On one of the other days we did a trip to Germany to a town called Rostock (former East Germany). This is a two hour ferry ride from where my dad lives.



Rostock is one of the old Hansestads and the inner city has a lot of old houses and beautiful water fountains.









It started raining so we decided to drive up to one of the other coastal towns called Warnemunde. This is a little very charming place with old houses, fishing boats and along the coast there are very nice groovy cafes.







In the later afternoon we took the ferry back to Denmark. Aff the Danish coastline they have constructed a massive windmill park with hundreds of windmills generating Electricity.

We went to HC Andersens house in Odense in Denmark. This is the house that he was living in and behind the house they have now build a museum and a park with a castle theatre for the kids.

We started out in the park as there was a play about to start in the theatre.



The play was a 15 minute recap of all the most famous stories and it was very well done and very funny (especially the Emperors new Clothing).



Both Aiden and Bedstefar really enjoyed the play together.





Afterwards we went to see the actual house HC andersen was living in.



HC Andersen is one of Kims favourite writers.


And we also visited the museum.

After visiting HC Andersens house we went to Egeskov Castle.

This is a castle that has now been converted into a museum and the surrounding area has been converted into very nice gardens, playgrounds, ponds etc.





The museum hosts old armory, paintings and the owners dad used to go big game hunting in Africa and a lot of the trophies are on display.







Inside the castle they have one of the most amazing doll houses. It is very detailed and some of the pieces have been donated by the royal families of europe.





In one of the adjacent building have now have a museum for old cars and motorcycles.





This was one of Kims favourites.



They also had a museum for old fire engines.





While I was busy with the fire engines my Dad and Kim did the tree-top walk nearby.



After this we took the ferry back home to complete the tour. By the end of the day we had driven across 9 different islands (Falster -> Masnedø -> Sjælland -> Sprogø -> Fyn -> Tåsinge -> Siø -> Langeland -> Lolland). A long day but well worth it.

This week we travelled to Denmark to meet the relatives. We flew straight from Sydney to Copenhagen with short stopovers in Singapore and London. Aiden behaved like a little angel pretty much all the way although he was pretty tired on the last stretch from London.

The purpose of our trip was initially to introduce Aiden to both his Grandmother and Granddad (Bedstefar), but since my mum passed away last month he could only meet my dad.



It took a couple of days for both granddad (Bedstefar) and Aiden to get used to each other, but now they really enjoy each others company and have fun playing with eachother (although it will take some time before we get him to babysit as he refuses to change nappies).





We also went to the cemetry to visit my mum who passed away recently and my brother. It is a pity my Mum didn't get to meet Aiden, but at least he has now been to the cemetry.



We also went to visit my grand parents (Aidens great grandparents) as well as my great grand parents and great great grandparents (5 generations in one place).








One afternoon we went to my Aunties house to visit.



On a couple of evenings we had an outdoor BBQ. My dad was looking after the meat and we were looking after the side dishes and deserts. On the first evening my dad managed to burn the chicken a faid bit.



One afternoon we all went to the local zoo (It must have been 30 years since I last went there).







We tried the swings there, but Aiden wasn't happy with them (Maybe when he is older).



In the evenings we went down memory lane where my dad pulled out old 16mm film from when I was a toddler.





We were in Denmark a week and a half and it was really nice to see Aiden and my Dad getting along. I am hoping that my dad will come to Sydney in the near future and spend more time with Aiden...it will be good for him to know Bedstefar as he is growing up.

Today was a beautiful winters day...cool, windy and blue skies and we decided to use this beautiful Sunday to go on a bushwalk with Aiden (his first real bushwalk).

The walk we decided to do was one up at Cowan from the station down to Jerusalem Bay (5km return). I carried Aiden all the way in a small sling/backpac we have for him.



He is still not used to the sling and keeps leaning back...but hopefully we can get him a bit more used to it before our holiday to Croatia.

The walk follows a creek with a small stream running through it. Eventually it reaches the bay which is a picturesque little place.



It was a great trip and it was great to get out and get some exercise.



Afterwards we had lunch at Berowra at a place I had been to before. Unfortunately it had changed owners and didn't have the same quality to it any longer.

We had a beautiful winter day yesterday and we decided to head down to the beach to get Aiden used to the feel of sand.



He took it a lot better than expected and although wasn't playing with the sand at least he tolerated his feet and hands touching it.



He was also quite content sucking his fingers being full of sand.

This week it was Kims Birthday (one of the big ones with a zero in it). In the morning she was surprised with a big bunch of flowers delivered and she thought they were from me...she was very surprised when she discovered they were from my dad.



...and I got an earful because she thought that I hadn't gotten her any...well I did and they were delivered by the end of the afternoon and they were different from the ones I ordered (they just delivered a palin bunch of roses which was very dissappointing but the florist gave me a refund when I complained about it).




In the evening we had Kims dad baby sitting while we went to Sepia for the degustation menu.




The food was really yummi and time just flew away.





On the Sunday we celebrated with the family on a japanese restaurant followed by cake and birthday song.



