An American looking for an apartment in Germany is very taxing! I had to wait to get the website from my husband's co-worker and it turns out the only website they have is the one that I've been looking at all along even when we were in the U.S.!!
The issue here is that to rent an apartment not only does one have to pay two months rent in advance (which is pretty much the standard in most American cities) but one also has to pay realtor fees which can be 2 to 3 times the monthly base rent. It can be extraordinarily costly to rent here and one must be very sure of where they want to live because it's so costly to move!!
The language barrier has definitely been a hindrance today! With an online translator, currency and area converters, I was able to figure out the pricing (which by the way, there's a flat rate fee + an additional fee for utilities), the square footage and information about the apartments. There were only four so far to research and it's taken me all day to not only translate but to calculate what our stipend will pay for!!
Ted worked late tonight but still wanted to visit the IKEA store which is about 15 miles from where we live. I want to get a handle on what it will cost for the items we will need to purchase - such as table and chairs, bed and wardrobes. Depending on which apartment we choose and we have several months to do so - not to mention that we have to wait for our personal and household goods to arrive - that will dictate whether we have to buy a washer and dryer or not. Of course we could still use the base laundromat. It's only been a week and already it's a pain in the neck. But you do what you have to do and make the best of it.
So off we go to the IKEA store. At first we couldn't find it because the "GPS lady" (who by the way, sounds an awful lot like Julie Andrews)said we were at our desination. Well, we couldn't see it and IKEA is hard to miss. I thought it was behind the KFC (yes, they have KFC here too...it's a shame, really, because fast food is so bad for you). We circled around and I saw a bright blue building. So we went towards it and it was it. It didn't seem very big but it turns out, one floor is underground (very weird!). Getting to the parking deck was a trip! We went around and around and around (in those tight car tubes that get you from floor to floor) for those of you from Ytown - like the old McKelvey's parking downtown - only tighter. We were getting dizzy. I wondered if our car would fall off the top somewhere since I didn't see the parking deck at all!! Finally, we got to the deck and parked.
So we walked over the elevators. No buttons! WHAT? How in the heck were we supposed to get down four or five stories (at least that's what it seemed like getting up to the deck) without an elevator? Luckily, someone was leaving so we jumped in the elevator and hit a button. When the door opened, there was a lobby...which also was weird. When we walked into the other room, there were the checkouts and I knew we couldn't get through there, so back to the lobby. We climbed the steps up to the next floor and started looking around.
The biggest thing for us right now is the sleeping accomodations. It turns out they do not have King-sized beds here. The largest they have is a Queen...at least I think it's a queen. I'll have to do some further research and metric conversions to be sure! Anyways, we thought what we would do is to put two twins together and call it good. My mom will assist with gettin us a connector so I can use my king-sized sheets when they come from the US.
What IS interesting is that to determine what mattress is best for an individual, they ask how you sleep (on your side, back or stomach); whether you like to be hot, cold or in the middle, what your height and weight is. I think that's a really good way to do it because it minimizes getting the wrong mattress.
They also don't have box springs. It's one mattress. But what we've found with the tiny mattresses that we're sleeping on is that we are sleeping good! So we probably want to stay with something like what we have here and we even though that we might want to bring it back to the States when we come back, that's how much we like the beds we're sleeping in!
Now on to the wardrobes. They are a bit expensive, but if you plan right, you only need a wardrobe and no chest of drawers. That's ok by me. We saw what we liked but again, this will be contingent on what the new apartment will be like.
I also saw a table and chairs that I liked and will most likely get. I also don't have any dishes so the dishes will come from there too. By getting relatively inexpensive furnishings, it will be easier to let go when the time comes.
I also picked up the catalogs and they have a LOT of them!! Specific to each area: Wardrobes, kitchen (because most people own their own kitchens and take them with them when they move - if they ever do), beds, media furniture, furniture and general catalog! Whew! I'm going to be busy looking at those for a few days.
Tomorrow I will go back to researching apartments in the Stuttgart area to see what's available there in our price range or if I can find a place that is not with a realtor. That would give me more bang for my buck but I only have two months to get this accomplished and already one week is down the tubes!
Until tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Day 8: A Quiet Day!
Well, today was one of those laid back days. From all of the activity from the weekend, I slept in and my darling husband let me!
After putting away the dinner dishes, folding some clothes and putting them away and generally straightening up the apartment (which took all of 20 minutes to accomplish), I was out the door to go shopping! It was about 10:30 when I left and I needed to book it to get to the various stores I needed to go to.
But before I left, I knew I needed to find out how to say 250 grams, and grated (for grated cheese) in German. I knew I wanted to order some Parmesan cheese and I couldn't depend on the store clerk speaking English. And this time I remembered to bring my net bag with me to tote the groceries! It was such a beautiful day with the sun shining, I was almost mad at myself for sleeping in! It will NOT happen tomorrow.
Here are some photos of buildings that I pass on the way to the market.
I thought there was a market near the cafe but I was mistaken. It was actually a bakery and I didn't need bread. I was bummed. Now what was I going to do? Well, I thought I could go to the butcher shop and at least get some lunch meat and possibly some Weinerschnitzel (meat to make cutlets). I usually use chicken but it appears, if I don't buy the chicken at the base, I can't get it at the market. They do more turkey, veal and pork. Anyways, getting the lady to understand what I wanted...250 grams of Parmesan cheese was an effort! And 250 grams (about a 1/2 pound) in German is Zweihundretfunfzig...now THAT'S a mouthful! At any rate, I was able to make myself understood, albeit, haltingly.
Now that I had my purchases safely in my green net bag, I was on my way to the health food store because I don't know where the nearest market is. That's ok, though because I wanted to pick up some more of that yummy yogurt (Ted ate the last of it.) And although I'm not a huge fan of Mango, their mango was actually really good!
Since I wanted to make some veggies for dinner, I wanted to know how to pronounce each vegetable. I mistakenly asked the store clerk what "Im Angelbot" was. And if I looked closely enough that same phrase was on several of the vegetable trays. She struggled to explain but I got the gist of it when she said "price low". Oh, I said, "You mean, on sale!" I told her I spoke Italian and English. She said, "and a little German" LOL! VERY little German...for now!
With my goodies in my sack, off to the apartment I went. I like this way of shopping because I don't really mind putting the groceries away because it's only one bag.
Now I had the veggies and the meat AND a pan that I could roast it all in! But now I had work to do. I needed to complete some tasks my boss had requested that I do last night and I needed to work on my blog and answer emails.
I didn't get to work on my German today but that will come tomorrow, for sure. Ted came home and we had dinner.
We had already decided to go back to that place that appeared to be like a Sam's club that we were too late to visit yesterday. So off we went. It appears that this place, called "SelGross" is a membership place. We were disappointed and decided to check it out online to see what the criteria was. The nice clerk suggested we go next door to a place called "Real", so we did.
It's a combination Grocery store and department store. The grocery store is on the first floor and the department store is on the second floor. What I found interesting is that in order to use a cart, you have to pay for it. I guess they have to pay someone to go gather the shopping carts so the users are going to pay for it. I don't know. Also, what else is neat about this place is that they have an underground parking lot with escalators that have no steps, in other words, it's a ramp that moves. The ramps in the lobby go down to the parking garage in the basement but there are no ramps in the lobby going to the second floor. Ted's co-workers said there was a department store on the second floor but I was stumped as to how to get there. I didn't need to go to the grocery store, but when we peeked inside, there they were again, those funny escalators!
