A small correction/update to the previous email: Peter replied that there are lifeguards, but they guard via camera, so maybe they are 90 seconds away from the action, for example, but the areas are not unwatched.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
So, first of all, I'm totally exhausted. It is only dark about 6 hours per night here right now, and the kids have absolutely no desire to sleep before sunset. If adults want to eat (or in Michael's case, go to his conference) waking around 7 am is necessary, yielding roughly 6 hours of sleep. The kids have no issues sleeping in when it's daylight out. This is rather annoying. I don't foresee this ever becoming fixed. After the conference, we'll adjust to their schedule, but today and tomorrow, we will be tired.
The Germans are certainly serious about kids and playtime. This is amazingly wonderful. It seems therapeutic to Edwin. I don't think there is anything wrong with Edwin that couldn't be fixed by simply moving to Germany. In the US, play structures are, as Michael puts it, process-oriented. You can swing. You have to get on the swing in a certain way, and swing, and you declare you are having fun. You can use the slides, etc, but each 'fun thing' is actually a procedure that you carefully follow without deviation. If you deviate, you are a misfit and a rule-breaker. Here, playgrounds are designed to allow and encourage creativity. Again, in Michael's words, "Rules here are: 'das ist Verboten!' rather than 'follow this routine exactly or you are breaking a rule'." In other words, here, there are some things you're not allowed to do, but basically, you can still do anything else that comes to mind.
The Muenster zoo, as the first example. We didn't see animals. Not many, anyhow. We had too much fun climbing, digging in the dirt, playing with all the demos that were alongside each animal exhibit. There was a pretend monkey-house and a model of the food dispenser, some climbing structures, you know, for the really really important little animals who *visit* the zoo! Nobody cared what ages kids were, except for the bumper cars (which Edwin is still 10 months too young for.. darn!). There were all sorts of play structures that would simply not exist here due to lawsuit risks. And, there is no drinking water in the zoo. But there is beer. I mean, we bought water, surely, but, it was about as expensive as beer. But people don't go to the zoo to get drunk. It's just part of a meal. Oh, and the hotdogs here... Not that I care, but, they don't have buns. They look to be tasty and well-prepared and adults eat them here. They are hard-ish on the outside, and you put mustard on them and just eat them! I think they are served with a small roll on the side, but it's not eaten together. I got wooden 'silverware' at the zoo, too! Isn't that odd!? Sorry, I digress. Everything is too much fun here!
At the Vitus Bad (Google it and check out the website, and/or google images for Vitus Bad and 4 of the first 5 photos are of that place.) we had way more fun that I probably ever have had in the past 10 or 15 years, and I don't know when I'll have that much fun again! This place is obviously a hand-made one-off joint where creativity rules. Nobody cares what you do, and you are just watching your own kids and playing nicely with everyone, and other than that, who cares? There were multiple whirlpools, with actual hard currents, unguarded by lifeguards. (The staff were really for making sure the chlorine was high enough and stuff like that.) There is a small rapids prior to one of the whirlpools. An adult can simply stand in the whirlpool to get out, but a kid can't. A kid, especially one who can't swim, could honestly get stuck there. It's about 3 feet deep and quite fast. It's about the size of a King-size bed, but round. There is a water slide, which is just a medium-sized metal playground slide, but has water on it. There are two (very dangerous) approaches to the top. The entire place is decorated with round smooth rocks, cemented into place, so the kids can climb into/out of various places and behind waterfalls (also not visible to anyone, so it could not exist in the US). There is a spa which you can climb into and out of from the pool, 3 feet down (if you don't use the stairs). There is an outdoor part of the pool, which you can see in the website. You can swim between the indoor and outdoor sections, which is way cool. Outside, there are also little pools, and a shower you can turn on, which Edwin LOVED (despite the freezing cold water). There is an entire kids' section for nonswimmers. It also has a small waterslide. Oh, but back to the other water slide... it ends in about 2 feet of water, so you can actually hurt yourself if you're not careful coming down, then, however, for small kids, it lands in the section of the pool which houses the strong whirlpool and rapids, so there is actually a serious current that can take the kids right back under or in front of the slide, or under the water. I have to say, both Edwin and Zachary had a BLAST! Edwin's skills improved DRAMATICALLY over the 90 minutes or so we were there. Initially, I had to help him past the current, as he was struggling but unable to get back to the ramp. (The way up to the top of the slide included not only the dangerous steps, but first a ramp you had to climb. This required strength and skill to pull yourself up. Or, you could go around the long way by walking up steps, then swimming in what would be deep water for a child.) By the time we switched kids so Michael could see Edwin's progress, he could naviage that rip current all by himself! There were mats that the kids could climb on and around and swim with. And, this was not even really deep water! There is this game (which you can see in some photos- it's the large orangish hanging 'baskets') where you and another person pump water into these hanging buckets. You each try to fill the other person's buckets and the 'winner' is the one whose bucket spills water on the other person. I guess I could go on, but I should cut this off.
Anyhow, today I am going to another spot with the boys. I can't wait! I'm way too tired, but I'll wake them up soon anyhow.
http://www.vitus-bad.de/vitusbad/index.html (warning, annoying music ahead.. you might want to mute...)
