In April, Uncle Andrew (Loxon’s god-parent, and just as good as a real uncle) came to visit, and the boys were extremely excited to see him. They showed him around Basel, with particular attention to the playgrounds of course. While he was here, the annual Basel bike market was held, and we all went to see if we could find a bike for Marion. This market is enormous with hundreds of bikes brought in by owners in the morning, each with a price attached. Buyers then browse row upon row of bikes and get the opportunity to test-ride them on a large circuit before choosing. Although we weren’t the earliest arrivals, Marion did find an excellent Swiss bicycle in bright red, complete with hub dynamo lights and integrated wheel-lock.

In Switzerland, all bikes are required to display a small sticker, called a vignette, with the current year on it. These are purchased each year for about 6 Francs and certify that the bike is insured against third-party damage in an accident.

At Easter, we went to Marion’s parents in Ludwigsburg where all six cousins engaged in an Easter egg hunt. Some eggs were easy to find but somewhat risky to retrieve, as you can see above. Naturally, it was Loxon whose boundless enthusiasm led to him falling in the pond.

In June, the boys went on their first trip away from family, catching the train to a summer camp in Langenbruck (up in the mountains about 45 minutes from Basel) with all their classmates at the childcare. Three nights away from Mama and Papa was daunting, but given it was to be a pirate camp there was no question of missing it. And, as luck would have it, the pirates discovered treasure in the forest. Wiki is in yellow, third from left in the second row; and Loxon is in dark and light blue, fourth from right in the first row. They do all look rather menacing. On coming home the boys reported, in tones of fascination, that even pirates have to brush their teeth. Who would have thought it?

The summer flew by and soon it was August 1st, Swiss National Day. We held a party to watch the fireworks from our balcony. Basel’s fire boat put on a stunning display below us, turning on all its water guns to shoot vast columns of water into the air. And much more elegant than the fireworks, was the release of thousands of lampions (miniature hot-air balloon lanterns), which swept into the sky in an enormous flickering bloom.

At the end of August we took our first family train holiday, going to Berlin and Potsdam to visit Derya. We took an overnight couchette and the boys loved settling down to sleep in the train. The ten hour journey zipped by as we slept and we all felt fresh as we arrived in Berlin in the morning. Only another two hours later we were swimming in Potsdams’ sun-laden Heiliger See, where Wiki and Loxon were nonplussed by the nudists.

Berlin’s new main train station is stunning, with cylindrical glass lifts shooting between floating platforms. In many cases, you can gaze out at the nearby Bundestag (German parliament) while you await your train. We also visited Oranienburgerstrasse, where the infamous anarchists’ squat, Tacheles, still inhabits the ruin of an antique shopping mall. Wiki and Loxon even got to witness our favourite dragon sculptures (blackened iron and steel) breathing their fire (it’s no longer on automatic, so ask the waiter at the bar to activate it for you).

We also visited Berlin’s Labyrinth Kindermuseum (children’s museum), where guests are invited to wear distorting goggles while exploring a maze. And we checked out the German Foreign Registry at Standesamt 1 (the official place of issue of Wiki and Loxon’s German birth certificates given they were born in Australia). In the meantime, we found Potsdamerplatz unrecognisable, and barely worth visiting these days, especially given that Alexanderplatz still oozes its menacing GDR atmosphere and architecture.