Samantha's 17!
6. April 2008, 13:47
It’s true. My first baby is only a a year away from legal adulthood. Where did all the time go? I remember those first days with her so clearly – like it was only yesterday – and it’s hard to believe that 17 years separates the past from today.
In the wee, small hours of the morning, Samantha dragged everyone to her small pile of gifts and insisted on digging in. She’d already gotten one gift from Nana and Grandpa – an official ‘Simple Plan’ fan club membership – and received a pair of beauty and fashion books and her favorite “ghostly” foundation and powder, as well.
Aunt Barbara got a little insane with the tape, as usual, so Samantha spent several frustrating minutes searching for an overlooked edge to pry loose before grabbing a tiny straight pin and poking away at the tape until it finally gave way. Inside, she found piles of American candies and a little, black velvet box with a gorgeous little diamond ring inside.
After that, she headed off to school and birthday greetings from her friends.
Later, in typical teenage fashion, she decided to breeze in and share a homemade pizza dinner with the family then jet off to a fabulous party with her school chums. At her age, though, most of those “fabulous” parties involve standing around with girlfriends watching the teen boys drink beer. Not much has changed in two decades, though I’m quite sure I watched a lot of the girls drink to the point of blacking out when I was her age. Oh! How different things are when the drinking age doesn’t make it forbidden!
So, she made her curfew with plenty of time to spare and woke up the following morning to spend six hours in ACT test prep. Yea!
We had a special Mexican dinner with her friend, Rachel, and Clint, Carole and Lena in attendance. This is when we were all subjected to the sugar bomb, also known as Funfetti cake and frosting.
“Happy Birthday, Samantha! We love you!”
Snow Fun!
28. March 2008, 21:21
Since our winter has been a bust, we conspired with our friends, Jason and Sanija, to give the kids a little taste of snow. We gathered our sled and discs, snow pants and jackets, spare socks and blankets and piled into two cars to drive about an hour south-west to a sledding area near the town of Altenberg.
Mitchell’s energy seemed endless as he alternately climbed the hill and slid down it over and over until we were dizzy just watching him.
Philip and Jason took turns on the sled jetting the kids down faster than they could go on their own and Mitchell challenged his daddy to a race to the bottom.
Egg-Coloring Isn't Just For the Kids
11. March 2008, 14:23
Karina arranged another fun Friday Tour for us – this time to an Easter Egg museum where we learned how to color slightly more sophisticated eggs than we’re used to making with our kids.
Another Field Trip
10. February 2008, 12:05
My friend, Karina, organised another Friday Tour – this time to visit a workshop specialising in a traditional German handcraft called Blaudrucker. Essentially, the artisan creates a resist pattern by stamping a toxic paste of chemicals onto fabric then, on an annual schedule, dips the finished fabrics into a tank of indigo dye until the desired shade of blue is achieved.
Additionally, they create less expensive fabrics by stamping fabric paints onto cotton or linen items and this is what they taught us to do after our lecture and tour. Each of us chose an item to decorate – small potpourri bags, shopping bags or napkins – and we were given free rein to use any of their stamps in our own designs.
Since Hannah was off school for her winter break, I brought her along and we both decorated cotton napkins. She took to it quickly and had her napkin finished quickly then spent the rest of the time scampering after the resident cat – a squat, fat, comical creature constantly seeking a tactile experience.
To see more pictures, click on Photo Albums on the right and select Blaudruckerei Folprecht.
Berlin - Reichstag
1. January 2008, 17:39
My cousin, Kevin, shared this with me. It was done by a good friend of his and he’s even featured in one of the pictures.
Haunting, isn’t it?
Happy Holidays
26. December 2007, 19:05
Christmas morning started with a phone call waking me at 5:30 – though I didn’t get to the phone quick enough to answer, so I don’t know who was calling. Then, another call at 7:30 from my sister ensured that I wouldn’t be getting any more sleep.
I took a moment to light the tree and take a picture before chaos ensued and the kids started stumbling in to see what Santa had delivered. They indulged me with a photo before they tore into their stockings and they were thrumming with barely-restrained excitement as they waited for their dad to arrive home from work.
The wait wasn’t long, though, and soon we were all reaching for gaily wrapped gifts. Santa brought Samantha a pair of white Converse Chucks, while Hannah got her own acoustic guitar and Mitchell got the jumbo-deluxe tub of Legos – 1800 pieces!
Everyone got wonderful gifts that reflected their interests – iPod Nano, Happy perfume, Simple Plan guitar music book and Gossip Girl books for Samantha, Junie B. Jones books, Baby Born clothes, Diddl accessories, boots, fake nails and make-up for Hannah and Bionicle, Optimus Prime, Legos and art supplies for Mitchell. Aunt Barbara sent wonderful gifts including a pair of pearl earrings for Samantha and calendars geared to their tastes. Nana and Grandpa scored a Christmas homerun when the kids opened up first the Nintendo Wii, then a Costco-sized box of Starburst and then a jumbo box of fruit roll-ups. Their cheeks were packed with sugary goodness within moments of opening those gifts. Then the kids were over the moon when they found the gift from Uncle BJ, Aunt Linda and Amanda – a second Wii controller and Super Mario game!
Philip got lots of clothes that he wanted, a new winter coat, scarf and hat, an electronic weather station and a really cool universal remote. And once he hooked up the Wii, he learned just why it was the best family gift ever – bowling with your kids on Christmas Day is incredibly fun!
The kids shopped for my gifts without any help and I was so touched by their thoughtfulness – a real cashmere sweater that actually fits, a moleskine pocket notebook and a scrapbook made by Hannah. My sister sent a book of poetry I’ve been wanting for a long time – and a Beverly Hillbillies DVD. From Philip I got a digital picture frame, a couple of movies I’d never seen or heard of and a new camera kit – a Nikon Digital SLR.
Everyone had a wonderful day and the Wii was voted the best gaming system ever and the best gift ever – who knew video games could actually leave you with sore muscles?
We’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who kept us in their thoughts and prayers this holiday season and wish you all Happy Holidays!
Love,
Philip, Gina, Samantha, Hannah and Mitchell
Fröhe Weihnachten
Christmas Greetings
25. December 2007, 00:15
November Begins the Whirlwind!
13. November 2007, 14:23
November is a big month around our house. Both Mitchell and Hannah have their birthdays – exactly two weeks apart! Hannah’s isn’t until next week, but Mitchell had his last week. The day before his big day, I walked into his room to find him laying across his lower-bunk bed, staring into space and apparently doing nothing. This is quite unusual for Mitchell, as you well know.
