EUROPAPARK 12 July 2008

WOW..WOW...WOW!!!!

What a place, unlike anything that we have ever experienced before, all I could think was that Alex is a spoilt brat having experienced this at 3 yrs old!

Europa Park is the biggest ThemePark in Europe(Other than Paris Disneyland), it is the Europeans answer to the American Theme Park Phenomonen!! I cant compare as we have never been to an American Themepark, but it was absolutely fantastic! We were there for 2 full days from opening(9am) till close (7pm) and we could have been there for another 3 days to be able to experience everything.

Of course we prioritized and fitted in all the major rides, with keeping the kids happy imbetween with some slow paced breather rides.....

Alex really enjoyed the bumper cars, she mus take after

Mommy!!!

On this ride...she looked like her Granny Krull....

The entire park is divided into different areas which is the countries of Europe re-created and within each area with authentic architecture, shops and theme are the rides also designed to fit in with the country that you were in.

Bringing abit of SA culture to Germany...4 people in a

2 seater Taxi!!!

As we walked around we just kept on saying how much mony must have been spent to create this, but @ Eur31.50 per adult for a day pass...I think they have made it up.

This seemed abit steep to pay at first until you get into the park, no expense is spared from the rides to the side shows, we saw world class horse and Ice Shows all included in your entrance fee.

Needless to say we had an unbelievable 2 days, we stayed in the park themed accommodation village(Tipi Dorf) in a American Western Chuck Wagon(was really cool). The accommodation were all wagons, Log Cabins and Indian Tipi Tents, like we were in the Wild West...the kids loved it.

Wagon that we stayed in..

. Inside the wagon..

Tipi Dorf with Silver Star in background..

We will be going back before the end of this Summer for another 2 day q night trip. We are very proud to say that we went on all the rides, ALL OF THEM!!!! Having not been one for Amusement park Hair raising rides(mates can vouch for that), I went on rides that I think we make most scared and ill! I think it is the fact that Germans are very precise and maticulous so you know the rides are 200% safe and maintained, so not so much Eishhhhhh!!

Pictures of the Rides

Fjoord Rafting

Matterhorn Blitz high and quick drops..

Atlantic Splash...

Alpine Splash..

Eurosat Rollercoaster in teh dark inside Dome Sphere..

EUROMIR, 2nd best ride in the Park

You start the ride in the bottom of 1 of those towers

and then go round and round up until the top then the lights come on and there

is a massive space rocket in the middle, then the doors open and you are thrown

all over the show...

Click on the play button.

THE SILVER STAR.....

Largest and longest Roller Coaster in Europe, 80m high, 130km/h, drops that are about 75deg...

been there done it, got the T-Shirt....will NEVER go again......

Click on the play button.

We could think of many back home that we would love to take to this park, there is so much to do for everyone....from hectic hair-raising rides to just relaxing and taking in a show and the sights. So the invitation is open to everyone.......??

Mercedes Benz Museum - 05 July 2008

This past Sunday we visited the Mercedes Benz Museum in central Stuttgart. What a place, no expense was saved for the building of this place. The building on the outside and inside is state of the art and incredibly designed. In the same building Daimler have a massive Client Centre where prospective buyers can visit and see the technology and future of Mercedes Benz. There is also a massive shop, where you can buy hundreds of miniature Mercedes Cars, Clothing and anything else with the Merc badge on it.

The building is 8 storeys high and each storey is entirely dedicated to a section in history timeline of Mercedes Benz, from the 1st Benz in 1890 to the most modern Mercedes Benz that have been on show at major Moter Shows. There is an entire floor filled with Silver Arrows, Mercedes Race Cars from the past 60yrs. The 1998 Mclaren Mercedes F1 car, driven to Drivers Championship buy Kimi Raikonen is also on display(See pictures).

1st Diamler Benz Auto Carriage - 1890

1938 SK Roasdter, 100mph







In 80's Pope visited
Germany, this Gulunderwagen
was converted with Bullet-Proof
Glass Top for his Transport.

1992 SL500 bought by Princess Di,
she had to return it as it was not
British, according to The Queen.

2001 S500, owned by
Arnold Schwarzenegger

when he was 1st elected
governer of California

James Bond with his

1960 Gullwing S Roadster

M Class which was used in

the Jurassic Park movie.

Schummy Who?

Silver Arrows Hall















Mandy's next company car,
SLR Maclaren about,

R4 200 000 !!!!!

Some pics - July 7 2008

Here are some pics taken over the last couple of days...

Alex's School - Im Troppel

Alex brings SA to Germany!

The Queen-bee with her new bike...! And this bike has breaks so mom gets to relax a little!

Had a "hotdog" evening with friends from SA... what is an evening without watching the boks... Shaun has hooked his laptop up to the TV.

Alex riding her bike through the forest at 18:30 one evening.

A Day at Legoland - 28 June

What an awesome place... almost everything is made out of lego!!! It is incredible to see!

We left home at 7am on Saturday morning, picnic basket packed and ready to go... We got to Legoland about 2 hours later! We were told (by my darling husband) that it opened at 9... it didn't ... it opened at ten! So we had three toddlers aged 1,5; 3 and 3,5 waiting patiently for the doors to open. In case you were wondering.. I didn't pop out another 2 kids here... we went with friends.. Pieter and Janet and their 2 kids - Greta and Neil... Alex is ecstatic because she has a friend to play with now! The wait was worth it... We started at Miniland... see pics.. this is awesome up close because everything is made out of lego and most of it is animated... so the ships move in and out of the harbour, the buses engine starts and the bus drives around.

This is Munich Airport A380 Airbus

Hamburg Harbour

After mini town we hit the rides... it was really nice to have friends with because we could take turns with the kids and get to actually enjoy the rides as well! We went on two "roller coaster" things... one was a little hectic... my stomach remained in the sky while my body went towards the ground at a rapid speed! I am the one who loves that kind of thing and at one stage all I could say was ... I want to get off now!!!!!! The car (which only had 4 people in it) went at 90 degree angles... was good... ONCE!

Alex and Shaun on a "mild" train ride... it was enjoyable even for adults! Train goes at quite a speed forwards, stops and then goes backwards as well.

Alex taking the turns! She was incredible... must take after mom in a car! :)

Pirates ride - this looked awesome but everyone comes off drenched... we were not prepared! Next time this will be our first stop!

At about 6:30 that night we decided it was time to leave! There was so much to do that we didn't even notice the hours go by!

Next weekend we are off to Europa park!!!!! Keep reading for more info...

More Pictures from Legoland..

Alex on a Knight Jousting ride....

Miniland replica of Allianz Soccer Stadium, 1 000 000 pieces of Lego used in the re-creation. This is the home of Bayern Munich Football Team.

Minitown creation of Holland Country Side

Re-Creation of Frankfurt Business Centre, all busses, boats and Trians are auto-mated.