Prussia Day

First of all, the really terrible news. Some of you will know that during the weekend my cat Laptop had to be put down. He developed a fast growing tumour in his mouth that couldn't be operated on so the best thing was to let him go. Probably the worst email I've ever woken up to. Saying goodbye on Skype was really difficult and not being able to mourn with the rest of the family has been hard. Thankfully, he was old and had a wonderful life and will always be here in my heart.

The military band 

On a more positive note, the rest of the weekend was a lot of fun. Manuela and I drove to Koblenz where Siegfried works and spent the afternoon walking around the Altstadt (old city) and I bought a dirndl! Next weekend is Oktoberfest in our area so I''m going with my younger host-sister Ute and her friends. Should be interesting and everyone knows I can't pass up the opportunity to buy a pretty dress. Pictures will follow. In the evening we drove up to the old Roman fort where they were holding the Prussia Day celebrations. I have no idea why they do this but I'm not complaining. We had a stunning view over the city as the sun went down and then listened to the military band by firelight.

With the Kaiser (guy wearing what looks like a lampshade)

On Sunday we took the gondola back up to the fort and watched the fashion show. Not your normal fashion but a walk through the last 200 years or so of clothes. Some rather crazy outfits and some crazy people to go with them but a lot of fun to watch. I had a go on some of the old bikes and hammered away at the blacksmith as well. Later, we were "attacked" by the "enemy" and so they fired all the cannons which was very loud and very awesome! It was interesting to wander around the fort as it is largely intact even if you aren't allowed inside most of it. Very impressive and you can tell that it is built to be a death trap for any enemy who made it past the curtain wall.

Ritchie liked the cannons

Looking down from the top of the fort

Learning how to ride this bike was not as easy as it looked!

Prepare to fire...

Back to school again today and I taught my year 12s by myself! I thought it went pretty well although I came out feeling like I had no idea what we were going to do for the rest of the year. But on the bus home my head began to swirl with ideas so I guess it will go just fine!