So, I asked him what he was doing and he told me, “I’m waiting for 6!”
Well, the day finally came and I made him his cake and we had the kids in the house over to help him celebrate. It was lovely and Mitchell was very patient and well-behaved – such a relief!
He received lots of Legos from Mommy & Daddy, and Hannah and Samantha contributed to his collection, as well. Nana and Grampa sent him some goodies from home, including yummy edibles, socks and Season 2 of Happy Days. Aunt Barbara sent him the new Transformers movie in a special transforming case, a really cool dinosaur T-shirt, a Color Wonder coloring set and a new Backyardigans video. She also sent snacks, the cake and some really cool Jeff Gordon drink cups. He also got a beautiful story book in German and some cute toys from his friends.
Fall is already on the way out. Last week I had a dentist appointment and as I walked there I saw a gorgeous tree that I wanted to photograph but I’d left my camera at home. Not a problem, I thought, I can bring it on Wednesday when I bring Mitchell for his appointment. Nope. By Wednesday, gale-force winds and driving rain had beaten nearly all of the glorious foliage off the trees!
That’s what happens if you wait for a photo opportunity around here. You blink and the scenery has changed. Now, the weather is flirting with winter. We’ve already had a little bit of snow but nothing that sticks. I had to drive almost an hour away to see snow still on the ground.
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Daylight Savings Time!
28. October 2007, 10:29
Last night marked the semi-annual 1-hour time change celebrated by people the world over – except back home in Arizona. Man I miss not having to deal with this. It’s such a silly concept.
Anyway, it’s not possible to be a holdout and still send your kids off to school on time or show up for a dentist appointment on schedule, so we set our clocks back one hour last night.
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On the Road Again!
2. October 2007, 13:09
On the last Friday of September, we resumed our Friday Tours with Karina Tillig and our first trip of the season was to Burg Scharfenstein in Erzgebirge.
Karina had planned this particular trip for last May but our intended tour guide had fallen ill and was unable to give us our historical overview.
Burg Scharfenstein sits above the town of Erzgebirge in a deep valley. The area surrounding is described as dunkelwald, or dark forest. The day of our visit was rainy and the valley was shrouded in mist. The leaves are beginning to show distinct signs of autumn.
We began with an uphill climb – why do these always begin with strenuous exercise? – and entered the courtyard of a charming, small castle. It was pouring, so I haven’t many pictures but a description should suffice. The courtyard was circular and paved with smooth cobblestones and it surrounded a tower that was built into a solid rock outcropping. Doors lining the interior walls led to various shops and restaurants as well as the toy museum housed there.
Our first stop was at the top of the castle in the lace-making studio where we all took part in creating multi-colored “friendship” bracelets in the method of Klöppel, which involves interweaving threads attached to 8 wooden spindles. It’s rather simple once you determine the pattern but I can’t imagine the concentration required to complete a piece made completely of one color. Our pieces were riddled with mistakes, but we each took home our project to commemorate the visit. One of the ladies said the lace-making was similar to tatting.
We met our guide, Karl Stülper, for a short tour of the castle and a lesson in it’s history. Amazingly, the castle remained in the ownership of one family for 600 years before a fire in 1921 bankrupted the last owner and he was forced to sell in 1931. Soon after, the castle and its contents fell into the hands of the Russians and little remains of its fixtures and furnishings.
The drive wasn’t too long, though the highway accident we saw on the way in was still causing significant delays when we left a few hours later.
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Another weekend, another festival!
27. September 2007, 20:32
This past weekend I took the kids (Hannah and Mitchell) to the annual weinfest in a small village in the neighboring city of Radebeul. We went with Clint, Carole and Lena on the local train, which was a big hit with the kids. Clint discovered that the coin slot for operating the multi-train model railroad setup was jammed and figured out how to let the kids operate the trains. They had fun making them stop and go and adjusting the speed. It certainly made the wait for our own train easier.
The train ride was relatively short and our final stop put us within only a couple of short blocks of the entrance to the festival. As usual, it’s all about the food and drink, but this time we saw actors on stilts walking about and joking with visitors, lots of street performers and some locals dressed in period costume. The kids begged for food as soon as we arrived and Hannah immediately tore into a Langos – basically, fried bread with various toppings like cheese, ham, herbs, fruit, sugar or cinnamon. Mitchell had an Icee that tasted like a liquid SweeTart.
Carole, as is often the case, ran into friends and separated from us for a while so Clint and I tried out a couple of wines while waiting for her to catch up and the kids found an abandoned counter to “sell” food and drink from. It was hilarious when Mitchell attracted a young man over and proceeded to try to sell him some very pricey beer and bratwurst! It still amazes me that my kids can converse fluently in a foreign language and no one suspects that they aren’t native.
Soon, we found the carnival area for the kids and they all rode the swings then Hannah and Clint rode the “Break Dance” – a ride that looked like it could easily cause me to lose my most recent meal.
We found some really nice wines and a couple that I’d prefer never to taste again, had some great bockwurst and bratwurst and had some fun with living statues. Not a bad day out.
Let us know what you’ve been up to!
Tschüss!
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Are We There Yet!
8. September 2007, 11:46
Last weekend (the last weekend before school started) I took Hannah and Mitchell on a riverboat cruise to Sachsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland). We went with Clint, Carole and Lena. We started out with enthusiasm but when Hannah began to realize just how long 4 hours on a boat would be, she began to complain.
Mitchell explored the boat and soon found the engine room where you can see the giant pistons pumping endlessly. They’re so clean and well-maintained! They smelled strongly of engine grease and the heat in the area was welcome after particularly cool breezes. Beside the engine room, there are windows to the wheels that paddle and propel the boat forward. We watched as the water splashed in the wheel-well until the engineer explained that the low water level of the river made it a bit dangerous to spend too much time in the area because they could hit rocks which would be propelled into the interior.
After about an hour on the boat, we arrived at Pillnitz and most of the passengers debarked to tour the famous castle, Schloss Pillnitz. It’s a beautiful location and Clint and Carole had their wedding pictures taken there last year. This time, we got a different view…
Nearly three hours later (Mitchell took a long nap, thankfully) we arrived at our destination – Sachsiche Schweiz. Our goal was to climb to the stone bridge overlooking the Elbe Valley. We walked through the gorgeous town at the base and found the path to the summit.
