Cross Country Skiing

Dean's workmate invited him out cross country skiing. Dean enjoyed it and probably did a lot better than he would have if they were going down slopes. As he was getting ready to head home afterwards his workmate said after that kind of exercise they needed to go out and have a beer. Well who is Dean to argue with a suggestion like that??

Dean's Latest Pics

Dean's working about 15 minutes drive from where he's staying. He has to drive on the Autobahn and his record speed so far is 190km but overall he says he drives like a granny compared to all the Germans speeding past him at very high speeds.

Deans office building in Raubling, He's on the 7th floor with a pretty good view

Staff Lunch - $1 per sausage and a free pretzel - bonus!!??

Fresh snow falling onto Deans car

More Pics of Salzburg

Dean must be standing on a step? Wendell isn't that short :)

Dean said there were lots of these around, but they didn't go for a ride coz they thought that might look gay

Dean in Germany

Well we have been in contact with Dean most days via txt or webcam which has helped us not to miss him too much.

I thought I would update you all on his behalf, so hopefully I get my facts right based on secondhand info :) Well he finally made it to Germany Sunday night a day and a half late. They had fog in Dubai so got diverted to Karachi where they sat on the tarmac for a while. Once they arrived in Dubai it sounded like chaos as everyone was trying to find new flights to their final destinations. Dean ended being put up in a hotel by the airline until his flight, so at least he got to have a sleep and not just hang around the airport.

Once in Germany it was straight into the working week after a sleep Sunday night. He found the week a bit hard adjusting to the winter days where it is dark by 4pm so by the time he finished work there wasn't much to see. He ventured out to the supermarket where he had to put a euro in to get a shopping trolley, except he didn't have a single euro and they didn't have shopping baskets, so he could only get what he could carry. He had to return his rental car and swap the German navigation system for an English one, othewise he would definately get lost. The house he is staying in is nice, it belongs to the German couple who are working in his office here in New Zealand, so that's a nice alternative to having to stay in a hotel.

Wendell flew over from England for the weekend and sounds like they had heaps of fun. They stayed in Munich on Friday night where they ventured out to try and find some night life, they didn't find much but went out for dinner. Saturday they drove to Salzburg, Austria. Dean said it is a beautiful city. They looked around and did a bit of shopping. He said the shops are pretty flash so I guess he won't be getting any bargains. They headed back to Raubling that evening and then headed out again. They taxied to a bar nearby where the locals didn't seem to friendly but the barman was and he gave them the hot tip on a hip hop club nearby. Sounds like they had a good night and after a finding a hotdog stand they taxied home.

Sunday was Deans 32nd birthday and they went on another adventure. They were interested in checking out the old concentration camp in Dachau so programmed it into the navigation system which just guided them to the town, so although they didn't find the concentration camp the enjoyed looking around and checked out the Christmas markets intstead.

So I think thats the lowdown for now. I got a text saying he has booked flights to London this weekend to catch up with the boys over there. So I'm sure I'll have some fun pics to post from that trip :)

The view from the house where Dean is staying in Bernau am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany

Salzburg, Austria

Wendell on the streets in Salzburg

I presume this pic is after their big night out :)

On Sunday they headed to Dachau which is a half hour drive from Munich city centre.

Dean's Ride. An Audi with a navigation system so he doesn't get lost :)

At the Christmas Markets. Looks cold!!

Some omlette type thing with gravy all over it. Dean said he liked it, hmmm.

Week 1 without daddy

We headed down to the Mount last weekend to spend some time with mum and dad while Dean is away. We stopped on the way down in Waihi to a get together with all the Tokoroa girls that I grew up with. It's always cool catching up and feels like hardly anytime has passed since we saw each other last.

The rest of the week was lovely as the weather was awesome and Nathan got to go to the beach lots. I turned 32 while I was down there and my lovely husband had arranged for me to go to a day spa down there, so I spent all morning relaxing in the private spa with trees all around me and then being pampered with a massage and pedicure, aaah. Nathan isn't missing his daddy too much just yet as we get to speak to him via webcam on skype most days so thats good.

Here's a pic of all the kids at the party in Waihi