This morning Dave nearly had a heart attack. There was a bill outside our hotel room door.
“What! 60 euro for phone calls?”
I tried quickly to think. Now did I call China? Africa? The moon? What on earth…
It cost us 60 euros (about $95 now with the dollar continuing to plummet) for two calls from the room to local cell phones. Let's see, the first day we were here I phoned Dave’s boss’s wife to follow up about the accident. Then one day we phoned a realtor to discuss some houses. We figured they might charge for local calls, but we had no idea that it would cost 2 euro a minute to call a cell phone!
I know people think we are terribly spoiled living in a Marriott. And they are right, mostly. We are grateful for the good breakfasts and excellent service. But eating out for three meals a day for weeks on end is getting old. For one thing, it is hard to eat light when eating out and my hula hoop is still in shipment (translation: belly bulge). And for another, meals here take a long time. And we have so much to do. Claire noticed yesterday, “We seem to spend most of our time at restaurants!”
We do love the turn-down service. Every night we have either a chocolate or gummi bears on our pillows. I make the kids earn their candy each night by telling me at least one German word they have learned that day. Luke nearly always says “zug” (train) but I make him come up with more. He is actually picking the language up really quickly.
We are also glad to have free access to a washer and dryer. But man, it’s Barbie sized! And I had to use my dictionary at first just to do a simple load since the dials are in German. The machines are so very different from back home. The dryer has three separate filters to clean each time. And because it is a condensation dryer, you have to empty about a gallon of water between cycles. And it’s not efficient. The first time I tried to dry a small load, it took 3 hours. Now we hang clothes in the room to dry. On laundry days it looks like our suitcases exploded.
Appliances in general tend to be much smaller here. The houses we looked at had dormitory-size mini fridges and ovens large enough only for about a 14-pound turkey.
I keep having to remind myself that we moved to Europe to slow down. But the process is like detoxing from a bad addiction. I’m having DTs just thinking of driving through McD’s and paying with a credit card on my way to Walmart to buy flip-flops, 10 pair for $2.00.
Dear Lord, did I just say that?
Friday, March 14, 2008
The Cost of Living in Limbo
You know, I don’t want this blog to sound like a gripe-a-thon. I really don’t. So here is what we LOVE about Germany, and especially this area:
--It is green, green, green (the upside to all of that rain).
--The food is amazing.
--They have four distinct seasons (unlike home in CO where you can get snowed out on Independence Day)
--Americans are generally treated well here.
--The food is wonderful.
--Nearly everyone is middle class or better. You don’t see much poverty around here.
--The food is sooooo good.
--Everything is clean.
--Food is real. Butter. Cream. Sugar. No chemicals or unpronounceable ingredients.
--Crime is extremely low. People have to lock their cars by law, but people don’t worry about getting mugged or accosted here.
--Oh, the food. Awesome.
--Germans really do a lot to preserve the environment, and it’s easy to recycle and conserve here.
--People are friendly, and we are greeted constantly by strangers with a cheery “gruss Gott” (God’s greeting to you) or a “guden Tag” (“good day”)
--There are few markers of “Generica” like McDonald’s, Walmart or Starbucks.
--The food is to die for.
--Don’t even get me started on the amazing chocolate.
--The beer and wine are the best.
--Oh, and did I mention the food?
So alles gut. But Dave said to me yesterday, “Why is it that people here make less money than Americans, pay higher taxes, and are still able to pay such high prices for homes?”
He didn’t even mention all of the many weeks off they get for various holidays.
I have a theory. It’s radical. Wanna hear it? Okay, here goes: They save their money instead of blowing it on junk.
In the States we are used to buying things 10 for a dollar, whether we need them or not. Germans seem to buy 1 thing for 10 euro, but only if they really need it. Thus they buy good quality that lasts a long time. People have a few outfits and they wear them a few times before washing them so they last. Each week they buy just enough fresh meat and produce to last the week. There isn’t the “more is better” Sam’s Club mentality here. Homes are also smaller, meaning less storage space for purchased items.
Cars have extremely high emissions and mechanical requirements, meaning that people take better care of them (and since it costs about 1500-2000 euro for kids to go to fahrschule, driving school, not a lot of cars are being ragged out by overzealous teens).
