The Good, The Bad and the Royal

Here's a quick recap of the past events of varying emotion:
GOOD: Rylee's learning to ride a "big girl" bike that we were loaned by our friends' friends from Switzerland (the Muslim family from Turkey who were quite nice!) and Chloe is learning to ride the Strider bike! We are enjoying practicing in the driveway!
We are all FINALLY healthy again (as long as Chloe doesn't get sick) After I was hit
HARD on Monday, Tim had a smaller hit on Mon/Tues and then poor Rylee got knocked with it on Wed. Such a bummer!!!! So, sort of a slow week...but better now.

BAD: I had a very unfortunate encounter with a RAT in the stupid Compost pile. I swear I will NEVER have my own compost pile - sorry to my enviro-friends in CO!! Although the practice of this - and all of their recycling - is admirable, I must say trying to figure out what goes in each of the FOUR different areas/cans is just a little tooooo much!!! And I may just end the compost habit b/c I will NOT become friends with that disgustingly HUGE RAT -ugh!!!!!!

ROYAL: Anyone get up bright and early to watch the Royal Wedding?Lucky for us, it was NOT early so we had a divine time at a new friends home, Fiona who is from England, watching the wedding and having tea and crumpets (and MANY other kuchen (cake), cheese, bread and fruit)!! Fiona is part of that KaffeeHouse Group of English-speaking women that I met a couple of weeks ago. It was quite enjoyable to watch it with a couple of the "natives" that were there! Although I thought Katherine looked simple and stylish - I was expecting a little more glam??? And not sure about the green eye shadow - BUT, I'm no fashion expert!! Still, the event was fun to watch!

Tim is getting off work early today so we can go down and experience the outdoor market on the Hauptstrassa!!!! Planning to pick up some great local produce - maybe even some spargel (white asparagus) that is VERY BIG over here - there's even full festivals to celebrate this veggie!! Then, we're hoping to spend tomorrow in Strasbourg, France. Hoping to enjoy a boat ride through the city and eat some Tarte Flambees!?!

Also, hoping to upload pictures soon! I need Tim's computer to do that and hoping to work on it this weekend:)
Love to you all
Linda

We're Connected!!

Yahoo!! We now have internet at our very own Apartment!! What an amazing thing;) Just surprising how much nicer life seems with internet access. So...even more blabbing from me now:)

I'm hearing that some of you are having a hard time figuring out how to either follow - or how to comment. If you could email me with your struggles - or how you figured them out - then maybe I can help others more. As far as we can tell - you can click the link on the right to "follow" = you'll need a twitter, yahoo or google account if don't have one - and then should be good. To comment, just click on comments link below the post and it shold let you - you may need to preview your comment first before you'll be able to post it.

Also - if you have anything you'd like to know about regarding Germany or our adventure, be sure to send those questions my way!

Today has been a huge day of recovery for me. On Monday morning I awoke at 2am sicker then a dog!!! I even passed out 2 times with the first one being a bigger fall with the knock to my forehead. It woke Tim up and he came to the rescue. We had a very long night and morning int he hotel - somehow managed to get us all home that afternoon - and I laid in bed until this morning. Lucikily, Tim was able to come back home from work early to help out. Right now I'm finally feeling like I could eat and function...could be the excitement of the internet that cured me!! Anyway - not the best end to our weekend away, but Easter was still wonderful!!!
Our friends even hid Easter Baskets in the yard for the girls!!! And the location of their home is amazing - right on the water! We even managed to figure out how to walk across the border and get on the train - and all without our german-speaking friends:)

Enjoy your week-
Linda

Glucklich Ostern (Happy Easter)!!