Happy Birthday Kim!!

Week before last my mum passed away.

She had her birthday on the Saturday where we called her and sang har Happy Birthday. The next day I received an email from my auntie saying that my mum had another stroke on the day after her birthday and that she probably wouldn't make it through the night.

Obviously a bit of a shock and after calling the hospital they confirmed that she was in a coma and that it wasn't looking good. The stroke was on the opposite side of where she previously had a stroke so even if she woke up she would probably be totally paralysed.

Later that day I managed to get hold of my aunt and spoke to her to try and decide whether I should jump on a plane immediately or wherhet I should wait and see. I decided that because she was asleep there wouldn't be much value in me going there since it could be a long wait. My mums health has been pretty bad for a while so every time I've spoken to her I've know that it could be the last time. The one regret I have is that I only spoke to her briefly on her Birthday because we were going out for dinner.

On the 8th I reveived a call from my Aunt in the middle of the night saying that my mum had quietly slept in and that I better make my way to Denmark because there was a lot of decisions that had to be made.



When I arrived to Denmark my Dad hadn't arrived yet and his neighbour was out so I was unable to get into his apartment. I decided to go for a walk down to the hospital where my mum was and I was sitting outside for a while. Every time I saw someone in a window I was hoping that I would catch a glimse of my mum.

Next day my dad had arrived and we had a very busy day organising the funeral with the funeral company and starting to clear out her apartment. I had to make a decision as to what I wanted to keep and what should be disposed of. Over the next couple of days I managed to pack two boxes of stuff to keep and the rest was thrown out (apart from one box of porcelain painted by my grandma which I gave to my auntie). It was belongings that represented my Mums entire life and I had to make decisions as what to keep. In the end I only kept a few things that I would like to remember her by where the photos were an important part. I also kept a few of my grandmothers things that she had.

My mum had kept a lot of my things which I had to throw out as well. There were a number of really old bottles of wine from before I moved to Australia where the only one that was perfectly drinkable was a 1987 bottle (The rest had turned to vinegar). My dad and I shared this bottle over an outside BBQ one evening.



It is really sad to see how my Mums last few years has split up the family as well as old friends...when she had her first stroke years ago she was very much let down by both family members and friends that she thought she could depend on. A couple of these turned up to the funeral service...I am sure my mum would rather have had them not being there.


On the thursday we had my mums funeral at the church next to where she was born and I found it really hard to say my last goodbuy to her. It is one thing knowing she has passed away, but it really sunk in when she was right there in her coffin.



It was difficult for me to take these photos, but I needed something to remember the funeral by.



After the funeral we had lunch at Marielyst. It was good to catch up with some of my family members especially my mums sisters and my cousins and I am grateful for all the flowers that were sent.



In the middle of the lunch my dads sister came and threw a spanner in the wheels. She has days before promised that she would take care of the legal side and in the middle of the lunch she declared that she didn't want to do it afterall. I find her timing absolutely appaling and dissapointing. She could have let me know of that decisions earlier...instead I had to rush around and organise a lawyer in the afternoon where I thoughs I could finally site back and reflect on the loss of my mum and pack my things to finally go home next morning.

Anyway it got all sorted and next day I returned back to Australia.

I am really sorry that my mum never got to meet Aiden and I am sorry that Aiden never got to meet his grandmother. She passed away day after Aidens 1yo birthday and we were planning togo to Denmark next month to finally introduce them to eachother.


I hope that if there is something after that she has finally found some peace and that she is with my brother and that both of them are young, happy and healthy. The years since my brother passed away were really tough on my mum...she has had a tough autumn and her wish was always to be buried next to him in Vaeggerloese.

We will all miss her very much...

Today it was Aidens 1st Birthday and we celebrated it quietly with a birthday song and a little cupcake with a candle in it.



He is now a lot more curious about his environment and crawls around the livingroom investigating every corner. He is still commando crawling, but when he is determined to get to something then he is pretty quick.


We also measured him up against a wall and he is now 74cm tall and weighs just over 10kg. He is starting to become a real handful. He is used to me taking him with me in the shower and really doesn't like being bathed in a bathtub any more and it now takes the two of us to dress him (one of us to hold him while the other person dresses him). He is getting so strong that it is hard to one person to hold him is he starts wiggling like a worm.

On Sunday is his big birthday party and I really hope that I will be able to be there and celebrate it with him. Aiden's Grandmother (my Mum) had another stroke on Sunday (the day after her 69th Birthday) and things don't look very good at the moment and I may suddenly have to rush back to Denmark. I really hope she will hold out as I don't want to miss my little boys first Birthday party.

I am really sad that my Mum and Aiden hasn't had a chance to meet. We are supposed to go back there in August to visit her...but now we will have to re-evaluate our plans.

Today we celebrated Aidens birthday with the family.

In the morning we all had Yum Cha and afterwards we took all the kids to Little Dynamos to play.



In the evening we had the family over for steamboat and cake. Great opportunity to take a new family photo with the latest member of the family...Emma.