Also, people don’t carry credit cards. Around here almost nobody takes credit cards, even malls, gas stations and luxury item stores. So you have to make sure you have enough cash on hand to buy what you need. How many Americans would avoid debt if they spent what they had instead of on credit? Enough to bring our weak little old dollar back into competition?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Doll House for Sale
Yesterday we looked at an adorable little doll house in Waldenbuch. It is, of course, in the wrong school zone. And it costs 370,000 euro (about $555,000) for about 1200 square feet. But it is precious. It stands on a hilltop and has idyllic views of a storybook German town. It is next to a freihof ("peace field" or cemetery) which means quiet neighbors. It has a large terrace and a lush green garden. The whole place has been remodeled so it is clean and bright. We got rid of most of our furniture, so the fit should work. But there is low clearance in many spots. When my dad (6 feet 4 inches tall) comes to visit, well...I guess I will just have to teach him to swear in German. Oh, but the best part is that the town has a chocolate factory. You know Ritter Sport chocolate? That's from there. We stopped yesterday and loaded up on chocolate. After all, the rich beers and fresh breads needed help in expanding our waistlines.
We have an appointment to see more houses today. We have seen 9 so far. I understand that most people look for at least a month before they find something. We have been here 10 days. It will happen.
We went to Media Markt last night (like a Circuit City) and bought a GPS system. We had to pay cash for it since even a big place like that won't take credit cards. We got back to the hotel and the dang thing won't work. We are going to try to return it if we can get anyone to understand us. My German-English dictionary is getting a lot of use.
We have an appointment to see more houses today. We have seen 9 so far. I understand that most people look for at least a month before they find something. We have been here 10 days. It will happen.
We went to Media Markt last night (like a Circuit City) and bought a GPS system. We had to pay cash for it since even a big place like that won't take credit cards. We got back to the hotel and the dang thing won't work. We are going to try to return it if we can get anyone to understand us. My German-English dictionary is getting a lot of use.
Immobilien Blues
The German word for real estate is “immobilien.” Sounds like immobile in English, meaning "not moving". Yeah, not moving. So far that’s us.
Unless you have inherited a house from a long lost German cousin, have a fairy gott mütter or are just extremely lucky, finding a house here is probably not going to happen quickly. We thought we’d be an exception. We were in for a big steaming pile of disappointment.
The first complicating factor is that in Germany there is no such thing as a multiple listing service (MLS) like we use in the U.S. Instead, each real estate agent has his or her own listings. In order to really know what is available in an area, you really do have to meet with every agent there. And only a few of them speak English.
We have to figure square meters in feet and dollars per euro for each listing, and we are learning German real estate phrases and trying our best to decipher house ads in office windows and newspapers. Online it is easier because we can translate with alta vista babel fish or other such service. But the translations aren’t always accurate or entirely understandable (like one that said a house had “mad views and children friendliness with warm feeling”).
Secondly, the dollar is as weak as rice paper these days. Add to that the already high cost of living, and you are easily paying 400,000 euro (about $600,000) for a tiny row house with an avocado green toilet and a kitchen so small a gal can’t bend over in it.
And then there is the darkness factor. I can’t tell you how many houses we’ve tried to view in the dark. It is the German way that when a family leaves a home, they take with them all of the light fixtures, cabinets, and external hardware. Sometimes they take the showers too. Built-in closets raise the tax rate for a homeowner, so rooms are just blank squares and people use wardrobes (which is tough since rooms are already smaller than in the States). We’ve looked at plenty of houses in which the realtor was proud to exclaim, “And the kitchen stays too!” In other homes, the “kitchen” was an empty room with outlets and pipes. Each renter or buyer would have to provide cabinets, sinks, appliances, etc. We even looked at a place that boasted a sauna room, only to find an empty space with an outlet where a sauna once was.
Germans don’t flip houses like we do in the States. Houses are sold after many years, and not always for a big profit. People don’t come and go so much, which means there isn’t often a large selection available at a time. It also means they don’t remodel much, which means lots of harvest gold tile and disco boogie brown appliances.
