Well Hello, Everyone!
I'm writing to report that we finally have an internet connection to our home! Woo-hoo! This will make the blog so much easier. No more having to deal with connection time limits and rates at internet cafes or the library.
Since my last blog was early in January and it's now the end, I'm going to have to start over as most of the month is now a blur. Much of the month was spent getting settled and used to our new surroundings.
I'm sending this shorter installment before I leave for a short visit to see my friend Sara, in Poland. Most of you all know we bought our house in Silver Spring from Sara's mother. I've been meaning to visit her in Poland for almost 20 years now, so this is quite a milestone for me!
I will be leaving Saturday night from Frankfurt and flying from the airport to Krakow, Poland. I will stay Sat. night in Krakow and catch an early bus to Zamosc (Sara) on Sunday morning. Then I will visit Sara in Zamosc Sun-Wed or Thurs, when she will return to visit Krakow with me so I am there in time to catch my flight back to Frankfurt, the following Friday.
Turns out the Frankfurt Hash has a full moon run scheduled that night, so Lew and I might be in attendance after he picks me up at the airport.
We are also signed up for the Interscandi Hash in Harstadt, Norway, the last weekend in June. A few of our DC friends are scheduled to be there so this should be a lot of fun! This will be the chance of a lifetime for Lew to visit the land of his forefathers.
Nothing else to report on the work front for me. I'm hoping to run a Music Together semester this spring in Wiesbaden but it may not happen till the summer or fall. Too much paperwork getting everything in place to be official in Germany now.
We are sponsoring a family that is due to arrive on Feb. 14th from Iowa! This will be another co-worker of Lew's. I will be busy helping them get settled and have already started a task list. This is a family of four with two small children. They have previously worked as teachers in Poland.
I will have email access in Poland but probably won't be updating this blog till I get home. I have heard the DC area is experiencing a lot of ice. Hope it is starting to melt!
My brother, by the way, has made some recovery advancements. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated!
Love, Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Week Ending Sunday, 1/4/09
Happy New Year!
This will have to be a short one as we have a time limit on the computers here at the base library. We are hoping to have an internet connection at home within the next couple of weeks.
Many of you already know that my brother, Paul, suffered a severe head injury on Christmas eve while ice skating. The good news (thanks for everyone's prayers!) is that he is home from the ICU now and will be resting while his skull fractures heal. I'll continue to keep everyone posted.
As for us, we had a quiet Christmas in our new home continuing to unpack. I made a simple dinner of duck breast, mashed potatoes, green beans and brownies for dessert. We tried to attend a performance of Messiah but couldn't find the church in time and it seems they don't allow late-comers to concerts in Germany.
This place turns into a complete ghost-town during the holidays. EVERYTHING closes starting at noon on Christmas Eve and doesn't reopen until 12/27. Then everything closes again at noon on New Years Eve till 1/2/09.
For Christmas, we gave ourselves a wonderful new GPS. They are essential here. We bought a map at a convenient store once and the clerk told us he hadn't sold one in ages since everyone uses a GPS! It has made a HUGE difference in our navigational abilities. We tried to find a hash in Frankfurt the week before and got so completely lost that we vowed never to hash again without a GPS.
Speaking of driving, the week between the holidays was extremely eratic with the local bus schedules. They flipped around between regular, weekend and holiday timetables so much that I just gave up trying to follow them. The time had come for me to try driving here. I had my license and planned to use it. So Lew and I took the car out on New Years Day so I could practice driving to all our regular spots. It wasn't as hard as I thought.
New Years Eve was interesting. There are fireworks displays all over the place! And I'm not kidding about everywhere. Driving home was like maneuvering through a warzone. Bottle rockets and what not were launched from every street corner and indeed tossed right into traffic. What a nightmare!
Friday we treated ourselves to a new 32" flatscreen TV! Celebrated at a great little pizzaria on the way home. This place had it's own "Kegeln" (German bowling alley) in the basement.
Saturday we went on a road trip to Rothenburg. Played tourists visiting all the major attractions - Rathaus, cathedral and city museum. Missed seeing the "torture" or Kriminal museum but in retrospect, I'm not sure that's the kind of place I'd enjoy hanging out in.
We took lots of pictures and I hope to get them posted soon. Heading to the FH3 hash now. Lew had a little accident at last week's hash. Twisted his ankle again. He's better but going to walk today.
That's it for now. Sending our love to all!
Lew, Jaime, Rocky and Howard
This will have to be a short one as we have a time limit on the computers here at the base library. We are hoping to have an internet connection at home within the next couple of weeks.
Many of you already know that my brother, Paul, suffered a severe head injury on Christmas eve while ice skating. The good news (thanks for everyone's prayers!) is that he is home from the ICU now and will be resting while his skull fractures heal. I'll continue to keep everyone posted.
As for us, we had a quiet Christmas in our new home continuing to unpack. I made a simple dinner of duck breast, mashed potatoes, green beans and brownies for dessert. We tried to attend a performance of Messiah but couldn't find the church in time and it seems they don't allow late-comers to concerts in Germany.
This place turns into a complete ghost-town during the holidays. EVERYTHING closes starting at noon on Christmas Eve and doesn't reopen until 12/27. Then everything closes again at noon on New Years Eve till 1/2/09.
For Christmas, we gave ourselves a wonderful new GPS. They are essential here. We bought a map at a convenient store once and the clerk told us he hadn't sold one in ages since everyone uses a GPS! It has made a HUGE difference in our navigational abilities. We tried to find a hash in Frankfurt the week before and got so completely lost that we vowed never to hash again without a GPS.
Speaking of driving, the week between the holidays was extremely eratic with the local bus schedules. They flipped around between regular, weekend and holiday timetables so much that I just gave up trying to follow them. The time had come for me to try driving here. I had my license and planned to use it. So Lew and I took the car out on New Years Day so I could practice driving to all our regular spots. It wasn't as hard as I thought.