Guten Morgen!We wish all of you a very happy Easter and hope all of your plans for today are special and celebratory! We are sitting happily in our hotel room in Konstanz Germany overlooking a harbor full of sail boats. We are spending the weekend here with friends, Bernd and Mirjam - who both work with Tim at SAP, and we've been having a great time. The weather the past 2 days was warm and summer-like although today is more gloomy. Yesterday we enjoyed some shopping (only day stores were open since Thurs - and until Tues - so it was a mad house), and then took a ferry over to Mainau Island where we enjoyed the most amazing flowers, petting zoo, and playground. We should have spent the entire day over there, but...delicious Italian food was awaiting us for dinner! today we are going over to Switzerland (this humungous lake is bordered by Germany, Switzerland and Austria) to visit with our friends friends...hoping to take the train over - fun! Tomorrow we are heading to Sea Life before joining the entire country back on the roads to get home!!
The only thing missing from this weekend is an Easter Church service. I think this might be the first year EVER in my life that I have not been in church on Easter!! It feels quite strange but luckily Christ can be found ANYWHERE and we can still celebrate his resurrection here over a croissant and milch cafe!! I'm looking forward to getting online on Tuesday when back at our apt. and watching Timberline's Easter service!!!
Oh...but did you know the Easter Bunny still comes to Germany?? Yep...even in a hotel room! The girls awoke this morning to EAster Bags filled with toys and treats - AND there were those amazing little chocolate eggs hidden all around our room!! It was sorta fun to incorporate our normal traditions into our unique situation! So, right now, the girls are playing happily with their new Barbie and ponies and chocolate bunnies!! And as you can imagine...they've both enjoyed a few chocolates before noon! Both of them just seem to ADORE Bernd and Mirjam so it's been a fun weekend:)
So - off to Switzerland today! Should be interesting way to spend Easter b/c I THINK the friends we are visiting are Muslim?? HA! God has such a sense of humor - I will share our experience soon!
God Bless you all for HE IS RISEN INDEED!!
Linda
PS Rylee says "Have a Happy Easter. ENjoy Easter!"
PPS Chloe wants to say "darajaja" - she thinks she's speaking German:)

Prepping for Easter

It's been an adventurous time since I last wrote. I won't bore you with all the details - hee hee - but here's some highlights:
-Germany seems to love Easter with many neat decorations and Easter Fests! We expereinced many ornate and amazing booths of painted eggs of many kinds on Sunday while at a place called Luisenpark in Mannheim. This place was amazing and filled with gorgeous flowers, birds, owls, boat rides, music amphitheater, and great big playgrounds. All of this for a cost of FREE for kids and only 6 Euro for adults - amazing!
-also discovered a good 'ol Mall (Zentrum) only 15 mins from our apt!!! They, too, had many large egg & Bunny displays. We just wandered around looking at the amazing art work and enjoyed pizza and STARBUCKS!! Yep - only 2nd one I've seen in the while country but boy was it great to have a my white chocolate mocha!!
-people here are amazingly friendly!! We've spent time with 2 English-speaking moms and their kids at some neat parks - and are currently sitting at the home of 2 locals who offered to let us use their wireless connection!! HE (Gunter) is a stay-at-home Dad and she (Tatiana) works at SAP ironically. I met him at a local park. Yep, people have been very nice and willing to include us in on their lives
-Girls are doing great! We're looking into possibly putting Rylee (or maybe both) in school just for something more to do and learn more. They are both beginning to pick up some Germany words already and Rylee, especially, finds it super cool to pick up on a german word! Chloe is still acting like a baby at times but we're working through it! They have been talking about their playmates back home and are missing them for sure. Every day includes some talk about Akeeva, Zaylah, Cash and Katie AND Shep and Taboo (the dogs)!! Papa and Grandma also make almost daily appearances - and everyone is included in prayers at night (that's a long process)
Future plans...
*hoping to head to to Lake Constance on the German / Switzerland border with friends this weekend for our long Easter holiday (Tim has Friday and Monday off of work - which also means EVERYTHING is closed from Friday-Monday -- time to get groceries!!
*Going to an Easter Fest in Heidelberg tomorrow at the Deutsch-American Institute - they are doing all of the "American" traditions - Easter Bunny, egg hunt, stories, etc... Should be fun
*Meeting with my new friend, Ellie, and her daughter Hannah Thursday for some playtime! Hoping to also reconnect with Gracie (Rylee's favorite new playmate)

Greatest Achievement this week: BUYING A STROLLER for Chloe at the All-Germany Toys-R-Us!!! This will SAVE me from being so stuck at home on days without the car!!!!