There was no easing into this climb. From the start, we climbed uphill and never really leveled off. Mitchell found me a sturdy stick that I could use as a staff and that helped tremendously. As we climbed, I thought it was a good thing Philip wasn’t with us because he’d begin feeling sick and insist on returning. I wouldn’t know how to get emergency medical help in that event.
In the end, the strenuous climb was SO worth it! The colossal stones that appear to be balanced precariously, one atop another, are more impressive up close than I could have imagined. The bridge is 150 years old and so beautifully built! Attention was paid to every detail and it was designed to capture the glorious view in every way possible. There is an outcropping halfway across, reached by a small bridge, that allows one to sit and view the scenery. You can look back on the bridge and out over the canyon where we could hear the lines of a play being recited in an open-air theatre.
Mitchell exhibited a fear of heights that was new and Hannah was fearless as she blithely leaned over railings to see views blocked by fellow tourists.
Our return trip was shorter as we paddled downstream toward Dresden and we arrived in time to make a quick dinner of fried chicken then fall into an exhausted sleep.
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If a tree falls in the forest...
31. August 2007, 14:15
So, does anyone even visit our site? Jamie’s the only one commenting and she’s busier than anyone I know! Anyway…
Samantha started school last week and Hannah and Mitchell go back in just a couple of days.
With the recent cold weather, the kids needed to dress a little more warmly than they have been thus far and it soon became apparent that back-to-school shopping is going to be a high priority this weekend. Hannah’s pants are much too small and Mitchell’s bony ankles are exposed in the pants that used to be just a little long. We must buy pants!
A couple of weeks ago I took Hannah and Mitchell to the Dresden Stadtfest. Like all the BIG celebrations in Dresden, this one spans the river and closes the main historic bridge between them. Makes traffic a bit hairy, but everyone’s at the festival and who needs to drive?
There was a HUGE children’s area with sponsorship by ToysRUs and Playmobil as well as some other names I wasn’t as familiar with but the kids were pretty excited to jump in and play.
We met up with Clint, Carole and Lena by the river’s edge and explored emergency vehicles on display. The kids loved it – Police boats, hose trucks for crowd control, fire trucks, search & rescue mobile headquarters – really cool stuff! Mitchell tried on a few fire helmets and climbed aboard a truck and the boat. He looks a bit like Luke Skywalker, doesn’t he?
Leave it to my little monster to find the one panel on the boat the Polizei did NOT want anyone to touch… Yeah, he found it and started pushing all the buttons!
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We got a Hamster!
12. August 2007, 07:13
Last weekend Hannah decided that if she was extra conscientious about cleaning her room she’d deserve to get a hamster as a reward. Apparently, Philip agreed with her so we took a trip to the pet store and came home with Zoe, the hamster, and all the paraphernalia required for a small rodent.
But, the story doesn’t end there. Oh, no it doesn’t.
Because 3 days later, our baby hamster had babies. Two of them! Apparently, our little mädchen wasn’t a jungfrau. Now we’re trying to avoid scaring her into eating the babies (because that’s what hamsters do, you know) and making sure she’s eating and drinking.
Samantha’s been in Spain with her friend Missy’s family since the first of the month and she’s due home later today. Mitchell can’t wait to see her and I’m happy she’ll be back, too. I really missed her.
I’ve been working on a project to display some of the kids’ art work and after a trip to IKEA and a little painting and trimming, this is what I came up with.
The ones with colored mats are Hannah’s work and the others are Mitchell’s. Samantha didn’t want to dig out any of her stuff, but I’ll keep working on her.
Leave a comment to let us know you’ve visited!
Tschüss!
Busy, busy, busy!
25. July 2007, 08:05
I’ve been very busy learning Photoshop and all the different effects you can achieve with this powerful tool. I’m hardly an expert and sometimes I have no idea what I’ll end up with when I select a new tool or filter, but it’s been fun playing. I found a site with great tutorials yesterday and after picking and choosing, mixing and matching… I made a bunch of layouts. Wanna see?
Here they are:
So… what do you think?
Leave some kind of note just to let us know you've been here...
Life's a Beach!
16. July 2007, 15:32
p.It’s been a while since I updated, I know, but Hannah’s still in school AND we were on vacation this past week. We went with Clint, Carole and Lena to Usedom, a large island on the Baltic Sea (Ostsee). We stayed in Karlshagen, a small town on the north-west tip of the island. Because Hannah was not permitted to miss more than two days of school without a doctor’s note, I returned Tuesday with the girls and Philip and Mitchell stayed behind with our friends.
The sand on the beaches of the Baltic Sea is so fine and white… it feels like silk when it’s dry and packs like concrete for building sand castles.
Philip and Clint both brought their stunt kites along, hoping for good winds. Unfortunately, the winds were too unpredictable for most of the trip and they spent more time crashing than flying.
Before the girls and I left, we all visited a butterfly farm – self-proclaimed as the largest butterfly farm in Europe…
... and later, we saw a little wildlife in our driveway! Mitchell was thrilled!
Carole and I took Samantha and Hannah on a drive to the other end of the island, toward the more affluent towns and closer to the Polish border. We stopped in Ahlbeck and walked around, visiting the pier, stopping for ice cream and enjoying the sights. We found that the sand on the beaches of Ahlbeck was easier to walk on as the number of broken sea shells was significantly less than in Karlshagen.
After we left, Philip and Mitchell remained behind with Clint, Carole and Lena and they all visited the military museum on the tip of the island – only a very short drive from our rental. They saw an authentic Cold War-era German submarine and got to actually go inside!
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Here's your sneak peek!
24. June 2007, 07:48
Well, Mom and Dad got their album, so I can finally share it here! This is the album I completed for them to remember their trip to Europe last April/May.
Follow this link to see it… Shutterfly Album
Let me know what you think!
Never Again...
12. June 2007, 13:54
Last weekend I took a trip with several of the “International Ladies” to Weimar, in the Thuringia region. We rode the train and engaged a personal guide to show us around the beautiful city.
This was where great men like Goethe, Schiller, Bach, Liszt and Wagner spent many years working and living and the impact of their influence is everywhere.
This park was designed by Goethe in the style of an English garden.
Bauhaus got it’s start in the city of Weimar, and today students still come here for training in art, architecture and design.
There’s a local connection to ginko that seems quite odd, but there is a ginko tree, over 200 years old, that has grown in Weimar since it was brought over from China. Their pleasure in this plant has grown an industry that supports local florists who sell small potted ginko plants, gift shops selling jewelery in the shape of the unique leaves and a museum devoted to the plant.