New Years Eve was interesting. There are fireworks displays all over the place! And I'm not kidding about everywhere. Driving home was like maneuvering through a warzone. Bottle rockets and what not were launched from every street corner and indeed tossed right into traffic. What a nightmare!
Friday we treated ourselves to a new 32" flatscreen TV! Celebrated at a great little pizzaria on the way home. This place had it's own "Kegeln" (German bowling alley) in the basement.
Saturday we went on a road trip to Rothenburg. Played tourists visiting all the major attractions - Rathaus, cathedral and city museum. Missed seeing the "torture" or Kriminal museum but in retrospect, I'm not sure that's the kind of place I'd enjoy hanging out in.
We took lots of pictures and I hope to get them posted soon. Heading to the FH3 hash now. Lew had a little accident at last week's hash. Twisted his ankle again. He's better but going to walk today.
That's it for now. Sending our love to all!
Lew, Jaime, Rocky and Howard
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Week Ending Sunday 12/21/08
Merry Christmas!
This is a short one as we are at the library and have only a few minutes left in this session.
Got moved into our new house:
Stegerwaldstr. 16a
65199 Wiesbaden
Our APO address is still the best for sending mail from the US as US postage still applies.
We'll be busy unpacking and getting internet/cable hooked up for the next several weeks. We are saving a few boxes to open on Christmas Day since we have skipped shopping this year.
Not a lot else to report. Hope everyone has a wonderful and joyful Christmas!
If you know anyone interested in renting a house near DC, please let us know.
Love, Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
This is a short one as we are at the library and have only a few minutes left in this session.
Got moved into our new house:
Stegerwaldstr. 16a
65199 Wiesbaden
Our APO address is still the best for sending mail from the US as US postage still applies.
We'll be busy unpacking and getting internet/cable hooked up for the next several weeks. We are saving a few boxes to open on Christmas Day since we have skipped shopping this year.
Not a lot else to report. Hope everyone has a wonderful and joyful Christmas!
If you know anyone interested in renting a house near DC, please let us know.
Love, Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
Monday, December 15, 2008
Week Ending Sunday 12/14/08
Hi Folks,
Today's the start of our move out of the hotel. Thank God! I don't think we could last another day here, especially the cats, which brings me to an interesting cat story:
We scheduled maid service for Saturday morning, which requires cats be in their kennels. We are in a suite-style room and it's much easier to get them in their kennels if we don't have to peel them off the carpet under the bed or out of the safe in the closet. So we shut them in the living room before going to bed.
This was OK until Rocky started whining at the bedroom door. He apparently just needed some attention so he was cuddled briefly and then tossed back into the living room.
The next morning our fun began. Interestingly enough, Rocky has frequently wandered into his kennel on his own, even when I have asked him nicely, but this time he was NO WHERE to be found. We proceeded to search the room top-to-bottom, emptying drawers, suitcases, checking under furniture. He simply could not be found.
Then we entertained the notion that maybe housekeeping had let themselves in earlier and he made his escape then. We checked with the front desk, but they had not seen any stray cats. We then called housekeeping for help.
Turns out there was one place we had not checked. The living room in our suite has an entertainment center. This piece of furniture has a little cubby hole in the back that some smaller pets have been known to wander into. The maid asked if we had checked there and we obviously had not, since we weren't aware of it till now. I reached behind and felt Rocky's bushy tail at last. Whew! Guess I got a little too optimistic thinking that he will just wander into his kennel whenever I ask him to.
So here's this week's wrap-up:
Monday, 12/8/08
Regular workday for Lew. I caught a morning shuttle over to the Airfield (Wiesbaden Army Airfield) to return DvD's we checked out from the library, pick up mail and try my first meal at the base Dining Hall. Back to the hotel to get a book I loaned back from Irmgard and to signup for the free tour to the Mainz Christmas Mart the next day. Got started on laundry and ran into Ron (friend/co-worker). He said that Lew had been asked to pickup some folks at the Frankfurt airport who were here to attend an IT conference. This must be one of those "other duties as assigned" he's been talking about. They were all staying at the American Arms so we took one fellow with us to dinner - Justin here from a DoDDS-IT facility in England. We took him to the favorite local dinner spot here - the Rhein-Main-Grill and then strolled through the Christmas Mart. The other folks were from DoDDS-IT in Vicenza, Italy. A gentleman named Marty and his wife, Marcy, who was basically just along for the ride. At last! A buddy for me to hang with during the day.
Tuesday, 12/9/08
Called Marcy bright and early to meet me in the hotel lobby so we could catch the shuttle up to Hainerburg to catch Irmgard's tour to Mainz. We hit it off immediately! Marcy's husband does similar work as Lewis but she, like me, is a small business owner - specifically in hypnosis and massage therapy. She wants to open her own wellness center. She's having some problems getting it off the ground in Italy, but for now she spends time working for the Red Cross.
We met up with Irmgard and four other ladies to catch the bus to Mainz. Fabulous breakfast buffet in Mainz at a trendy little chain called "Alex." Then we strolled through the Christmas Mart. We all had a fantastic time, taking pictures and comparing relocation notes.
I complained to Marcy that I really miss the sun and blue skies over here. She agreed with me but it's probably not as bad in Vicenza. I also told her I never see anyone smiling. My smile is never returned. She related and said that there is kind of an air of sadness throughout Europe but we both agreed we really loved being here.
We rode the bus back with Santa Claus! Dinner that night consisted of us and all the visitors grazing through the Christmas Mart. Lew and I decided to checkout the outdoor rink they just opened in the center of town. We can't wait to start putting our ice skating lessons from last winter to work again!
Wednesday, 12/10/08
German class in the morning. Marcy said she'd accompany me to Rudesheim on the train that afternoon so she did. Got lunch in the train station and then we were off. It's still amazing to me that roundtrip train fare for two is more expensive than for five! Rudesheim is this great little German village right next to the Rhine River. Their Christmas Mart is huge and very festive. Marcy was on a mission to get beer steins for her sons and I got a few holiday items.
