2 Months Down!

Happy Memorial Day to all of you! We hope you are enjoying a great day:)  It's not a special day here in Germany, BUT Thursday IS a holiday and Friday is a "bridge holiday" So...we have a 4 day weekend...So...we're HEADING TO PARIS!!!  I'm busy trying to research and plan as much as I can - but if anyone has any tips for Paris I'd love to hear them:)  We'll be leaving here on Thursday (Donnerstag) and returning on Sat. (Samstag) - and then we'll have a day+ here in Ladenburg since there's apparently a lot of fun concerts, food, etc.. here in town all weekend.

Other fun happenings:

1. CHERRIES - the 2 very large trees in the back exploded with cherries last week and we are welcome ot eat to our hearts content! We joined our landlords/neighbors out picking them on Saturday which seemed to help "connect" us all - especially Rylee and their youngest child!!!

2. FRIENDS! She and Rylee chummed around for a few hours and Rylee had fun playing up in their flat. She informed me that their place is much nicer and newer:) VERY TRUE!!! They also spent time together today -with the other 2 older siblings and then Chloe joining in! See picture of the playtime in the sandbox!

3. SPEYER - we spent a day two weekends ago in Speyer checking out the Cathedral and the Aquarium. That is a very nice town and we had a great day! Our lunch was NOT the best...check out the pictures of my meal...basically a pickled balogna salad - YUCK!



The family inside the Cathedral





What? An entire salad made from ham/balony





The organ pipes



Some of the sculptures and walls outside



4. KINDERGARTEN REJECTION -- Yep, this is one dumb school here with dumb rules! Can you tell I'm still a little mad?? They wouldn't let the girls come there because it's their opinion that we aren't here long enough for them to adjust, learn or be away from me. (Ok...so that's a little of what she said and little of what I've decided after talking to friends). SO...I worked on a new attitude last week, refocused my plan, and we're now attempting to create a summertime schedule;)

5. LINDA TIME - Tim had a business trip to Zurich where he staying at some cool hotel overlooking Lake Zurich - http://cgd.swissre.com/centre/explore_the_Centre/.  So, since Tim felt a little bad for me (hee hee) I had some free time on Sat. to wander through the shops in Ladenburg and dine on a brat and fries (pommes) out on the main marketplatz! A wonderful few hours:) It was, however, a tad painful b/c of the bad exchange rate and limited pack space- I can't really buy anything! AHHHH  Well, Tim did bring back a white chocolate Tobrelone chocolate bar for me... hmmmm...

6. POOL TIME - the local outdoor pool opened up and is a GREAT place to hang out. It's Tim's ideal pool with diving boards, lap lanes, large swim areas, kids pool, playground etc... BUT Tim can't enjoy it with is "frozen shoulder" injury! Luckily, the girls are loving their time there - we bought a punch pass!

7 Ladenburg - After 2 months we walked behind a wall in some church courtyard and boom - roman ruins from 20 and 90AD buried under other ruins that were a mere 1200-1600s.  It was now a childrens school, but had a diagram of the layout of the Roman fort and historical timeline of the town - very cool.

8 SUNDAY WITH FRIENDS - we finally connected with our friend, Urte (the gal I had met years ago on the bike ride)and her family. They showed us a great day as we sort of toured around some small villages in the forest and enjoyed homemade chocolates at the chocolatier (sp?), then ice cream (eis), then toured a small but amazing middle ages castle (don't even remember the name - oops-that's what touring is like when you're entertaining kids!!), and then finished it off with pizza and wine shorla (wine with either sprite or mineral water)! Their kids are the same ages as ours and they all played very well together! Super fun day:) We have been blessed with the kindness showed us by many!

The Ice Cream Shop



View of interior of Fort from the top of the Towers





Tim, Juergen, Paar, Clara, Rylee and Chloe



View from top of Fort - looking at Neckar River below

I think this is long enough???  Overall, it's amazing to me how adjusted we've all become to life here. The girls do often mention that they miss real home and their friends.  But Rylee also talks about how fun it is to try new things:)  I was just reflecting yesterday on how "normal" day-to-day life seems now.  I really don't think about the small roads, different rules, different food and that I can't understand anyone who talks!! 

We are anxiously awaiting the arrivial of my Papa Bob and Grandma Etcy a week from Thursday! Our agenda for that week is filling up and will be super fun - including a trip to Hoogeveen Holland!!

Love to all - THANKS for reading:)

Linda

The Main Differences living here are...

1. The cheese aisle is as long as our snack aisle in America - and the cheese is cheap! Just bought a large chunk of Gouda for 2.50 Euro ($3.25) and a chunk of Blue Cheese for 2.85 Euro ($4 ish)

2. Wine is quite good and CHEAP as well....a WHOLE BOTTLE for between 3-6 Euro ($4.50-$9)

3. Gas is EXPENSIVE...a full tank is app. 100 Euro ($150)! Thank goodness this is part of the SAP-covered expenses

4. Most of the time, water is drunk with "gas" / "bubbles"....and purchasing water at a restaurant is more expensive then beer and soda

5. Everything is in smaller sizes: coffee (which is typically all espresso grind) is 4-6 oz or smaller, all liquids, meat...ok, basically everhing

6. Meat here is almost all made without hormones and perservatives..in fact, most everything is with less preservatives
  SO....trips to the market are more frequent (2-3x a week).....also to get decent/fresh bread

7. Have yet to see a school bus - everyone rides bikes or walks

8. Cars are MUCH smaller but very fast with smaller engines - and couldn't find them in the US.  Trips down the Autobahn will display Ferarri's, all levels and many high-end BMW's, Mercedez, Bagoti etc... (This is Tim's noticing NOT mine!!)