A Second Day
It is because of the second day of this trip that I am only now writing about it.
I stayed over with one of the ladies from our tour to spend a day touring Buchenwald. You can’t be in Germany and not visit at least one concentration camp. It will break your heart over and over as you hear the stories of those whose lives were taken from them – and in such a manner!
This is what a new inmate encountered upon entering the camp after walking the “Caracho Way.” It means “To each his due.”
Those entering through the Depot, down the hill from the main entrance, would see the camp from this perspective. Inmate barracks would have blocked much of the view.
Buchenwald was opened in 1937, to hold political prisoners and eventually expanded to hold all of the enemies of Nazi Germany – Communists, Poles, Gypsies, ministers, homosexuals, asocials, Jews, Hungarians, Russians, French, Austrians, Dutch, Danes… The list seems endless.
While Buchenwald did not have the gas chambers that other camps used for mass extermination, the work programs in place ensured a steady stream of dead to keep their ovens burning around the clock. And those who did not succumb to natural death by illness or starvation, may have faced death through the experiments in infectious disease carried out in the labs at Buchenwald. Lethal injection was another method for delivering death when illness couldn’t complete the task quickly enough.
For Russian prisoners of war, a fatal bullet to the nape of the neck was the fate that awaited them.
The camp is most known for its camp commander Karl Otto Koch and his wife, Ilse Koch, the only woman prosecuted for war crimes after World War 2. It is said that she had lamp shades in her home made from the tattooed skin of prisoners of Buchenwald and that she chose those who would die to provide her macabre decor.
Buchenwald was the first concentration camp liberated – April 11, 1945 – and the clock atop the main entrance still marks the hour of liberation by the American Army.
Buchenwald held many famous prisoners and one, who died in the torture chambers, was a minister of the Confessional Church whose co-founder said these famous words:
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist, so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.” ~ Reverend Martin Niemöller
It is impossible to walk these paths and not think on what it must have been like for those thousands of souls who lived the horror. At each moment you may encounter another piece of the story that takes your breath away like a kick in the gut. For me, it was as simple as seeing a display case that held mostly buttons. These were items taken from prisoners as they were processed into the camp. As you draw closer, you see a piece of tarnished spoon, rusted eye-glass frames and then… dental work. Full and partial dentures and bridgework – some of very high quality and some quite crude. It was just a small reminder of how completely these men and women were stripped of their dignity and treated as less than human.
Looking for Pictures?
3. June 2007, 12:27
I know anyone reading our blog is expecting a little “eye-candy” to go along with the words, but I really don’t have the time right now. For the “Parent’s Days” – Mother and Father – I promised the gift of an album of Phil & Lorene’s European Vacation. Every spare moment has been devoted to working on this project and I’m about 6 pages away from completion. Once I’m sure they’ve received their gift, I’ll share the layouts here.
Please keep the comments coming so we know you’re reading.
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Our Visit With the In-Laws
30. May 2007, 06:12
Well, I didn’t update while Mom & Dad were here, I haven’t updated since they’ve left and my one attempt got zapped by lightning and froze the site for a couple of days. I figured I should wait until the thunder storms were well and over before taking the risk again.
Mom & Dad’s visit was great. Dad finally arrived a week after Mom and the following day they flew off to Paris to spend a few days with Liz, Mom’s cousin who lives in Paris with her ex-pat husband, Mark. While there, they got to visit a Paris police station after Liz’s purse was snatched in a cafe.
They left Paris the morning of the Presidential Elections – good timing, because riots were the plan for the day – and flew to Rome. They spent almost 3 days touring the ancient city, then flew to Berlin for an overnight stay. I picked them up the next morning and drove them to the center of the city where we caught the New Berlin Free Walking Tour with guide, Charly. It was worth every penny we weren’t forced to pay (we paid 30Euro). I’d been to Berlin many times but each time I was there doing something for Samantha so I’d never had the opportunity to actually see the city. Charly showed me parts that I’d have never found on my own and now I know where to start looking more in-depth.
Anyway, we returned to Dresden and spent a day just doing nothing (except for a little grocery shopping) then headed out on the train for 3 days in Prag. Prag is one of my favorite cities (possibly due to my near-obsessive fascination with its astronomical clock) and visiting is a pleasure. We rented an apartment for the weekend (a very economical choice, given the size of our group) and headed immediately for a grocery store once we’d settled in. It was nice to be able to make our own coffee, tea and breakfast and not worry about a schedule and dressing for the dining room.
Our apartment was relatively close to most of the major sites – Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square and Charles Bridge – and a 6-hour tour on our last day took us the rest of the way to the Prag Castle. 6 hours?!? you say? Yes, it was 6 hours and we took all the kids (Samantha, 16, Hannah, 8 and Mitchell, 5) and aside from some whining before we left, none of them complained. I’ve never heard so many comments about how good and well-behaved my children are. One tour participant asked me if they were always so good. I basked in the glow of their goodness until the tour ended,
So, we returned (again) to Dresden and rested most of another day, though Philip and his parents took the Stadtrundfahrt (double-decker bus tour) and we did venture out for dinner at the Schillergarten. The next day, we all took the Stadtrundfahrt and hopped off to grab some lunch and take a quick walking tour of Neustadt.
The next morning found Mom and Dad at the Lufthansa check-in counter bright and early (around 4:30) and heading back for home. The visit was too short but maybe they’ll return again…
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Mom's Here!
28. April 2007, 10:57
Mom made it here okay. Her flight was good – she had plenty of room and they brought her food early because she had the diabetic meal. It was a mad dash to make the connection in Frankfurt, but she made the flight with seconds to spare. She’s experiencing jet lag now but we’ve tried to jump into sightseeing and regular activities to get her on schedule. She’ll get over it soon.
Dad didn’t make it because his passport didn’t arrive before the scheduled flight. He’s rescheduled to arrive next Wednesday and we’re to plan and arrange the rest of their trip before he arrives so we can “hit the ground running” from that point.
We’ve got a few ideas… Paris, Berlin, Prag, Vienna, Rome… We’ll see what we can fit in.
I took Mom on a Field Trip with a group of International ladies, so she got to meet some of the women I regularly hang out with and we all got to see some out-of-the-way museums that aren’t usually on the short list for a regular tourist – The Schulmuseum and the GDR Museum. The first is a museum housed in a former school (on a property shared by three schools) and we saw a schoolroom still set up as it would have been over 100 years ago. We wrote on slates with slate pencils in the old German style and we learned about the archaic (sadistic?) styles of discipline employed by some teachers. We also saw classrooms as they would have been after education reform took place and a typical GDR classroom.
