The title link goes to a page about Christmas markets. I keep hearing, wherever I go, about things you can "only get at Christmastime", like special mulled wines, baked goodies, and all kinds of great crafts to give as gifts or decorate your home with. I haven't been this excited about Christmas since I was a kid.
From what I hear, winter is very cold and very long here. So far, it's not too bad. It's chilly outside, and I am having to buy heavier clothes, mittens, gloves, scarves, etc. I may be a Florida girl, but I can handle this! Maybe I'll change my tune when there's been snow on the ground for a month straight...
Lately the big news is that I am now working for the FRG - Family Readiness Group - for my husband's unit. I volunteered to do a newsletter and web site. I love projects like that. It's part do-gooding and part bully pulpit. Yes, that's right, as editor I get to scout out info that I think is beneficial to me & the families. So far, I'm scrounging up info about how to contact spouses when they are downrange via the American Red Cross, putting together a "watch your budget" kind of thing for the holidays, and assembling an enormous list of places to go for free or cheap in Europe.
Here's the Big Windy link. So far it's just design and placeholders while I figure out what-goes-where. Part of it will have to be password protected for Operational Security. I know... not my call, though. You want to hear something ironic? Eventually that page should live HERE, but nobody seems to know where the domain login/pw is. Army Dorks!@#$!@#$
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Richtfest in our village
The title link today points to pictures of a Bavarian/German ceremony John and I were invited to some weeks ago. I did a little research online, and here is what I found out:
The Richtfest (topping out) is a traditional part of any building construction in Germany. As soon as the Rohbau, the shell of the house including the roof structure, is finished, it is decorated with a fir wreath or fir tree and everybody involved with the building gets together for a celebration with lots of drinking and heaps of amazing German food.
This goes back to the traveling Gesellen on the Walz. Carpenters traditionally travelled with their tools and went from site to site looking for work. They labored for months on a project with little time off, and the Richtfest was a suitable time for them to celebrate. It was also the time to move on, because their work on this building had been done and they were supposed to go and find work somewhere else. So apart from celebrating a milestone in the construction of the building, it was also a goodbye party.
The Zimmerman (master carpenter), dressed in the national costume of his trade, traditionally recites an ode to the carpenter. During this he drinks three glasses of champagne, toasting the new owners, the site supervisors, and the workers. He then tosses the empty flutes from the scaffolding, shattering them against the ground. He then places a decorated evergreen tree upon the completed roof. This German ritual is practiced to wish health and prosperity to a building’s future occupants.
If the owner of the building was less than generous and didn’t host an appropriate farewell party, then instead of kind remarks and the raising of a tree, the carpenter would place an upside down broom on top of the roof. This broom served as a statement to all that the host is essentially a pretty cheap guy. According to folklore, if you do not hold a party, it could bring some bad luck upon the facility or hardship upon the family that lives there.
The American equivalent is... well, there isn't one. The framers in the states were typically on the low income side of things, with sunbleached hair and clothes and usually a few missing teeth. They do a lot of hard work in a fairly thankless trade, and I thought it was nice to see their labors celebrated.
The Richtfest (topping out) is a traditional part of any building construction in Germany. As soon as the Rohbau, the shell of the house including the roof structure, is finished, it is decorated with a fir wreath or fir tree and everybody involved with the building gets together for a celebration with lots of drinking and heaps of amazing German food.
This goes back to the traveling Gesellen on the Walz. Carpenters traditionally travelled with their tools and went from site to site looking for work. They labored for months on a project with little time off, and the Richtfest was a suitable time for them to celebrate. It was also the time to move on, because their work on this building had been done and they were supposed to go and find work somewhere else. So apart from celebrating a milestone in the construction of the building, it was also a goodbye party.
The Zimmerman (master carpenter), dressed in the national costume of his trade, traditionally recites an ode to the carpenter. During this he drinks three glasses of champagne, toasting the new owners, the site supervisors, and the workers. He then tosses the empty flutes from the scaffolding, shattering them against the ground. He then places a decorated evergreen tree upon the completed roof. This German ritual is practiced to wish health and prosperity to a building’s future occupants.
If the owner of the building was less than generous and didn’t host an appropriate farewell party, then instead of kind remarks and the raising of a tree, the carpenter would place an upside down broom on top of the roof. This broom served as a statement to all that the host is essentially a pretty cheap guy. According to folklore, if you do not hold a party, it could bring some bad luck upon the facility or hardship upon the family that lives there.
The American equivalent is... well, there isn't one. The framers in the states were typically on the low income side of things, with sunbleached hair and clothes and usually a few missing teeth. They do a lot of hard work in a fairly thankless trade, and I thought it was nice to see their labors celebrated.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
German Head Start
I have spent the last week attending what the army calls "German Headstart". Spouses are allowed to attend this course with their sponsor as well as any of the briefings, drivers orientation and testing. (In Army families, the soldier is also the "sponsor". They don't give out chips for going to the meetings though. *Wink* to John A.)