9. Speed limits are more flexible - going over 200 kph (120mph) is not unusual if traffic is low (just for sections)

10. People's facial expressions are non-existant -but they will stare - and end up being nice

11. No "Mega Churches" but Massive old Cathedrals ALL OVER

12. Castles of varying sizes are in most every town

13. Playgrounds look boring but upon investigation are filled with innovative designs

14. The age on the buildings are almost mind-blowing at times -- with many streets being cobblestone -- which also means dirty shoes and feet!

AND
15. The people here just can't COMPARE to all of our friends and family THERE!!!!

I'm also adding some more pictures of recent happenings....


Chloe enjoys the Heidelberg Zoo - especially the monkeys and hairy donkeys 



Rylee liked the elephants - and the goats & flamingos



Last time I walked these steps to the Heidelberg Castle, I was with Tim - before we were married or had kids!! Very surreal:)



Mother's Day at the Heidelberg Castle overlook the town and the Neckar River



A cool double-decker Carousel in the middle of Strassbourg, France-the girls loved riding on the top level




Rylee posing in France



Blowing bubbles while relaxing in a park in France

Watching the Seals with our new friend Valentin - and eating apples

Love to hear from you:)
Linda
 

One Month Down

Guten Tag!
It's hard to believe, but we've already been in Germany for a month!!! It's sure been a month of many emotions and experiences....can't wait to see what the next 4 months hold! We are busy planning our next vacations now that we have Tim's vacation schedule for the summer - sure nice that Germany takes so many days off:) We are also beginnign our preparations for my parents visit in June!!1 which means a trip to Hoogeveen Holland - SUPER! (well used Germany expression!)We're also discovering that there are numerous neat little towns around us - all with some neat history, destinations, festivals, etc.. It's always a toss up about weather to stay local or travel farther on the weekends. We want to just see and do it all!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers! Tim and the girls did a nice job of creating a fun day for me/us. We spent much of the day in Heidelberg with a good hike up the hill to the Castle. It's location is just amazing and we loved just walking around the courtyard, playing in the grass and the water fountains, and looking at the amazing views from high atop the city. We just HAD to hit starbucks which was my first highlight of the day. It's just so nice to have FLAVOR in my cover!! Otherwise, it's just milchcafe(milk coffee) for me with some sugar! The coffee culture here is VERY different. The 2nd highlight was our dinner back here in Ladenburg at their most famous spot: Kartofflen (the potato). They serve your meat on a hot sizzling stone - and you cook it yourself, and the baked potatoes are SUPER. Overall, a great day!

We've been spending time with our new friends Ellie and Hannah (from Boston). We had a playdate at their flat last week and the girls were in heaven to be in an "real" kids room with toys galore! Ellie is 8 months pregnant so her energy level doesn't always allow for playgrounds so I think we'll be hanging at their place more - which we'll love! It's nice to have friends only 15 mins. from us by bike!

Bikes..oh yea, did I mention that I - all by myself - managed to locate and bring home a nice used bike for myself??!! Yea ME!! Then, I found a kids seat from another friend here to attach to the bike for Chloe - so we are SET!! In fact, on Saturday our whole family went on a bike ride for the afternoon. Rylee rode between Tim and I and it was just amazing! What fun! We rode to the neighboring town and refreshed at the Biergarten and then rode home for ice cream! Chloe LOVES her seat behind Momma. So, now we have quick and easy access to the bakery and fruit stands...which we're hitting after nap time today! Strawberries are in season and are available on most corners it seems - oh, along with that never-ending spargel!

I'm still working on getting the kids into the preschool (kindergarten) here. My friend, Katrin, is going with me on Wed. to translate with the Director. Just need a little more info and then hopefully we can start the girls for 1/2 days or so. I THINK they may even be together in the same group so that would be great! We are also considering starting gymnastics, but will depend on what we do with schooling. So, right now, we are still having very mellow days. Sometimes that's wonderful and other times we all go crazy. We just wish Daddy didn't have to work so we could just have fun all the time...but then what money would we have to do that fun stuff with?? And on that note...it's too bad the German's don't pay by the hour b/c Tim would be a millionaire by now!! That man is working WAAYYY too much..goes in between 7 and 8 and ends between 6-7pm. With more work from home some nights. I'm trying to get him to switch to the "germany stayle" of working shorter hours, but he's just too "American" We're trying to adjust to later dinners and bedtimes, but??? :)

OK...enough for now! Love to you all - Tschuss (say.."choose"/ good -bye)
Linda

A Few Pictures of our First Month



Dinner with Friends at a Middle Ages Castle



A view of the Castle Restaurant from the spire above



Day 1 - 1st Stop=Starbucks in Heidelberg!



EasterFest Egg Hunt with new Friend, Hannah (Ellie's Daughter)



Boat Trip at Lake Konstanz with friends, Bernd and Mirjam



Amazing Flower Display on Manau Island (Konstanz)on Easter Weekend



Rylee's a Pirate! Amazing playground on Mainau Island



Aahh...family shot next to one of any tree displays on Mainau Island





Waiting for our Train to Switzerland on Easter Morning




Easter Basket Hunt in Switzerland with new friend, Kaan, and Mirjam




Tim and Girls at Luisenpark, Mannheim Germany-flowers galore!




Best Treat Found by Rylee: Bum Bum (say: Boom Boom)




Mommy School Time in our Apt.



The day we left our home - the car is loaded down!







Our car and apartment in Ladenburg - and Chloe on her own bike!