Knorr Family Adventures

I am really trying to write up about our Italian trip before it's a distant memory (even though it's already 6 months late) I would have to say that out of our entire Italian trip Florence was probably my favorite city.   I loved the rhythm of the city, the size of it, the overall feel… Our hotel was in the center of the city so driving to it was an interesting experience because the streets were extremely narrow and at times it was debatable whether we can make certain turns.   The room we reserved in the hotel was in the style of a loft apartment with 2 beds in the loft and a fold out couch on the bottom.   Interestingly, the room had a kitchen but in order to use anything but the fridge we had to pay 25 euros.   We opted not to; hotel came with breakfast included and we wanted to enjoy the Italian cuisine. Immediately after we arrived and checked in, we decided to go grab dinner and went to Central Market.   The place is so busy and has so m...

As more and more of Anton’s American peers and their parents are starting to get ready for kindergarten, I decided to talk about kindergarten experience that we’ve had here so far and what is coming up for our high energy adorable boy. German kindergarten is for children starting at age 3 until they start school at age 6.     By German law, all kids above 3 years old are guaranteed a spot at a kindergarten but that kindergarten might not be where you would choose to take your child.   There are some private kindergartens that will accept kids from anywhere but 90% of the time, the kids have to go to their local kindergarten provider and in our area you have to apply well in advance to get a spot at a place you want.   Private kindergartens also cost 500+ euros/month as opposed to local kindergartens that are roughly 200 euros/month (or cheaper).   In the last year before school (when the kids are 5 years old), the kindergarten is either free or mostly...

The older boys are back in school, Anton was home sick with a fever of 39.4C (nearly 103F) but is clearly feeling much better and will hopefully go back to kindergarten tomorrow.  Chris' mom was supposed to leave today but because the airline changed her flight, she got to stay one more day so she is leaving tomorrow bright and early (5AM pull out of the house).  Chris is going to US on Sunday ...  Oh yeah, it snowed for most of the day today - absolutely beautiful. I am trying to catch up on the laundry and get the house into some kind of a reasonable shape, making tons of phone calls to all kind of different individuals regarding different needs we have, create some kind of a plan/schedule for my/our life.  I read about this interesting method of planning that I am thinking of giving a try - basically you make some yearly goals, then you make plans for 2 months at a time, and based on that you can plan your week or day depending how much of an organizer freak ...

Overall 2016 was a good year. We traveled a bunch, we got more used to our surroundings, made new friends ... we had some medical related difficulties, Chris traveled a  lot :(  Overall we end the year with a lot to be thankful for and are set for an even better 2017. January Chris traveled a lot (theme of the year), Andrei tried out speed skating . February I visited Pittsburgh, Anton finally starting getting dressed on his own (more or less), we went to Paris again.  I had my first experience with the Russian consulate in Frankfurt - not a horrible experience.  I should write about that :)  The kids got sick while Chris was away. March   Ilya turned 7 !  We headed for spring break to Seattle with a stop over in Iceland . April We really enjoyed our Seattle vacation, including a visit to Vancouver. Andrei and his cousin Thomas bonded playing star-craft together.  Despite the 9 hour time difference, they still find tim...

Here we are in the middle of December and the time is flowing by so what is going on in our life?  Ok, it's the first of January by now!!! I have been really busy with studying German, working on getting certification of being able to teach English as foreign language, learning how to work with certain needs that we have in our family, and generally keeping afloat that sometimes seems like a complicated task on its own.  Getting ready for Christmas was crazy busy time as well.  Starting now (January) I joined an online reading club which I am super excited about - one book a month, sometimes there is a theme and I get to pick the book, sometimes there are specific books.  For January, I choose Chronicles of Narnia which I never read before. I've also been trying to sell/give away/throw away things we don't need or use.  The chance of us moving within next 3 years is not a crazy possibility and I don't want to drag things along that we don't actually want. ...

Before Chris went to bed on December 29, he mentioned that the house is little chilly.  I vaguely disagreed and we all went to bed.  Waking up on December 30 and realizing that all the heaters are freezing cold was our first discovery.  Second discovery that the plumber that takes care of the house is on vacation from December 23 to January 8.  Third discovery was when we called "an emergency plumber in Frankfurt," he said that he is not willing to come out to our little town (we are about 20 minutes away).  Eventually we found the phone number for the landlords daughter (our landlord is over 90 years old and does not speak any English), and she managed to get someone to come out.  Thankfully, crisis averted! My MIL wanted to wash windows inside and out and while usually I would welcome such a gesture, I had to say no to opening the windows and letting the heat out until it was firmly established that everything is working again.  Insert sad face ....