Many teenies and a new car...

Skater Park in Thames



Evening view from home



My workplace on Fridays



View from the Fish and Chips Shop at the wharf, Thames



Near Coromandel harbour



View near Pauanui



Our new car, a 2001 Nissan Elgrand



Elena with Daniel





Our new car



A batch (holiday home) of a friend, in Pauanui. We spent a weekend there.



In a batch (holiday home) of a friend, in Pauanui (a friend and Daniel)



A batch (holiday home) of a friend, in Pauanui.



Felix with friends on his birthday, at home.



Pauanui Beach


Today we have accompanied Christoph back to the airport. This ex classmate of Lucas from Schwäbisch Hall was a really pleasant guest in our house, and we had a nice time all together. Five teenies have inhabited our house for the last five weeks: Clara, Valentina, Lucas, Christoph and Luis, if none of their friends were here for a visit.
Felix and Daniel, our little ones, were sometimes in danger to play only a minor role. Making use of that we had someone here we had to show around we drove to two of the most beautiful beaches of the East coast, to Miranda thermal hot pools, to Auckland and so forth. Today in Auckland we had T-shirt weather again, giving us a taste of the upcoming spring.
As we will be eight for the next 10 months at least (after Valentina from Chile, Teresa will come, our kid's cousin from Spain), we decided to buy a big white 8-seater, which you can see on two of the photos (white is our favourite "colour" for cars), and said Goodbye to our good "old" Honda Odyssey.
The photos show one of the Coromandel beaches, Pauanui, and a batch a kind friend gave us to stay in for a night; our new car, my workplace in Coromandel on the first picture (Te Korowai Hauora O Hauraki), and other moments I liked to catch and save in these days.... Unfortunately the order get's pretty mixed up by uploading the photos, I don't know why and how that happens...

Family Life these days and winter impressions

Matthias, Valentina (Claras almost-sister from Chile), Elena, Clara, Christoph (one of Lucas' classmates from Germany)



Lucas, Christoph (at Cathedral Cove)






Valentina and Clara (at Whangamata Beach)






Matthias and Lucas



Typical Kiwi food for lunch

Beach Idyll, on a late Sunday afternoon

Daniel and Felix (and Elena) at Waiomu Beach, 12 km North of Thames

Four seasons in one day...

Four seasons in one day... that is really true here. Today I swayed between t-shirt in the sun and five layers when clouds darkened the sky, and when I went barefoot from the coast up to our home (because I started to get blisters on my feet in my shoes, but it was fine) we got caught by a heavy rain and were soaked when we reached home.

Midwinter

In Our Garden



Clara chatting on the computer


This weekend was marvellous. We were able to sit outside in the afternoon for both days. Yesterday we got to know a very nice Swiss couple, who immigrated 18 months ago. It is amazing how our social net is increasing (especially the one of the older kids). Of course the computer and the cellphones play a big roll, even more than in Germany.
At work I am busier than I was in summer, more patients, but I also try to get involved more into the organisation I work for. But weekends are for family life!

Elena teaches NZ how to make Garlic Soup

One of the characteristics of Luis' class is that the old Maori values, the intrafamiliar ("whanau") support are held high. So came that Elena, as well as other Mums and Dads, were compelled (verdonnert) to share her deep knowledge with the Pakeha and Maori classmates of Luis. Even so, she was allowed to choose the topic; and she chose to give them an understanding of the healthy Spanish Kitchen.
As many Maori are poor, and for convenience, she elected the Garlic Soup as the most suitable dish to pass on. Here a few pictures and a video:

Lonely Winter Beach

Enlarge this picture by doubleclicking on it to admire the shells.
















Hier ist es inzwischen ordentlich kalt geworden. Gestern musste ich morgens zum ersten Mal die Windschutzscheibe freikratzen. Dabei kann es aber tagsüber dennoch so warm werden dass man zum Mittagessen draussen sitzen kann, sofern die Sonne scheint, und das tut sie etwa jeden zweiten Tag für einige Stunden, Tendenz sogar eher mehr. Der Unterschied zwischen Tag und Nacht ist aber gewaltig, anders als im deutschen Winter. Vor allem ist es hier morgens im Haus kaum wärmer als draußen - das ist wahrscheinlich einer der Gründe warum die Kiwis selbst sehr abgehärtet sind und im Winter oft noch mit kurzen Hosen und Sandalen rumlaufen - vermutlich der gleiche Grund warum die Hasen im Winter draußen nicht sterben.