Headstart is an introduction to the German culture and language. Our teacher was "Herr Bert", a smart old guy with a good sense of humor and a whole lot of information to give. He went over about 70 or so different topics... no lie, I numbered them in my notes.
On Wednesday, the class took a private tour of 23 of the 520+ rooms in the Schloss (Castle) in Ansbach. When I say private, I mean they actually gave Herr Bert the old style skeleton keys to the joint. The next day, we took a German train to Steinach and ordered a nice meal. Every Headstart class does this, and would you believe the soldiers are actually allowed to drink up to 2 beers with their meal? We ordered our meals entirely in German, and afterwards I could and did buy the tall German beer glass with the brewery seal on it. Coolest glass ever... all mine. :)
I advise any spouse coming here to take this class. It was SO worth the time. Even the child care is free.
Headstart is an introduction to the German culture and language. Our teacher was "Herr Bert", a smart old guy with a good sense of humor and a whole lot of information to give. He went over about 70 or so different topics... no lie, I numbered them in my notes.
On Wednesday, the class took a private tour of 23 of the 520+ rooms in the Schloss (Castle) in Ansbach. When I say private, I mean they actually gave Herr Bert the old style skeleton keys to the joint. The next day, we took a German train to Steinach and ordered a nice meal. Every Headstart class does this, and would you believe the soldiers are actually allowed to drink up to 2 beers with their meal? We ordered our meals entirely in German, and afterwards I could and did buy the tall German beer glass with the brewery seal on it. Coolest glass ever... all mine. :)
I advise any spouse coming here to take this class. It was SO worth the time. Even the child care is free.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
What I'd do differently
I have some catching up to do on here but before I do that, I really wanted to post some things that might help somebody on their way here.
There is good advice in the title link - it's the Ft Rucker MWR "Germany briefing". Maybe I'd have been able to sleep on the plane if I had read this.
I wish I had not packed so many clothes in unaccompanied baggage. What I really needed was my kitchen stuff. A pot, a frying pan, big spoons, a spatula. Cleaning supplies like a mop, bucket, broom & pan.
Pillows... I wish I had packed my pillows, and our pillowtop for the mattress. I know it wouldn't fit the double bed perfectly, but I still miss it. My back misses it.
I miss my printer. Nobody here can print stuff for me because the Army's apparently so over budget for this fiscal year, that nobody gets new printer cartridges for their printers until October.
There are no used book stores (English, anyway) near here, so if you crave reading, or need to buy your English-German dictionaries cheap... do it stateside.
DON'T use Pack and Ship places to mail your stuff. Let them pack your computer, printer, and video game stuff... but then take it to the Post Office yourself and mail it.
DO make sure you use Certified Mail or place a small amount of insurance on EVERY BOX you send through USPS. Otherwise, no tracking, and boxes do get lost.
More later... time for bed!
There is good advice in the title link - it's the Ft Rucker MWR "Germany briefing". Maybe I'd have been able to sleep on the plane if I had read this.
I wish I had not packed so many clothes in unaccompanied baggage. What I really needed was my kitchen stuff. A pot, a frying pan, big spoons, a spatula. Cleaning supplies like a mop, bucket, broom & pan.
Pillows... I wish I had packed my pillows, and our pillowtop for the mattress. I know it wouldn't fit the double bed perfectly, but I still miss it. My back misses it.
I miss my printer. Nobody here can print stuff for me because the Army's apparently so over budget for this fiscal year, that nobody gets new printer cartridges for their printers until October.
There are no used book stores (English, anyway) near here, so if you crave reading, or need to buy your English-German dictionaries cheap... do it stateside.
DON'T use Pack and Ship places to mail your stuff. Let them pack your computer, printer, and video game stuff... but then take it to the Post Office yourself and mail it.
DO make sure you use Certified Mail or place a small amount of insurance on EVERY BOX you send through USPS. Otherwise, no tracking, and boxes do get lost.
More later... time for bed!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
"Dag nab it, that's good Oriental!"
The title link today is dedicated to the Mizer, a poster on here who is quite possibly in a stranger land than I. It's a link worthy of the great Bob. Enjoy!
By the way, I passed the German driver's license test. Yay! You wouldn't believe what nationals here pay to get a license, what with Fahrschule (driving school - about 30 sessions or so) and the fees... over $1500 Euro. For a five year renewable license, I spent 3 hours and forked out ten bucks. It's almost embarrassing. I will try not to piss off the natives when I get behind the wheel.
Tschüss!
