Return of the Trick Cyclist

I finally got round to filming the Juniorette on her unicycle. The result is shown above. She now needs to start to learn how to juggle and a career in the circus is on the cards.

It was a sad week for the Juniorette as she learnt that her school teacher and head mistress will be leaving her school next February. There were a lot of tears as the Juniorette really likes her. It’s such a shame as she really is a great teacher and has great control of the kids. She also loves to speak English, which is very handy for me.

Later today the Juniorette will be playing football for her team in a tournament, and next weekend she will be taking part in her first swimming competition. For both events I will be working. Such is life

Technorati Tags: Marburg, Unicycle, Juniorette

The Birthday Girl

Last week the Juniorette turned 9 years old. A few days earlier we celebrated with our family and the Juniorette’s Godparents in a local restaurant. The weather was kind to us and everyone had a nice time. On the actual date of her birthday we took the Juniorette and a group of her friends to Giessen by train to visit Mathematikum. This is a science museum for kids. The staff prepared a birthday table for the Juniorette and then showed the kids round. They participated in a rally and had to track down the answers to the questions in the museum. After being fed and watered we headed back to Marburg by train.

The kids had a great time and all really enjoyed the train trip. Not sure if the other passengers enjoyed it as they were very loud. But birthdays are meant to be loud when you are 9 years old.

The Juniorette’s favourite present was her new Werder Bremen (away kit) football shirt (see photos) embossed with the name of her favourite player . She has worn it to football training already and I am slowly realising that she is amassing a little stockpile of footy shirts (8 at the last count!).

She had a great birthday and really enjoys celebrating it twice; once with her family and once with her friends, but I wonder how many years that will last?

Technorati Tags: Mathematikum, Football, Giessen, Juniorette

Womens World Cup

The Women’s football World Cup 2007 has been underway in China for the last 5 days. All of the favourite teams have done well so far, and Germany (see team photo) broke a few records by destroying Argentina 11-0 in the opening game. Earlier today Germany fought out a goal less draw with England which was a fair result. This means if both teams win their respective last matches then they will both be through to the knockout stages of the competition.

It appears that the Chinese had been spying on the Danish team prior to the match between the two countries in which China won 3-2. One incident included Chinese men with cameras hiding behind a one way mirror in a room where the Danish team were holding a discussion about tactics for the upcoming game. The Danes reported the incident to police and FIFA and it has been consequently decided that no more action will be taken - Intriguing stuff.

The Haddock family were disappointed that Louise Hanson did not play for Denmark against China as we have met her several times when the Juniorette has attended football school in Frankfurt. Hopefully she will play in the game tomorrow against New Zealand.

Technorati Tags: Louise Hanson, Football, Germany, Juniorette

Kinderkirchentag zum Elisabethjahr

This year marks the 700^th anniversary of the birth of Elisabeth von Thüringen and Marburg has been running lots of events this year to celebrate the event. One of these events is the Kinderkirchentag which is being held in the Elisabethkirche (St Elisabeth’s church) next Saturday 15^th September. The local newspaper ran a competition several months ago for children to draw a picture of Elisabeth. The winning picture would then be used for the flyers and posters to publicise the event. The Juniorette won and shown below is the resultant flyer.

St Elisabeth was famous for helping the poor and needy and was canonized in 1235. The Elisabethkirche was consecrated in 1238 and was the property of the Order of Teutonic Knights. It once housed the remains of St Elisabeth, and is reputed to be the oldest Gothic church in Germany.

Mrs H and the Juniorette will be attending the Kinderkirchentag on Saturday but unfortunately I have to work.

Technorati Tags: Marburg, Elisabethkirche, Juniorette

Luxembourg of the south

We spent the last weekend in Switzerland visiting friends in Bern. They have recently moved to Bern from Marburg and seemed to have settled in very well. We had a wonderful time with them and we were very impressed with the city of Bern. You could definitely see that the Swiss were not involved in the world wars as there was an impressive amount of old buildings. I particularly like the river Aar that flows through as the city. It flows quite fast and is green in colour. I was surprised to see people swimming in it – or rather getting carried along by the current. Drownings are not unknown. Due to its geography, Bern reminded both Mrs H and I of Luxembourg.

We also visited the little zoo, which the Juniorette rather liked, the Bärengruben, which housed a couple of sorry looking bears, and the Rosengarten which over looks the city. Here we managed to find 2 types of rose that we have in our garden at home. The dialect of the Bernese I found interesting and very hard to understand. It was a bit like what the Wurzels would sound like if they tried to speak German.

The weather was very good for our stay and that meant we were able to see the Alps from Bern which really impressed the Juniorette. She has a thing about mountains. I think perhaps she may have watched too many episodes of Heidi on kids TV.

Technorati Tags: Switzerland, Bern, Juniorette