Our First Protest

Stuttgart 21 is the name of the construction project to redesign and renovate potions of Stuttgarts Hauptbahnhof! This project has come under fire by many in the local community because of reasons of changing the original structure of the old train station, and for reasons of the money spent on the project, and now it has come out there have been some number manipulation! Well with all of this grew and opposition group, a very large, and vocal opposition group! They organize regularly, marching every Monday, speaking out against it in large rallies once a week,camping out for months in the main garden downtown, covering the construction fences with signs letters, and other items, and daily people with flags and banners make themselves seen on the main shopping street!
Last night as we were out enjoying the city on a Friday night we came upon the group in one of the larger courtyards in town! The kids were fascinated by the noise and the excitement of the crowd! Children wrapped to flags, the chanting, the general theatrical nature of the whole thing! Specially because this is all in German it becomes even more amazing! So we made our way around the group of nearly 300, and found a restaurant to enjoy! While we couldn't see the protest we could watch the police movement and hear the crowds roars and chants! It was such a great lesson for the kids, first about standing up for things you believe in, but also about safety, and finally about riot police!
I love having the chance to show them life in a large city, and the differences between the USA and Europe in general! I love watching them learn from it all! Crazy fun night and another first!

First Day Trip

Yesterday Scottt and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary! So he took the day off of work, we dropped Fern off for her test day at doggie day care and off we all went to Hidelberg. I wanted to spend the day exploring, and boy did I get my wish. Hidelberg has a lovely castle on the top of a hillside. It is a mix of Baroque and Gothic architecture. It was half destroyed my the French in the 1600's but it is such a lovely walk, well after you get past the 800 meter climb! We walked through the gardens, enjoyed the building, and the lovely weather! Than we ventured into the old city along the river to enjoy lunch and all the sights! We ate a very Swabian meal outside the old church downtown, and enjoyed a Hidelberg Pills! Then we walked around for hours, just watching all the people and peeking at the stores! We ended our day on the lovely pedestrian bridge over looking the Neker River! What a day, what an amazing anniversary! What a fun family! What a great first day trip!

Learning experience

Daily life has become more of an educational experience than I ever thought it could be. I wake up and feel completely at home, relaxed, and comfortable. I get coffee, greet my children all as normal but from the second I open the door my poor brain begins to absorb information. Almost daily when I let Fern out to potty someone walks by and starts speaking to me about Fern...quietly I look up and say "nein Deutsch Sprechen sie English" meaning sorry but I can't understand a word you are saying. Than it is off to the store to read boxes I don't understand and packing I have never even seen before. Cracks me up...Germans only have Maple syrup ( which cost more than wine) they don't care for peanut butter so you have to look hard! There are almost 3 isles of yougurt in our store, some come in glass jars and some are made with whipping cream. I have a butcher now whom I visit daily and whom speaks no English. I usually attempt to order both my meats and my lunch meats from him or her...can sometimes be funny when all I want is salami and there are 20 different varieties. Than I get the privilege od paying..quick gotta catch the total before I just end up standing and staring at the poor lady. Than there are stops at the dm, this is where you buy shampoo, paper towel, toothpaste. The bakerei for my bread and rolls and sometime sweets. And than of course the apotheke to purchase band-aids, or allergy meds. All of which more lessons on waiting in lines...Germans like to push to the front. Or lessons on meat cuts and variety.
Today's lesson came from museum monitors and sales clerks...both of whom were sure my children were about to destroy the famous Jackson Pollack and the H&M height measurement mirror. As both individuals are just going nuts in German and poor me trying to reassure them in my broken German English mix....I realized their fear but was trying to explain my children would never...however none of that worked.
Living here rocks but by the end of the day my head hurts. I am exhausted with thinking. I am spent with the idea of taking care, being polite and listening carefully. Every thing I do is something new, something to be learned, and something to grow from.

Let' s talk trash...literally

The garbage and recycling system is crazy here. There are a tremendous amount of rules and procedures to were and how you dispose of things. So most kitchen's here have at least three garbage cans in them. The cans themselves our very small and fit under the sink. Each can represents different items, so in the first one we put plastics, metal, and packaging. These items get taken outside to the garbage house in a gelbes sack ( a yellow bag ). Then comes papier (paper) these items our collected and transferred outside daily. The last bin is garbage. Now it is amazing when you separate as such you only throw away food scraps... You would think I am done but nope, almost all bottles are to be returned for a deposit so there are separate piles for those. And glass has to be dropped off at the glass stations, there are a few every couple kilometers. Then finally, all bigger items can go to the drop off which is opened every other day and one Saturday a month. The funny part is I have actually read the information and they talk about fines for violation if the items are not were they should be. Gotta love a well organized system! I have had to talk the kiddos into helping me remember and place all these items because it can get crazy going to the garbage house! The kids love helping though, because the garbage house has this crazy triangular key! So now the daily argument is who's turn is it to open the door! Well, I guess that is it for the trash talk...had to share!