By the way, I passed the German driver's license test. Yay! You wouldn't believe what nationals here pay to get a license, what with Fahrschule (driving school - about 30 sessions or so) and the fees... over $1500 Euro. For a five year renewable license, I spent 3 hours and forked out ten bucks. It's almost embarrassing. I will try not to piss off the natives when I get behind the wheel.
Tschüss!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
And she'll have fun fun fun...
Til' the Germans take the T-bird away...
Tomorrow I am taking the German driving exam. It's a little nerve-wracking, considering that I haven't taken a driving exam in oh, 15 or so years. There are a ton of new signs to know and the right-of-way here is very different.
German traffic signs and signals
The basic rule is that the guy on the right has the right of way, or "priority". In a parking lot or at a stop sign intersection this is straightforward and there's a sign that indicates priority at a particular intersection. Sounds like basic "yield", right? Well, yes, except you don't always get a helpful sign. More than once I've seen American drivers being waved to "Mach schnell"... (Ameri-translated: Take your freakin' turn already, idiot, you're on the right).
Roads can have priority. A yellow diamond sign tells you if your road has priority. If the road does not have priority, you have to yield to any driver entering from a road on the right side... unless it's from a private road or parking space.
And so on. I'll be studying all day. Wish me luck!
Tomorrow I am taking the German driving exam. It's a little nerve-wracking, considering that I haven't taken a driving exam in oh, 15 or so years. There are a ton of new signs to know and the right-of-way here is very different.
German traffic signs and signals
The basic rule is that the guy on the right has the right of way, or "priority". In a parking lot or at a stop sign intersection this is straightforward and there's a sign that indicates priority at a particular intersection. Sounds like basic "yield", right? Well, yes, except you don't always get a helpful sign. More than once I've seen American drivers being waved to "Mach schnell"... (Ameri-translated: Take your freakin' turn already, idiot, you're on the right).
Roads can have priority. A yellow diamond sign tells you if your road has priority. If the road does not have priority, you have to yield to any driver entering from a road on the right side... unless it's from a private road or parking space.
And so on. I'll be studying all day. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Shopping in Germany
Thinking back to the move to Fayetteville, finding resources here has not been much more difficult than with moving from FL to NC. Except for having to learn all new vocabulary for everything I need, from baby food to trash cans.
Buying baby food means having to learn the names of fruits and vegetables... I now have a cute little vocab spreadsheet for this. With fresh foods, I don't need it (a tomato by any other name...), but with packaged foods there is more to learn. I took food labeling for granted in the states, but here, it is hard to tell how much salt (?), sugar (zucker) and fat (fett) is in the packaged foods. I guess I always intended to eat more fresh foods, right? They seem to use a lot more SALT in the meat and cheese.
Without a basic knowledge of household vocabulary (names of rooms, for instance), cleaners (reineger) here are a nightmare to figure out. Even at home, I hate the endless variety of cleaners that promise to make every surface in your world sparkle with little effort. At least here I don't have to read the marketing crapola. It is a little unnerving though to not know for sure whether you've bought dishwashing tabs or laundry tabs. I know what you're thinking... but the pictures can lie, ok? Just ask Anna Cigolini... she understands. I do have the choice to go to the PX (or WILL when I have a car and a driver's license... minor details... ). But I am trying to learn all I can here, and this goes with it.
Marius Benson (see title link) doesn't seem to like Germany much, but I will have to agree with much of what he says about grocery shopping here. German shopclerks seem to be in a great hurry to get you out of the store, and seem aggravated, almost angry, if you are not fast enough with getting your items out of the cart for scanning, then back into the cart yourself (without bags), simultaneously juggling your wallet to get them paid quickly. They never say it, but inside, I know they are screaming, "SCHNELL, DUMKOPF!! SCHNELL!!"
Buying baby food means having to learn the names of fruits and vegetables... I now have a cute little vocab spreadsheet for this. With fresh foods, I don't need it (a tomato by any other name...), but with packaged foods there is more to learn. I took food labeling for granted in the states, but here, it is hard to tell how much salt (?), sugar (zucker) and fat (fett) is in the packaged foods. I guess I always intended to eat more fresh foods, right? They seem to use a lot more SALT in the meat and cheese.
Without a basic knowledge of household vocabulary (names of rooms, for instance), cleaners (reineger) here are a nightmare to figure out. Even at home, I hate the endless variety of cleaners that promise to make every surface in your world sparkle with little effort. At least here I don't have to read the marketing crapola. It is a little unnerving though to not know for sure whether you've bought dishwashing tabs or laundry tabs. I know what you're thinking... but the pictures can lie, ok? Just ask Anna Cigolini... she understands. I do have the choice to go to the PX (or WILL when I have a car and a driver's license... minor details... ). But I am trying to learn all I can here, and this goes with it.
