#bikewithinfant :Bike tour to Neubeuern, Bavaria - Germany

Hot days here in Bavaria, finally!! Little birdie stays mostly in the garden, playing with water or sand.

My first cycling after ages and the round trip was (at least) 50km. No wonder that I felt my legs in the evening. Damn tired but somehow happy too. We filled our satchel bags with bottles of water, fresh strawberries, banana cookies and of course, Breze (pretzel). We're in Bavaria, so Breze is a must so to say. Little birdie seemed to enjoy her first bike tour with a charming little town as our goal. The town where you can see beautiful houses gather around the main square. The bike track to Neubeuern along the river Mangfall, and later the river Inn, was beautiful. On the way home we took another track to make it a round trip. Having lunch in our fave cafe in Neubeuern whom the friendly owner is a fan of little birdie.

During the bike tour I was happy because the red dots and itchy from a bee sting I got didn't show up anymore. I unfortunately had to stay at the hospital because of a bee sting. Little birdie slept over there too. I was happy having her with me that night at the hospital. The next day I still had some swollen red dots in some parts of my body, even my eye got slightly swollen. 

I wish you a cool summer!

Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich - Germany

We went to Hellabrunn Zoo again and this time we mostly stayed only at primate section. The Gorilla baby is growing and played with Bagira, Gorilla mama. They even stayed close to the window, so that could be admired by all visitors - kids, toddler and adults were enjoying to see them both. 

Then we went to see Orang Utan. As an Indonesian I felt embarrassed by reading and seeing some advertising about campaign to save Orang Utan in Sumatra. The campaign organized by other countries to help and save Orant Utan in their habitat.

I hope one day Indonesia can stop a deforestation.

#travelwithinfant #hikewithinfant :Bavarian Forest - Germany

Bavarian Forest, Bayrischer Wald, is a low-mountain region which extends along the border to Czech Republic and continues to Bohemian Forest on Czech Republic's side. Bayrischer Wald divides into three parts, first into a Bavarian Forest National Park which established in 1970 and was the first German's National Park. Second part is called Bavarian Forest Nature Park and the third is Eastern Bavaria Forest Nature Park. We stayed for one week in an holiday farm which is located right on a beautiful valley. There Medea can see cows and pigs in natura.

Unfortunately the weather was crazily chilly for May but nevertheless we still managed to do some #hikewithbaby to Great Osser (1.262m) which is also as a border to Czech Republic. The next day we went to Lusen (1.373m) which is the third highest mountain in Bavarian Forest and very close to the Czech's border.

On a gloomy day, we went to open-air enclosure in Bavarian Forest National Park. The round walk is about 7km, about 3 to 4 hours walk and it's for FREE. You'll see European animals, such as lynx, marine otter, wolf, wild cat, owl. They all live in their natural environment. The walking trail is also suitable for strollers. There are also short cuts for those who don't want to walk the whole 7km.

The reasons I love May...

My birthday and my favorite wild flowers are popping out, Maiglöckchen or Lily of the Valley. I received a bouquet of these tiny cute flowers brought by DH on my birthday. Sweet!!!

Knowing that a Great Tit family is nesting in a bird house at our garden. 

Father's Day and Mother's Day. Little one and me painted a stone at playgroup, I mean I did more than her since the stone itself was much more interesting for her.

Vacation for two weeks which are about to start today. YAY!

But the most of all is to see little birdie grows so well.

What month do you love?

#hikewithinfant :Heuberg in Nußdorf am Inn, Bavaria - Germany

There are many spots to hike or walk around where we live. Last week we tried out a baby carrier which was new to little one. We usually used a Bondolino but we couldn't do a long walk/hike. We let little miss to walk, so she will get used to walk in any kind of ground. We won't get far when she walks since everything is just way too interesting for her, stones, flowers, plants, stones, garbage, stones and stones and stones... When we want to speed up our walk, we put little birdie inside the baby carrier. She seemed to enjoy being up-there. 