Today was a gorgeous day with the afternoon spent at a very neat playground and water park in Heidelberg with one of Tim's colleagues and her child - actually the same place I discovered while we were staying at the Marriott our first week!!

Ok - need to stop bugging these new friends and let our kids get to bed! Hope to update more soon. Just in case I don't email before Sunday - HAPPY EASTER to all of you!!!
Love you
Linda

Lessons Learned

Lesson 1 - do not leave keys in the lock on the inside when you go out your door that automatically locks behind you....you can't get back in without bugging your landord who has to come home from work to get you back in your apt!!

Lesson 2 - do NOT spend at entire rainy day in your little apt. b/c it tends to be a depressing day! So...just drive Tim to work every day so I can have the car to go places without walking!

Lesson 3 - I can drive pretty well in Germany! I even managed the back roads to get back from Mannheim where the girls and I wandered the city and had some amazing soup, pastries and coffee! We saw a neat shloss (castle that was used as a home once). The girls highlight: the Burger King play land we hung out in just so we could use the bathroom there!!!!

So...lessosn are being learned for sure! But, what would life be without lessons? And as many of you thought, each day brings more familiarity and relaxation. Our landlords seem to like us (or at least our money) and have delivered some new furniture every day...only problem...it's all sort of flea market style!!! I told Tim that I think this is our "not so nice house moment in our lives" time (since most couples start their lives young and doing this....and we didn't...the time is now!) HA!!!

Fun news...I did met at American from Boston (Ellie) at the market yesterday and she invited us to playgroup of English speaking mom's and kids!!! We (esp. Rylee) are VERY excited about this!!! What a relief to know that at least a few other English speaking MOMS AND KIDS live in Ladenburg!!!!

Sad news...we won't have internet at the apt. for about 2 more weeks...the Germans don't really work very fast!! So...communication will be hit-and-miss and then life will be grand...more internet, sling box to watch OUR TV back home, weather and news, events etc!!!! But for now, we head over to SAP and mooch off their wi-fi!!!

Right now, we're getting serenaded by a band that is practicing in this SAP training center bldg?? Random...loud...I think we're leaving soon:)

Love to you all--
Linda
PS DAD - we started "mommy school" yesterday and the girls LOVE it!!!

Moved in

Yesterday was moving day and we survived it quite well. Our landlady, Birgit, had our apartment very cleaned and de-cluttered which was a relief. It has all amenities we'd want and is actually quite roomy. The girls slept well in their new bed - and Tim and I didn't (1st night without help of Ambien!) Our first trip to the market also went well - although long b/c we had to consult the translation dictionary often! But we got a few things - and will be back on Monday for everything else since all stores are closed today. The market we went to is quite nice and has deli, backery, etc.. all in one place. The bread we ordered wasn't what we hoped, but we'll learn. No one really spoke English, but everyone is very nice and patient with us. The girls were happy to see familiar fruits and veggies, but bummed we didn't find Mac-n-Cheese yet;) Last night we met up with 2 of Tim's colleagues for dinner. Till lives in Ladenburg which will be GREAT - and then Kevin was over from Texas. It was nice to have some additional insight and tour around the city. We also found the ONE restaurant that has a menu in English!!! I will say, the food has been tremendous - even at what turned out to be a bowling alley the other night - amazing!! Yep...Linda will be running more while over here or I'll need to buy a 2nd seat to get home. Today - although it's beautiful outside (like every day since we've arrived) we are sitting at the SAP hotel on the SAP grounds in Walldorf so we can get internet access. Getting internet at our apt. is proving to be more of a challenge then hoped, but we WILL figure it out!!! So, communication may be slower for a few days. So, overall, we are adjusting well. I will admit that I'm a tad homesick and have been a little more emotional then I'd like the last 2 days - just an intense emotional roller coaster ride - BUT I will be be just fine and will eventually adjust. My heartbreaker right now is thinking about Rylee not having friends to play with. Our neighbor girls seem as scared of her and she is of them. She just wanted to stay inside with us yesterday and watch German toons. We let her but it made me sad. So...pray for that situation and for my heart to stay strong and my emotions in control!! We're meeting up with some other friends/colleagues of Tim's this afternoon and hopefully get out for a short hike thorugh the forest. Tomorrow, we are starting "Mommy School" and then off to one of the great parks here. I'm still hoping to see some other toddler/preschoolers. I'm beginning to think they lock this age in the house??? Keep the comment coming - they help to keep me happy:) Love to you all-
Linda
Tim's addition: Life in Germany is INTERESTING for a visitor. (profound huh??)