Dinner at a Greek restaurant we had been meaning to checkout was marginal. No wonder we never see anyone in there.
Thursday, 12/11/08
German class again. Marcy needed some downtime and I had errands after class. She has invited us to come visit in Italy. I told her to pencil us in for May 2010 when I turn 50!
Best news that day was that our car had arrived!!! Worst news is that Lew tried to pick it up without me and they wouldn't let him because it is in my name. This has been a constant nightmare. I knew I should have changed my name before we left and it's always been on my list but the US Gov't is not with the program yet. We've had to keep a marriage license with us all the time, and even that doesn't always help, especially in this instance when I had to actually be physically present to prove I was his wife. Kind of put a damper on the rest of Lewis' day as we really needed our car for the walk-thru of our new house tomorrow. We planned to catch the 6:45am shuttle the next morning to get us back in to Dotzheim by the 10:30 walk-thru. Can't remember exactly what we did for dinner that night but we did spend 25 euros on it.
Friday, 12/12/08
Took the day off from Germany class for the walk-thru. Up at dawn to get our car. It survived the journey pretty well except for some cosmetic damage to the grill plate in front. They gave us a check for $150 to cover that damage. The really funny thing about this process is getting temporary tags from registration to then get the car inspected and then back to registration for the permanent tags. If you are doing the whole thing at once, it doesn't make sense to get temporary tags.
So we have wheels now! It feels really strange to not be riding buses. We did make our 10:30 appt with no problem which went extremely well. Out of all the housing inspectors in Germany, I think we ended up with the best one. He brought a digital cameral and took shots of every scratch and imperfection. Even discovered our stove was cracked (YEAH!). The owner is German and does not speak English so he was pulling double duty inspecting the house and performing translation services.
We were finished by about noon. Lew dropped me at the hotel and then in to work for the rest of the day.
Dinner that night with Ron and his son, Chris at a restaurant in Mainz-Kastel called "Brauhaus Castel." This is one of those places where atmosphere gets an A and the food gets a D. It was also crowded, but obviously not for the food. Lew got a fish in a mushroom sauce with potatoes, Ron got Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chris had Schnitzel (the national dish) and I had a very very strange sausage salad that consisted of pickles and a huge pile of bologna strips. The dessert was a little better but not enough to raise their grade.
Saturday, 12/13/08
Already wrote about our morning dilemma finding Rocky in the hotel room. Once that was all taken care of, I took Lew to find the local "Alex" brunch place. We are definitely coming back here. For about 6 euros, you get a full brunch and orange juice. Coffee is extra here and so are refills. I think we spent more on our coffee than the brunch.
So now that we have wheels we are able to get a lot more done on Saturdays - like get ready for the Frankfurt Hash Christmas Party that evening. The attire was festive and I really don't have anything so I pulled an outfit together from the PX and we spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready. Party was a blast! Made many new friends - some who live near us here in Wiesbaden.
There is another Sushi in the Frankfurt Hash and she lives nearby in Bierstadt and teaches at the International School. Her name is Sushi Mooshi (aka Heather). We gave her a ride home that night. She doesn't own a car here and it took her two hours to get there by train, which stops running at midnight. By car, the place was about a 45 min drive from Wiesbaden.
The party was at a microbrewery in a town called Oberusel (sp?). They serve freshly-brewed beer daily. Sounds like the perfect Hash venue, huh? It was!
Sunday, 12/14/08
We rode with Ron and Chris to the Ronneburg Christmas Mart. This is an actual medieval-themed Christmas Mart that is held inside a 13th Century castle in Ronneburg. All the vendors are in medieval costume. Much like the Md Ren Fest, except only 4 euros admission. Germans really know how to do Ren Fests! There were traveling minstrels, donkey rides for the kids, even a small wooden merry go-round. I tried to take pictures but it was pretty overwhelming. Besides sampling gluhwein, we had pork cubes on a stick, and kafe und kuchen (coffee and cake) in one of the upper level rooms of the castle.
It's a good thing we got there early cause the traffic pouring in later was extremely congested. That would not have been fun to sit in.
Being our last night on Uncle Sam's dime for eating out, we chose an Italian place called "Cinque Due." I wasn't crazy about another German meal. At least when it's Italian I can expect a decent tossed salad and maybe a soup or small plate of pasta.
Starting tomorrow we will be without internet in our home for at least a couple of weeks. Lew will have it at work, of course, but I probably won't be on everyday until we are hooked up at home. I'm going to try to remote in to update the weekly blog as much as I can.
Everyone, Hope you are enjoying this holiday season!
Love, Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
Today's the start of our move out of the hotel. Thank God! I don't think we could last another day here, especially the cats, which brings me to an interesting cat story:
We scheduled maid service for Saturday morning, which requires cats be in their kennels. We are in a suite-style room and it's much easier to get them in their kennels if we don't have to peel them off the carpet under the bed or out of the safe in the closet. So we shut them in the living room before going to bed.
This was OK until Rocky started whining at the bedroom door. He apparently just needed some attention so he was cuddled briefly and then tossed back into the living room.
The next morning our fun began. Interestingly enough, Rocky has frequently wandered into his kennel on his own, even when I have asked him nicely, but this time he was NO WHERE to be found. We proceeded to search the room top-to-bottom, emptying drawers, suitcases, checking under furniture. He simply could not be found.
Then we entertained the notion that maybe housekeeping had let themselves in earlier and he made his escape then. We checked with the front desk, but they had not seen any stray cats. We then called housekeeping for help.
Turns out there was one place we had not checked. The living room in our suite has an entertainment center. This piece of furniture has a little cubby hole in the back that some smaller pets have been known to wander into. The maid asked if we had checked there and we obviously had not, since we weren't aware of it till now. I reached behind and felt Rocky's bushy tail at last. Whew! Guess I got a little too optimistic thinking that he will just wander into his kennel whenever I ask him to.
