Today was Werner Kimmel's funeral (one of our landlords). I have decided to go and represent Ted and I at the funeral. Since I don't speak the language, I'm just going to do a "monkey see, monkey do" thing!
I almost was late because I had been puttering around the apartment. I was walking towards the church when the bells were ringing. (I figured out that the bells indicated that there was something going on at the church and one should be there...and the frequency is different than when telling time.) Just as I was walking up to the church a woman came out and was closing the doors. I barely made it inside. I was surprised to see so many people there. And while the church is not small, it's not large either (see pictures from yesterday's blog).
I found a seat next to two gentleman and could see my other landlord sitting in front with his wife and daughter. I was glad to have asked my realtor what I should wear and whether or not to bring flowers. He nixed the flowers and told me to wear dark clothes. I was glad I wore mostly black. It was appropriate for this culture.
While we were waiting for the service to start, I had a chance to look around at the interior of the church. The inside has a LOT of intricately carved wood and there are two balconies inside with a HUGE pipe organ at the front of the church. The pulpit is at the front right and raised like in other churchs. I noticed that the balcony floors were not level but slanted. I wondered how one would walk on those floors! Oh...and the name of the church is Martin's church. I find that interesting since Ted's full name is Martin Ted! (For obvious reasons, I did not bring a camera or take any photos.)
The minister finally came out and began to speak. I'm sure he was giving a wonderful eulogy. At one point, he indicated that we should open up the hymnal and sing (mine was handed to me by the lady at the door). I craned my neck to see what page we were on from the gentleman sitting to my right. I'm sure he had no idea I didn't know what was going on. I was able to follow along in the hymnal even though I had NO idea what they were singing and didn't sing along. I was surprised that although there were a few women, there were a lot of men and all of them were singing. There was a lady behind me singing and because of it, I could follow along and see where they were. At one point, he had everyone turn to Psalm 23. Of course, I knew this Psalm. It is wonderfully comforting!
Unlike the Catholic Mass (service), the casket was no where in sight. When the service was complete, the family walked out first. The landlord's wife caught my eye so she knew I was there.
Everyone filed out after them. Once outside, everyone began to walk towards the cemetery behind the church. It was at this point that I noticed four gentleman with shirts and ties and hats (like military or police hats) pushing the casket towards the area of where he would be buried.
The four men moved the casket to the hole in the ground and gently lowered it with ropes. It was the first time in my life that I had ever witnessed a casket being lowered into the ground. I'm sure this is common in Europe but it is not in the U.S. Behind the hole stood a dozen or more flowers like you would see beside a casket in a funeral home.
When the four men had completed their task, the family walked over to the hole and threw dirt and flowers in the grave. At first I didn't notice because there were so many people in front of me but later I saw that there were three bowls on a table beside the hole. One had ferns, one had dirt with a gardening trowel, and one had flowers. Each person was able to choose which one they wanted to put into the grave. (I'm thankful I listened to the realtor and did not bring flowers...it would not have been the right thing to do.)
I waited until the very end because I didn't know him except for having met him once. I was going more out of respect for my landlord than anything. When it came time for me to go to the hole, I stood a bit away and did not throw anything into the grave. I felt it was inappropriate considering that I didn't know him.
I then went over to the family standing over to the side and gave them my condolences. After that I left. I didn't think it was appropriate for me to stay any longer.
I went through the gate and down the path to the street near our home. I decided to check out the bakery across from the construction site. Then I went home for the rest of the day.
Ted has his therapy session tonight so I will not be cooking a big meal for him since he gets home fairly late from these treatments.
Tomorrow is another day.
Monday 07/27/09
Monday, July 27, 2009
Day 125: Another day at the Dorf Fest!
Michele's band "La Melodia" will be playing today at the Dorf Fest at 1pm until the end of the Dorf Fest at around 7pm.
Ted was feeling a bit under the weather. I think it was a combination of the food, beer and late night last night that did him in but he was a trooper and came with me to the Dorf Fest because he knew how much I wanted to listen to Michele's band sing.
He didn't want to eat which I didn't blame him and we brought a bottle of water for him and a bottle of iced tea for me. We snagged some seats under an umbrella right in front of the band stand. But before we sat down we ventured near the church area and I took a few photos of the church. Part of it was built in the 1400's. I'll let you guess which part!
This is the small grassy area with a stone bench in front of the church.
These are various views of the church.
I can see this steeple out of the third bedroom window. Since I don't have a clock yet, I depend on my computer's clock and this one to tell the time.
It's interesting, actually. It appears that the clock chimes are done almost the same here as they are in the tiny villages in Italy. Here's how it works: with a certain tone, the tower will ring one ring at the quarter hour, two rings at the half hour, three rings at the three-quarter hour and four rings at the hour. At the hour, the tower will ring as many times as is the hour (i.e. six rings for six o'clock, 11 rings for 11 o'clock etc.) At the hour, it will ring first with one tone (six times, if it's six o'clock) and then six times with another tone. I'm not sure why the tower rings the hour twice (I don't remember that when I went to Italy) but the only reason I can come up with is that one misses that it's the hour and has to count. I'm going to have to ask around to find out. It's one of those things that makes you go "hmmmmmmm?"
And this was probably the ONLY mechanism the ancient people had to know what time it was!
We went at 1pm and sat and listened to them play. They played a LOT of American music and there was a black guy singing. we snagged a great seat under an umbrella right in front of the band stand. we brought our own drinks (tea for me, and water for Ted) He was feeling quite under the weather today.
As they played, we sang along. The black guy asked me to come and sing because I knew all of the words. Of course, I did not. I was too embarrassed. He would talk to the different people as they walked by in front of him.
What's unusual about this fest is that they give you REAL glasses for the beer and wine (you give a deposit for it-in Ted's case 2 Euro) and when you return the glass for a refill you simply pay for the refill. He assumed they would refill the one he had, not so.
They also gave you a plate and regular silverware for the roasted chicken they had and for the flammkuchen. Again, a deposit for the dish and flatware. Then you took the dish, silverware to an outdoor washing area set up with a commercial dishwasher. You hand in your plates and your deposit ticket and get your deposit back. Pretty slick and very green! I can't imagine anything like that in the states! It just would not happen. I think about my childhood County Fair in Canfield, Ohio and can not imagine any of the vendors giving you glass and/or dishes and silverware for any food you might buy. It just isn't done in the U.S. Perhaps we COULD learn something from our European counterparts.
Today I had a "Rot" (red) braut. Ted had a few bites of a Nutella crepe I bought and we both had Michele's gelato.
There was a clown on stilts carrying a bucket and making humongous bubbles. The small children ran after him popping the bubbles. It was like watching the "Pied Piper"! The clown also had entertainment for the children near the church. I'm sorry I didn't bring my camera.
And the portable bathroom was terrific but I didn't know you had to pay. I was thoroughly embarrassed but I went back to our table and got 2 Euro since I went three times while I was there!
We stayed until about 4:30 but Ted was fading fast and didn't feel well so we left and went home where he promptly fell asleep. He woke up and felt much better and was ready to eat again!
At 8pm after the fest was over, so we mosied over to michele's to share a pizza before going to the base to do laundry.
We talked to an AF tech Sergeant (she was about my daughter Ailene's age) She told us about her time in Afghanistan and Iraq. I couldn't imagine either of my daughters 1) in the military and 2) going to those two areas. I thanked her for her service. She told us about how difficult it was to give orders to the Iraqis to do the work she needed to have done (ditch digging). Since it was 140 degrees there, she was in shorts. She said the men just stopped what they were doing and watched her walk. She said it was laughable but she didn't dare look at them. She even asked someone if she should put pants on and he said "no". I also cannot imagine this either!
We got home at about 11pm and sat for a bit before going to bed.
Ted was feeling a bit under the weather. I think it was a combination of the food, beer and late night last night that did him in but he was a trooper and came with me to the Dorf Fest because he knew how much I wanted to listen to Michele's band sing.
He didn't want to eat which I didn't blame him and we brought a bottle of water for him and a bottle of iced tea for me. We snagged some seats under an umbrella right in front of the band stand. But before we sat down we ventured near the church area and I took a few photos of the church. Part of it was built in the 1400's. I'll let you guess which part!
This is the small grassy area with a stone bench in front of the church.
These are various views of the church.
I can see this steeple out of the third bedroom window. Since I don't have a clock yet, I depend on my computer's clock and this one to tell the time.
It's interesting, actually. It appears that the clock chimes are done almost the same here as they are in the tiny villages in Italy. Here's how it works: with a certain tone, the tower will ring one ring at the quarter hour, two rings at the half hour, three rings at the three-quarter hour and four rings at the hour. At the hour, the tower will ring as many times as is the hour (i.e. six rings for six o'clock, 11 rings for 11 o'clock etc.) At the hour, it will ring first with one tone (six times, if it's six o'clock) and then six times with another tone. I'm not sure why the tower rings the hour twice (I don't remember that when I went to Italy) but the only reason I can come up with is that one misses that it's the hour and has to count. I'm going to have to ask around to find out. It's one of those things that makes you go "hmmmmmmm?"
And this was probably the ONLY mechanism the ancient people had to know what time it was!
We went at 1pm and sat and listened to them play. They played a LOT of American music and there was a black guy singing. we snagged a great seat under an umbrella right in front of the band stand. we brought our own drinks (tea for me, and water for Ted) He was feeling quite under the weather today.
As they played, we sang along. The black guy asked me to come and sing because I knew all of the words. Of course, I did not. I was too embarrassed. He would talk to the different people as they walked by in front of him.
What's unusual about this fest is that they give you REAL glasses for the beer and wine (you give a deposit for it-in Ted's case 2 Euro) and when you return the glass for a refill you simply pay for the refill. He assumed they would refill the one he had, not so.
They also gave you a plate and regular silverware for the roasted chicken they had and for the flammkuchen. Again, a deposit for the dish and flatware. Then you took the dish, silverware to an outdoor washing area set up with a commercial dishwasher. You hand in your plates and your deposit ticket and get your deposit back. Pretty slick and very green! I can't imagine anything like that in the states! It just would not happen. I think about my childhood County Fair in Canfield, Ohio and can not imagine any of the vendors giving you glass and/or dishes and silverware for any food you might buy. It just isn't done in the U.S. Perhaps we COULD learn something from our European counterparts.
Today I had a "Rot" (red) braut. Ted had a few bites of a Nutella crepe I bought and we both had Michele's gelato.
There was a clown on stilts carrying a bucket and making humongous bubbles. The small children ran after him popping the bubbles. It was like watching the "Pied Piper"! The clown also had entertainment for the children near the church. I'm sorry I didn't bring my camera.
And the portable bathroom was terrific but I didn't know you had to pay. I was thoroughly embarrassed but I went back to our table and got 2 Euro since I went three times while I was there!
We stayed until about 4:30 but Ted was fading fast and didn't feel well so we left and went home where he promptly fell asleep. He woke up and felt much better and was ready to eat again!
At 8pm after the fest was over, so we mosied over to michele's to share a pizza before going to the base to do laundry.
We talked to an AF tech Sergeant (she was about my daughter Ailene's age) She told us about her time in Afghanistan and Iraq. I couldn't imagine either of my daughters 1) in the military and 2) going to those two areas. I thanked her for her service. She told us about how difficult it was to give orders to the Iraqis to do the work she needed to have done (ditch digging). Since it was 140 degrees there, she was in shorts. She said the men just stopped what they were doing and watched her walk. She said it was laughable but she didn't dare look at them. She even asked someone if she should put pants on and he said "no". I also cannot imagine this either!
We got home at about 11pm and sat for a bit before going to bed.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Day 124: Dork Fest...no, it's Dorf Fest!
It was cold outside in the morning. It's overcast and drizzling. But the sun looks like it's going to come out.
Ted and I looking forward to picking up the "new" car and take back the rental to close another chapter of our long "to do" list. This event took the better part of the day for a couple of reasons. We had to clean out the car and go pick up the "new car" at Panzer which is about 20-30 minutes away from our apartment. While there, we stopped at the PX / BX for a bit to pick up a few things. Then we both had to drive back to the airport to drop off the rental. Then Ted forgot to fill the tank, so I had to wait for him at the airport to go do that. And then he forgot to get the paperwork out of the car that he needed to give to the clerk. Oh well! And since I ALSO forgot about filling the tank and didn't know what paperwork he needed, I was no help at all!
We then went to the MarktHaupt in Scharnhausen to check out their washers and dryers and the various small appliances including vacuums which we will need some point soon.
When we returned it was still early so we ventured over to the Dorf Fest (Ted calls it the "Dork Fest". It is set up on the street that goes to the church and winds its way back to the main street. We found out that the town we live in is 850 years old! Now THAT is culture!
Here are a few photos from the Dorf (which means village) Fest.
This photo is of someone's yard. I just can't believe how beautiful some of the yards are here. Yes, they are small but oh, so lovely!
Ted has 2 beers called a "Radler". Since I don't like beer, it doesn't matter to me but we were told that it has a layer of some sort of sweetened lemon soda at the bottom. Ted loved it so much he had 2! It was very unlike him.
Ted and I had grilled bratwurst (it was light colored and wasn't as good as the brat he got at another location). I found out later it was because it was not the "Rot" or red brat which is better, in my opinion. We shared an order of wild potatoes (potato wedges with sour cream and pickles) Different, but really good. And a "Flammkuchen", a sort of pizza (no olive oil) with sour cream, bacon bits and cheese. It's very different and pretty good.
We went home early and on the way, we watched the laser light show at the open air discotheque. But it didn't appear that young people were there. Just little children and their parents.
There were security guys (all dressed in black) with the word "Security" on their backs. They were randomly checking IDs.
We also witnessed a girl being checked by police officers. She had to give them her ID and he wrote something down in a notebook. I think she had to go with them. She wasn't drinking (at least not that I saw) but she was smoking so I'm not sure if they were carding her because she was smoking or not.
We went home at about 10:30 but the party kept going until midnight. We had to shut our windows because we could hear the band and the DJ...the band was down by the church and the DJ did the disco across from the construction site. Of course it was a bit disconcerting to hear two different types of music coming at us from two different angles.
I hope we can get some sleep tonight!
Saturday 07/25/09
Ted and I looking forward to picking up the "new" car and take back the rental to close another chapter of our long "to do" list. This event took the better part of the day for a couple of reasons. We had to clean out the car and go pick up the "new car" at Panzer which is about 20-30 minutes away from our apartment. While there, we stopped at the PX / BX for a bit to pick up a few things. Then we both had to drive back to the airport to drop off the rental. Then Ted forgot to fill the tank, so I had to wait for him at the airport to go do that. And then he forgot to get the paperwork out of the car that he needed to give to the clerk. Oh well! And since I ALSO forgot about filling the tank and didn't know what paperwork he needed, I was no help at all!
We then went to the MarktHaupt in Scharnhausen to check out their washers and dryers and the various small appliances including vacuums which we will need some point soon.
When we returned it was still early so we ventured over to the Dorf Fest (Ted calls it the "Dork Fest". It is set up on the street that goes to the church and winds its way back to the main street. We found out that the town we live in is 850 years old! Now THAT is culture!
