Second Week

July 26

Today we are officially on our own! Joshua's parents left this morning, dropping him off at his office so they could see where he'll be working, before heading back to the Düsseldorf airport. My “schedule” for the rest of this week is to just settle and have some “normal” days where I hit a store or two for essentials but basically don't try to do anything ambitious. I finally got to the second-hand store down our street and was able to get a fine strainer for washing lentils, a garlic press, and a can-opener for the kitchen. I also got some simple children's books for working on my own German and for helping the kids gradually begin to build their vocabulary.

Thanks to all the family and friends who have offered car advice. We are still exploring options. There do seem to be some good executive lease programs but we're not sure how the insurance works with those, so still some investigating to do before we make our decision. In the meantime, I love walking everywhere! :)

July 27

Just read a CaringBridge update that my uncle has passed way. He had stage 4 cancer so it was expected and I knew it was nearing the end, but I still wasn't expecting to feel it so keenly today. I think it's partly just that I'm so far from other family and can't really sit around remembering him with others who knew him too. Rest in peace, Uncle Everett. I'll miss you.

Took a long run again this morning. This time to the neighboring town, Bad Godesberg, and into the center pedestrian shopping zone. I was curious about what shops are there and how I might take the paths through the woods to get there. I ran the streets on the way there and then broke off a pedestrian footpath headed into the woods on the way back. Hit the longest hill ever—not steep enough to force me to walk but just about killed me in the length. Still, all of a sudden I rounded a corner and knew where I was! Headed back down another path and was on the same one we take from our street. Reading over this I'm reminded of my Dad who has always liked to take a different way home, often just sort of feeling his way along. Thanks Dad, for that gift to me!

It's going to be another very warm day. Last night I really wished for some fans, so I'll be making a trip to OBI (the German “Lowes”) this morning to see if they have any. This afternoon I'm aiming to take the kids to the public pool.

Later... Fans, check! Pool was great! The kids managed the walk there just fine and we broke up the return walk with a stop at the Eis Café for chocolate ice cream cones. While they ate their cones on a bench outside, I swung into the grocery store to grab a few things for supper. As we headed home a rain storm was brewing, throwing branches and leaves through the air and wiping around. We made it home just as the downpour began. So, this evening it's pleasantly cool (could have maybe skipped buying the fans after all, sigh).

Made my first foray into online shopping in Germany: Amazon.de. Ordered a roll cart for bringing home groceries since I haven't managed to find a store to buy one in other than some small ones at the Kaufhof in Bonn. I've also spent a good part of this evening digging through chalet rentals in Switzerland, trying to find something suitable for our skiing vacation over Christmas. I have wonderful memories of my family's vacation in Bettmeralp when I was a child. It's one of a handful of car-free villages in the Swiss Alps. I finally did a google search for car free villages and found a list of ski resort villages that are car-free (basically, you just ski down to the lifts and ski back to your chalet/apt or take an electric shuttle, depending on the location of your rental). That helped narrow my search of rental properties. Now to just find one that's available during our vacation time...

July 28

German food is amazing in many respects but lacks some of my favorite foods. The bread is just about as good as it gets! The cheese and meats are pretty awesome too, especially the selection of goat and sheep cheeses. I miss: black beans, fresh salsa from the produce section, kale and fresh baby spinach, pre-washed, ready to eat baby greens, giant packs of romaine. It's strange how there are so many fruit and vegetable markets and just no dark greens that I'm familiar with. I found something called “Feld Salat” (field salad) but have no idea what it is. Pretty mild flavor but has a texture more like an herb than a salad green. There are also quite a few cabbage varieties which will be nice when soup weather hits.

This morning began with rain but by mid-morning had cleared enough that we braved the elements (umbrellas packed along) to take the U-bahn into Bonn's “Museummeile” to visit the Bundeskunst Museum's Pixar exhibit. http://www.bundeskunsthalle.de/index.htm?ausstellungen/index.htm

We weren't sure what to expect but had seen the billboard adverts all over town and thought we'd give it a try. Wonderful installation! The exhibit took you through the process from the initial story boards to the completed movie. Displays included the original mock-ups from various staff animators beginning with the characters and scenes in black and white on paper all the way up through the clay models, story boards, etc. for each of Pixar's movies. There was also a really cool strobe light installation that demonstrated how the individual frames become animation. Impossible for me to describe but the kids thought it was really cool (as did I!).