So here's this week's wrap-up:
Monday, 12/8/08
Regular workday for Lew. I caught a morning shuttle over to the Airfield (Wiesbaden Army Airfield) to return DvD's we checked out from the library, pick up mail and try my first meal at the base Dining Hall. Back to the hotel to get a book I loaned back from Irmgard and to signup for the free tour to the Mainz Christmas Mart the next day. Got started on laundry and ran into Ron (friend/co-worker). He said that Lew had been asked to pickup some folks at the Frankfurt airport who were here to attend an IT conference. This must be one of those "other duties as assigned" he's been talking about. They were all staying at the American Arms so we took one fellow with us to dinner - Justin here from a DoDDS-IT facility in England. We took him to the favorite local dinner spot here - the Rhein-Main-Grill and then strolled through the Christmas Mart. The other folks were from DoDDS-IT in Vicenza, Italy. A gentleman named Marty and his wife, Marcy, who was basically just along for the ride. At last! A buddy for me to hang with during the day.
Tuesday, 12/9/08
Called Marcy bright and early to meet me in the hotel lobby so we could catch the shuttle up to Hainerburg to catch Irmgard's tour to Mainz. We hit it off immediately! Marcy's husband does similar work as Lewis but she, like me, is a small business owner - specifically in hypnosis and massage therapy. She wants to open her own wellness center. She's having some problems getting it off the ground in Italy, but for now she spends time working for the Red Cross.
We met up with Irmgard and four other ladies to catch the bus to Mainz. Fabulous breakfast buffet in Mainz at a trendy little chain called "Alex." Then we strolled through the Christmas Mart. We all had a fantastic time, taking pictures and comparing relocation notes.
I complained to Marcy that I really miss the sun and blue skies over here. She agreed with me but it's probably not as bad in Vicenza. I also told her I never see anyone smiling. My smile is never returned. She related and said that there is kind of an air of sadness throughout Europe but we both agreed we really loved being here.
We rode the bus back with Santa Claus! Dinner that night consisted of us and all the visitors grazing through the Christmas Mart. Lew and I decided to checkout the outdoor rink they just opened in the center of town. We can't wait to start putting our ice skating lessons from last winter to work again!
Wednesday, 12/10/08
German class in the morning. Marcy said she'd accompany me to Rudesheim on the train that afternoon so she did. Got lunch in the train station and then we were off. It's still amazing to me that roundtrip train fare for two is more expensive than for five! Rudesheim is this great little German village right next to the Rhine River. Their Christmas Mart is huge and very festive. Marcy was on a mission to get beer steins for her sons and I got a few holiday items.
Dinner at a Greek restaurant we had been meaning to checkout was marginal. No wonder we never see anyone in there.
Thursday, 12/11/08
German class again. Marcy needed some downtime and I had errands after class. She has invited us to come visit in Italy. I told her to pencil us in for May 2010 when I turn 50!
Best news that day was that our car had arrived!!! Worst news is that Lew tried to pick it up without me and they wouldn't let him because it is in my name. This has been a constant nightmare. I knew I should have changed my name before we left and it's always been on my list but the US Gov't is not with the program yet. We've had to keep a marriage license with us all the time, and even that doesn't always help, especially in this instance when I had to actually be physically present to prove I was his wife. Kind of put a damper on the rest of Lewis' day as we really needed our car for the walk-thru of our new house tomorrow. We planned to catch the 6:45am shuttle the next morning to get us back in to Dotzheim by the 10:30 walk-thru. Can't remember exactly what we did for dinner that night but we did spend 25 euros on it.
Friday, 12/12/08
Took the day off from Germany class for the walk-thru. Up at dawn to get our car. It survived the journey pretty well except for some cosmetic damage to the grill plate in front. They gave us a check for $150 to cover that damage. The really funny thing about this process is getting temporary tags from registration to then get the car inspected and then back to registration for the permanent tags. If you are doing the whole thing at once, it doesn't make sense to get temporary tags.
So we have wheels now! It feels really strange to not be riding buses. We did make our 10:30 appt with no problem which went extremely well. Out of all the housing inspectors in Germany, I think we ended up with the best one. He brought a digital cameral and took shots of every scratch and imperfection. Even discovered our stove was cracked (YEAH!). The owner is German and does not speak English so he was pulling double duty inspecting the house and performing translation services.
We were finished by about noon. Lew dropped me at the hotel and then in to work for the rest of the day.
Dinner that night with Ron and his son, Chris at a restaurant in Mainz-Kastel called "Brauhaus Castel." This is one of those places where atmosphere gets an A and the food gets a D. It was also crowded, but obviously not for the food. Lew got a fish in a mushroom sauce with potatoes, Ron got Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chris had Schnitzel (the national dish) and I had a very very strange sausage salad that consisted of pickles and a huge pile of bologna strips. The dessert was a little better but not enough to raise their grade.
Saturday, 12/13/08
Already wrote about our morning dilemma finding Rocky in the hotel room. Once that was all taken care of, I took Lew to find the local "Alex" brunch place. We are definitely coming back here. For about 6 euros, you get a full brunch and orange juice. Coffee is extra here and so are refills. I think we spent more on our coffee than the brunch.
So now that we have wheels we are able to get a lot more done on Saturdays - like get ready for the Frankfurt Hash Christmas Party that evening. The attire was festive and I really don't have anything so I pulled an outfit together from the PX and we spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready. Party was a blast! Made many new friends - some who live near us here in Wiesbaden.
There is another Sushi in the Frankfurt Hash and she lives nearby in Bierstadt and teaches at the International School. Her name is Sushi Mooshi (aka Heather). We gave her a ride home that night. She doesn't own a car here and it took her two hours to get there by train, which stops running at midnight. By car, the place was about a 45 min drive from Wiesbaden.
The party was at a microbrewery in a town called Oberusel (sp?). They serve freshly-brewed beer daily. Sounds like the perfect Hash venue, huh? It was!
