London Calling .....for the New Year

Shortly before we found out that we would be moving to Germany, one of my oldest and dearest friends had the opportunity through her job to move to London. We sort of couldn't believe our luck! How did two girls from a little suburb in Alexandria,VA end up living abroad at the same time?
For a few years running, we have celebrated the New Years holiday together, so this New Years 2010 was no different. Our family decided to make the trip to London to visit and celebrate with her family. We had the best time. Ate, drank, danced, played, saw all the sights, made memories.  A wonderful way to ring in the New Year.

BRRR.....

Winter came in fast and furious. I wasn't prepared...here's an excerpt from an e-mail:

"It's COLD. Bone chilling cold. I don't know if reading the temperature in Celsius plays tricks on my mind, but there is something about your car thermometer reading -4.5 degrees that makes you want to get right back into bed, throw the covers over your head, and wait for Spring. I have to remind myself what I learned in Earth Science, that 0 degrees C is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Saying this mantra over and over as I run out to warm the car does help..as do my heated seats."

This was the beginning of a long, cold, snowy winter....and I don't like winter.

Christmas and it's Markets

Recalling this past Christmas through an e-mail sent to friends and fam:

"The Thanksgiving weekend coincides with the start of the Christmas season here. And the Christmas season is NO joke. Every town has their own Weihnachtsmarkt or Christmas Market. Our Saturday mornings are spent visiting a different Christmas market in the area. These Christmas markets are taken very seriously, with hundreds of small kiosks that are elaborately decorated for the holidays. Vendors peddle their wares: ornaments, handmade toys, jams, baked goods...sausages, krauts, biers are everywhere. A more popular drink than bier at these Christmas Markets (I know, can you believe it?) is called Gluvine. It's a tasty, hot, spiced red wine. I wasn't terribly crazy about it the first time I tried it, but this past weekend we had it from a guy that added Amaretto. Now, that was delicious. All of the markets shut down two days before Christmas. I love that they don't drag it out past the holiday. "

Christmas was an unusually quiet, simple holiday for us. We went to Mass, opened Santa and family gifts, and went on a long walk. It was the first time I experienced the pangs of homesickness. It was at the same time, a very special holiday with just the three of us; one that we will look back on fondly.

Luxembourg and Trier

My parents coming every eight weeks has provided my husband and I the opportunity to get away by ourselves for a few days. For our last two-day excursion, we headed to Luxembourg and Trier. Luxembourg is a wonderful little country. We spent the cold and snowy day walking the city, eating and drinking our way through town. The following day, Sunday, we spent in Trier. With the exception of restaurants and museums, most of Germany shuts down on Sundays. Our Sunday in Trier consisted of the Karl Marx house and the same weinstube multiple times. We had fun because we were with each other, but don't go to Trier on a Sunday. Actually, I am not sure if Trier should necessarily be a destination at all...just spend more time in Luxembourg.

Oma and Papa

My parents are the best. I'm not kidding. Everyone who meets them thinks so.  That's including my husband! I feel very blessed to come from such loving people.  I was raised to believe that family is the most important thing in the world. 
Griffin is their only grandchild and I remember when we told my parents that I was pregnant. They were so elated they kissed each other and both cried for joy.  It was such a beautiful reaction.
Adore isn't a strong enough word for how my parents feel about their only grandson. They make the trip from the States to Germany every eight weeks to see him. (They say it's to see us as well, but I don't believe that for a minute).

I should mention that after their visits with us, they tack on another week exploring the few parts of the world they haven't yet seen. My mom and dad  may the most disappointed in our eventual move back the the States!

Prague

Here is an e-mail sent to friends and family about our Prague adventure...traveling with a little one isn't always easy!

"We decided to make the most out of not being in the States for Thanksgiving. Prague is only a 5 hour drive away and someplace I have really wanted to visit during our time here. Griffin doesn't sleep in the car anymore, so I dreaded the car ride. He did a great job in both directions. The closer you get to the Czech border the less traffic you have to contend with. Also, the autobahn that far out doesn't have speed restrictions so you can really have fun with the drive. (safety first, of course) Prague is a beautiful city with such amazing history... dating back to years with only three digits! That is what has amazed me most about the places we have seen so far. You realize how young our country is in comparison.
We had a great time with the exception of the first night. It was a nightmare parenting experience. Griffin woke up at 3.30am and was delirious with night terrors (or something) and we couldn't calm him down. He was freaking out and nothing we did was helping. This went on for about an hour when we got a knock on our door. Christopher answered with Griffin in arms. A woman, with a heavy British accent says, "Is your baby okay? BECAUSE WE CAN'T SLEEP!" Christopher said, "we can't either!" It was awful!

