Found my legs. I know you won’t believe it, but they actually were under me the whole doggone time. (Did you get the tone of that last statement? Unfortunately, sarcasm is usually completely lost via Internet. It also fails miserably in translation, as I’ve discovered by the deadpan look I tend to get from Bavarians as I attempt to be funny. (Hmmm, I get that look from Americans too, come to think of it.)) I’m now adding my legs to the list of things I’m thankful for because for the past few days these babies have carried me all over the creation while I rediscover my sense of adventure.
Monday started out a ein bisschen (a little) rough. I got up early to do some Yoga. Rather noble, I thought. Perhaps if I could just start the week off on the right foot, it might go more smoothly. So I actually got myself out of bed without hitting snooze 17 times (pretty major feat in itself). Minor problem, apparently it was not early enough. After yoga, shower, and rummaging through closet to find favorite sweater, I found myself with only 10 minutes left to make it to the train. That would normally be fine, but seeing as how it’s a 15 min journey, I was up a creek without a paddle. So I took off in a dead sprint…complete with my purse, backpack, heeled boots, and to top it off—a togo cup of coffee. Pretty positive my scarf was waving behind me like Snoopy’s when he fights the Red Baron. But, you know what, my legs got me there, with just about 20 seconds to spare. (Hey--that rhymed.)
Tuesday my legs carried me all around the city as I shopped for some Christmas gifts (one for you, two for me…) and explored the Christmas markets. Regensburg is truly beautiful this time of year. Twinkly white lights, candles in the windows, O’ Tannenbaums in any nook and cranny. Everywhere you look, it’s as if St. Nick has puked all over everything (but I mean it in a good way.) I spent most of the day reacquainting myself with all the places I fell in love with when we first moved here. The stone bridge, my favorite café, the cathedral. Actually, I think I took myself on my own death march! Later that night, our friend Laura came in to meet me so we could partake in the Christmas market. It was wonderful. In fact, it was so wonderful, that I brought Tim again last night (he’s feeling much better.) Picture a German town square filled with little wooden booths that sell everything from ornaments and wooden figurines to ½ meter long sausages and Gluhwine. (Gluhwine: a hot spiced wine that is the traditional German cold weather drink.) Honestly, I never really liked before until I had it in this perfect place. It was exactly what I needed to get into the Christmas spirit.
Today, ye ole legs took me to Yoga class. Yep, still can’t understand a thing. Perhaps Sanskrit doesn’t translate.
As for tomorrow, now Dad don't freak out, I'm skipping my German class. (It's really ok, Dad. I did my homework and told my teacher.) Iris, the German tutor from Caterpillar, is taking me to Munich for the day. I thought this might be a relaxing way to end the week. Um, no. Dead wrong on that one. When I spoke to her earlier, she happened to mention that she was glad I'm in good shape because we're in for a marathon of shopping. Oh Goodness. (Hopefully Tim won’t read this until I’m safely on my way, credit card in hand.) May my legs be strong enough for this event! I’ll get by…somehow (again with the sarcasm.)
By the way, Happy St. Nikolaus Day! Here he brings children nuts and chocolate or an orange. Think he’ll bring me a foot rub instead?
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Stand up and Look Around
It’s Sunday afternoon and Tim and I are snuggled up on the couch. (Yes, we love the new couch, even though it’s white and I’m sure I have about 2 more weeks of it to remain so before I trip over my own two feet, flailing both arms in the air, and spill red wine all over it. Guess that’s why they make throw pillows. Until then, it’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever purchased.) Tim is fighting off some sort of cold/flu bug that’s limited him to the couch most of the weekend. I did drag him out yesterday (before I knew how bad he felt) in the cold and the rain to get a Christmas tree. Bad wife. Then we woke up last night at 2 am to listen to the Mizzou game, which they lost. So, unfortunately, this has not been the greatest week.
You know, sometimes, the language barrier just slaps you across the face. I’ve been working my little tail off in class all week trying to absorb as much of this language as humanly possible. Even though I jumped from Level One to Level Three, I really thought I was doing quite well. Then on Friday, for some reason, the bottom dropped out. All of a sudden my brain stopped working and my internal German translator stepped out for a much-needed vacation. Consequently, I had a series of conversations where everything was a struggle. With my classmates, with my coffee boy, with this woman from Immigration who may deport me for not knowing the ridiculously tedious process of recycling here. During one conversation, pretty sure I found myself thinking about the ballerina ostriches from Fantasia. They really do have knobby knees.
There is a lot of push and pull emotionally as you assimilate (or try to assimilate) into a new culture. (At least there is for me, Tim for some reason adjusts without too much problem, which makes me a little batty.) There are moments when the adventure is so exciting and you can hardly wait to tackle the day. So much to see and do and experience. Then there are the days when you are simply not up for the battle. My mantra for these more challenging days comes from this mountain climbing guide I had when I was 16. My family (minus Tom) had gone to Yellowstone and David and I had decided to take climbing lessons in the Grand Tetons. I just had never experienced fear like this before. Had no idea I was scared of heights until I found myself hanging off the face of a mountain dangling by a rope. I remember crying at one point, in sheer terror as I was scaling the most difficult pass we did that day. I got to a place where I could just barely see my teacher and said, “Andre…I can’t do it. I can’t go any farther.” Then very simply and quietly, he said, “Stand up Heather. Stand up Heather and look around. The way will appear.”
So today, resting my legs on my very comfortable couch. Tomorrow, the goal? Just standing up. I know my legs are under me here somewhere.
You know, sometimes, the language barrier just slaps you across the face. I’ve been working my little tail off in class all week trying to absorb as much of this language as humanly possible. Even though I jumped from Level One to Level Three, I really thought I was doing quite well. Then on Friday, for some reason, the bottom dropped out. All of a sudden my brain stopped working and my internal German translator stepped out for a much-needed vacation. Consequently, I had a series of conversations where everything was a struggle. With my classmates, with my coffee boy, with this woman from Immigration who may deport me for not knowing the ridiculously tedious process of recycling here. During one conversation, pretty sure I found myself thinking about the ballerina ostriches from Fantasia. They really do have knobby knees.
There is a lot of push and pull emotionally as you assimilate (or try to assimilate) into a new culture. (At least there is for me, Tim for some reason adjusts without too much problem, which makes me a little batty.) There are moments when the adventure is so exciting and you can hardly wait to tackle the day. So much to see and do and experience. Then there are the days when you are simply not up for the battle. My mantra for these more challenging days comes from this mountain climbing guide I had when I was 16. My family (minus Tom) had gone to Yellowstone and David and I had decided to take climbing lessons in the Grand Tetons. I just had never experienced fear like this before. Had no idea I was scared of heights until I found myself hanging off the face of a mountain dangling by a rope. I remember crying at one point, in sheer terror as I was scaling the most difficult pass we did that day. I got to a place where I could just barely see my teacher and said, “Andre…I can’t do it. I can’t go any farther.” Then very simply and quietly, he said, “Stand up Heather. Stand up Heather and look around. The way will appear.”
So today, resting my legs on my very comfortable couch. Tomorrow, the goal? Just standing up. I know my legs are under me here somewhere.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Bakers can't be Choosers
Picture my life just for a sec. At this very moment, my house is totally trashed, every room needs to be hosed down and started over, I have probably 12 loads of laundry that need to go in, the refrigerator is jam-packed with Thanksgiving leftovers, guidebooks are strewn upon the floor, have various forms of currency lying about, crates of German beer bottles that need to be recycled, I’m on the couch snuggled up with my cats and my computer, and my stomach muscles still hurt so much from laughing that sitting up is a struggle. I’d say that’s a sign of a wonderful week.
We’ve just spent the last 8 days with our old Peoria neighbors, the Bakers. Oh my goodness, did we have a great time. First of all, I’m just so grateful that they are crazy enough pull their kids out of school, miss work, and skip Thanksgiving with their families to come see us. (Seriously, I have no idea what they were thinking, Tim and I are not that cool.) Laurie and I have been on the phone nearly everyday planning for this adventure, so actually even still today I’m feeling a little postpartum. (Or as best friend Susan called it, Post-de-partum.)
They arrived here a little bleary eyed at the BCD (that’s butt-crack o’ dawn) after what I think was a little bit of a hairy travel day. Pretty sure the alarm didn’t go off at the right time (or at all) and Mark may have swore in front of his children on the way to the airport. Whoops. Luckily things picked up as soon as they made it through customs. Dinner that night was at the Bishopshof Brewery (yes, the high ranking priests here in Germany make darn good beer) with our group of friends. My favorite moment of the night was while discussing Thanksgiving, Mark commented to our British friend Ewan that it’s a celebration of “us getting the heck away from your people.” Brilliant. The fact that Mark said this just a few minutes after trying to relieve himself in the woman’s bathroom began the abdominal workout of hysterical laughter that would carry me through the week.
I want you all to know that I really, really tried not to kill them with too many frigid Death Marches. These are great friends of ours and we want them to still like us, but, I did just about lose Emma one day. It was Monday and we’d gone to the Alps to check out Crazy King Ludwig’s (Luddie) castles. Well, we were about halfway up the gigantic climb to Neuschwanstein that you must do by foot when Emma, who is 12 going on 19 most days, forgot her favorite scarf at the bottom of the mountain. So the three girls (Emma, Laurie and myself) took off back down to get it. Found it—no problem, but then you’ve got Emma who is just over 5 feet and Laurie who’s maybe 5’4” attempting to keep up with me at my towering height of nearly 5’20”! It just wasn’t quite fair. Thought we were gonna lose little Em, but she pulled through. (Picture her little legs just a-scurrying away.) She slept the whole way home, poor thing.
Other highlights of the trip: Pretty sure Andrew and Mark were quite pleased with the beer here in these parts. We did our best to expose them to the true German culture, by making them try many different beers as we could. Honestly, they did not put up much of a fight. Think their favorite was a Franzenkaner in the Ratskeller just below the Munich Marianplatz. Perhaps the Jacob Dunkleweissen as a close second. I think Emma was most affected by our trip to Dachau, the concentration camp. (Dear God, please don’t let her have too many nightmares.) In true Emma fashion, she held my hand and was trying to make sure I was okay the whole time. (I miss this munchkin so much it makes my heart hurt sometimes.) As for Laurie, taking her to Prague was like taking a toddler to Toys R Us. Thought she was just going to weep looking at the amazing architecture. The two of us have already decided to come back to spend a few days antiquing here when the weather’s warmer and we’re not frozen!
Highlights for me were less cultural and more about just spending time with our friends. Again our house was filled with music as Mark played the piano, Andrew played the guitar and Emma and I sang to our hearts content. We stayed up late goofing around, as we’ve always done with the Bakers, replacing their porch that we lived on in Peoria with our couch. In fact one of my favorite memories will be Laurie and I baking pumpkin pie at 1:00am from scratch. Think it only took 4 phone calls home, one to her dad, one to my mom, one to her mom and one to my aunt Marty to get the job done. Leave it to two dance teachers to do heavy duty baking! My other highlight was Thanksgiving…but that’s gonna take a whole ‘nother blog to conquer that one.
