Schnitzel!  Our original plan of heading south changed direction and instead we went east for a daytrip into Germany.  Jeff's dad Nico came with us as our unofficial tour guide and navigator.  (He also knows some German which is helpful!)  We drove for about an hour and a half and found ourselves in the delightful town of Emmerich am Rhein.  It's on the Rhine (the giant river for those who don`t know!) and there is a nice walkway along the river.  It was a gorgeous 33C and sunny so we had a nice time walking around and then finding a great riverview café to eat lunch in.  We wanted authentic German food (otherwise why drive all that way?!) and we definitely found what we were looking for.  I had schnitzel with a mushroom sauce (super good) washed down with German beer served from a German man in Germany.  So, we did it!  Julia only wanted the salad bar and went back 8 times for more cucumbers and 'crunchy lettuce'.  Chloë wanted the 'kid schnitzel' which was still a gigantic portion and I think Jeff was a bit jealous of it because he somehow ordered a piece of turkey with pineapple and cheese on top.  (Chalk it up to a slight language misunderstanding).  In any case, we were all pleased with the experience and now the kids can add Germany to their list of countries.

On the way back we veered off of the main highway and spent some time on the back roads of east Holland.  It was calm, idyllic, and very pretty.  Lots of green grass and sheep, but not a single windmill in sight!  We eventually got back on to the fast road and headed for home.  The weather was still gorgeous so we sat outside for awhile playing UNO and then Jeff and Julia took off Dutch style (she rode on the back of Jeff's bike) to the grocery store to pick up a few things for tomorrow's breakfast.  We eventually looked at the clock and it was already 8:30 pm and we still hadn’t eaten dinner - this explains why the kids were so tired and lethargic looking.  Oops!   Nico needed to get back to his sister's house so we drove him with a pit stop at a Chinese restaurant.  Chinese food here is not at all like it is at home - actually not a single dish on the menu was what we call 'Chinese' - we would call it Indonesian with it's chicken satay and loempias.  Regardless of the nationality the food was delicious and quick.  Hooray!

Now off to bed for everyone.  Chloë has been fighting something these last few days and her little body is working hard - sleep should hopefully come quickly for her!  I had trouble keeping my eyes open on the way home from Germany today but perhaps that was due to excessive schnitzel consumption.

Until tomorrow!