Our first days

Being the wonderful mother that she is, my mom saved all the e-mails that I sent to my parents since arriving here. Thank goodness she did because I didn't think to save them and re-reading them now, makes me smile. Here are a few excerpts. It's amazing how far we have come and how much we have learned and experienced since arriving in Germany:


"We have learned a lot the past two days we have been here. We are really excited. What a cool place. It looks like it takes 30 to 60 days to find housing so we are in Marriott or another hotel until then. We found out that the 7th floor exec. room is not perfect for us- there is a better option. With the PC..something option we get moved to a lower floor and doesn't have exec suite. But we do get a cheaper room, free internet from room (12 dollars a day on 7th floor), free breakfast in restaurant downstairs, access to a communal room with a washer/dryer, kids toys, microwave and fridge with sodas and juices and free parking (20 bucks/day). Basically giving up cocktail hour but the people in there didn't want to see a child in there anyway."

"We haven't seen too much of the city of Stuttgart yet. There is a big 10 day wine festival that we plan to go to on Sunday-- it's the first or second largest in Germany. Today we saw a lot of Panzar and Patch and found out where Kelley was. We also went to lunch and dinner in Sindelfingen. Italian for lunch (with german beer of course) and Portuguese for dinner (only fresh fish on menu). Both meals were out of this world and very affordable."


"Sindelfingen is awesome and we would love to live here. Such a great little town with cobblestone streets, shops and restaurants. We are going to look at other areas but if we found something here, we would jump on it. you guys would love it!"


"So apparently pools in Germany are all the rage. There are several public pools that have like 5 different pools housed there. one for kids with slides, one lap pool, one baby pool...they are supposed to be great. When you guys come you can keep up your swimming routine!"


"G is doing so well. We rigged the room up differently tonight. Bought a shower curtain at the PX and put the black curtain up by the bathroom. We also bought a fan. He had taken afternoon naps both days but of course we have had to wake him up from both naps and morning sleep. He went bed late tonight 9 pm because we were the only customers at this little Portuguese place and took our time eating. Fresh Grilled calamari... best I have ever had. We have had a hard time getting G to eat, although today at the pizza place, I ordered cheese bread and an entire cheese pizza, no sauce came out. He liked that a lot and we have a lot leftover. (only 3.50 euro for the whole pizza!) Anyway, back to G, he was dancing around the restaurant to the street music outside (there are only 4 tables in the whole place) Also, it's like his language gene was turned on when we landed. He is starting to say lots of words. "

"It's pretty chilly here -- I packed a lot of fall stuff for us in our express shipment, thinking we would get it next week. It looks like we may get it when we find a place. We got caught in a cold rain today twice-- but I did pack my umbrella, so that's good."

We didn't end up finding a place in Sindelfingen and I am very happy for that. Knowing the area now, that wouldn't have been a good fit for us. It's funny how taken I was by the "cobblestone streets, shops and restaurants." We quickly learned that those towns are what Germany is all about! It certainly isn't unique to Sindlefingen. We found a great little house and a quaint town close to Patch Barracks because CM rides his bike to and from work. We have a huge working farm right across the street that have trails that lead into the "wild". G and I go there every day with the stroller, tricycle, wagon or sled. The farm has a store that sells fresh eggs and produce. We love where we chose to live. 

The pool I speak of in the e-mail? G and I go once a week to swim.  It's true that Germans are really into their pools. It's such a great outlet, especially on those frigid days when playing outside just isn't feasible.

Skype has also been the best thing to come along in communication. It's been wonderful to keep in touch with our families through skyping. We were able to give them a tour of the house when we moved in, see the snow accumulation on winter days, and the tulips blooming on Spring ones.  And of course the benefit to G knowing his grandparents and aunts and uncles and his ability to show off for them, is invaluable. We are fortunate enough to have my parents come every eight weeks or so. G is their only grandchild at this point. I am very close to them, so having them here so often has softened the blow of homesickness. G adores them and fortunately my husband does to.

This was a Biergarten located within walking distance to the Marriott. See the size of those beers!? It has a playground and was a great introduction to the German lifestyle. That's another thing. There are amazing playgrounds here. more on that later...