The buyers’ market is better than the renters’ market now, which gives us something to consider. We’ll be here 3-5 years, and then we could rent the home out. But here, when you rent out a home that you’ve purchased, you can’t really charge more for amenities like wine cellars and hot tubs. It’s strictly a figure based on the square meters of living space.
The final hurdle for us is imposed by our own U.S. military. There is a limited area covered by the Department of Defense (DOD) school bus service. And we want to use the bus service (contracted city buses) to avoid going through long security lines at the base gate every day. Every school falls within one of three zones. People living in any area are assigned a zone and their kids have to go to that particular zone school, even if they don’t take a bus. Every year, and often several times within the year, the DOD folks switch the zone lines. That means that it is extremely hard to predict whether or not one’s home will stay in a desired school zone. We like Patch Elementary, and our daughter is there now. But the houses we like are in the Panzer school zone. Will they be next year? Next month? Or should we skip the whole discussion altogether and send the kids to German schools?
So for now we truly are immobile, making our home at the Marriott, complete with a pool, maid service, and even a built-in sauna that really stays! Sure, it’s a nice gig if you can get it, but after a while I’d like to use my own bathroom and cook in my own kitchen -- even if it is the color of guacamole.
Unless you have inherited a house from a long lost German cousin, have a fairy gott mütter or are just extremely lucky, finding a house here is probably not going to happen quickly. We thought we’d be an exception. We were in for a big steaming pile of disappointment.
The first complicating factor is that in Germany there is no such thing as a multiple listing service (MLS) like we use in the U.S. Instead, each real estate agent has his or her own listings. In order to really know what is available in an area, you really do have to meet with every agent there. And only a few of them speak English.
We have to figure square meters in feet and dollars per euro for each listing, and we are learning German real estate phrases and trying our best to decipher house ads in office windows and newspapers. Online it is easier because we can translate with alta vista babel fish or other such service. But the translations aren’t always accurate or entirely understandable (like one that said a house had “mad views and children friendliness with warm feeling”).
Secondly, the dollar is as weak as rice paper these days. Add to that the already high cost of living, and you are easily paying 400,000 euro (about $600,000) for a tiny row house with an avocado green toilet and a kitchen so small a gal can’t bend over in it.
And then there is the darkness factor. I can’t tell you how many houses we’ve tried to view in the dark. It is the German way that when a family leaves a home, they take with them all of the light fixtures, cabinets, and external hardware. Sometimes they take the showers too. Built-in closets raise the tax rate for a homeowner, so rooms are just blank squares and people use wardrobes (which is tough since rooms are already smaller than in the States). We’ve looked at plenty of houses in which the realtor was proud to exclaim, “And the kitchen stays too!” In other homes, the “kitchen” was an empty room with outlets and pipes. Each renter or buyer would have to provide cabinets, sinks, appliances, etc. We even looked at a place that boasted a sauna room, only to find an empty space with an outlet where a sauna once was.
Germans don’t flip houses like we do in the States. Houses are sold after many years, and not always for a big profit. People don’t come and go so much, which means there isn’t often a large selection available at a time. It also means they don’t remodel much, which means lots of harvest gold tile and disco boogie brown appliances.
The buyers’ market is better than the renters’ market now, which gives us something to consider. We’ll be here 3-5 years, and then we could rent the home out. But here, when you rent out a home that you’ve purchased, you can’t really charge more for amenities like wine cellars and hot tubs. It’s strictly a figure based on the square meters of living space.
The final hurdle for us is imposed by our own U.S. military. There is a limited area covered by the Department of Defense (DOD) school bus service. And we want to use the bus service (contracted city buses) to avoid going through long security lines at the base gate every day. Every school falls within one of three zones. People living in any area are assigned a zone and their kids have to go to that particular zone school, even if they don’t take a bus. Every year, and often several times within the year, the DOD folks switch the zone lines. That means that it is extremely hard to predict whether or not one’s home will stay in a desired school zone. We like Patch Elementary, and our daughter is there now. But the houses we like are in the Panzer school zone. Will they be next year? Next month? Or should we skip the whole discussion altogether and send the kids to German schools?