Marius Benson (see title link) doesn't seem to like Germany much, but I will have to agree with much of what he says about grocery shopping here. German shopclerks seem to be in a great hurry to get you out of the store, and seem aggravated, almost angry, if you are not fast enough with getting your items out of the cart for scanning, then back into the cart yourself (without bags), simultaneously juggling your wallet to get them paid quickly. They never say it, but inside, I know they are screaming, "SCHNELL, DUMKOPF!! SCHNELL!!"
Home, at last. And connected!
Wow, it's been a while since I blogged. Here's the latest:
We have finally found a place to live. Here are the pictures. What a great place. I described it in an earlier post, so I won't go into detail now. Since I last blogged, John and I have moved to Leibelbach, visited Rothenberg, gotten a cell phone ("handy") and a house phone, and... finally... an internet connection. We took a German train to get to Rothenberg, and I took the bus to get to the Bruckencenter (it's basically a mall). There are stories with all of those things but Jacob is about to wake from his nap. Maybe another day!
We have finally found a place to live. Here are the pictures. What a great place. I described it in an earlier post, so I won't go into detail now. Since I last blogged, John and I have moved to Leibelbach, visited Rothenberg, gotten a cell phone ("handy") and a house phone, and... finally... an internet connection. We took a German train to get to Rothenberg, and I took the bus to get to the Bruckencenter (it's basically a mall). There are stories with all of those things but Jacob is about to wake from his nap. Maybe another day!
Monday, July 24, 2006
Be it ever so humble...
1:52 PM 7/24/2006
HOORAY! HOORAH! YAHOO!
We are going to take the place!! Move-in is this Saturday, so we will celebrate my birthday in Leibelbach (lie-bell-bock). I'll ask hubby to take me to the Eiscafe or to one of the many real Gasthausen in the area. These are "guesthouses" that sell the local beers, hearty cheap meals, and sometimes have overnight accommodations.
HOORAY! HOORAH! YAHOO!
We are going to take the place!! Move-in is this Saturday, so we will celebrate my birthday in Leibelbach (lie-bell-bock). I'll ask hubby to take me to the Eiscafe or to one of the many real Gasthausen in the area. These are "guesthouses" that sell the local beers, hearty cheap meals, and sometimes have overnight accommodations.
Friday, July 21, 2006
A change of luck
4:36 PM 7/21/2006
Yesterday, John & I went to see a place in Leibelbach. Teeny tiny community near a bigger town called Herrieden. It is a gorgeous 3 story home with flower-strewn balconies and an enormous weeping willow that takes up the entire ~fenced~ front yard. On the south and east sides, there are fields of corn and wheat. To the north is Herrieden, a good-sized village that has tons of little shops, churches and schools. It is a quick 20 minutes from Katterbach... and only 10 from Ansbach! That means close shopping and free shuttles to the post. According to the landlord there are fests in August. That sounds like fun!
In the yard there is a sandbox area with toys, and a front yard swingset by the big tree. A small covered outdoor fireplace with a picnic bench looks like a wonderful place to gather friends in the evening.
Inside, we go up a wood staircase to the second floor, where there are light-filled rooms with cream walls and real parquet flooring. The kitchen is spacious by German standards, and will easily fit an American fridge/freezer, kitchen table, buffet and pantry. There is a small washer/dryer room, and when I say small, I mean only the appliances will fit. Perfect! That means more space for the other rooms. The bathroom has a REAL TUB and an enclosed shower besides. The living room is large and sports a beautiful balcony with a view to the southern fields and a few isolated homes. Jacob toddles from room to room with his chubby arms in the air, stopping to roll on the big round area rugs. There's a small room for Jacob, a bigger room for a guest bedroom/office... YES. I think this will work! I only wish it were a little
closer to base for John's sake.
We tell the landlord that we like it, will consider it carefully (boy will we) and housing will call her very soon with our response. On the way home we stop to get drinks, only to find that the local Eiscafe (Ice cream shop/pizzeria) doesn't sell drinks "to go". Oh well... the erdbeere (strawberry) gelatos are phenomenal and only .50 Euro a scoop. Jackpot! John says I should have gotten a bucket of it. Jacob says so too in his happy baby way.
Yesterday, John & I went to see a place in Leibelbach. Teeny tiny community near a bigger town called Herrieden. It is a gorgeous 3 story home with flower-strewn balconies and an enormous weeping willow that takes up the entire ~fenced~ front yard. On the south and east sides, there are fields of corn and wheat. To the north is Herrieden, a good-sized village that has tons of little shops, churches and schools. It is a quick 20 minutes from Katterbach... and only 10 from Ansbach! That means close shopping and free shuttles to the post. According to the landlord there are fests in August. That sounds like fun!
In the yard there is a sandbox area with toys, and a front yard swingset by the big tree. A small covered outdoor fireplace with a picnic bench looks like a wonderful place to gather friends in the evening.
