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Speeltuin Groenendaal with Papa and Opa

Speeltuin Groenendaal

Perfect view of all the options

Papa, Opa and Jana took me to a ‘speeltuin’ (playground) near Opa’s house in the Netherlands. It was called Groenendaal. That must translate to scrapes, bumps and bruises because the contraptions caused many injuries and crying kids as a result. Whenever a child cries I run over to make sure everything is ok and it was a busy afternoon for me. I also got an ice cream.

Let me run you through my favourite hazards equipment.

First stop is this roundabout. This one caused some injuries, one from one of the boys in this picture.

It's safe in the middle

It’s safe in the middle

I love the Netherlands. I want to move here. There are basically no rules. For example, I was tall enough to ride this moterbike. No supervision whatsoever. They basically put the parents in charge and with Papa and Opa around that’s not a guarantee for success.

Who's the easy rider now?

Who’s the easy rider now?

The absolute highlight of this playground was a deathtrap merry-go-round. This picture was taken 20 seconds before I slit down and go my feet dragged over the ground. Papa saw it coming and was quick to the rescue. Maybe he knows what he’s doing after all.

Going round, feeling merry

Going round, feeling merry

Speeltuin Groenendaal was a scream. Literally! Did I mention I got an ice cream?

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Picking Pumpkins in Langley, BC – with parents

If you want something done right you better do it yourself

This is my first October in Vancouver and I’m excited because at the end of the month I get to dress up and ask strangers for candy. October also includes decorating our apartment with scary stuff. To prepare for it we took a drive out to Langley in ‘the valley’ where you can pick your own pumpkin at Aldor Acres.

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A special weekend in Cowra, Australia – with parents

The way Papa  likes to decide where to go on a weekend trip sometimes is to take Google Maps and draw the pointer away from where we are until he finds a place that seems like a feasible drive. Four hours in a car is pretty doable for me. I can entertain myself by pointing out stuff I know, singing some songs, practice my counting, having a few snacks and taking a nap. While in Australia Papa drew a line from Bondi Beach where we were staying to Cowra, NSW. A four hour drive.

routetocowra

Papa’s way of planning a roadtrip

The drive itself was beautiful. We drove through the Blue Mountains and it was very nice. I have to admit I did fell asleep for part of it. Once we got through the mountains we reached rolling hills with lots of farmland. That meant I could play one of my games; NAME THAT FARM ANIMAL! There were more cows and sheep than I thought existed and I made sure I pointed them all out.

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The colours of Bondi Beach – with parents

Bondi Beach is full of colour.

Bondi Beach is full of colour

I was just over two years old when we stayed in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia for a few weeks. During that time I was working on learning my colours. Colours are interesting. They aren’t things, like a cow or a truck. They’re about the way things look like and it’s a lot harder to learn than you might expect. And Papa is teaching me in Dutch and Mama in English complicating things further. I’m just picking one for now and worry about the translation later.

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Public art on the Vancouver seawall with parents

Mari and the Olympic Cauldron

The Olympic Cauldron was built for the Olympic Games. Loooong before I was born.

Earlier this summer we were in Vancouver, Canada. There’s nothing like summer in Vancouver. When Papa comes home from work I just yell “FIETS”, that’s Dutch for “bike”, until he takes me. Sometimes that involves throwing some toys around for dramatic effect. I get timeouts for that but it’s an investment that pays off because we usually end up going.

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SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium with Papa

Watching the fish at the Sydney aquarim

Watching the fish at the Sydney aquarium, I was probably climbing a handrail somewhere

Papa and I are developing a tradition to visit aquariums in the places we visit. We’re in Sydney and that means we went on a trek to SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. Now you have to understand that I just turned two years old. Being two isn’t all fun and games. They don’t call it the terrible twos for no reason.

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Petting Kangaroos and hugging Koalas in Wollongong – with parents

We’re in a town called Wollongong, Australia where I attended my first blog trip. A blog trip is a trip where the tourism people take me around town to see everything there is to do so I can blog about it. Now that’s handy because unlike Papa, they don’t get lost.

Mama got to ride a Harley and we visited Symbio Wildlife Park. They have a lot of animals there and my favourites are the Kangaroos and Koalas. I can imitate Kangaroos really good so it was great to see them in real life. I even got to pet one!

Kangaroos are about my height

Kangaroos are about my height

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The Christmas market in Innsbruck with parents

Playing hide and seek at the Innsbruck Christmas market

Playing hide and seek at the Innsbruck Christmas market

Innsbruck is located in the Austrian alps and is the capital of the Tirol region. I’ve been to Innsbruck twice already. The last time was in December during Christmas season where we visited the famous Christkindlemarkt.

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A stroller tour of Berlin with parents

Taking a bottle break in Berlin

Taking a bottle break in Berlin

Last year I took Mama and Papa to Berlin. Berlin is a fascinating city with a lot of history and a vibrant modern culture. There are lots of things to do. It was March and pretty cold but Mama bundled me up so I was snug as a bug. Mama has a fascination with the second world war and Papa with the communist era. Both well represented in Berlin. I have a fascination with pretty much anything so there was enough to do for all of us. I couldn’t walk yet so I sat back and watched the scenes and history go by as we went on our stroller tour.

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Vancouver aquarium with Papa

Vancouver Aquarium

That’s one giant fishtank

Mama was sick in bed and Papa took me for a day out to the Vancouver Aquarium! Fish are my new favourite animals. They make a funny sound and I imitate them whenever I see them. Most of the times that’s in books but here at the aquarium I could experience the real thing. I’ve been to zoos with aquariums before but that was before I knew how to imitate them.

Fish are nice but also strange. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Dogs come in all shapes, sizes and colours too, but not like fish. Some look very very strange. It was very exciting to seem them up close. I ran from one window to the other. Papa told me that a lot of those fish live right in the water by our house. I had no idea.

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