I needed to buy a European blow dryer because my American one wouldn't work here. I found one for 12 Euros (about $15) which I was more than happy to pay for "good" hair. The two hairs on my head have been looking raggedy of late not having a blow dryer.
We also needed milk for Ted's cereal and bought their 1 1/2% milk in bottles. It's funny how different countries do things differently. Oh and by the way, Real had the usual meat, bakery departments and ATM machines like you would find in the states but they ALSO sold computers, phones, GPS navigators and had a beauty shop right in the store!! How convenient.
I looked up the website for SelGross and found that unlike Sam's it is only for retail businesses to buy in bulk. Oh well. At least I know. It's fun exploring and finding new things to do!
Now I'm off to bed!
P.S. For those of you who have visited my blog before today, the background has changed slightly because I goofed and removed the background and couldn't find it again...so I had to make a new one. I hope you enjoy it!
After putting away the dinner dishes, folding some clothes and putting them away and generally straightening up the apartment (which took all of 20 minutes to accomplish), I was out the door to go shopping! It was about 10:30 when I left and I needed to book it to get to the various stores I needed to go to.
But before I left, I knew I needed to find out how to say 250 grams, and grated (for grated cheese) in German. I knew I wanted to order some Parmesan cheese and I couldn't depend on the store clerk speaking English. And this time I remembered to bring my net bag with me to tote the groceries! It was such a beautiful day with the sun shining, I was almost mad at myself for sleeping in! It will NOT happen tomorrow.
Here are some photos of buildings that I pass on the way to the market.
I thought there was a market near the cafe but I was mistaken. It was actually a bakery and I didn't need bread. I was bummed. Now what was I going to do? Well, I thought I could go to the butcher shop and at least get some lunch meat and possibly some Weinerschnitzel (meat to make cutlets). I usually use chicken but it appears, if I don't buy the chicken at the base, I can't get it at the market. They do more turkey, veal and pork. Anyways, getting the lady to understand what I wanted...250 grams of Parmesan cheese was an effort! And 250 grams (about a 1/2 pound) in German is Zweihundretfunfzig...now THAT'S a mouthful! At any rate, I was able to make myself understood, albeit, haltingly.
Now that I had my purchases safely in my green net bag, I was on my way to the health food store because I don't know where the nearest market is. That's ok, though because I wanted to pick up some more of that yummy yogurt (Ted ate the last of it.) And although I'm not a huge fan of Mango, their mango was actually really good!
Since I wanted to make some veggies for dinner, I wanted to know how to pronounce each vegetable. I mistakenly asked the store clerk what "Im Angelbot" was. And if I looked closely enough that same phrase was on several of the vegetable trays. She struggled to explain but I got the gist of it when she said "price low". Oh, I said, "You mean, on sale!" I told her I spoke Italian and English. She said, "and a little German" LOL! VERY little German...for now!
With my goodies in my sack, off to the apartment I went. I like this way of shopping because I don't really mind putting the groceries away because it's only one bag.
Now I had the veggies and the meat AND a pan that I could roast it all in! But now I had work to do. I needed to complete some tasks my boss had requested that I do last night and I needed to work on my blog and answer emails.
I didn't get to work on my German today but that will come tomorrow, for sure. Ted came home and we had dinner.
We had already decided to go back to that place that appeared to be like a Sam's club that we were too late to visit yesterday. So off we went. It appears that this place, called "SelGross" is a membership place. We were disappointed and decided to check it out online to see what the criteria was. The nice clerk suggested we go next door to a place called "Real", so we did.
It's a combination Grocery store and department store. The grocery store is on the first floor and the department store is on the second floor. What I found interesting is that in order to use a cart, you have to pay for it. I guess they have to pay someone to go gather the shopping carts so the users are going to pay for it. I don't know. Also, what else is neat about this place is that they have an underground parking lot with escalators that have no steps, in other words, it's a ramp that moves. The ramps in the lobby go down to the parking garage in the basement but there are no ramps in the lobby going to the second floor. Ted's co-workers said there was a department store on the second floor but I was stumped as to how to get there. I didn't need to go to the grocery store, but when we peeked inside, there they were again, those funny escalators!
I needed to buy a European blow dryer because my American one wouldn't work here. I found one for 12 Euros (about $15) which I was more than happy to pay for "good" hair. The two hairs on my head have been looking raggedy of late not having a blow dryer.
We also needed milk for Ted's cereal and bought their 1 1/2% milk in bottles. It's funny how different countries do things differently. Oh and by the way, Real had the usual meat, bakery departments and ATM machines like you would find in the states but they ALSO sold computers, phones, GPS navigators and had a beauty shop right in the store!! How convenient.
I looked up the website for SelGross and found that unlike Sam's it is only for retail businesses to buy in bulk. Oh well. At least I know. It's fun exploring and finding new things to do!
Now I'm off to bed!
P.S. For those of you who have visited my blog before today, the background has changed slightly because I goofed and removed the background and couldn't find it again...so I had to make a new one. I hope you enjoy it!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Day 7: One week in Stuttgart!
We are still in awe of the fact that we are here; that we are living what some would call "the dream". To live in a foreign country for several years that will enable us to travel throughout Europe is an amazing opportunity to say the least and an adventure!
We've been here a little over a week, since I am writing this at almost 8pm on Sunday night and we arrived at 8:00am last Sunday morning.
We slept in today and had a leisurely breakfast. After we cleaned up, we decided to take a drive to the city of Ulm where there is a University. We thought that all stores were closed on Sunday, which is REALLY nice and allows for much needed family time, but as Americans we are used to being able to run errands and go grocery shopping on Sundays. This means we must plan our weeknights and weekends a little better. Ulm is about an hour or so away from Filderstadt via the Autobahn. It is in the mountains.
Of course, my husband was in his glory being able to drive without a speed limit. But he refrained from going any faster than 87 mph (about 140km per hour). It made me nervous, of course, but I'm used to him being a maverick behind the wheel.
He was in the center lane and cars were passing him as if we were standing still! He didn't try to go any faster because he knew it was bothering me. There were some areas where the speed limit was restricted, mostly where there's a town nearby or if there is road construction. The "GPS lady" lets him know when he's going over the speed limit. She says "Beware" so I don't have to say a word! What I found interesting is that even those wonderfully fast Porsches slowed down to the speed limit when there was a restriction! The Germans actually do abide by speed limits when they are put to the test.
When we finally reached Ulm, it was drizzling and cold. I was going to take my lightweight jacket but I'm glad my husband convinced me to wear the heavy one and take my gloves and scarf because I needed them. I'm still not acclimated to the cold yet. And since we are in the "hills" or mountains, it's even colder! UGH! Thank goodness we didn't get here sooner then March! God was certainly looking after us!
I was very disappointed, to say the least, that the University of Ulm was not what I had imagined it would be. I imagined wonderful old buildings with gorgeous architecture but no, there were no old buildings to be found. Many of them looked like they were built in the 50's or 60's (cold war style) and most were sleek and modern. We found that Daimler, Nokia, and Siemens all have R&D centers on campus. I've taken some photos of the different buildings. They are colorful, to say the least. What is fun, though, is that the dorms' architects connected the colored buildings with enclosed bridges so that students could go from dorm to dorm without having to go outside. I would imagine that being in the "hills" is bitter, bitter cold in the winter time not to mention all of the snow. By the way, there were still many patches of snow in those hills. We saw them as we were driving there.