So for now we truly are immobile, making our home at the Marriott, complete with a pool, maid service, and even a built-in sauna that really stays! Sure, it’s a nice gig if you can get it, but after a while I’d like to use my own bathroom and cook in my own kitchen -- even if it is the color of guacamole.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
More from the Newberrys
I know people think we must have fallen off the end of the earth. We have been out of touch since we got here except for a couple of short emails to my mom and sister. Our Internet connection at the hotel is spotty, and we get booted off a lot. We have yet to set up Skypes or Vonage on our computer so we can call home. That will be good to have since even local calls in Germany cost 45 cents from your home phone. We did get a “handy” (what Germans call cell phones) last night. We got a prepaid deal since we hear that getting out of contracts is really hard. Plus, we weren’t allowed to do anything more than that without a permanent address. Also, we had only about 75 euro in cash, which is what it cost us. They don’t take credit cards in most restaurants, mall stores, etc. Cash is still king in Europe.
So many things are different, either cutting edge or charmingly old fashioned. For example, while I have yet to come across a pay toilet (thank Gott), I have seen every conceivable method for flushing one. The most common, and think wonderful, is a two-choice option flusher. Usually there is la football-sized oval with a tennis-ball sized oval inside it. The big one gives a huge rush of water for big jobs (if you know what I mean) and the little one is for smaller deposits. Very practical for saving water.
If one desires water in a restaurant, it will inevitably come bottled, not from the tap. Sodas are still bottled in glass, which makes them taste better in my opinion. Everything is recycled here. Each home has a series of color-coded bins for recycling and composting. Americans must seem so wasteful by comparison. Even here, we have talked to Americans who would rather take their trash to dumpsters on base than be bothered to take the time to sort recycling. Oh dear, does that sound anti-American? It’s just that I’ve finally found a place to live that fits with my obsession with environmental conservation. In the States I often felt like a fanatic. But here that fanaticism is mandated. I love it.
Yep, if there is one thing Germans seem to hold dear, it’s playing by the rules. There are so many of them, and every day I’m afraid of breaking one unwittingly. For example, when driving, one passes quickly on the left and gets right back in the right line as soon as possible or else risk getting run over by a zealous Mercedes truck driver, middle finger extended. When sitting in a car waiting at a railroad crossing or idling looking at a map, you have to turn the car off if you are going to be more than 30 seconds. And heaven forbid you run a red light or try to turn right on red. There are traffic cameras everywhere.
In restaurants wait staff won’t bring you a check until you ask for it (“Zalen, bitte.”) Unlike in the U.S., it is considered rude to rush the customers to pay. Meals are also more leisurely, and there is no such thing as fast “fast food”. Another difference is that tipping is just rounding up to the nearest euro, usually no more than 10 percent. That makes the math easy, which is good since the tradition is also that the waiter takes your money, makes change and gives you a receipt right there at the table. When they bring the check, they stand there until the business is done and then you leave.
Children are rarely seen in public, and when they are they are expected to be quiet and well-behaved. If kids touch anything in a store, shop keepers are quick to get on to them. Dogs, however, are everywhere. They are also model citizens.
While not model citizens, our kids have been pretty good overall. Jet lag has been tough on all of us. We’ve been getting up early every day to be bounced around like ping pong balls from one office to another on base. We’ve been to housing, central processing, the credit union, the bank, the I.D. card office, child services, the schools, real estate offices, and so much more in our brief time here. We have also looked at four houses. Through it all the kids have been mostly patient, with relatively few meltdowns. But whenever they see English TV on base, they are glued like little zombies. Right now here at the hotel they are watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in German.
Today is the first day the kids and I have gotten to sleep late. Usually we are rushing around like crazy people, but today (don’t tell Dave) we didn’t wake up until 10:45 while Dave got up and went to meetings. We almost missed the awesome breakfast at the Marriott. They have a huge buffet of fresh squeezed fruit juices, teas, coffee, jams, honeys, fresh cut fruits, cereals and granolas, pastries, breads, yogurts, cold cuts, bacons, hams, sausages, roast pork, cheeses, eggs cooked any way you like, waffles with a variety of sauces, even pickles, salads and herring. Still, the last two days I have had to fight Claire to eat anything at all. She is simply too tired in the morning and I think she is fighting an oncoming cold.