Sunday, 12/14/08
We rode with Ron and Chris to the Ronneburg Christmas Mart. This is an actual medieval-themed Christmas Mart that is held inside a 13th Century castle in Ronneburg. All the vendors are in medieval costume. Much like the Md Ren Fest, except only 4 euros admission. Germans really know how to do Ren Fests! There were traveling minstrels, donkey rides for the kids, even a small wooden merry go-round. I tried to take pictures but it was pretty overwhelming. Besides sampling gluhwein, we had pork cubes on a stick, and kafe und kuchen (coffee and cake) in one of the upper level rooms of the castle.
It's a good thing we got there early cause the traffic pouring in later was extremely congested. That would not have been fun to sit in.
Being our last night on Uncle Sam's dime for eating out, we chose an Italian place called "Cinque Due." I wasn't crazy about another German meal. At least when it's Italian I can expect a decent tossed salad and maybe a soup or small plate of pasta.
Starting tomorrow we will be without internet in our home for at least a couple of weeks. Lew will have it at work, of course, but I probably won't be on everyday until we are hooked up at home. I'm going to try to remote in to update the weekly blog as much as I can.
Everyone, Hope you are enjoying this holiday season!
Love, Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Week Ending Sunday 12/7/08
Monday was mostly summarized in last week's installment. Lew and I strolled down to Christmas Mart for dinner where he picked up fish sandwich and I got a bowl of lentil and wurst soup. Instead of getting mugs of gluhwein, we went to Aldi's and bought a bottle of gluhwein for 1 euro and nuked it back in our room.
Tuesday was my dad's birthday! Late start. Grabbed goulash soup and roll for lunch. Back to hotel to call dad. Had a great chat with the folks. Did laundry and got room serviced. Walked to the train station to pick up a salad to bring back. Really great salad vendor in train station! We met Ron and his son in the lobby to try out a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. It was one of the best meals we've had! Ron's son Chris is on a temporary work assignment here and two of his friends and their 11 month old daughter joined us. Then another friend of theirs "happened" to walk in and joined us as well.
Wednesday was the first day of Crash Course German Level I with the USO. Snowing like crazy. Not a very nice walk to class. Should have taken the shuttle. Our teacher's name is Frau (Isolde) Payne. We have five students in our class. Nice mixture of Civilian and Military and a 15 year old home-schooler who is quite a bit farther along in German than the rest of us.
We meet for three hours in the morning on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays through Dec. 19th. Frau Payne has a nice relaxed, conversational teaching style which I have not had before. Really lends itself well to learning a language when you have some more individualized attention and can really try to think in another language.
Only snag is that she did not have our books for the first class. Uh-oh! So I ended up volunteering to go into town to buy them (don't ask how) since I or Lew always walk into town at some point everyday. Next problem is that the largest book store in town only had two copies! They asked me if I wanted to order the others and I said no. It was pain enough schlepping these books through town while we hunted for dinner.
Had a hankering for pizza on "Italian Row" which we had not visited yet. Found a really cool little pizzaria called "Il Mediteraneo." Looked like an old hotel from the French Quarter or something, except it's just a restaurant now with maybe apartments above. Pizza was exactly what I was looking for - small and thin-crusted. Mine was topped with mozzarella and prosciuto and Lew got kind of a "meat-lover's" topping. He drank his usual Pils and I had my usual Chianti.
Riesling and whites are the most commonly available wines here as we are in the heart of Riesling country. But Chianti has become my favorite too, among the reds. It makes me think of Italy, which I hope to soon be visiting!
Thursday I wisely took the shuttle to class. Had a nice chat with the USO Secretary who lives downtown and takes public transportation a lot. She gave me a lot of good tips on how to find a healthy lunch at the Foot Court in the PX shopping center. This is really a challenge cause it's all fast food.
So I delivered my two books to the only two girls in class - myself and Marilyn (who gave me a ride back to the hotel after class on her way to the Gummi Bear store). She has two school-aged children.
Thursday night the three of us (Lew, Ron and myself) met at the PX so Ron could get his gas card to fill the tank in his rental car before turning it in the next morning. Oh btw, we've been sharing the same rental car with Ron for about three weeks now and it's getting expensive.
Ron and Lew had a funny way of telling me they really wanted Popeye's for dinner: they first asked me what I wanted to do for dinner. Polite as usual, I said it didn't matter but I was interested in trying out the Pasta Place in the back of the Commissary but it really didn't matter so Popeye's it was but I got a Taco Bell chicken salad. So Ron tells me later that he can only eat at Popeyes before his wife gets there. Not really sure why. Not crazy about Lew or anyone eating there, myself. It's all lard, flour, sugar and processed junk but it's not like he's eating there everyday.
We did the Commissary after to pick up some items. I really didn't think we'd go to the Commissary at all when they asked me to decide on dinner. I would have just gotten something there. Commissary, by the way, is a grocery store for the military.
Friday was German class #3. Took shuttle over. Planned to meet with USO people about doing Music Together in their building, but they are nonprofit and it wouldn't earn me enough to be worth the trouble. There are a LOT of babies in strollers around here!! I still plan to pursue starting the program here, but not with USO.
So Friday lunch I finally hit the Pasta Place at the Commissary. Spaghetti with red clam sauce. YUM!
For dinner, we were supposed to meet Ron and his son for dinner at City Bowling, but they seemed to be closed for a private party. Lew and I wandered into town. Stopped at a really great German restaurant I can't remember the name of. The receipt was handwritten on a plain piece of paper. I had pork strips in a mushroom sauce with spaetzle and Lew had wild boar with red cabbage and potatoes. Of course, we each got a salad which meant I had two because they always drench them in dressing, which Lew doesn't eat.
