Ted is still feeling sick and his voice is very raspy. However, with the propped up pillows and blankets he was able to sleep. For that, I'm thankful. We were up early, before 7am and checked email. I was waiting for some company files so I could finish up some work but they were not there. So I checked email and looked around on Facebook. It was around 8:15 when Ted decided to go back to bed. And with nothing to do, I decided that I would join him...after all, I was having sympathetic pains for him. :)
We woke up at 11:30. WOW! I can't believe I slept that long so I'm SURE I was feeling for Ted. He looks a hundred times better than he did yesterday but his voice is still very raspy. I give him orange juice and more Juice Plus+.
It is SUCH a gorgeous day outside that we decide to go over to Panzer Base because the bank is open on Saturday and there's some business we have to attend to and I have to be there. So off we go, with the top down and listening to Calvary Chapel Christian music. It was wonderful!!
We were also misinformed about ALL of the stores being closed. Yes, a great deal of the smaller shops are closed but there are many stores that are open. I daresay those same stores will be open on Monday.
We get to the bank at about 1:40 and they are still open. We had 20 minutes to spare. We decided to get some cash and try out our new ATM cards. What's really cool about THIS ATM is that I can get either U.S. Dollars OR Euros!! How cool is that?
I'm not happy about the exchange rate, however. The dollar is only worth .73 Euros today! I do hope it goes back up. The saving grace is that our stipend is in Euros which is a definite Godsend!
All the stuff I bought yesterday to get Ted better, he didn't want and I forgot to bring that stuff with me so that I could take it all back. Oh well, it will have to wait until next week. But he wanted PLAIN Tylenol because the other Tylenol bothers his stomach. So off we go to BX/PX to get the Tylenol and two green teas. We stop at the food court to drink the teas and get the Tylenol into Ted.
Before we leave the PX/BX, Ted stops at the Candy Store and buys Chocolate covered Strawberries and Bananas on a skewer. He's in heaven. I didn't have it because I'm fasting until Easter. He's really killing me! LOL! The lady tending the store is German but speaks English. We were surprised to see Jelly Belly's there and told her we used to live about an hour away from the factory and even went on a tour of it. She told us that they only get a few flavors and she wished she could see the factory and all the flavors they can't get! We also bought some hazelnuts that are covered in Sugar, Cinnamon and Vanilla. They are in a curious package. I took a photo because I don't think I'd ever seen them packaged like this! It's just heavy wrapping paper made into a cone. Go figure!
Before leaving we ask her how to say "Happy Easter", she says "Furer Ostern". I'm not sure of the spelling but I think the u has two dots over it.
We also stop in the cell phone place to see if they can unlock my phone. They can't. They need the codes from my provider before they can do it. So now I have to call AT&T to see what can be done for my phone. That's going to be one big, fat hassle. Oh well, the joys of living abroad!
On our way out, there's a sign with the address of the Robinson Base where the furniture store is. We'd been wanting to go and it's the only Base that we haven't visited. So I program the GPS to get there and we are on our way.
Because it's between where we are right now and where we need to go, we decide to stop at Ted's work place because the paperwork he scanned on Friday did not go to his email address. It must have gone out to cyberland somewhere! That task accomplished we are ready to go to Robinson base.
It took a LOT longer than we anticipated because we had to drive through the city but what a wonderful drive it was. Stuttgart typography is bowl-like. If there weren't signs in German or the houses being a little different, I would have thought I was in San Francisco!!
We finally get there (it took almost an hour) and this base is a bit different than the other bases. It has these barricades that you have to drive through to get to the checkpoint where you show your ID. Very curious indeed! The base is much larger than the other bases and it appears to be in better condition. No one ever wants to go there and we know why! It's a pain in the butt and takes a long time to get there. This was a holiday and it STILL took a long time to get there. Can you imagine how long it would have taken if it were a regular weekday or a Saturday?