Finally around 5.30am, I got up and showered and Griff and I took to the streets of Prague. Of course within 4 minutes of walking, Griffin was audibly snoring. Needless to say, the three of us were total grumps that day. We stuck to our original plan: the Frommers book walking tour. By the second hour, Christopher would read the little fact in the book (very low and mumbly), "This statue was given to the Czech's from France...." and I would grumble: "WHAT?? you're reading too fast and mumbly and without any enthusiasm!!." Do you still want to be in charge of reading!?" We were a lot of fun to be around. However we saw Prague, had some good food and after a good nights' sleep, some good laughs."

Munich

My husband is a planner. Not just an ordinary planner but a 2 year-in-advance schedule'er. I love that about him. He has already planned a boat trip he calls "The Great Loop" we plan to take when we are sixty-five. We have a calendar for the year of the places we want to see and when we plan to see them. We scratched off Munich and Prague before our third month here.
Munich is the Bavarian capital and was much more cosmopolitan than I expected it to be. Maximilianstrasse made me salivate. Very high end luxury and great window shopping.

The history of Munich is also astounding and at times chilling. Munich is where Hitler and the Nazi's got their start. You see in person the places that you have seen in photographs of Hitler and his army. You realize just how recent in our history the atrocities of WWII occurred.

We are partial to self-guided walking tours and the one we took in Munich did not disappoint. The Frauenkirche and the English Gardens were two highlights. Surprise...we spent one evening at the famous Hofbrauhaus.

Finding Tubingen

Tubingen remains to be one of our greatest finds. Although I am not insinuating that this is a little hidden gem that we came across on our own. Everyone in this area recommends visiting this quaint German village. I wrote this to my parents after our  first visit:

"We visited a beautiful town called Tubingen. It's only half hour away from Stuttgart and will definitely be a day trip for all visitors. We went last Sat and there was an amazing street fair going on with farmers, vendors, vintners and cheese makers. There were artichokes as big as Griff's head. It was awesome. While it's a University town with quite a few young people, it's also got incredible history-- the oldest house in the town is still inhabited and it was built in 1389!! The Neckar River runs through town and guys (good looking ones at that) from the university man gondolas that ride down the river."

We have since visited Tubingen with every guest and even on our own on some nice afternoons. It's a short drive from our place and it feels like the quintessential German town. It's not to be missed!

Oktoberfest Fun

Being first time parents, our lives were, and in still many ways are, ruled by the nap schedule. As a consequence, we never stayed out later than 8 pm while living in the hotel.  G's bedtime was OUR bedtime. When we did move out of the hotel, we didn't have a sitter. So while we were able to stay up later, (maybe 9pm??) we still didn't get out and experience the nightlife.

 We did get an opportunity to deviate from our normal routine when Oktoberfest came around. C's office had a table in a biere tent at Oktoberfest. Our first Oktoberfest in Germany! We weren't going to miss that. So we decided to break our self-imposed rules and head downtown with G, via public transportation, for an evening of fun. And what fun it was.

For the price of a ticket, you get three huge beers, half a chicken and the most unbelievable people watching experience. There was a German band playing David Lee Roth covers and the lederhosen-laden crowd went crazy and hopped on tables to their rendition of "Just a Gigolo".

We didn't stay long and we were all tired the next day, but it was an experience that continues to make me smile when I think of it.

G's difficult transition

Living in a hotel and all of the things that come with that, took its toll on our little guy.

"Griff is kind of acting out and isn't too pleased with the current living arrangement, lack of space and the few toys he has. The sweet boy we know is not presenting himself at the moment. I don't know if it is because of his age, circumstances or both. I tend to think that he feels lack of control so in turn he is trying to control what he can. For example. In addition to kicking when we try to change his diaper or get him dressed, he is super whiny. Also, when we doesn't want to walk anymore but doesn't want to get into his stroller, he just sits or lays on the ground. When we try to put him into the stroller he has the strength of ten men and of course impossible to reason with him. This last thing kills me....He cries when we get off the elevator to go to our room..so I really think that this is pretty tough for the little guy.    We have a time out chair in the corner of the room and have had to use it a few times....each time he cries when he is put in it and then turns around over the back and says, "hi". and if we don't respond, he'll say "hiiiiiii'.  He's so cute and totally has our number. He's not acting out all of the time, but he's definitely having a hard time adjusting-- I think he thought the first few days were vacation-- we all did!"

I always thought I would be the type of parent who had my children snack on fruit and veggies and I was not going to have my children eat a lot of sugar. Well, that was before gelato entered our lives. G was introduced to gelato during this tumultuous time and because we wanted to 'ease the pain' of this transition, he indulged in this pleasure a few times a week. Thankfully, he still likes and eats fruit and veggies and didn't swear all of it off for this creamy delight.

