McKays In Dubai: December 2008

Okay, okay - here it is....FINALLY..... The long awaited entry on our holiday to Germany. I suggest going and grabbing a drink of your choice and putting your feet up - this may take awhile. :)

Day 1 - Munich.

We were up bright and early on Tuesday 2nd December to get ready to go to the airport. Paul (bless him) insisted on taking us to the airport even though it was a UAE public holiday. We arrived at the airport, checked in, went through security and went straight to wait at the gate. All this was relatively uneventful, however we needed to check in at Emirates new terminal (terminal 3) but our departure gate was located in terminal 2, so after a rather long walk through the airport with a car seat, a backpack, a small suitcase, (on wheels) a carry on bag PLUS Patrick we finally made it to the gate with enough time to go and get a drink and let Patrick have a run around before cooping him up on a plane for 6 and a half hours.

We boarded the plane, got organised and waited for what semed like forever before we finally took off - I was almost jumping out of my seat with excitement, you couldn't wipe the grin on my face and Patrick was wondering what on earth mum was on!!! Considering Patrick had slept all night and only had a short time to play in the airport, he was really cranky about having to sit, strapped in, to his carseat so it took quite a lot of creativity of Cameron's and my part to entertain him and keep him quiet. Food and toys only last so long, however the remote control to the entertainment system worked a treat. Between that, books, snacks, the DVD player and his stacking cups he was pretty well behaved for most of the trip, although his ears started hurting on decent into Munich which caused a few tears, until we landed and they sorted themselves out.

We disembarked the plane and waited in line at passport control to ger our visa's. Fortunately, this was also uneventful and we quickly gathered our luggage & rugged up before going outside to wait for a taxi. Patrik had only slept about 40 minutes on the plane so no sooner than we got in the taxi he fell asleep and it worked out well as the taxi ride took half an hour and he woke just as we were about to get out of the car at the hotel. The scenery from the airport to the hotel was gorgeous. Lush green fields & trees and it seemed that in no time we were at the hotel, which was on Sendlinger Strasse right near Marienplatz and not far from the train station. It was a 2 * hotel, breakfast included daily, double room with shared toilet and shower facilities outside our room, however it was great. The "double" turned out to be 2 wooden single beds that creaked, LOUDLY, with every breath we took but it was extremely clean and warm. We had a really great time there. Since we arrived early afternoon (Munich time) and Patrick had slept in the taxi, we decided to go for a wander, so we rugged up, unpacked the pram and set off. We wandered down our street to Marienplatz where the Christmas markets are and ended up having dinner at the Hofbrauhaus, which is a pretty famous German beer house. After dinner, we went back to the hotel, and got ready for bed - we were all very tired and had big plans for the next day.

Day 2 - Fussen & Neuschwanstein

An exceptionally early morning, Patrick woke at 5am (damn body clock) meant breakfast at 7 and out of the hotel about 8. We walked to the train station and bought tickets to Fussen as we were off to see Neuschwanstein Castle, which is what the Disney castle is modelled on. I grabbed a hot chocolate at the station - I even ordered it in German - before we got on the train. The train (Zug) took about 2 hours and the countryside was absolutely SPECTACULAR! Mountains topped with snow, green fields and little villages all along the way - it was just amazing. Patrick had a ball on the train he was constantly looking out the window and walking around.

Once we arrived at Fussen we trandferred to the bus that took us closer to the castles. Patrick fell asleep on the bus, while we got talking to a family from Sydney who were also on holidays! Once we got off the bus we booked our tickets for the castle tour, then got another bus to the castle. Before we walked the 10 minute trek to the castle we went to Mary's bridge to take some photos of the castle and the coutryside as the views were stunning. We had a little while to wait for our tour so we had a little wander around, took some photos and chatted more with the family from Sydney. Unfortunently we could not take photos in the castle but we got plenty of others from the outside.

The castle is HUGE, especially considering King Ludwig was single and living there alone, however there was alot we could not see, as it was never finished. King Ludwig died under suspicious circumstances in the lake with his psychologist before the castle was completed, so we only got to see about a third of it. After the tour we got the bus back and had lunch, however this made us miss the bus back to Fussen, which meant we missed the train back to Munich so consequently, we had about an hour or so to kill........

Once we finally got on the train, we thawed out, relaxed & put our feet up, only to discover 2 hours later that we had gotten on the wrong train and ended up in Augsburg! We changed platforms and got on the first train back to Munich which was about 40 minutes away but as you can imagine - we were really starting to get tired, hungry and cranky by this stage. We finally made it back to the hotel, got Patrick settled to sleep before having a light dinner (a doughnut actually) and going to bed.