Here are a few photos from the Dorf (which means village) Fest.
This photo is of someone's yard. I just can't believe how beautiful some of the yards are here. Yes, they are small but oh, so lovely!
Ted has 2 beers called a "Radler". Since I don't like beer, it doesn't matter to me but we were told that it has a layer of some sort of sweetened lemon soda at the bottom. Ted loved it so much he had 2! It was very unlike him.
Ted and I had grilled bratwurst (it was light colored and wasn't as good as the brat he got at another location). I found out later it was because it was not the "Rot" or red brat which is better, in my opinion. We shared an order of wild potatoes (potato wedges with sour cream and pickles) Different, but really good. And a "Flammkuchen", a sort of pizza (no olive oil) with sour cream, bacon bits and cheese. It's very different and pretty good.
We went home early and on the way, we watched the laser light show at the open air discotheque. But it didn't appear that young people were there. Just little children and their parents.
There were security guys (all dressed in black) with the word "Security" on their backs. They were randomly checking IDs.
We also witnessed a girl being checked by police officers. She had to give them her ID and he wrote something down in a notebook. I think she had to go with them. She wasn't drinking (at least not that I saw) but she was smoking so I'm not sure if they were carding her because she was smoking or not.
We went home at about 10:30 but the party kept going until midnight. We had to shut our windows because we could hear the band and the DJ...the band was down by the church and the DJ did the disco across from the construction site. Of course it was a bit disconcerting to hear two different types of music coming at us from two different angles.
I hope we can get some sleep tonight!
Saturday 07/25/09
Day 123: Our Apartment!
We have determined that Friday nights will be Pizza night and my night not to cook! Because Michele's is such a nice place and a fun place to be, we plan to hang there every Friday night.
It's been a fairly slow day. I worked on getting medical insurance claims done, figured out how to scan with my current operating system and an older model printer. So I had to do some internet research to find out how to do the scanning. It turns out it's not that hard but it is cumbersome. I miss the high speed scanner the real estate office had! LOL!
I cleaned the apartment and washed the floors. And while it's a bit more work to wash floors as opposed to vaccuum, I like the idea of getting them squeaky clean. (Of course they don't stay that way for long with all of the construction going on next door and the windows that stay open all the time!)
Since it was a slow day, I decided to take a few photos of the apartment.
Here are two views of our kitchen. It's small and compact, but surprisingly I have a lot of room. That tall cabinet you see next the refrigerator is what the Germans call "Apotheke Schranken" or Pharmacy cabinet and what we call a pantry! They call it that because it's like the cabinets found in doctor's offices and pharmacies!
Here are two views of the Living Room. What you cannot see is a long empty wall opposite the La-z-boy chair. I didn't photograph it because there's a TV sitting on a banker's box. The TV doesn't work. Ted blew it up when he plugged it in. Apparently we were misinformed. The TV was only good if you had 110 power...which is what we use in the US and not in Germany. As a result, when he plugged it in, the TV smoked...and I mean REALLY smoked. I thoguht for SURE it was going to catch fire but luckily, Ted quickly and I mean quickly pulled the plug. Now we have to dispose of it. Another "I don't how we're going to do this" issue. So it sits on the box awaiting us to dispose of it. Thankfully, we only paid $12 for it so we don't feel badly about it at all. And the $12 went to a military family so I look at it as a donation.
This is the main bath. There's not much storage in there but it's good enough for now. We also have a very tiny half bath. I like this because I can at least use the bathroom when Ted is showering or shaving. The main bath is too small to try to navigate around another person!
This is our Master bedroom. I didn't take photos of the other angles because there are boxes, baskets and plastic bins and drawers on the other walls. We have to get a chest of drawers and a wardrobe. When the room is completed, I'll upload other photos. Until then, this is it! By the way...this is our wonderful German bed (even though you can't tell.) We didn't go all the way and buy separate comforters but we liked the idea so much (no fighting over covers) that we plan to do that in the near future as well.
And this is the hallway looking from the master bedroom down the hall to the kitchen and living room. It's long but not as narrow as it looks. We have to get a "wardrobe" like piece of furniture to house our coats, hats and cleaning supplies.
This is the third bedroom which we will be using as an office and possibly sleeping quarters for any additional people that may come to visit. The second bedroom is large and I didn't take photos of it because there are still tons of boxes (filled with paper that needs to be disposed of) and stuff that has no home yet. Stay tuned for more photos as we complete our decorating!
And this is the view out the kitchen window. It's the hotel across the street.
These is the view out of the kitchen window towards the new construction next door.
And this is the view from our living room balcony across the street to Mamma Maria's.
And this is the other view (from the Living Room) towards the doctor's office and the library. What I didn't know (and my husband informed me) is that we can get to the doctor's office and library without going out of our building! We simply got to the basement and up the stairs to that building. That's pretty cool!
While I was taking photos I was watching them set up for the Dorffest tomorrow and Sunday.
Ted got the insurance on our new car and we'll be picking it up tomorrow on base! WOO HOO! Now for the washer and dryer and wardrobes! And back to being touristas! I certainly look forward to that!
Time to go for Pizza and hang with Michele.
Friday 07/24/09
It's been a fairly slow day. I worked on getting medical insurance claims done, figured out how to scan with my current operating system and an older model printer. So I had to do some internet research to find out how to do the scanning. It turns out it's not that hard but it is cumbersome. I miss the high speed scanner the real estate office had! LOL!
I cleaned the apartment and washed the floors. And while it's a bit more work to wash floors as opposed to vaccuum, I like the idea of getting them squeaky clean. (Of course they don't stay that way for long with all of the construction going on next door and the windows that stay open all the time!)
Since it was a slow day, I decided to take a few photos of the apartment.
Here are two views of our kitchen. It's small and compact, but surprisingly I have a lot of room. That tall cabinet you see next the refrigerator is what the Germans call "Apotheke Schranken" or Pharmacy cabinet and what we call a pantry! They call it that because it's like the cabinets found in doctor's offices and pharmacies!
Here are two views of the Living Room. What you cannot see is a long empty wall opposite the La-z-boy chair. I didn't photograph it because there's a TV sitting on a banker's box. The TV doesn't work. Ted blew it up when he plugged it in. Apparently we were misinformed. The TV was only good if you had 110 power...which is what we use in the US and not in Germany. As a result, when he plugged it in, the TV smoked...and I mean REALLY smoked. I thoguht for SURE it was going to catch fire but luckily, Ted quickly and I mean quickly pulled the plug. Now we have to dispose of it. Another "I don't how we're going to do this" issue. So it sits on the box awaiting us to dispose of it. Thankfully, we only paid $12 for it so we don't feel badly about it at all. And the $12 went to a military family so I look at it as a donation.
This is the main bath. There's not much storage in there but it's good enough for now. We also have a very tiny half bath. I like this because I can at least use the bathroom when Ted is showering or shaving. The main bath is too small to try to navigate around another person!
This is our Master bedroom. I didn't take photos of the other angles because there are boxes, baskets and plastic bins and drawers on the other walls. We have to get a chest of drawers and a wardrobe. When the room is completed, I'll upload other photos. Until then, this is it! By the way...this is our wonderful German bed (even though you can't tell.) We didn't go all the way and buy separate comforters but we liked the idea so much (no fighting over covers) that we plan to do that in the near future as well.
And this is the hallway looking from the master bedroom down the hall to the kitchen and living room. It's long but not as narrow as it looks. We have to get a "wardrobe" like piece of furniture to house our coats, hats and cleaning supplies.
This is the third bedroom which we will be using as an office and possibly sleeping quarters for any additional people that may come to visit. The second bedroom is large and I didn't take photos of it because there are still tons of boxes (filled with paper that needs to be disposed of) and stuff that has no home yet. Stay tuned for more photos as we complete our decorating!
And this is the view out the kitchen window. It's the hotel across the street.
These is the view out of the kitchen window towards the new construction next door.
And this is the view from our living room balcony across the street to Mamma Maria's.
And this is the other view (from the Living Room) towards the doctor's office and the library. What I didn't know (and my husband informed me) is that we can get to the doctor's office and library without going out of our building! We simply got to the basement and up the stairs to that building. That's pretty cool!
While I was taking photos I was watching them set up for the Dorffest tomorrow and Sunday.
Ted got the insurance on our new car and we'll be picking it up tomorrow on base! WOO HOO! Now for the washer and dryer and wardrobes! And back to being touristas! I certainly look forward to that!
Time to go for Pizza and hang with Michele.
Friday 07/24/09
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day 122: Death Notice
It was cold and rainy today with lots of thunderstorms. Not a really good day to go out but I had to go to the doctor's office to get some blood work done. Interestingly, they take blood at the doctor's office and not in a lab like we do in California.
I did company work until it was time to leave for the doctor's office. I was hoping that the rain would subside and it did, thank goodness. I took along my umbrella, just in case.
The woman who took my blood seemed ill at ease at taking my blood. What I didn't know and found out later from the doctor was that she was a prospective employee and I was the guinea pig. Gee, thanks doc! She really took her time. I joked with her that I hoped she would not throw my blood away ... but of course, she had NO idea what I said...and for that I'm glad! LOL!
Ted is having his treatment today...actually tonight and his arm is coming along quite well. It's better than it's been in several years. He will be starting to work out the arm shortly.
I checked the mail and there was a handwritten envelope in the mailbox. When I opened it, it was a card folded in half with a black stripe around it. Although I couldn't read any of it, I realized it was a death notice. But who, I wondered. It's not like I know a LOT of Germans here. I am acquainted with very few. As I looked for familiar names, I spotted our landlord's name and I realized that the person who died is the landlord's cousin (who is part owner) and who I met briefly when we did our walk through.
I was dismayed to see that he was only 53 years old but he looked a lot older. A lot older than Ted or I. How sad. It appeared it was a sudden death. I wondered what I should do. I sent a quick email to my realtor along with a copy of the death notice because I was sure he would want to know since this man was his client. I remembered that in Italy (when I was last there years and years ago) when someone died they plaster a black bordered notice on the stone walls. I wonder if they still do that? I find it interesting that I JUST was in the cemetery yesterday and today a death notice arrives. Coincidence? I don't think so. Enough pondering.
Ted got home and hookedup the phone. FINALLY! But it has to charge so we can't quite make calls on it yet. One more thing is done! I'm a happy camper!
Thursday 07/23/09
I did company work until it was time to leave for the doctor's office. I was hoping that the rain would subside and it did, thank goodness. I took along my umbrella, just in case.
The woman who took my blood seemed ill at ease at taking my blood. What I didn't know and found out later from the doctor was that she was a prospective employee and I was the guinea pig. Gee, thanks doc! She really took her time. I joked with her that I hoped she would not throw my blood away ... but of course, she had NO idea what I said...and for that I'm glad! LOL!
Ted is having his treatment today...actually tonight and his arm is coming along quite well. It's better than it's been in several years. He will be starting to work out the arm shortly.
I checked the mail and there was a handwritten envelope in the mailbox. When I opened it, it was a card folded in half with a black stripe around it. Although I couldn't read any of it, I realized it was a death notice. But who, I wondered. It's not like I know a LOT of Germans here. I am acquainted with very few. As I looked for familiar names, I spotted our landlord's name and I realized that the person who died is the landlord's cousin (who is part owner) and who I met briefly when we did our walk through.
I was dismayed to see that he was only 53 years old but he looked a lot older. A lot older than Ted or I. How sad. It appeared it was a sudden death. I wondered what I should do. I sent a quick email to my realtor along with a copy of the death notice because I was sure he would want to know since this man was his client. I remembered that in Italy (when I was last there years and years ago) when someone died they plaster a black bordered notice on the stone walls. I wonder if they still do that? I find it interesting that I JUST was in the cemetery yesterday and today a death notice arrives. Coincidence? I don't think so. Enough pondering.
Ted got home and hookedup the phone. FINALLY! But it has to charge so we can't quite make calls on it yet. One more thing is done! I'm a happy camper!
Thursday 07/23/09
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day 121: Recycling Receptacles and the Cemetery
In the morning, I listened to CD by Joyce Meyer and Praise and Worship CD while cleaning and scrubbing floors.
I had some errands to run, or rather walk. And Ted got me this wonderful handy-dandy wheeled cart for shopping. I call it my "granny" cart. It has a zippered pouch in the back for my wallet and keys and drawstring top with a cover along with the telescoping handle. It stands by itself and I keep it under my prep table in the kitchen. It's a handy thing to have when you walk to do shopping.
I was determined to go find the glass recycling receptacles. So I loaded up my glass jars and went looking for that first. Anna, from Mamma Maria's told me it was in the parking lot behind the cemetery which is behind the church. I went to the church and could make out the cemetery in the distance behind rock walls and shrubs but I couldn't figure out how to get there. There had to be another way to get there. So I went walking down the street and around. I saw what looked like another road and someone carrying flowers. I surmised that she was going to the cemetery. As I walked up a slight incline, I could see the gates to the cemetery. When I got to the top of the incline, to the left was the cemetery parking lot but I couldn't see the recycling receptacles. Great! I saw a guy drive over to the edge of the parking lot by some bushes. I thought I'd go investigate and sure enough, there were the receptacles hidden by trees and shrubs. If I hadn't been told they were in the parking lot, I would have never found them.
I decided to go through the cemetery since I'd gone WAY out of my way to get to the recycling area. I was astounding by this cemetery. I was bummed that I didn't have my camera with me right then, but I insisted that Ted go with me a few days later and I took photos then. I just HAD to show you what their cemeteries look like. It's amazing how they maintain these cemeteries. The flowers are unbelievable in that the photos do not do the area justice. If i didn't know it was cemetery, I would have thought this was some botanical garden! And it's interesting in that, I had mentioned to Ted some days ago that I had not seen a cemetery since we've been in Germany. And lo and behold, I was able to see one!
I find it interesting that the Germans sometimes use simple wooden crosses that are hand-tooled with the person's name burnt into them. You would think that these crosses would disintegrate but they apparently treat the wood when they are put into the ground. I think they are lovely.
I added this tombstone because I loved what it said: Jesus Mein Leiben (which translates - I think - to "Jesus My Love")
I still didn't know where I was going or how to get out of the cemetery so I followed a woman to see where she was going and there was a gate that was slightly hidden from view. I wondered if we could get out that way because I really didn't want to walk all the way around again! LOL! She opened the gate and I followed her. I found myself in the back of the church and was able to walk around the church and get back to where our apartment was.
So I by-passed our apartment and went to the large Plus store up the street from where we live. There are actually two of them. One is down the street (which means I walk up hill on the way back) and one is up the street (which means I walk down the hill on the way back). I like that better. Hauling groceries, even using my granny cart, up a hill is like taking luggage up a hill! LOL! Surprisingly the cart was relatively easy to take up the stairs to our apartment.
I got home, put away groceries and prepared dinner for Ted and I. We had dinner, watched a few videos and went to bed.