A couple of funny things have happened this week. Last night Luke asked me, “Mom, how do you say house in German?”
“Haus,” I answered [pronounced “house”].
“Yeah, house.”
“Haus.”
“Yeah, how do you say house in GERMAN?”
“Haus.”
“Yeah.”
“Haus is how you say house.”
It was hilarious, a regular Abbott and Costello moment. It reminded me of a moment when we lived in South Africa when my mom was asking where an OK store was and she kept saying, “OK, okay? Okay!”
The other funny thing needs a little back story to be funny. Last week I sent my mom a package from Colorado, and in it was a cute little white soap shaped like the state of Mississippi, our home state. She called me, cracking up. She said, “You know that white chocolate Mississippi you sent me? It didn’t taste very good!”
Flash forward to yesterday. Every evening a lady knocks on our door to ask whether or not we want a “refresh” (new towels, hangers, anything). We always say no and still she hands us four new little packages of soap like they use in most hotels in the U.S. I thought it was odd that we were accumulating so much soap, especially small ones when we already had large half-cyli.nder shaped bars already. So last night when she came, I told the lady we didn’t need any more soap. She said, “Soap? It’s chocolate!” Oh man. We had a stash of delicious German chocolate that we didn’t even know about. Like mother like daughter. At least we can laugh at ourselves.
Okay, I’m going to attempt to log on and send this now. If you can read it, I was successful. Eventually.
So many things are different, either cutting edge or charmingly old fashioned. For example, while I have yet to come across a pay toilet (thank Gott), I have seen every conceivable method for flushing one. The most common, and think wonderful, is a two-choice option flusher. Usually there is la football-sized oval with a tennis-ball sized oval inside it. The big one gives a huge rush of water for big jobs (if you know what I mean) and the little one is for smaller deposits. Very practical for saving water.
If one desires water in a restaurant, it will inevitably come bottled, not from the tap. Sodas are still bottled in glass, which makes them taste better in my opinion. Everything is recycled here. Each home has a series of color-coded bins for recycling and composting. Americans must seem so wasteful by comparison. Even here, we have talked to Americans who would rather take their trash to dumpsters on base than be bothered to take the time to sort recycling. Oh dear, does that sound anti-American? It’s just that I’ve finally found a place to live that fits with my obsession with environmental conservation. In the States I often felt like a fanatic. But here that fanaticism is mandated. I love it.
Yep, if there is one thing Germans seem to hold dear, it’s playing by the rules. There are so many of them, and every day I’m afraid of breaking one unwittingly. For example, when driving, one passes quickly on the left and gets right back in the right line as soon as possible or else risk getting run over by a zealous Mercedes truck driver, middle finger extended. When sitting in a car waiting at a railroad crossing or idling looking at a map, you have to turn the car off if you are going to be more than 30 seconds. And heaven forbid you run a red light or try to turn right on red. There are traffic cameras everywhere.
In restaurants wait staff won’t bring you a check until you ask for it (“Zalen, bitte.”) Unlike in the U.S., it is considered rude to rush the customers to pay. Meals are also more leisurely, and there is no such thing as fast “fast food”. Another difference is that tipping is just rounding up to the nearest euro, usually no more than 10 percent. That makes the math easy, which is good since the tradition is also that the waiter takes your money, makes change and gives you a receipt right there at the table. When they bring the check, they stand there until the business is done and then you leave.
Children are rarely seen in public, and when they are they are expected to be quiet and well-behaved. If kids touch anything in a store, shop keepers are quick to get on to them. Dogs, however, are everywhere. They are also model citizens.
While not model citizens, our kids have been pretty good overall. Jet lag has been tough on all of us. We’ve been getting up early every day to be bounced around like ping pong balls from one office to another on base. We’ve been to housing, central processing, the credit union, the bank, the I.D. card office, child services, the schools, real estate offices, and so much more in our brief time here. We have also looked at four houses. Through it all the kids have been mostly patient, with relatively few meltdowns. But whenever they see English TV on base, they are glued like little zombies. Right now here at the hotel they are watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in German.