We dropped them off Sunday morning at 5am for their flight back home. I cried like a baby, even though I’ll be heading stateside in just a little over two weeks. Silly. I’d love to have them here for longer, but I guess Bakers can’t be choosers.
We’ve just spent the last 8 days with our old Peoria neighbors, the Bakers. Oh my goodness, did we have a great time. First of all, I’m just so grateful that they are crazy enough pull their kids out of school, miss work, and skip Thanksgiving with their families to come see us. (Seriously, I have no idea what they were thinking, Tim and I are not that cool.) Laurie and I have been on the phone nearly everyday planning for this adventure, so actually even still today I’m feeling a little postpartum. (Or as best friend Susan called it, Post-de-partum.)
They arrived here a little bleary eyed at the BCD (that’s butt-crack o’ dawn) after what I think was a little bit of a hairy travel day. Pretty sure the alarm didn’t go off at the right time (or at all) and Mark may have swore in front of his children on the way to the airport. Whoops. Luckily things picked up as soon as they made it through customs. Dinner that night was at the Bishopshof Brewery (yes, the high ranking priests here in Germany make darn good beer) with our group of friends. My favorite moment of the night was while discussing Thanksgiving, Mark commented to our British friend Ewan that it’s a celebration of “us getting the heck away from your people.” Brilliant. The fact that Mark said this just a few minutes after trying to relieve himself in the woman’s bathroom began the abdominal workout of hysterical laughter that would carry me through the week.
I want you all to know that I really, really tried not to kill them with too many frigid Death Marches. These are great friends of ours and we want them to still like us, but, I did just about lose Emma one day. It was Monday and we’d gone to the Alps to check out Crazy King Ludwig’s (Luddie) castles. Well, we were about halfway up the gigantic climb to Neuschwanstein that you must do by foot when Emma, who is 12 going on 19 most days, forgot her favorite scarf at the bottom of the mountain. So the three girls (Emma, Laurie and myself) took off back down to get it. Found it—no problem, but then you’ve got Emma who is just over 5 feet and Laurie who’s maybe 5’4” attempting to keep up with me at my towering height of nearly 5’20”! It just wasn’t quite fair. Thought we were gonna lose little Em, but she pulled through. (Picture her little legs just a-scurrying away.) She slept the whole way home, poor thing.
Other highlights of the trip: Pretty sure Andrew and Mark were quite pleased with the beer here in these parts. We did our best to expose them to the true German culture, by making them try many different beers as we could. Honestly, they did not put up much of a fight. Think their favorite was a Franzenkaner in the Ratskeller just below the Munich Marianplatz. Perhaps the Jacob Dunkleweissen as a close second. I think Emma was most affected by our trip to Dachau, the concentration camp. (Dear God, please don’t let her have too many nightmares.) In true Emma fashion, she held my hand and was trying to make sure I was okay the whole time. (I miss this munchkin so much it makes my heart hurt sometimes.) As for Laurie, taking her to Prague was like taking a toddler to Toys R Us. Thought she was just going to weep looking at the amazing architecture. The two of us have already decided to come back to spend a few days antiquing here when the weather’s warmer and we’re not frozen!
Highlights for me were less cultural and more about just spending time with our friends. Again our house was filled with music as Mark played the piano, Andrew played the guitar and Emma and I sang to our hearts content. We stayed up late goofing around, as we’ve always done with the Bakers, replacing their porch that we lived on in Peoria with our couch. In fact one of my favorite memories will be Laurie and I baking pumpkin pie at 1:00am from scratch. Think it only took 4 phone calls home, one to her dad, one to my mom, one to her mom and one to my aunt Marty to get the job done. Leave it to two dance teachers to do heavy duty baking! My other highlight was Thanksgiving…but that’s gonna take a whole ‘nother blog to conquer that one.
We dropped them off Sunday morning at 5am for their flight back home. I cried like a baby, even though I’ll be heading stateside in just a little over two weeks. Silly. I’d love to have them here for longer, but I guess Bakers can’t be choosers.
Hochzeit
“Here comes the bride…
Das tut mir lied.”
(translation: Here comes the bride. Man, am I’m sorry.)
Just found out some interesting trivia about German weddings today in my class that I thought you might enjoy. Forewarning: I did learn all of this auf Deutsch, so there’s no telling as to what’s been lost (or added) in translation. My teacher Isa is always telling us little bits of German and Bavarian culture amidst our lessons and asking us to share about our homelands. I cannot tell you how interesting this is, seeing as how we have 15 countries represented in my class. Anyway, today the subject of weddings came up and Isa shared with us common Hochzeit (‘high time’ aka—wedding) traditions. From what I understood, that the greater majority of Germans no longer have formal, traditional church ceremonies. Most just head to a Rathaus (town hall—not house of rodents) in front of a justice of the peace and say “Tschus!” (See ya!) to the whole rigmarole. But one of the things that has lasted is the traditional ‘kidnapping of the bride.’ Apparently, after the wedding and before the reception the bride is kidnapped lovingly by the groomsmen and hidden in a bar somewhere in the city. The groom has to then traipse all around looking for his bride, buying everyone drinks along his journey. She said that it can get quite expensive if you have a stupid groom! (aka—ein Dummymann.)
Wait tell I tell you about Christmas. Just a taste: the traditional Christmas Eve dinner is…wait for it, wait for it…brats and kraut. Couldn’t possibly be more perfect if I made it up myself!
Das tut mir lied.”
(translation: Here comes the bride. Man, am I’m sorry.)
Just found out some interesting trivia about German weddings today in my class that I thought you might enjoy. Forewarning: I did learn all of this auf Deutsch, so there’s no telling as to what’s been lost (or added) in translation. My teacher Isa is always telling us little bits of German and Bavarian culture amidst our lessons and asking us to share about our homelands. I cannot tell you how interesting this is, seeing as how we have 15 countries represented in my class. Anyway, today the subject of weddings came up and Isa shared with us common Hochzeit (‘high time’ aka—wedding) traditions. From what I understood, that the greater majority of Germans no longer have formal, traditional church ceremonies. Most just head to a Rathaus (town hall—not house of rodents) in front of a justice of the peace and say “Tschus!” (See ya!) to the whole rigmarole. But one of the things that has lasted is the traditional ‘kidnapping of the bride.’ Apparently, after the wedding and before the reception the bride is kidnapped lovingly by the groomsmen and hidden in a bar somewhere in the city. The groom has to then traipse all around looking for his bride, buying everyone drinks along his journey. She said that it can get quite expensive if you have a stupid groom! (aka—ein Dummymann.)
Wait tell I tell you about Christmas. Just a taste: the traditional Christmas Eve dinner is…wait for it, wait for it…brats and kraut. Couldn’t possibly be more perfect if I made it up myself!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Wet Socks and Thanksgiving Wishes
A few minutes ago, I sat down to sort through my thoughts from an absolutely amazing week that we shared with the Bakers. As soon as I did, it started to snow the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen. I mean, these flakes were not just a littly whispy things, but huge, fluffy balls of white, somewhere between a cotton and a golfball. Now, I absolutely love snow, so you can just picture me as I ran outside in my thin little sweater and sockfeet—no time for wintergear—just to be a part of it. It was just beautiful. Breathtakingly silent. And, holy cow, wet and cold. After the 20 seconds it took to completely soak my feet and most of my body, I decided to run upstairs to grab the camera in an attempt to capture the moment. But as soon as I had it in hand, the snow stopped. So no pictures, just wet socks. Now after a quick change of clothes, I’m feeling very grateful for those 20 seconds. Actually, it just reminded me of so many things that I’m grateful for this year. Here’s just a sampler.
- I’m thankful for snow. And for warm socks. Oh, and blankets.
- I’m thankful for an amazing family that could not possibly be more supportive. I’m also thankful that they were all together for Thanksgiving and that everyone is happy and healthy.
- I’m so thankful that my husband thinks I’m cute. If he didn’t, I could never get away with half of the stunts I pull.
- I’m thankful that our old neighbors the Bakers were stupid enough to bring their whole family over for a week to be with us. (more on this later.)
- I’m thankful that the Bavarians are about the nicest people on the planet. Sure, maybe they are making fun of me behind my back, but at least to my face they are positive and helpful and don’t let me publicly suffer.
- I’m thankful that we’ve met absolutely stellar people over here. Our Cat friends have truly become our family and support system.
- I’m also thankful that our Landlords (the Klebers) have done everything physically possible to make us feel at home.
- I’m thankful that Laurie Baker smuggled an entire suitcase of American delicacies (Pumpkin puree, jello, cornstarch…) over here so that we could make a Thanksgiving feast.
- I’m soo thankful that Mark Baker didn’t break anything when he fell down our staircase. (Cannot afford a lawsuit.)
- I’m thankful that little Emma Baker still thinks I’m reasonably cool (think I’ve maybe got a year left on that one, she’s almost 13.)
- I’m thankful that Andrew Baker was pleased with German beer.
- Oh—I’m thankful for German beer too.
- I’m thankful that our friends were just bored enough on Friday to come over to play Thanksgiving with us. (more on that later too.)
- I’m thankful to be back in my German class after a month away. Not only am I learning the German language and culture, but also learning about my fellow classmates from all over the world.
- I’m thankful for all the visitors that we’ve had thus far and hope for many, many more. (Repeat visitors welcome.)
- I’m thankful to have this opportunity to live in Germany and to be European for a while.
- I’m thankful that my best friend Susan can multitask—mothering two boys while making sense of my life and calming my separation anxiety.
- I’m sooooo thankful for Vonage telephone and Internet, without both I would probably be a disaster. (or more of a disaster.)
- I’m thankful for itunes so that I can download Grey’s Anatomy and still get my McDreamy fill.
- Did I mention I’m thankful for my husband? I am. More than I can possibly say.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Invasion of the Klauses
I have no idea where to begin to share with you our last week. Tim and I played host (and hostess) to pretty much the entire Klaus family. Tim’s Mom, Dad, Grandma, brother Matt, sister-in-law Lori (who is 7 months preggo), and 2 year old niece Makenzie just left us to head home after a wonderful week-long European visit. They arrived last Tuesday very, very sleepy. Apparently, Makenzie did not think sleeping on the flight was all that keen of an idea. They said at one point the entire plane was fast asleep and she was in the aisle jumping up and down giggling. (You cannot even begin to imagine the weekfull of cuteness that followed. “Daddy Hold-ju?” Thought Uncle Tim was going to cry when we had to say goodbye.) So after we got them home, we put everyone down for a much needed nap.
I am just amazed at what we accomplished in the days that followed even though the weather did NOT cooperate! Wednesday we attempted a tour of Regensburg (aka Heather’s Death March) but the rain derailed that one. That night, though, Tim’s aunt, uncle and cousin from Idar-Oberstein, Germany arrived and instantly everyone’s spirits were raised again. We somehow fit 11 people around the Klaus dinner table. So many laughs. But watch your step going to the bathroom, because there were bodies sleeping everywhere! The Klaus Haus was at full capacity!
