Fairfields in Germany: May 13-19

Monday May 13

Got up early to run and timed it so I could swing by the Friesdorfer Hof to squeeze my parents one more time before they drove off. They went north to friends in Braunschweig and will also spend time with old friends in Haiger and Berndorf before flying home next week.

Girls went to school and Kindergarten. Our landlord brought another potential renter in the afternoon, so the girls and I kept the apartment looking neat and clean until after they'd come and gone. J was in the computer lab all day.

Tuesday May 14

Today is my Mother's Day present: a day "free" to do as I want and not have to be tied to the kids' schedules and needs. J went to the office in the a.m. and I took GE to Kindergarten and got a few groceries, but after taking those home, I met my friend SL and we biked to the U-bahn station to go over to Königswinter. I've walked past a quaint little pedestrian zone and a tea shop several times in the last few months when out with our visitors, but never had time to explore them. The last time I'd walked past the tea shop, I saw a tea cup and saucer in a blue and white pattern that I really liked (bone china made in Germany, a jumbo cup with saucer). J had suggested I should go back and get it for my Mother's Day gift. I invited SL to come with me--who likes shopping alone?! Anyway, the shop wasn't open yet when we got there (about 10) so we parked ourselves in a cafe, drank some coffee and talked and talked. Then we poked around along the little main street and window shopped. When we got back to the tea shop, I asked if they had 2 of the cups and saucers, which they didn't, so I picked out a different mug with the same pattern and got 2 so that I'll always be able to invite a friend over for tea or coffee! I'll always think of my friend SL when I use them.

After walking around a bit together, SL needed to head home and I was getting hungry. We took the U-bahn back to where we'd left our bikes and she got off while I stayed on and headed into Bonn. I ate lunch at my favorite vegetarian restaurant, Cassius Garten, and then went to the Kunstmuseum and the Bundeskunsthalle. The two museums are right next to each other so I got a combined ticket and took my time wandering through. The Kunstmuseum has a large permanent collection from the German expressionism movement and 20th century modern art. I particularly enjoyed the August Macke (sort of a cross between Picasso and Van Gogh, if I were to try to explain it. Wiki has more info) collection.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/August_Macke_016.jpg

Großes helles Schaufenster, 1912, oil on canvas


Elisabeth & Walterchen, 1912

The Bundeskunsthalle had a special exhibit on the Iroquois Native Americans, "Auf den Spuren der Irokesen," including a reconstructed long house. Interesting, but mostly it was quiet. It was "me time."

Inside the reconstructed Iroquois Longhouse.

Canoe!

Wednesday May 15

GE and HR both stayed home. HR has had a nasty cough and snotty nose and since I didn't have any pressing reason not too, I kept her home and figured she'd be happier with someone to play with (and she might not drive me crazy) so GE stayed home too. I took the opportunity to just stay in my pajamas (ah, what luxury!), read and lay low. Feeling draggy since my parents left--a little homesickness mixed with knocking off the coffee-drinking combined with some missing-my-mom-and-dad!). A much needed respite. Also took a nap after lunch which is typically hard to do because the Kindergarten pick up time is right in the middle of prime nap time. I think I slept for over 3 hours! (That's the caffeine withdrawal more than anything else.) Went to running group in the evening and feel like a new person...

Thursday May 16

HR is feeling much better--no more snotty nose! So off to school. GE went to Kindergarten too. I got my groceries and then took my USB stick over to the photo printer at the pharmacy. I'd been meaning to put some pictures from a birthday party that HR went to onto a CD and give them to the birthday girl. Finally got that off my list. ME also has a locket that she's been wanting a picture for. I printed out some photos of her best friend, Y, and made a little book out of them plus one that fits nicely into the locket. Then home... put away groceries, practiced music for Sunday, mixed up my favorite bean salad, and got some wash done. J left early this a.m. for a conference in Corfu, Greece. He won't be back until Sunday late. ME's friend JK came home with her from school to play. Later in the afternoon we all went to see the new Hanni und Nanni movie that just opened. It's raining--perfect movie weather.

Today, in one month, we fly back to VA. I ought to say we're flying "home" but my fingers hesitated over the keys. I have become "at home" here. In some ways I've just begun to feel that way and so it's with more regret that we can't stay longer to deepen that feeling than any sense of not wanting to return to VA. I will miss the friends I've made here whose relationships with me have just begun to deepen and go beyond the first acquaintance level. I will miss riding my bike every day (even in the rain and cold!). I will miss having a household that can be cleaned up in less than an hour (and the forced simplicity that comes with a small home!). I will miss my daily grocery shopping at fresh local markets and friendly organic farms. I will miss the freedom and flexibility that my children gain from being able to use a public transportation system. I will miss the coffee and espresso (it is possible to experience coffee that is better than Starbucks). I will miss my weekly conversations with SL and my twice weekly running group. I will miss the smell of fresh, whole grain breads mingling with wet earth on my early morning runs past the (3!) local bakeries. I will miss speaking and thinking in German. I will miss hearing my girls speaking German and watching them integrate into a foreign culture, making friends and connections. I will miss my family's old friends with whom we've renewed our decades old friendships. I hope we can come back.

