Kritzelbuch

I keep seeing this book around town and it is absolutely adorable. It's the 'Kinder Künstler Kritzelbuch' (child artist scribble book) from Beltz&Geldberg.

You can see pages from the interior, which include beautiful fill in style illustrations from illustrators like one of my favorite - Philip Waechter (he did the cover).

They say things like 'Das bin ich' (This is me) and 'Und sehe ich aus, wenn ich gross bin' (This is what I look like when I grow up) with space to draw a self-portrait. There are other pages which give suggestions that allow imaginations to run wild.

Here are a few more from the publisher's website:
They say: 1. What grows here? 2. There are a lot of fish under the boat, aren't there? 3. Who was that?

(images: Beltz verlag)

Rainy day fun

Stefan and I had a rainy, but wonderful day in town.

We stopped at the book store and I was elated with joy to find Philip Waechter has done it again. I had not seen his book 'Sohntage' (Son Day) -which would be wonderful for new parents.

Even though we're not new parents (or expecting), we had to add it to our collection. I love his illustrations and the stories are so delightful. I have not read his books in English, but they are great in German.

Despite the rain, there were so many bright details around town. I love seeing Munich's flower planters that can brighten up any day - rain or shine... and then there are the little hidden courtyards that are just cheery and serene.

We had planned to go to Saf' Zerwirk for lunch, only to find their website is incorrect - they open at 4pm on Saturdays. Instead we went to Cosomgrill, where I had a delicious wasabi tuna burger.

Autumn is surely arriving fast. I guess it's just preparing us for our trip on Tuesday.

My in-laws just got back this week from Iceland. They said the wind made things even colder. Here are a few of their photos...

They even were adventurous enough to try the kæstur hákarl (fermented shark). Don't expect that from me!

I'm already going to start packing - I can't wait!

Köln

I started my trip to Amsterdam with a flight to Köln to meet Stefan, who was there for work. It felt like we were on a blind date when I arrived because I called him and was telling him what I was wearing and trying to spot him among the tourists. We met up at the Kölner Dom (cathedral), right by the train station. It was nice to have some time before we boarded our train to Amsterdam to walk around the city.

I don't know too much about Köln, besides it's known for it's cathedral, German TV production, large carnival celebrations, and Lukas Podolski - a famous soccer player.

As we walked through the streets to the Rhein River we passed an Aussie pub around 9:30am. It was filled with men watching a rugby game. I got a good laugh out of that.

In the Cathedral I really loved the stained glass window by Gehard Richter. It has a digital feeling to it that seems a bit misplaced for the church, but it was very unique and colorful. Also nearby was the museum and their wonderful book store. I was delighted to see a new book by Philip Waechter, who is quickly becoming my favorite German children's book author. The book was about a little boy who lives and breathes soccer and wants to be a famous player - only at the end he considers being a drummer. He really has beautiful illustrations and cute stories that are easy to identify with. I saw he has another new one while we were in Amsterdam, however it was all Dutch, so I ended up with something else.

Stefan was well prepared and booked first class train tickets for us. It was a 3 hour trip with the ICE train, but it was very relaxing.

Next stop - Amsterdam!

German kinder bucher

Whenever we travel we always pick up a beautiful children's book. Sometimes they are in English, while other times we'll find something in the native language of the place we're visiting. I was walking down the street the other day and stumbled upon these two books and was drawn to them for different reasons.

'Mouk' is about a little character that travels around the world sending postcards back to his friends and family. I just love the illustrations by Frenchman Marc Boutavant. I'm always drawn to the maps and information about other cultures, even for tiny readers. His illustrations remind me of the Richard Scarry 'Tiny Town' books that I read as a child, except his have a Japanese feel to them. The busy pages are sure to garner attention and curiosity. Unfortunately this book is not available in the US, which is more the reason to buy it here.

'Noch eins' is a board book that is for smaller children and focuses on counting. It includes the work of Wayne Thiebaud and combines his paintings of cakes and confections with numbers, which is terrific. I've always been a fan of his work which delights my inner desire to be a pastry chef. Besides, what child wouldn't be enamored with images of sweets while learning to count? His paintings are so pretty.

My all time favorite German children's book is one I purchased on one of my first visits. It's called 'Ich' by Philip Waechter. I've not read the English version, however the German version is so delightful. It's the simple tale of a brown bear who tells the reader how beautiful, smart, brave, and special he is although sometimes he feels small and lonely. At the end he says how he runs and runs into his loved ones arms and feels safe. The illustrations are sweet and the story is really charming.

Reading these children's books even helps me improve my German.