Inside, we go up a wood staircase to the second floor, where there are light-filled rooms with cream walls and real parquet flooring. The kitchen is spacious by German standards, and will easily fit an American fridge/freezer, kitchen table, buffet and pantry. There is a small washer/dryer room, and when I say small, I mean only the appliances will fit. Perfect! That means more space for the other rooms. The bathroom has a REAL TUB and an enclosed shower besides. The living room is large and sports a beautiful balcony with a view to the southern fields and a few isolated homes. Jacob toddles from room to room with his chubby arms in the air, stopping to roll on the big round area rugs. There's a small room for Jacob, a bigger room for a guest bedroom/office... YES. I think this will work! I only wish it were a little
closer to base for John's sake.
We tell the landlord that we like it, will consider it carefully (boy will we) and housing will call her very soon with our response. On the way home we stop to get drinks, only to find that the local Eiscafe (Ice cream shop/pizzeria) doesn't sell drinks "to go". Oh well... the erdbeere (strawberry) gelatos are phenomenal and only .50 Euro a scoop. Jackpot! John says I should have gotten a bucket of it. Jacob says so too in his happy baby way.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Landscapes and Langenscheidt
4:58 PM 7/15/2006
We are using lots of resources to learn German. The first one was the Rosetta Stone software, but I can't always use that because my disk is packed and John's copy is through his AKO account. So, now I have a bunch of audio disks on CD, a cool "learn german" card game which turned out to be more useful than I thought, and the enormous yellow Langenscheidt Standard Dictionary. Word to the wise: e-Bay this crap before you deploy because it's expensive to buy new at the PX. Whatever... in the kid's section I got a sticker book that's right at my level. Kind of embarrassing to be using the kid stuff but HEY, it works!
Getting lunch today was annoying. The cantina and Eddies were closed so we had to walk all the way across post to eat. The good news is, we found food. The bad news is that it was Burger King, which is just as raunch in
Still homeless
12:16 PM 7/19/2006
Since Saturday, I have been walking across the road every day to the commissary, shoppette etc. The Doner Kepab place is good but I'm about sick of Doner for a while. Here's a cool thing: the Yellow Ribbon room here is awesome! There's an enormous play room that is like
We've kept looking for places to live. The outlook is bleak. Yesterday it was Windsbach, about 19 km from here. It's a pleasant drive at least; 2 towns and lots of fields. I can't get used to the steep roofs - it's HoJo land. But no-go for the house.
It was pretty clean, very nicely painted, and there were basically 5 rooms aside from a nice central kitchen/eating area. But the living room was just a slightly larger bedroom type space in a corner of the 2nd floor we'd be renting. Not sure how the couch and recliner would fit into that scenario. With the steep roofs, the longest wall in the room is like 2 feet or less tall... so if there's a window and a radiator on the other wall, where will the 46" screen tv (or 5' headboard go?) I'm not even sure the couch will fit against the little wall. Too cramped for me. This was the deal-killer for us. We are too much the movie freaks to be stuck in an itty bitty room. I am also hoping that the next place will have a proper bathtub. The German version of a shower is a 2'x2'x6" cubicle with or without walls that reminds me of an overgrown sink. We may be "too American" to live on the economy here... living without bubble baths? Can you say NEIN??
Housing & transportation
2:47 PM 7/14/2006
It turns out that the house we were going to see has been rented already. John is frustrated, and I can't blame him. Without a car we are unable to get much done. But he has really been productive! I don't really feel able to contribute since I have to take care of Jacob. That leaves me stuck in the hotel room. That, and I have to be available if John wants to go see a house. So I wait.
We are staying at the Franconian here in Katterbach. The staff are German and friendly; most speak fluent English plus another language or two besides (Spanish or Italian usually). We did have a reservation for 30 days through housing, but that was for Wuerzberg... 45 minutes away. We may very well have to move to another hotel called the WindMueller (Windmill). I foresee several trips, since our sponsor only has a small car and we have none.
John is looking at cars. He asks about wagons and I am glad for the extra space, but wonder if he'll enjoy it much once I have the
Lemons and Flowers
2:37 PM 7/14/2006
This afternoon we went to the German cantina. It was pleasant! The menu items are all in German, of course, but most are close enough to English to figure out. I had the "gormet fische" and John had a schnitzel sandwich. Jacob had a great time nibbling on the lemons. He makes a face every time, but goes right back to licking the lemon. Hysterical.