Today is the first day the kids and I have gotten to sleep late. Usually we are rushing around like crazy people, but today (don’t tell Dave) we didn’t wake up until 10:45 while Dave got up and went to meetings. We almost missed the awesome breakfast at the Marriott. They have a huge buffet of fresh squeezed fruit juices, teas, coffee, jams, honeys, fresh cut fruits, cereals and granolas, pastries, breads, yogurts, cold cuts, bacons, hams, sausages, roast pork, cheeses, eggs cooked any way you like, waffles with a variety of sauces, even pickles, salads and herring. Still, the last two days I have had to fight Claire to eat anything at all. She is simply too tired in the morning and I think she is fighting an oncoming cold.
A couple of funny things have happened this week. Last night Luke asked me, “Mom, how do you say house in German?”
“Haus,” I answered [pronounced “house”].
“Yeah, house.”
“Haus.”
“Yeah, how do you say house in GERMAN?”
“Haus.”
“Yeah.”
“Haus is how you say house.”
It was hilarious, a regular Abbott and Costello moment. It reminded me of a moment when we lived in South Africa when my mom was asking where an OK store was and she kept saying, “OK, okay? Okay!”
The other funny thing needs a little back story to be funny. Last week I sent my mom a package from Colorado, and in it was a cute little white soap shaped like the state of Mississippi, our home state. She called me, cracking up. She said, “You know that white chocolate Mississippi you sent me? It didn’t taste very good!”
Flash forward to yesterday. Every evening a lady knocks on our door to ask whether or not we want a “refresh” (new towels, hangers, anything). We always say no and still she hands us four new little packages of soap like they use in most hotels in the U.S. I thought it was odd that we were accumulating so much soap, especially small ones when we already had large half-cyli.nder shaped bars already. So last night when she came, I told the lady we didn’t need any more soap. She said, “Soap? It’s chocolate!” Oh man. We had a stash of delicious German chocolate that we didn’t even know about. Like mother like daughter. At least we can laugh at ourselves.
Okay, I’m going to attempt to log on and send this now. If you can read it, I was successful. Eventually.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
We've arrived in Germany
Well, we made it. We emptied our house with three kinds of moves (unaccompanied baggage for the stuff that will fly over, the shipment that will go by boat , then the storage). We sent the dog and cat to new families for love. We painted walls and cleaned for our hope-to-have-soon new renters. We had a fantastic going away party. We hugged our friends goodbye. We flew from Colorado Springs to Chicago to London to Stuttgart. We are here and we are tired.
The kids were great on the trip, and they really enjoyed the upgrade to business class on the long leg, thanks to Dave's frequent flyer miles. We almost didn't get it, as there was a system gltich, but at the last minute it worked out. And were we ever glad! There was a large selection of new movies on the personal TV that each of us got with noise-cancellation headphones. The huge comfy seats had adjustable leg and head rests and even a massage feature. There was inflatable lumbar support, an over-the-shoulder craned book light, and real ceramic dishes with our meals. We each had a little refreshing bag with eye mask, ear plugs, a toothbrush, toothpaste, lotions, face cleanser and socks. Our kids have become even more spoiled. And with all of that, none of us slept. It was kind of like being in the hospital, being checked on every few minutes.
So when we got here, we were exhausted. Dave's boss's wife, Michelle, met us at the airport and took us around to check our mail and sign in on base. Dave's boss is out of town for the week, and since he is our sponsor, he has assigned her and others to show us about in his stead. She also let us borrow her minivan for a day or two since the Army won't pay for a rental car. So generous and trusting. Perhaps too trusting.
We had a reservation at the Marriott in Sindelfingen, where Dave had stayed before and had a good experience. Plus, it was in the right zone for the schools we were interested in. But then the Army said we had to stay on any base that had rooms available, which meant Robinson Barracks 45 minutes away from where Dave would be working. We were really bumming, especially when we got there and realized it had no pool, no breakfast, and nothing nearby. But when we went inside, we were told that because we are civilian, those rules didn't apply after all. So back to the Marriott. We were so excited.
But then as we were backing out of the parking space in the rain, Dave hit a little VW parked directly behind us in our blind spot. Well, actually, with three months' worth of suitcases in the back, the whole back was a blind spot. And the VW was the only car parked on the street behind us. An MP just happened to be rounding the corner when it happened and he saw the whole thing. So we spent an hour or so filling out papers and filing a report. They didn't give us a ticket. The kids were asleep in the back seat (finally) and slept through the whole thing.