Day 3 - Dachau

Another early morning, although we bummed around a bit longer and had a bit of a later breakfast. We had decided to get the train to Dachau to see the Concentration campand once we arrived at the train station we took the tourist walk to the camp which was quite refreshing - cold and grey but we were rugged up and it actually wasn't too bad. There were many memorial boards along the way with information on them to read although it was quite depressing. Patrick was a little out of sorts (or maybe just picking up on the dull atmosphere) so we could not take as much time as we would of liked to read all the information and listen to all the commentary about specific areas of the camp but it was still worth the visit for the history aspect.

We had a snack at McDonalds before getting the train back to Munich. Once we got back into the city, we had a wander through the markets again and we bought a Gluhwein (which is a hot alcoholic drink served in a souvenir mug) I had a little taste and while I didnt really like it, I can understand why everyone stands around the stalls drinking it. It sure does warm you up on the inside!

We went back to the hotel for a little while and Patrick had a bit of a play before we went to a little German pub for dinner before going back to the hotel for bed.

Day 4 - Wasserburg & Eiselfing

Cameron really wanted to take me to where he was living when he spent 10 weeks in Germany when he was an exchange student in 1990-1991, so we got the train to Wasserburg (which was the closest train station.) From there we got the bus through the village to the end of the line in Bardia. From there we hiked, through lush green fields to Eiselfing and the house that Cameron lived in! The same family are still there, although the eldest son now lives in the main house and the parents and sister both live within a minutes walk and the other son (the one who was in the exchange program like Cameron) is a pilot for Lufthansa so unfortunently, we did not catch up with him and the father was in hospital so we did not see him either. We did, however, see the eldest son, sister and the mother and were invited in for biscuits and a drink. It was nice for me to meet them and for Cameron to see them again. We then went to a lookout where we could see the whole village of Wasserburg and then we went back into Wasserburg to get the train back to Munich.

Once we got back to Munich we went back to the hotel for a rest and for Patrick to have a play before going to The Hard Rock Cafe for Dinner and then back to the hotel for bed.

Day 5 - Nuremburg

Another early rise for breakfast and then back to the room to pack and load up, ready for the 10-15 minute walk to the train station with all our stuff! We arrived at train station in plenty of time and decided to put Patrick's car seat and the little carry-on-the-plane suitcase in a locket for the few days that we were in Nuremburg and Berlin. 2 less things to carry and even though they don't sound like that much, leaving them in Munich made a HUGE difference!

We boarded the train and settled in for the ride to Nuremburg. Of course the countryside was beautiful - lush and green, although we didn't get to admire it much as just as we settled in, unloaded the rucksacks off our backs and got organised a lady came and said that we were sitting in her seat! We didn't realise the seats were reserved and no where on our ticket did it say where we were supposed to sit. Consequently, we loaded up AGAIN and Patrick & I stayed with our stuff while Cameron went to try and sort out where we were supposed to sit. He eventually came back and told us he had found seats about 3 carriages away so off we went to unload and sit down. We FINALLY got to our seats (we couldn't find seats together so could only sit close by) and sat down for about half an hour before loading up for the last time that day as we arrived at Nuremburg (where it was raining!). We decided a taxi was the best way to get to our hotel (The Novatel) and we found one easily. We checked it, bummed around for awhile before rugging up again, braving the cold and rain and setting out to get some lunch and a wander around the Christmas Markets. We took Patrick to the children's Christmas Markets and got his photo taken with Santa - he was not too impresed so Mummy had to sit with him. We wandered through the markets, I had a bratwurst for Janet and then we got a taxi back to the hotel and chilled out for the rest of the evening after Patrick went to bed.

Day 6 - Nuremburg & Berlin

We travelled from Nuremburg to Berlin by train - Germany's rail system is FANTASTIC, and the journey was amazing! It had snowed overnight so the countryside was blanketed in fresh white snow as were the tips of the pine trees. We had our own little room on the train so we could shut the door and Patrick could play to his little heart's content. We arrived in Berlin, although we got off at the wrong train station, hence we had to get on another train to go to where we needed to go. We then had a 20min (or so) walk down Friedrich Strasse to get to our hotel, passing Checkpoint Charlie along the way. We checked in and relaxed for awhile before going out for a late lunch and a wander.