I am so impressed with the variety of wildflowers on the post. On the way to the cantina we walked by a blackberry tree... yes, I know I must be mistaken because blackberries grow on bushes in the states, but it sure looks like blackberries to me. I saw a bird on the way back with yellow feathers - a first! The plants here seem to be a broad range of colors... so far I've seen purple lavender, some kind of silver grass that looks like onion, yellow daisies, and a plant whose small round leaves look transparently glassy. Weird. There is a silvery christmas tree just outside of the hotel. When we pass them I let Jacob take a look but try not to let him destroy them!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Grocery adventures & homehunt
10:49 PM 7/13/2006
Cabin fever is setting in. This morning I woke up at a blessed 10:00 am, after having lulled Jacob back to sleep from a midnight waking. He woke with a smile and coo. John had gone to get his German drivers' license, which will take until about noon. Soon after that he came back to the room to find me struggling with the car seat. Jacob had spilled all his water into it. I took the blasted thing apart only to find that I could not figure out how to detach the washable seat cover from the bottom seat. Thankfully John figured it out. Next we went to housing to get signed up for off-post housing.
I went back to the German supermarket (Kaufland) today, armed with a basic vocabulary list (Karteloffen is potato). It was less intimidating than yesterday. There is hope! It is still weird to me that they don't refrigerate the milk or butter. It would be nice to walk around Bruckburg and see what those stores are like. To my untrained eye, it all looks like some kind of Epcot-inspired housing development. (Yes, yes. Of course it's the other way around. Ugly American tourist, yada yada.)
A side note: if you must find a German address, do buy a map! The friendly housing representative drew us an utterly useless one yesterday, which confounded all of the people we asked for directions on the way. We still cannot discern which is the intersection with "the light", an apparently invisible device that only works when a pedestrian presses the mythical button. We found Finkenstrasse by sheer determination and after asking perhaps half a dozen bemused residents. Fortunately the second place we visited was also in Bruckburg. By this time we were pros, finding Finkenstrasse and the other street without needing to find the aforementioned alterdimensional light. The language barrier was in full effect as we met with the landlords. They are an aging but friendly German couple who showed us through the house, pointing out in German the new (neues) appliances and the playground (Kinderplatz) near the house. The A-frame roof makes the flat a bit claustrophobic, and John is not enthusiastic about third floor living. The washer and dryer hookups are in the basement, and the owner explains that there is "kalt" but not "Warm" water for the washer. I managed to convey the idea of garage by putting together two words I already knew... "auto" and "haus". It was crude but the light still went on. Luckily one of the tenants, Mr. Jones, was able to translate our remaining questions for us. Apparently my painting project for Jacob's room would be OK so long as we paint it back to white and don't use oil paints. Still, I have little hope that we will rent this one, though with three bedrooms and freedom to paint I would have put it at the top of my list.
Despite the encouragement of other Army spouses, I am not sure that I want to give up the security of living on post. With everything I need nearby, do I really need the experience of living on the German economy? Unfortunately we are only authorized two bedrooms for on post. Off-post leased housing allows us three, but on the economy we can get as many as we want. John is not keen on trying the newspaper ad route, since that could leave us responsible for lawn maintenance or other unknown liabilities. Who knows, it could be better than we think. I want to keep looking.
Cabin fever is setting in. This morning I woke up at a blessed 10:00 am, after having lulled Jacob back to sleep from a midnight waking. He woke with a smile and coo. John had gone to get his German drivers' license, which will take until about noon. Soon after that he came back to the room to find me struggling with the car seat. Jacob had spilled all his water into it. I took the blasted thing apart only to find that I could not figure out how to detach the washable seat cover from the bottom seat. Thankfully John figured it out. Next we went to housing to get signed up for off-post housing.
I went back to the German supermarket (Kaufland) today, armed with a basic vocabulary list (Karteloffen is potato). It was less intimidating than yesterday. There is hope! It is still weird to me that they don't refrigerate the milk or butter. It would be nice to walk around Bruckburg and see what those stores are like. To my untrained eye, it all looks like some kind of Epcot-inspired housing development. (Yes, yes. Of course it's the other way around. Ugly American tourist, yada yada.)
A side note: if you must find a German address, do buy a map! The friendly housing representative drew us an utterly useless one yesterday, which confounded all of the people we asked for directions on the way. We still cannot discern which is the intersection with "the light", an apparently invisible device that only works when a pedestrian presses the mythical button. We found Finkenstrasse by sheer determination and after asking perhaps half a dozen bemused residents. Fortunately the second place we visited was also in Bruckburg. By this time we were pros, finding Finkenstrasse and the other street without needing to find the aforementioned alterdimensional light. The language barrier was in full effect as we met with the landlords. They are an aging but friendly German couple who showed us through the house, pointing out in German the new (neues) appliances and the playground (Kinderplatz) near the house. The A-frame roof makes the flat a bit claustrophobic, and John is not enthusiastic about third floor living. The washer and dryer hookups are in the basement, and the owner explains that there is "kalt" but not "Warm" water for the washer. I managed to convey the idea of garage by putting together two words I already knew... "auto" and "haus". It was crude but the light still went on. Luckily one of the tenants, Mr. Jones, was able to translate our remaining questions for us. Apparently my painting project for Jacob's room would be OK so long as we paint it back to white and don't use oil paints. Still, I have little hope that we will rent this one, though with three bedrooms and freedom to paint I would have put it at the top of my list.