We had no idea where this furniture store was so we started reading the signs. It turns out the furniture store is in the PX/BX on Robinson. One-stop shopping! We go in and check out the furniture. There wasn't anything that I couldn't live without EXCEPT for the love seat that has two recliners on it!! It's the right color to match our other recliner. I didn't like any of the tables and for the prices they wanted, some of them were scratched and weren't level. I think I'll either be going to the local Red Cross to buys some used stuff or to IKEA. I'd rather have IKEA which is much cheaper and is made better. I'm sure I'll be able to sell it all when we return to the States.
We check out the washer and dryer. While I loved the front loading LG washer and dryer units, I'm not spending $1000 for them for a three year period. We'll have to buy used or see what we can buy on the economy that is cheap! There is an Italian brand called Candy. I think I'll start there!
Since we were there, we decided to do some shopping. It's amazing what you can buy there. Almost everything we can get in the states, we can get there. I'm a happy camper. There are some things that I will not buy there: Bread, sweets, fruits and vegetables and of course, my husband's beloved gelato.
The GPS lady takes us a different way back but we end up on B27 (which goes through the city and becomes a freeway. It is the first time in many, many, many years that I see someone actually "thumbing" for a ride to "Munchen" (Munich). When I said that to Ted, he remarked: "That's because it's safe here. There are no crazies here!"
When we get to our little town of Bonlanden, there are people walking about but the shops are closed. By this time it's after 6pm. He takes a turn and I knew he was going to where the Lidl store was. Since we didn't get to go in the other night, he decided we needed to check that out as well as the store across the street called DM.
We park the car and at first, we were just going to go in and check out the place. Well, I got in there and saw something I had never, ever seen in the states. They actually sell colored hard-boiled eggs for Easter. How cool is that? I took a photo of them so you could see the packaging and the eggs. Now I will have something that will be home-like.
So now I need a cart (buggy as my mom would say). They are outside. You have to pay a deposit to use the carts in Germany. Then when you return them and lock them down, you get your deposit back. It's 50 cents (Euro) to use a buggy. If the US had something like that, there would be no "buggies" all over the parking lot. Leave it to the Germans to ensure that the lots are kept neat and tidy and that no "buggies" are missing.
We go through the store and my husband likes it better than the Lidl near his work. He's like a kid in a candy store. We see American sliced bread - which we shake our head at! Why in the world would these folks buy that awful sliced bread when the Germans make such delicious breads? We also see M&M's which I found so funny! Again, my husband said, "Why would I want to get M&M's when I can have these other types of chocolates which are SO much better?" And we forgot our shopping bags - but in all fairness, we were not supposed to be shopping. I'm glad we did do our shopping, though. Now I don't have to think about it until the following week. We're well stocked.
It appears where ever there is a Lidl there is also a Trieger. This is a bakery and sandwich shop. They carry fresh bread that you can slice or not, delicious pastries and sandwiches. They are attached to Lidl. So I go in and get a small loaf of ciabatta bread and have them slice it for me. And another thing, there are no twistie-ties here in Germany, which I find hard to believe. They don't even have them at the Commissary! You don't realize how something so small, so insignificant can make your life easier. So...if anyone reading this, has compassion, the next time they go to the grocery store, grab some extra twistie-ties, put them in an envelope and send them along to me in Germany. I will be forever grateful! :)
Purchases in hand, we're ready to check out the DM store. It turns out, it's their version of our Walgreens or CVS minus the pharmacy part. Their pharmacies are strictly that: just pharmacies.
We both looked at some of the prices and realized that the only reason to buy anything at all in here is if we are in a pinch and can't get to the BX/PX. And that's not going to happen because everything in here is extremely expensive! From hair care to personal care and baby stuff, nothing is inexpensive. I'm ready to go home, the dogs are barking!
At home we unload all the groceries at the steps going into the house and he moves the car while I carry most of the groceries up the stairs and into our tiny apartment. I'm having trouble fitting everything into the refrigerator but I'm going to force it! Everything put away, it's time for a shower and bed.
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