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We decided to go exploring a little in the town. We saw a beautiful church and tried to find our way to it but failed. In the end, we found another church. It was s Protestant church called "Martin Luther Kirche (Church)". It was built in 1907. It was not nearly as old as the church we visited yesterday but it was quite beautiful. I was disappointed and disheartened to see that the windows of the church at ground level were barred and that they had a steel fence across the front of the church, probably because the beautiful wood door and/or stone areas had been defaced. It's a sad commentary on our society when people do not show the proper amount of respect for old and beautiful buildings. Whether one believes in a particular church's theology, one should always show respect for the people who built the church by admiring it and not destroying it.
Speaking of a lack of respect, across the street was a beautiful old stone gazebo. It was probably built before the church because of the intricate stone carvings. Since it was a busy road, I tried to get a good picture but I'm not sure I accomplished that with this photo, but believe me the graffiti is there and it's very, very sad.
On the way back to our apartment we decided to continue exploring and too some side roads in and around Filderstadt. To our amazement, there's a discount store somewhat like our Sam's or Costco. I was also amazed that there were cars parked in the parking lot. I thought the cars were for the people watching the planes take off and land (I didn't know we lived as close to the airport as we do.) At any rate, the store had just closed (6 pm). But we agreed that this store was somewhere we needed to check out, if only for future reference.
When we got home, I was diligently working on my blog when my husband came upstairs (I had left him in the car...which was a mistake...)and told me he took the top down (the EOS is a hard-top convertible)and couldn't get the top back up again. To say, I was annoyed was an understatement! I continued writing but he convinced me I needed to help him because the owner's manual was written in German...of course!! So I looked online for English owners manuals and could only find the ones that cost money and I was NOT about to spend money for an owners manual for a rental car! At this point, I decided to try to translate the German Manual into English with a FREE online translation application. If you've ever translated ANY language, you'll know how incredibly tedious this can be; one wrong spelling, a missed special letter (the German language has several - a letter that looks like an italicized capital B - which is pronounced like a double "s" - and vowels that have double dots over the top of them) and you have to back to see where the error was. To do these translations was very painful, indeed. In the end, I decided to see if my terrible translations could help us bring the top up. Ted took the German manual downstairs to see if our landlords could help with the translation while I went outside to fiddle with the car.
Wonder of wonders! I was able to get the top up. Apparently Ted was pushing the lever that is supposed to bring the top up instead of pulling it. I was thankful that we were able to get the roof up and told my husband to not play with it anymore. Of course, he didn't listen to me. :) He said he wanted to be sure he knew how it worked.
These past two days have pretty much exhausted me so I'm heading to bed.
Guten Tag!
We've been here a little over a week, since I am writing this at almost 8pm on Sunday night and we arrived at 8:00am last Sunday morning.
We slept in today and had a leisurely breakfast. After we cleaned up, we decided to take a drive to the city of Ulm where there is a University. We thought that all stores were closed on Sunday, which is REALLY nice and allows for much needed family time, but as Americans we are used to being able to run errands and go grocery shopping on Sundays. This means we must plan our weeknights and weekends a little better. Ulm is about an hour or so away from Filderstadt via the Autobahn. It is in the mountains.
Of course, my husband was in his glory being able to drive without a speed limit. But he refrained from going any faster than 87 mph (about 140km per hour). It made me nervous, of course, but I'm used to him being a maverick behind the wheel.
He was in the center lane and cars were passing him as if we were standing still! He didn't try to go any faster because he knew it was bothering me. There were some areas where the speed limit was restricted, mostly where there's a town nearby or if there is road construction. The "GPS lady" lets him know when he's going over the speed limit. She says "Beware" so I don't have to say a word! What I found interesting is that even those wonderfully fast Porsches slowed down to the speed limit when there was a restriction! The Germans actually do abide by speed limits when they are put to the test.
When we finally reached Ulm, it was drizzling and cold. I was going to take my lightweight jacket but I'm glad my husband convinced me to wear the heavy one and take my gloves and scarf because I needed them. I'm still not acclimated to the cold yet. And since we are in the "hills" or mountains, it's even colder! UGH! Thank goodness we didn't get here sooner then March! God was certainly looking after us!
I was very disappointed, to say the least, that the University of Ulm was not what I had imagined it would be. I imagined wonderful old buildings with gorgeous architecture but no, there were no old buildings to be found. Many of them looked like they were built in the 50's or 60's (cold war style) and most were sleek and modern. We found that Daimler, Nokia, and Siemens all have R&D centers on campus. I've taken some photos of the different buildings. They are colorful, to say the least. What is fun, though, is that the dorms' architects connected the colored buildings with enclosed bridges so that students could go from dorm to dorm without having to go outside. I would imagine that being in the "hills" is bitter, bitter cold in the winter time not to mention all of the snow. By the way, there were still many patches of snow in those hills. We saw them as we were driving there.
.jpg)
We decided to go exploring a little in the town. We saw a beautiful church and tried to find our way to it but failed. In the end, we found another church. It was s Protestant church called "Martin Luther Kirche (Church)". It was built in 1907. It was not nearly as old as the church we visited yesterday but it was quite beautiful. I was disappointed and disheartened to see that the windows of the church at ground level were barred and that they had a steel fence across the front of the church, probably because the beautiful wood door and/or stone areas had been defaced. It's a sad commentary on our society when people do not show the proper amount of respect for old and beautiful buildings. Whether one believes in a particular church's theology, one should always show respect for the people who built the church by admiring it and not destroying it.
Speaking of a lack of respect, across the street was a beautiful old stone gazebo. It was probably built before the church because of the intricate stone carvings. Since it was a busy road, I tried to get a good picture but I'm not sure I accomplished that with this photo, but believe me the graffiti is there and it's very, very sad.
On the way back to our apartment we decided to continue exploring and too some side roads in and around Filderstadt. To our amazement, there's a discount store somewhat like our Sam's or Costco. I was also amazed that there were cars parked in the parking lot. I thought the cars were for the people watching the planes take off and land (I didn't know we lived as close to the airport as we do.) At any rate, the store had just closed (6 pm). But we agreed that this store was somewhere we needed to check out, if only for future reference.
When we got home, I was diligently working on my blog when my husband came upstairs (I had left him in the car...which was a mistake...)and told me he took the top down (the EOS is a hard-top convertible)and couldn't get the top back up again. To say, I was annoyed was an understatement! I continued writing but he convinced me I needed to help him because the owner's manual was written in German...of course!! So I looked online for English owners manuals and could only find the ones that cost money and I was NOT about to spend money for an owners manual for a rental car! At this point, I decided to try to translate the German Manual into English with a FREE online translation application. If you've ever translated ANY language, you'll know how incredibly tedious this can be; one wrong spelling, a missed special letter (the German language has several - a letter that looks like an italicized capital B - which is pronounced like a double "s" - and vowels that have double dots over the top of them) and you have to back to see where the error was. To do these translations was very painful, indeed. In the end, I decided to see if my terrible translations could help us bring the top up. Ted took the German manual downstairs to see if our landlords could help with the translation while I went outside to fiddle with the car.
Wonder of wonders! I was able to get the top up. Apparently Ted was pushing the lever that is supposed to bring the top up instead of pulling it. I was thankful that we were able to get the roof up and told my husband to not play with it anymore. Of course, he didn't listen to me. :) He said he wanted to be sure he knew how it worked.
These past two days have pretty much exhausted me so I'm heading to bed.
Guten Tag!
Day 6: On the Go!
The day started out early and we had a number of choices of things to do but we could only fit in two!