We had plans to catch up with a friend of mine from Dubai (who spends alot of time in Germany) later in the afternoon, however she ended up not being able to make it, so Cameron decided to go and find a laundromat to get our washing done, while I stayed and played with Patrick. That was all good, so off he went, however, when it came for dinner I realised I had miscounted Patrick's jars of food and realised I had no dinner for him! (I know, I know, I'm a bad mum...........) so I went and asked at reception if there was a supermarket close by, but being Sunday the closest was a few train stations away (and not on the same line so I would have to change trains) and I thought with my limited German and the fact that Cameron might get back and not know where I was that that was not the best option. In the end I went to a little food court on the same street as we were staying and ordered a spaghetti bolognaise and bless the litle darling - he ate it and loved it!

Cameron got home after Patrick was asleep with the laundryso we ordered room service and had an early night.

Day 7 - Berlin

Today was the only full day we had in Berlin so we had A LOT to cram in!. We were up early and went to a little pastry shop for breakfast. We then caught the underground train to Potsdamer Platz and once we were there admired the newer buildings while wandering through even more Chrismas markets. We passed where the Berlin wall used to be and took some photos of existing bits of the wall. We continued on passed a memorial site for the jews that were killed to Brandenburg gate. After photos there we went back to the hotel for Patrick to have lunch and a bit of a play before going out again in the afternoon to the TV tower and going up, Up, UP to admire the 360 degree views over the city - ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! We then had a kebap at the train station (I was MAD for them - they were great) before catching the train to KaDeWa which is Germany's version of Harrods in New York! It was awesome - 6 glorious levels of great quality stuff. If we had more room in our luggage we could of gone mad on shopping, but we didn't, so we didn't :-(

We then caught a taxi to our friend Rene's house (she was in her 40th week at pregnancy by this stage so we were MORE THAN HAPPY to go and visit her) and Patrick had a wonderful time playing with his friend Alexander and all of his toys!

After saying goodbye (until they come back to Dubai in February) we caught a taxi back to the hotel and got Patrick settled for bed. Cameron packed the bags while I went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum and ordered our dinner.

Day 7 - Berlin & Munich

Up and organised early again, caught a taxi to the main Bahnhoff (Train station) to have breakfast and catch the train back to Munich ready for our flight back to Dubai that night. The train ride was pretty horrendous - we had our own room for a while, but Cameron had work to do and because he had work to do, Patrick decided that he ONLY wanted to play with Daddy and Daddy's laptop. He could not be distracted and refused to sleep, hence him being really cranky and grisly (pretty unusual for him really.....) We had to change trains at Fulda, which of course meant loading up all the bags and unloading them on the next train. The next train had a food carriage so we had lunch which killed a little time. Eventually the train emptied a bit and Patrick was able to wander up and down the aisle's and have a little play. He desperately just wanted to run around a bit and after being stuck in his pram A LOT for the past week, who could blame him!

We arrived back in Munich and Patrick promptly fell asleep which was great as we had a chance to unload the bags and sit down for a nice hot drink. We then got the car seat and suitcase that we left in storage, loaded up and got on another train to go to the airport.

Once arriving at the airport we reshuffled the luggage before checking in and going through security. I went to get Patrick's food out of the suitcase only to discover we had packed it in the wrong bag and I only had fruit and custard for him for on the plane. Munich airport terminal was pretty crappy and there was NOTHING for him to eat. After my initial panic I discovered that I could go back out into the main part of the airport and through to the train station (which was connected) to a supermarket to get some food for him, as long as I took my passport and boarding pass. I sprinted through the airport, got food and went back through security and passport control with plenty of time to spare! Patrick had dinner, got changed and then we boarded the plane. We were all pretty fed up and tired by this stage. Patrick went to sleep pretty much straight away and so did we, however Patrick struggled to stay asleep, so I was up with him a lot trying to resettle him. Poor Cameron had to go to work as soon as we landed back in Dubai so he needed to sleep so I got Patrick out of his car seat and he slept on me, however woke or stirred every 15-20 minutes, had a cry and then went back to sleep for another 15-20 mins. Poor bub - he was trying so hard to sleep, but he just couldnt settle properly, hence Mummy didn't sleep either.

We landed in Dubai in the new Terminal 3, collected our bags and Paul collected us and took us home. Cameron had a shower and left for work and Patrick & I played and unpacked as we settled in back home and accepted that our holiday had come to an end. We had an absolute ball, just the 3 of us.

