Maximilian » New born

Start of my summer retreat

Maximilian — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 19:08:59 +0000

As any worthy man from a crowded town does I left London in early July and returned to my summer retreat. The first two weeks were dedicated to Carinthia – Papa’s blessed land in Austria. The weather was lovely and I spent a good amount of time on the lake. When it got too hot I might escape for a hike into the shady woods. I enjoyed the rustic charms and honest produce of the local taverns. The second week my good mate George from London joined my travels. Later in the week my cousins Alessia and Chiara joined as well. And finally I did my first race. The emotions during the race and the medal ceremony were quite overwhelming but in the end I was very proud of my run.

Wedding in Vienna and visits from Oma and Mamy

Maximilian — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 20:56:32 +0000

I went to Vienna for the most special day of Tante Nicole and Onkel Markus. At least they invited me, because my parents did not seem to want me at their own wedding. We all had a great few days, especially as I was allowed to have some sleep-overs with Alessia and Chiara.

I also had visits from both Oma and Mamy and I practiced my German as well as my French. The birthday schedule remains busy as well. At Isobel’s birthday I had the role as assistant magician helping with some amazing tricks. And at Mia’s birthday I painted a dragon. I think I will call him Kokosnuss. And at Mimi’s birthday I dressed up as Superman and flew around in the soft play.

Birthday raises Christmas expectations

Maximilian — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:41:03 +0000

Most of my friends have birthday around the same time as myself. This means a series of fun packed weekends with birthday parties. Including my own which I celebrated with Max R in the soft play area of Deptford pool. A lot of my friends came, even Mamy, Tata and Tonton from Belgium. And Maman backed an amazing super hero cake for me.

My friends Felix and Elliott from Belgium came to see me in London. I showed them the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. I was very brave and not at all scared. The next day we went on the HMS Belfast battleship. This was very interesting, but they had a very scary dentist on ship.

Following that we all went for a weekend to Göttingen in Germany to visit Maria and Fuschl. That really kicked off the Christmas feeling with amazing Christmas markets full of sweets and fancy fair attractions. I did a bit of climbing in the church tower as well and got rewarded with amazing Panoramic views.

Styrian wine region

Maximilian — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 20:18:22 +0000

We returned to the Styrian wine region, again on the occasion of Oma’s birthday. To be completely honest with you I cannot really remember the first time, so I am glad we returned.

The landscape is very pretty and every South sloping hill is covered with vines. Vertical shoot positioning with replacement-cane pruning to be precise. Relatively high trained to protect from frost I reckon. You probably think I sound like Papa – so let me move on.

We walked in the vineyards, smelled some wine, bought some wine and walked a bit more in the vineyards. I had the chance to catch up with Alessia and Chiara and really enjoyed the weekend.

Allez Couscous Allez

Maximilian — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 23:46:16 +0000

Maman was so busy with work in July and August that we had no time for a holiday. Meanwhile Papa spent so much time in Turkey we all thought: why no have our summer holiday in Turkey – in October.

Papa flew ahead and we joined him a few days later in Istanbul for sightseeing in Istanbul. They have amazing churches over there. They are not called churches and actually they don’t look like churches either. But to me it is the same thing. They also have really nice markets with spices, and sweets. And people here are just so friendly. I think they like my blond hair and blue eyes.

But then we went to the beach Club Med Palmiye. Suddenly everyone spoke French. It was like pre-school – but on the beach. And nobody seemed to understand me even though I understood every word they said. Bizarre! The best part was the swimming pool and one day we had a proper discotheque: with a DJ turning the tables, super heros everywhere and everybody dancing and chanting: allez, allez, allez couscous allez. I can still see the shock in Papa’s eyes when he saw all of this.

