a bit tired and we all enjoyed the beautiful sunset and the wind, which was pretty cold a bit later and so we went inside playing a round of "Mensch aergere Dich nicht".
When we arrived at Manitoulin Island an approx. 10 pm we had to find our camp ground for the next two nights. In the meantime we had to call the owner twice and a nice lady stopped by to help us out because we were lost! (Not sure if that would have happened in Germany?!!!) Finally we made it at approx. 1 am and we only had to put the kids up to their bed. Couldn't see anything outside.
But therefore the next morning was a nice surprise! Awesome campground, directly at the lake!
We all enjoyed two days and nights there...we rent a small motor boat to explore the lake and the surroundings, had a "kids-portion" (;)) of ice cream were lying in the sun, went swimming....totally relaxing!!! And we were developing our EDWARD Good night stories while sitting around the fire! We were all so creative...it was real fun! We were all a bit sad, when we left the camp ground and the Island to drive up more to the north in direction to Lake Superior Provincial Park, Pancake bay, via Sault St. Marie (lunch).
Pancake bay was our favourite spot last time when Kai and I where on our trip 2 years ago.
It is still beautiful...even if the Indian summer was more nice. It is located directly at the lake superior with a nice white sandy beach, forest around and less than 200 m from the highway...
Unfortunately the weather wasn' t sooo good anymore, it was raining and the humidity after the rain was a paradise for mosquitos! :((( After two days and a couple of hikes in the park we all hated mosquitos, even if the hikes were stunning..., there was always the negative part..!
We had funny nights in the RV, we played games again, where reading, talking...listen to "3???" and made the best out of the cloudy or sometimes rainy hours...
Our last night we spent at the Killarney Provincial Park, this time without any electricity. It was so dark, I was happy to have Leon with a lighter with me on my way to the washrooms, which was 5 minutes away from our place on the camp ground.
While we were sitting around the fire again a Racoon was our guest...the kids were excited and at least we had seen some wildlife. :) After a cozy night in the forest (in our RV) we were able to have breakfast outside...we drove into town, where was more or less nothing but a beautiful small harbour and while we were walking enjoying the last hour of sun, suddenly there were a lot of black small and huge snakes around us...aaaaaah! I can't really handle snakes...(Britt and Jule were also not amused...) Leon was cool and wanted to have a closer look....
I was happy when we went back to the RV...because of the following rain we decided to drive back to Toronto that evening.
We picked up our Jeep at the RV park...unpacked the RV (which took us an hour) to finally be home at approx. 10 pm.

It was a great trip and a new experience with kids! And here are some pictures of our trip...


Saturday, August 22, 2009

Bad news for us...:(

Before I ' ll write about our RV tour with Britt, Leon & Jule in July... I have to add some bad news which affected us somewhere along the way. The company of Kai (it' s not mine anymore) decided to close the office in Canada. First we thought we might stay until the end of the year, but now it' s the 1 October 2009.
So, we only have a few weeks left...
Kai is traveling a lot...and I am busy, finding us a new home in Hamburg, organizing the moving from Toronto back to Hamburg...etc.
In the end it was a great experience which we'll never forget! :)

See you guys in Germany end of October...

Sports events (official & inofficial) in Toronto

Swimming...;)



Motorboat trip on Manitoulin Island (Kai, Britt, Jule)






Horse racing at Woodbine, Toronto - afterwards BBQ & Boules
Kai & Jule - Rogers centre - Baseball



Biketour at the lake
Hiking tour during our Camping trip up to the north

Toronto FC : ? (arrgg...?!?!) Soccer
Yoga in the garden...

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Our guests during the summer... (2)



So, finally some of our friends and family now have a good explanation why we like Toronto so much. Life is easy here and also to find the right spot for himself/herself. From swimming in house, to Baseball, soccer, to shopping and dining or just browsing the city or enjoying the sun at the harbour or the nice view from our apartment ;) Here are some nice shots from the last month... BBQ Algonquin.BBQ at Steffies & Martins place


"Hangover" breakfastHippotour mit MareikiDistillery district
wonderland
"Macho libre"

Thursday, August 13, 2009

JET BOAT Experience





Anni was the first of our guests who could enjoy the "Wet boat" tour on the niagara river. (One hour high-speed ride upriver into the Niagara Gorge, through the Devil's Hole rapids, to the edge of the whirlpool, and back)!
That time we had to put on a sweater, which was wet from the beginning, an overall and a poncho...but only against the cold, don't think a second that we didn't got wet...
We did it again with Mareike and also with Britt, Jule and Leon....I think I am done now ;)

Friday, August 07, 2009

Our guests during the summer... (1)

As you can see on our kitchen board Dirk was our first guest in the end of April.
Because I only worked part time, I was able to browse the city with him in the afternoon...
It was quite a challenge to canoe at the Algonquin park in the beginning of May...They brought their tent, made a fire and I' m sure they had a couple of drinks...:)
After the came back I made a great shot for "Heineken": Sundowner at a favorite spot of ours at cherry beach...isn't it beautiful?...
After Dirk left, we had only a few days before Anni arrived.
I was busy to plan a rafting trip with "my" girls here in Toronto. It should have been the Farewell chicks party for Susan as a surprise. It was an awesome day near London on the river and all of us did a good job...(What a challenge ;)) In the evening we had a BBQ (inside!!!) followed by an awesome karaoke night! I was happy that Anni had the chance to join and requested the Rafting trip...so it was originally her idea! Thanks!

We had a great time together!!!

Here we go again...!

LONG TIME AGO, BUT I' ll make sure updating our blog from now on...I will tell stories from April until August...stories you' ll love and maybe stories you' ll hate (and at least one I hate, too)...but I 'll give my very best!! ;)))

So, be aware....here we go!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Tequila, Corona, Mexico (4-11 April 09)

2.5 weeks ago, Susan asked us to come with her on holidays for a week. She lives in Toronto, too. But she has to go back to Germany in June. Because Kai does a lot of business trips this month I decided to go with (I mean, WHY not?!! :)) . Finally we booked a nice resort in Mexico!!! Because we decided so spontaneously we only had to wait 7 days since a "little dream" became true. Wow, what a huge resort. It has disadvantages but also a lot of advantages (!) to book such a resort. Food, drinks, pools, gym, sun, beach, ocean....all inclusive. If you are a fan of all inclusive resorts, this has a lot to offer, especially for families (Grand Sunset Princess / Mayan Reviera - Playa del Carmen, Mexico). What can I tell... have look at the pictures, you will understand....Cu

Happy Easter Everybody!


This year Kai and I got a very nice Easter gift....a new sofa arrived, wow!!! And its so comfortable, have a look here! :)