Wednesday 07/22/09
I had some errands to run, or rather walk. And Ted got me this wonderful handy-dandy wheeled cart for shopping. I call it my "granny" cart. It has a zippered pouch in the back for my wallet and keys and drawstring top with a cover along with the telescoping handle. It stands by itself and I keep it under my prep table in the kitchen. It's a handy thing to have when you walk to do shopping.
I was determined to go find the glass recycling receptacles. So I loaded up my glass jars and went looking for that first. Anna, from Mamma Maria's told me it was in the parking lot behind the cemetery which is behind the church. I went to the church and could make out the cemetery in the distance behind rock walls and shrubs but I couldn't figure out how to get there. There had to be another way to get there. So I went walking down the street and around. I saw what looked like another road and someone carrying flowers. I surmised that she was going to the cemetery. As I walked up a slight incline, I could see the gates to the cemetery. When I got to the top of the incline, to the left was the cemetery parking lot but I couldn't see the recycling receptacles. Great! I saw a guy drive over to the edge of the parking lot by some bushes. I thought I'd go investigate and sure enough, there were the receptacles hidden by trees and shrubs. If I hadn't been told they were in the parking lot, I would have never found them.
I decided to go through the cemetery since I'd gone WAY out of my way to get to the recycling area. I was astounding by this cemetery. I was bummed that I didn't have my camera with me right then, but I insisted that Ted go with me a few days later and I took photos then. I just HAD to show you what their cemeteries look like. It's amazing how they maintain these cemeteries. The flowers are unbelievable in that the photos do not do the area justice. If i didn't know it was cemetery, I would have thought this was some botanical garden! And it's interesting in that, I had mentioned to Ted some days ago that I had not seen a cemetery since we've been in Germany. And lo and behold, I was able to see one!
I find it interesting that the Germans sometimes use simple wooden crosses that are hand-tooled with the person's name burnt into them. You would think that these crosses would disintegrate but they apparently treat the wood when they are put into the ground. I think they are lovely.
I added this tombstone because I loved what it said: Jesus Mein Leiben (which translates - I think - to "Jesus My Love")
I still didn't know where I was going or how to get out of the cemetery so I followed a woman to see where she was going and there was a gate that was slightly hidden from view. I wondered if we could get out that way because I really didn't want to walk all the way around again! LOL! She opened the gate and I followed her. I found myself in the back of the church and was able to walk around the church and get back to where our apartment was.
So I by-passed our apartment and went to the large Plus store up the street from where we live. There are actually two of them. One is down the street (which means I walk up hill on the way back) and one is up the street (which means I walk down the hill on the way back). I like that better. Hauling groceries, even using my granny cart, up a hill is like taking luggage up a hill! LOL! Surprisingly the cart was relatively easy to take up the stairs to our apartment.
I got home, put away groceries and prepared dinner for Ted and I. We had dinner, watched a few videos and went to bed.
Wednesday 07/22/09
Day 120: Internet connection!
I slept badly last night and as a result was very tired when I got up with Ted. He made it clear that he thought the Internet guy would come between 8 and 9:30 and I needed to be dressed and ready.
I made the bed and got dressed. Ted was running late and didn't want breakfast. I sat in the La-z-boy to await the Internet guy. I had some really strange dreams and slept fitfully because I was afraid of not hearing the doorbell. The reason I was afraid is that there's a huge construction site going on right next door and with all of the windows open, it's very loud and I was afraid that I would not hear the bell.
Ted called a few times to see if the Internet guy came. When he didn't show up by noon, I was getting worried because Ted told me that perhaps the letter we received (in German, of course) may have been requesting us to CONTACT them before today and not that they were actually coming.
By one o'clock, I decided I needed to translate that letter. So I took my handy-dandy little portable translator and began to translate the letter (unsuccessfully, I might add). So I continued to wait.
Finally, the doorbell rang at 1:45pm. It was him! YEAH! Unfortunately, he spoke very little English. He came in and did something to the wall where we were going to place the wireless. He let me know that he needed the telecom room. I explained it was in the garage. I stopped to get my keys and we went downstairs. He thought the room was in the storage area, then he thought it was in the bicycle area, then he thought it was in another section of the basement garage. Wrong again! I finally pointed to the far end of the garage and hoped with all my heart that the caretaker had left the door open.
When we got over there, it was indeed open. The Internet guy opened up the telecom cabinet and checked the lines and then punched down some wires and was done.
We went back upstairs and he told me that the Internet and phone line would be activated within the hour. Great! I signed the form he wanted me to sign (even though it was written in German) I figured out it was for his company so that they knew he had actually come to the apartment and taken care of business.
I had decided that we would have a Mexican dinner of Guacamole (yes, I said Guacamole), tacitos and enchiladas. The guacamole seemed lighter somehow. I don't know why but it did! And was it good! Memories of California.
Ted came home with a phone and got it up and running but it was almost midnight before it was operational. He called a few of his buddies and his mom and I called my best friend Debbie. I wanted to call other family members but without knowing their schedule, I didn't want to call and worry them.
It's the first evening we are actually spending time in the apartment. And I love it! But it's time for bed right now.
Tuesday 07/21/09
I made the bed and got dressed. Ted was running late and didn't want breakfast. I sat in the La-z-boy to await the Internet guy. I had some really strange dreams and slept fitfully because I was afraid of not hearing the doorbell. The reason I was afraid is that there's a huge construction site going on right next door and with all of the windows open, it's very loud and I was afraid that I would not hear the bell.
Ted called a few times to see if the Internet guy came. When he didn't show up by noon, I was getting worried because Ted told me that perhaps the letter we received (in German, of course) may have been requesting us to CONTACT them before today and not that they were actually coming.
By one o'clock, I decided I needed to translate that letter. So I took my handy-dandy little portable translator and began to translate the letter (unsuccessfully, I might add). So I continued to wait.
Finally, the doorbell rang at 1:45pm. It was him! YEAH! Unfortunately, he spoke very little English. He came in and did something to the wall where we were going to place the wireless. He let me know that he needed the telecom room. I explained it was in the garage. I stopped to get my keys and we went downstairs. He thought the room was in the storage area, then he thought it was in the bicycle area, then he thought it was in another section of the basement garage. Wrong again! I finally pointed to the far end of the garage and hoped with all my heart that the caretaker had left the door open.
When we got over there, it was indeed open. The Internet guy opened up the telecom cabinet and checked the lines and then punched down some wires and was done.
We went back upstairs and he told me that the Internet and phone line would be activated within the hour. Great! I signed the form he wanted me to sign (even though it was written in German) I figured out it was for his company so that they knew he had actually come to the apartment and taken care of business.
I had decided that we would have a Mexican dinner of Guacamole (yes, I said Guacamole), tacitos and enchiladas. The guacamole seemed lighter somehow. I don't know why but it did! And was it good! Memories of California.
Ted came home with a phone and got it up and running but it was almost midnight before it was operational. He called a few of his buddies and his mom and I called my best friend Debbie. I wanted to call other family members but without knowing their schedule, I didn't want to call and worry them.
It's the first evening we are actually spending time in the apartment. And I love it! But it's time for bed right now.
Tuesday 07/21/09
Day 119: Slow but busy day.
In preparation for the Internet guy to come tomorrow, I thought I'd better clean up the office and get things organized. I moved boxes around in the office, unpacked some items from the boxes. I also took out the broken down boxes out of the office and took them down to storage. I made three trips down there with the boxes and with some leftover paint and some of the painting supplies. I'll have to make some more another day.
It will all get done, little by little.
It took the better part of the day to clean up the office, scrub the floors and clean as well as make dinner for Ted.
After dinner we zipped on over to the base to check email. This is REALLY getting old. Tomorrow cannot come soon enough!
Monday 07/20/09
It will all get done, little by little.
It took the better part of the day to clean up the office, scrub the floors and clean as well as make dinner for Ted.
After dinner we zipped on over to the base to check email. This is REALLY getting old. Tomorrow cannot come soon enough!
Monday 07/20/09
Day 118: Church and Laundry!
It's Sunday and we went to the base to church. Ted's boss was there and we finally got to meet his wife. They recently had a new baby.
We were invited to stay for lunch at church but we decided we had too many things to take care of today, one of which was to actually rest! We looked around for the commissary on base but it was closed. Instead we stopped in the "shopette" (sort of like a 7-11). Interestingly, in this particular shopette, they also sold all kinds of military gear (clothing and other stuff) including medals! I asked Ted why and he told me that the military issues clothing to it's service members ONE time...after that, the service members have to buy anything they need. And if something is lost or broken, the service members have to replace the item.
We then stopped at the BX again for more "stuff" and then went home. I thought we would rest a bit before going back to the base to do laundry. Ted was putzing around the office and we figured out that some of our power cords (for the phone system) had been accidentally sent to permanent storage in California. This means we will have to either buy a new phone or power supply to get the phone up and running when the Internet is connected.
We decided to go to do laundry early. If the Laundromat was open, we'd do laundry and then stop at the base to check email. If it wasn't, we'd run to Pancho Villas to check email and then go do laundry.
Ted had me run in and check before I pulled the clothes out of the trunk. I usually do that and he goes and parks the car.
As it was, the commercial washers were open and Ted's boss was sitting at the table there working. I couldn't figure it out. Why would Ted's boss be in the Laundromat working and his wife no where in sight? Particularly since just this morning at church we had a conversation about washers and dryers and she talked about theirs and how she does laundry! Why would he be there? Unless he needed a place to work that was quiet...but then, why wouldn't he go to the office? No one would be there at this time. Oh well, it's a need to know and I really don't need to know! LOL!
It turned out that not only was Ted's boss there but his boss' boss was there...doing laundry. I wouldn't have known that since I had never met him. But when Ted walked in, he talked to this guy doing his laundry. Ted introduced me to him and now it made perfect sense. Ted's boss was there working because his boss was doing laundry and they were working together.
Both had their laptops open and although the "big" boss was through with his laundry they continued to work. I didn't want to intrude and Ted went check the mail so I went outside and sat on the bench outside.
It was a little chilly and we sit outside and wait for our laundry to be done. Finally, Ted's boss comes out and wishes us a good evening. A little while longer and the "big" boss comes out and he stays to chat with us for a few minutes about traveling, particularly international travel.
As soon as he leaves, we finish our laundry and head on over to Pancho Villas to check email. I'm SO looking forward to NOT carrying my laptop around!
The weekend is over and we really didn't do too much this weekend except hang out with one another. It's a nice break from working on the apartment and being a tourist.
Sunday 07/19/09
We were invited to stay for lunch at church but we decided we had too many things to take care of today, one of which was to actually rest! We looked around for the commissary on base but it was closed. Instead we stopped in the "shopette" (sort of like a 7-11). Interestingly, in this particular shopette, they also sold all kinds of military gear (clothing and other stuff) including medals! I asked Ted why and he told me that the military issues clothing to it's service members ONE time...after that, the service members have to buy anything they need. And if something is lost or broken, the service members have to replace the item.
We then stopped at the BX again for more "stuff" and then went home. I thought we would rest a bit before going back to the base to do laundry. Ted was putzing around the office and we figured out that some of our power cords (for the phone system) had been accidentally sent to permanent storage in California. This means we will have to either buy a new phone or power supply to get the phone up and running when the Internet is connected.
We decided to go to do laundry early. If the Laundromat was open, we'd do laundry and then stop at the base to check email. If it wasn't, we'd run to Pancho Villas to check email and then go do laundry.
Ted had me run in and check before I pulled the clothes out of the trunk. I usually do that and he goes and parks the car.
As it was, the commercial washers were open and Ted's boss was sitting at the table there working. I couldn't figure it out. Why would Ted's boss be in the Laundromat working and his wife no where in sight? Particularly since just this morning at church we had a conversation about washers and dryers and she talked about theirs and how she does laundry! Why would he be there? Unless he needed a place to work that was quiet...but then, why wouldn't he go to the office? No one would be there at this time. Oh well, it's a need to know and I really don't need to know! LOL!
It turned out that not only was Ted's boss there but his boss' boss was there...doing laundry. I wouldn't have known that since I had never met him. But when Ted walked in, he talked to this guy doing his laundry. Ted introduced me to him and now it made perfect sense. Ted's boss was there working because his boss was doing laundry and they were working together.
Both had their laptops open and although the "big" boss was through with his laundry they continued to work. I didn't want to intrude and Ted went check the mail so I went outside and sat on the bench outside.
It was a little chilly and we sit outside and wait for our laundry to be done. Finally, Ted's boss comes out and wishes us a good evening. A little while longer and the "big" boss comes out and he stays to chat with us for a few minutes about traveling, particularly international travel.
As soon as he leaves, we finish our laundry and head on over to Pancho Villas to check email. I'm SO looking forward to NOT carrying my laptop around!
The weekend is over and we really didn't do too much this weekend except hang out with one another. It's a nice break from working on the apartment and being a tourist.
Sunday 07/19/09
Day 117: Weekend errands.
We slept in late today. Another aspect of having worked so hard these past few weeks to get the new apartment painted and making the move.
We went and did errands today. Mostly grocery shopping at Kelley base, instead of Patch. It was weird going grocery shopping in a basement! But that's where the commissary is on Kelley, the basement. There's a ramp to bring the carts up from that basement...almost like Real and other German stores that have carts. Oh, and by the way, all four of the wheels on the carts move independently of one another! This makes it very difficult to keep the cart straight. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the women pushed the carts sideways! Ted had to enlighten me. LOL!
We also went to the BX / PX and picked up a few things. We also went to Scharnhausen, to see if we could find the shopping center there. It was recommended by Anna, the wife of the owner of the Italian restaurant across the street.
We had no trouble finding the place. I found it interesting that within minutes of leaving our town (which seems quite urban), we are in farm country! And sometimes if I look out of our glass sliding door, I see tractors with HUGE bales of hay driving down the main street. It's kind of weird, actually. Weird but interesting.
We also went on base to check email. I can't WAIT fo us to have internet. It gets really old, really fast lugging the laptops around just to check email!
Saturday 07/18/09
We went and did errands today. Mostly grocery shopping at Kelley base, instead of Patch. It was weird going grocery shopping in a basement! But that's where the commissary is on Kelley, the basement. There's a ramp to bring the carts up from that basement...almost like Real and other German stores that have carts. Oh, and by the way, all four of the wheels on the carts move independently of one another! This makes it very difficult to keep the cart straight. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the women pushed the carts sideways! Ted had to enlighten me. LOL!
We also went to the BX / PX and picked up a few things. We also went to Scharnhausen, to see if we could find the shopping center there. It was recommended by Anna, the wife of the owner of the Italian restaurant across the street.
We had no trouble finding the place. I found it interesting that within minutes of leaving our town (which seems quite urban), we are in farm country! And sometimes if I look out of our glass sliding door, I see tractors with HUGE bales of hay driving down the main street. It's kind of weird, actually. Weird but interesting.
We also went on base to check email. I can't WAIT fo us to have internet. It gets really old, really fast lugging the laptops around just to check email!
Saturday 07/18/09
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 116: TGIF!