On Saturday, Lew and I took the bus to Dotzheim to check out our new neighborhood. Did a little shopping and got lunch at a kebab place. We got back in time to shower and change for his office Christmas party. Carol came at 6pm to pick us and Ron up for the Christmas Party. The party took place at a Schloss (castle) in Biebrich (another area of Wiesbaden). It was quick the formal and classy affair with everyone in blacktie and evening gowns! We still don't have most of our clothes yet which meant WE dressed casually. This wasn't really our fault as we had been advised otherwise to not bother buying anything dressy. Should have known better.
On Sunday, Lew went to the hash and I took a little train trip to see another Christmas Mart. Bought a ticket to Rudesheim (where everyone has recommended I go) only to find out the trains don't run there on Sunday. Tried to get a refund but was told the buses go there but that wasn't really my point. I wanted a train ride. So I compromised and rode to Mainz instead. It's only about 3 stops from Wiesbaden. Spent a lot of time walking in the wrong direction before I found the Christmas Mart. Once there, I enjoyed a warm cup of gluhwein in my "free mug" (that I pay a deposit for but end up keeping for Lew's collection). This Mart is just as everyone says - crowded. I'd like to go back on Tuesday with the tour to Mainz that Irmgard is leading.
Spent the rest of Sunday back at the hotel, pretty tired from too much walking. I'm starting to feel like "the lady in the blue coat" with all this walking to the same places repeatedly. Oh, speaking of walking.. our car delivery has been delayed past the expected date of Monday, 12/8. Apparently there were some issues with having to change boats, etc. etc. If we don't have it this coming week, we will have to rent again.
Dinner at the hotel consisted of canneloni with ricotta and spinach. Took a while for it to cool enough to eat. Chianti wine as usual. Hotel bar was packed with two large screens tuned into major league football games.
Lew got back from the hash at about 9pm.
Stay tuned for next week's episode on how to move to a new house without a car (I hope not!). Incidentally, it may be more like two or three weeks before my next installment. I've been hearing that once we move in to the new place, it will likely be some time before our phone and internet are hooked up. Hopefully I'll be back around this month to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
Auf wiedersehen!
Tuesday was my dad's birthday! Late start. Grabbed goulash soup and roll for lunch. Back to hotel to call dad. Had a great chat with the folks. Did laundry and got room serviced. Walked to the train station to pick up a salad to bring back. Really great salad vendor in train station! We met Ron and his son in the lobby to try out a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. It was one of the best meals we've had! Ron's son Chris is on a temporary work assignment here and two of his friends and their 11 month old daughter joined us. Then another friend of theirs "happened" to walk in and joined us as well.
Wednesday was the first day of Crash Course German Level I with the USO. Snowing like crazy. Not a very nice walk to class. Should have taken the shuttle. Our teacher's name is Frau (Isolde) Payne. We have five students in our class. Nice mixture of Civilian and Military and a 15 year old home-schooler who is quite a bit farther along in German than the rest of us.
We meet for three hours in the morning on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays through Dec. 19th. Frau Payne has a nice relaxed, conversational teaching style which I have not had before. Really lends itself well to learning a language when you have some more individualized attention and can really try to think in another language.
Only snag is that she did not have our books for the first class. Uh-oh! So I ended up volunteering to go into town to buy them (don't ask how) since I or Lew always walk into town at some point everyday. Next problem is that the largest book store in town only had two copies! They asked me if I wanted to order the others and I said no. It was pain enough schlepping these books through town while we hunted for dinner.
Had a hankering for pizza on "Italian Row" which we had not visited yet. Found a really cool little pizzaria called "Il Mediteraneo." Looked like an old hotel from the French Quarter or something, except it's just a restaurant now with maybe apartments above. Pizza was exactly what I was looking for - small and thin-crusted. Mine was topped with mozzarella and prosciuto and Lew got kind of a "meat-lover's" topping. He drank his usual Pils and I had my usual Chianti.
Riesling and whites are the most commonly available wines here as we are in the heart of Riesling country. But Chianti has become my favorite too, among the reds. It makes me think of Italy, which I hope to soon be visiting!
Thursday I wisely took the shuttle to class. Had a nice chat with the USO Secretary who lives downtown and takes public transportation a lot. She gave me a lot of good tips on how to find a healthy lunch at the Foot Court in the PX shopping center. This is really a challenge cause it's all fast food.
So I delivered my two books to the only two girls in class - myself and Marilyn (who gave me a ride back to the hotel after class on her way to the Gummi Bear store). She has two school-aged children.
Thursday night the three of us (Lew, Ron and myself) met at the PX so Ron could get his gas card to fill the tank in his rental car before turning it in the next morning. Oh btw, we've been sharing the same rental car with Ron for about three weeks now and it's getting expensive.
Ron and Lew had a funny way of telling me they really wanted Popeye's for dinner: they first asked me what I wanted to do for dinner. Polite as usual, I said it didn't matter but I was interested in trying out the Pasta Place in the back of the Commissary but it really didn't matter so Popeye's it was but I got a Taco Bell chicken salad. So Ron tells me later that he can only eat at Popeyes before his wife gets there. Not really sure why. Not crazy about Lew or anyone eating there, myself. It's all lard, flour, sugar and processed junk but it's not like he's eating there everyday.
We did the Commissary after to pick up some items. I really didn't think we'd go to the Commissary at all when they asked me to decide on dinner. I would have just gotten something there. Commissary, by the way, is a grocery store for the military.
Friday was German class #3. Took shuttle over. Planned to meet with USO people about doing Music Together in their building, but they are nonprofit and it wouldn't earn me enough to be worth the trouble. There are a LOT of babies in strollers around here!! I still plan to pursue starting the program here, but not with USO.
So Friday lunch I finally hit the Pasta Place at the Commissary. Spaghetti with red clam sauce. YUM!
For dinner, we were supposed to meet Ron and his son for dinner at City Bowling, but they seemed to be closed for a private party. Lew and I wandered into town. Stopped at a really great German restaurant I can't remember the name of. The receipt was handwritten on a plain piece of paper. I had pork strips in a mushroom sauce with spaetzle and Lew had wild boar with red cabbage and potatoes. Of course, we each got a salad which meant I had two because they always drench them in dressing, which Lew doesn't eat.