Fortunately, we found our home pretty quickly. It was the first and only place we saw. It seemed easier for us than most others we met at the hotel. We don't have pets and only have one child. Our only stipulation was to be close enough for C to ride his bike to work.

The house we found was available Oct 1st, but didn't mean that our furniture and belongings had made it across the ocean. We moved in on the first, and lived off of a few items borrowed from the Army. It took another month or so until our shipment arrived.  G was so happy to see his little yellow truck come off the big yellow truck.

German Playgrounds

We spent quite a bit of time outside of our hotel room during those weeks that we were living in the Marriott. If G wasn't napping, we were exploring the area. We were thrilled to find really cool playgrounds around every corner. These weren't the type of playgrounds we were used to seeing. It was clear that safety precautions were a little more lax in this country.

We were 'warned' before moving here that Germans preferred dogs over children but fortunately, we haven't experienced that. While dogs are certainly valued and treated pretty favorably (allowed to sit in restaurants while their owners dine), we have found that rarely is there a look of terror on restaurant owners faces when we arrive and ask to be seated with our two year old.

A few more days in...

A few more excerpts from yet another e-mail sent a few days in:

"Hope this e-mail finds you guys well. We are enjoying a beautiful day here. The past few days have been rainy and cold...clothing-wise,we are not prepared. However today it is GORGEOUS out. 70 degrees, sunny and no humidity."

"After we stuffed ourselves once again with a German breakfast --let me detail what is avail each and every day:
Extensive yogurt bar with variety of yogurts and toppings including different seeds and muselix...an oatmeal bar with similar toppings. Waffles, pancakes, to-order omelettes, hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, an array of homemade breads (including pretzels), a ton of different meats and the most amazing cheeses I have seen.-- and literally that is just part -- there also an entire section of smoked fish....did I mention the Costco size jar of Nutella? G's new fave thing-- Anyway, we have been able to sustain ourselves for the day with just breakfast and then a hearty dinner (tell you about that later).  I should mention that the afternoon includes either a cappuccino or a biere, of course."

"Sat we went to Strasbourg-- the architecture is incredible in both Germany and France. Strasbourg was particularly beautiful. It was cold and rainy for most of the day; but we had umbrellas-- so we were still able to get around town without getting too soaked. The cobblestone streets are lined with both high-end shops and amazing bakeries..I love it! The patisseries are filled with the most beautiful sweets I have ever seen. Stuff you see in the gourmet mags I read-- but just in your run-of-the mill bakery."

"Yesterday we had planned to hit the outlets outside of town because we need some more appropriate clothes. However, apparently everything closes down on Sundays in Germany. So we decided to head to downtown Stuttgart instead. We chose to take the S-Baun and that was quite an adventure deciphering things for the first time. If not for the kindness of a German gentleman, we never would have made it.

 We finally made it downtown and found our way to the Scholzplatz. The town center. It's beautiful! Very green with people picnicking, playing with dogs, kids...big fountains and sculptures. There are a bunch of cafes planking the center- so we sat down for two big beers and Griff played on the green and was fascinated by all the dogs. After our monster beers we headed out to explore that area which is much more modern and cosmopolitan than the surrounding neighborhoods."

Around 5.30 we started to head back home and again, it took a while to find our way.
We decided to just find a place to stop for dinner on the way home...but driving through Vaihingen (another area we would love to live) we saw everything was closed for the Sunday holiday. We came across a little house that had a specials board out in front so we stopped and are so glad we did. In the back of this house were 6 tables under a big umbrella. The menu came out and the first page said in German... "Chantrelle Season" and under "chantrelle season" were 10 dishes made just from the mushrooms. I surge of excitement arose! :) I ordered the warm chantrelle salad with swabian noodles in an apple-balsamic dressing. CM ordered the house special which ended up being a huge hunk of meat in an onion brown sauce and a side of spaztel. Let's just say I won. Of course dinner included two more big beers.....and they don't have water here unless you buy a bottle for the table. In all the places we have gone, we have been told they just don't have tap water. I am perpetually dehydrated. Griffin had bites of our meals but settled on a big apple for his main course."

"Tomorrow, vacation is over and the real work begins. We head over to base to speak with the housing office, arrange to take our German driving test. Wed we start 'indoc' classes.... ie indoctrination. I think we are doing pretty well on our own, but any additional guidance can't hurt."

In the months since this e-mail was written, we have mastered public transit, visited Strasbourg three times, have been downtown countless times, and have eaten our weight in chantrelles...they make a mean homemade mushroom soup!