That day our goal was Heuberg, a mountain in a town called Nußdorf am Inn. This mountain has four summits, the one which we call Heuberg is 1338m high and also one of favorite spots among cyclists, hikers and also families because the most easiest to hike than the rest of summits. We unfortunately didn't reach the peak since little miss didn't want to stay in baby carrier anymore and we needed more time when we let her walk, even she did well. So we looked for a stop somewhere on the trail, gave her buckets and Co. She was happily playing with stones and woods then we walked down. 

When you plan to walk or hike with your little ones, please double the time or even triple it. Oh and don't forget to bring extra patience with you too. Water is a must. Snacks like cookies, carrot sticks, apple and bananas are helpful. Don't forget a bucket or anything for playing and extra cloths but the most important thing is to bring laugh and good mood. Enjoy your #hikewithbaby :)

#familykitchen :Baked Potatoes and Baked Honey Chicken

Me and little birdie has joined a Musikgarten, a music playgroup in our town. The class is for toddler who can already walk and from 18 months. The teacher asked me on the phone how old is our little one when I rang her to ask whether the group was already full or not. Then the teacher told me to come so that she could see if little one could get along with it. So we went there for trying the class out. At the end of the class, the teacher told me we can stay. Through Musikgarten I learn new children songs and I love it. There we play, we sing, we dance, we laugh and little birdie enjoys the class too. We always walk to Musikgarten through the park where we always try to say hello to all birdies in aviary. In the park I also can let her walk peacefully without being afraid of cars. She loves to play and pick up some stones. I'm afraid she has to make her experience with stinging nettle, something I had a contact for the first time in Berlin as a Germany-beginner and it was ouchy. 

It's always amazed both of us to see how little miss can understand both Indonesian and German. She's learning to pronounce some Indonesian and German words she picks from her parents. Sometimes it's not easy figuring what she tries to say, for exp. 'bi' which could be Bild (picture or photo in German) or could be mobil (car in Indonesian). To some stuff she sticks to one language, for exp. she says Ball to ball even I teach her to say it in Indonesian. She also says 'da' which means there and 'nein' which means no, both in German. She says bau for stinky, pa for panas (hot), ma for sama (same) all in Indonesian. She can tell sound from some animals, like pip pip for birds, wuff for dogs, quack for frogs and she makes a funny cute face when she's making a sound for tigers/lions. 

She now has all molars, two lower canines and upper ones are popping out too. All these teeth make my cooking getting even more easier and she's - until now - not a picky eater. *knocking on wood*. She loves bread as much as rice, she loves Wurst and better without bread just like me, she doesn't like fried/scrambled egg just like hubby. We like to share french fries and chicken nuggets. She totally is a mixed from both parents. She can drink using a straw now and becomes a tomato-monster. It has been some days that she doesn't mess by eating independent, even when she's having soup. This recipe is one of our favorite from our family kitchen. Pretty easy one and quick.

  

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs -- wash, dried then cut into two or three pieces of each thigh

800 gr potatoes -- peeled, wedges sliced

For the sauce:

Olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

Powdered garlic

1 tsp honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with a parchment paper

Combine the ingredients for the sauce, except the honey, in a bowl. Brush wedges potatoes then put on the baking tray. Add the honey into the rest of the sauce then brush chicken thighs. Put them on the tray too and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes

#dahoam :Maibaum Setting-up in Bavaria - Germany

Maibaum or May tree or Maypole is a decorated tree trunk which is usually erected on May 1st and the ceremony will be filled with folklore music and dances, of course with yummy food to accompany. Let's say it's a town fete. I'd been dreaming to experience this traditional custom in Bavaria and last May 1st I finally was able to attend the setting-up of Maibaum. 

Everybody was in the mood of a fete thanks to the Mr. Sun. The park was filled with kids and their laughter. Little birdie seemed to enjoy it too, especially when she could play with the fountain in the park. 

And don't forget to try some yummy foods...

If you happen to be in Bavaria on May 1st, you shouldn't miss this moment.