It’s the end of the week and it’s cloudy and cool. I decide to check the garbage bins to see if they are picked up so I can throw away some paper. I run into the caretaker. I ask him about the gelbes sacks (yellow recycling bags) and he says he will get me a roll. I’m ecstatic! I didn’t know where I was going to find them as the bakery did not have them yesterday when I zipped in there to check. I also told him that we needed to have the door to the telecom panel opened on Tuesday and I explained about hurting my leg on the slippery marble at the entrance to the garage. He said it was dangerous and that he had mentioned this to the landlord but the landlord blew him off. I was disappointed in hearing that but I know I have to write an email to the landlord explaining the situation and respectfully request that something be done about it. Even the caretaker said that it is dangerous…for him as well. I suggested that a large mat would do the trick and he agreed.
We definitely need to become members of the tenants association. It’s an association for all tenants and it handles any disputes that a tenant may have with their landlord. It is made up of attorneys who speak German and English. I like that! The price is unbelievable cheap (60 Euros the first year = $75 and 50 Euro every year thereafter = $65). I think if the landlord wishes to blow off the suggestion of getting a mat which cannot cost more than 50 Euros, it will be worth it to have the tenants association handle it. I don’t want anything other than to keep me from getting hurt again. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
Ted and I decided to go to Kelley first to check for email before having dinner so we don’t have to think about it. I cannot WAIT to have internet at the apartment so I don’t have to think about going to Pancho Villas anymore. It’s a pain to have to lug our laptops back and forth there. Not to mention up and down the steps! There’s 22 steps from the basement garage to the storage area (and laundry room), 8 steps to the front landing (where the mailboxes and front door are), 8 steps to the first landing (and the basement apartments – I don’t know how they can say they are the basement when they are above ground, oh well!), 8 steps to the middle landing, and lastly 8 steps to our front door (which is supposedly on the first floor).
We have decided to make Fridays Pizza night at Mamma Maria’s. And although it’s cold and rainy…I actually am wearing my fall clothing…we’re going to go anyways. Since it’s right across the street, I’ll get the umbrella and Ted will wear his German/American cowboy hat and we’ll be fine!
As I was leaving the building, once again I slipped…this time at the FRONT entrance way and injured that same muscle again. I’m batting a thousand here. Thank goodness for the anti-inflammatory drug! I’m hurting again but I don’t want to miss the opportunity to hang out at Mamma Maria’s for the evening. There’s nothing else to do!
There were not many people at Mamma Maria’s and it was probably because it was so ugly outside. There were a few people in the back room playing darts. We ordered our dinner, talked and waited. We asked Anna, Michele’s wife what the name of the store and the town was that had the great deals on washers and dryers. I also asked her where to recycle the glass and where she got the wonderfully soft woven tablecloths that were on her tables. I think they would be great to have.
After we had eaten and the folks from the back room had departed, Michele came out and we talked a bit. It was fun to have a conversation about how much the British and the Germans can drink beer!
The reason for that conversation was that there was a guy at the bar who spoke English. It turned out that he was from New Castle, England and was working in Stuttgart. His name was Phillip and he said he was looking for an apartment. He was living at the hotel across the street from Mamma Maria’s and across the street from us. Phillip is 27 years old and speaks with a very thick English accent. Sometimes Ted and I couldn’t even understand him! We had a long conversation with him and Michele. We were there until almost 10:30 when it was time to go home.
We still weren’t ready to go to bed so we decided to watch a video. After all, it was Friday night and tomorrow we could actually sleep in…at least for a little bit!
Friday 07/17/09
We definitely need to become members of the tenants association. It’s an association for all tenants and it handles any disputes that a tenant may have with their landlord. It is made up of attorneys who speak German and English. I like that! The price is unbelievable cheap (60 Euros the first year = $75 and 50 Euro every year thereafter = $65). I think if the landlord wishes to blow off the suggestion of getting a mat which cannot cost more than 50 Euros, it will be worth it to have the tenants association handle it. I don’t want anything other than to keep me from getting hurt again. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
Ted and I decided to go to Kelley first to check for email before having dinner so we don’t have to think about it. I cannot WAIT to have internet at the apartment so I don’t have to think about going to Pancho Villas anymore. It’s a pain to have to lug our laptops back and forth there. Not to mention up and down the steps! There’s 22 steps from the basement garage to the storage area (and laundry room), 8 steps to the front landing (where the mailboxes and front door are), 8 steps to the first landing (and the basement apartments – I don’t know how they can say they are the basement when they are above ground, oh well!), 8 steps to the middle landing, and lastly 8 steps to our front door (which is supposedly on the first floor).
We have decided to make Fridays Pizza night at Mamma Maria’s. And although it’s cold and rainy…I actually am wearing my fall clothing…we’re going to go anyways. Since it’s right across the street, I’ll get the umbrella and Ted will wear his German/American cowboy hat and we’ll be fine!
As I was leaving the building, once again I slipped…this time at the FRONT entrance way and injured that same muscle again. I’m batting a thousand here. Thank goodness for the anti-inflammatory drug! I’m hurting again but I don’t want to miss the opportunity to hang out at Mamma Maria’s for the evening. There’s nothing else to do!
There were not many people at Mamma Maria’s and it was probably because it was so ugly outside. There were a few people in the back room playing darts. We ordered our dinner, talked and waited. We asked Anna, Michele’s wife what the name of the store and the town was that had the great deals on washers and dryers. I also asked her where to recycle the glass and where she got the wonderfully soft woven tablecloths that were on her tables. I think they would be great to have.
After we had eaten and the folks from the back room had departed, Michele came out and we talked a bit. It was fun to have a conversation about how much the British and the Germans can drink beer!
The reason for that conversation was that there was a guy at the bar who spoke English. It turned out that he was from New Castle, England and was working in Stuttgart. His name was Phillip and he said he was looking for an apartment. He was living at the hotel across the street from Mamma Maria’s and across the street from us. Phillip is 27 years old and speaks with a very thick English accent. Sometimes Ted and I couldn’t even understand him! We had a long conversation with him and Michele. We were there until almost 10:30 when it was time to go home.
We still weren’t ready to go to bed so we decided to watch a video. After all, it was Friday night and tomorrow we could actually sleep in…at least for a little bit!
Friday 07/17/09
Friday, July 17, 2009
Day 115: Doctor's Appointment
Today is the day I go to the doctors. Since I didn’t do a pre-run (or pre-walk) to the office, I’m not quite sure where it is. No matter though, I will just leave 15 minutes earlier than I need to leave and look for the place. At least I know the general vicinity of where it is located.
While I’m waiting for my afternoon appointment, I worked on my blog and our finances and took out the burned out bulb from the bathroom light fixture in preparation for going to OBI’s on the weekend to replace all of the burned out light bulbs. I also decided to take the suitcases down to the storage area (on the same level as the laundry room). I put the largest and the smallest of the suitcases in the storage area and decided to go down to the bicycle room to get more yellow bags for recycling.
What I didn’t remember was that when it rains, the water and grease mix and are tracked into the marble entry way at the bottom of the long flight of stairs from the garage to the apartment. I had my flip-flops on and went to put my foot on the landing and went flying! Luckily I caught myself and didn’t fall BUT I think I pulled a muscle in the back of my thigh. I think it’s the hamstring and it hurts like the dickens. Well, taking more suitcases down to the storage is out of the question now. I still have to shower and get ready for the appointment. This is going to be tricky with this leg hurting like it does. Normally, it wouldn’t take me long to get ready but with this leg hurting the way it does, I realize I need to take some extra time. And walking to the doctor’s office is going to be a feat! No matter though…I just have to work through the pain until I get to the doctor’s office.
It’s hot and muggy outside and I’m not even certain I have enough Euros on hand to pay for the doctor, much less the Apotheke. I’m sure I’m going to be sweating before I get back.
Ted and I have commented that street addresses (that we could see thus far) are not any higher than two digit numbers. I easily find number 12, the doctor’s office. I had to ring the doorbell to have the receptionist buzz me in.
I ask if she speaks English and this time, it IS just a little. I’m starting to get nervous that the Doctor will not speak enough English to allow me to communicate what I need. She gives me over to what I would imagine is the duty nurse…but she has no white coat or white clothing on so I’m not completely sure what her role is. I didn’t have to do a history (like you would do for a new doctor in the states) but I have my medical history with me so if there are questions, we can refer to it and if need be, he can make copies of it.
The duty nurse takes my name and information from my passport. Luckily I carry it everywhere I go! She then puts me into an office with chairs and asks me to be seated that the doctor would be with me shortly.
He finally comes in, all dressed in white but with no lab coat or stethoscope around his neck (I don’t know why I would think he would have one…it’s just how I imagined he would be). He’s fairly young and begins to speak to me in German. He must have seen the distressed look on my face and I fumbled in saying that I didn’t speak much German and did he speak English. It turns out he speaks EXCELLENT English as he practiced medicine in London for six years. I’m SO relieved!!
We have a short conversation about why I’m in Germany and how I came to find him. I explained that I was going to go to Mamma Maria’s to ask about an English-speaking doctor in the area but they were closed so I ended up going to the Apotheke where they gave me his address and phone number. I am SO thankful for that!
The doctor then asks why I am there and I explain that I am on blood pressure medication and that I will be out by the end of the week. I bring my bottles and he looks at them. He knew exactly what the one drug was but he was unfamiliar with the other one. He said he thought he knew what it was and that what I have is a brand name. He asked me to contact my doctor in the states and check what the generic name is for the drug.
He asked me when the last time I got blood work done. I looked through my records and while doing so, I found the generic name for the drug. It was as he suspected, a brand name for a generic drug that he was familiar with. I’m so happy with this doctor and it turns out, he also does acupuncture! WOW! Two specialties in one place. I’m a very happy camper.
I tell him about my leg and what happened and he said he would prescribe me an anti-inflammatory drug to help with the healing. He asks if he can keep the medical records to read over and will return them to me next week when I go back for a follow-up appointment.
He also indicates that my diurectic pill should be increased by 10 mg to help with the ankle swelling. I’m all for that!
It’s about 4:30 when I leave the doctor’s office and I decided that I needed to take care of getting the drugs today so that it would be done and over with. I walk down the street (quite a ways, actually) to the Apotheke.
She remembered me and I thanked her profusely for giving me the information. She looked at my prescriptions (and here in Germany, they don’t prescribe one month at a time…here it’s three months at a time). She doesn’t have the one prescription I need but will order it and it will be in tomorrow. She gives me everything she has and tells me to pay for everything tomorrow. WHAT? She’s going to give me the drugs and wait until tomorrow for me to pay her when I pick up the final prescription? That’s unheard of! I wanted to at least give her 50 Euro but she wouldn’t hear of it. She said she trusted me! Now THAT would never happen in the states. They would merely tell you to come back when you have the money.
Since I was already in the area, I decided to go back to Schleckers and get a light bulb for the bathroom. That way, my dear husband doesn’t have to take a shower in the dark! I feel really badly that he has to use the hall light for light at night when he showers. Now it will be fixed and we don’t have to wait until Saturday to get it fixed.
And since I was nearby, I decided to go over to Plus (a market like Lidl) and pick up a few things. It was really hot by the time I started back to the apartment so I stayed on the right side of the street for two reasons: it was in the shade and the sidewalks were wider. When I reached Mamma Maria’s and waited for the signal to change, I looked over at the guest area parking at our apartment and saw that Ted was already home. I looked at my watch and saw that it was after five! It took me a long time to get the drugs and do a little shopping and get back home. He’s going to have to wait a bit for dinner, unfortunately.
When I got to our apartment, he was no where to be found. I thought perhaps he went looking for me as I forgot to take his phone with me. I’ve been without a phone for so long, it’s going to take an effort to get back into the habit of taking the cell phone with me.
Finally, he called and said that he was walking back to the apartment. He did indeed go looking for me. I don’t know where he would look since I didn’t give him the doctor’s address…why would I? At any rate, he quickly came up the stairs and asked me if I wanted to go to his company’s 60th anniversary party in the parking lot of his office. He said he had already eaten and wanted me to have some grilled bratwurst. I wasn’t sure if I wanted that or not but I figured it’s a party and he wanted to introduce me to a few people.
I decided to bring my own container of water since I wasn’t sure if they would have plain, run-of-the-mill water. It’s either they don’t have it all or it’s the bubbly, mineral water…of which I’m not a big fan.
It’s hot and I’ve been sweating from my walk but I figured the car’s air conditioning would get me cooled off and it did. But unfortunately, the parking lot at the Ted’s office was hot. They had pretty good food and they had a band. Ted and I mingled with some of his co-workers. When we both drank all of the water in my container, we ventured into the office to get more from the office cooler. Unfortunately that was almost empty as well.
I wanted to sit in a cool place so we sat at the kitchen table in the office where I met a few more of Ted’s co-worker. One was particularly striking. He was a former Navy Lt. Commander. He was young and very good looking but didn’t have a whole lot of respect for the German way of doing things. In that regard, he was a bit arrogant. I think he thought that he could get by with his looks and his smile. I wondered if he thought we should be impressed.
We talked with him for a bit and I was ready to leave after that conversation and so was Ted. We went over to Kelley to check on email before returning to the apartment.
Thursday 07/16/09
While I’m waiting for my afternoon appointment, I worked on my blog and our finances and took out the burned out bulb from the bathroom light fixture in preparation for going to OBI’s on the weekend to replace all of the burned out light bulbs. I also decided to take the suitcases down to the storage area (on the same level as the laundry room). I put the largest and the smallest of the suitcases in the storage area and decided to go down to the bicycle room to get more yellow bags for recycling.
What I didn’t remember was that when it rains, the water and grease mix and are tracked into the marble entry way at the bottom of the long flight of stairs from the garage to the apartment. I had my flip-flops on and went to put my foot on the landing and went flying! Luckily I caught myself and didn’t fall BUT I think I pulled a muscle in the back of my thigh. I think it’s the hamstring and it hurts like the dickens. Well, taking more suitcases down to the storage is out of the question now. I still have to shower and get ready for the appointment. This is going to be tricky with this leg hurting like it does. Normally, it wouldn’t take me long to get ready but with this leg hurting the way it does, I realize I need to take some extra time. And walking to the doctor’s office is going to be a feat! No matter though…I just have to work through the pain until I get to the doctor’s office.
It’s hot and muggy outside and I’m not even certain I have enough Euros on hand to pay for the doctor, much less the Apotheke. I’m sure I’m going to be sweating before I get back.
Ted and I have commented that street addresses (that we could see thus far) are not any higher than two digit numbers. I easily find number 12, the doctor’s office. I had to ring the doorbell to have the receptionist buzz me in.
I ask if she speaks English and this time, it IS just a little. I’m starting to get nervous that the Doctor will not speak enough English to allow me to communicate what I need. She gives me over to what I would imagine is the duty nurse…but she has no white coat or white clothing on so I’m not completely sure what her role is. I didn’t have to do a history (like you would do for a new doctor in the states) but I have my medical history with me so if there are questions, we can refer to it and if need be, he can make copies of it.
The duty nurse takes my name and information from my passport. Luckily I carry it everywhere I go! She then puts me into an office with chairs and asks me to be seated that the doctor would be with me shortly.