First Stop (with the help of the GPS): Porsche Museum...of course! I read the list of things we could do but when I got to Porsche Museum, the decision was made to go there and since I wasn't driving, I couldn't do anything about it. Perhaps I should have not put that location into the mix! But, it's out of the way now and we can move on to other attractions. My husband, however, reminded me that there are two other car places he wants to see: BMW and Mercedes. I guess I will have to indulge him since he only has three things on his list and I've only just begun my list!
However, the museum is spectacular. The architecture is astounding. I'm glad we got there around 9:30 because when we were done with our tour, the crowds were starting to build up. I guess it's a very popular attraction. Although I'm not a car "buff", I can appreciate the beauty of the cars, their workmanship and the minds behind the workmanship. I particularly liked the history of the cars and the technology they used to present the history. It was really cool! We both had on headsets which allowed us to hear audio on many of the displays. And when there wasn't a display, there was a quasi-computer monitor that had pictures and captions written in both English and German. The monitors were flat panel monitors affixed to a stand. It was interesting to me because to advance to the next frame you literally moved the monitor to the right and if you wanted to go back, you moved the monitor to the left! Really cool.
There was a multitude of information I didn't know about Porsche, including the fact that they built airplanes and were originally designed as race cars. I'm a female..why would I know that? Anyways, it was a cool place, even from a woman's point of view!
We then went to lunch in the museum. They are very technology oriented. As we walked through the door, we were handed green cardboard-like credit cards. It was a cafeteria style-type restaurant. When we ordered our drinks and sandwiches from the clerk, she asked us to slide the cardboard card across the scanner located on the counter. When we finished our sandwiches and drinks, Ted took the card to the cashier and paid the bill. The Cashier doesn't have to remember prices (like in the States - not to mention keeping employees honest) and checkout goes fast! It was very, very slick!
By now it's around 1:30pm and it's my turn to choose where we're going. On we go to City Centre in Stuttgart. Not so much to shop but to get a feel for the area. Again the GPS comes in handy, except we kept going around in circles! I didn't know that the city centre was one big walking plaza so the "nice GPS lady" kept sending us around, and around, and around. Ted started to get frustrated so he decided to park the car. By this time, it had started to rain. This time I DID remember to bring an umbrella...but what I didn't remember was to bring BOTH of them! UGH!
So we started walking around the square and I snapped pictures as we went. We window shopped and I couldn't believe the prices! They were outrageous! It appears I will be doing ALL of my shopping either at the base or by catalog in the next several years. I'm certainly not going to pay 125 US Dollars for a pair of capris!
Ted looked at a shirt in La Cost store and it was 130 US Dollars! He won't be buying shirts there anytime soon. There was a fur-lined raincoat for 10,000 US Dollars and a diamond necklace at Cartiers for 250,000 US Dollars. Someone's making some big bucks around here, huh?
Walking along, I took pictures of art sculptures, fountains, and buildings. We finally came to an old Catholic church. It was from the 1500's but it was decimated by WWII bombing which was such a shame. But they restored it and it is beautiful! They seemed to be preparing for Easter Sunday. I found it weird that they were putting technical equipment in an open room that housed two tombs! Ah, the era of technology!
After walking around some more and being cold, we stopped for a snack at a local cafe. We split a "Berliner" which is like a doughnut with vanilla creme inside. It is not as sweet as a doughnut which is fine with me! And it was wonderful!
On the way to the car, we heard music. It was coming from somewhere in the plaza and it kept getting louder. I was hoping that it would be local music or possibly the German version of Rock music. Unfortunately, it was Rap. I thought it was quite funny, coming to Germany and hearing Rap in German. I just had to snap a few photos.
By this time, it was around 4pm and we needed to go to the PX and get a pan so I could roast vegetables and bake chicken.
Then it was on to Kelley base to do laundry. Luckily there were very few people doing laundry and I was able to grab four machines and get the laundry done in double quick time.
By this time we decided to go to dinner because I was just too pooped to cook ;)
We went to a few places on the list of restaurants our landlords left for us but none of the ones we went to seemed appealing. We ended up going to the first place we went to earlier in the week. We knew the food was good and the waiter speaks English! So off we went! Again, the food was great and now it was time to come back home and unload the car and drag a week's worth of laundry up the stairs to our apartment and put them away.
By the time we did all of that, I was ready for bed! Tomorrow is another day!
First Stop (with the help of the GPS): Porsche Museum...of course! I read the list of things we could do but when I got to Porsche Museum, the decision was made to go there and since I wasn't driving, I couldn't do anything about it. Perhaps I should have not put that location into the mix! But, it's out of the way now and we can move on to other attractions. My husband, however, reminded me that there are two other car places he wants to see: BMW and Mercedes. I guess I will have to indulge him since he only has three things on his list and I've only just begun my list!
However, the museum is spectacular. The architecture is astounding. I'm glad we got there around 9:30 because when we were done with our tour, the crowds were starting to build up. I guess it's a very popular attraction. Although I'm not a car "buff", I can appreciate the beauty of the cars, their workmanship and the minds behind the workmanship. I particularly liked the history of the cars and the technology they used to present the history. It was really cool! We both had on headsets which allowed us to hear audio on many of the displays. And when there wasn't a display, there was a quasi-computer monitor that had pictures and captions written in both English and German. The monitors were flat panel monitors affixed to a stand. It was interesting to me because to advance to the next frame you literally moved the monitor to the right and if you wanted to go back, you moved the monitor to the left! Really cool.
There was a multitude of information I didn't know about Porsche, including the fact that they built airplanes and were originally designed as race cars. I'm a female..why would I know that? Anyways, it was a cool place, even from a woman's point of view!
We then went to lunch in the museum. They are very technology oriented. As we walked through the door, we were handed green cardboard-like credit cards. It was a cafeteria style-type restaurant. When we ordered our drinks and sandwiches from the clerk, she asked us to slide the cardboard card across the scanner located on the counter. When we finished our sandwiches and drinks, Ted took the card to the cashier and paid the bill. The Cashier doesn't have to remember prices (like in the States - not to mention keeping employees honest) and checkout goes fast! It was very, very slick!
By now it's around 1:30pm and it's my turn to choose where we're going. On we go to City Centre in Stuttgart. Not so much to shop but to get a feel for the area. Again the GPS comes in handy, except we kept going around in circles! I didn't know that the city centre was one big walking plaza so the "nice GPS lady" kept sending us around, and around, and around. Ted started to get frustrated so he decided to park the car. By this time, it had started to rain. This time I DID remember to bring an umbrella...but what I didn't remember was to bring BOTH of them! UGH!
So we started walking around the square and I snapped pictures as we went. We window shopped and I couldn't believe the prices! They were outrageous! It appears I will be doing ALL of my shopping either at the base or by catalog in the next several years. I'm certainly not going to pay 125 US Dollars for a pair of capris!
Ted looked at a shirt in La Cost store and it was 130 US Dollars! He won't be buying shirts there anytime soon. There was a fur-lined raincoat for 10,000 US Dollars and a diamond necklace at Cartiers for 250,000 US Dollars. Someone's making some big bucks around here, huh?
Walking along, I took pictures of art sculptures, fountains, and buildings. We finally came to an old Catholic church. It was from the 1500's but it was decimated by WWII bombing which was such a shame. But they restored it and it is beautiful! They seemed to be preparing for Easter Sunday. I found it weird that they were putting technical equipment in an open room that housed two tombs! Ah, the era of technology!
After walking around some more and being cold, we stopped for a snack at a local cafe. We split a "Berliner" which is like a doughnut with vanilla creme inside. It is not as sweet as a doughnut which is fine with me! And it was wonderful!