After the Schulmuseum, we took the tram to Radebeul to the GDR Museum where we saw the regular, everyday items used by the people who lived in Eastern Germany during Communist times – 1945 to 1989. While much of it was familiar and reminded us of things from our own past, we were reminded that the examples on display weren’t really a slice of life – they were all of it. Choice was taken away from the people who lived here, so everything we saw was everything there was. They had little choice in cars, clothes, bedsheets and dishware but color. And very little of that even.
Today, we plan a bike ride to the Elbe river and a visit to the Neustadtfest – a spring festival in the Neustadt.
We’ll update again later and I’ll try to get some pictures uploaded, too!
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How Would You Like a Little Pot?
24. April 2007, 19:48
Pottery, that is. Polish pottery.
I’d heard the whispers about day trips to Poland and I was intrigued but I’d never been around when a trip was planned. So, when Jeanine said she wanted to go once more before she moved back to Austin, I asked to join her.
We ended up with a group of eight women and we drove two cars. It was a great trip. The German landscape between Dresden and the Polish border was gorgeous! Fields of blooming mustard glowed a bright, glorious yellow and everywhere that wasn’t yellow was the fresh green of spring.
Our GPS worked throughout the trip until we arrived at our destination, then it blacked out all but the main roads. A return trip may be possible, but problematic because all but one of those who made the trip are leaving for Austin this summer.
Anyway, I found a few pieces for myself, a lovely little tea set for the kids and a couple of gifts that I won’t be sharing on this blog.
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Wassup?
18. April 2007, 08:30
Well… not much, really. Philip’s on day shift this week, so I’m carless unless I want to drive him in at 6:15. I’d rather catch an extra 15 minutes of sleep and take the trams.
Samantha’s preparing for the big semi-formal dance at the end of the month which seems to involve endless shopping trips to Altstadt for accessories, shoes, ribbons… I’m not sure of all that’s going on, but all the girls are in a tizzy.
Philip starts vacation at the end of the week so he’ll be free when his parents arrive for their visit. After a long, tense wait, Mom has finally gotten her passport. We still don’t have word on Dad’s passport, but they have connections to make sure he’s able to get on that plane. (Wow! That sounded almost kinda like they know someone in the mafia, didn’t it? They don’t – just a nice guy who works at expediting travel documents.)
I’ve been scrapbooking. I’m halfway through a digital album of 2006, with a few forays into 2007 to give me a head start on next year. Here’s a peek…
The End is Near!
Our local grocery store recently announced that they’ll be offering shopping Monday through Saturday until 10 o’clock at night! It’s the only grocery store in Dresden open that late every day and it’s creating quite a stir, I tell ya.
In a copycat move, the city’s biggest mall has extended their shopping hours by one hour to 9:00 o’clock each night. When will it all end? We’re just one step away from the total anarchy of the U.S. and 24-hour grocery stores open on Easter Sunday.
Feiertag Wochenende!
7. April 2007, 05:50
Fröhliche Ostern!
That’s Happy Easter for those of you too stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and chocolate bunnies to get off your kiester and look up the translation – which you can find here at Babelfish.
Germany takes Easter pretty seriously. Not so much as a religious holiday, but everyone cleans up their gardens, plants flowers, decorates their trees with hanging, colored eggs and generally shouts from the rooftops, “Spring is Here!”
Most winters are frigid and miserable, so the advent of spring is welcome. This winter in Dresden was not so much a winter as a brief intercession between fall and spring but that doesn’t make spring any less welcome. The Earth breaks out her riot of colors and everywhere you look you see new life sprouting. It’s such a glorious happening.
This is a compilation of a few of the pictures I’ve taken around our neighborhood. The orange house is where we live.
Clowning Around...
6. April 2007, 13:32
Well, I took Sam to the tattoo parlor Thursday. She’s 16, and it was time.
She brought her friend, Missy, along and they spent a great deal of time deciding what they wanted – how big, what colors…
So, what do you think?
Body decoration of all sorts is pretty normal for teens and young adults in Germany. Kids as young as 13 sport piercings through the nose, eyebrow or lip. A boy in Mitchell’s Kindergarten has both ears pierced!
JUST KIDDING! We PhotoShopped her tattoo just for fun…
Truthfully, she was promised that good grades and a positive attitude would be cause for us to consider allowing her to pierce her belly-button. She campaigned for facial piercings, but we established a firm rule that no child under our roof (or in our pocketbooks) would ever be allowed to pierce anything on the face. In the end, she chose a large faux-diamond for her belly-button piercing – her birthstone.
Received this from my online Club Scrap Group…
Birth Order of Children
1st baby:You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
_____________________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don’t bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn’t do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
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The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn’s clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby’s little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink , can’t they?
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Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress—a whimper, a frown—you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
______________________________________________________
Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When t he pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby’s bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
______________________________________________________
Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby’s diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
______________________________________________________
Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
______________________________________________________
Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to le ave a number whe re you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
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At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn’t squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children
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Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1 st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!
Birthday Girl!
4. April 2007, 07:20
Happy Birthday, Samantha!
Today, Samantha has reached a milestone… she can now legally drive a scooter – once she gets her scooter license, of course. She’s not impressed. She’d rather be legal to drive a large death-trap on roads filled with other inexperienced and untrained drivers. Be still my rapidly beating heart!
So, our oldest is now 16 years old. She doesn’t want to celebrate with us anymore – understandable since we’re old geezers just a hard sneeze away from the old folks’ home. She’ll have a get-together with her friends and classmates at the Elbe on Friday. We’ll watch discreetly from 100 yards away – hiding the binoculars each time she looks our way.
Scrapbooking…
I’ve been trying to catch up with my albums and have actually completed quite a bit. Here’s a sneak peek at the results…
I’m not really this current, I’m just working on the 2006 album and thought it might be easier to complete this year’s at the same time.
This is just a snapshot of where Samantha is (was) in February.
Cardio Anyone?
Today Mitchell and I rode bikes to Kindergarten.
That’s right.
We braved the dangers of traffic on a weekday.
The ride there was not much of a workout, – err… – what do you consider a workout? How’s this…
“MITCHELL!!??!! Don’t go! Don’t turn! STOP!!! Go STRAIGHT! AAHHH!!!” All while my heart thrust its way up through my esophagus out my throat and onto the pavement with a wet SPLAT! while pounding out a 273 beat per minute calypso tune.