Despite the encouragement of other Army spouses, I am not sure that I want to give up the security of living on post. With everything I need nearby, do I really need the experience of living on the German economy? Unfortunately we are only authorized two bedrooms for on post. Off-post leased housing allows us three, but on the economy we can get as many as we want. John is not keen on trying the newspaper ad route, since that could leave us responsible for lawn maintenance or other unknown liabilities. Who knows, it could be better than we think. I want to keep looking.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
I wonder what kartoffeln is?
12:33 PM 7/12/2006
Some nap. Twenty minutes out of an hour or so trying. I start at the sight of my husband's face peeking around the corner. He has been out doing his inprocessing paperwork today, and wants to know if I am awake enough to talk about housing. There are houses available! That sounds appealing, though there are only two-bedroom ones available so far. I will keep hoping for three or four bedrooms. The sponsor's house yesterday was a four bedroom that seemed very spacious and inviting.
Their son Austin is about Jacob's age. Jacob liked him right away and they played together wonderfully. Frick and frack! It was hysterical watching Jacob jabbering to Austin and following him around. Austin has a big cardboard playhouse that his dad cut from a TV box, and a small tent set up in his room. Jacob and Austin crawl through it, crying out in delight and bouncing after each other. Austin is older, and shows Jacob how his toys work. Jacob is rapt with attention and eagerly duplicates every new action. Now that Jacob can walk, he is delighted to have such an active friend! he chases Austin around the house, grabbing him happily when he can, until Austin seeks refuge from the nearest adult. We are not sure what Jacob's trying to do, and comfort Austin best we can. It is amusing to see two sets of parents chuckling over their newfound friendship.
Jacob is awake and sweet. I whistle to get his attention, and he hangs an arm over the side of the play pen. Lunch time! I will be meeting John at 2 to go see some housing.
Addendum: Today we saw a two bedroom flat in Bruckburg that is leased by Army lodging. It is very inviting except that with only two bedrooms it is hard to fathom having guests come to stay. We have invited several of our friends and family to come, so this is a big part of the decision. Can we swing it with a roll-away bed, or should we hold out for another bedroom? It is true, German homes do not have inside closets! There are enormous wardrobes in each bedroom. The Army provides well-chosen (if old) furniture and appliances, so we won't be doing without the refrigerator or dishwasher. The German refrigerator looks like a dorm room fridge to me and I cannot imagine using only that for the next three years. When in Rome? I think not... considering that we are hoping to add to the family while we are here. Pregnant Fran shopping every day? Oh-ho-no. I am charmed by the wildly cascading flowers and by the lovely balcony with its view of the town of Bruckburg.
Speaking of shopping, we stopped at a German supermarket today. I picked up some interesting looking baby food. I wonder what Karteloffen is, and if it goes well with cauliflower?
Some nap. Twenty minutes out of an hour or so trying. I start at the sight of my husband's face peeking around the corner. He has been out doing his inprocessing paperwork today, and wants to know if I am awake enough to talk about housing. There are houses available! That sounds appealing, though there are only two-bedroom ones available so far. I will keep hoping for three or four bedrooms. The sponsor's house yesterday was a four bedroom that seemed very spacious and inviting.
Their son Austin is about Jacob's age. Jacob liked him right away and they played together wonderfully. Frick and frack! It was hysterical watching Jacob jabbering to Austin and following him around. Austin has a big cardboard playhouse that his dad cut from a TV box, and a small tent set up in his room. Jacob and Austin crawl through it, crying out in delight and bouncing after each other. Austin is older, and shows Jacob how his toys work. Jacob is rapt with attention and eagerly duplicates every new action. Now that Jacob can walk, he is delighted to have such an active friend! he chases Austin around the house, grabbing him happily when he can, until Austin seeks refuge from the nearest adult. We are not sure what Jacob's trying to do, and comfort Austin best we can. It is amusing to see two sets of parents chuckling over their newfound friendship.
Jacob is awake and sweet. I whistle to get his attention, and he hangs an arm over the side of the play pen. Lunch time! I will be meeting John at 2 to go see some housing.
Addendum: Today we saw a two bedroom flat in Bruckburg that is leased by Army lodging. It is very inviting except that with only two bedrooms it is hard to fathom having guests come to stay. We have invited several of our friends and family to come, so this is a big part of the decision. Can we swing it with a roll-away bed, or should we hold out for another bedroom? It is true, German homes do not have inside closets! There are enormous wardrobes in each bedroom. The Army provides well-chosen (if old) furniture and appliances, so we won't be doing without the refrigerator or dishwasher. The German refrigerator looks like a dorm room fridge to me and I cannot imagine using only that for the next three years. When in Rome? I think not... considering that we are hoping to add to the family while we are here. Pregnant Fran shopping every day? Oh-ho-no. I am charmed by the wildly cascading flowers and by the lovely balcony with its view of the town of Bruckburg.