On the way to the car, we heard music. It was coming from somewhere in the plaza and it kept getting louder. I was hoping that it would be local music or possibly the German version of Rock music. Unfortunately, it was Rap. I thought it was quite funny, coming to Germany and hearing Rap in German. I just had to snap a few photos.
By this time, it was around 4pm and we needed to go to the PX and get a pan so I could roast vegetables and bake chicken.
Then it was on to Kelley base to do laundry. Luckily there were very few people doing laundry and I was able to grab four machines and get the laundry done in double quick time.
By this time we decided to go to dinner because I was just too pooped to cook ;)
We went to a few places on the list of restaurants our landlords left for us but none of the ones we went to seemed appealing. We ended up going to the first place we went to earlier in the week. We knew the food was good and the waiter speaks English! So off we went! Again, the food was great and now it was time to come back home and unload the car and drag a week's worth of laundry up the stairs to our apartment and put them away.
By the time we did all of that, I was ready for bed! Tomorrow is another day!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Day 5: Finally, the sun comes out!
It was so wonderful to see the sun shining this morning! I thought I'd go for a walk and check out the neighborhood.
Side of house (and our balcony) and the front door
Front garden (we do not have access to this.)
Entrance to owner's front garden
Side garden that we have access to.
My hosts are doing some remodeling today, specifically their office and bedroom so it's a bit noisy but nothing unbearable. The interior walls are block so he's using a sledge hammer to break away the walls while his wife totes the broken blocks to the dumpster outside the garage.
The day is cool but not overly cold and I brought along my gloves and scarf just in case. In the middle of my walk, it started to lightly rain. Uh oh! What I didn't do was bring an umbrella. I'll have to remember to bring it next time.
To avoid the rain, I thought I'd drop into the local health food store, not far from our apartment, and did a bit of shopping - some bread, yogurt, rye crisps and butter. The money feels like play money and I have to get used to the various denominations. What I found amusing was in their dairy case there was a tub of Cream Cheese called California!!
I had forgotten that one needs to bring their own bags to shop but the shop lady was kind enough to give me a bag and the lady that checked me out went and got a another bag to double bag it so that it wouldn't break on the way home.
It's fun to actually see people walking!! In California people walk for fun, here they walk out of necessity!! I think if you have a purpose for walking, it's more fun. I don't like to walk just for the fun of it, I like to walk because there's something I need to do.
I was able to locate an Italian restaurant, the pharmacy, a market, a butcher shop, a cleaners, a cafe, an ice cream parlor, several beauty shops, a massage parlor, several specialty shops (including clothing stores), a doctor's office and of course the local health food store.
I've taken photos of the exterior of our new home. It's very much like living in a chalet!! The balcony is off of my kitchen so that's really cool. My hosts told me that the home was built in 1982!! I couldn't believe what great shape the house is in given the age and the climate here in Stuttgart. The Germans are truly tidy people.
The rest of the day was spent "working" and since it was raining, I didn't mind. Then I made supper for my husband and me. I just finished doing dishes and finished working (I think). It's now time to think about getting comfy and going to bed!
I'm not sure what the weekend will bring but I'm sure there will be fun involved!
Side of house (and our balcony) and the front door
Front garden (we do not have access to this.)Entrance to owner's front garden
Side garden that we have access to.Thursday, March 26, 2009
Day 4: Thankful, Humble and Grateful.
As with everything, there are ups and downs. With the weather the way it's been for the past few days, it's not been conducive for any type of walking. So yesterday I rested and reflected on what a wonderful journey this is. I have been feeling the cold. After having lived in the California sun for the past eight years, I'm thankful I have a roof over my head protecting me from the rain, sleet and wind. So I add an extra sweater and sit in the kitchen next to the radiator where it is warm! I am, however, grateful for the opportunity to have been placed here. I know there's a reason we are here and that we are to learn something while we are here.
I look forward to exploring this quaint little town. The bells of the Cathedral, visible in the distance, ring at 6pm every night. I have forgotten how comforting that is! The town is called Filderstadt and it's outside of Stuttgart. There's a farm less than a block away from where we live and there's a stand where you can buy fresh vegetables. It's on the honor system and they have a little box where you deposit your money and then take your vegetables. I haven't seen anything like that since I was a little girl growing up in Ohio!!
Today was interesting, though. My hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Wiemann, came up stairs to check on us and to tell me that they would be doing some loud construction work tomorrow. I thought that was very nice of them to let me know. I think they were advising me because they know I work from home.
They seem like very kind people. They introduced me to their son who lives in the apartment next door to ours. I asked lots of questions and wanted to know about everything in the village. They were pleased to give me the information. I even translated their "House Rules" into English and told them I would leave them a copy of it for future use.
At any rate, I found out that most of the stores close at 12:30pm and don't open up again until about 3pm. Some markets are open throughout the day until 10pm (I was surprised about that), the key is to know which ones they are! It so reminds me of the time I spent in Italy all those years ago. Ah! The memories! I look forward to making new memories here in Germany.
Mrs. Weimann also let me know that she would be laundering our towels (kitchen and bath) and our linens. I was so happy to hear that! Since I don't have laundering facilities, I was very grateful for it. She also said she would scrub the floors...but I couldn't let her do that!! So I will wash them in the morning and then go to work at the kitchen table where it's warmer than at the desk!! Hopefully, there will be a little sunshine so I can walk down the road to visit the vegetable stand.
Tonight I made our first full meal. It was challenging to say the least because the kitchen is so small. But, I'm grateful for having a kitchen at all. I had imagined we would be eating out every day and night and that does get old after awhile.
Doing dishes was also a challenge. We don't truly know how blessed we are until we live in a foreign country without the amenities we're used to...microwave, dishwasher, tea kettle or disposal. I know my own household goods are on their way and this is just a stopping place until we find permanent digs. I'm humbled by this temporary housing but am happy to be here. I'd forgotten that Europeans do their dishes in a way that conserves water and energy. So I went back to my roots when I was in Italy many, many years ago and remembered how to do them to conserve that precious hot water!
I look forward to the weekend to spend time with my husband who is settling in at work very nicely! He's already working on a project and enjoying it. He had the opportunity to have lunch in a German deli in Stuttgart today. He went by himself. When I asked him how he managed to order, he said he pointed! Isn't THAT humbling? Time to get back to learning our German!!
This weekend we will be exploring. I haven't worked up an itinerary yet but will do so, sometime tomorrow. We also have to make sure we find time over the weekend to do laundry. Kelly Base, which is not far from our apartment, has a laundry that's opened 24 hours so we can do it early or late depending on what else we have planned. And while it's a pain to have to drag dirty laundry around, but the flip side of that is that there will be a multitude of washers and dryers at our disposal so it shouldn't take long when you wash everything at once and then dry everything at once. For me, it's the silver lining because laundry is the one chore I don't like so having four washers and four dryers to get it done in an hour or two is great! ;)
Today was also the first day that I haven't felt jet lagged. Thankfully, I didn't nap at all and now I'm ready to go to sleep.
So, I am embracing my new surroundings and looking forward to sharing everything with you!
I look forward to exploring this quaint little town. The bells of the Cathedral, visible in the distance, ring at 6pm every night. I have forgotten how comforting that is! The town is called Filderstadt and it's outside of Stuttgart. There's a farm less than a block away from where we live and there's a stand where you can buy fresh vegetables. It's on the honor system and they have a little box where you deposit your money and then take your vegetables. I haven't seen anything like that since I was a little girl growing up in Ohio!!