He’d decided it was more efficient to cross two streets at once and crossed diagonally in front of his Kindergarten, against traffic with the right of way. Remember how Germans feel about their right of way?
Anyway, he made it safely (Thanks, God!) and was the recipient of a very stern lecture about how death could befall him if a car (albeit a small, German car) hit him as he crossed without waiting for the “all-clear” from Mom.
On the way home, I gave myself a HEALTHY cardio workout and ended with a sprint up the stairs to our apartment. Of course, as I’m typing this, I’m gasping for my last breath. Thank goodness I quit smoking!
Who’s been peeking in our windows?
My sister sends me the Sunday comics from Seattle and I just found this Baby Blues. Just substitute Mitchell for Hammie and Hannah for Zoe. You’ll get the idea.
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Mr. Smarty-Pants
1. April 2007, 10:17
I’m at the computer – catching up, organizing pictures for layouts, checking in with the Oscraps Creative Team to see what’s happening there – and Mitchell’s hangin’ out with me working on puzzles.
He has an amazing aptitude for puzzles and can look at the open space, look at his pile and immediately pick up the right piece. My helpful suggestions fall on deaf ears because my methods conflict with his style.
I commented to him that he was “so smart” and that he has “such a big brain.” He told me, “Yeah, and really long hair.” 5-year-old brains are such a literal mystery.
Did I Mention… ?
You all know that Mitchell can ride a bike, now. Right?
Well, in theory, we knew he could. He’d spent hours pedaling between me and Philip or Me and Samantha proving it, only to have a meltdown the first time we tried to actually go somewhere. We’d pretty much given up on his ever riding with the streets around our house being what they are – canyons of craters and random bumps.
Well, he figured it out all on his own. Hannah brought his bike out of the basement when she was dragging her own up and the little stinker taught himself. He can turn, he can leave a cloud of dust when stopping (very important when you’re the coolest of all 5-year-olds) and he can fall without breaking any essential bones (very important when you’re the parent who dreads ER waiting rooms).
Now he loves the landscape of our streets because it challenges him and gives him the all-important lift needed for wheelies – not that he’d know anything about wheelies because his father has never extolled the virtues of death-defying stunts like that…
Busy Week!
31. March 2007, 10:36
Whew! What a week!
I was invited to become a member of the Creative Team for a very talented Digital Scrapbooking designer – Sue Cummings – after I won a random drawing and she took a look at some of my work. I accepted and now I’ve got to get to work producing some projects.
Then, on Monday, I got in the car to go pick up Mitchell from the Kindergarten and had an accident at the corner right outside our house. It was an amazing lesson in German laws regarding right-of-way. (As it happens, I had right of way.) The corner is an awkward one and, depending on how people are parked on the streets, very nearly impossible to see all the way down unless you’re at least halfway into the intersection. I was halfway into the intersection and had a clear right of way. Unfortunately, the gentleman to my left, forgot that all-important rule and barrelled right on through. I’m not sure where exactly he could have been looking, because I drive a pretty large car and it’s hard to overlook it sitting in the center of an intersection. He did.
So, the car has to go to the dealership for repairs, but that’s scheduled for next week.
Tuesday found Mitchell in the dentist’s chair getting a filling and a new appointment for next week to have more drillings and fillings. Apparently, his teeth more resemble Hannah’s than Samantha’s and we’ll have to be more careful about watching what he gets into after the evening brushing.
Wednesday was supposed to be soccer day, but I got a call from Samantha’s school asking if I could come pick up her friend, Jessie, to take her to the doctor because an impromptu game in the schoolyard resulted in her getting a stick in her eye. Her mother couldn’t be reached and her father was in the States, so I was a last resort. Because she didn’t have her health card with her and an eye injury seemed like something that might require expert care, I took her to the emergency room. She was transported to the eye clinic and I stayed with her until her mom came. In the end, she got a couple of stitches on the white of her eye and some pain medication. Her vision is unaffected and she’ll be fine. Thank goodness I’d been to the ER and the eye clinic before (with Philip, when he fell and hit his head on the ice) or I’d have been somewhat lost.
On Friday I was scheduled to host scrapbooking at my house and had been asked to teach digital scrapbooking so I’d been working on materials and techniques for a couple of weeks. The day came and I had three ladies ready to learn, with their laptops in tow. It went really well and everyone learned something – even me!
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It all started with a little sniffle...
8. March 2007, 12:54
Mitchell started sniffing, then snorting, then hacking and eventually sleeping most of the day while struggling with a fever. We took him to the doctor to get good meds and he slowly crawled out of his pit of misery to go back to school – thank goodness!
Because it was MY turn to be sick and miserable. I’ve been hit with the Flu bug for nearly a week now and it’s the worst Flu I think I’ve ever had. It was an instant descent into pain and fatigue while the fever crept up slowly. The worst of it is the chills, which kicked in about the point where my temperature reached 102, or so.
Now the fever’s broken and Samantha’s fighting it off. We got her to the doctor within the first day and she’s taking repulsive medicines to ease her discomfort, but she’s young and healthy – she’ll be okay in no time.
So, while we’re all struggling through this, there probably won’t be much to report…
Chinese Butt Karate!
21. February 2007, 16:20
Philip was flipping through channels the other night and got distracted for a moment while he was paused on a sports channel and we all stopped in surprise when Mitchell shouted out, “Chinese butt karate!” I glanced at the television to see Sumo wrestling on the screen and, while I averted my gaze, we all got a big laugh out of that one!
Mitchell comes up with some very colorful descriptions for things when he doesn’t know what they’re called.
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It's been a long time...
31. December 2006, 15:24
Wow! has it really been that long since I’ve updated? (Longer, actually, since I didn’t get this posted on time, either.)
Well, Christmas was lovely, though NOT white. Philip’s friend, Chris, came to visit us over the holiday and leaves in a few days. He’ll get to see the spectacular fireworks display put on by Dresden tonight, though.
It’s indescribable. Nothing I’ve ever seen before compares and I can’t explain how amazing it is to be surrounded by sparkling fireworks on all sides.
Back to Christmas, though. We had a lovely time and visited with all our local friends. Peter came by late in the evening and brought gifts for everyone – some of his photography for Philip and me.
We sent gifts back home for everyone but nothing arrived when it was supposed to. The woman at the post office assured us they’d arrive on the 18th, but I’ve asked everyone I sent a box to and still nothing’s arrived. (Maybe she meant the 18th of January?)
Anyway – for tonight, we have an arsenal of over 100 rockets, four or five batteries of 16 to 100 fireworks each and dozens of individual ground effects and sparklers. The kids are very excited!