On Saturday, Lew and I took the bus to Dotzheim to check out our new neighborhood. Did a little shopping and got lunch at a kebab place. We got back in time to shower and change for his office Christmas party. Carol came at 6pm to pick us and Ron up for the Christmas Party. The party took place at a Schloss (castle) in Biebrich (another area of Wiesbaden). It was quick the formal and classy affair with everyone in blacktie and evening gowns! We still don't have most of our clothes yet which meant WE dressed casually. This wasn't really our fault as we had been advised otherwise to not bother buying anything dressy. Should have known better.
On Sunday, Lew went to the hash and I took a little train trip to see another Christmas Mart. Bought a ticket to Rudesheim (where everyone has recommended I go) only to find out the trains don't run there on Sunday. Tried to get a refund but was told the buses go there but that wasn't really my point. I wanted a train ride. So I compromised and rode to Mainz instead. It's only about 3 stops from Wiesbaden. Spent a lot of time walking in the wrong direction before I found the Christmas Mart. Once there, I enjoyed a warm cup of gluhwein in my "free mug" (that I pay a deposit for but end up keeping for Lew's collection). This Mart is just as everyone says - crowded. I'd like to go back on Tuesday with the tour to Mainz that Irmgard is leading.
Spent the rest of Sunday back at the hotel, pretty tired from too much walking. I'm starting to feel like "the lady in the blue coat" with all this walking to the same places repeatedly. Oh, speaking of walking.. our car delivery has been delayed past the expected date of Monday, 12/8. Apparently there were some issues with having to change boats, etc. etc. If we don't have it this coming week, we will have to rent again.
Dinner at the hotel consisted of canneloni with ricotta and spinach. Took a while for it to cool enough to eat. Chianti wine as usual. Hotel bar was packed with two large screens tuned into major league football games.
Lew got back from the hash at about 9pm.
Stay tuned for next week's episode on how to move to a new house without a car (I hope not!). Incidentally, it may be more like two or three weeks before my next installment. I've been hearing that once we move in to the new place, it will likely be some time before our phone and internet are hooked up. Hopefully I'll be back around this month to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
Auf wiedersehen!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Week Ending Sunday 11/30/08
We have seen two snowstorms in the last week. Very unusual for Germany in November (much like in DC). Pretty cold too. Didn't time the shipping of our winter coats too well and had to buy some stuff to tie us over.
Pretty eventful week but then again every week since mid-August has been eventful..
Hope you all liked my picture blog last week. I'm embedding a link to some more (and better) pictures of our new house, which we move into on Dec. 15th. We originally planned to move Dec. 1st but that is tomorrow and we don't even have our car yet.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mossless/HomeInGermany
I forgot to mention last week that I attended a weeklong orientation here at the hotel for Army and DoD spouses and dependants (for free!) by the Army Community Service. It was conducted by a German lady named Irmgard who is considered the local expert on German culture and customs.
We spent the first day getting maps and general info about Wiesbaden. Tuesday we heard from vendors like the USO, PX, Commissary and then a quick course in survival German. Wednesday we had to take our driver's tests (we passed!) so I had to miss Irmgard's walking tour of Wiesbaden. Thursday we all met at the train station to learn about the train system and then she took us on a tour of a German version of Whole Foods. Friday's event was cancelled due to the threat of snow (which didn't happen till Sunday). We had planned to meet at a bus station so Irmgard could show us the bus system and then travel to and from Mainz. I could have really used that lesson, but the orientation was free so I guess beggars can't be choosers.
OK, so back to this past week. Lots more stuff to report. Monday went to the Post Office and checked our mail. Dropped off / picked up some DvDs from the library to watch at the hotel. Getting pretty tired of watching the AFN (Armed Forces Network). Basically all the commercials are military-related and extremely repetitive. My saving grace is that they are broadcasting all my favorite shows - Daily Show, Colbert Report and Boston Legal!
Tuesday the Wiesbaden Christmas mart opened! Christmas Marts are street festivals held in most German cities from the end of Nov. through Christmas. The streets are closed so food and craft vendors can set up shop while everyone browses through, sipping mulled wine (gluhwein) and munching on local favorites such as bratwurst, pommes frites, potato pancakes, soup, flat breads, etc.
Wednesday I spent most of the day finding Lew a 9th Wedding Anniversary card in German. Most of them seemed to be wedding cards. It's too bad my dictionary didn't translate wedding anniversary but Lew's did. In case anyone's interested, the Germany word for wedding is Hochzeit and wedding anniversary is Hochzeitstag, which I thought to mean wedding day. Oh well... Lew did get me a card and in English!
Thursday was Thanksgiving and our Anniversary. Thanksgiving is just an average day here in Germany. We had an invite to join a family for dinner who works with Lew but got a tip on a great restaurant near our new house so made that our plan instead. The big adventure that day was taking the bus to the restaurant! Also a chance to practice taking the bus from Wiesbaden to our new house and back. The commute was fine except we almost caught a cab home when we discovered the return route had been switched to another stop causing us to miss the first three buses back into Wiesbaden.
Friday was a workday for Lew. I spent the morning at the train station firming up our itinerary to Cologne the next day. Turns out that round trip fare for up to five people from Wiesbaden to ANYWHERE in Germany only costs about $45 total on weekends. We invited another coworker of Lew's, so that made our train fare pretty cheap.
We had a fabulous trip to Cologne! They have about 7 different Christmas marts, including a floating one and one that sits right in front of the Cologne Cathedral. Weather was terrific, not to mention the company! But we got a little Christmas-mart'ed out toward the end of the afternoon and made our way home.
The ride up from Wiesbaden was quite scenic. The train bordered the Rhine River most of the way, passing many castles and quaint Germany villages. By far the best deal for our money yet. We are looking forward to more train travel on weekends whenever possible.
