Weeks 9-10: Hiking, Visit from Germany, Happy Valley

The week started with a great hike with the school's mentor group, to Gubeikou. We left early in the morning at 8:00 am by bus, about 1.5 hours drive to Gubeikou. With brilliant sunshine, we had a great day of hiking with steep climbs, many stairs, and fantastic views.

On Friday, our first visit from Germany arrived in Beijing on time. With Thilo and Cassandra, we had a great week together, showing them Beijing and the surrounding area. The weather was good to us and the sun was shining almost every day, with temperatures up to 23 degrees.

On the weekend, we went to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. There was a foam mountain for the kids to play on. With partly cloudy skies, we took the cable car up and our visitors' wish came true: to stand on the Great Wall of China and hike along it. Sunday was the school flea market and I (Marion) stayed in Beijing with the children to support the flea market. Leonie ran the children's face painting station. Finn made some purchases :) Rene went with Thilo and Cassandra to the Ming Tombs and the beautiful Sacred Way.

During the week, Cassandra, Thilo, and I (Marion) had a busy cultural program while the others were at school and work. We visited the beautiful Temple of Heaven, which has a beautifully landscaped park. Inside the temple is the Great Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, where the Chinese prayed for a good harvest and offered bundles of grain and vegetables as sacrifices. We also strolled through the Hutongs near Beihai Lake, tried various culinary delicacies from street vendors, and sometimes ended up at familiar places like Pizza Hut or McDonald's. We climbed the Drum Tower and also visited the Bell Tower. We admired the Lama Temple with its Hall of Infinite Happiness, which houses an 18-meter-high Buddha statue carved from a single sandalwood tree that was 26 meters high. The statue is set 8 meters deep. The entire temple complex is very spacious and beautifully designed. We also visited Tiananmen Square and Jingshan Park, where we climbed the Coal Hill and had a fantastic view of the Forbidden City.

The two of them explored the Forbidden City on their own one morning and brought back great photos.

In the afternoons, the six of us went to the Olympic Center, where we were amazed at how many dance groups, Qi Gong groups, and gymnastics groups gathered there as soon as it got dark. Finn and I (Marion) also went to the observation platform of the Olympic Park Observation Tower, where we had a fantastic star-shaped view. The view of the National Stadium and the Olympic Swimming Hall, also known as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, is always impressive.

In the evening, we went to the mega shopping center: The Place, with allegedly the largest screen in the world. It also had a great food court and many shopping opportunities.

A stroll in the great Pearl Market rounded off the visit. Shoes and Lego were top picks, and on the last evening, Cassandra finally got to enjoy her favorite dish of baked bananas. Both left with many experiences and memories and headed back to Germany.

We then took advantage of the next weekend to finally spend a day at Happy Valley, Beijing's largest amusement park. We were impressed because it was close to Halloween and the entire park was fantastically decorated with pumpkins and more. The rides were endless, including several large roller coasters. We couldn't experience everything in one day, so we'll be back soon. The water ride will forever be etched in our memories! We should have been skeptical when we were given rain capes and some people put plastic covers over their shoes at the entrance. But we just thought, well, maybe it's a bit exaggerated. We soon realized our mistake, as we had never gotten so wet on a ride before. From the first small hill, a wave of water poured on us. There was nothing dry in the boat afterwards. The water was almost ankle-deep, and we understood why they gave us plastic covers for our shoes. We felt a slight panic before the big hill, and rightly so. It was crazy! The warning that we could get wet took on a whole new meaning. We made sure to use the drying chambers at the end, as our jeans and shoes were completely soaked. As it got dark, the entire park was beautifully illuminated. The food options were also amazing, with something for everyone.

In conclusion, we had another great week here in Beijing, filled with many experiences that make us want more.

Time flies, but no matter how much we experience here and how great it is, home is home. We are already looking forward to Christmas, when we will finally return home for the holidays.