The good news is that the van had no damage. The bad is that the VW had a dent in the door. Michelle was really sweet about it. We just hope they don't get in trouble for letting us use the car. So to put it in perspective, Dave hit a car with his boss's van before he even met the man. Crazy.
Okay, so Dave just walked in with Chinese take-out that he ordered in German from across the street. More tomorrow.
The kids were great on the trip, and they really enjoyed the upgrade to business class on the long leg, thanks to Dave's frequent flyer miles. We almost didn't get it, as there was a system gltich, but at the last minute it worked out. And were we ever glad! There was a large selection of new movies on the personal TV that each of us got with noise-cancellation headphones. The huge comfy seats had adjustable leg and head rests and even a massage feature. There was inflatable lumbar support, an over-the-shoulder craned book light, and real ceramic dishes with our meals. We each had a little refreshing bag with eye mask, ear plugs, a toothbrush, toothpaste, lotions, face cleanser and socks. Our kids have become even more spoiled. And with all of that, none of us slept. It was kind of like being in the hospital, being checked on every few minutes.
So when we got here, we were exhausted. Dave's boss's wife, Michelle, met us at the airport and took us around to check our mail and sign in on base. Dave's boss is out of town for the week, and since he is our sponsor, he has assigned her and others to show us about in his stead. She also let us borrow her minivan for a day or two since the Army won't pay for a rental car. So generous and trusting. Perhaps too trusting.
We had a reservation at the Marriott in Sindelfingen, where Dave had stayed before and had a good experience. Plus, it was in the right zone for the schools we were interested in. But then the Army said we had to stay on any base that had rooms available, which meant Robinson Barracks 45 minutes away from where Dave would be working. We were really bumming, especially when we got there and realized it had no pool, no breakfast, and nothing nearby. But when we went inside, we were told that because we are civilian, those rules didn't apply after all. So back to the Marriott. We were so excited.
But then as we were backing out of the parking space in the rain, Dave hit a little VW parked directly behind us in our blind spot. Well, actually, with three months' worth of suitcases in the back, the whole back was a blind spot. And the VW was the only car parked on the street behind us. An MP just happened to be rounding the corner when it happened and he saw the whole thing. So we spent an hour or so filling out papers and filing a report. They didn't give us a ticket. The kids were asleep in the back seat (finally) and slept through the whole thing.
The good news is that the van had no damage. The bad is that the VW had a dent in the door. Michelle was really sweet about it. We just hope they don't get in trouble for letting us use the car. So to put it in perspective, Dave hit a car with his boss's van before he even met the man. Crazy.
Okay, so Dave just walked in with Chinese take-out that he ordered in German from across the street. More tomorrow.
My First Blog Entry
I have resisted the trend of blogging for some time. I don't know why, exactly. Well, yeah, I do. I guess I felt like it would be arrogant to assume that anyone would care to read about my day-to-day existence. That, and I worried that I would feel like my thoughts would be in a fishbowl for the world to see. I feared I'd slip up and say something stupid, insensitive, or wrong. And I realized that once a word is written and published on the web, it is as indelible as if it were carved in stone. Words are so powerful. Maybe I was afraid mine would be lame.
In any case, here I am, blogging my little heart out. And the reason I have converted to a blogger is that I have now moved to Germany and I want to share my stories with those who live so far away. The Internet has a way of making the world feel closer together. I'm hoping that this blog will connect me with the people I miss the most. Also, if I have a sense of mission, I am more likely to sit down and record my adventures.
So here I am. I hope you enjoy my words.
Auf wiedersehen!
Kim
In any case, here I am, blogging my little heart out. And the reason I have converted to a blogger is that I have now moved to Germany and I want to share my stories with those who live so far away. The Internet has a way of making the world feel closer together. I'm hoping that this blog will connect me with the people I miss the most. Also, if I have a sense of mission, I am more likely to sit down and record my adventures.
So here I am. I hope you enjoy my words.
Auf wiedersehen!
Kim
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Posts
