Hallowe'en

We didn't do any door to door trick 'r treating, I haven't ever really been big on that part anyway, so we didn't get to see if there were as many guisers (from disguised in costume) as in the States.  We had heard that that tradition wasn't as practiced here.  But, if you do go trick or treating or "guising" as it is called, you are expected to earn your treat by performing a trick- telling a joke or singing a song, etc.  I thought that was a sweeter interpretation since we take it to mean playing a mischievous trick on the person if they don't give a treat (not that such behavior is actually condoned.)

It was so fun to walk the children to school this day as all the pupils and staff were dressed up for their own class parties and a Monster Mash Walk for a Water-Aid charity.  Their red sandstone victorian school building and was a perfect backdrop.

That evening we attended our churches Hallowe'en party and though small, had so much fun!  All the traditional games were played: bobbing for apples (but by dropping a fork into them-much more hygienic,) donuts on a string, musical statutes, pumpkin bowling, and rocking out to Thriller.

Happy Dress-up Day!

Should have posted this two weeks ago when we were heading off on holiday. But, now it serves as my "be-patient-with-me-while-I-go-through-the-millions-of-photos-we-took-on-holiday" post.  We spent a wonderful mid-term break in Czech Republic/Germany/Austria and can't wait to tell you all about it; stay tuned!

Our Autumn Holiday, Part III: Germany and Austria

Yes, you read correctly, we are still behind and this is Part III of our autumn trek. England, Czech Republic, and now on to Germany and Austria! The good news is, our kids have been raised to be road warriors, so covering 4 countries in 9 days is no biggie (at least once the complaining fades from memory).

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away (i.e. before kids), we were lucky enough to take a trip to Italy and absolutely loved it. In addition to Leah's obvious obsession with England, we were pretty sure Italy was going to be tough to beat on our "favorite places" list. 

But after starting with a couple days in Prague (see Part I posted earlier), we drove briefly through Bavaria, where we met some of my friends for dinner and visited Neuschwanstein Castle, and then spent a few days in Austria.

And we fell in love. What a breathtaking, friendly...and tasty part of the world!

Loved . . .

• Rolling green hills, steeples on the hilltops, blanketed in forest, and the alps in the distance.
• No speed limit on the autobahn and still getting passed
• Meeting up with Tanner & Charee Brown and their kids for dinner, so glad we got to!

• Family dinners in pyjamas
• Daddy buying ice cream 
• Lots of "Snap" playing

Innsbruck, Austria

Neuschwanstein Castle near Fussen, Bavaria Germany

Loved . . .

• Dreamy pistachio and amaretto gelato
• The nice guy at the kebab place who gave the kids chupa chups
• Gorgeous cuckoo clocks and chess sets

Salzburg, Austria

Loved . . .

• Church bells singing
• Street performers playing Mozart
• Wrought-iron shop signs
• Christmas store filled with hand-painted eggs
• The best sausages (the Emmentaler-filled Käsekrainer were our favorite, except Logan who preferred the classic Brat!)

• "Ti, a drink with jam and bread"...walking in the steps of the Von Trapp Family

Jude lost his first two teeth in one week!

• The magnificent stonework in Salzburg Cathedral

• Hiking thru Vorderkaserklamm--a natural series of caverns carved out over the ages by water and ice, and subsequently made very accessible by the building of wooden footbridges and staircases so you can hike right through them! Amazing and probably the highlight of all the "things" we did.

Austria and Germany definitely joined our list of places we didn't get enough of and want to come back to someday!

Autumn In Scotland Is . . .

And my favorite is the song that Logan has been learning for the school Harvest Service . . .

In the Toilet

Here, bathrooms are called toilets or occasionally the loo.  If you're in need of relief you ask where the toilets are.  It's funny that it took me a bit to be comfortable using such a blunt term, but there it is. Also, one should always carry a bit of change as some of the public toilets will charge for entrance.  Here is a wee tour of our own family toilet, in case you were curious.

1. We are lucky to have have two, but this is the only one on the main living floor so we share and get along just fine.

2. With the exception of a "shavers only" there are no electrical outlets in the bathrooms in Scotland, not sure why. Even most light switches will be found outside of the bathroom door in houses and hotels, etc . . .  This means that I have to do my hair drying/straightening in the bedroom.

3. Most sink faucets have a hot handle and a cold handle.  Doesn't seem like a big deal, but when you're trying to get warm water to rinse your face with you have to run them both at the same time and do a quick hand cup of cold then hot and splash.

4.  The heating in the homes here comes from radiators in each room.  The one in the toilet helps to dry your towels quicker in the damp, winter months (we don't have a dryer.)

5.  To turn on the light tug the bottom pull.  To turn on the shower tug the top pull.

6.  Our shower is pretty cool in that you can preset the temp you like with the dial and then press the on/off button below it for the water to flow.  It's so nice not having to play the cold to hot ratio every morning.

Riverside Museum, Glasgow

We had a five day weekend last week and did absolutely nothing . . . and it was great!  So many times after a vacation we've said that we need to take time off and just stay home, but we never did.  But, as our budget is tight and traveling wasn't an option this month, we were finally given the opportunity to enjoy a "stay-cation" and were quite pleased with the result.  Five days of sleeping in late, brunching, napping, and evenings at the park.  We did take one outing into Glasgow to explore one of the many free museums there.

The Riverside Museum is on the banks of the River Clyde and boasts the permanent anchorage of the Tall Ship, originally built in the 1800's.  It was quite fun to explore every level of it and we were shocked to see how much space was below deck!  At the very bottom was a children's play area and pirate dress ups but the best part of the whole thing was getting to swab the decks- seriously the kids could have done this for hours.

The museum is sometimes called the Transport Museum as it houses all kinds of historical vehicles- some of the very first automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, trains, double decker buses, trolleys, etc...  There was quite a lot to see and a little model street with shops and pub and fancy dress to play in.

Scotland: Yes or No?

It would seem amiss if we didn't give some information on the Scottish Referendum that just took place here.  For a country to be given the opportunity to succeed in such a peaceful manner is truly unique.  And it has been impressive to see the opposing opinions on the matter dealt with, for the most part, respectfully.  That's not to say there hasn't been political propaganda but the easy Scottish sense of humor has enabled opponents to banter and oppose each other with a cheeky smile more often than stab in the back.  At least, this has been my own limited perspective.  I don't claim to be an authority so perhaps I am wrong?  Anyway, for those who might have been interested here are a couple of political authorities you can rely on . . .

In the end the vote was  "No."  And, so Scotland will remain part of the United Kingdom.  We don't feel qualified to give an argument either way, not having lived here long or been exposed the political issues, but we are very impressed by the voter turnout and it has to be admitted that the Scottish people had their say either way.

Choice	Votes	%
No	2,001,926	55.30
Yes	1,617,989	44.70
Valid votes	3,619,915	99.91
Invalid or blank votes	3,429	0.09
Total votes	3,623,344	100.00
Registered voters and turnout	4,283,392	84.59
Voting age population and turnout	4,436,428	81.67
Source: BBC News, General Register Office for Scotland