Today it was one year ago that my my Mum and Aidens Grandma passed away.

I am still sad that Aiden never met her but I am hoping that he will get to know Bedstefar better as he is growing up.




I am also glad that Aiden will have a brother to keep each other company and I hope the two of them will be close and grow old together.

I still have a suitcase sitting here full of photos that I one day will get the courage tp go through...but not anytime soon.

Today was Aidens second birthday...time flies!



We had a Birthday cake for him with the family and sang Happy Birthday and let him blow out the candle.

Today is a very unique day in that the planet Venus passed over the disc of the Sun. The next such passing wont happen for another 105 years.

And it is even more interesting since we recently returned from Tahiti where Captain Cook observed the last passing several hundred years ago.



Here in sydney it was a very cloudy day, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos using a very powerful lens covered with dark filters. It is a planet Venus at the 7 o'clock on the sun in the photo.

Bummer...I had to return the camera yesterday. It was driving me mad with back focusing...not what you would expect from a $3000 camera. Hopefully they will be able to fix the issue, but unfortunately they are saying that there is a 21 day turnaround. The focus was 5cm off which is critical especially then taking portraits.


I did however manage to take a couple of photos that were ok and a bit of video with it on Sunday inside a very dark ten-pin bowling place (it was Kayla's birthday party) with all kinds of weird lighting. I was shooting at insanely high iso (12800) and I must say that I general I was pretty impressed.



Especially impressed with how fast I could shoot with lots of kids running around. They are totally usable for my blog and online posting although I wouldn't enlarge them. There was a lot of noise at these high ISO's, but most of it could be managed to a certain degree in Lightroom.






Later I was shooting with KC's camera at the lunch table...there was more light and I was strugling with taking photos using natural light.

Today I picked up my new camera. It is the new Nikon D800 and is currently one of the most sought after cameras on the market.

I have been wanting to get a full frame camera for some time now and this was the one for me to get...the reviews are excellent.


I pre-ordered it shortly after is was announced and has been waiting for over three months for it to arrive...but it is finally here.




It will be a steep learning curve to get used to all the new features of the camera and it will be a sad goodbye to my almost 10 year old D50 entry level camera.

I am now moving from 5 auto focus points to 51...from 6 Megapixels to 36 megapixels...max 1600 ISO to 25600 ISO...no bells and whistles to having features such as Video, Timelapse, HDR, face detection, live view, aparture preview...and the list goes on...



The D50 has served me well, but it is definitely time to move on as the technology has advanced so much. Not sure what I do with the old camera...but I will most likely end up selling it.

It is Autumn here in Sydney and today the forecast was for 19 degrees and sunny...the first cool'ish day here. In the morning we went with Kims family to the cemetry to visit Kims mum. After this we were planning to head up to the Blue Mountains to Mt Wilson to visit some of the private gardens to take photos of the Autumn colours and get some new family photos of Kim, Aiden and I.


When we arrived it was really windy and only 7 degrees (later it dropped to 5 degrees). We had dressed for the cold, but Dylan who had joined us on the spur of the moment was a bit underdressed and cold so he borrowed a spare jumper I had with me. We immediately found a pile of leaves and they started having fun throwing them up in the air.








We decided to visit the Yengo Sculpture garden and the owner came to greet us, tell us about the garden and charge for the entry.











The garden was very nice and the colours were awesome.















There were lots of sculptures hidden around the garden.



Dylan got a bit upset because we had to scold him for running around (this was a private garden so deserved a bit of respect), throwing pebbles, thrashing my camera gear and keeping to run into the frame of the photo I was trying to take. I had also been trying to get a bit interested in what he is seeing around him to learn more things and asking him if he was interested in some of the lookouts to experience one of the most beautiful places in Australia, as well as look at the things in antique shops etc., but he was totally dis-interested..."you can drag the horse to the water, but you can force it to drink".



After the garden Aiden was really tired and cold and we were getting hungry, so we decided to head back and stop along the way for lunch. It was good timing as it started to rain a little. I decided to drive on the great western highway as there were more options for food and I though it would be quicker getting back...turned out everyone else had the same idea so it was at a crawl.

Today Kim and I went to the Lyrics Theatre to see the 'An Officer and Gentleman' musical.

It was a remake of the 1982 movie, but on the stage.



It was ok but nothing special. The acting and singing was great, but the screenplay itself as well as the music/lyrics could have been more original and the stage setup was pretty basic.

Kim is pregnant again and we are now halfway there and on Monday we went for the halfway scans (due late September).



Everything is on track and looking good so far (5 fingers and toes etc.). For the first time we were able to tell the gender of the baby and it turns out that we are expecting a little brother to Aiden.

This means that Aiden very soon will have someone to play with here at home.

Today was Anzac day. We decided to use the day to explore some of the local area in the National Park on the other side of Botany bay near Kurnell.



It was very windy (Aiden wasn't happy with the wind). The walk along the coast is easy an quite scenic. There is even a small lighthouse about a kilometer down the track and the rocks have cook textures.