Afterward we headed into Bonn's downtown pedestrian zone where there were mobs of people despite the threatening skies! I couldn't believe how many people were out and about, shopping, eating, and just hanging out, rain be d*****! We ate some Brötchen sandwiches sitting around a table under a huge umbrella, then walked around for a bit, following a walking tour on the map I picked up from the tourist information office. Then back to the U-bahn station and 10 mins later we were getting off at “our” stop (5 blocks/less than 10 mins walk to the apartment).

July 29

A gorgeous day—both weather and our outing! Thank you Maren & Volker for a wonderful afternoon. We took the Ubahn to Königswinter on the other side of the Rhein to visit my family's friends. Maren had a delicious spread of homemade cakes (quark Torte with cherries, yum!), fresh strawberries, tea and coffee, and Eis (ice cream) for the children. The girls played outside in the garden for a while. And then discovered the PlayMobil in the attic... Might have to make a small investment in that brands' quality toys while we're here. I can already see that we will have to get another suitcase for the return trip... or donate a lot of clothes to make room in the suitcases! Three hours of speaking German and my brain was pretty tired, but the good kind! Maren and Volker also had a lot of advice and offers to assist with questions we have about insurance (Germans apparently get a private personal liability insurance that covers things like if your child runs into the street and a car has to swerve to avoid hitting the child but has an accident as a result then we, as parents are held liable for that damage), used bicycles and all sorts of things. It begins to feel like our extended family at home...

Home for a light Abendbrot plus our traditional Sunday evening popcorn (I found popping corn!!!). Kids were so tired I was able to get them to bed before 9 p.m. Perhaps we'll actually get up before 9 tomorrow! The kids are still not quite shifted to what I think a “normal” sleep schedule should be. But it's more because it's so light still at 9 p.m. that even I forget to start getting them ready for bed until it's too late!

July 30

Several things accomplished today: Maggie and Hannah now have scooters for getting around the neighborhood. I ordered a Laufrad (“run bike” basically a balance bike for kids-no pedals) for Grace. The shop had only those for toddlers or larger 2 wheelers with/without training wheels. Hopefully they'll have it in by the end of the week or Saturday. Grace walked with me to the grocery store earlier in the a.m. Then after dropping off the groceries we headed in the other direction to the bank and bike shop, so by the time we were heading home her little legs were very tired! A balance bike will mean she can just sit and scoot along (once she gets the hang of it). Hannah is still figuring out how to balance for longer stretches on the scooter (they have huge wheels here, not like the little ones at home) so that her legs get a break rather than having to keep catching her balance with her “pushing” foot. She also needs to learn how to use the brake while keeping her balance...

 (After supper Hannah came to me: "Can you come outside with me so I can practice 'scootering'?" I had to walk fast to keep up with her and Maggie as we made our way to the playground. Yeah!)

At the bank I was able to set up online banking so that I can set up monthly rent payments and that sort of thing. Of course, I had to go home and use the log-in info from the bank to change all the log-in info—man are Germans careful about private information! Then to set up a payment my Handy (cell) gets a text message with a security code to enter in to complete the transaction every time I make a transfer or payment. All of this in German was enough to make my head explode.

Joshua is working on the car problem. We can get a lease for a year so we don't have to worry about repairs or trying to sell it when we leave. This is actually quite affordable compared to US lease programs. Pretty cool. I think we will probably go through with it.

I also spent a good hour online trying to figure out if my landline/DSL account was linked to our cell phone plans since they are all with the same company. Still not sure if I managed to do that. I get about 35% of the content on these websites. Joshua is doing better with understanding the technical vocabulary. I just hope the bills all come to my email or the post so I can pay them in a timely manner!