Happy Thanksgiving!
24. November 2006, 10:09
Well, we miss being with our family back home, but we enjoyed celebrating our first Thanksgiving in Dresden.
Many ex-pats here gather for a meal at the Baumwiese – a local restaurant – but I’ve heard about the miscommunications about traditional fare and don’t think we’d enjoy it much. Last year they confused yams/sweet potatoes with mashed potatoes and baked the mashed potatoes with marshmallows.
We spent the past couple of days preparing by baking pumpkin and pecan pies and corn bread for the stuffing. The turkey almost didn’t thaw out in time, but our friend Peter helped us with thawing it in the sink.
We had Clint, Carole and Lena, Peter and his friend Faydon (don’t know how he spells it, really) and Samantha’s friend Melissa joining us at the table and Peter’s friend Bianca joined us for dessert. It was a fabulous meal (if I do say so myself) and everyone left the table satisfied. Faydon payed me the ultimate compliment when he said he had to come back to Germany to get the best American Thanksgiving meal he’d ever had.
Of course, cleanup was a big chore, but we actually had it all done before we went to bed…
Back from Vacation
6. August 2006, 10:42
Our family vacation was fantastic! It wasn’t without it’s problems – what car trip of 4,000 kilometers with three kids isn’t? – but we saw some amazing sights.
First, we visited Amsterdam. Thankfully, before we left, we purchased a GPS unit, or we’d never have arrived due to road closures and no road signs for detours. Our hotel was probably a mistake, but all five of us fit fine and the location was perfectly central. Next time, we’ll know to thoroughly check the fine print when a hotel specifies air conditioning. Sometimes, it’s only referring to the lobby area! Not good when the city is having a heat wave.
We visited “Nemo” a hands-on popular science museum (similar to the Arizona Science Center or Franklin Institute in Philadelphia) and Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. Tried for the Anne Frank House but decided another visit during cooler months was necessary because the line was so long and unshaded. Did I mention the HEATWAVE?
We walked along canals and saw houseboats with actual residents! We ate Mexican food at Alfonso’s and watched a movie in the most fabulous theatre we’ve ever seen – heavy carvings, painted ceilings, domes, arches… beautiful!
We visited with Hetty, a friend of mine who lives outside Amsterdam, and her family. Samantha met Zora, Hetty’s daughter, and walked with her to the lake very nearby to meet several of her friends, while Mitchell and Hannah ate watermelon and made a mess with toys brought out to keep them busy.
We took a canal cruise and saw much of the international port and ship yards before heading into the center of the city and the canals. The sights included very old draw-bridges that used to be manually operated but are now automatic because of budget constraints.
Three days wasn’t nearly enough to see Amsterdam – we want to return for the museums another day – but we had to leave and head to Normandie…
We had hotel reservations at a Mercure hotel on Omaha Beach and were excited to arrive. At noon, Philip entered our destination into the GPS and we were pleasantly surprised to see that the estimated travel time was only about 5 hours. At about 10:30, we arrived in Port en Bessin to check into our hotel. Apparently the 5-hour estimate failed to account for route changes due to road closures and traffic.
Our hotel was in the middle of nowhere and, without the GPS, we’d have never found it. Philip was hungry because he’d skipped lunch when we stopped at a McDonald’s in Brussels, Belgium, saying he wasn’t eating at McDonald’s ever again, so we asked about where to go for food. The desk clerk just said there is none and looked appalled when I asked about vending machines. With GPS in hand, we decided to prove her wrong and find food.
First, we tried nearby gas stations but soon discovered that the French countryside isn’t well represented by the software powering our GPS. While we found the first station, the next two did not exist where the GPS suggested they should.
Giving up on the rural Port en Bessin, we drove on to the town of Bayeux and discovered that nothing was open there, either. I suggested the 28-km trip to Caen seemed in order if we were to eat, so we entered the coordinates and headed off.
We searched endlessly for a gas station and finally stumbled on the center of town where the night seemed to just be starting for some. We ate at a kebab shop and grabbed a couple of croissants for Samantha and headed back to our hotel, arriving around 2 am. There and then, we decided we had to move from our current hotel to another in the center of Caen, where we could supply the kids with McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.
We checked out the next day, after arranging the move to another Mercure hotel, and set out for the American Cemetery and the beaches of Normandy.
As expected, the war memorials were a stark reminder of the sacrifices made by thousands of young men to protect our freedom. Our tour of war sites ended in Arromanches, where the kids played in the sand and looked for seashells.
The following day, after sleeping soundly in a well-air-conditioned room, we set out for Mont-Saint-Michel to see the famous abbey built upon a tidal island. Again, the kids ended the day searching for seashells in the sand.
Finally, it was off to Paris. By now, we expected each trip to take longer than estimated, so we were happy to arrive mid-afternoon and begin our explorations. Our first evening, we walked to the Louvre and explored outside and entered the courtyard where the glass pyramids and fountains are. We walked further to the Jardins de Tuileries where a carnival was set up. Philip and the kids played games and we all rode the Ferris Wheel and had a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower as it lit up with twinkle lights for ten minutes at the top of the hour.
We toured the city on a double-decker bus and saw all the major sights – Notre Dame, Louvre, Arch de Triomphe, Grand Palais, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Petit Palais and many more – and did a little shopping. By the time we’d arrived, Paris was no longer experiencing a heat wave, so we had pleasant days with some rain.
By this time, we were also exhausted, so we decided to forego the final stop in Heidelberg and head straight home. It was a long trip, but there’s a reason Dorothy chants, “There’s no place like home,” in the Wizard of Oz.We didn’t see everything, but no one can see it all in one trip…
Clint & Carole’s Wedding
We got back from our vacation just in time for Clint & Carole’s big day. Hannah was asked to be the Flower Girl with Lena and Philip was to perform Best Man duties, so it was important that we be there.
Clint very carefully chose the day using all the historical weather data he could find and was certain that it couldn’t rain under any circumstances.
It poured.
The morning started out gray and drizzling and by the time we picked up Carole to take her to the church it was coming down steadily. During the ceremony it got progressively worse as puddles grew deeper and wider.
Afterward, we drove the happy couple to a nearby castle to meet up with the photographer for official wedding portraits – outdoors. It was still coming down and now Philip and I were getting soaked – all right for him, but I was wearing a spring dress and a very non-water-proof trenchcoat.
(I have pictures to share and will do so as soon as I can figure out the software I’m using for this site.)
