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Check out the espionage in the background at Bern-Kastel Kues
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Evan christened Germany in this photo.
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Colin 3 months and enjoying the new living room
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Evan in Daddy's boots
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The European death staircase in our house
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Ansley and Evan getting ready for their nightly towel swing complements of Neil
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Maria Poppins
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We are now safely in Germany. We currently do not have email or phone at our house. I am emailing from the parking lot at the Temporary Living Facility on the Air Force Base. We loaded up the rental minivan with 3 children, Cocoa (our dog), and left on September 13th from the Baltimore airport on a transcontinental flight to Ramstein, Germany. It has been one month since our arrival.
Our first adventure was house hunting. There are 54,000 Americans/renters in this area. Every warned us about the housing crunch. We found houses all right, one 10 feet from the railroad track, one 10 yards from the Army weapons store, one the old railroad station remodeled also 20 feet from the railroad track, and one abandoned for a year. Finally, we found a possibility in Erzenhausen, Germany. Never mind the two flights of European death/spiral stairs we'll take it. By the way every house has the European death stairs that scream child gates.
I must say we came all the way to Germany to live back in Nebraska. Our house is in the sticks, a town of 800 people, we have two horses, a pile of fire wood, and multiple apple trees in our back yard. Neil's new hobbies are European hunting (a class he takes two evenings a week) and fire building. Here is the irony of European living though-across the street is an Irish pub, next door is a singer hall and four doors down is one of the best restaurants I have ever been too. They serve baked sheep's cheese and pumpkin soup. The bakery is 1 1/2 kilometers away. Our Landlord is attached to our house. The house is built like a German tank and even the toddlers can't destroy it. The house includes, plaster walls, stucco exterior, tile floors, windows that open like a door, tile roof, and the core of the house is made of stone. The house will definitely outlive my great grand children. Cocoa loves to make the horses run and the Germans love Cocoa, the Kurnix poodel (King Poodle).
The children are in Montessori school and our next project is trying to figure out a way to get them into the German schools.
Neil and I both passed our German drivers test. European driving gives me white knuckles. The Europeans are crazy for street signs. Neil and I memorized all 200 of the German signs and the Germans use all of them. Street sign making must be a staple government job. I have already been honked at on the Autobahn for going too slow. If you dare go into the passing lane on the Autobahn watch for black Audi's that appear out of thin air, on your tail hind, going 100 miles an hour. I take the children to school on the Autobahn, a half hour from our house. One Autobahn incident sticks out in my mind where I had the three children in the car and Evan decided to climb out of his seat belt. I got lost, my GPS wouldn't work and neither would my cell phone. I finally found my destination. On the return ride home Evan decided to open his door on the Autobahn and every time the door flung open Ansley would yell "The door is open again".
Our short term baggage arrived 80% destroyed. Supposedly it flew in a plane to get to Germany but it was all wet and mildewed by the time it got to us 6 weeks later. We are not sure that happened. Anyway, this was small potatoes or small potato salad in German because our household goods just arrived yesterday mostly just fine. We are currently swimming in boxes, and that is why I am in the parking lot trying to escape my household duties.
So far one of the best things about Germany is our German nanny. She is an angel in disguise. She is teaching us all German, takes perfect care of the children, organizes my house (much better than I can), cooks, and is simply amazing in every way. She follows the motto "Keep calm and carry on." Her name is Maria but we call her Maria Poppins.
Neil and I are trying to learn some German but if I need a reality check on my skill level I just go to the local Backerai (Bakery). I stumble over my order and know I need to practice with the Rosetta Stone some more.
We have went on several day trips. One of my favorites was to BernKastel-Kues were Piesporter wine is grown and produced. There is a bridge spanning the river between the two towns. The buildings are made of wood and plaster with slate tiles on top. There is a castle on the hill. The vineyards scale up the steep mountains on both sides of the river. Supposedly the reflection of the sun off the water makes superior grapes. The vines were on a steep mountain and that would make grape picking an exceeding challenge. We proceeded to scale up one of the vineyard roads and Evan christianed the vineyard by pooping in it. Outside is just another potty to Evan.
On another trip we went to France. We drove an hour to the French border and I realized we had no passports. Luckily we drove through uneventfully. When we passed into France the scenery immediately changed. The farm animals looked weird. Maybe that is why the food tastes so good? The scenery was rather bucolic. We went to the town of Bitche. I know it sounds like the female dog but it was a lovely town. The backdrop of the town is a giant fortress. It looks to be straight out of Monty Python. Upon my insistence we stopped at the first French Bakery. We purchased chocolate divine eclairs and quiche. The cashier spoke to us in German and French and we spoke back in an awkward exchange of German and English. Our order came out with just one extra coffee. Not too bad for a trilingual exchange. On the way home Colin silenced his cries to Lady Gaga. I am so ashamed that my son is a fan of the lady who does not know how to dress for a Yankees game.