Today was interesting, though. My hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Wiemann, came up stairs to check on us and to tell me that they would be doing some loud construction work tomorrow. I thought that was very nice of them to let me know. I think they were advising me because they know I work from home.
They seem like very kind people. They introduced me to their son who lives in the apartment next door to ours. I asked lots of questions and wanted to know about everything in the village. They were pleased to give me the information. I even translated their "House Rules" into English and told them I would leave them a copy of it for future use.
At any rate, I found out that most of the stores close at 12:30pm and don't open up again until about 3pm. Some markets are open throughout the day until 10pm (I was surprised about that), the key is to know which ones they are! It so reminds me of the time I spent in Italy all those years ago. Ah! The memories! I look forward to making new memories here in Germany.
Mrs. Weimann also let me know that she would be laundering our towels (kitchen and bath) and our linens. I was so happy to hear that! Since I don't have laundering facilities, I was very grateful for it. She also said she would scrub the floors...but I couldn't let her do that!! So I will wash them in the morning and then go to work at the kitchen table where it's warmer than at the desk!! Hopefully, there will be a little sunshine so I can walk down the road to visit the vegetable stand.
Tonight I made our first full meal. It was challenging to say the least because the kitchen is so small. But, I'm grateful for having a kitchen at all. I had imagined we would be eating out every day and night and that does get old after awhile.
Doing dishes was also a challenge. We don't truly know how blessed we are until we live in a foreign country without the amenities we're used to...microwave, dishwasher, tea kettle or disposal. I know my own household goods are on their way and this is just a stopping place until we find permanent digs. I'm humbled by this temporary housing but am happy to be here. I'd forgotten that Europeans do their dishes in a way that conserves water and energy. So I went back to my roots when I was in Italy many, many years ago and remembered how to do them to conserve that precious hot water!
I look forward to the weekend to spend time with my husband who is settling in at work very nicely! He's already working on a project and enjoying it. He had the opportunity to have lunch in a German deli in Stuttgart today. He went by himself. When I asked him how he managed to order, he said he pointed! Isn't THAT humbling? Time to get back to learning our German!!
This weekend we will be exploring. I haven't worked up an itinerary yet but will do so, sometime tomorrow. We also have to make sure we find time over the weekend to do laundry. Kelly Base, which is not far from our apartment, has a laundry that's opened 24 hours so we can do it early or late depending on what else we have planned. And while it's a pain to have to drag dirty laundry around, but the flip side of that is that there will be a multitude of washers and dryers at our disposal so it shouldn't take long when you wash everything at once and then dry everything at once. For me, it's the silver lining because laundry is the one chore I don't like so having four washers and four dryers to get it done in an hour or two is great! ;)
Today was also the first day that I haven't felt jet lagged. Thankfully, I didn't nap at all and now I'm ready to go to sleep.
So, I am embracing my new surroundings and looking forward to sharing everything with you!
Stay tuned for more!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Day 2: All over town and car is limping!
Today didn't start out as early as we had hoped. Our alarm did not go off as it should have so it wasn't until 8:30am when we left the apartment. We wanted to be at the first stop before 8:00 but it just didn't happen. Ted actually has a project slated for tomorrow so we had to finish everything on the check list!
First stop was Panzer Base (named after Germany's Panzer tank). My husband signed us in (after going through the gate, we had to park the car, and go to the security building - more like a two-man shack - just to get clearance to go in.) It was snowing to beat the band!! Large fluffy flakes that stick to your eyelids, hair and clothing...and it was cold! Luckily they have a large tube that shoots hot air onto people waiting in line.
When our name was called to process my CAC card, we were told we needed our marriage certificate and I needed two forms of identification, my SS card and my CA driver's license. I had my driver's license but not the marriage certificate or the SS card. (Luckily for us, I had the foresight to bring important documents on the plane with us!)
So back we went to our apartment to get the proper documents. On the way back to Panzer, the car lost power...we could still drive it but driving it on the AutoBahn was tricky. When we finally arrived at Panzer, we were able to get me my CAC card. While I was being "processed", my husband was on the phone with the rental agency.
Luckily they speak English but they did not know where Panzer was. Luckily there was a nice lady who spoke German who gave them directions and told us to wait at the gate. So off we went to sit outside the gate and wait for them to pickup the car. Now there was another dilemma...they were going to pick up the car but we would be stranded!! So on the phone again, talking to the rental place about bringing us another car to replace the one that they were picking up. What a drama!!! So we sat in the car and waited and watched the snow fall. There were a few more calls to the rental agency while we waited. Finally, Volkswagen came with a brand new car for us. It's an EOS. We wanted to try it out to see if it made the short list of cars that we were interested in purchasing when the time comes.
We also needed to get me a SOFA document, which basically says that I'm affiliated with the armed forces and gives us special privileges (don't ask what they are because I do not know). Luckily the office that does this is at the Panzer Base so back into base we go....with the same model car but a different color. The security guard (who is German) said, "This is another car?" He was quite observant. I would have thought that with so many people going in and out of that base that he would have forgotten, but he didn't!!
OK...so now it's about 1:30pm and we are hungry so we stop at the BX/PX for a bite to eat and then on to the department store to get cleaning and laundry supplies.
In addition, we both have to pass German driving tests. And there are classes we must take to just take the exam! He has a booklet but I didn't have one. I wondered if I needed one so since we were still at Panzer (and that's where the driving tests are done), we thought we'd check. Lo and behold, yes I would need the book. Remember Ted did ALL of these things yesterday with his sponsor for himself!! And now he's taking me through the process again! Now I have to study the book because we have THREE days of classes in order to pass this exam. UGH!
Next stop: Kelly Barracks. Thank GOODNESS for GPS...we would never have known how to navigate the various highways and "strasse" (streets). At Kelly we needed to check out our new permanent mailing address. We have a box and will be happy to share that address if anyone would like it. Just send me a private email and I'll forward it to you. Of course the box is near the floor so we were practically on our hands and knees trying to figure out the combination which is very different from high school lockers ;) We wanted to open a bank account too but of course, they are only open Mon-Wed-Fri. Gee, I'm sure other bankers would love to have those hours!! So scratch that off the list...for now. It is now, 3:45pm and the mail lady said there was branch on Patch but she said they were only open until 4:30 so we'd have to rush. Back in the car we go....to yet another Base...Patch Barracks.
By the way, all day long the weather alternated between cloudy and snowy sleet to sunshine with patches of blue skies. Very weird weather. And I had on a new pair of shoes that I thought were very comfortable when I tried them on but of course after all of the walking, in and out of cars and buildings, the feet were sore by 4pm. We get there at 4:25 and by a stroke of luck, the credit union was open until 5pm!! So we were able to get our bank account set up and ready to go.
Patch is the base that has the largest grocery story (Commissary) and because we don't want to eat late in the evening, we decided to get enough food until the weekend, when we will go again. Of course by this time, the feet were burning, burning, burning. I whipped through my grocery list like a crazed woman!! Now all of it and the other things we bought at the BX/PX had to be toted up the winding steps to our apartment and put away. Oh Joy!
After changing my shoes to something a little more comfortable, we toted those bags upstairs and put everything away. My husband was surprised I found spots to put everything! To say we are falling asleep at the keyboard is an under statement!!
So it's off to la-la land for me. Until next time...