Hot, Hot, Hot!
21. July 2006, 10:40
The kids are finally out of school and the weather has turned HOT! Now, I admit, it’s not Arizona hot, but we haven’t been without air conditioning since we were kids. Philip read somewhere (probably some weather website) that July is the rainiest month in Dresden, usually averaging over 9cm of precipitation. The closest month gets an average of around 6cm, so we expected lots of rainy days and humidity. Well, we had almost no rain all month! Our vacation is planned for the end of the month and Europe is in the midst of a terrible heatwave – 22 have died in Paris as we plan our trip – and we are going to Amsterdam, Normandie and Paris. Let’s hope for some relief…
Time for a Break
30. June 2006, 10:38
Philip finally took some time off from work and we took a trip to Prag (Prague, for those in the U.S., Praha, for the locals).
We took the train – the first time for all but Samantha – and I think the idea was more exciting than the actual trip for Mitchell and Hannah.
We found our hotel without difficulty and set out to explore and find food. Our hotel was right on the Vltava river (a tributary of the Elbe, in Dresden) and close to the main attractions, so we decided to walk. We’d seen signs for Subway on the way in, so we set off to find it.
We gave up after about 45 minutes and ended up at McDonald’s, only to discover the Subway about 2 blocks down and around a corner.
We visited two wax museums, a museum of torture and the Prag Castle which included a magnificent cathedral in it’s center.
It didn’t take us long to figure out the tram system and before we left, we’d ended our dependence on walking and taxis.
Speaking of weird conversations...
18. April 2006, 10:34
Mitchell was complaining about having to put his socks on and yelling for help. When Samantha and her friend, Molly finally came to his assistance, he announced, “I’m like God.”
Samantha asked, “How’s that?”
He replied, “He never had to put socks on when he was a kid.”
What Do You Think?
16. March 2006, 09:02
Hannah and I had the most interesting conversation on the way to school today…
“Mommy, when everyone here is dead and everyone’s in Heaven, do they get remade?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Sweetie,” I responded.
“When everyone’s dead and no one’s here and they’re all in Heaven, do they get remade?”
“Well, I really don’t know. That’s an interesting question. Where are you going with it?”
“I just wanted to know what we’ll do with all the buildings.”
Hannah has the most interesting mind and her questions never fail to get me thinking.
That's Life!
11. March 2006, 10:30
We’ve got something of a routine going here, but I still need to have Mitchell in kindergarten so I can start my language lessons. German’s not too difficult to understand if you have the time to sit and READ it, but it’s terribly confusing when listening to locals speaking their version of the language – Sachsische.
Anyway, it’s snowing and everyone tells us it’s the most snow in 20 years – gee, where have we heard that one? I think WE were snowed. The summers are probably sweltering and swarming with mosquitos and other unsavory pests. It’s still the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. The buildings are swathed in scaffolding (still trying to repair damage wrought by the bombings) and there are ruins and graffiti everywhere but it’s still amazing.
I’m slowly becoming more familiar with the city and I try to vary my route home when I have the time. It’s making it easier for me to find my way when I make a wrong turn – not such an uncommon occurrence.
Samantha spent the weekend in Berlin with her friend, Laura, and is taking the train home – alone – for the first time. Thankfully, there’s a non-stop.
Hannah has learned the rap, “Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?” in German and is constantly lisping it through the new gap in her teeth – she lost one of her front teeth. She’s also trying to teach it to Mitchell.
We took Mitchell to the park for sledding and he was joined by 13 other children his own age from the International School’s kindergarten. He was so happy to have playmates! If the snow hangs around long enough, we’ll head back to join them again next week. Otherwise, it’s just a lot of mud!
Unpacking!
12. February 2006, 10:26
We’re almost entirely unpacked! We have about 6 boxes left to unload and a few in the basement that need to be reviewed but we’re almost done! So far, we’re only missing a few things – DVDs mostly. Can’t find “Girl With A Pearl Earring” or “The Phantom of the Opera”. And my Tupperware grill pan has gone MIA. Maybe it’s all in the basement. The kids have Winter Break next week so we’re going to see some sights and do some antique shopping.
Settling In...
10. January 2006, 17:24
We’re settling in beautifully. Sam’s got a great group of friends that she hangs out with regularly, Hannah’s got friends also and we’re searching for a kindergarten for Mitchell so he can meet new children. Philip’s co-workers are a great group of guys and they’re becoming part of our extended family here. I’ve met some women through the International Ladies Group and some of the “Moms” through Sam’s friends. They’ve even got a scrapbooking group that meets on occasion. Now, if I can only get my stuff all the way unpacked!
Our Trip Over
21. December 2005, 11:17
We spent our last week stateside in a hotel and it turned into an adventure we didn’t quite expect. A fire broke out in our hotel and we were evacuated to a hotel in a questionable neighborhood. After one night there, we relocated for the final few nights.
Our trip to the airport was uneventful and we were lucky enough to arrive just before the check-in line became the most popular place on earth. We checked our luggage, bought a cabin ticket for Nacho, the cat, and waited to board. Our first leg of the flight took us to Denver, CO, where landing was somewhat frightful. We hit major turbulence that had me gripping my armrests and had Nacho yowling in anger and confusion. The long overseas flight was calm – except for the cranky, whiny children and angry cat I was traveling with. Finally, we landed in Frankfurt where I’d been told at each checkpoint that I’d have to try to arrange an earlier flight into Dresden. I stood on line for over 40 minutes while several angry Russians stonewalled all three clerks and prevented anyone else from being served only to find that my flight had already been adjusted and our plane was already boarding. We ran to passport control, then to the security checkpoint then found some lovely airport employees who agreed to cart us all the way to our gate.
The final flight was short, thank goodness, and Philip met us at the airport within 30 minutes of our arrival. We hit a small snag in Customs when we were asked if we had a passport for Nacho, but the official eventually waved us through when we repeatedly showed him all of the documents we’d had prepared for Nacho’s trip over. It would have been terrible to bring the cat all that way and find that she couldn’t enter the country!
Once we’d loaded our luggage and greeted Philip, Mitchell began asking, repeatedly, “When are we going to be in Germany?” To which we’d reply, “We’re already there.” As we crossed the bridge over the River Elbe, he exclaimed, “We’re in Germany!” He recognized the skyline from all the photos we’d shown him.
We settled into our apartment and lived rather primitively for a few weeks, but things are normalizing as we’ve received our shipments and are continuing to unpack. We’ll update again soon…