Speaking of shopping, we stopped at a German supermarket today. I picked up some interesting looking baby food. I wonder what Karteloffen is, and if it goes well with cauliflower?
Friday, July 14, 2006
1st post, Katterbach, Germany (Franconia) (long)
10:35 AM 7/12/2006I am sitting in an Armed Forces Lodging hotel room, surrounded by suitcases and boxes wrapped in Priority Mail tape. My 14-month old son sleeps peacefully in a borrowed playpen, thank goodness. I have spent the morning straightening up and chasing little Jacob around the room. He is a smart boy, into everything and curious to know how things work. I try to give him lots of safe activities. Right! He marches straight for the first thing that will hurt him. Today it was my coffee cup... oh yes, full of nice warm coffee. Thank God it wasn't hot enough to burn him. Brown stained towels on the bathroom floor are the only remaining evidence of the march to the bathroom and his indignant howls as I rinsed him off in the weird European shower.
Yesterday was a swirl of newness that I have not yet slept off. When did sleep become so difficult? I couldn't sleep on the plane. Jacob was fussy the first couple of hours. Small wonder; he had been awake and interested all day as one new experience after another unfolded. First, waking up at the Linenkohls' house in Marietta. Breakfast and playtime while Mom and Dad pack and ruefully ignore his whines for attention. A ride to the car drop-off, snack in the waiting area, and a long car ride to the airport. Presses of people everywhere... lines... announcements... other children... sights and smells too interesting to ignore. Nap time? Are you kidding? Maybe I am more like my son than I realized...
Unaffected, my husband sleeps peacefully against the hard car seat, we three in the center aisle. Movies we've seen before play on an enormous screen that throws white light in every direction; the soundtrack leaking from neighbors' headphones to eliminate all chance of silence on the plane. The roar of the jet engines eventually lulls Jacob to sleep, but I am too conscious of the rustling of snack wrappers and the smell of stale airplane air. All ideas to try to sleep seem reasonable: watch the movie, don't watch the movie... eat... don't eat... now I'm thirsty... where is the lav? What time is it now? Maybe if I curl up on the seat... can I put my feet on the backpack? NOthing is soft enough to rest my throbbing head upon. My eyes burn and my throat itches. Comfort is too evasive. After about four hours of this, I catch a twenty-minute catnap. I slip a bottle of strawberry-flavored water between Jacob's lips to ensure he doesn't become dehydrated in the dry cabin air... he sleeps so peacefully that I am envious. John could sleep through a landslide, I think. I keep comparing my two watches - one, set on Alabama time, the other on German time. I cannot decide which is more depressing.
I wish I had been seated in a window seat. The buildings and homes I can see from the window during landing seem so different, yet familiar. I blame Hollywood and my movie addiction for the familiarity. I expected to feel like a tourist, clutching my camera and pointing at things. Instead, my heavy eyes gaze suspiciously at the new landscape. The glass elevator at the German airport feels foreign. I feel resigned to learning a new life, and take in the strangeness with a sense of acceptance and hope that one day I will understand what I see. Vague plans involving maps, guide books and German dictionaries compete in my mind for ranking on my to-do list, only to be crowded out by my body's need for sleep and recovery. The curtains are closed in my room and I feel grateful for the cheap Monet prints on the hotel room wall. I sit back and let the new Old World come to me. I do not chase it for the adjustments are unrelenting as it is.
My mind circles around the old reassurances and rests on the rock of my loving husband and sweet baby. My husband has somehow become a tower of strength, navigating us through each new experience and taking charge of our needs. When did this happen? Yesterday he did so much - carrying bags, getting oriented, doing paperwork... learning all he could in the first day. He handles this so differently. I admire his approach as much as I am baffled by it. Yesterday's trip from the airport is a blur. I slept in the back seat sans belt while he and our sponsor (Aaron?) chatted about our new home. I have vague impressions of German license plates and strange wording on passing trucks, road signs and billboards. It is all too much for me. Only the road looks the same, though the markings on it are subtly different. I focus on the familiar, though the new filters through in waves... What is that flower? Is that an oak or something new?
A SmartCar passes us and I am sure I can see the driver's knees next to his elbows through the window. There is room for two people and a coffee cup. Fields, storybook houses, and suddenly a nuclear plant billowing what must be steam or who knows what. Old and new jostle here with footlong words that have too many consonants. German is familiar enough to be frustrating in its difference.
I resolve to be more positive, though my mind rebels against me. I wish for a more open mind and wait for the negativity to pass. Maybe if I could take a nap I would feel better. I glance over at my son and think... he has the right idea.
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