Thursday the 11 of us took the train into Munich. What a beautiful city. I hadn’t really had the chance to explore it yet, and oh my gosh, I cannot wait to get back. There is a pedestrian mall there built for the 1972 Olympics where 9,000 shoppers shop every hour. Dying to be one of them. We arrived just in time (I’m talking four minutes to spare) to catch the Glockenspiel strike at noon in the middle of the Marianplatz. Realizing we were hungry, Matt and Lolo then treated us to lunch at the Hofbrauhaus, which was just as perfect as I thought it should be: An Oompah band which Makenzie and I polka-ed too, customers in lederhosen, huge steins of cold bier, and I guess the men’s room is equipped with a ‘Vomitorium’ in case you have too much of a good time. From there we wandered a bit then caught a bus tour, which was for me Information Overload. Must go back to make sense of all the buildings we saw!
Friday we decided to take it easy. Little shopping, little tennis, a lot of eating! Tim’s aunt Jeannie took over the kitchen (thank the Lord) and we had Raclette for dinner. Not sure how to describe, but picture something hibatchi-esk, where the grills were on the table and you kinda cook your own meal. Highly recommend getting your hands on one of these things. It was probably my favorite meal all week. But, perhaps that was mostly due to the people sitting around my table.
Saturday and Sunday were spent in Prague. Again, the weather was not totally cooperative; in fact, we had a dusting of snow that turned into rain both days. But, we must have hardened this crowd (poor Lori is from Florida) because this really didn’t slow us down too much. Pretty sure, we left no stone unturned. We had lost Del, Jeannie and Travis (Tim’s uncle, aunt and cousin) on Friday back to their normal life, but we gained three more in Prague. A girl that Tim had grown up with, Karli, lives in Prague with her husband Joe who works for DHL. Plus, Claire Happel, a girlfriend of mine from Quincy is there too studying Harp with someone from the Prague Symphony. So again, we were 11. Magic Number, I guess. I think Prague just blew everybody away. The scale of this city is like no other. Think the view from the Charles Bridge was a highlight once again. Janene (Tim’s mom) mentioned standing on the bridge just slowly rotating 360 degrees. Each view better than the next.
Monday, we needed to do a little retail therapy back in Regensburg after working so hard as tourists all weekend. And Tuesday, it was time for them to fly back. I got home after taking them to the airport feeling completely exhausted, and (you are not going to believe this) a little lonely. Where is everyone? Wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. Luckily we don’t have to wait long. On Saturday we get the next batch of visitors. Our neighbors from Peoria, Mark and Laurie Baker, are coming with their 20 year old son Andrew and 12 year-old daughter Emma. We practically lived with them all summer long, so very, very excited to see them. Off to do laundry and clean a bit. Where is my Madonna…?
I am just amazed at what we accomplished in the days that followed even though the weather did NOT cooperate! Wednesday we attempted a tour of Regensburg (aka Heather’s Death March) but the rain derailed that one. That night, though, Tim’s aunt, uncle and cousin from Idar-Oberstein, Germany arrived and instantly everyone’s spirits were raised again. We somehow fit 11 people around the Klaus dinner table. So many laughs. But watch your step going to the bathroom, because there were bodies sleeping everywhere! The Klaus Haus was at full capacity!
Thursday the 11 of us took the train into Munich. What a beautiful city. I hadn’t really had the chance to explore it yet, and oh my gosh, I cannot wait to get back. There is a pedestrian mall there built for the 1972 Olympics where 9,000 shoppers shop every hour. Dying to be one of them. We arrived just in time (I’m talking four minutes to spare) to catch the Glockenspiel strike at noon in the middle of the Marianplatz. Realizing we were hungry, Matt and Lolo then treated us to lunch at the Hofbrauhaus, which was just as perfect as I thought it should be: An Oompah band which Makenzie and I polka-ed too, customers in lederhosen, huge steins of cold bier, and I guess the men’s room is equipped with a ‘Vomitorium’ in case you have too much of a good time. From there we wandered a bit then caught a bus tour, which was for me Information Overload. Must go back to make sense of all the buildings we saw!
Friday we decided to take it easy. Little shopping, little tennis, a lot of eating! Tim’s aunt Jeannie took over the kitchen (thank the Lord) and we had Raclette for dinner. Not sure how to describe, but picture something hibatchi-esk, where the grills were on the table and you kinda cook your own meal. Highly recommend getting your hands on one of these things. It was probably my favorite meal all week. But, perhaps that was mostly due to the people sitting around my table.
Saturday and Sunday were spent in Prague. Again, the weather was not totally cooperative; in fact, we had a dusting of snow that turned into rain both days. But, we must have hardened this crowd (poor Lori is from Florida) because this really didn’t slow us down too much. Pretty sure, we left no stone unturned. We had lost Del, Jeannie and Travis (Tim’s uncle, aunt and cousin) on Friday back to their normal life, but we gained three more in Prague. A girl that Tim had grown up with, Karli, lives in Prague with her husband Joe who works for DHL. Plus, Claire Happel, a girlfriend of mine from Quincy is there too studying Harp with someone from the Prague Symphony. So again, we were 11. Magic Number, I guess. I think Prague just blew everybody away. The scale of this city is like no other. Think the view from the Charles Bridge was a highlight once again. Janene (Tim’s mom) mentioned standing on the bridge just slowly rotating 360 degrees. Each view better than the next.
Monday, we needed to do a little retail therapy back in Regensburg after working so hard as tourists all weekend. And Tuesday, it was time for them to fly back. I got home after taking them to the airport feeling completely exhausted, and (you are not going to believe this) a little lonely. Where is everyone? Wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. Luckily we don’t have to wait long. On Saturday we get the next batch of visitors. Our neighbors from Peoria, Mark and Laurie Baker, are coming with their 20 year old son Andrew and 12 year-old daughter Emma. We practically lived with them all summer long, so very, very excited to see them. Off to do laundry and clean a bit. Where is my Madonna…?
Monday, November 5, 2007
Tim's Geburtstag
“They say it’s your birthday. Da na na na na na nah.
Well it’s my birthday too-oo. Da, na na na na na nah.”
Hope you all sang that. So today is not my birthday (although I will shamelessly except gifts any day of the year) but we did have a celebration weekend here at the Klaus Haus. Yesterday was Tim’s 31st birthday! Weee!!! I do love birthdays, even if it’s not mine. (Ok, I guess I prefer mine just a little.) I think Tim would say the day was a success. On Friday he and Maarten went car shopping and I believe tomorrow (after seriously 16 tedious steps: bank-insurance-salesman-license plate place-salesman-registration-actually drive the car off the lot) he will have a 1998 black BMW 523. I think he’s rather excited. And speaking of cars, mine should be coming from the dealer tomorrow as well. Happy Birthday to me! So after 9 weeks of sharing rental cars, we will both have wheels of our own.
Back to the birthday: I did find my inner domestic diva yesterday, in honor of Tim’s special day, and whipped up some bre’fest. This is unusual for many reasons.
Well it’s my birthday too-oo. Da, na na na na na nah.”
Hope you all sang that. So today is not my birthday (although I will shamelessly except gifts any day of the year) but we did have a celebration weekend here at the Klaus Haus. Yesterday was Tim’s 31st birthday! Weee!!! I do love birthdays, even if it’s not mine. (Ok, I guess I prefer mine just a little.) I think Tim would say the day was a success. On Friday he and Maarten went car shopping and I believe tomorrow (after seriously 16 tedious steps: bank-insurance-salesman-license plate place-salesman-registration-actually drive the car off the lot) he will have a 1998 black BMW 523. I think he’s rather excited. And speaking of cars, mine should be coming from the dealer tomorrow as well. Happy Birthday to me! So after 9 weeks of sharing rental cars, we will both have wheels of our own.
Back to the birthday: I did find my inner domestic diva yesterday, in honor of Tim’s special day, and whipped up some bre’fest. This is unusual for many reasons.
- Number One: Tim is the breakfast chef in our household. His omelets and French toast put mine to shame. Hmmm, wondering if this is a common theme in the American home. Most dudes I know cook breakfast on the weekends. My dad, our old neighbor Mark (old meaning former, not referring to his age), Brian Curran of the famous Curran Bed and Breakfast in St. Chuck, MO, think maybe my brother Tom too. Anyway, I made egg sandwiches, which were good to quite good. The bacon here is not nearly as crispy as the stuff at home though, so they weren’t brilliant.
- Reason Number Two: Mornings are not my best time of the day. In fact, I may be part vampire. I seriously have to force myself out of bed nearly every morning. And it hurts. I would stay up all night if I could, and then sleep in until 11. This actually runs in my family. All the Heidbreder women are like this. My mom, her sisters, my cousins, even my Grandmother. Isn’t it a rule in the Grandmother Guidebook that you have to get up before the sun? Not for my GM. You cannot call her any before 10am. That—and she doesn’t drink coffee. Crazy.
- Reason Number Three: See last blog entry for notes on domestic skills.
So after attempting to pamper him most of the day, Tim and I met up with our friends at a Mexican place for dinner. Yep. A German-Mexican restaurant. Tim’s been craving Taco Bell something fierce, so I thought this would be the next best thing. Actually, I thought the food was quite good. Margaritas a little on the strong side though. (Paying for that today.) From there the evening progressed as Ewan took over as tour guide and presented the nightlife of Regensburg. Had an amazing time. The people that we’ve met through Cat are truly wonderful. Thankfully, they’ve kind of adopted us and have become our family. We feel so lucky to have them in our lives. (Geez that was sappy.) All in all, a good day. Tim’s family arrives Tuesday, so more celebration will surely ensue. Hope you all had a great weekend.
P.S. Did you know that Germans sing the American version of Happy Birthday? Thought you should know.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Failing Housewifery
Why, oh why, didn’t I take Home Economics in Junior High? Tim did. I believe he sewed (past tense sowed, sewn?) himself a rather kicking pair of jams. I, however, did not take it, probably due to one of the 17 music courses that filled my day. And although I can identify every instrument in an orchestra, and sing harmony to nearly anything, I cannot sew a button on a shirt. Every time I see my mother, and this is kinda embarrassing, I have a stack of mending for her. You would not believe the rationale that happens in my head as I try to convince myself that she actually enjoys patching a hole in a sweater! Ridiculous. Sorry Mom.
I’ve decided that if Housewifery were a course, I’d fail. I don’t know why, my mother sets an amazing example. She cooks nearly every night with seemingly little effort. The fridge is always full of food. And, here’s the kicker for me, her house is always immaculate. I mean, for Pete’s sake (Pete? Who is this guy?) we have a Persian cat at my parents’ house and there is nary a cat hair to be found on any piece of furniture. If these skills were supposed to be inborn, guess I’m at the shallow end of the gene pool.