Friday May 17

MK's class had a fundraiser for a benefit project in West Africa. Starting at 9 a.m. they ran/walked a course through the Rheinaue. They were supposed to go as many times around the course as possible and at the end their km will be tallied up. I helped her get some "sponsors" to pledge .50E or 1E per km that she walks/runs, then she'll collect the money over the next week and turn it in at the beginning of June. I was a parent helper--basically stood at the drink table and passed out water or Apfelschorle (a mix of apple juice and sparkling water that is popular here). The kids could choose a Kurzestrecke (short distance, 1.1 km) or Ganzstrecke (whole distance, 1.9 km). They got a stamp on a little sheet of paper marking each "Start" and then a stamp mid-way through the short or the whole routes. It was only 9 Grad (Celsius)--although we were down by the Rhein so it was probably even colder than that--foggy and Sprühregen (mist/drizzle)! Brrr. I forgot my camera. Grrr. MK walked/ran 7 Ganzstrecken plus the 2.3 km each way to and from the school. I pledged 1E per km. How many Euros do I owe her?

ME took her camera to school. She took some shots of her classroom and friends. I hope MK will do the same and that ME will take the camera with her again. One of my own regrets from my years in Marburg is that I had very few photos of my friends.

ME's pics:

her best friend, Y

her classroom

friends Y and JK

classmate A

classmate L

classmate E

friend AR

ME's friend JK came over again (same friend as yesterday) in the late afternoon and will spend the night. ME helped me change the sheets. She and JK will share the big bed in the little girl's room and the 2 little girls are going to sleep with me since J is still out of town. The girls have all been playing nicely together. It's still gray and cold outside. The heat came on again.

J sent me pics from Greece. So jealous!:

Saturday May 18

Got up early (for a Saturday) and rode to get fresh Brötchen and croissants for the girls' breakfast. Then I went to running group, came home, showered and started cleaning the apartment. The girls were a huge help (even ME's friend JK pitched in with the aufräumen)--everyone taking jobs and getting the place spotless--another potential renter was coming in the afternoon. I fixed sandwiches for lunch to minimize clean-up and then rode into Bad Godesberg to get groceries for the rest of the weekend. Later in the afternoon (after the apartment showing) I went over to the church to practice with the organist, flautist, and violinist for tomorrow morning.

The sun has finally reappeared. Opened the windows (some of which I just cleaned!) and balcony doors to soak it up a bit. I should have thrown the girls outside at some point but everyone has been feeling more attached to "home" lately and I just didn't have the energy to push them out when all I wanted to do was stay home myself. So, everyone was ordered to stand out on the balcony and soak up some sun and fresh air, color on the balcony floor with sidewalk chalk, or just do circles out the dining room door and back in through the master bedroom door.

Sunday May 19

Sang at church this morning: a Händel aria for soprano and obligato (in this case, flute) "Meine Seele hört im Sehen" and a Bach aria, "Die Armen will der Herr umarmen" from Cantata Nr. 186 Ärgere dich, o Seele nicht for soprano and violin obligato. The flautist and violinist are members of the church and live nearby. Both are music teachers. We had fun putting it all together. The Pfarrer, Herr E, was very gracious in his introduction during the service (mentioning our family joining the congregation this year, that we'd soon be leaving to return to the US and how he enjoyed seeing our row of girls coloring, reading or otherwise keeping themselves quietly occupied in the back rows of the church during Gottesdienst--a rather unusual sight in most German churches) and his thanks afterwards. I even got an official bag for my efforts and some chocolate from the organist and choir director, AB. A number of church members and choir members as well as some of my running group friends were there to hear me.

The bag from Pfarrer E.

Inside were a copy of the Bible (auf Deutsch, natürlich), a drinking glass with the 23rd Psalm, a notebook, and a book about the artist who designed the stained glass and large art panels in the sanctuary.

After lunch the sun was still shining wonderfully warm and clear, so we all got on our bikes to go to the Rheinaue, parked ourselves with blankets near a playground, and got in some solid outside-time. After a couple of hours there was a trip over to the traveling Eis van, then we rode over to the paddle boat rentals, but there was a long wait and we were 5 and only 4 are allowed on a boat no matter the age/size. So, we'll just have to go back with J sometime before we go home (I hope! I feel a little like the sand is suddenly going through the sand timer much faster and we are quickly running out of time to do all the things we said we'll "do later"). Because the boat idea hadn't panned out, we had a "meeting" to decide what to do, but the warmth seemed to have fried our brains a bit and we couldn't settle on anything. I hauled out the blankets again, a bag of pretzels and the water bottles and we sat down for a little break. I pulled my book out again and MK got the Kindle. The other girls asked if they could cross the creek and roll down a hill nearby which then led to playing some game along the creek. Our 10 minute pretzel break turned into another hour of just lolling around until the girls asked when we were going to go home. It was nearly 5 p.m.! So, we loaded up and headed home, enjoying a leisurely ride back through the park, weaving among the crowds on the sidewalks... Sunday night popcorn supper (plus apple slices, carrot sticks, and cheese) with the windows and balcony doors wide open. No school tomorrow (it's Pfingsten, Pentecost, and tomorrow is a bank holiday) so we'll sleep in. J gets home sometime tonight.