Definently more family holidays to come!

Wow! Another year almost gone and Christmas is upon us once again. The year has been hectic and exciting – so here’s a quick summary:

The New Year found us in Australia celebrating with our families, the first time many of them getting to meet Patrick (being 4 ½ months old). Shortly thereafter we returned to Dubai to ‘see out our time’ – or so we thought. We were visited by Trevor (Kathryn’s dad) and Pat (his partner) and Patrick migrated to a ‘big boy’ cot from his crib.

February was relatively uneventful for us (which was a nice break from the preceding months) with Patrick’s social calendar starting to fill, as well as starting on solid foods (baby rice) and cutting his first tooth (bottom left middle!).

March on the other hand saw us spend some time together as a family with friends. A day at the local water park was one event (with Patrick on a slide or two at 7 months) and Cameron heading out to ‘Desert Rock’ to see Korn and Velvet Revolver (to name a few). By this stage, Patrick was commando crawling everywhere and ‘child-proofing’ the apartment became a priority. The month finished on a high with Kathryn’s grandmother celebrate her 90th Birthday.

April saw the addition of Youtube videos to the blog and Cameron make his first trip to Saudi Arabia.

May started with Cameron returning from Saudi Arabia and getting straight onto a plane that evening for a trip to Bahrain for the family with friends from Dubai. May also saw Kathryn and Cameron move into the lounge room to sleep and Patrick taking over the master bedroom. Up until this point, Patrick hadn’t settled back into his sleep routine after being in Australia and was waking every 2-3 hours, ok for Cameron who generally sleeps though the ‘noise’ but no good for Kathryn. The lack of sleep was also contributing to Patrick not gaining enough weight with the doctor’s beginning to become concerned at his prolonged plateau and little weight gain.

June saw Patrick ‘break on through’ after some ‘tough love’ training from Kathryn and he adjusted quickly to his new sleep routine (along with the suggestions that Cameron’s snoring was the cause of the problems all along) and Patrick was now sleeping through the night. June also saw the addition of another plane to the ‘hanger’ to the pleas of ‘no more’ from Kathryn.

July saw Patrick gain his 6th tooth and the use of them at every opportunity. Patrick was crawling and everything within 2feet of the ground was now baby-proof as he had mastered the ability to climb up on the lounge. July finished up with us deciding to stay in Dubai for ‘one more year’ and then quickly move into our 2000sqft apartment on the Palm Jumeriah – more than enough room for Patrick to roam.

August and we celebrated Patrick’s 1st birthday which included a party for his ‘little friends’ and a brunch for his ‘big friends’.

September is celebration month in this family. It starts with our wedding anniversary. A week later is Kathryn’s grandfather’s birthday, Cameron’s mum & dad’s wedding anniversary, a week later and Cameron’s birthday and to finish off the month, Kathryn’s birthday just makes it in (in Australia too – just to make it that little more special!). Yes, a holiday was had and the family an opportunity to catch up with us all.

October started with us all finishing off our holiday in Australia taking in Sydney and Brisbane and catching up with friends – some of which we hadn’t seen since we’d left Sydney in November 2005. Cameron also got his Amateur Radio Operators License (now known as VK5CCC around the world). October also saw Cameron’s mum celebrate her 60th birthday and Ashley (Kathryn’s step-dad) celebrate his 60th as well.

November sees Jan’s (Kathryn’s mum’s) birthday, Pat’s (Kathryn’s step-mum) birthday and finished up with a visit from Kathryn’s friends from Whyalla – John and Marie, at the start of their 3 month journey around the world. Patrick also started walking this month – he just decided one day that he would walk and has not looked back!

December – well here we are… Well, we kicked into this month with an AWESOME 8 day trip to Germany planned in 24 hours. Munich, Nuremburg and Berlin – a great time was had just the 3 of us (quality family time) and it was nice to be cold – just for a while. Patrick's Christmas photo was taken in Nuremburg and he was not quite as impressed by Santa as he was last year and had to have Mummy sit with him. Cameron gets a super-long weekend (day off for Christmas, Friday/Saturday weekend and Sunday off for the Hijri (Islamic) New year).

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends around the world.

Best Wishes and Love,

The McKays In Dubai!

P.S. We included Patrick's Christmas photo from last year to see how much he has grown!!!

McKays In Dubai

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!

Germany - Munich, Nuremburg & Berlin

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Happy Christmas!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Catching up.....

Monday, December 01, 2008

Our latest adventure.

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