We are definately taking advantage of being close to four other countries while living in Germany. Saturday morning we decided to spend the day in Brussels, Belgium. It was a two hour drive from our apartment. When we woke up, we discovered that there was a good inch of snow on the ground. Now normally, back in Seattle, this would deter most people from setting off on an adventure such as this. But not us! And not in Germany. Two reasons make trips still pretty easy in the snow in our region. One, they plow and salt the roads! And quickly too. Second, is that plowing and salting is not really needed that much because we get really cold temps at night and then it warms up pretty quickly and melts much of the snow on the road.
So the drive was really pretty with all the snow on the forest trees. There was a lot more undeveloped country side and farm land than I expected to see. Once in Brussels, GPS helped navigate us to a very small, family owned, brewery that makes a popular kind of beer called Geuze. The place was called Cantillon and you got to tour around their brewery that is over a hundred years old. Then you got two tastings at the end. There are many different blends that they do, it is very close to wine and was very tasty.
From the brewery, we took off for the Grand Market square which was beautiful! The buildings that surrounded the square were just what one would imagine an old European city to look like. We took a little alley road off the square that ended up being restaurant row! We found a cool looking french restaurant where I got to speak french (French is the common language for Brussels) and had some tasty food. Then we went over to a waffle stand and had a delicious REAL Belgium waffle. Mine had whip cream, chocolate drissel and strawberries. Now, I know you are probably saying, "But I thought you couldn't have gluten Heather?" You are right, but sometimes it is worth the health risk and this was one of those times! :)
After all our yumminess we walked past all the chocolate shops over to their main civic park. It was again beautiful with all the snow. On one end was the king of Belgium's palace where his official business is held. His residence is elsewhere in the city. Mason and Andrew had a great time playing in the snow. The city has a good mixture of sme newer more modern and artsy buildings too. We walked around the city a little more and then I ducked into a chocolate shop and picked up some yummies to take home.
All in all it was a wonderful day trip and definately a city we will be going back to!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Our typical day in Germany
Top, an old church shown how it was damage and not fully restored after WWII, under that, me with the boys outside the Cologne City Museum in the town's old Armory. Below, Alisa pushing the stroller as we walk away from our train stop to head back to the apartment.
Now that we are in more of a routine, I thought I'd share what our typical day is like in Germany.
*Wake up with the kids between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and make breakfast, get the kids and us dressed.
*10:30 a.m. Get the stroller packed up with snacks and diaper bag and head out of the apartment.
*Leave by 11:00 a.m. if its a Monday, Thursday, or Friday, we are likely headed to the grocery store first on foot to get food for the week or weekend and give the maid enough time to make up the room. Come back to the apartment and then go for a walk on the river pathways or go look around at other parts of the city via train.
*If its any other day or we have lots of left overs, we walk about half a mile to the train stop and head into central Koln to do some walking around/shopping/sight seeing.
*Between 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. head back to the apartment via the Train or on foot if we are close by.
*Have some down time with the kids, watch some German Television, or CNN in English, or MTV in English.
*Between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Alisa starts cooking us an awesome healthy dinner.
*8:00 p.m. till bedtime: Catch up on the internet, make any necessary calls to the US, see Andrew after his long day of work :)
Today was a little different. We DROVE into central Koln, had some lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (only the 3rd meal in 2 weeks that we did not eat at the apartment), dropped Andrew off after at Microsoft, then I drove us to Bonn to check out the area more of where our house will be. We parked the car at the train station and we met up with our relo agent who showed us around some of the Bonn center highlights. Bought some food at the Bio Market (awesome all organic market with lots of gluten free stuff), then drove back to the apartment for a little tea and a snack :)
Yesterday we went to three museums which we trained it into central Koln and then walked all over the place to get between the museums. We saw the modern art museum, the Roman-German museum, and the Museum of the City of Koln.
Mason and the Maid
One thing I forgot to put in about our first week in Germany is about our maid. She doesn't speak English. On our first full day here, we set out to the grocery store early that morning and when we returned, she was at our unit getting ready to clean. She saw Mason and was so excited and thought he was so cute. She knelt down and held out her arms to see if he would come see her. Mason, who was previously still pretty sleepy, perked up, ran to her, then proceeded to throw his arms around her in which she hugged him and picked him up and he laid his head on her shoulder. He just stayed there as long as he could. They come everyday, so we try to stay out of the way and had always been gone by time she came to make up the apartment. But Monday, we were slow to leave because of the extra layers needed for snow. So Mason got to see his girl again. She once again held her arms out to him and he of course enthusiastically went to her and she scooped him up.
