German Elections

Yesterday Germans voted and re-elected Angela Merkel as their chancellor. And when did I learn of this election? In July, when my German teacher mentioned it in class. And when did I learn who was running against her? A few weeks ago, when they debated each other. And when did I learn of the debate? The day after. And when did I learn of the exact date to vote? On Friday, when Alex came home from school and reminded me to vote, which, of course, I cannot do.

Granted, I don't keep up with politics the way I used to, but this time, I missed the entire horse and pony show. That is, if there ever was one.

Croatia and Belgium

We returned to Fazana, Croatia, this summer, and stayed at the same campground, Bi-Village, as last year. As promised, we stayed longer, and it was worth it.



We went kayaking. We rented a pedalboat and went snorkeling. We went swimming in the Adriatic. As I mentioned last year, camping in Europe is nothing like camping at Rock Island State Park, our favorite in the US. Bi-Village has a resort-like atmosphere with restaurants, pools, and sport facilities. The boys even found a video arcade.



Outside of playing at the campground/resort, we did a little touring. We visited the town of Rovinj, up the coast from Pula. It was touristy, but for good reason--it was very charming. The architecture was Venetian, and it was interlaced with narrow, winding streets lined with art galleries and laundry hanging overhead.




We also took a boat trip to the Brijuni Islands, the private residence of Tito for 30 years. We saw the Cadillac that President Eisenhower gave him, and his private safari park, where he collected exotic animals given to him by politicians from all over the world. This cow, I think, was a gift from Indira Ghandi. And long before Tito, the islands had been the private residence of Roman nobility.


When we came home, the boys' Aunt Irene spent a couple of days with us after her business trip to Switzerland. The boys, of course, took her to the BMX track.



And finally, the weekend before the boys returned to school, we drove to Belgium to visit friends. On the way, we stopped in Maastricht, Netherlands. We've visited Maastricht many times before, but rarely ventured beyond the main square. This time we got there early, ate lunch and walked!


In Belgium, the boys played with their friend, Sasha, while we sampled beer in Leuven, the home of Stella Artois. I think, to most Belgians, Stella is what Budweiser (although Stella is stronger with 5.2% alcohol) is to most Americans, but I really like it.