Peaceful Plön

  Plön, Germany
Friday, July 18, 2008

Jutta & Peter greeting us at the station

Tuesday 15th July

Alison: After a pleasant train journey with only one change at Hamburg, Jutta & her six year old son Peter met us at the train station. She made us pause for a bit before we headed out of the station until the train had gone and then we could see why - the station looked out onto the beautiful Grosser Plöner See and a more spectacular view from a train station would be hard to find!

As the van could only hold 5 but easily fitted in all our luggage, Mum & I followed a map Jutta provided and walked back to their place, arriving only about 15 minutes later at their lovely house overlooking the Kleiner Plöner See. We found them down in the garden which stretches down to the lake, at the very base of which is a little summer hut which Martin built and where Mum slept in wonderful peace and quiet - perfect for bird watching in the early mornings! Rachel and Mike slept next door at the neighbours' downstairs room while Tom & I slept downstairs in Jutta's home office on a very comfortable sofa bed.

Tom & Mum in the garden

With the accommodation sorted we proceeded to have a lovely tea party in the back yard & the kids played croquet & soccer on the lawn. Then Tom and Peter did a bit of bike riding with Rachel on roller skates around a nearby school yard. Later they played Monopoly with Peter using a German board which was a challenge for them but fun.

View from their kitchen window

For dinner we had 2 types of classic German potato salad & sausages which we all loved. Martin, who is a nurse working in a psychiatric unit, got back from work about 8.00 so we had a nice chat to him, but Jutta was not feeling 100% so we had an early night all round.

Wed 16th July

By the Princes' Palace

Alison: Martin had to leave for work early and Peter had already headed off to school by the time we got up. Jutta was feeling a bit better after a good night's sleep which was good. She advised us on a nice itinerary for the day with a walk and boat ride. We walked down to the Prince's Palace where the German princes were brought up and through a lovely park down a peninsula called the Prinzeninsel to where the ferry docked.

Tom waiting for our ferry

There was a restaurant next to this so we had a hurried but yummy lunch there before catching the boat. This gave us a very pleasant two hour cruise around the lakes, stopping at various little ports, playing cards and looking at the scenery. We got off at the centre of Plön and wandered through town. Michael took the opportunity to get a haircut which he badly needed and we had a nice look at the shops as we wandered home. Then Mike went on a bike ride with the kids and then they played Monopoly with Peter.

In front of Jutta & Martin's house

We had offered to take them out to dinner so when Martin got home we went to a lovely little fish restaurant they knew, where the fish were incredibly fresh having just been pulled out the lake that day and we had a great meal.

All of us enjoying our meal

We headed home fairly early so as to get Peter to bed as of course he had school the next day, and we were quite happy to have an early night ourselves.

Thurs 17th July

Alison: It was our final morning and Jutta had made arrangements for us to visit Peter's school to talk to his class about Australia. Rachel, Tom and I went there about 10.30 while Mum went off on an exploration of the local nature with Martin who had the day off. We had a great time at the school, showing photos of Australian animals, answering questions from the class and even singing 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree' to them!

One of Peter's classmates

 Peter's school goes from Grade 1 to 4 and the children have the same teacher with the same class for their whole 4 years, which I found fairly extraordinary! It might be alright if you had a good teacher, but if you were stuck with someone who didn't like you or wasn't much good it could be disastrous... I found this out as Peter's teacher was going to retire after she had finished with this class, but that wouldn't be for another 3 years!

Fond farewells at the station

After the school visit we went home and had an early lunch of more yummy potato salads & sausages before Jutta and Martin very kindly drove us in two cars all the way to Neumunster to save us 2 changes of train on our journey to Denmark. We said our sad farewells on the station, very grateful for all their efforts on our behalf and wishing (as usual) that we could have stayed longer.


Mike:  Again it was lovely being greeted by friends at the train station. We had seen photos of their home when they stayed with us, but as usual photos just didn't do it justice.   They all lived right on a most beautiful lake, with a big lush garden, in a big old 3storey house sooo different to the ultra-modern Berlin one we had just left behind!   Gee we have been sooo spoilt with the amazing variety of fabulous people and places we have stayed!

In front of our boat at the dock

My friend Tasman's mother (also European) makes a supeeerb potato salad, one I always loved to go over and enjoy back in highschool days, but here it met its match, a most yummmmo potato salad which went down so well with simple but delicious sausages, thus our culinary tour continued!

Here was a really nice relaxing quieter time in the country, very well timed after our hectic schedule to date... lovely walks through the park and boat rides on the lake, Margie enjoying the birdlife and beautiful nature around us, all of us greatly enjoyed this respite!.  More bike rides too with the kids, which I have soo enjoyed this trip...  They have both been promised badly needed new/bigger bikes when we get home, so we can all enjoy family rides together, as the beginnings of the more active family I really want us to become as a result of this trip.

We took everyone out to dinner on our last night, at a lovely little place right by the lake, and enjoyed theee nicest fish meal we have had anywhere so far.  Sooo fresh, caught from the water hours earlier, this was a reeeal treat much like being at home in fact!

I also much enjoyed a game of Monopoly with all the kids, with reading and interpreting the German Community Chest and Chance cards a good test for my German, which like my French improved a lot in a short time, and which again I so loooved speaking and having fun with.

Martin & Peter at the fish restaurant

Peter, Rachel & Tom at the restaurant

We said sad goodbyes as have become the norm, and off we went on the train into the nether lands, Denmark here we coooome (should have gone to Netherland then this turn of phrase would have worked a treat, next time!!)...