Balance

By the time Friday night came around I was having a mental breakdown. Struggling to figure out my new role in this new house and new family dynamic. Struggling to balance me time, Scott time, and time for/with/ doing for the children. It is crazy going from working, a active social life, and routine to living in Germany. You see Friday the movers were due to come pick up boxes so I spent the afternoon waiting for them but they never showed only calling an hour past the closing time to say they weren't coming. Well in the meantime I had made plans to go out with the kids to eat and shop but all had to change as I waited for movers. Now this may not sound like a big deal but that little shopping trip was what was getting me through the day, my little bit of personal sunshine. So needless to say all plans changed and I broke down. After tears, beer, and ice cream I gathered myself together!
Now comes the part of this journey were I have to find me, were I have to do things that I enjoy again! Yes of course I will still need to guide the kids through this process but I have to make sure to look out of my needs. Plus a helpful reminder to Scott that I need his support as well. So Saturday Scott drove me the grocery store to give me a break on pulling up hill, and than we all went out for a relaxing dinner downtown. And than Sunday morning I ran for the first time in a month, thank God! Balance will come, but as with everyones life it is a struggle. Sometimes it can even seem more impossible when you don't have a network to help you through. In time that will come to!

Laundry

So as every mom knows laundry is a fact of our domestic lives! We could end up washing, drying, folding, and putting it away every minute of the day! I have never really been a fan of doing the Laundry but with 2 active kids what choice do I have...such is life! Well Germany adds a few new twist to the game.
Thanks to my husband when we moved in I finally got my new front loaders, however their knobs are all in German, so forget selecting a setting it is trail and error, except for the word FEIN. I have been doing ok with the washer but the dryer is horse of a different color. First off dryers don't really dry here, they remove water and moisture from clothes. The tumble and collect water in a tray that we have to empty every third time. Then after your clothes are so called done you get to hang them for an additional 24 hours. Finally after 2 days of doing laundry it is ready to be put away only to start all over again.

Rainy days

Well there is nothing like a rainy day leaving you stuck inside to make you realize how lonely you really can be while living in a new country! I soznd whinny but it is weird that i cant just hop in a car or shoot a quick text! I keep having moments were I realize this is my new crazy life adventure! Now I will say we needed a down day to enjoy our home, toys, and games ... However it is so quiet here! To make today even more of a bummer I have a headache I just cant kick! The rain has been falling since Tuesday at 6pm and has not stopped! It is actually a pretty consistant rain and it so much colder than I am use to for July (Juli).

New Friends For The Kids

We are loving this neighborhood, there are kids everywhere. However encouraging playing and introducing yourself in German has been hard for the kids. They have been so worried about the language needed to play. But low and behold they have made friends. A couple of days ago some girls came to the gate and asked to play. The kids were so excited. They decided to play Fussball the universal game here. Then the next day they actually came back again. It has been lovely to have something to look forward to, but than the kids also met a boy and girl across the street the same age, they speak no English which is good. It makes the kids practice German. Yesterday was the best though they made a ton of new friends. They were playing with 10 or more kids. The only negative was a couple boys at first made fun of Ethan for being an American. Ethan struggled with how to handle the teasing, but as with all teasing as soon as Ethan stopped paying attention it was over and they all played for an hour. I know true friendships will take time but as a mom, I love seeing the kids smile again! I love seeing them laugh with friends.

Made it!

So with the exception of cutting my toe open I survived day one as a domestic goddess. I was able to talk the kids into helping me mop over 2000 sq feet of wood floors and going to the grocery store. I was also able to squeeze in a park visit and a game of guess who. I did indeed learn how to manage the three garbage bins, crazy funny as I forgot the key and then didn't know which door opened but garbage is out! I also finished unpacking the toys and it looks like we only lost one box of vases! Nothing was damaged in the move however. The other big thing accomplished today was I learned to bake brownies and they tasted great! The kids loved baking again and Scott was more than happy to eat! Finally tonight I got my EC card or debit card! So I have money again! Yeah! All in all a good day, just so happy to be moving forward!

Normal

Laundry in a washer that I only understand 3 words on! Garbage full in kitchen and today's adventure is learning what bin it goes in! New life in Germany is beginning today! Scott needs to work his first full day and I will be fully involved in my home life! Kinda funny learning how to do everything in a new house, but even funnier in a new country!

Darn Movers

Today has been a crappy day! I knew that they would come but wow I wasn't prepared for this! The movers just plan and simply did not come and to make matters worse all contact information we have for them doesn't get us to a answering machine or a response of any kind! So right now, I am still sitting in a empty house with this horrible feeling that I won't ever see my stuff again! The kids were so excited, I feel awful for them! I was so excited too...

A day of shopping

As any woman could tell you today was a good day because we went shopping! We (the kids and I, Scott had to get back to work), spent the afternoon on the Königstrasse shopping for household items, and checking out kids clothes! The kids even got to check out the Spielwarenladen (toy store), they were so excited to get Legos and a new baby doll! I got to check out all the places to shop but my favorite is now the Kaufhof, kinda like Macys but also has books, toys, and appliances! Scott was able to join us for dinner and a bit more shopping come evening! It was so funny, because we had to buy a fan and than carry it the 30 minute walk and Ubahn commute home! Glad he was there to help! Tomorrow we should be getting our sea shipment! So excited to see our stuff!

German Bureacracy

So...getting my first views of the endless German lines, and paper work! After a visit to the bank and a couple papers later I have an account, however cant use my EC Card for 2 weeks. Ordered a train card after 3 waits in line and a hour later but that wont be here for a month. And last but not least finished at IKEA after a 30 minute wait to check out and Scott had a great 45 minute wait for a return! What will I wait for tomorrow!

4th of July

Totally funny to wake up on one of my favorite days of the year and be in Germany. No parades, no fireworks, and no BBQ(mainly because we still have no stuff)! I actually almost forgot what today was until I read facebook!

So today instead will be spent running around town trying to get things done! I need to somehow get a bank card today and new passport photos and also get a train card! Scott took the day off to help so at least he can guide me! Also need to get back to ikea for some household items! Crazy new life! Crazy busy life!