It is time to go back to the boxes.
Our first adventure was house hunting. There are 54,000 Americans/renters in this area. Every warned us about the housing crunch. We found houses all right, one 10 feet from the railroad track, one 10 yards from the Army weapons store, one the old railroad station remodeled also 20 feet from the railroad track, and one abandoned for a year. Finally, we found a possibility in Erzenhausen, Germany. Never mind the two flights of European death/spiral stairs we'll take it. By the way every house has the European death stairs that scream child gates.
I must say we came all the way to Germany to live back in Nebraska. Our house is in the sticks, a town of 800 people, we have two horses, a pile of fire wood, and multiple apple trees in our back yard. Neil's new hobbies are European hunting (a class he takes two evenings a week) and fire building. Here is the irony of European living though-across the street is an Irish pub, next door is a singer hall and four doors down is one of the best restaurants I have ever been too. They serve baked sheep's cheese and pumpkin soup. The bakery is 1 1/2 kilometers away. Our Landlord is attached to our house. The house is built like a German tank and even the toddlers can't destroy it. The house includes, plaster walls, stucco exterior, tile floors, windows that open like a door, tile roof, and the core of the house is made of stone. The house will definitely outlive my great grand children. Cocoa loves to make the horses run and the Germans love Cocoa, the Kurnix poodel (King Poodle).
The children are in Montessori school and our next project is trying to figure out a way to get them into the German schools.
Neil and I both passed our German drivers test. European driving gives me white knuckles. The Europeans are crazy for street signs. Neil and I memorized all 200 of the German signs and the Germans use all of them. Street sign making must be a staple government job. I have already been honked at on the Autobahn for going too slow. If you dare go into the passing lane on the Autobahn watch for black Audi's that appear out of thin air, on your tail hind, going 100 miles an hour. I take the children to school on the Autobahn, a half hour from our house. One Autobahn incident sticks out in my mind where I had the three children in the car and Evan decided to climb out of his seat belt. I got lost, my GPS wouldn't work and neither would my cell phone. I finally found my destination. On the return ride home Evan decided to open his door on the Autobahn and every time the door flung open Ansley would yell "The door is open again".
Our short term baggage arrived 80% destroyed. Supposedly it flew in a plane to get to Germany but it was all wet and mildewed by the time it got to us 6 weeks later. We are not sure that happened. Anyway, this was small potatoes or small potato salad in German because our household goods just arrived yesterday mostly just fine. We are currently swimming in boxes, and that is why I am in the parking lot trying to escape my household duties.
So far one of the best things about Germany is our German nanny. She is an angel in disguise. She is teaching us all German, takes perfect care of the children, organizes my house (much better than I can), cooks, and is simply amazing in every way. She follows the motto "Keep calm and carry on." Her name is Maria but we call her Maria Poppins.
Neil and I are trying to learn some German but if I need a reality check on my skill level I just go to the local Backerai (Bakery). I stumble over my order and know I need to practice with the Rosetta Stone some more.
We have went on several day trips. One of my favorites was to BernKastel-Kues were Piesporter wine is grown and produced. There is a bridge spanning the river between the two towns. The buildings are made of wood and plaster with slate tiles on top. There is a castle on the hill. The vineyards scale up the steep mountains on both sides of the river. Supposedly the reflection of the sun off the water makes superior grapes. The vines were on a steep mountain and that would make grape picking an exceeding challenge. We proceeded to scale up one of the vineyard roads and Evan christianed the vineyard by pooping in it. Outside is just another potty to Evan.
On another trip we went to France. We drove an hour to the French border and I realized we had no passports. Luckily we drove through uneventfully. When we passed into France the scenery immediately changed. The farm animals looked weird. Maybe that is why the food tastes so good? The scenery was rather bucolic. We went to the town of Bitche. I know it sounds like the female dog but it was a lovely town. The backdrop of the town is a giant fortress. It looks to be straight out of Monty Python. Upon my insistence we stopped at the first French Bakery. We purchased chocolate divine eclairs and quiche. The cashier spoke to us in German and French and we spoke back in an awkward exchange of German and English. Our order came out with just one extra coffee. Not too bad for a trilingual exchange. On the way home Colin silenced his cries to Lady Gaga. I am so ashamed that my son is a fan of the lady who does not know how to dress for a Yankees game.
It is time to go back to the boxes.
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