Camp Champions Blog

My writing mood has shifted slightly today.

I hinted yesterday that Prague is a wonderful city.  I understated the case.

Take away the years lost to Soviet puppetry, and Prague would be in the same category as Paris, Rome or London.  The location and history are top notch.  They were among the leaders in the Reformation, they were members of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and they have the largest castle in the world (according to Guinness).

The agenda for Thursday was aggressive even under ideal circumstances.

[Quick Note - After being unable to upload a key picture in my last Copenhagen blog "Walking in Copenhagen", I finally found an internet connection that allowed it.  Please scroll down to it and look at the pictures at the end that show Terrill and Susie's relative height as affected by our tilted floor.  Now back to Berlin.]

Wedensday was our day in Berlin.  I did not know what to expect, yet I had so much to think about:

1. The Berlin Wall and the Berlin Airlift
2. The Kennedy speech - Ich bin ein Berliner: “I am a Berliner”
3. Massive destruction of the city
4. Reports that the southern areas of Germany are prettier than the Northern (where Berlin is).
5. Cabaret
6. The fact that we were leaving the home of the USS Enterprise and odd cat posters at 11AM (our efforts to wake earlier continue to fail).

Goodbye Copenhagen.  We left early to head to Berlin.

The journey began as I was tasked to get Kenny (the Volvo) out of the tiny courtyard it had been parked in.  If you missed the blog from 203 days ago, you do not realize that parking greatness happened in Denmark on Saturday, August 12, 2010.  Andreas (the owner of the tilty apartment we rent) backed a Volvo x90 through a desperately narrow and crooked archway.  On this morning, I was responsible for reversing his efforts.

Our final day in Copenhagen was also a big walking day.

Sunday Morning

Copenhagen - Arrival Day

Day 3 and 4: Gotenborg picnic and trip to Copenhagen

Jet lag is not to be laughed at.  It has real impact on anyone.  It, however, unfortunately affects every age very differently.

Susie and I are early risers and are canaries (sensitive to light), so we are struggling the least.  We woke with the sun at 6:15 this morning despite the fact that it was 11:15 the previous night Texas time.

Terrill (the 13 year old daughter) woke effortlessly at 7:30.  She declared that she “slept like a rocky-rock”.  She usually does not sound quite so much like a character from Barney, but heck, at least she rose easily.

Liam and Wiley (the 14 year-old twin boys) are, well, teenage boys.  Sleeping in is an art form, as is the look of indignation that accompanies an early wake-up.  They eventually arose and no blood was shed.

Virginia (the 10 year-old) is the wildcard.  She can join the world of the living gracefully and cheerfully, yet later crater at the first injustice.  This was our situation today.  She is – alternatively – the happiest and most outraged of our children.  The moods can alter quickly and inexplicably.  It is somewhat like watching two shows on the TV, except someone else controls the remote control and switches channels without warning you.

Here is an example.  As we left our hotel room to go to breakfast, she was bouncing and laughing - each step more a skip than a trudge.  This elation, however, would end soon when disaster hit. [CLICK] Yep, Liam hit the elevator “Down” button first.

It is hard to admit that we allowed such an injustice to occur.  Surely more loving parents would have saved her from this suffering.  Let’s just say the four floor ride down was not pleasant.  “Its MY job to push the buttons!” she exclaimed.

“Yes, but its my job to push your buttons.” Liam responded.

Yet as we saw the breakfast spread, [CLICK] she regained her sunny disposition.  Smoked mackerel, lox, Swedish cheese, fresh fruit and croissants seemed to fix what was ailing her.  [I will not try to explain the odd eating habits of our children.  I have read that children crave what their mother ate during pregnancy.  Susie loves seafood.  I am certainly understating this fact.  I would not be jealous if Brad Pitt were to flirt with Susie, but I would feel deeply threatened if a giant lobster with sardines were to woo her.]

We are in Gotenborg, Sweden for two nights.  We will pick up our car here which will be our chariot for the next 6 weeks.  When we were contemplating this adventure I saw an advertisement for the “Overseas Delivery Program” from Volvo.  This program is custom-made for us.  I will not bore you with the details, but let’s just say that getting some free and discounted flights, a special purchase price on a car we would have bought anyway and avoiding train passes for six will save us a substantial amount.

We are in the only car that will fit 6 and luggage, an X90.  It is Flamingo Red and is (apparently) the only one they have done in this color.  Why red?  This is a Susie idea.  I love her logic:

• Red cars are statistically more likely to be pulled over for speeding.
• Teenagers HATE to get tickets and deal with the parental consequences
• The boys (who will get their learner’s permits next year) will not want to get tickets
• Our children are not complete fools (here might be the flaw in her logic)
• Therefore, they will drive slower and (by implication) safer.

We will let you know if this is successful.

In 24 hours, we have seen the split personality of Sweden and Gotenborg.  Yesterday, it was beautiful – high, clear skies and 74 degrees.  The city is hosting an International festival, so there are entertainers singing and vendors selling odd items.  Everyone looked radiant as they walked around.  People smiled at strangers.

Musicians serenaded us from the canal.