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=vitus%20bad&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi (check out images 1, 2, 3, and 5)
The Germans are certainly serious about kids and playtime. This is amazingly wonderful. It seems therapeutic to Edwin. I don't think there is anything wrong with Edwin that couldn't be fixed by simply moving to Germany. In the US, play structures are, as Michael puts it, process-oriented. You can swing. You have to get on the swing in a certain way, and swing, and you declare you are having fun. You can use the slides, etc, but each 'fun thing' is actually a procedure that you carefully follow without deviation. If you deviate, you are a misfit and a rule-breaker. Here, playgrounds are designed to allow and encourage creativity. Again, in Michael's words, "Rules here are: 'das ist Verboten!' rather than 'follow this routine exactly or you are breaking a rule'." In other words, here, there are some things you're not allowed to do, but basically, you can still do anything else that comes to mind.
The Muenster zoo, as the first example. We didn't see animals. Not many, anyhow. We had too much fun climbing, digging in the dirt, playing with all the demos that were alongside each animal exhibit. There was a pretend monkey-house and a model of the food dispenser, some climbing structures, you know, for the really really important little animals who *visit* the zoo! Nobody cared what ages kids were, except for the bumper cars (which Edwin is still 10 months too young for.. darn!). There were all sorts of play structures that would simply not exist here due to lawsuit risks. And, there is no drinking water in the zoo. But there is beer. I mean, we bought water, surely, but, it was about as expensive as beer. But people don't go to the zoo to get drunk. It's just part of a meal. Oh, and the hotdogs here... Not that I care, but, they don't have buns. They look to be tasty and well-prepared and adults eat them here. They are hard-ish on the outside, and you put mustard on them and just eat them! I think they are served with a small roll on the side, but it's not eaten together. I got wooden 'silverware' at the zoo, too! Isn't that odd!? Sorry, I digress. Everything is too much fun here!
At the Vitus Bad (Google it and check out the website, and/or google images for Vitus Bad and 4 of the first 5 photos are of that place.) we had way more fun that I probably ever have had in the past 10 or 15 years, and I don't know when I'll have that much fun again! This place is obviously a hand-made one-off joint where creativity rules. Nobody cares what you do, and you are just watching your own kids and playing nicely with everyone, and other than that, who cares? There were multiple whirlpools, with actual hard currents, unguarded by lifeguards. (The staff were really for making sure the chlorine was high enough and stuff like that.) There is a small rapids prior to one of the whirlpools. An adult can simply stand in the whirlpool to get out, but a kid can't. A kid, especially one who can't swim, could honestly get stuck there. It's about 3 feet deep and quite fast. It's about the size of a King-size bed, but round. There is a water slide, which is just a medium-sized metal playground slide, but has water on it. There are two (very dangerous) approaches to the top. The entire place is decorated with round smooth rocks, cemented into place, so the kids can climb into/out of various places and behind waterfalls (also not visible to anyone, so it could not exist in the US). There is a spa which you can climb into and out of from the pool, 3 feet down (if you don't use the stairs). There is an outdoor part of the pool, which you can see in the website. You can swim between the indoor and outdoor sections, which is way cool. Outside, there are also little pools, and a shower you can turn on, which Edwin LOVED (despite the freezing cold water). There is an entire kids' section for nonswimmers. It also has a small waterslide. Oh, but back to the other water slide... it ends in about 2 feet of water, so you can actually hurt yourself if you're not careful coming down, then, however, for small kids, it lands in the section of the pool which houses the strong whirlpool and rapids, so there is actually a serious current that can take the kids right back under or in front of the slide, or under the water. I have to say, both Edwin and Zachary had a BLAST! Edwin's skills improved DRAMATICALLY over the 90 minutes or so we were there. Initially, I had to help him past the current, as he was struggling but unable to get back to the ramp. (The way up to the top of the slide included not only the dangerous steps, but first a ramp you had to climb. This required strength and skill to pull yourself up. Or, you could go around the long way by walking up steps, then swimming in what would be deep water for a child.) By the time we switched kids so Michael could see Edwin's progress, he could naviage that rip current all by himself! There were mats that the kids could climb on and around and swim with. And, this was not even really deep water! There is this game (which you can see in some photos- it's the large orangish hanging 'baskets') where you and another person pump water into these hanging buckets. You each try to fill the other person's buckets and the 'winner' is the one whose bucket spills water on the other person. I guess I could go on, but I should cut this off.
Anyhow, today I am going to another spot with the boys. I can't wait! I'm way too tired, but I'll wake them up soon anyhow.
http://www.vitus-bad.de/vitusbad/index.html (warning, annoying music ahead.. you might want to mute...)
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=vitus%20bad&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi (check out images 1, 2, 3, and 5)
Friday, June 18, 2010
Virgin Mobile. LAST week on Wednesday, I activated my new phone and service. The internet didn't work. It took them 2 days to get it up, after 3 calls and lots of waiting. I finally had internet Friday morning (last week). Then, Sunday at 4:30pm, I called to let them know I had no voicemail. Again at 5:50, and again Monday morning at 9:30 and again at 2pm Monday. They finally opened a trouble ticket. 72 hours later (yesterday at 3pm) still no phone. I called finally at around 6pm and asked for a new phone number. The ENTIRE thing was set up instantaneously and correctly (after half an hour of the associate trying to convince the computer I did not want an Ithaca number again). But, once they got me the new number, all the internet, mailboxes etc, all just went up instantly and correctly. After 8 days of messing around for HOURS on the phone!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
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