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.

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!