For a while there, I blamed my lack of Hausfrau skills on the fact that I worked at night. I simply wasn’t home to cook my husband dinner. And yes, I did spend an awful lot of my days choreographing. But as far as keeping the house clean, well…pretty sure that’s just sheer laziness. Luckily, I just remembered a tip from a Tonya, my partner-in-crime in Eastlight's Cats. There is some sort of time-warp thing with old-school Madonna albums. You put in, oh say…Like a Prayer, and before you know it, your house is clean. Planning on trying it this weekend.
So I’m feeling a bit of culture shock. Not German vs. America actually, that seems to be going quite well at the moment. It’s the adjustment from Dance Teacher into Housewife. I am now a kept-woman. It’s not like I’m a mom and making the choice to stay home to raise my kids. (My cats are middle-aged in cat years now—pretty sure they don’t need to be home-schooled.) I now have the time and energy to do all those things that I’ve never made time for before. Next stop…itunes. Searching for any/all Madonna. Planning to give myself a dance class as I mop the floors. That should be interesting…
I’ve decided that if Housewifery were a course, I’d fail. I don’t know why, my mother sets an amazing example. She cooks nearly every night with seemingly little effort. The fridge is always full of food. And, here’s the kicker for me, her house is always immaculate. I mean, for Pete’s sake (Pete? Who is this guy?) we have a Persian cat at my parents’ house and there is nary a cat hair to be found on any piece of furniture. If these skills were supposed to be inborn, guess I’m at the shallow end of the gene pool.
For a while there, I blamed my lack of Hausfrau skills on the fact that I worked at night. I simply wasn’t home to cook my husband dinner. And yes, I did spend an awful lot of my days choreographing. But as far as keeping the house clean, well…pretty sure that’s just sheer laziness. Luckily, I just remembered a tip from a Tonya, my partner-in-crime in Eastlight's Cats. There is some sort of time-warp thing with old-school Madonna albums. You put in, oh say…Like a Prayer, and before you know it, your house is clean. Planning on trying it this weekend.
So I’m feeling a bit of culture shock. Not German vs. America actually, that seems to be going quite well at the moment. It’s the adjustment from Dance Teacher into Housewife. I am now a kept-woman. It’s not like I’m a mom and making the choice to stay home to raise my kids. (My cats are middle-aged in cat years now—pretty sure they don’t need to be home-schooled.) I now have the time and energy to do all those things that I’ve never made time for before. Next stop…itunes. Searching for any/all Madonna. Planning to give myself a dance class as I mop the floors. That should be interesting…
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Fall-O-Ween
Last night European Daylight Savings time ended, which is going to do nothing but confuse me for the next few weeks. As a dancer, or maybe just a whacko, I’m usually pretty affected by this time change. I’m sure all of you non-dancers will think I’m crazy (just chalk it up to the many, many other logs that fuel my ‘crazy fire’) but time changes have always made my body feel, well…kinda funky. Almost like my joints are a little stiffer, my muscles less elastic, and my head not as clear. Like I’m dancing through fog. Maybe it’s because I’d be teaching until 9pm, which really felt like 10. Does that make sense? (Don’t answer that.) So this year, as I’m not dancing, I’m not sure how it will manifest. I do know, that since all of you in the states don’t ‘fall back’ for another week; I’ll be constantly calling home at all the wrong times. I apologize in advance for waking you up, Mom.
Well, we are in the heart of fall here. The weather is getting colder (mind you, it was never warm), the days are getting shorter (it’s 5:15 and dark at the moment), and actually I think the trees peaked just last week. I know for some people, Autumn can be a touch depressing. I mean, if you think about it, we are truly celebrating the darker portion of the circle of life. Leaves are falling, birds are migrating, bears (and the Klauses) are getting ready for winter hibernation. Not to mention, our choice of holiday--Halloween. (Side note: my Yoga friend Peg bakes the greatest Halloween cookies each year. Picture a beheaded gingerbread man with blood icing pouring out. Very Tim Burton.)
Somehow, even though slightly morbid, Fall has always been my favorite season. (Go ahead…chalk up another tick mark on the ‘Heather is crazy’ scoreboard.) Maybe it’s the gorgeous colors that come with the leaves changing, or getting to play dress up for one night. Ok, it may just be hot apple pie. Whatever it is, this is the time of year when I feel most alive. Come to think of it, when I need to go to ‘my happy place,’ I always picture this apple orchard in Peoria that Tim and I go to this time of year. (Thinking of naming my first-born Tanner after it.)
Tim and I were discussing last night with some Cat friends what Halloween is like over here. I guess costumes and trick-or-treating is gaining some momentum, but only in areas where Americans have brought it over. The Halloween-ish Holiday here is All Saints Day, which is November 1st. Germans (I think mostly Catholics) get together with their families and go to graveyards to honor the dead and celebrate their lives. I read somewhere that there is even some sort to “soul bread” made somewhere in Germany. Oh--more trivia. I also read that it was the Irish that made the first Jack-o-lanterns and, here's the interesting part, that they were made out of...turnips. (Nope, not been to Ireland yet, but it's on the agenda.)
I’m just fascinated that cultures can be so different—different language, race, religion, government, but yet have astounding similarities. We all must need some way to deal with the “death” of this season, so we create a way to celebrate it, enjoy it, even mock it a little. Man must have a device to make death less scary. All Hallow’s Eve, Dia de Los Muertes, Halloween, All Saints Day, a different name in each place, but I think essentially the same idea. Hmmm, wonder if this day transcends all culture. Need more investigation.
When my Oma was alive (my dad’s mom) she would go to the cemetery in Quincy every change of the season to decorate and clean up the graves of her loved ones. My mom got to go with her a few times as she got older. Mom said it wasn’t morbid at all, in fact she would look forward to these days. Oma had just an amazing memory. I guess she would get to talking about her relatives, telling funny stories and sharing memories. Essentially, making them all come alive for my mother as they would clean the gravestones.
On a different note, I’d also like to take a moment and celebrate life for just a minute. My Grandmother (on my mom’s side now) will turn 90 on October 30th. Think that is amazing too. Happy birthday GM! Thinking about you from a few thousand miles away.
Happy Halloween everybody! Hope you all enjoy this Fall.
Well, we are in the heart of fall here. The weather is getting colder (mind you, it was never warm), the days are getting shorter (it’s 5:15 and dark at the moment), and actually I think the trees peaked just last week. I know for some people, Autumn can be a touch depressing. I mean, if you think about it, we are truly celebrating the darker portion of the circle of life. Leaves are falling, birds are migrating, bears (and the Klauses) are getting ready for winter hibernation. Not to mention, our choice of holiday--Halloween. (Side note: my Yoga friend Peg bakes the greatest Halloween cookies each year. Picture a beheaded gingerbread man with blood icing pouring out. Very Tim Burton.)
Somehow, even though slightly morbid, Fall has always been my favorite season. (Go ahead…chalk up another tick mark on the ‘Heather is crazy’ scoreboard.) Maybe it’s the gorgeous colors that come with the leaves changing, or getting to play dress up for one night. Ok, it may just be hot apple pie. Whatever it is, this is the time of year when I feel most alive. Come to think of it, when I need to go to ‘my happy place,’ I always picture this apple orchard in Peoria that Tim and I go to this time of year. (Thinking of naming my first-born Tanner after it.)
Tim and I were discussing last night with some Cat friends what Halloween is like over here. I guess costumes and trick-or-treating is gaining some momentum, but only in areas where Americans have brought it over. The Halloween-ish Holiday here is All Saints Day, which is November 1st. Germans (I think mostly Catholics) get together with their families and go to graveyards to honor the dead and celebrate their lives. I read somewhere that there is even some sort to “soul bread” made somewhere in Germany. Oh--more trivia. I also read that it was the Irish that made the first Jack-o-lanterns and, here's the interesting part, that they were made out of...turnips. (Nope, not been to Ireland yet, but it's on the agenda.)
I’m just fascinated that cultures can be so different—different language, race, religion, government, but yet have astounding similarities. We all must need some way to deal with the “death” of this season, so we create a way to celebrate it, enjoy it, even mock it a little. Man must have a device to make death less scary. All Hallow’s Eve, Dia de Los Muertes, Halloween, All Saints Day, a different name in each place, but I think essentially the same idea. Hmmm, wonder if this day transcends all culture. Need more investigation.
When my Oma was alive (my dad’s mom) she would go to the cemetery in Quincy every change of the season to decorate and clean up the graves of her loved ones. My mom got to go with her a few times as she got older. Mom said it wasn’t morbid at all, in fact she would look forward to these days. Oma had just an amazing memory. I guess she would get to talking about her relatives, telling funny stories and sharing memories. Essentially, making them all come alive for my mother as they would clean the gravestones.
On a different note, I’d also like to take a moment and celebrate life for just a minute. My Grandmother (on my mom’s side now) will turn 90 on October 30th. Think that is amazing too. Happy birthday GM! Thinking about you from a few thousand miles away.
Happy Halloween everybody! Hope you all enjoy this Fall.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Yoga for Dummies
Last Thursday I took my first Yoga class here in Germany. I have to say, that my body is a little irked at me for not dancing or doing much Yoga since I’ve been here. Yes, I’ll do a down dog from time to time, maybe some sun salutations twice a week, but nothing like I was doing back in the states. So, I enrolled myself in a Yoga class every Thursday evening for 90 minutes here in my village. My neighbor Claudia took me for my first class since I don’t have a car yet and to help me explain to the teacher that my German is nicht so gut. (Read with a hint of sarcasm.) But I’ve got to do something with my body and I figure that since the poses are in Sanskrit, I’ll be just fine. I mean I have spent nearly a quarter of a century in dance classes; I can follow just about anybody.
Let me interrupt myself and say that my German is rapidly improving (only way to go is up!) But I tell you what, I did not understand one word my entire class. Nichts. Nada. Null. Nothing. Ok, not entirely true, I did get ‘Fuss’ (foot) and ‘Augen’ (eyes) and think that ‘aus’ was telling me to breathe out--but that is seriously all. It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal, except that the majority of the class was a guided meditation. I’m sure it was brilliant, but I had no clue, and I mean NO clue what was going on.
I did just fine once we got to the physical postures though!
You’d better believe that I’m looking up every German word for parts of the body and anything that has to do with relaxing. This week’s goal—just five words!
Let me interrupt myself and say that my German is rapidly improving (only way to go is up!) But I tell you what, I did not understand one word my entire class. Nichts. Nada. Null. Nothing. Ok, not entirely true, I did get ‘Fuss’ (foot) and ‘Augen’ (eyes) and think that ‘aus’ was telling me to breathe out--but that is seriously all. It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal, except that the majority of the class was a guided meditation. I’m sure it was brilliant, but I had no clue, and I mean NO clue what was going on.
I did just fine once we got to the physical postures though!
You’d better believe that I’m looking up every German word for parts of the body and anything that has to do with relaxing. This week’s goal—just five words!
