The one nice thing about a bit of rain is that there's less pressure to get up and seize the day. After a few packed days in Paris, it feels like a nice change of pace to be a bit more relaxed in rainy (at least right now) Ludwigsburg.
We had a good sleep in and Lukey got to watch the hockey game on tv. When there was a break in the clouds, we headed out to Ludwigsburg to have a look at the castles and enjoy the park.
Sometimes the things the kids enjoy the most actually cost the least. There was a really cool playground in the park leading into the castle grounds. So, we did what we always seem to do...we created an American Ninja Warrior course and the kids competed to get through the playground in the least amount of time. Nice relaxing fun...
 |
| Lukey rounding the first corner |
 |
| The slide was the end |
 |
| Game face...there's some intensity there |
Meanwhile, Molly was content to actually PLAY on the playground, as opposed to turning it into a massive wooden arena of gladiator battle to the death.
More Molly's speed? The super little water feature. Water is pumped out into sand and it is up to kids to create a riverbed that can (but doesn't have to) wind around large boulders.
The kids spend ages doing this.
 |
We finally dragged them away from the sand (once they reached the end of road, really...water does not travel well uphill through sand) and headed into the castle grounds of the Ludwigsburg castle. A short poke around (and a glance at the prices! um, more expensive than Versailles...? Really, Ludwigsburg?) and we moved down to the lovely (and free) "party" castle...Monrepos.
 |
| Stop throwing that ball, Lukey! |
 |
 |
| Argh, can't take these two anywhere... |
 |
| Uma's got the best spot in the car! |
You may have seen Luke's ball in a bunch of pictures so far this trip. He brings it out of the car whenever there are open spaces, the possibility of open spaces, or when he wishes there were open spaces (like at the top of the tv tower!?).
Sometimes, it doesn't go that well.
One ill-timed kick and we thought the ball was a goner...it floated out into the lake quickly. A bit of patience, a lucky burst of wind that pushed it away from the cluster of boats in the middle of the water, and one very angry swan avoided...finally, the ball made its way back to shore.
Tragedy averted and ball retrieved. I don't know who was more relieved...Eric or Lukey.
We walked around to the other side of the castle and found...wide-open space!
So, feeling lucky to have the ball back and happy it wasn't raining...the kids needed a big game of jackpot. Which sort of turned into a big game of "let your sibling get in position to catch the ball, then push them in the back so they can't catch the ball". Good times.
 |
| She's in perfect position... |
 |
| Until... |
 |
| She isn't... |
 |
| She can't miss this one... |
 |
| Lukey is so focused on pushing Finny, he doesn't even try to get the ball himself... |
 |
|
We finally had to make a rule. No more pushing.
|
Which didn't help the game get any less violent, to be honest.
No one caught this one.
It was a pretty funny game to watch and we only had tears twice. Sort of a victory in and of itself, really.
We left Monrepos and went straight to dinner at Schnitzel Fabrik, on the places we used to frequent when we lived here in Tamm. One of my dad's favourites, too. This place falls under the category of quantity over quality, but what's not to love about a pile of schnitzel and fries?
Molly contemplating a dinner of fries and spatzle...since there was no vegetarian option.
They even had a hoop out back. Bellies full, we headed back home to watch Eurocup.
No comments:
Post a Comment