1st 24 Hours!

Guten Tag everyone! We have arrived safe and sound and have had a busy first 24 hours. The plane ride was as smooth as we could have asked for! Our lovely flight attendant, Sonia, spoiled the girls rotten with many games and treats! The girls slept 5+ hours and Tim and I caught a few winks:0 Customs went fast and off we went in our new (although smokey smelling) rental car FILLED with luggage. After a short trip to Starbucks in Heidleberg, we ventured off to see our new potential apartment. Looks like the place we'll stay - in Ludenburg. The family that owns it lives above us and has 2 little girls - ages 6 & 9. The apt. is a little farther from the downtown area then hoped, but it is in a nice neighborhood with a market and (I think) bakery round the corner. The only semi concerning part is that not very many people in this smaller town seem to speak English. That has my heart racing and my nerves shot, but maybe it will be a great blessing and a way to TRULY learn and understand the culture. There's really no other possible apartment on the radar right now, so the plan is to move in on Saturday! It's actually a pretty large place with all amenities - just needs a good cleaning "linda style"!! We enjoyed some delicious pizza in downtown Ladenburg and then went to bed at the good 'ol Marriot!

Today, Tim was off to work early and the girls and I have had a brave day! We slept in, went swimming, showered and hailed a taxi to the Haupstrasse (downtown) for lunch. We wandered around, found a hotdog and then decided we'd just walk back! After an hour+ journey, we arrived back at the hotel. We are now swimming again to stay awake until Daddy comes back!

So, overall, a great start! I will admit that I'm having a small culture shock as reality sets in that I'm living in a place where I cannot read the signs, understand most people and often have no idea what I might be eating!!! I'm praying for a sense of peace and increased confidence to embark on this journey as I have been wanting to and dreaming about for some time now! The girls are doing so well - seeming to be handling the jet lag better then me - and are their normal happy selves! Our hotel is right non the river so we they're enjoying watching the many barges and kayakers going by. It is extremely beautiful here with many spring flowers blooming already! A few weeks ahead of CO for sure:)I will add pictures to the blog shortly - I need Tim's computer for that!!

I'll end on this funny (at least now it is) story....so...yesterday while stopping at a market for a potty break...I LOCKED MYSELF IN THE BATHROOM!!! Yep...stupid American couldn't figure out the lock and stood there jiggling the door forever! Some german man was trying to help me but couldn't speak English. Finally, a worker came and unlocked it. She showed me how to turn it TWO turns to the right and then back TWO turns to the left --ugh!!!! So..the journey begins!

Love to you all - and missing you tremendously!
Linda

48 Hours!

We're almost packed, the house is almost clean, and we're almost outta here!!!  Most of our Good-bye's have been said and we're getting VERY excited to start this craziness!! 

Contact info for us:
Linda's Cell - no longer usable - will become our Germany #/phone while there
Tim's cell- good
Home # - good (will forward to Tim's cell)
All emails are good
THIS BLOG is good!!

We'll forward an address once we have one. Right now, we're booked at the Marriot the first week. We have apts. for Tues. to see places once we arrive. We know the landlord of our #1 choice doesn't speak much English, so that should be interesting!!! 

My last cooked dinner is tonight - Stouffers frozen lasagna! HA HA!! Our "last supper" here will be at the Rio tomorrow night!!!  Fridge is almost empty!

THANKS to everyone for being so fun, supportive, encouraging and just plain awesome!! We are super excited to be going, but are just as excited to come back home to our life!

Later
Linda