He finally comes in, all dressed in white but with no lab coat or stethoscope around his neck (I don’t know why I would think he would have one…it’s just how I imagined he would be). He’s fairly young and begins to speak to me in German. He must have seen the distressed look on my face and I fumbled in saying that I didn’t speak much German and did he speak English. It turns out he speaks EXCELLENT English as he practiced medicine in London for six years. I’m SO relieved!!
We have a short conversation about why I’m in Germany and how I came to find him. I explained that I was going to go to Mamma Maria’s to ask about an English-speaking doctor in the area but they were closed so I ended up going to the Apotheke where they gave me his address and phone number. I am SO thankful for that!
The doctor then asks why I am there and I explain that I am on blood pressure medication and that I will be out by the end of the week. I bring my bottles and he looks at them. He knew exactly what the one drug was but he was unfamiliar with the other one. He said he thought he knew what it was and that what I have is a brand name. He asked me to contact my doctor in the states and check what the generic name is for the drug.
He asked me when the last time I got blood work done. I looked through my records and while doing so, I found the generic name for the drug. It was as he suspected, a brand name for a generic drug that he was familiar with. I’m so happy with this doctor and it turns out, he also does acupuncture! WOW! Two specialties in one place. I’m a very happy camper.
I tell him about my leg and what happened and he said he would prescribe me an anti-inflammatory drug to help with the healing. He asks if he can keep the medical records to read over and will return them to me next week when I go back for a follow-up appointment.
He also indicates that my diurectic pill should be increased by 10 mg to help with the ankle swelling. I’m all for that!
It’s about 4:30 when I leave the doctor’s office and I decided that I needed to take care of getting the drugs today so that it would be done and over with. I walk down the street (quite a ways, actually) to the Apotheke.
She remembered me and I thanked her profusely for giving me the information. She looked at my prescriptions (and here in Germany, they don’t prescribe one month at a time…here it’s three months at a time). She doesn’t have the one prescription I need but will order it and it will be in tomorrow. She gives me everything she has and tells me to pay for everything tomorrow. WHAT? She’s going to give me the drugs and wait until tomorrow for me to pay her when I pick up the final prescription? That’s unheard of! I wanted to at least give her 50 Euro but she wouldn’t hear of it. She said she trusted me! Now THAT would never happen in the states. They would merely tell you to come back when you have the money.
Since I was already in the area, I decided to go back to Schleckers and get a light bulb for the bathroom. That way, my dear husband doesn’t have to take a shower in the dark! I feel really badly that he has to use the hall light for light at night when he showers. Now it will be fixed and we don’t have to wait until Saturday to get it fixed.
And since I was nearby, I decided to go over to Plus (a market like Lidl) and pick up a few things. It was really hot by the time I started back to the apartment so I stayed on the right side of the street for two reasons: it was in the shade and the sidewalks were wider. When I reached Mamma Maria’s and waited for the signal to change, I looked over at the guest area parking at our apartment and saw that Ted was already home. I looked at my watch and saw that it was after five! It took me a long time to get the drugs and do a little shopping and get back home. He’s going to have to wait a bit for dinner, unfortunately.
When I got to our apartment, he was no where to be found. I thought perhaps he went looking for me as I forgot to take his phone with me. I’ve been without a phone for so long, it’s going to take an effort to get back into the habit of taking the cell phone with me.
Finally, he called and said that he was walking back to the apartment. He did indeed go looking for me. I don’t know where he would look since I didn’t give him the doctor’s address…why would I? At any rate, he quickly came up the stairs and asked me if I wanted to go to his company’s 60th anniversary party in the parking lot of his office. He said he had already eaten and wanted me to have some grilled bratwurst. I wasn’t sure if I wanted that or not but I figured it’s a party and he wanted to introduce me to a few people.
I decided to bring my own container of water since I wasn’t sure if they would have plain, run-of-the-mill water. It’s either they don’t have it all or it’s the bubbly, mineral water…of which I’m not a big fan.
It’s hot and I’ve been sweating from my walk but I figured the car’s air conditioning would get me cooled off and it did. But unfortunately, the parking lot at the Ted’s office was hot. They had pretty good food and they had a band. Ted and I mingled with some of his co-workers. When we both drank all of the water in my container, we ventured into the office to get more from the office cooler. Unfortunately that was almost empty as well.
I wanted to sit in a cool place so we sat at the kitchen table in the office where I met a few more of Ted’s co-worker. One was particularly striking. He was a former Navy Lt. Commander. He was young and very good looking but didn’t have a whole lot of respect for the German way of doing things. In that regard, he was a bit arrogant. I think he thought that he could get by with his looks and his smile. I wondered if he thought we should be impressed.
We talked with him for a bit and I was ready to leave after that conversation and so was Ted. We went over to Kelley to check on email before returning to the apartment.
Thursday 07/16/09
Day 114: Scheduling a Doctor's Appointment
Ted and I both slept poorly last night. We don’t know why. It could be that the air was too heavy or we just could not find that “right” spot.
And it’s still raining and cloudy. It’s hard to be motivated when it’s rainy and cool…although it’s great sleeping weather.
After fixing Ted his morning drink and sending him off to work, I go back to bed to catch an hour or so of sleep. I need to call the doctor this morning and I don’t want sleep too late.
I wake up at about 8:30. I wanted to get my medicine and look for the letters from the clinic (they do that here…write you a letter for your family doctor every time you visit the clinic). I also wanted to translate a few words if the person on the other end didn’t understand what I wanted. I used my handy-dandy translator that my daughter Ailene gave me for my birthday. It works very well…especially since I don’t have Internet right now to utilize the online translation!
After sitting down with my questions and my translator, I dialed the number. At first I dialed the number as it was written, and it didn’t go through. Then I realized that I have to enter the 0711 before the number to get it to work. Hooray! It went through!
After speaking with the receptionist, I found out she and the doctor both speak English. Wonderful! And he is accepting new patients. Great! Now for the appointment: the soonest he could see me was tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm. I’ll take that appointment!
I think I’ll bring my camera tomorrow and take a few photos of the area on my way to the doctor’s office. There are some lovely old buildings here but I’ve been too busy either painting, cleaning or unpacking to think about taking photos.
After getting that appointment organized, I really didn’t want to clean and the trash bin was full yesterday so I can’t take packing paper out to the trash so I decided to work on finances until it’s time to go over to the Library and send an email to work. This is SO frustrating not having Internet connectivity. Oh well, this will be resolved next Tuesday, thank goodness!
I worked all afternoon sorting through mail and getting receipts in order as well as balancing accounts and researching various issues with our insurance. Finally, it was about 3pm when I knew I had to get over to the Library before they close at 17:00 (or 5pm). Europeans use military time and I’ve become used to using it.
Surprisingly, the weather cleared up and it’s sunny and blue skies with puffy white clouds! It’s warm outside, but wonderfully cool inside the apartment.
Before heading over to the Library, I checked the trash to see if it had been picked up. No, it hadn’t. This is frustrating because I have all this paper to throw away and cannot get rid of it…so it’s hanging out in our second bedroom until I can throw it away.
I wanted to use the back entrance but it’s locked. So I walk around to the front of the building and go inside. I checked the computer but it appears I need to log on. So I wait my turn in line to speak to someone. The woman behind the counter is a gruff older woman…what I would call a typical German woman. She’s not mean…it’s just that guttural German speech makes her sound that way. She was taking care of two children and another person came up. I let her go before me because I didn’t feel like I should be there in the first place….but I needed to get an email off to my boss and upload a file.
When it was my turn, the woman didn’t speak a lick of English. Great. But she tells me the other woman does and to wait a moment…at least that’s the impression I got. The other woman was even older than the first but she seemed younger and sprightlier somehow.
She asked me what I wanted and I told I came in last week and asked about Internet access. She asked if I wanted to go on right now. I said, “Yes”. She signed me in with a log in and password.
Thank goodness I have a Yahoo account but I couldn’t sign on because it was in German. Then I remembered how to get the page in English. After having difficulty figuring out how to get the @ sign in my account name, I finally signed on to my email account and read the dozen or so emails that came in since last night, most of them from my boss.
I started to respond using the touch key method of typing but I realized that the keyboard was a German keyboard was a German keyboard and the keys were in different places. I had to look at the keyboard (something I’m totally not used to doing) to ensure I had the correct keys! And I wanted to use contractions but of course, I couldn’t find the apostrophe. It is enormously frustrating not having connectivity!
I sent out a few emails to my boss and realized my thumb drive didn’t fit the USB port on the machine. Another source of total frustration! I thought the ports were all standard. It appears they are not! UGH! I will have to go to the base to email this file and I don’t know how I’m going to accomplish that since Ted has an appointment this evening that will keep him out until 10pm! And since he does not want to eat dinner tonight, I get my chicken salad with crackers for dinner.
I’m thinking I might drop him off, zip on over to the base, do what I have to do and then go back and pick him up. We’ll see what he has to say about that. As it turned out, he wanted to come along and so we went over to the base around 10:15 and checked email then came home and went to bed.
Wednesday 07/15/09
And it’s still raining and cloudy. It’s hard to be motivated when it’s rainy and cool…although it’s great sleeping weather.
After fixing Ted his morning drink and sending him off to work, I go back to bed to catch an hour or so of sleep. I need to call the doctor this morning and I don’t want sleep too late.
I wake up at about 8:30. I wanted to get my medicine and look for the letters from the clinic (they do that here…write you a letter for your family doctor every time you visit the clinic). I also wanted to translate a few words if the person on the other end didn’t understand what I wanted. I used my handy-dandy translator that my daughter Ailene gave me for my birthday. It works very well…especially since I don’t have Internet right now to utilize the online translation!
After sitting down with my questions and my translator, I dialed the number. At first I dialed the number as it was written, and it didn’t go through. Then I realized that I have to enter the 0711 before the number to get it to work. Hooray! It went through!
After speaking with the receptionist, I found out she and the doctor both speak English. Wonderful! And he is accepting new patients. Great! Now for the appointment: the soonest he could see me was tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm. I’ll take that appointment!
I think I’ll bring my camera tomorrow and take a few photos of the area on my way to the doctor’s office. There are some lovely old buildings here but I’ve been too busy either painting, cleaning or unpacking to think about taking photos.
After getting that appointment organized, I really didn’t want to clean and the trash bin was full yesterday so I can’t take packing paper out to the trash so I decided to work on finances until it’s time to go over to the Library and send an email to work. This is SO frustrating not having Internet connectivity. Oh well, this will be resolved next Tuesday, thank goodness!
I worked all afternoon sorting through mail and getting receipts in order as well as balancing accounts and researching various issues with our insurance. Finally, it was about 3pm when I knew I had to get over to the Library before they close at 17:00 (or 5pm). Europeans use military time and I’ve become used to using it.
Surprisingly, the weather cleared up and it’s sunny and blue skies with puffy white clouds! It’s warm outside, but wonderfully cool inside the apartment.
Before heading over to the Library, I checked the trash to see if it had been picked up. No, it hadn’t. This is frustrating because I have all this paper to throw away and cannot get rid of it…so it’s hanging out in our second bedroom until I can throw it away.
I wanted to use the back entrance but it’s locked. So I walk around to the front of the building and go inside. I checked the computer but it appears I need to log on. So I wait my turn in line to speak to someone. The woman behind the counter is a gruff older woman…what I would call a typical German woman. She’s not mean…it’s just that guttural German speech makes her sound that way. She was taking care of two children and another person came up. I let her go before me because I didn’t feel like I should be there in the first place….but I needed to get an email off to my boss and upload a file.
When it was my turn, the woman didn’t speak a lick of English. Great. But she tells me the other woman does and to wait a moment…at least that’s the impression I got. The other woman was even older than the first but she seemed younger and sprightlier somehow.
She asked me what I wanted and I told I came in last week and asked about Internet access. She asked if I wanted to go on right now. I said, “Yes”. She signed me in with a log in and password.
Thank goodness I have a Yahoo account but I couldn’t sign on because it was in German. Then I remembered how to get the page in English. After having difficulty figuring out how to get the @ sign in my account name, I finally signed on to my email account and read the dozen or so emails that came in since last night, most of them from my boss.
I started to respond using the touch key method of typing but I realized that the keyboard was a German keyboard was a German keyboard and the keys were in different places. I had to look at the keyboard (something I’m totally not used to doing) to ensure I had the correct keys! And I wanted to use contractions but of course, I couldn’t find the apostrophe. It is enormously frustrating not having connectivity!
I sent out a few emails to my boss and realized my thumb drive didn’t fit the USB port on the machine. Another source of total frustration! I thought the ports were all standard. It appears they are not! UGH! I will have to go to the base to email this file and I don’t know how I’m going to accomplish that since Ted has an appointment this evening that will keep him out until 10pm! And since he does not want to eat dinner tonight, I get my chicken salad with crackers for dinner.
I’m thinking I might drop him off, zip on over to the base, do what I have to do and then go back and pick him up. We’ll see what he has to say about that. As it turned out, he wanted to come along and so we went over to the base around 10:15 and checked email then came home and went to bed.
Wednesday 07/15/09
Day 113 - Finding a Doctor!
Once again, I got up with Ted and fixed him his shake and helped him with his knee brace. And once again, I fell back to sleep. I’ve been incredibly tired these days. Can’t imagine why?
When I got up, I organized boxes in the 2nd bedroom and unpacked some of them. I put away more clothes. I unpacked the rest of the suitcases and put away more clothes.
I couldn’t stand the floor anymore so I washed the floor in the Living room, hallway, 2nd bedroom and master bedroom.
At this point, I was soaking wet and needed a shower before I tackled the project of finding a doctor. I was going to go over to Mama Maria’s at lunchtime to ask Michele (pronounce Me-kell-ay or Michael in English) if he knew of a doctor here in Plieningen who either spoke English or Italian. I was desperate to find a doctor and I didn’t want to have to figure out the bus system to get to the doctor before the end of the week.
By the time I showered and got dressed, it was after 3pm and Mama Maria’s was closed for the afternoon. I then decided that I would walk down to the Apothecia and see if they knew of a doctor. If anyone would know, they would. I just hoped that someone there spoke English!
The Apothecia was open and I walked in and asked the clerk (pharmacist) if she spoke English. Of course, she said, “just a little bit”. I am amazed at how humble these people are. They speak much better English than I speak German, that’s for sure!
Eureka! She said there was a young doctor and she thought he spoke English. Great! She gave me the address and phone number but mentioned that he was closed this afternoon but would be open in the morning. That’s ok…as long as I take care of this before the end of the week. I asked her where in Plieningen is the doctor’s office. When she explained, I realized that his office was around the corner from where I live! Thank you Lord that you answered my prayer!
After leaving the Apotheke, I decided to walk down to Schleckers. There was one in Bonlanden but it was a bit of a trek so I never went. Now was my opportunity.