A Taste of Home
Well, we just shipped my Mom and Dad back home yesterday after 10 days here in Deutschland. Had an amazing time. Usually, Hulsen-family vacations have a strange likeness to the National Lampoon's Vacation Movies, but I think we survived this one unscathed. Yes, there may have been minor blunders along the way, but no one tried to hang my dad, so I’d call it a success. Never have I been so excited to see my parents. Yes, I miss them more than I’d like to admit, but the truth of the matter is that they got off the plane with a few bottles of duty-free scotch and an entire suitcase full of Midwest, corn-fed, fat, juicy steaks. Yippee! I’ve always thought that I really could be a vegetarian most days, just one minor problem--Fillet. And Rib eye. Oh, and New York Strip. Oooh, and Prime Rib.
The original idea was that my parents would come over and get us settled, but I think Mom knew that I’d need a little taste of home about this time. (Smart woman.) It was also really important to me that they get to know our area and feel comfortable here. You know, a home away from home. Well, within hours my mother had vacuumed my entire first floor (would have done more but the damn thing needed to be emptied) and my Dad had burned up our coffee grinder. Ah, Home Sweet Home.
My class kinda clipped our wings this week, so we spent the majority of the time close to home. Most days Mom and Dad would meet me in Regensburg for lunch after my class and we sightsee or do some shopping. Monday, I thought I’d take them around to show them some of Regensburg’s highlights. The Roman Wall from 179 A.D., the cathedral, the opera house, the stone bridge. You know, just a few things. Few hours later, they decided they were on “Heather’s Death March.” (Well, someone had to be a guinea pig! Might as well choose someone that’s required to love you.)
On Tuesday night my aunt and uncle that live here in Germany arrived as well. They brought the traditional German housewarming gifts of flour (in the shape of an apple cake) and salt (housed in automatic salt-n-pepper grinders.) Wednesday we biked all along the Regen River, which was just beautiful. And Thursday the whole gang—complete with Sue and Georg’s dog Xack biked to Regensburg to meet me for lunch.
We did get a little traveling in, though, this weekend. We decided to head into Prague to “Czech” it out. (Insert laugh track.) What an amazing city. It has got to make the short list of the most beautiful cities in the world. Amazing architecture that unbelievably survived the World Wars and Communism. The true highlight for me, though, was the music that seemed to be at every corner. A trio in the streets of the Old Town, a violinist at our dinner restaurant, a flautist on the steps of the castle—and all of them quite good. That night we took in a symphony concert featuring the Czech composers Smetana and Dvorak. It was wonderful to hear the music that they had written for this city. It moved me almost as much as my mom playing my piano back at home in our apartment. Almost, but not quite.
The original idea was that my parents would come over and get us settled, but I think Mom knew that I’d need a little taste of home about this time. (Smart woman.) It was also really important to me that they get to know our area and feel comfortable here. You know, a home away from home. Well, within hours my mother had vacuumed my entire first floor (would have done more but the damn thing needed to be emptied) and my Dad had burned up our coffee grinder. Ah, Home Sweet Home.
My class kinda clipped our wings this week, so we spent the majority of the time close to home. Most days Mom and Dad would meet me in Regensburg for lunch after my class and we sightsee or do some shopping. Monday, I thought I’d take them around to show them some of Regensburg’s highlights. The Roman Wall from 179 A.D., the cathedral, the opera house, the stone bridge. You know, just a few things. Few hours later, they decided they were on “Heather’s Death March.” (Well, someone had to be a guinea pig! Might as well choose someone that’s required to love you.)
On Tuesday night my aunt and uncle that live here in Germany arrived as well. They brought the traditional German housewarming gifts of flour (in the shape of an apple cake) and salt (housed in automatic salt-n-pepper grinders.) Wednesday we biked all along the Regen River, which was just beautiful. And Thursday the whole gang—complete with Sue and Georg’s dog Xack biked to Regensburg to meet me for lunch.
We did get a little traveling in, though, this weekend. We decided to head into Prague to “Czech” it out. (Insert laugh track.) What an amazing city. It has got to make the short list of the most beautiful cities in the world. Amazing architecture that unbelievably survived the World Wars and Communism. The true highlight for me, though, was the music that seemed to be at every corner. A trio in the streets of the Old Town, a violinist at our dinner restaurant, a flautist on the steps of the castle—and all of them quite good. That night we took in a symphony concert featuring the Czech composers Smetana and Dvorak. It was wonderful to hear the music that they had written for this city. It moved me almost as much as my mom playing my piano back at home in our apartment. Almost, but not quite.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
German Culture Training
More things you all need to know about our adopted home.
- Mowing on Sundays is illegal in Bavaria (…and the Lord said, “On the Seventh Day, I took repose. Ye shalt too. Thou Shalt Not Mow.”)
- You can be “pulled over” and arrested for Bicycling under the Influence. (Not sure, but think it’s called Der BUI.)
- Telephone numbers have any variety of length. It’s not just the 10 digits that we have in the states. Consequently, remembering them is just ridiculous. I honestly have no idea what either of my phone numbers are and have given many new friends the wrong numbers. That’s why the phone hasn’t been ringing…right?
- 911 doesn’t work. The code here is 112. This is good to know as Tim is monkeying around with the drier, trying to get it to work on European voltage. He’s blown a breaker at least five times. Not sure that’s the best sign.
- And most importantly, I read somewhere that it may be illegal to have a Brazilian wax here. Something to do with cosmetologists dealing with mucous membranes. (Yow-zah!) Sorry if any of you are eating…
And so goes my German culture training.
As for my German language training, I’m halfway done with my four week intensive. I can now say such important phrases as, “My name is Heather and I come from the USA.” “I need 500mg of liverwurst.” (Remember, we’re metric in these parts.) “Is that your BMW?” And to the painter who just painted my living room an aqua straight from Miami Vice, “I’m an idiot and chose a terrible color. Can you come back next Thursday to repaint?”
This class has been the best possible thing I could have done to ease my transition. Honestly, I’m pretty sure that if we were graded, I’d get an A. (Maybe even an A+.) It reminds me how much I love school and how intoxicating the thirst for knowledge is for me. I think I’m understanding at least 80% of what my teacher is saying. Plus, I’m communicating pretty darn well with the Pakistani mom of six kids, the Hungarian teenage soccer player, and the Bulgarian McCafe employee that sit right next to me. (McDonalds is called the much more classy ‘McCafe’ here…and yes, not proud, but I have eaten there.) I’ve also made good friends with Fatima from Mexico, who challenges me to remember un poco Espanol. Last week I went to coffee after class with Fatima and one of her Latina friends, Zaleica (sp?), from the Dominican Republic. Fatima’s German isn’t wonderful, my Spanish has serious limitations and Zaleica doesn’t really speak English. So I was speaking English with Fatima, those two were rattling off Spanish and Zaleica and I were attempting German. What a crazy triangle! But we all understood, I think, what the other was saying.
So after meetings like this, I start to feel good, maybe even a little cocky. Then I get on the train to go home, immersed in the German world, and realize that I can’t understand a single word of any of the conversations going on around me. Slice of humble pie, anyone? Honestly, I really prefer strudel.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Paradigm Shift
Well, I think the Heather of old has returned. For a few days (okay, week and a half) after we moved, I wasn’t exactly sure who it was that was inhabiting my body. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with the language barrier and quite honestly, I think was trying to make myself as small and invisible as possible for fear someone may talk to me. This is quite unlike the Heather that most of you know (and I’m sure adore.) But…somewhere in between Geneva and Grenoble, a shift took place (actually I think it may have started in that Starbucks) and I moved from being scared as all get-out of this German life—back into gratefulness and excitement for this blank slate I’ve been given. This seems to be a pattern in my life, that when huge changes come about, my first reaction is to completely wig-out. After a few tears one day, my big brother Tom put it something like this. “Heather, sometimes things stink in the beginning, but then turn out really, really great.” (Rather poetic, I thought.) Tom, I’ll let you believe that it was your advice that I listened to, but actually I think it had more to do with this cute new pair of red shoes I bought. It’s awfully difficult to be invisible with bright red patent leather shoes. So anyway, I’m feeling good.
This week has been crazy, but wonderful. I feel like life has truly begun here. First of all—shame, shame, shame on me for not writing during the week. But, I’ve been so tired after my days that the words weren’t coming. I did attempt to write this on Wednesday, but my sketchy Internet decided it wasn’t good enough for the World Wide Web.
“Klaus Haus to US.” “Klaus Haus to Us.” “Come in US...The Eagle has landed.” “We have been connected.”
Internet—check.
German landline—check.
Vonage phone—chickety-check.
Delivery of air shipment—yep.
Arrival of sea shipment—uh huh.
Exhaustion from packing—intense. Please send reinforcements. Over. SOS. Mayday!
That pretty much sums up what’s been going on at home. We now have Internet, phone, and most importantly Vonage. All of you can call anytime (and when I say that, please remember that we are 7 hours ahead of Central Time.) We haven’t quite got all the kinks out yet, so sometimes it boots me off, but that’s a small price to pay to talk to your friends and family for free.
We are slowly digging ourselves out of what feels like a million boxes. I was on the phone the other day when I realized that box number 186 was right in front of me. Ay Carumba! Holy Stuff! But we’ve made serious headway and may only have 15 boxes left. Of course nothing is in a logical spot (toothbrush next to hairbrush…ewww.)
But more importantly, I started my German Intensive class this week. Wow, how to even describe…all I can say is that I just love it. There are 15 students in my class and no two people are from the same country. We have someone from Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Mexico, Canada, Kenya, Mali, Togo, Yemen, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. There is every race, color, language, and religion, that you can possibly imagine. I’m very lucky that some of them speak a little bit of English, but honestly the common language is German, so we have to use that. I’m just amazed at the number of things that transcend every culture, for example smiling, laughter, blushing, and (Janene close your ears) the word for shit. This is a HUGE exercise in thinking outside the box. Trying to communicate your point with only about 100 German words is very tricky, BUT, as I’m learning, it can be done. If nothing else, this course is boosting my confidence and making me less frightened to attempt German in public. Each day I’m getting better at ordering food, asking questions, heck-I even had a German conversation with someone from my cell phone company today. I may have just signed up for a calling plan to Egypt, but I think she was asking me to buy insurance for my phone. Anyway, the journey has begun.
This week has been crazy, but wonderful. I feel like life has truly begun here. First of all—shame, shame, shame on me for not writing during the week. But, I’ve been so tired after my days that the words weren’t coming. I did attempt to write this on Wednesday, but my sketchy Internet decided it wasn’t good enough for the World Wide Web.
“Klaus Haus to US.” “Klaus Haus to Us.” “Come in US...The Eagle has landed.” “We have been connected.”
Internet—check.
German landline—check.
Vonage phone—chickety-check.
Delivery of air shipment—yep.
Arrival of sea shipment—uh huh.
Exhaustion from packing—intense. Please send reinforcements. Over. SOS. Mayday!
That pretty much sums up what’s been going on at home. We now have Internet, phone, and most importantly Vonage. All of you can call anytime (and when I say that, please remember that we are 7 hours ahead of Central Time.) We haven’t quite got all the kinks out yet, so sometimes it boots me off, but that’s a small price to pay to talk to your friends and family for free.
