Finally Topless

So, who furrowed their eyebrows for a moment? ? ?

That you would think something like that about me.....🙈🙈🙈

Of course, it's not about me! It's about Frederik! And to be precise, about his hair! Poor little guy has been sweating profusely as soon as we leave the apartment for days now. So he had to lose some feathers - at a real barber shop! And he did a great job (once again)! He has plenty of practice by now. And, well, how would we describe the new hairstyle? With a sharp side part and lots of hair gel, it could be a blonde Jerome Boateng do. ;) He definitely felt visibly relieved and we finished our first daily task on Monday. In return, he got some 'exercise' and had contact with children in the play area of the wonderfully cool mall. Marius got to watch over and relax, and I strolled through various stores.

However, this shopping expedition was not very successful. Quite the opposite. The mall is full of trendy, young, and fashionable brand shops that are known all over the world, and of course, I also visited them. The first sign that I no longer belong to the mentioned age group was when I thought I was holding a very pretty top in my hands and then realized that the piece should not only cover the upper body but also extend over the butt - a currently trendy jumpsuit. Well, my body proportions unfortunately couldn't keep up. Maybe it would have worked 17 years ago.

The second sign that I don't belong in these trendy, enticingly scented, and dimly lit stores was that I really had trouble reading what was on the labels in this poor lighting.

MAN, I'M REALLY TOO OLD FOR THIS SHIT! That's official now!

Since Marius was in charge of cooking for the day, we quickly had something to eat on the spot and then zoomed home.

After a cozy nap in the afternoon, we continued with an extensive exploration of the other major stores. It may sound like we are only focused on consumerism. In fact, it is really interesting, exciting, and surprising (both positively and negatively) to see what is available here, but the main concern during these 'strolling trips' is that we are in air-conditioned rooms. From around 1 PM, it gets so warm here that we don't want to stay outside with Frederik.

This time, we followed the recommendation of our dear Annika :) and wandered through the 'Worldmarket', a large store that has very selected, but not overly expensive, unique things from all over the world while also considering sustainability. Beautiful things that make life more beautiful. THANK YOU FOR THE TIP, ANNIKA!!! :)

We spent today's Tuesday in a very traditional way, at the beach. Frederik got to test his new UV shirt, and we watched some ibis-like birds strut around us in the shallow water and try to catch fish, pelicans that probably had more success with their rapid dives, a sea snail that was as big as half a chicken, a crab the size of my two clenched fists, and then I realized that I haven't told you yet that here on the beaches, turtles lay their eggs in nests! It looks like this, as shown in the following pictures. I will take a new photo of the text on the sign. I couldn't see on my phone that the photo didn't turn out well because of the bright light.

It is certain that there are about five endangered turtle species that dig their nests on the beaches here. Each nest contains between 80 and 120 eggs, which are incubated by the sun for nearly two months until all the little turtles hatch at once and make their way to the ocean. - I would love to witness that. But we are here too early, I suppose. The largest mature turtle species among them can reach up to 2.5m long and weigh 700kg. WOW!!!

The nests are well marked, and the locals keep a close eye to make sure that no one gets too close. It's completely understandable!

For the rest of the time, we played and dug in the sand, and as a prep for a possible visit to Disneyland, we created a free interpretation of Ariel, the mermaid.

While Freddy took his afternoon nap, we watched the European Championships.

Well-rested and with a muffin and coffee in our stomachs, we got back in the car again in the afternoon, this time with a really serious mission: We were looking for an additional mattress for the travel bed we bought for Frederik, so that he can be more comfortable. Unfortunately, we found out that, unlike in Germany, there are no extra mattresses for travel beds here. So our creativity was required, and we rushed to the hardware store to look for foam cushions - no luck. In two stores, the garden chair cushions (which we would have repurposed) would have cost between 49 and 130 dollars - no, it wasn't worth it to us. Unfortunately, we left empty-handed. But I was once again amazed by all the beautiful and fitting things available here. It's a paradise for me, but for the locals, it's nothing more than a Danish bed store or something.

But THIS SELECTION!!!!! Just looking at it makes me happy! ;) Here is just a selection from the shower curtain department. Everything matches: curtain, towels (in every imaginable size), bath mat, toothbrush holder, boxes and cases for knick-knacks, trash can, even the curtain rings... EVERYTHING matches!!!! A dream come true!

And if you think 'that's amazing', then you haven't seen PARTY CITY!!!! A store with a floor space about the size of an average grocery store, but filled to the ceiling with party supplies! From invitations, to plastic dishes in all colors, to matching candies, everything for the giveaway children's birthday bag (toys, sweets), hats, flags, countless gas balloons, aloha, Oktoberfest, jungle, graduation, wedding... nothing is missing! And that's not all, for EACH children's movie character, there is a separate themed shelf!!!! And of course, costumes too. The cherry on top: This store is not an exception, it exists about every 10km around here. Apparently, there's a lot of celebrating going on here :)

Saturated with all these impressions, we had to add one more experience 'on top' when we returned to the apartment: We ate CORNDOGS! That was a dream come true for Frederik! Sausages on a stick wrapped in sweet, soft bread dough! Delicious ;)

Tomorrow will be a fruit day 😂😂😂

And now, an important greeting to our baby Nele!!!!!! Happy three months birthday!!!! ❤❤❤❤ We're thinking of you today (on June 22nd) and sending you lots of kisses!!!! ❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😚😚😚😚😚