Heidelberg, Part Zwei

So yes, we have already been to Heidelberg, but that was in February and it was so nice... and for three Saturdays over the summer, the town "lights up" the Heidelberg castle and sets off fireworks. Well we missed the Fourth of July so it seemed a perfect reason to go...

Wir grillen!

So we brought our American grill to Germany and then we learned that German gas canisters do not attach to American grills... :(
But we are neither the first nor the only ones to bring a grill here from the US and we found a German company who makes parts that connect the German canister to the American grill!  Woohoo!
Except, due to unfortunate translation error, we ordered the wrong one and subsequently missed half the summer grilling season trying to get the right one!

Johannisbeeren

Only in Germany... hand-picked Johannisbeeren from a German friend's back yard!  There were so many berries that she invited me and several others to help ourselves.  It was such a nice way to spend a beautiful sunny day.  I have never had a garden but this experience makes me see the appeal of having your own garden.  It feels so "living off the land" healthy and you know that the food is good and organic.

Führerschein

The rule is that a US driver's license is valid in Germany for 6 months with no paper work. So tourists need to do nothing. Then, if you are are here longer than that, you can file an extension for another 6 months, giving you 1 full year that a US driver's license is valid.

Getting a driver's license here is a fantastic display of bureaucracy and showcase of German rule making. Not to mention it can cost well over 3000€ and take somewhere around 6+ months. That"s not to mention the mandatory driving classes, the safety instructional classes, or the first aid seminars offered only in German.

Since I would be here for over a year, I was saavy and motivated to avoid the standard process for getting a drivers license.

It"s easy! And you can to!

1000+ page views

Modest though it is, we passed a milestone for page views. As of this week, our 1001 Swabian Nights has been clicked on over 1001 times!

Good work.... mom.

Berlin

We were inspired to book an ICE ("fast") train to Berlin for a weekend visit.  Der Junge's parents who visited us a few weeks ago took an ICE train from Dusseldorf and gave the train great reviews.  So we decided to go while we have the nice weather in summer (Berlin is much farther north and colder in the winter!).  We found a great saver fare that would get us there in 8 hours with only one train change.

How To: Drive through the Iberian Peninsula

You may have heard that I had a few troubles getting a license here. In March, when we booked the trip to Portugal, Das Madchen was more confident that I would have my license in time for the June trip. Apparently she did not know how easy it was to get a license here!

So, when June rolled around and I still didn't have a license, das Madchen became die Chauffeurin for 20 driving hours, 600 mile journey through the poorly labeled, in accurately GPSed, windy, narrow, and- generally- scenic trip from Lagos to Salamanca to Porto.