We are slowly digging ourselves out of what feels like a million boxes. I was on the phone the other day when I realized that box number 186 was right in front of me. Ay Carumba! Holy Stuff! But we’ve made serious headway and may only have 15 boxes left. Of course nothing is in a logical spot (toothbrush next to hairbrush…ewww.)
But more importantly, I started my German Intensive class this week. Wow, how to even describe…all I can say is that I just love it. There are 15 students in my class and no two people are from the same country. We have someone from Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Mexico, Canada, Kenya, Mali, Togo, Yemen, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. There is every race, color, language, and religion, that you can possibly imagine. I’m very lucky that some of them speak a little bit of English, but honestly the common language is German, so we have to use that. I’m just amazed at the number of things that transcend every culture, for example smiling, laughter, blushing, and (Janene close your ears) the word for shit. This is a HUGE exercise in thinking outside the box. Trying to communicate your point with only about 100 German words is very tricky, BUT, as I’m learning, it can be done. If nothing else, this course is boosting my confidence and making me less frightened to attempt German in public. Each day I’m getting better at ordering food, asking questions, heck-I even had a German conversation with someone from my cell phone company today. I may have just signed up for a calling plan to Egypt, but I think she was asking me to buy insurance for my phone. Anyway, the journey has begun.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Calm before the storm
Bonjour from Grenoble! Tim and I are in France right now enjoying just a little bit of downtime before Monday comes in like a freight train. We have eaten soft cheese, drank red wine, attempted to speak French, and strutted around town with high cheek-boned women with miniature, yippy dogs, and beautiful men with 20 inch hips. I'd say we covered a lot of ground for two days!
Friday, Tim hit the Grenoble CAT plant to meet-n-greet the guys that will be manufacturing the Wheeled Excavators that he'll be working on. (At least that's what I translated from his nerd-speak.) Meanwhile, Amanda picked me up, with her mom, grandma, and baby Maddie in tow, and we filled the day with quite a bit of shopping--including a trip out in the middle of the French countryside to see her favorite potter. I happened to walk away with a few Provencal looking pieces, which I'm sure makes my parents a little nervous. My dad may be taking bets at on how long it will be until I brake something. People don't call me 'Grace' for nuthin!
Grenoble is a pretty darn big city, maybe close to 750,00 people, surrounded on most sides by the Alps. "The Hills are alive...with the sound of ooh-la-la!" We may not have had the greatest view from the window of our Best Western, but I personally fell in love with the charm of the Old Town and Tim with the mountains. Truly, both are amazing. Last night we finagled Amanda's mom into babysitting Maddie and we went out for a fabulous French dinner with Brian and Amanda. Today, the four of us hiked a mountain. Ok, not entirely true. We hiked on a mountain. (I just think it sounds a little more impressive when I say it the other way.) Then the Lowrys invited us to dinner at their house a little outside of Grenoble in the quaint village Herbeys (not like the VW bug, remember the French don't really believe in consonants. Think something like "Errr-bay.") Good food, good wine, good friends equals great evening.
So hitting the hay soon, in fact, Mr. Sandman has all ready visited my husband. Tomorrow we'll drive back and hopefully leave ourselves enough time to get our heads around what needs to happen Monday. Quick run-down: I start class, we should have both Internet and phone (which means Vonage should be good to go) AND all of our stuff is arriving! Cannot wait! Ah, actually, not entirely true. Sounds like a lot of work. Mom...are you coming over here yet?
Friday, Tim hit the Grenoble CAT plant to meet-n-greet the guys that will be manufacturing the Wheeled Excavators that he'll be working on. (At least that's what I translated from his nerd-speak.) Meanwhile, Amanda picked me up, with her mom, grandma, and baby Maddie in tow, and we filled the day with quite a bit of shopping--including a trip out in the middle of the French countryside to see her favorite potter. I happened to walk away with a few Provencal looking pieces, which I'm sure makes my parents a little nervous. My dad may be taking bets at on how long it will be until I brake something. People don't call me 'Grace' for nuthin!
Grenoble is a pretty darn big city, maybe close to 750,00 people, surrounded on most sides by the Alps. "The Hills are alive...with the sound of ooh-la-la!" We may not have had the greatest view from the window of our Best Western, but I personally fell in love with the charm of the Old Town and Tim with the mountains. Truly, both are amazing. Last night we finagled Amanda's mom into babysitting Maddie and we went out for a fabulous French dinner with Brian and Amanda. Today, the four of us hiked a mountain. Ok, not entirely true. We hiked on a mountain. (I just think it sounds a little more impressive when I say it the other way.) Then the Lowrys invited us to dinner at their house a little outside of Grenoble in the quaint village Herbeys (not like the VW bug, remember the French don't really believe in consonants. Think something like "Errr-bay.") Good food, good wine, good friends equals great evening.
So hitting the hay soon, in fact, Mr. Sandman has all ready visited my husband. Tomorrow we'll drive back and hopefully leave ourselves enough time to get our heads around what needs to happen Monday. Quick run-down: I start class, we should have both Internet and phone (which means Vonage should be good to go) AND all of our stuff is arriving! Cannot wait! Ah, actually, not entirely true. Sounds like a lot of work. Mom...are you coming over here yet?
Thursday, September 13, 2007
United Colors of Benetton
Right now, I’m sitting at our Hotel Bar in Archamps, France, just outside of Geneva. No, Mom, I’m not drinking yet (although it is past noon.) Actually I’m having an Orangina in honor of my little neighbor Emma and enjoying a view of the beautiful courtyard. It is sunny and warm here, but when I say warm, I still mean long sleeves and jeans.
Side note: I’ve gotta find dance soon. I am completely uncomfortable in ‘normal people clothes.’ I’ve worn a leotard, tights and comfy jazz pants for the last five years of my life and now I’m totally unsure of how to wear anything else. How do you people do it? I feel so stuffy and prohibited in my movement. Jeans are so constricting!
Speaking of uncomfortable, my self-esteem has just plummeted. We are now in France, the land of beautiful people. No, it’s not quite Paris, but darn close. As my mother says, “Our finest clothing is about on par with what the French would wear to walk their dogs.” It’s true. Maybe there’s a Wal-mart close by that I could go into so I can feel good about myself again!
Geneva, Switzerland is what I would consider an International city. I think most of the people here actually speak French, but I did hear some Swiss German and a little bit of English. In fact in driving here, and by the way we went through 4 countries Tuesday, it seemed Switzerland was just blending us from Germany into France. One big difference is that they use the Swiss Franc here, because neutral Switzerland is not a part of the EU. (Almost found that out the hard way at the parking deck.) Yesterday I drove into the city from our little French village and did some sight-seeing while Tim was in his conference. I didn’t really have an agenda, but for some reason I always seem to find myself seeking out gardens and churches…usually in that order. Yesterday was no exception. Highlights: A Rose Garden with over 40,000 rose bushes (I thought of you, Mom), and the old city-complete with a Roman wall that rises up to the cathedral. Churches here are always built on the highest spot in the city. Not only does it create a beautiful skyline, but it gives you some point of reference in case you get lost (which I do quite frequently.) I also got in some good people watching while I sat at Starbucks (see, maybe I am in Seattle!) The women I mentioned before and the men all look like David Hyde Pierce, complete with dark suits. Think they’re all bankers.
Last night, as a part of Tim’s conference, we took an excursion to this medieval French village. Yes, that was truly beautiful, but I was much more entranced by the people that Tim is training with. I met four guys from South Africa, a very charming Frenchman, a Brit, a Dutchman, an American who’s lived in France for 27 years, a Russian chatter-box, and Sergio Garcia (no, not the golfer) who is a Spaniard living in Italy. It was the United Colors of Benetton!
Side note 2: I’d like to just take a moment to say how proud I am of my husband. He’s accomplished so much thus far and his intellect and laid-back personality amaze me everyday. Not to mention his nerdiness—we have to make a drive by of CERN before we leave today just so he can sense the brain-power behind those walls. (Nerd alert!)
We take off later today for Grenoble. Tim will meet some of the guys he’ll be working with tomorrow and I plan to hang out with the Lowrys. Oh, good news! We just found out that both our air shipment and sea shipment have cleared customs. Everything is supposed to be delivered Monday. Halleluia!!!
Side note: I’ve gotta find dance soon. I am completely uncomfortable in ‘normal people clothes.’ I’ve worn a leotard, tights and comfy jazz pants for the last five years of my life and now I’m totally unsure of how to wear anything else. How do you people do it? I feel so stuffy and prohibited in my movement. Jeans are so constricting!
Speaking of uncomfortable, my self-esteem has just plummeted. We are now in France, the land of beautiful people. No, it’s not quite Paris, but darn close. As my mother says, “Our finest clothing is about on par with what the French would wear to walk their dogs.” It’s true. Maybe there’s a Wal-mart close by that I could go into so I can feel good about myself again!
Geneva, Switzerland is what I would consider an International city. I think most of the people here actually speak French, but I did hear some Swiss German and a little bit of English. In fact in driving here, and by the way we went through 4 countries Tuesday, it seemed Switzerland was just blending us from Germany into France. One big difference is that they use the Swiss Franc here, because neutral Switzerland is not a part of the EU. (Almost found that out the hard way at the parking deck.) Yesterday I drove into the city from our little French village and did some sight-seeing while Tim was in his conference. I didn’t really have an agenda, but for some reason I always seem to find myself seeking out gardens and churches…usually in that order. Yesterday was no exception. Highlights: A Rose Garden with over 40,000 rose bushes (I thought of you, Mom), and the old city-complete with a Roman wall that rises up to the cathedral. Churches here are always built on the highest spot in the city. Not only does it create a beautiful skyline, but it gives you some point of reference in case you get lost (which I do quite frequently.) I also got in some good people watching while I sat at Starbucks (see, maybe I am in Seattle!) The women I mentioned before and the men all look like David Hyde Pierce, complete with dark suits. Think they’re all bankers.
Last night, as a part of Tim’s conference, we took an excursion to this medieval French village. Yes, that was truly beautiful, but I was much more entranced by the people that Tim is training with. I met four guys from South Africa, a very charming Frenchman, a Brit, a Dutchman, an American who’s lived in France for 27 years, a Russian chatter-box, and Sergio Garcia (no, not the golfer) who is a Spaniard living in Italy. It was the United Colors of Benetton!
Side note 2: I’d like to just take a moment to say how proud I am of my husband. He’s accomplished so much thus far and his intellect and laid-back personality amaze me everyday. Not to mention his nerdiness—we have to make a drive by of CERN before we leave today just so he can sense the brain-power behind those walls. (Nerd alert!)
We take off later today for Grenoble. Tim will meet some of the guys he’ll be working with tomorrow and I plan to hang out with the Lowrys. Oh, good news! We just found out that both our air shipment and sea shipment have cleared customs. Everything is supposed to be delivered Monday. Halleluia!!!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Home of Starbucks or Liver pate'?
