Like a kid in a candy shop...
Monday Jan, my dad, Therese and I went to the nearby island of Mainau while Todd was in class. Mainau sits in Lake Constance (Bodensee) just off of Konstanz and is full of gardens. Jan was about to jump out of her skin she was so excited (she is a big gardener). I was a little nervous that the gardens would be hokey or just not that good, but even Jan who knows a lot about gardening really liked them. In order to get to Mainau we had to take our first bus ride (the No.4 from the train station in Konstanz). For all of you Harry Potter fans, it was like riding the Night Bus. As soon as you stepped through the door and into the bus, the doors would slam behind you and the whole vehicle would lurch forward, sending its passengers and their belongings flying through the air.
Once we reached the island, we were greeted by characters made of flowers like the above flower "Bloomi," a peacock, and ducks. We were also greeted by an enormous play area that included everything from kid-sized log cabins to slides to musical instruments to swimming holes complete with Huckleberry Fin-type log rafts. Therese immediately gravitated toward this area and refused to leave, arching her back as she walked away from me screaming. It was a kid's paradise. But we were there to look at flowers, not children playing so we had to leave it alone, promising to come back at the end of the day. Therese let her wishes known every two minutes for the rest of the day ("Reese wants to go to park now! Swing on swings and slide!").
Mainau included all sorts of gardens, a vineyard, a number of fountains, and a great view of Lake Constance from every spot. The most amazing site was the Italian rose garden. It was indescribable. You can see the picture below, but of course a picture can't quite capture something like a rose garden (at least no picture taken by me). Therese, livid about not getting to play in the park all day and sweaty from the hot sun, had melt-down after melt-down. I "went all German," letting Therese play in the various fountains (side note: the Germans here let the kids splash in all of the city fountains and sometimes even do so as adults. They don't wip out their hand sanitizer or anything. They just splash the water and even sometimes use it to clean their faces. I'm sure my mom is now horrified after reading this....). Don't worry - I returned to my American roots and spraying sanitizer all over Therese after she was finished. The poor thing got so worked up about wanting to go to the park that by the time we finished lunch and started walking to the play area, she fell asleep in my arms. She NEVER sleeps in my arms. Even as a baby she wouldn't. She didn't even stir when I put her back in her stroller and we caught another bus that hurled us from side to side.
When we made it back to Radolfzell, Todd met us at the train station and we went to my dad and Jan's for some local white wine, cheese, and crackers on their back patio. Reese ran around after downing half of our cheese. Her mood had improved greatly but she was still very upset that she wasn't allowed to play with the "balls" - statues that are ball-shaped in the back of Art Villa. We kept trying to explain that they were too heavy to throw, but she couldn't understand. She did, however, pet the metal sculptures of chickens. When she did this, Jan asked her what a chicken says. Therese gave her usual "I don't know" grunt. Jan acted out a great chicken impression, 'Bock, bock, bock, bock" to which Reese replied, "Like a bunny!"...
Reese playing with a fountain
An Italian water cascade (it runs down the steps in the middle)
The Italian rose garden
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