Machst du mit?

Das Madchen went to the library today to take out a kids book. The "pages" were made of cardboard, so it was only slightly above our reading and comprehension level.

The barnyard animals were all whispering to each other that they were going to do something. "What are they doing?" you ask. Oh, the suspense was thick!

The dog whispered to the colorful rooster.
The rooster whispered to the big horse.
The horse whispered to the silly goose...
....

Nine animals, less than 100 words, 8 cardboard pages, and about an hours worth of google translate later, the animals in the book were in full run to whatever it was they were going to do. No time to even stop and invite the pig along!

It wasn't until we translated the word Töpfchen that we finally had a clear picture.

The animals were going to the bathroom.

Two grown adults had just spent an hour after dinner, painstakingly translating a kids book as it if were Homer's Odyssey. And it was a book to potty train a 2 year old.

Could it be? If there is any question regarding the picture, the little mouse makes it quite clear.

Travel Tip #1

Homeless people in Heidelberg don't speak English. "Ich spreche kein Deutsch" can avoid discussions.

On the other hand, "Ich spreche kein Deutsch" indicates other crazy people on the street in Germany are bilingual. Prepare for eloquently phrased, perfectly pronounced, nonsensical ramblings.

Both homeless people and crazy people dress in, what appears to be, nice church clothes.

My Birthday! (aka, a good reason to visit Heidelberg!)

So I turned 30-won-derful (this is der Junge's loving terminology...) on Friday.  We had German class in the morning and our amazing German teacher (I love this woman!) surprised me with a cake and led the class to sing the "happy birthday" song to me in German!

My German birthday candle

And... later I was invited by der Junge's colleague's wife for another impromptu surprise birthday cake and celebration! (She found out that it was my birthday that morning and baked me a cake!)
And, wait there's more... der Junge, der Hund and I were heading off to go see Heidelberg, Germany the next morning!

Happy Birthday to me!

Heidelberg is a beautiful old city also in the Baden Wuttemberg state. Heidelberg is famous for the oldest university in Germany, established in 1386 and for the Heidelberg Castle (Schloss) ruins.  It is a very romantic city on the Neckar River with winding narrow streets, a lovely bridge and the Philosophenweg (Philosopher's Walk, an historic path that winds up the hillside to overlook the city from across the river).
We had a fantastic hostel located at the foot of the Schloss and in the heart of the Aldstadt (aka, old part) of the city.

view of Heidelberg from Philosophenweg

room at the hostel

kitchen area

kitchen area

At the Old Bridge

Kiwi spies another dog

on Philosophenweg overlooking Heidelberg

playing with the photo edit again! Kiwi and I on Philosophenweg overlooking Heidelberg

Kiwi is bashful

square with Schloss in background

Schloss ruins

At the Old Bridge

At the Schloss ruins

At the Schloss ruins

At the Schloss ruins

At the Schloss ruins

taking a rest break on the hill up to the Schloss

Der Junge and der Hund

Beautiful old buildings

We also went to the Heiligenberg mountain to see the ruins of a 10th century monastery and also saw the Thingstatte (the open-air theater built in 1934 by the Nazi regime to host propaganda events). Walking through the Thingstatte was an eerie experience when you thought about the purpose and the events that occurred there.  The monastery was an amazing site, hard to believe that we were walking on ruins from the 900s.

stands at Thingstatte

stage front at Thingstatte

at the top of Thingstatte

looking at monastery footprint from the tower

monastery tower

Der Junge and der Hund

One unexpected event:

We left Kiwi in her travel crate so that we could go out for dinner.  The hostel has a community kitchen with a table and chairs that is right outside our room.  When we returned, 3 girls were sitting and talking at the table, and as we approached, they stopped talking and said, "do you have a big dog in your room??"  Well, she's not that big, but yes, we have a dog.... Turns out while we were gone, Kiwi busted out of her crate, she tore through the vinyl and mesh side like Mr. Kool-Aid Man ("OH YEAH!") and was there to greet us, happy and wagging at the door!  She likely had heard the girls outside the door and wanted to join the party.  Nothing in the room was destroyed, nothing, except... Kiwi ate both packets of gummi bears that were placed on our pillows as good night favors.  She had eaten them wrappers and all!

Unfortunately the crate was brand new and cost 90 euro. OH NO!!!

Our "Home"

So for 2 people and a dog, we have a very large apartment.  This is a phenomenon of much amazement to everyone who comes to visit us...  Everyone who visits tells us that we are very "lucky." We almost feel embarrassed that we did get such a large place.  So much attention is on the size of the place that we almost feel ashamed as why did we get special treatment? We are lucky but we didn't have much to do with it.  It was what we were offered... Therefore because we have a dog and needed a yard, we lucked into a 4 bedroom (thanks Kiwi!).  So we "almost" feel bad, but we also enjoy having the space!

Before coming to Germany, we were told that the apartment would be furnished but we didn't have much insight as to exactly what the apartment would include as far as furnishings and amenities... So because the place was already furnished and because we would be there for 2 years, we made plans to get rid of most of our things.  In short, we had a huge fire sale! In about the span of a month, we sold and donated the majority of our furniture and extraneous possessions (thank you Craigslist!) and packed the remaining essential items into a shipping crate (i.e. clothing, cookware, our bikes, our grill, our HDTV (c'mon we are Americans after all!).  And then, six weeks after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, our crate arrived.

Ahhhh.... sigh!  I must admit, it was so wonderful to get our things.  I was in a very materialistic state of euphoria, unpacking and marveling at our comforts of home.  It is amazing how much you miss your pillows and washcloths.  I had only been in Germany for 2 weeks by then but wearing the same clothes (and the same pair of shoes all over the town in the snow) and sleeping on the "concrete slab" that was our bed was taking its toll... and the novelty of adventure was wearing thin...

picture taken by our German teacher of der Junge and I walking to German class (pre-crate shipment!)

Also we were having trouble getting internet installed and that in itself was a process!  (It is amazing how much you miss the internet.  It is a double whammy to find yourself in a small town in a foreign country with no internet/wifi cafes and no English newspapers/magazines.  You feel completely disconnected).  So now imagine the joy to receive a shipping crate full of everything that is "home", internet activation and to top it off my birthday all in the same week! It is sublime! (More on my birthday to follow....!)

Our Home, post shipment crate!

front entry

dining room

living room

bathroom

bedroom

kitchen

kitchen

sewing room/laundry "center"

guest room

office

patio

Kiwi in the backyard

A warm welcome!

After travelling across the Atlantic to a foreign country where I don't speak the language and don't know anyone (well except der Junge!)... and don't have a job, I was sure that I would be pretty homesick.

But...

der Junge has wonderful colleagues and already a pretty big social network as his company is international and the exchange of workers to/from Germany/Brazil/US/etc is very common.  So I arrived on Saturday, we were invited to dinner with friends on Sunday... the next day German class started (and is now every Mon-Wed-Fri).... on Thursdays, I have a standing invitation to a "wives" coffee gathering....  and tonight we went to a German class gathering organized by our German teacher at the restaurant Piazza!  Plus with moving to a new place, taking care of our dog, learning where to buy groceries and other items, I have been too busy to be homesick!  So far, so good! :)

der Junge and I at Piazza with new friends!

The start

Marriage license fee: $25
Mariage ceremony fee: $30
Parking ticket in front of courthouse: $95

"official" courthouse wedding photograph

Wife forgetting date of marriage when asked at City Hall in Germany: Priceless