We also prepared a show and Mamy and my parents were so proud when they saw me. But to be honest with you I did not really like it so much. I tried to hide, but no place to hide on a stage…

Eventful June

Maximilian — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 21:17:19 +0000

This year June brought long days, great weather and a busy events calendar. Emilie and Alexis kicked it off followed shortly thereafter by Alessia and Chiara. We went to Legoland in Windsor and we were riding in all the big attractions (but I did not like the Land of the Vikings because I got completely wet). The World Cup was on and I was allowed to watch TV. I supported the Red Devils but Maman was always so anxious watching them – a bit like Oma when she watches skiing. I took Robyn to Kew Gardens and showed her the butterflies. I also enjoyed the fountains at More London before they were switched off for the rest of the summer. But I was so scared of T-Rex, gladly Papa was holding me tight and protected me. But maybe soon I will be bigger and then I won’t be scared of T-Rex any more.

Suffolk Weekend

Maximilian — Wed, 07 May 2014 21:08:11 +0000

Maman found a nice house for me and some of my friends for the first May bank holiday weekend. We went to Alderton in the Suffolk countryside together with George, Luca and Lila and their parents and little siblings.I really liked my holiday home.

The first day we spent a lazy day on the shore of river Deben including a nice pub lunch in the famous Ramsholt Arms. On Sunday we explored the prime historic site of Sutton Hoo. The site is of outstanding historic importance and impressed us with its wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of unparalled beauty and craftsmanship. We certainly felt the spirit of King Rædwald was omnipresent.

On Monday George invited us to his grandparents who live closeby. They prepared an amazing barbeque for us. It was so good, I could not stop eating. I think Papa got some nice digestive, but he did not share with me.

About birthdays and sleep-overs

Maximilian — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 22:43:13 +0000

The best thing about our new flat is the extra bedrooms for family and friends. So Mamy came from Brussels and even Opa & Oma paid a visit. With the grandparents staying in London my cheeky parents decided to take some holidays on their own to go skiing and even all the way to Tokyo.

But it is not just family that can stay. George and Tony came for a sleep-over. And then I returned Georges’ visit and stayed at his house for a night.

At the same time I did not neglect my social duties. Among the highlights were the birthday parties of Robyn, Isobel & Mimi, as well as Amelia’s leaving do and a kiddie rave.

Christmas in Austria

Maximilian — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 17:10:10 +0000

I went to Austria for Christmas this year. I was really excited about Christmas Eve. In Austria they don’t have Father Christmas. Christkindl (Little Jesus) is bringing the presents instead. He accidentally rang a little bell when he came into our house. I immediately ran into the living room, but he was already gone. He left behind a candle lit tree and a lot of presents. Tata and Tonton came all the way from Belgium as well and celebrated Christmas with us. And a couple of days later we lit the candles again to celebrate with Alessia and Chiara.

My parents were a bit sceptical but I insisted we try skiing. So we went up to the mountain, geared up with ski boots, helmets, and of course little skis. I put my hands on my knees and off I went. I really enjoyed skiing and we went four times. By the end of the holiday I was quite comfortable and could do the “pizza slice” and nice little turns. We might even go back to the Alps for a few days to take my first lessons with a real skiing instructor.

Skiing is not the only thing on offer in Austria. I also went ice skating with Alessia and Chiara. And we went swimming to the spa in Villach with Maman and Papa. There are two amazing slides. They go really fast and I was a very brave boy on both of them. I am a little bit naughty because the bigger slide was only for children aged 4+.

Opa and Oma looked after me really well and I spent a great time with them when Maman & Papa went to ski all by themselves.

Video after my first few days of skiing

Skiing video

Merry Christmas time

Maximilian — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 17:50:56 +0000

This year the Christmas time was so nice and merry. I met Father Christmas and I must admit that initially I was a bit scarred of this old man. But with the support of Maman and Papa I overcame my fear and had a little chat with him. He said “HOHOHO” when I left.

I could not wait to get to Austria for winter sport activities. So I went to do some ice skating in London ahead of time. I was a little slippery at first but after a little while I started to gain confidence.

We have a few Christmas markets in London. But it does not really compare to the real thing we went to see in Frankfurt. We visited Amelie and Fabian and had some really scary time in the natural history museum with the big bear.