First stop was Panzer Base (named after Germany's Panzer tank). My husband signed us in (after going through the gate, we had to park the car, and go to the security building - more like a two-man shack - just to get clearance to go in.) It was snowing to beat the band!! Large fluffy flakes that stick to your eyelids, hair and clothing...and it was cold! Luckily they have a large tube that shoots hot air onto people waiting in line.
When our name was called to process my CAC card, we were told we needed our marriage certificate and I needed two forms of identification, my SS card and my CA driver's license. I had my driver's license but not the marriage certificate or the SS card. (Luckily for us, I had the foresight to bring important documents on the plane with us!)
So back we went to our apartment to get the proper documents. On the way back to Panzer, the car lost power...we could still drive it but driving it on the AutoBahn was tricky. When we finally arrived at Panzer, we were able to get me my CAC card. While I was being "processed", my husband was on the phone with the rental agency.
Luckily they speak English but they did not know where Panzer was. Luckily there was a nice lady who spoke German who gave them directions and told us to wait at the gate. So off we went to sit outside the gate and wait for them to pickup the car. Now there was another dilemma...they were going to pick up the car but we would be stranded!! So on the phone again, talking to the rental place about bringing us another car to replace the one that they were picking up. What a drama!!! So we sat in the car and waited and watched the snow fall. There were a few more calls to the rental agency while we waited. Finally, Volkswagen came with a brand new car for us. It's an EOS. We wanted to try it out to see if it made the short list of cars that we were interested in purchasing when the time comes.
We also needed to get me a SOFA document, which basically says that I'm affiliated with the armed forces and gives us special privileges (don't ask what they are because I do not know). Luckily the office that does this is at the Panzer Base so back into base we go....with the same model car but a different color. The security guard (who is German) said, "This is another car?" He was quite observant. I would have thought that with so many people going in and out of that base that he would have forgotten, but he didn't!!
OK...so now it's about 1:30pm and we are hungry so we stop at the BX/PX for a bite to eat and then on to the department store to get cleaning and laundry supplies.
In addition, we both have to pass German driving tests. And there are classes we must take to just take the exam! He has a booklet but I didn't have one. I wondered if I needed one so since we were still at Panzer (and that's where the driving tests are done), we thought we'd check. Lo and behold, yes I would need the book. Remember Ted did ALL of these things yesterday with his sponsor for himself!! And now he's taking me through the process again! Now I have to study the book because we have THREE days of classes in order to pass this exam. UGH!
Next stop: Kelly Barracks. Thank GOODNESS for GPS...we would never have known how to navigate the various highways and "strasse" (streets). At Kelly we needed to check out our new permanent mailing address. We have a box and will be happy to share that address if anyone would like it. Just send me a private email and I'll forward it to you. Of course the box is near the floor so we were practically on our hands and knees trying to figure out the combination which is very different from high school lockers ;) We wanted to open a bank account too but of course, they are only open Mon-Wed-Fri. Gee, I'm sure other bankers would love to have those hours!! So scratch that off the list...for now. It is now, 3:45pm and the mail lady said there was branch on Patch but she said they were only open until 4:30 so we'd have to rush. Back in the car we go....to yet another Base...Patch Barracks.
By the way, all day long the weather alternated between cloudy and snowy sleet to sunshine with patches of blue skies. Very weird weather. And I had on a new pair of shoes that I thought were very comfortable when I tried them on but of course after all of the walking, in and out of cars and buildings, the feet were sore by 4pm. We get there at 4:25 and by a stroke of luck, the credit union was open until 5pm!! So we were able to get our bank account set up and ready to go.
Patch is the base that has the largest grocery story (Commissary) and because we don't want to eat late in the evening, we decided to get enough food until the weekend, when we will go again. Of course by this time, the feet were burning, burning, burning. I whipped through my grocery list like a crazed woman!! Now all of it and the other things we bought at the BX/PX had to be toted up the winding steps to our apartment and put away. Oh Joy!
After changing my shoes to something a little more comfortable, we toted those bags upstairs and put everything away. My husband was surprised I found spots to put everything! To say we are falling asleep at the keyboard is an under statement!!
So it's off to la-la land for me. Until next time...
Monday, March 23, 2009
Day 1: the inside of our new temporary home.
We didn't think we would sleep well last night but we did. And even though we didn't think the mattresses would be comfortable, they were. But it could be that we were just so exhausted we didn't notice. The mattresses in Germany are different to say the least. We believe we will adapt fairly quickly to the differences and embrace them.
However, we will have to get used to not being able to take a shower after 10pm. Ted's co-worker (who did not do any kind of research on the culture here prior to moving here) took a shower at 11pm and his landlord immediately called the police! Needless to say, the company moved him out of there pronto! The house rules in our apartment state no loud radio or television after 10pm (it was in German so I had to translate it - luckily I had the internet to access a free translation site). We are learning that we have to be quiet after 10pm and that's every day not just on work days. So we are rearranging the way we do things to accommodate our landlords, who live downstairs.
Another issue is garbage. The Germans do recycling in a BIG way. There are two garbage cans: one for metal, plastic, and foil. The other has two compartments: one for paper and one for food leftovers (no garbage disposal). Another little handy thing that as Americans, we take for granted. The instructions, also in German, had to be translated. There are so many things, that while I researched them carefully, one doesn't really think about until one is faced with day-to-day living experiences.
Today was spent resting and going through paperwork that needed to be sorted. After traveling and visitng for the past two weeks, it was necessary to get caught up, not only on paperwork but on rest as well.
The day is cloudy, cold and windy and about 40 degrees. I hope it gets warm soon but I checked the weather for the week and it looks like it is supposed to rain the rest of the week and not go above 40 degrees. I certainly hope it won't rain because I really want to get out and explore the town.
However, we will have to get used to not being able to take a shower after 10pm. Ted's co-worker (who did not do any kind of research on the culture here prior to moving here) took a shower at 11pm and his landlord immediately called the police! Needless to say, the company moved him out of there pronto! The house rules in our apartment state no loud radio or television after 10pm (it was in German so I had to translate it - luckily I had the internet to access a free translation site). We are learning that we have to be quiet after 10pm and that's every day not just on work days. So we are rearranging the way we do things to accommodate our landlords, who live downstairs.
Another issue is garbage. The Germans do recycling in a BIG way. There are two garbage cans: one for metal, plastic, and foil. The other has two compartments: one for paper and one for food leftovers (no garbage disposal). Another little handy thing that as Americans, we take for granted. The instructions, also in German, had to be translated. There are so many things, that while I researched them carefully, one doesn't really think about until one is faced with day-to-day living experiences.
Today was spent resting and going through paperwork that needed to be sorted. After traveling and visitng for the past two weeks, it was necessary to get caught up, not only on paperwork but on rest as well.
The day is cloudy, cold and windy and about 40 degrees. I hope it gets warm soon but I checked the weather for the week and it looks like it is supposed to rain the rest of the week and not go above 40 degrees. I certainly hope it won't rain because I really want to get out and explore the town.
Until next time, Auf Weidersehen!
P.S. I'm attaching some photos of our new apartment. They are from various angles within the Living Room, Kitchen, Bedroom and Bath along with the Southeast and Northeast views from our balcony.
Living Room from opposite LR wall Looking toward the Kitchen from the desk Living Room from Kitchen.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Arrived!
After more than a week of visiting with family and friends, it was time to leave the U.S. to embark on the adventure of our lives!! It’s a bit surreal to realize that just yesterday we were in Washington DC an ocean away and two weeks ago we were in California managing the last minute details for the move. Today we are now transplants to a very quaint little town. (It’s really not so little, Stuttgart has approximately 500,000 people and that does not include the outskirts)
After leaving Washington DC’s Dulles airport at 12:30 pm, we arrived in Atlanta at 2:30pm and trekked on over to the International gates and waited until almost 6pm for the direct flight to Stuttgart, Germany.