On the way there, I passed the bus stop. I wanted to find out where I could buy a ticket and where these buses went. Not that I have anywhere to go right now. But I will want to find out how to 1) purchase the bus ticket and 2) find out where to go. Angelika had given me a bus route but I’ve been too busy with the trip to Ohio, working and packing to study it and look it up on the internet. I was excited that the bus stop information was written in English as well as in German! That will be helpful…but I didn’t recognize any of the stops on the list. I’ll have to learn them! But I was excited because if I could get to Kelley base. From there, they have military buses that go from base to base. I could go to Kelley, grab a bus to Patch or Panzer without waiting for my husband to take me. Not that he would mind…he’s so good about driving me where I need to go, but I would like to be a little more self-sufficient, if possible.
When I finally walked into the Apothecia, it reminded me of a Revco or Walgreens without the pharmacy. I walked up and down the aisles perusing the items and taking stock of what I could buy there when I needed it. They had everything from cosmetics to my favorite bamboo socks to baby food and pet food…from herbal remedies to cleaning supplies.
They also had light bulbs. And they had the light bulbs that had totally burned out in the master bedroom. We used the hall light to light up the bedroom. We have to go to OBI (like Lowes or Home Depot) to get light bulbs on the weekend. There are SO many that are burned out! Including the one in the bathroom…also a pain because we really don’t know what bulbs it takes. I’ll have to use the step ladder to find out.
Ted came home with Chicken from Mr. Chicken Man and German potato salad. Neither of us were crazy about the potato salad and for some reason, the chicken was a bit salty. I’m not sure if it’s because we’re just so sensitive to the salt issue or because the Germans just naturally put a LOT of salt on things. He probably won’t buy the salad again, but I’m sure he’ll buy the chicken again. The chicken is a whole chicken that the Chicken Man cuts in two pieces with a huge pair of kitchen scissors. The chicken is pretty small, just a little bit bigger than a Cornish hen. So it’s enough for two people.
Unfortunately, I’m not very hungry tonight so I’ll debone what I don’t eat and make chicken salad tomorrow.
Ted changes the light bulbs in the master bedroom with my help and we find out that the three switches in the bedroom are wired funny. Once again, it’s the land of “just not quite right”. I guess we are spoiled Americans who like to get things done and have things done correctly. Not that it’s a bad thing or anything…it’s just the way it is.
We decided we needed to go on base and check email so once again, we trek down to the basement with our laptops and go over to the base. Tonight there was blissful silence…well at least as much silence as there can be in a restaurant. At least there was no Karaoke tonight with very poor singers! LOL!
After doing what needed to be done, we get in the car to go back home. The air is very, very heavy. We think it’s going to rain and it’s a very dark night. We are surprised and delighted but the light show (lightning) across the sky on the way home. Cracks of lightening illuminate the sky. It surely is going to rain.
We are fortunate that we got home and in the house just as the rain started pouring down. It was a deluge. Tomorrow it should be a nice day, we hope.
Both of us are tired but my side is bothering me and I’m having trouble sleeping. I sit in the chair in the living room for a bit and then decide to go back to that nice comfortable bed in the hopes that I will find a comfortable spot. Gutten Nacht! (Good Night!)
Tuesday 07/14/09
When I got up, I organized boxes in the 2nd bedroom and unpacked some of them. I put away more clothes. I unpacked the rest of the suitcases and put away more clothes.
I couldn’t stand the floor anymore so I washed the floor in the Living room, hallway, 2nd bedroom and master bedroom.
At this point, I was soaking wet and needed a shower before I tackled the project of finding a doctor. I was going to go over to Mama Maria’s at lunchtime to ask Michele (pronounce Me-kell-ay or Michael in English) if he knew of a doctor here in Plieningen who either spoke English or Italian. I was desperate to find a doctor and I didn’t want to have to figure out the bus system to get to the doctor before the end of the week.
By the time I showered and got dressed, it was after 3pm and Mama Maria’s was closed for the afternoon. I then decided that I would walk down to the Apothecia and see if they knew of a doctor. If anyone would know, they would. I just hoped that someone there spoke English!
The Apothecia was open and I walked in and asked the clerk (pharmacist) if she spoke English. Of course, she said, “just a little bit”. I am amazed at how humble these people are. They speak much better English than I speak German, that’s for sure!
Eureka! She said there was a young doctor and she thought he spoke English. Great! She gave me the address and phone number but mentioned that he was closed this afternoon but would be open in the morning. That’s ok…as long as I take care of this before the end of the week. I asked her where in Plieningen is the doctor’s office. When she explained, I realized that his office was around the corner from where I live! Thank you Lord that you answered my prayer!
After leaving the Apotheke, I decided to walk down to Schleckers. There was one in Bonlanden but it was a bit of a trek so I never went. Now was my opportunity.
On the way there, I passed the bus stop. I wanted to find out where I could buy a ticket and where these buses went. Not that I have anywhere to go right now. But I will want to find out how to 1) purchase the bus ticket and 2) find out where to go. Angelika had given me a bus route but I’ve been too busy with the trip to Ohio, working and packing to study it and look it up on the internet. I was excited that the bus stop information was written in English as well as in German! That will be helpful…but I didn’t recognize any of the stops on the list. I’ll have to learn them! But I was excited because if I could get to Kelley base. From there, they have military buses that go from base to base. I could go to Kelley, grab a bus to Patch or Panzer without waiting for my husband to take me. Not that he would mind…he’s so good about driving me where I need to go, but I would like to be a little more self-sufficient, if possible.
When I finally walked into the Apothecia, it reminded me of a Revco or Walgreens without the pharmacy. I walked up and down the aisles perusing the items and taking stock of what I could buy there when I needed it. They had everything from cosmetics to my favorite bamboo socks to baby food and pet food…from herbal remedies to cleaning supplies.
They also had light bulbs. And they had the light bulbs that had totally burned out in the master bedroom. We used the hall light to light up the bedroom. We have to go to OBI (like Lowes or Home Depot) to get light bulbs on the weekend. There are SO many that are burned out! Including the one in the bathroom…also a pain because we really don’t know what bulbs it takes. I’ll have to use the step ladder to find out.
Ted came home with Chicken from Mr. Chicken Man and German potato salad. Neither of us were crazy about the potato salad and for some reason, the chicken was a bit salty. I’m not sure if it’s because we’re just so sensitive to the salt issue or because the Germans just naturally put a LOT of salt on things. He probably won’t buy the salad again, but I’m sure he’ll buy the chicken again. The chicken is a whole chicken that the Chicken Man cuts in two pieces with a huge pair of kitchen scissors. The chicken is pretty small, just a little bit bigger than a Cornish hen. So it’s enough for two people.
Unfortunately, I’m not very hungry tonight so I’ll debone what I don’t eat and make chicken salad tomorrow.
Ted changes the light bulbs in the master bedroom with my help and we find out that the three switches in the bedroom are wired funny. Once again, it’s the land of “just not quite right”. I guess we are spoiled Americans who like to get things done and have things done correctly. Not that it’s a bad thing or anything…it’s just the way it is.
We decided we needed to go on base and check email so once again, we trek down to the basement with our laptops and go over to the base. Tonight there was blissful silence…well at least as much silence as there can be in a restaurant. At least there was no Karaoke tonight with very poor singers! LOL!
After doing what needed to be done, we get in the car to go back home. The air is very, very heavy. We think it’s going to rain and it’s a very dark night. We are surprised and delighted but the light show (lightning) across the sky on the way home. Cracks of lightening illuminate the sky. It surely is going to rain.
We are fortunate that we got home and in the house just as the rain started pouring down. It was a deluge. Tomorrow it should be a nice day, we hope.
Both of us are tired but my side is bothering me and I’m having trouble sleeping. I sit in the chair in the living room for a bit and then decide to go back to that nice comfortable bed in the hopes that I will find a comfortable spot. Gutten Nacht! (Good Night!)
Tuesday 07/14/09
Day 112: First Day in the New Apartment!
The day started out with a Chocolate Complete shake (we hadn’t had this in a long, long time) so we were excited to be able to have it again! I helped Ted put on his knee brace and when he left, I promptly went back to bed!
I was exhausted from the weekend of packing and moving so I gave myself permission to sleep a little before tackling the rest of the unpacking.
I unpacked most of Ted’s clothes and arranged them in the 2nd bedroom on the rods that the previous tenant left for us to use. I welcomed them because it means we can wait a bit before we buy the armoires we need for hanging clothes in both bedrooms and the hallway.
I broke down a lot of the boxes. I will save them in our storage area for when we ship our stuff back to the states.
I put away all of the electronic stuff in the drawer organizer so that it would be all in one place. I knew Ted would want to go through everything and organize it the way he wanted it. And I put together the footstools for the IKEA chairs. Ted has to finish the other chair.
I looked for a doctor in phone book but could not find one in the Plieningen zip code. This is proving to be harder than I imagined. It’s frustrating not knowing the language or the geography to do the most mundane chores…like finding a doctor. What I did find out was that there is a Botanical Garden not three blocks from our home. I look forward to visiting it after I get our home organized where I feel comfortable in leaving for a long walk.
I need to find a doctor because my daily medications are almost all gone and I need to have the doctor prescribe me something similar here in Germany. I thought I would go next door and see if there was a doctor located in the same building as the library. I thought there might be one there. That would be terrific if there was. On my way out, I decided to throw away some of the packing paper that we had accumulated. I took a big black plastic bag full of paper down to the trash bin. Unfortunately, it was almost full. I managed to get my paper in small enough wads to put it into the bin. I folded the plastic bag and brought it with me on my quest to find a doctor. After reading the directory, it appeared the only doctors in the building were dentists. I was terribly disappointed. Now what?
Ted finally got his cell phone to work here in Germany. Until we have our VoIP hooked up (we need internet for this), and I can call AT&T to get the unlock code for my phone – the code they gave me does not work – I will be using his phone to stay in communication with him. It’s been very difficult when I’ve been at the apartment and he’s been at work. There was absolutely no way for us to communicate. You don’t realize how very important a phone is until you don’t have it!
It was our first meal here in the new apartment. Ted and I ate Lasagna from Bertoli and a mozzarella and tomato salad.
He spoke on the phone with the owner of the car we are buying. There is some information we need in order to get a short term loan from the service credit union. Unfortunately, Ted’s company neglected to tell us that they do not give the monthly housing stipend all at one time, but dole it out one week at a time. That being the case, it’s imperative that we keep some funds available to pay the rent when it’s due in two weeks…otherwise, we could pay cash for the car. We plan on paying that short-term, very small loan off in a matter of months.
I told Ted about finding a doctor and he suggested that I check with the Apotheke down the street and with Mama Maria’s if they knew of a doctor.
We decided after dinner to go to the Kelley club on base to use the internet. Ted needed to communicate with the staff sergeant and I needed to send my boss an email. When we got there, it was Karaoke night. We went to the back part of the club where there is light and internet connection. Ted and I marveled at how badly these people sang. He told me that it wouldn’t sound so bad if the sound mixer and mikes were adjusted. Since he worked in communications when he was in the Air Force and set up sound systems years ago for church services, I figured, if anyone knew, he would.
Ted asked me if I had my pink and yellow ear plugs with me! LOL! Now WHY would I have those with me? I only use them to drown out Ted’s snoring! LOL!
We got home once again at 11pm. Ted needed to adjust his slats so his hips wouldn’t hurt. And while I had the most restful sleep I’ve had in a long, long time on Sunday night, he did not. His hips hurt. But tonight after adjusting the slats, we’re hopeful he’ll have a better night’s rest.
We LOVE our German mattresses and bed!
Monday 07/13/09
I was exhausted from the weekend of packing and moving so I gave myself permission to sleep a little before tackling the rest of the unpacking.
I unpacked most of Ted’s clothes and arranged them in the 2nd bedroom on the rods that the previous tenant left for us to use. I welcomed them because it means we can wait a bit before we buy the armoires we need for hanging clothes in both bedrooms and the hallway.
I broke down a lot of the boxes. I will save them in our storage area for when we ship our stuff back to the states.
I put away all of the electronic stuff in the drawer organizer so that it would be all in one place. I knew Ted would want to go through everything and organize it the way he wanted it. And I put together the footstools for the IKEA chairs. Ted has to finish the other chair.
I looked for a doctor in phone book but could not find one in the Plieningen zip code. This is proving to be harder than I imagined. It’s frustrating not knowing the language or the geography to do the most mundane chores…like finding a doctor. What I did find out was that there is a Botanical Garden not three blocks from our home. I look forward to visiting it after I get our home organized where I feel comfortable in leaving for a long walk.
I need to find a doctor because my daily medications are almost all gone and I need to have the doctor prescribe me something similar here in Germany. I thought I would go next door and see if there was a doctor located in the same building as the library. I thought there might be one there. That would be terrific if there was. On my way out, I decided to throw away some of the packing paper that we had accumulated. I took a big black plastic bag full of paper down to the trash bin. Unfortunately, it was almost full. I managed to get my paper in small enough wads to put it into the bin. I folded the plastic bag and brought it with me on my quest to find a doctor. After reading the directory, it appeared the only doctors in the building were dentists. I was terribly disappointed. Now what?
Ted finally got his cell phone to work here in Germany. Until we have our VoIP hooked up (we need internet for this), and I can call AT&T to get the unlock code for my phone – the code they gave me does not work – I will be using his phone to stay in communication with him. It’s been very difficult when I’ve been at the apartment and he’s been at work. There was absolutely no way for us to communicate. You don’t realize how very important a phone is until you don’t have it!
It was our first meal here in the new apartment. Ted and I ate Lasagna from Bertoli and a mozzarella and tomato salad.
He spoke on the phone with the owner of the car we are buying. There is some information we need in order to get a short term loan from the service credit union. Unfortunately, Ted’s company neglected to tell us that they do not give the monthly housing stipend all at one time, but dole it out one week at a time. That being the case, it’s imperative that we keep some funds available to pay the rent when it’s due in two weeks…otherwise, we could pay cash for the car. We plan on paying that short-term, very small loan off in a matter of months.
I told Ted about finding a doctor and he suggested that I check with the Apotheke down the street and with Mama Maria’s if they knew of a doctor.
We decided after dinner to go to the Kelley club on base to use the internet. Ted needed to communicate with the staff sergeant and I needed to send my boss an email. When we got there, it was Karaoke night. We went to the back part of the club where there is light and internet connection. Ted and I marveled at how badly these people sang. He told me that it wouldn’t sound so bad if the sound mixer and mikes were adjusted. Since he worked in communications when he was in the Air Force and set up sound systems years ago for church services, I figured, if anyone knew, he would.
Ted asked me if I had my pink and yellow ear plugs with me! LOL! Now WHY would I have those with me? I only use them to drown out Ted’s snoring! LOL!
We got home once again at 11pm. Ted needed to adjust his slats so his hips wouldn’t hurt. And while I had the most restful sleep I’ve had in a long, long time on Sunday night, he did not. His hips hurt. But tonight after adjusting the slats, we’re hopeful he’ll have a better night’s rest.
We LOVE our German mattresses and bed!
Monday 07/13/09
Day 111: Church and Final move!