Another little German quiz for you. Our Street name, Buchenstrasse, means:
a. Book Street
b. Bridge Street
c. Beech Street.
Guesses??? Text or e-mail your answers to http://worthlessknowledge.com
The correct answer is actually c. Beach Street. We had originally thought that Buchen must be plural for Buch, which is Book. But, nay, we were wrong. That Buchen appearantly has an umlaut over the u and is a completely different word. Nor is it Bruckenstrasse (Bridge street) that the IKEA drivers thought it to be. Our home is now on Beech Street and actually a lot of the streets around us are tree names. UlmenStrasse (Elm Street), NussStrasse (Nut Tree), SensibleStrasse (Sensibili-tree.) Okay, made the last one up.
Hmm...is this interesting to anyone but my Dad, probably not.
Moving on. We took Kevin out to dinner last night up by Cat at the Hotel Jacob. The Jacob brewery has won the best Wheatbeer in Germany for something like the last 17 years. The food ain't bad neither. We were bribing Kevin to let us use his washer and drier so we could again wear underwear. The three of us got into a discussion that we actually think we might be living in Seattle instead of Germany. The weather here is exactly what I would picture Seattle to be like. Cold, overcast, rain everyday. Do you think Cat just imported a couple thousand Germans? I mean, I didn't actually drive here afterall. The plane could have just done loops for all I know and landed in Washington State. Consequently I'm freezing my cha-chas off. I packed only four long sleeve shirts and no warm jackets. Not to mention flip-flops instead of boots. Customs---let my clothing go!
This last weekend was great and pretty relaxing. Tim went to the 'Dult' Friday with the boys and saw much of what I had described earlier. I believe the highlight of the evening was when the band, 3 men in lederhosen, did a stunning rendition of "It's Raining Men." Then on Sunday, Tim and I again wandered the streets of Regensburg tyring to soak it all in. Claudia had given us a book, in English, that has three walking tours of the city complete with historical background. I am just so humbled by the History that is here. There is still a portion of the old Roman Wall here that was built in 179 AD. I mean, that's old. My Grandmother hadn't even been born yet!
Well, we are just about to take off for our first excursion. We are headed today (it's Tues) to Geneva, Switzerland then on to Grenoble, France on Friday. Tim has some of his black belt leadership training to finish up and I'm going along for the ride. Hoping to spend the weekend with our friends Brian and Amanda Lowry who've been living in Grenoble for the last year. Maybe it's warmer there...
P.S. Tim just finished his first package of liverwurst. "Amazing," he says, "Looks terrible, smells worse, yet tastes delicious!" I'll take his word for it.
a. Book Street
b. Bridge Street
c. Beech Street.
Guesses??? Text or e-mail your answers to http://worthlessknowledge.com
The correct answer is actually c. Beach Street. We had originally thought that Buchen must be plural for Buch, which is Book. But, nay, we were wrong. That Buchen appearantly has an umlaut over the u and is a completely different word. Nor is it Bruckenstrasse (Bridge street) that the IKEA drivers thought it to be. Our home is now on Beech Street and actually a lot of the streets around us are tree names. UlmenStrasse (Elm Street), NussStrasse (Nut Tree), SensibleStrasse (Sensibili-tree.) Okay, made the last one up.
Hmm...is this interesting to anyone but my Dad, probably not.
Moving on. We took Kevin out to dinner last night up by Cat at the Hotel Jacob. The Jacob brewery has won the best Wheatbeer in Germany for something like the last 17 years. The food ain't bad neither. We were bribing Kevin to let us use his washer and drier so we could again wear underwear. The three of us got into a discussion that we actually think we might be living in Seattle instead of Germany. The weather here is exactly what I would picture Seattle to be like. Cold, overcast, rain everyday. Do you think Cat just imported a couple thousand Germans? I mean, I didn't actually drive here afterall. The plane could have just done loops for all I know and landed in Washington State. Consequently I'm freezing my cha-chas off. I packed only four long sleeve shirts and no warm jackets. Not to mention flip-flops instead of boots. Customs---let my clothing go!
This last weekend was great and pretty relaxing. Tim went to the 'Dult' Friday with the boys and saw much of what I had described earlier. I believe the highlight of the evening was when the band, 3 men in lederhosen, did a stunning rendition of "It's Raining Men." Then on Sunday, Tim and I again wandered the streets of Regensburg tyring to soak it all in. Claudia had given us a book, in English, that has three walking tours of the city complete with historical background. I am just so humbled by the History that is here. There is still a portion of the old Roman Wall here that was built in 179 AD. I mean, that's old. My Grandmother hadn't even been born yet!
Well, we are just about to take off for our first excursion. We are headed today (it's Tues) to Geneva, Switzerland then on to Grenoble, France on Friday. Tim has some of his black belt leadership training to finish up and I'm going along for the ride. Hoping to spend the weekend with our friends Brian and Amanda Lowry who've been living in Grenoble for the last year. Maybe it's warmer there...
P.S. Tim just finished his first package of liverwurst. "Amazing," he says, "Looks terrible, smells worse, yet tastes delicious!" I'll take his word for it.
Friday, September 7, 2007
German-glish, Germ-glish, Eng-man
It's Friday and our IKEA couch finally showed up Yipee!!!! Yes, it was supposed to arrive on Wed, in fact I sat around our apartment feeling like a caged bird waiting for it to show up all day. I was starting to get a little nervous when about 2:45 I got a call, in German, from a very lost delivery man. Well, he didn't speak English and my German is, well, let's just say not fluent, so our discussion did not go well. After a few hours of trying to figure out what the problem was (ended up our address was spelled wrong) the couch went on back to Munich without making it into our office. Grrrr.
But, all is well today. Neighbor Claudia to the rescue who discovered the problem and set the delivery people on the right course. We also found out today that our sea shipment has arrived in Germany. It's probably now in customs, for god knows how long, but at least the boat didn't sink.
Tim and I are becoming more German everyday. I went to the grocery store Wed and bought red cabbage, sauerkraut and schnitzel, all of which were very good. I actually had intended to buy some chicken, but got a little flustered at the meat counter and decided to cut my losses and head for the frozen food. First of all, I couldn't even find chicken among all the different types of sausages, plus I had completely forgotten the word for chicken and didn't have my pocket dictionary on me. Travel tip #3: Never leave home without your pocket dictionary...or your house keys. (The door locks behind you, as I've discovered.) I guess I could have just clucked around the aisle a little and the butcher may have gotten the idea, but I opted not.
2. Our house (as soon as we have furniture) is just perfect.
3. You can buy bottles of wine here for $3!
4. Driving on the Autobahn. Weeeee!
Things that I will need to learn to love
1. 80s music. We've heard some killer tunes on the radio stations. In one day we heard such classics as "Beat It," "Take My Breath Away," some Wham song that I can't remember at the moment, and Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All." Yes folks that was from at least the '88 Olympics, if not recorded before. But, ah, a classic.
2. The grocery carts have four wheels that swivel, not just the two that we're used to. Consequently, I cannot steer the stupid things. It makes trying to be as invisible as possible in the store quite difficult. I'm too afraid to make eye contact with anyone in case they speak to me, so I end up spending all my energy trying to take my cart in the right direction.
Other than that, not much to report. Tim is going to the Dultfest tonight with some boys from work. I can't seem to find out from anyone what a "dult" is, but I think it's just another excuse for Bavarians to get together, have a festival and drink beer. We actually went with Ewan and Kevin last Friday (that would be the part of Day 1 that I still haven't finished...and actually may not) and it was a blast. Picture an outdoor market place that sells everything, including socks, and dentistry tools. Then you find yourself in an enormous beer tent complete with Bavarian food, HUGE mugs of beer, and a band in the front wearing lederhosen singing all American songs and a few German drinking songs. Tim will have more details for you all tomorrow. Until then...bis spaeter. Auf Wiedersehen!
But, all is well today. Neighbor Claudia to the rescue who discovered the problem and set the delivery people on the right course. We also found out today that our sea shipment has arrived in Germany. It's probably now in customs, for god knows how long, but at least the boat didn't sink.
Tim and I are becoming more German everyday. I went to the grocery store Wed and bought red cabbage, sauerkraut and schnitzel, all of which were very good. I actually had intended to buy some chicken, but got a little flustered at the meat counter and decided to cut my losses and head for the frozen food. First of all, I couldn't even find chicken among all the different types of sausages, plus I had completely forgotten the word for chicken and didn't have my pocket dictionary on me. Travel tip #3: Never leave home without your pocket dictionary...or your house keys. (The door locks behind you, as I've discovered.) I guess I could have just clucked around the aisle a little and the butcher may have gotten the idea, but I opted not.
Things I love about Germany all ready:
1. The country side is green, lush and just breath-taking (due to the fact that it rains everyday here. Should have known. "Regen" means "Rain.")2. Our house (as soon as we have furniture) is just perfect.
3. You can buy bottles of wine here for $3!
4. Driving on the Autobahn. Weeeee!
Things that I will need to learn to love
1. 80s music. We've heard some killer tunes on the radio stations. In one day we heard such classics as "Beat It," "Take My Breath Away," some Wham song that I can't remember at the moment, and Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All." Yes folks that was from at least the '88 Olympics, if not recorded before. But, ah, a classic.
2. The grocery carts have four wheels that swivel, not just the two that we're used to. Consequently, I cannot steer the stupid things. It makes trying to be as invisible as possible in the store quite difficult. I'm too afraid to make eye contact with anyone in case they speak to me, so I end up spending all my energy trying to take my cart in the right direction.
Other than that, not much to report. Tim is going to the Dultfest tonight with some boys from work. I can't seem to find out from anyone what a "dult" is, but I think it's just another excuse for Bavarians to get together, have a festival and drink beer. We actually went with Ewan and Kevin last Friday (that would be the part of Day 1 that I still haven't finished...and actually may not) and it was a blast. Picture an outdoor market place that sells everything, including socks, and dentistry tools. Then you find yourself in an enormous beer tent complete with Bavarian food, HUGE mugs of beer, and a band in the front wearing lederhosen singing all American songs and a few German drinking songs. Tim will have more details for you all tomorrow. Until then...bis spaeter. Auf Wiedersehen!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Breaking Rule Nummer Eins
Little bit of trivia from one of my German books:
How should you demonstrate your efficiency at work?
a. Always leave on time.
b. Always work late.
c. Work late in an emergency
Guesses? Great news---the answer is a! In other words, Tim, get your cute little tushie out of the office. I’m currently waiting for him in the parking lot after work since we are sharing our rental car. Oh, did I mention that we’re driving a Mercedes as our “hired car.” Nice. Very, very nice.
The last two days we finally had to break neighbor Laurie’s Rule #1. You may not know these rules by heart as Tim and I do, so here’s a quick refresher.
1. Always stay with your buddy.
2. Use your party manners.
(and for good measure) 3. Don’t show your underpants to anyone.