I have attached a picture. The look on his face makes me think he's saying, "Yeah boys, jealous aren't you!" :)
Monday, January 25, 2010
So I've Started A Blog
Look at me entering the 21st century! Several people asked me if I was going to start a blog. I had never thought about doing one before nor saw a reason for it with Facebook and email already part of my daily routine; but I suppose living overseas qualifies for special circumstances suitable for starting a blog. I figured that I would send the link to this blog to my interested email contacts and also post it on Facebook each Monday. But I will try to update it throughout the week.
Our first week has been full of ups and downs. A lot of unknows about Andrew's employment transfer, start date, new pay day, and when we would receive the relocation money to assist with all the extra upfront expenses of house/apartment hunting in Germany caused much stress. Not knowing the language is also a big deal. Heather was promised a language tutor within the first week or two and then we were told the earliest would be February 8th. It is true on a whole that a lot of Germans know English, but the ones in the shops of our area either don't or choose not to use it. But Heather and Alisa, (our friend from the states who has been tromping all over Europe and is now with us to help with the kids for a couple months) have successfully navigated the grocery store several times.
Here are a few highlights of the first week...
1. I bought a can opener. (Tuesday, Jan. 19th) LOL not really what one would think of as a big deal. But my first purchase "on my own" (meaning with out Andrew who has a nack for figuring out language stuff) was a can opener. Alisa and I took the two kids to the popular Koln shoping center on the train by ourselves, figuring out that was a success in itself. I was determined to find the big department store, Galeria Kauphof. After wandering around for a while we found the store and looked around its 6 levels! Finally finding the home/kitchen department we located our can opener. Why did we just need a can opener you ask? Well, the one in our "furnished" apartment that includes maybe 4 kitchen utensils broke. So it seemed like a simple enough task to do :)
2. We looked at more houses to rent. (Wednesday, Jan. 20th) On our house hunting trip at the beginning of January we saw severel good options, one in particular I really liked and thought it would fit the needs of our family very well and was at a good price. I was hoping that this would remain on the market until we returned and could do our second house search. On Wednesday we went on the hunt again to see if there was something just as good or better. While we did see many other lovely homes, (better than I ever thought!) they were either a little more than we cared to pay or were in not as an ideal location as our 1st favorite. So we have decided to move forward on that and negotiations are underway (yes, the relo company makes negotiation on rentals just like you would for a house for sale in the states.) This particular one is in Bonn, but does not have a kitchen (very common in Germany). By no kitchen don't just mean it is missing appliances, the current kitchen belongs to the current tenant and they will take their counters, sink, oven, etc with them when they move out. So its IKEA to the rescue! We are hoping to move in February 1st.
3. Andrew and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! (Friday, Jan. 22nd) There is a tradition in Koln to go to the train bridge by the Dom and put a lock on the bridge gate that separates the train tracks from the pedestrian trail across the river. Many people inscribe their names and wedding date on these locks. You put the lock on the gate and throw your key in the river for good luck that your love will never be undone and last forever. So, thanks to the help of Alisa babysitting the kids, Andrew and I were able to go over to the Dom (cathedral) and do our own private vow renewal, and then headed to the bridge to place our lock among the other lovers of Koln. Buying the lock and getting it engraved was another big feat that I mastered alone and in German/hand language/English :)
4. We took our first site seeing outing! (Saturday, Jan. 23rd) Andrew, Alisa, the kids, and I drove to Aachen, Germany right on the boarder of The Netherlands. Aachen was Emperor Charlemagne's capital during his rein where he build one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. From there we drove to a park that is the point at which Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands all meet. At one time, I stood in 3 countries at once. Mason also took his first "trip", or steps, to a foreign country by himself. Pretty good for someone who isn't even 2 yet! He went to Belgium while mom was in The Netherlands and dad stood in Germany. It was great fun.
5. Heather gets on the health wagon! (All week and from here on out!) One of my goals once I arrived in Germany and had nothing to do except take care of the kids was to get back into shape and get healthy! On a whim I had picked up the book "Skinny Bitch" before I left the states. It was not what I expected and turned out to be a pretty interesting expose on the food industry in the USA. While I'm not sure I will become the life long vegan they promote, I am giving it a try for the most part and since Monday, Jan. 18th I have been eating all fruits, vegetables, and legumes. I have completely cut dairy out of my diet. I have been soda, candy, and chocolate free since then as well. I have also cut meat out of my diet and am actually trying to be as close to vegan as possible for one month. From there I may slowly reincorporate some animal products in certain areas where it is fairly hard to avoid. We have also walked to the grocery store every time we needed food and have cooked every meal in the apartment, except for the anniversary dinner that Andrew and I went out for. Once my first week of getting healthy eating back in check, I have not added in my exercise as my next step. So wish me luck on becoming just a "Skinny Chick" :)
Well, that is our week in review, it is hard to believe that we have been here one full week now. As we get settled in, we liking Germany more and more and know that we have made the right choice for our family to take this little adventure.