It’s going to be hard to say “goodbye” to our landlords, Angelika and Hartmut Weinmann. They were wonderful people. We have prolonged our stay as long as we could since our apartment doesn’t yet have internet connection.
After church we stopped at the BX/PX for more “stuff” that we needed, including a European Blender. The Europeans have different electrical requirements. Since we were in the same general location, we decided to pop over to Patch to buy some produce for the week. Because the produce needed to be refrigerated, we went to our new home to put away groceries and unload the car.
By this time it’s about 3pm when we went back to Filderstadt. Ted had a bit of research to do for work (on the internet) so while he was doing that, I cleaned out the Refrigerator/Freezer and cleaned the bathroom. The bathroom was now off limits for us. If he has to go, he’s just going to have to wait until we get “home”. Finally, he was done with the research and he put away both his computer and mine, readying them for transport to our new home. He swept the floor with the sweeper and I went behind him and mopped and dusted all of the furniture.
He moved all of our stuff down to the landing while I finished up mopping and locked the door. We both loaded the car.
We knocked on the Weinmann’s door, paid for the three months of internet service they provided and gave them back their keys. They were sad to see us go just as we were sad to leave. Had the place been just a little bigger and we had been told that we could have a furnished place, we would probably not have shipped our stuff to Germany. But in retrospect, it’s so nice to have your “own things”…it makes it feel like home.
We unloaded the laptops (his personal, his work and my personal), a suitcase, and several plastic bags with cleaning supplies along with the broom and swiffer mop.
It was still early and Mama Maria’s was not yet open. While I put away some of the stuff from the Filderstadt apartment, Ted put together one of the two IKEA chairs we shipped from the states. Then we made up the bed together. It was going to be an interesting night in a new environment. I put away all of the toiletries and organized Ted’s clothes for work on Monday.
It was around 6:30 when we decided to walk over to Mama Maria’s to have a pizza.
While we were there, the lady who works at the Trieber next door to Ted’s office came in. After dinner, she came over and talked to us. She speaks excellent English – so funny, she has a southern drawl! It turns out she lived in Texas and South Carolina for some years. We learned more about her life history than we needed to know. Still it was fun watching the people interact. The place totally reminds me of the “Cheers” show…although the bar and dining room are on a much smaller scale.
It was about 8pm when we decided to go do our laundry on base. We passed by the buildings that Ted worked on and stopped because Ted’s co-workers were still working!
Ted then dropped me off to do the laundry and he was headed over to his office to drop off his laptop and stool. Then he would check the mail and come back to help load the laundry back into the car.
While I was sitting there, Ron and Karen, Ted’s boss’ in-laws (who are also interning for his company) came in. They were doing laundry too. They ran out of quarters and the change machine was out of order, so I sold them enough to use the dryers. I was fortunate in that the commercial washers were empty and I grabbed them quickly.
I sat with Ron and Karen and we talked for some time. Unfortunately, they were going to be leaving to go back to the states on Tuesday so we would not be able to spend more time with them. Ted came in after a bit and sat down with us. We passed the time talking about Ted’s company and travels that we both had done.
By the time they were ready to leave, our laundry was done and we headed out. It was around 10:15. Ted wanted Gelato from the Eis Café Venezia in Bonlanden so we took a detour there before heading back to the apartment
It was after 11 by the time we got back to the apartment. I was TOTALLY ready to sleep on the new mattress! And Ted was right behind me!
Sunday 07/12/09
After church we stopped at the BX/PX for more “stuff” that we needed, including a European Blender. The Europeans have different electrical requirements. Since we were in the same general location, we decided to pop over to Patch to buy some produce for the week. Because the produce needed to be refrigerated, we went to our new home to put away groceries and unload the car.
By this time it’s about 3pm when we went back to Filderstadt. Ted had a bit of research to do for work (on the internet) so while he was doing that, I cleaned out the Refrigerator/Freezer and cleaned the bathroom. The bathroom was now off limits for us. If he has to go, he’s just going to have to wait until we get “home”. Finally, he was done with the research and he put away both his computer and mine, readying them for transport to our new home. He swept the floor with the sweeper and I went behind him and mopped and dusted all of the furniture.
He moved all of our stuff down to the landing while I finished up mopping and locked the door. We both loaded the car.
We knocked on the Weinmann’s door, paid for the three months of internet service they provided and gave them back their keys. They were sad to see us go just as we were sad to leave. Had the place been just a little bigger and we had been told that we could have a furnished place, we would probably not have shipped our stuff to Germany. But in retrospect, it’s so nice to have your “own things”…it makes it feel like home.
We unloaded the laptops (his personal, his work and my personal), a suitcase, and several plastic bags with cleaning supplies along with the broom and swiffer mop.
It was still early and Mama Maria’s was not yet open. While I put away some of the stuff from the Filderstadt apartment, Ted put together one of the two IKEA chairs we shipped from the states. Then we made up the bed together. It was going to be an interesting night in a new environment. I put away all of the toiletries and organized Ted’s clothes for work on Monday.
It was around 6:30 when we decided to walk over to Mama Maria’s to have a pizza.
While we were there, the lady who works at the Trieber next door to Ted’s office came in. After dinner, she came over and talked to us. She speaks excellent English – so funny, she has a southern drawl! It turns out she lived in Texas and South Carolina for some years. We learned more about her life history than we needed to know. Still it was fun watching the people interact. The place totally reminds me of the “Cheers” show…although the bar and dining room are on a much smaller scale.
It was about 8pm when we decided to go do our laundry on base. We passed by the buildings that Ted worked on and stopped because Ted’s co-workers were still working!
Ted then dropped me off to do the laundry and he was headed over to his office to drop off his laptop and stool. Then he would check the mail and come back to help load the laundry back into the car.
While I was sitting there, Ron and Karen, Ted’s boss’ in-laws (who are also interning for his company) came in. They were doing laundry too. They ran out of quarters and the change machine was out of order, so I sold them enough to use the dryers. I was fortunate in that the commercial washers were empty and I grabbed them quickly.
I sat with Ron and Karen and we talked for some time. Unfortunately, they were going to be leaving to go back to the states on Tuesday so we would not be able to spend more time with them. Ted came in after a bit and sat down with us. We passed the time talking about Ted’s company and travels that we both had done.
By the time they were ready to leave, our laundry was done and we headed out. It was around 10:15. Ted wanted Gelato from the Eis Café Venezia in Bonlanden so we took a detour there before heading back to the apartment
It was after 11 by the time we got back to the apartment. I was TOTALLY ready to sleep on the new mattress! And Ted was right behind me!
Sunday 07/12/09
Friday, July 10, 2009
Day 110: Errands, moving and buying a car!
We had lots to accomplish today for the move! The most important was to get sheets for the bed. Unfortunately, Ted fell (thank goodness he wasn’t hurt) and broke the toilet seat so we had to replace it. We had purchased yesterday and Ted had to install it this morning. It wasn’t cooperating and it took longer than we anticipated.
We were scheduled to go to Reutlingen to get the sheets and dish rack for the kitchen but we had an appointment to see a car at 12:30pm at Panzer. Ted wanted to blow it off but didn’t remember the guy’s name or phone number to cancel it. I don’t like the idea of blowing off a scheduled appointment. I know how I’d feel if someone just didn’t show up for an appointment without canceling and I wasn’t going to do that to a person who serves our country.
So we had a change of plans. We would get to Reutlingen after our appointment at Panzer. It was after 11 when we left Filderstadt to go to Panzer. We had to exchange money and I had some deposits to make along with setting up our monthly electricity payment. We could get all of that done if we got there early.
We did our banking business and went over to the lot where people keep their cars for sale. The marine gunnery sergeant was there. He wanted us to test drive it, so we did. It was reasonably priced but we needed to make sure. It’s a metallic gray 1999 VW Golf with absolutely no dings or dents and the interior is spotless. If it runs as good as it looks, it’s a done deal. It runs exceptionally well on surface streets as well as on the Autobahn. We are sold on the car. We go back to the bank and arrange to give the sergeant a deposit to hold the car as well as explain to him the financing situation. He will be away visiting his in-laws next week and that will allow us time to get our financing in place.
Chalk one up for one more thing done. It’s amazing that it’s all coming together at once: the move and the car. Once this move and car business is over, we can concentrate on a few other housing issues like: a washer and dryer and wardrobes. But those are a few months down the road and we can enjoy the rest of our summer exploring the German countryside without worrying about housing or a vehicle.
After securing the car, we went to the BX to pick up a few things for the apartment and then went on to Reutlingen to get the sheets. But before we go to that store, we have to stop at Arcor (the internet, phone and cell phone provider) store located a few blocks away. When we got there, the store was gone! GONE! How can that be? Apparently, it was only a temporary store and they move them around. Darn it, I thought I would have a cell phone to work with on Monday. It wasn’t going to happen, again!
After being disappointed, we go over to the store that sells household stuff and we get the sheets and dish rack. I would have liked to look around some more but today was not the day to do it. There was TOO much work to be done when I get back to Filderstadt. (I no longer want to call it “our apartment” because after tomorrow, it won’t be).
For some reason, I’m exceptionally tired today. When we get back to Filderstadt, I told Ted I was going to lie down for 15 – 30 minutes and then I’ll pack and we can make a few trips over to the new place. I fell asleep immediately.
Ted was using the internet to locate the Arcor store and while I was sleeping, he went to see if the store was open. I woke up to find no Ted and didn’t know where the heck he was!
I got up and started packing the suitcases with all of our clothes except the ones we were going to wear tomorrow. I also finished packing the “stuff” in the drawers and cupboards. YIKES! We were only there for a little over three months, where in the world did all this “stuff” come from! The more I pulled out of cupboards, it seemed the more there was!
Finally Ted returned and we made two trips back and forth to the new apartment with our suitcases and “stuff”. After unloading all that gear, we both were hungry so we ate at the German restaurant down the street from where we live. We walked. We had salad and grilled pieces of pork chunks with mushrooms with what they call “bread dumplings”…when in actuality it was stuffing in a baseball-sized “clump”. Very funny! I was imagining something more like gnocchi! LOL!
We then returned to Filderstadt. It would be our last night sleeping in temporary housing.
Saturday 07/11/09
We were scheduled to go to Reutlingen to get the sheets and dish rack for the kitchen but we had an appointment to see a car at 12:30pm at Panzer. Ted wanted to blow it off but didn’t remember the guy’s name or phone number to cancel it. I don’t like the idea of blowing off a scheduled appointment. I know how I’d feel if someone just didn’t show up for an appointment without canceling and I wasn’t going to do that to a person who serves our country.
So we had a change of plans. We would get to Reutlingen after our appointment at Panzer. It was after 11 when we left Filderstadt to go to Panzer. We had to exchange money and I had some deposits to make along with setting up our monthly electricity payment. We could get all of that done if we got there early.
We did our banking business and went over to the lot where people keep their cars for sale. The marine gunnery sergeant was there. He wanted us to test drive it, so we did. It was reasonably priced but we needed to make sure. It’s a metallic gray 1999 VW Golf with absolutely no dings or dents and the interior is spotless. If it runs as good as it looks, it’s a done deal. It runs exceptionally well on surface streets as well as on the Autobahn. We are sold on the car. We go back to the bank and arrange to give the sergeant a deposit to hold the car as well as explain to him the financing situation. He will be away visiting his in-laws next week and that will allow us time to get our financing in place.
Chalk one up for one more thing done. It’s amazing that it’s all coming together at once: the move and the car. Once this move and car business is over, we can concentrate on a few other housing issues like: a washer and dryer and wardrobes. But those are a few months down the road and we can enjoy the rest of our summer exploring the German countryside without worrying about housing or a vehicle.
After securing the car, we went to the BX to pick up a few things for the apartment and then went on to Reutlingen to get the sheets. But before we go to that store, we have to stop at Arcor (the internet, phone and cell phone provider) store located a few blocks away. When we got there, the store was gone! GONE! How can that be? Apparently, it was only a temporary store and they move them around. Darn it, I thought I would have a cell phone to work with on Monday. It wasn’t going to happen, again!
After being disappointed, we go over to the store that sells household stuff and we get the sheets and dish rack. I would have liked to look around some more but today was not the day to do it. There was TOO much work to be done when I get back to Filderstadt. (I no longer want to call it “our apartment” because after tomorrow, it won’t be).
For some reason, I’m exceptionally tired today. When we get back to Filderstadt, I told Ted I was going to lie down for 15 – 30 minutes and then I’ll pack and we can make a few trips over to the new place. I fell asleep immediately.
Ted was using the internet to locate the Arcor store and while I was sleeping, he went to see if the store was open. I woke up to find no Ted and didn’t know where the heck he was!
I got up and started packing the suitcases with all of our clothes except the ones we were going to wear tomorrow. I also finished packing the “stuff” in the drawers and cupboards. YIKES! We were only there for a little over three months, where in the world did all this “stuff” come from! The more I pulled out of cupboards, it seemed the more there was!
Finally Ted returned and we made two trips back and forth to the new apartment with our suitcases and “stuff”. After unloading all that gear, we both were hungry so we ate at the German restaurant down the street from where we live. We walked. We had salad and grilled pieces of pork chunks with mushrooms with what they call “bread dumplings”…when in actuality it was stuffing in a baseball-sized “clump”. Very funny! I was imagining something more like gnocchi! LOL!
We then returned to Filderstadt. It would be our last night sleeping in temporary housing.
Saturday 07/11/09
Day 109: Unpacking!
Today was the day earmarked to get our “stuff” unpacked. I decided that the most important room to get done first was the kitchen. Since there was a partially made nightstand (and all of its pieces scattered across the kitchen table), the first thing I did was to finish it because I didn’t want to risk losing any of the parts. When I couldn’t get the final four screws in the drawers, I put the screws in the drawer and decided to let Ted be my hero and do it for me.
Then I began unpacking the kitchen. All of the flatware, dishes and glassware needed to be washed before putting them into the cabinets. They had been packed and shipped by a sea container and there was NO way we were going to eat or drink from dishes, flatware or glassware that had not been thoroughly washed.
I loaded up the dishwasher just to realize that I couldn’t get it started AND I couldn’t read the instruction manual because, of course, it was in German! Now I had to unload the dishwasher and wash all of the items by hand.
It took most of the morning just to do all of the flatware and cooking utensils. The rest of the day was spent putting away dry goods and washing, drying and putting away dishes and cookware.
When I unwrapped the items, I haphazardly threw all of the paper on the floor since I had no trash bags to put them in. Now the living room was a mess and I needed to clean it up before Ted got home. I used one of the empty dish barrels to put the paper in temporarily until I can dispose of it.
It was after five before the kitchen was done and the living room was in some semblance of order. I’m tired and I want to go back to Filderstadt but before we do, I want to stop at the library to check on internet service. It appears I cannot use my laptop but I can utilize their in-house computers to check email and upload files. That’s convenient!
Ted is hungry and so am I. We decided to walk down to Guiseppe’s because Ted wants me to compare the Pizza at Guiseppe’s and the Pizza at Mamma Maria’s. Ok. It turns out, Guiseppe’s pizza is good but it’s incredibly salty. It seems that not only do they put salt in the dough and sauce but it seems like they top it off with salt. Or maybe it’s just us…I don’t use a whole lot of salt in cooking so that might be it.