The flight was fine except we were packed like sardines. It appears to be the standard for any flight today. I was telling Ted, it really isn’t as much fun as it used to be. Thirty years ago, it was a blast to fly. But today, it’s not much fun. As a result, sleeping was virtually impossible. I think I dozed about two hours in total which isn’t much when considering we left our hotel room at 8:30am on Saturday morning and got to Stuttgart by 8:15am the next day!!
We presented our passports but did not have to go through customs. The airport is beautiful and so clean! What I found amazing is that the ‘smart carts’ you can rent to get your bags from the carousel to the car are so inexpensive here. We paid $4 and $3 for San Francisco and Pittsburgh, respectively. Here they were 25 cents each!!! What’s with the U.S. prices? Someone is making a bundle!
We were met at the gate by James, a co-worker of Ted’s who explained he would be taking us to our temporary housing and then driving us around town all day to see the area and to help us get our bearings.
We loaded James’ car with everything except our laptops and it was a good thing too. After loading his car, we picked up our rental car. We rented a VW EOS until we can get a car of our own. And while it’s a cool car, we wouldn’t have had enough space for the eight bags we brought with us.
After dropping off James at arrivals, we were supposed to meet up with him outside the airport but couldn’t find him. Luckily he left us with a pre-programmed GPS but we didn’t know if it was programmed to go to the apartment or to Ted’s work. We then called James and realized he left his phone in our car. We decided to follow the GPS and hope we could find where we were going and hoped that in the mean time, James would figure it out and meet us at the apartment.
When we arrived at the apartment, I was certain I knew where we were because I had done a satellite lookup last Thursday to see the apartment we would be staying in. After looking up her phone number we called her. We had gone three houses down but found it easily enough because she came out. Thankfully, she speaks a little English but I mentioned that I want to learn German. She smiled and seemed happy that we were making the effort.
It turns out, we are in an upstairs apartment and the landlord lives downstairs. The building is very modern but yet maintains quaintness about it.
After depositing our bags and getting our keys, James took us to Ted’s new workplace so he could see the building (and his cube), gauge the time to get to work and be able to find his way tomorrow morning. With GPS, he should have no trouble at all.
We then went to three military bases to check them out. After parking our car, signing in and showing our passports, we were allowed entrance to the three bases. By tomorrow, Ted should have his ID card that will enable him to get on base without going through what we went through today. We checked out the BX/PX which is where the military do their department store shopping. It was like a Mall and had many of the niceties that we take for granted in the U.S. We were shown where we would get our mail. Hopefully, we will have a new address this week sometime so we can do all of the address changes we need to do. We are hoping that I will get a military ID as well but James could not tell us either way.
We then went grocery shopping at the Commissary to supply us with a few things to tide us over until we get our own ID’s. It’s amazing how the military supplies its people with all of the “stuff” we get in the U.S. It REALLY made me feel at home. That’s not to say that it won’t be fun to shop on the economy. I’m totally looking forward to it!!
I was falling asleep in the car and requested to go back to the apartment. After doing some unpacking and calling family members to let them know we arrived safely, it’s just about time for us to go to bed.
Tomorrow is another day of an exciting adventure. Stay tuned for photos of our new tiny apartment.
After leaving Washington DC’s Dulles airport at 12:30 pm, we arrived in Atlanta at 2:30pm and trekked on over to the International gates and waited until almost 6pm for the direct flight to Stuttgart, Germany.
The flight was fine except we were packed like sardines. It appears to be the standard for any flight today. I was telling Ted, it really isn’t as much fun as it used to be. Thirty years ago, it was a blast to fly. But today, it’s not much fun. As a result, sleeping was virtually impossible. I think I dozed about two hours in total which isn’t much when considering we left our hotel room at 8:30am on Saturday morning and got to Stuttgart by 8:15am the next day!!
We presented our passports but did not have to go through customs. The airport is beautiful and so clean! What I found amazing is that the ‘smart carts’ you can rent to get your bags from the carousel to the car are so inexpensive here. We paid $4 and $3 for San Francisco and Pittsburgh, respectively. Here they were 25 cents each!!! What’s with the U.S. prices? Someone is making a bundle!
We were met at the gate by James, a co-worker of Ted’s who explained he would be taking us to our temporary housing and then driving us around town all day to see the area and to help us get our bearings.
We loaded James’ car with everything except our laptops and it was a good thing too. After loading his car, we picked up our rental car. We rented a VW EOS until we can get a car of our own. And while it’s a cool car, we wouldn’t have had enough space for the eight bags we brought with us.
After dropping off James at arrivals, we were supposed to meet up with him outside the airport but couldn’t find him. Luckily he left us with a pre-programmed GPS but we didn’t know if it was programmed to go to the apartment or to Ted’s work. We then called James and realized he left his phone in our car. We decided to follow the GPS and hope we could find where we were going and hoped that in the mean time, James would figure it out and meet us at the apartment.
When we arrived at the apartment, I was certain I knew where we were because I had done a satellite lookup last Thursday to see the apartment we would be staying in. After looking up her phone number we called her. We had gone three houses down but found it easily enough because she came out. Thankfully, she speaks a little English but I mentioned that I want to learn German. She smiled and seemed happy that we were making the effort.
It turns out, we are in an upstairs apartment and the landlord lives downstairs. The building is very modern but yet maintains quaintness about it.
After depositing our bags and getting our keys, James took us to Ted’s new workplace so he could see the building (and his cube), gauge the time to get to work and be able to find his way tomorrow morning. With GPS, he should have no trouble at all.
We then went to three military bases to check them out. After parking our car, signing in and showing our passports, we were allowed entrance to the three bases. By tomorrow, Ted should have his ID card that will enable him to get on base without going through what we went through today. We checked out the BX/PX which is where the military do their department store shopping. It was like a Mall and had many of the niceties that we take for granted in the U.S. We were shown where we would get our mail. Hopefully, we will have a new address this week sometime so we can do all of the address changes we need to do. We are hoping that I will get a military ID as well but James could not tell us either way.
We then went grocery shopping at the Commissary to supply us with a few things to tide us over until we get our own ID’s. It’s amazing how the military supplies its people with all of the “stuff” we get in the U.S. It REALLY made me feel at home. That’s not to say that it won’t be fun to shop on the economy. I’m totally looking forward to it!!
I was falling asleep in the car and requested to go back to the apartment. After doing some unpacking and calling family members to let them know we arrived safely, it’s just about time for us to go to bed.
Tomorrow is another day of an exciting adventure. Stay tuned for photos of our new tiny apartment.
Friday, March 13, 2009
On Our Way.
The trip to Germany has begun. We left from California on a red-eye flight to Pittsburgh, Wednesday March 11, 2009 to visit family in the Ohio area before leaving for Germany. We arrived exhausted from a whirlwind of weeks' preparations for the move.
It is a bit surreal because we will not be returning to California, our home for so many years. While we were driving to the San Francisco airport we realized that everything we owned that we had access to was in the eight bags going on the plane with us! It's amazing what you can stuff into suitcases.
It is a bit surreal because we will not be returning to California, our home for so many years. While we were driving to the San Francisco airport we realized that everything we owned that we had access to was in the eight bags going on the plane with us! It's amazing what you can stuff into suitcases.
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