Today is Sunday and we splurged on a brunch at a five star restaurant at Kafers, located in the Kurhaus (casino). YUM! Got our second snowfall today but it didn't stick.
Hoping to start my German class this week but won't know for sure till tomorrow. Tomorrow going on tour to Rudesheim w/Irmgard. Wonderful medieval town with fabulous Christmas Mart.
As of today (Monday), our main shipment and car have arrived so we are 100% in Germany now. Just may not see our car till next week's post.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!
Love,
Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
Pretty eventful week but then again every week since mid-August has been eventful..
Hope you all liked my picture blog last week. I'm embedding a link to some more (and better) pictures of our new house, which we move into on Dec. 15th. We originally planned to move Dec. 1st but that is tomorrow and we don't even have our car yet.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mossless/HomeInGermany
I forgot to mention last week that I attended a weeklong orientation here at the hotel for Army and DoD spouses and dependants (for free!) by the Army Community Service. It was conducted by a German lady named Irmgard who is considered the local expert on German culture and customs.
We spent the first day getting maps and general info about Wiesbaden. Tuesday we heard from vendors like the USO, PX, Commissary and then a quick course in survival German. Wednesday we had to take our driver's tests (we passed!) so I had to miss Irmgard's walking tour of Wiesbaden. Thursday we all met at the train station to learn about the train system and then she took us on a tour of a German version of Whole Foods. Friday's event was cancelled due to the threat of snow (which didn't happen till Sunday). We had planned to meet at a bus station so Irmgard could show us the bus system and then travel to and from Mainz. I could have really used that lesson, but the orientation was free so I guess beggars can't be choosers.
OK, so back to this past week. Lots more stuff to report. Monday went to the Post Office and checked our mail. Dropped off / picked up some DvDs from the library to watch at the hotel. Getting pretty tired of watching the AFN (Armed Forces Network). Basically all the commercials are military-related and extremely repetitive. My saving grace is that they are broadcasting all my favorite shows - Daily Show, Colbert Report and Boston Legal!
Tuesday the Wiesbaden Christmas mart opened! Christmas Marts are street festivals held in most German cities from the end of Nov. through Christmas. The streets are closed so food and craft vendors can set up shop while everyone browses through, sipping mulled wine (gluhwein) and munching on local favorites such as bratwurst, pommes frites, potato pancakes, soup, flat breads, etc.
Wednesday I spent most of the day finding Lew a 9th Wedding Anniversary card in German. Most of them seemed to be wedding cards. It's too bad my dictionary didn't translate wedding anniversary but Lew's did. In case anyone's interested, the Germany word for wedding is Hochzeit and wedding anniversary is Hochzeitstag, which I thought to mean wedding day. Oh well... Lew did get me a card and in English!
Thursday was Thanksgiving and our Anniversary. Thanksgiving is just an average day here in Germany. We had an invite to join a family for dinner who works with Lew but got a tip on a great restaurant near our new house so made that our plan instead. The big adventure that day was taking the bus to the restaurant! Also a chance to practice taking the bus from Wiesbaden to our new house and back. The commute was fine except we almost caught a cab home when we discovered the return route had been switched to another stop causing us to miss the first three buses back into Wiesbaden.
Friday was a workday for Lew. I spent the morning at the train station firming up our itinerary to Cologne the next day. Turns out that round trip fare for up to five people from Wiesbaden to ANYWHERE in Germany only costs about $45 total on weekends. We invited another coworker of Lew's, so that made our train fare pretty cheap.
We had a fabulous trip to Cologne! They have about 7 different Christmas marts, including a floating one and one that sits right in front of the Cologne Cathedral. Weather was terrific, not to mention the company! But we got a little Christmas-mart'ed out toward the end of the afternoon and made our way home.
The ride up from Wiesbaden was quite scenic. The train bordered the Rhine River most of the way, passing many castles and quaint Germany villages. By far the best deal for our money yet. We are looking forward to more train travel on weekends whenever possible.
Today is Sunday and we splurged on a brunch at a five star restaurant at Kafers, located in the Kurhaus (casino). YUM! Got our second snowfall today but it didn't stick.
Hoping to start my German class this week but won't know for sure till tomorrow. Tomorrow going on tour to Rudesheim w/Irmgard. Wonderful medieval town with fabulous Christmas Mart.
As of today (Monday), our main shipment and car have arrived so we are 100% in Germany now. Just may not see our car till next week's post.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!
Love,
Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
Monday, November 24, 2008
Week Ending Sunday 11/23/08
Trying something new this week - my first "all pictures" blog!
Finally made it to the FH3 (Frankfurt Hash House Harriers)!
A few shots of #16a, Stegerwald Str. in Dotzheim. Hoping to sign the rental agreement this week. Private gate and driveway. Entrance to house on left.
Courtyard looking back to separate office / guest quarters.
Now this is a cool looking bathroom!
Inspecting one of the upstairs bedrooms with private balcony.
Spacious eat-in kitchen next to front entrance and foyer.
House from the courtyard.
I've never seen leaves this large!
Rocky pretty much lives under the bed.
And Howard likes to be under end tables.
Lew sipping his first Gluhwein at a neighborhood church bazaar.
So here is our current home - The American Arms Hotel!
Auf wiedersehen and Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
Finally made it to the FH3 (Frankfurt Hash House Harriers)!
A few shots of #16a, Stegerwald Str. in Dotzheim. Hoping to sign the rental agreement this week. Private gate and driveway. Entrance to house on left.
Courtyard looking back to separate office / guest quarters.
Now this is a cool looking bathroom!
Inspecting one of the upstairs bedrooms with private balcony.
Spacious eat-in kitchen next to front entrance and foyer.
House from the courtyard.
I've never seen leaves this large!
Rocky pretty much lives under the bed.
And Howard likes to be under end tables.
Lew sipping his first Gluhwein at a neighborhood church bazaar.
So here is our current home - The American Arms Hotel!
Auf wiedersehen and Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
Jaime, Lew, Howard and Rocky
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