I’m already tired and I know this weekend is going to be a very long weekend. It will take several trips in the car to get all of our stuff out of the temporary housing unit and into our permanent housing unit.
I do not look forward to the third move in six months.
Friday 07/10/09
Then I began unpacking the kitchen. All of the flatware, dishes and glassware needed to be washed before putting them into the cabinets. They had been packed and shipped by a sea container and there was NO way we were going to eat or drink from dishes, flatware or glassware that had not been thoroughly washed.
I loaded up the dishwasher just to realize that I couldn’t get it started AND I couldn’t read the instruction manual because, of course, it was in German! Now I had to unload the dishwasher and wash all of the items by hand.
It took most of the morning just to do all of the flatware and cooking utensils. The rest of the day was spent putting away dry goods and washing, drying and putting away dishes and cookware.
When I unwrapped the items, I haphazardly threw all of the paper on the floor since I had no trash bags to put them in. Now the living room was a mess and I needed to clean it up before Ted got home. I used one of the empty dish barrels to put the paper in temporarily until I can dispose of it.
It was after five before the kitchen was done and the living room was in some semblance of order. I’m tired and I want to go back to Filderstadt but before we do, I want to stop at the library to check on internet service. It appears I cannot use my laptop but I can utilize their in-house computers to check email and upload files. That’s convenient!
Ted is hungry and so am I. We decided to walk down to Guiseppe’s because Ted wants me to compare the Pizza at Guiseppe’s and the Pizza at Mamma Maria’s. Ok. It turns out, Guiseppe’s pizza is good but it’s incredibly salty. It seems that not only do they put salt in the dough and sauce but it seems like they top it off with salt. Or maybe it’s just us…I don’t use a whole lot of salt in cooking so that might be it.
I’m already tired and I know this weekend is going to be a very long weekend. It will take several trips in the car to get all of our stuff out of the temporary housing unit and into our permanent housing unit.
I do not look forward to the third move in six months.
Friday 07/10/09
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Day 108: Another work day.
I spent almost the entire day doing company work, finishing personal financial business, sorting and packing.
I couldn’t wait to get back to the new place to get things put away!
Thursday 07/09/09
I couldn’t wait to get back to the new place to get things put away!
Thursday 07/09/09
Day 107: Shipment Arrives!
Ted dropped me off at the new apartment to wait for the shipment. I brought over two bags with clothes in them. This is going to be like Christmas!
I cleaned all of the kitchen cabinets and the bathrooms. I decided to wait until after the shipment arrives to scrub the floors.
I was getting bored so I decided to start putting together our night stands. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the proper tool (Phillips screwdriver) so I didn’t get very far with building them.
Finally, the doorbell rang and it was the shipment! Hooray! After months of waiting, I couldn’t believe it was finally here! Only one guy (a boy really) spoke a few words in English. The other two spoke no English at all. Great.
They began to bring box after box after box (88 of them) up the stairs and into the second bedroom. I realized that my yellow trek cruiser bicycle had been taken apart when it was shipped. I was told that they could put it back together for me on this end. Since I couldn’t speak a whole of German, I told him that I had a yellow bicycle (gelbes fahrad) and that it needed to be put together. I used my new translator but couldn’t find the translation for “put together” so I looked up “wheel” (rad) and I think he understood what I was trying to say. He (the driver) and the older guy put together my bicycle while the “boy” continued to bring boxes upstairs.
They were finally done and wanted me to sign but I indicated that they were supposed to take the packing papers with them. I knew I would not have the facilities here to pitch the thick packing paper that some of my stuff was packed in. When no one understood what I was saying, he finally called his company and I spoke to Ursula, my contact, since I’ve been in the U.S. I explained that I needed to have all of the thick packing paper removed as I did not have a place for it. She wanted to know if I wanted them to unpack all of the boxes as well. I did not. I wanted the luxury of unpacking the boxes at my leisure and having fun unpacking them.
It was around 2pm when they finished unpacking all of the thick heavy paper and removing it from our apartment. Over the next several hours, I unpacked about 9 boxes and decided that what I needed to do was open all the boxes and organize them into the rooms where they belonged to make unpacking a bit simpler. I managed to get through all but 9 boxes before Ted came to pick me up.
He had scheduled an appointment to go look at a car after work. We went together to Panzer to take a look at this car. It looked fairly decent on the outside so we test drove it. It drove REALLY rough and pulled to the right. We decided to pass on this car. We need to get a car and soon!
I really wanted to come back tomorrow and unpack more “stuff” but I knew I had company work that needed my attention tomorrow. I would unpack more “stuff” on Friday. I would have the entire day to do it.
Wednesday 07/08/09
I cleaned all of the kitchen cabinets and the bathrooms. I decided to wait until after the shipment arrives to scrub the floors.
I was getting bored so I decided to start putting together our night stands. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the proper tool (Phillips screwdriver) so I didn’t get very far with building them.
Finally, the doorbell rang and it was the shipment! Hooray! After months of waiting, I couldn’t believe it was finally here! Only one guy (a boy really) spoke a few words in English. The other two spoke no English at all. Great.
They began to bring box after box after box (88 of them) up the stairs and into the second bedroom. I realized that my yellow trek cruiser bicycle had been taken apart when it was shipped. I was told that they could put it back together for me on this end. Since I couldn’t speak a whole of German, I told him that I had a yellow bicycle (gelbes fahrad) and that it needed to be put together. I used my new translator but couldn’t find the translation for “put together” so I looked up “wheel” (rad) and I think he understood what I was trying to say. He (the driver) and the older guy put together my bicycle while the “boy” continued to bring boxes upstairs.
They were finally done and wanted me to sign but I indicated that they were supposed to take the packing papers with them. I knew I would not have the facilities here to pitch the thick packing paper that some of my stuff was packed in. When no one understood what I was saying, he finally called his company and I spoke to Ursula, my contact, since I’ve been in the U.S. I explained that I needed to have all of the thick packing paper removed as I did not have a place for it. She wanted to know if I wanted them to unpack all of the boxes as well. I did not. I wanted the luxury of unpacking the boxes at my leisure and having fun unpacking them.
It was around 2pm when they finished unpacking all of the thick heavy paper and removing it from our apartment. Over the next several hours, I unpacked about 9 boxes and decided that what I needed to do was open all the boxes and organize them into the rooms where they belonged to make unpacking a bit simpler. I managed to get through all but 9 boxes before Ted came to pick me up.
He had scheduled an appointment to go look at a car after work. We went together to Panzer to take a look at this car. It looked fairly decent on the outside so we test drove it. It drove REALLY rough and pulled to the right. We decided to pass on this car. We need to get a car and soon!
I really wanted to come back tomorrow and unpack more “stuff” but I knew I had company work that needed my attention tomorrow. I would unpack more “stuff” on Friday. I would have the entire day to do it.
Wednesday 07/08/09
Day 106: Work Day.
Today was a “wait” day so I stayed in Filderstadt and did more packing and company work.
I could have gone to the new apartment and did more cleaning but I figured it was going to take the shippers some time to load up the “stuff” and deliver it. That being the case, I would have time on Wednesday to get some cleaning done.
The waiting is always the hardest but I’m happy that I have things to do so I’m not thinking about it all the time.
Tuesday 07/07/09
I could have gone to the new apartment and did more cleaning but I figured it was going to take the shippers some time to load up the “stuff” and deliver it. That being the case, I would have time on Wednesday to get some cleaning done.
The waiting is always the hardest but I’m happy that I have things to do so I’m not thinking about it all the time.
Tuesday 07/07/09
Monday, July 6, 2009
Day 105: Driving to Customs.
It’s Monday and Ted is going to take his four hour driving class and then sit for the exam at the end of the class. Because he had to have a US/EURO driver’s license in order to register a car, he had to get this task done.
In the meantime, we had been in contact with the shipper who waited for us at the customs office on Friday. Apparently, they didn’t get my email in time telling them that I would go to the customs on Monday to give the Germans the final paperwork they needed from me to release our shipment to us.
Ted’s appointment was at 9am so we drove over to Panzer. Since it was drizzling and we were within five minutes of him being late, he got out of the car right in front of the building where he had to go. I quickly got into the driver’s seat and adjusted the seat. I did something and the car stalled and the engine shut down. I tried to start the car but there was a guy behind me honking his horn and it made me nervous so I was unsuccessful in starting it. I put my hazards on and he drove up next to me and motioned for me to put my window down.
He proceeded to yell at me because I was stopped behind a cross walk and that it was against the law in Germany. He didn’t even give me a chance to say that the car stalled and I wasn’t stopped there just to stop there. He drove off in a huff!
Well that didn’t make me feel very good about driving to some unknown location with a standard transmission car. I finally got the car started and parked in the parking lot until I programmed “Julie” to go to the customs office.
So off I went driving to the customs office. Julie said the office was a little over 17 kilometers away. I drove on the autobahn which was bumper to bumper until I was past where our apartment in Filderstadt was. I then went down this steep and windy road (also bumper to bumper). It took about 20 minutes just to get down that hill. When I finally got there, I had to go on another freeway to get to where I was going. I finally got off of that freeway and was on the street where the customs office was.
I drove and looked for the address when “Julie” said, “you have arrived”. I didn’t see any buildings with numbers on it so I drove to the last building that looked like a customs office but had no distinguishable markings.
I decided to go inside and ask. What else could I do? I went inside and walked down a hallway. I saw a guy sitting at a desk. When he saw me, he said with puzzlement in his voice “Gutten Tag?” (Good Day). I said, “I think I’m in the wrong place”, and showed him the address of where I should be.
He graciously said he would show me where I was supposed to go. He took me outside and told me to look at the red roof above the trees. That’s where I should be. I thanked him profusely and was on my way.
As I went back the way I came, I realized the building that I was supposed to go to, did, in fact, have the word “Zumlat” (Customs) next to the door. I would never have seen it because it was so small and even the number on the building was hidden by tree branches!
I walked in and saw that the customs office was on the second floor. I went upstairs and walked in. There were two men sitting in the hallway and I was unsure where to go. I asked where the customs office was and they motioned me to go through the door on the right.
I went in and asked the lady if she spoke English. Once again, she gave the standard German answer of “a little bit”. I told her who I was and showed her my shipper’s name and address. She quickly found our paperwork and asked for the paperwork I had along with my ID card and passport. She told me she would be taking photocopies of the ID and passport but she would need my husband’s ID card as well. I explained that he was not with me (if he had to come to the customs office just to do this, I don’t know WHEN he was going to find time to do it). She then went to talk to her “chief”. She came back and said that she would give the go ahead for the shipment to be picked up on Wednesday, IF Ted would fax her the front and back of his ID. I assured her I would take care of it. She told me she trusted me.
By the time I got back from the customs office and parked the car, it was about 11:45 and just about time for Ted to be through with his test. I got up to the office where all of this takes place and I could see him still taking his test so I sat down to wait.
He finally came out and unfortunately, missed passing by five points. He said the instructor confused him. He thought that if he took the class he didn’t not need to read the book…which is inaccurate.
Ted was noticeably upset so I didn’t talk to him much on the way back to Filderstadt. Once at the apartment, I decided to pack some more things that I knew we would not need this coming week. Along with packing and putting away the laundry from last night, I did some company work, worked on finances and did some blogging.
I can’t wait until Wednesday when we get our “stuff”
Monday 07/06/09
In the meantime, we had been in contact with the shipper who waited for us at the customs office on Friday. Apparently, they didn’t get my email in time telling them that I would go to the customs on Monday to give the Germans the final paperwork they needed from me to release our shipment to us.
Ted’s appointment was at 9am so we drove over to Panzer. Since it was drizzling and we were within five minutes of him being late, he got out of the car right in front of the building where he had to go. I quickly got into the driver’s seat and adjusted the seat. I did something and the car stalled and the engine shut down. I tried to start the car but there was a guy behind me honking his horn and it made me nervous so I was unsuccessful in starting it. I put my hazards on and he drove up next to me and motioned for me to put my window down.
He proceeded to yell at me because I was stopped behind a cross walk and that it was against the law in Germany. He didn’t even give me a chance to say that the car stalled and I wasn’t stopped there just to stop there. He drove off in a huff!
Well that didn’t make me feel very good about driving to some unknown location with a standard transmission car. I finally got the car started and parked in the parking lot until I programmed “Julie” to go to the customs office.
So off I went driving to the customs office. Julie said the office was a little over 17 kilometers away. I drove on the autobahn which was bumper to bumper until I was past where our apartment in Filderstadt was. I then went down this steep and windy road (also bumper to bumper). It took about 20 minutes just to get down that hill. When I finally got there, I had to go on another freeway to get to where I was going. I finally got off of that freeway and was on the street where the customs office was.
I drove and looked for the address when “Julie” said, “you have arrived”. I didn’t see any buildings with numbers on it so I drove to the last building that looked like a customs office but had no distinguishable markings.
I decided to go inside and ask. What else could I do? I went inside and walked down a hallway. I saw a guy sitting at a desk. When he saw me, he said with puzzlement in his voice “Gutten Tag?” (Good Day). I said, “I think I’m in the wrong place”, and showed him the address of where I should be.
He graciously said he would show me where I was supposed to go. He took me outside and told me to look at the red roof above the trees. That’s where I should be. I thanked him profusely and was on my way.
As I went back the way I came, I realized the building that I was supposed to go to, did, in fact, have the word “Zumlat” (Customs) next to the door. I would never have seen it because it was so small and even the number on the building was hidden by tree branches!
I walked in and saw that the customs office was on the second floor. I went upstairs and walked in. There were two men sitting in the hallway and I was unsure where to go. I asked where the customs office was and they motioned me to go through the door on the right.
I went in and asked the lady if she spoke English. Once again, she gave the standard German answer of “a little bit”. I told her who I was and showed her my shipper’s name and address. She quickly found our paperwork and asked for the paperwork I had along with my ID card and passport. She told me she would be taking photocopies of the ID and passport but she would need my husband’s ID card as well. I explained that he was not with me (if he had to come to the customs office just to do this, I don’t know WHEN he was going to find time to do it). She then went to talk to her “chief”. She came back and said that she would give the go ahead for the shipment to be picked up on Wednesday, IF Ted would fax her the front and back of his ID. I assured her I would take care of it. She told me she trusted me.
By the time I got back from the customs office and parked the car, it was about 11:45 and just about time for Ted to be through with his test. I got up to the office where all of this takes place and I could see him still taking his test so I sat down to wait.
He finally came out and unfortunately, missed passing by five points. He said the instructor confused him. He thought that if he took the class he didn’t not need to read the book…which is inaccurate.
Ted was noticeably upset so I didn’t talk to him much on the way back to Filderstadt. Once at the apartment, I decided to pack some more things that I knew we would not need this coming week. Along with packing and putting away the laundry from last night, I did some company work, worked on finances and did some blogging.
I can’t wait until Wednesday when we get our “stuff”
Monday 07/06/09
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)