The time has come for my buddy to leave me and go off to work. Honestly, I had been dreading this all weekend. Not sure I was ready to function in this new country with nary a language skill. I should have had a little foresight and weaned myself off of the social interaction, but the last few weeks before the move were a race to spend every waking moment with friends and family. I think I may have forgotten what it feels like to be alone. Isolation is probably the thing that scares me the most here. BUT, I’m glad to say that I’m doing just fine. Well, most of that is because I really haven’t been alone that much. (Not quite sure if that’s good or bad, but I’m so grateful!) Yesterday (Monday) Claudia took me to the DEZ (pronounce Deets) which stands for the Donau Einkaufen Zentrum—auf English, the Danube Shopping Center—aka the Mall. No time for shopping, just getting signed up for Internet. I’m so glad that Claudia was there. I can only imagine the mess I would have gotten myself into without her.
Today I was prepared to spend the day by myself. I got up, took Tim to work so that I could have the car, went for a nice long run (and when I say run, I mean mostly walk after my weeks of sitting on my can before we left) and a quick German lesson. I was walking out the door to go into Regensburg to wander around when our Dutch friend Heidi called. Heidi’s husband Maarten works at CAT with Tim and we met her during our house hunting trip. She is exactly what I needed today. She is warm and outgoing, not to mention she’s fluent in both German and English. So instead of spending the day by myself, I went shopping with Heidi and her mom.
That reminds me. My mother-in-law gave me the most perfect book for my birthday. Can’t remember the exact title, but it’s something like “A Guide for Spouses Abroad: How not to Lose Your Identity.” In it, one of the first comments they make is that wives abroad tend to either eat too much, eat too little, drink to much or shop excessively. Wonder if I can knock out all four of them!
How should you demonstrate your efficiency at work?
a. Always leave on time.
b. Always work late.
c. Work late in an emergency
Guesses? Great news---the answer is a! In other words, Tim, get your cute little tushie out of the office. I’m currently waiting for him in the parking lot after work since we are sharing our rental car. Oh, did I mention that we’re driving a Mercedes as our “hired car.” Nice. Very, very nice.
The last two days we finally had to break neighbor Laurie’s Rule #1. You may not know these rules by heart as Tim and I do, so here’s a quick refresher.
1. Always stay with your buddy.
2. Use your party manners.
(and for good measure) 3. Don’t show your underpants to anyone.
The time has come for my buddy to leave me and go off to work. Honestly, I had been dreading this all weekend. Not sure I was ready to function in this new country with nary a language skill. I should have had a little foresight and weaned myself off of the social interaction, but the last few weeks before the move were a race to spend every waking moment with friends and family. I think I may have forgotten what it feels like to be alone. Isolation is probably the thing that scares me the most here. BUT, I’m glad to say that I’m doing just fine. Well, most of that is because I really haven’t been alone that much. (Not quite sure if that’s good or bad, but I’m so grateful!) Yesterday (Monday) Claudia took me to the DEZ (pronounce Deets) which stands for the Donau Einkaufen Zentrum—auf English, the Danube Shopping Center—aka the Mall. No time for shopping, just getting signed up for Internet. I’m so glad that Claudia was there. I can only imagine the mess I would have gotten myself into without her.
Today I was prepared to spend the day by myself. I got up, took Tim to work so that I could have the car, went for a nice long run (and when I say run, I mean mostly walk after my weeks of sitting on my can before we left) and a quick German lesson. I was walking out the door to go into Regensburg to wander around when our Dutch friend Heidi called. Heidi’s husband Maarten works at CAT with Tim and we met her during our house hunting trip. She is exactly what I needed today. She is warm and outgoing, not to mention she’s fluent in both German and English. So instead of spending the day by myself, I went shopping with Heidi and her mom.
That reminds me. My mother-in-law gave me the most perfect book for my birthday. Can’t remember the exact title, but it’s something like “A Guide for Spouses Abroad: How not to Lose Your Identity.” In it, one of the first comments they make is that wives abroad tend to either eat too much, eat too little, drink to much or shop excessively. Wonder if I can knock out all four of them!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Lazy Weekend
Saturday:
My fellow America expat and I made a trip to IKEA for a scratch and dent sale, and each ended up with a brand new couches. Good news is, I acquired a sofa-bed for the office to help accommodate visitors. Bad news is, I had to jump through about seventeen hoops to get up the cash necessary to buy it. German Travel Tip #1: Even places that you are certain will take credit cards, probably won't. Cash rules, credit drools. So, after signing up for some sort of IKEA family card (isn't that kind of like having family in a cheap trailer park?) and maxing out my daily withdrawal limit via 13 tries and 2 successes at the ATM, we are having the couch delivered Wednesday.
After dropping off Kevin's purchases and gathering up my wife, we headed into Regensburg to meet our British friend Ewan Scattergood for lunch and a personalized tour walking tour (provided we buy lunch.) Ewan's knowledge of Regensburg was impressive from the old Roman walls to the Thurn und Taxis castle. Cheers Ewan! We loved it!
In the evening we made our first trip to the supermarket, had our first meal at home, and headed to Kevin's to hijack some internet and make some phone calls. Good day.
Sunday:
Slept in again. We're still adjusting to the time zone. Tomorrow is my first day of work and getting up on time is going to hurt. We bummed around the house and sat on our front patio and soaked up some afternoon sun. Then our wonderful neighbor Claudia cam over and we chatted and borrowed her internet to answer some e-mails. She has been amazing and will continue to be a lifeline until our language and local knowledge improves.
This evening we decided to tackle the train system and fumbled our way onto the local train to Regensburg. We had a nice dinner outside and wandered the old city streets. Travel Tip #2: With the exception of a few restaurants, nothing is open on Sundays. We are sitting in the train station waiting for our return train and had time to type out the weekend. We hope to upload it tomorrow (which Heather is currently doing :) ) Love you all and miss you.
Klaus'
My fellow America expat and I made a trip to IKEA for a scratch and dent sale, and each ended up with a brand new couches. Good news is, I acquired a sofa-bed for the office to help accommodate visitors. Bad news is, I had to jump through about seventeen hoops to get up the cash necessary to buy it. German Travel Tip #1: Even places that you are certain will take credit cards, probably won't. Cash rules, credit drools. So, after signing up for some sort of IKEA family card (isn't that kind of like having family in a cheap trailer park?) and maxing out my daily withdrawal limit via 13 tries and 2 successes at the ATM, we are having the couch delivered Wednesday.
After dropping off Kevin's purchases and gathering up my wife, we headed into Regensburg to meet our British friend Ewan Scattergood for lunch and a personalized tour walking tour (provided we buy lunch.) Ewan's knowledge of Regensburg was impressive from the old Roman walls to the Thurn und Taxis castle. Cheers Ewan! We loved it!
In the evening we made our first trip to the supermarket, had our first meal at home, and headed to Kevin's to hijack some internet and make some phone calls. Good day.
Sunday:
Slept in again. We're still adjusting to the time zone. Tomorrow is my first day of work and getting up on time is going to hurt. We bummed around the house and sat on our front patio and soaked up some afternoon sun. Then our wonderful neighbor Claudia cam over and we chatted and borrowed her internet to answer some e-mails. She has been amazing and will continue to be a lifeline until our language and local knowledge improves.
This evening we decided to tackle the train system and fumbled our way onto the local train to Regensburg. We had a nice dinner outside and wandered the old city streets. Travel Tip #2: With the exception of a few restaurants, nothing is open on Sundays. We are sitting in the train station waiting for our return train and had time to type out the weekend. We hope to upload it tomorrow (which Heather is currently doing :) ) Love you all and miss you.
Klaus'
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Day 1
First full day in Germany. Well, we got up about 10am and had a full day planned. Both Tim and I couldn't wait to explore our neighborhood and get in some exercise. Our village is something straight out of a storybook. Quaint, quiet houses, mostly white or pastel colored with red tile rooves. After our long walk we made friends with our baker then went home to shower. So, at this point, it's about 12:15 and I hear my cell phone ring. It was our friend Kevin. The conversation went a little something like this.
"Hey Kev. You at work?"
"Um no. I'm home."
This was strange because Kevin borders on workaholicism (is that a word?) and I knew he would never have taken a half day.
"What are you doing there?" I ask.
"Well, it's what I do most days after work."
"After work???" About that time the light went on. We had no working clocks. We had relied on Tim's old cell phone which is pretty darn confused since we are no longer in the U.S. "Kevin, What time is it?" And here's the kicker...
"5:15."
In one sentence Tim and I lost five hours of the day. In our defense it was very cloudy.
Ahhh.. our wireless time has run out. To be continued...
"Hey Kev. You at work?"
"Um no. I'm home."
This was strange because Kevin borders on workaholicism (is that a word?) and I knew he would never have taken a half day.
"What are you doing there?" I ask.
"Well, it's what I do most days after work."
"After work???" About that time the light went on. We had no working clocks. We had relied on Tim's old cell phone which is pretty darn confused since we are no longer in the U.S. "Kevin, What time is it?" And here's the kicker...
"5:15."
In one sentence Tim and I lost five hours of the day. In our defense it was very cloudy.
Ahhh.. our wireless time has run out. To be continued...
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Day Zero
We've landed in Germany in one piece. Sure, Tim has a little cat poop on his pants (more on that later) but we arrived unscathed. Trip was pretty uneventful. Heather cried most of the way to the airport until Sally decided she needed to relieve herself in Tim's crotch. Flight was long, but just fine and the cats did not need sedating. We were a little concerned to go through customs because when Sally get's motion sickness, she drools all over herself and looks rabid. But, the bleary-eyed custom agent (it was 5:15am) just waved us through. So all the hundreds of dollars we spent on microchips, antibiotics, sedatives, vet visits, etc were rendered obsolete with one flick of the agent's wrist. NOT complaining though!
We got to our house about 8am and Claudia (our landlady's daughter) had it all set up for us. They are loaning us a bed, table and chairs, desk, dishes, towels, just about anything we could possibly want until our things arrive.
The only thing major that's missing right now is means of communication. We probably won't have internet for at least two weeks, and no telephone yet either. We'll be finding hotspots most days though, so e-mail will be great.
Miss you all already.
Love,
The Klaus Haus
We got to our house about 8am and Claudia (our landlady's daughter) had it all set up for us. They are loaning us a bed, table and chairs, desk, dishes, towels, just about anything we could possibly want until our things arrive.
The only thing major that's missing right now is means of communication. We probably won't have internet for at least two weeks, and no telephone yet either. We'll be finding hotspots most days though, so e-mail will be great.
Miss you all already.
Love,
The Klaus Haus
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
And so...the Journey Begins
Well, I think we're really moving now. Until this point, moving to Germany seemed like this huge idea that kinda felt like I was talking about someone else's life. Well, now that the movers are here packing up all of our earthly posessions, I think it's sunk in. Trying to figure out how I'm going to live out of two suitcases for the next 6-8 weeks. Hope you all like the things I've kept...cuz you'll be seeing a lot of the same outfits!
Dear God,
It's me Heath. Please grant me serenity.
Amen.
Dear God,
It's me Heath. Please grant me serenity.
Amen.
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