Ciao!
Our first week has been full of ups and downs. A lot of unknows about Andrew's employment transfer, start date, new pay day, and when we would receive the relocation money to assist with all the extra upfront expenses of house/apartment hunting in Germany caused much stress. Not knowing the language is also a big deal. Heather was promised a language tutor within the first week or two and then we were told the earliest would be February 8th. It is true on a whole that a lot of Germans know English, but the ones in the shops of our area either don't or choose not to use it. But Heather and Alisa, (our friend from the states who has been tromping all over Europe and is now with us to help with the kids for a couple months) have successfully navigated the grocery store several times.
Here are a few highlights of the first week...
1. I bought a can opener. (Tuesday, Jan. 19th) LOL not really what one would think of as a big deal. But my first purchase "on my own" (meaning with out Andrew who has a nack for figuring out language stuff) was a can opener. Alisa and I took the two kids to the popular Koln shoping center on the train by ourselves, figuring out that was a success in itself. I was determined to find the big department store, Galeria Kauphof. After wandering around for a while we found the store and looked around its 6 levels! Finally finding the home/kitchen department we located our can opener. Why did we just need a can opener you ask? Well, the one in our "furnished" apartment that includes maybe 4 kitchen utensils broke. So it seemed like a simple enough task to do :)
2. We looked at more houses to rent. (Wednesday, Jan. 20th) On our house hunting trip at the beginning of January we saw severel good options, one in particular I really liked and thought it would fit the needs of our family very well and was at a good price. I was hoping that this would remain on the market until we returned and could do our second house search. On Wednesday we went on the hunt again to see if there was something just as good or better. While we did see many other lovely homes, (better than I ever thought!) they were either a little more than we cared to pay or were in not as an ideal location as our 1st favorite. So we have decided to move forward on that and negotiations are underway (yes, the relo company makes negotiation on rentals just like you would for a house for sale in the states.) This particular one is in Bonn, but does not have a kitchen (very common in Germany). By no kitchen don't just mean it is missing appliances, the current kitchen belongs to the current tenant and they will take their counters, sink, oven, etc with them when they move out. So its IKEA to the rescue! We are hoping to move in February 1st.
3. Andrew and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! (Friday, Jan. 22nd) There is a tradition in Koln to go to the train bridge by the Dom and put a lock on the bridge gate that separates the train tracks from the pedestrian trail across the river. Many people inscribe their names and wedding date on these locks. You put the lock on the gate and throw your key in the river for good luck that your love will never be undone and last forever. So, thanks to the help of Alisa babysitting the kids, Andrew and I were able to go over to the Dom (cathedral) and do our own private vow renewal, and then headed to the bridge to place our lock among the other lovers of Koln. Buying the lock and getting it engraved was another big feat that I mastered alone and in German/hand language/English :)
4. We took our first site seeing outing! (Saturday, Jan. 23rd) Andrew, Alisa, the kids, and I drove to Aachen, Germany right on the boarder of The Netherlands. Aachen was Emperor Charlemagne's capital during his rein where he build one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. From there we drove to a park that is the point at which Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands all meet. At one time, I stood in 3 countries at once. Mason also took his first "trip", or steps, to a foreign country by himself. Pretty good for someone who isn't even 2 yet! He went to Belgium while mom was in The Netherlands and dad stood in Germany. It was great fun.
5. Heather gets on the health wagon! (All week and from here on out!) One of my goals once I arrived in Germany and had nothing to do except take care of the kids was to get back into shape and get healthy! On a whim I had picked up the book "Skinny Bitch" before I left the states. It was not what I expected and turned out to be a pretty interesting expose on the food industry in the USA. While I'm not sure I will become the life long vegan they promote, I am giving it a try for the most part and since Monday, Jan. 18th I have been eating all fruits, vegetables, and legumes. I have completely cut dairy out of my diet. I have been soda, candy, and chocolate free since then as well. I have also cut meat out of my diet and am actually trying to be as close to vegan as possible for one month. From there I may slowly reincorporate some animal products in certain areas where it is fairly hard to avoid. We have also walked to the grocery store every time we needed food and have cooked every meal in the apartment, except for the anniversary dinner that Andrew and I went out for. Once my first week of getting healthy eating back in check, I have not added in my exercise as my next step. So wish me luck on becoming just a "Skinny Chick" :)
Well, that is our week in review, it is hard to believe that we have been here one full week now. As we get settled in, we liking Germany more and more and know that we have made the right choice for our family to take this little adventure.
Ciao!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
