Random note...

Ahhhh!

Today turned into a little bit of a hectic mess. I went to register for German classes, expecting to start on November 30th. But the teacher asked me what I knew and asked if I wanted to start tomorrow since I'm at the level of the current class. I've only missed the first chapter, and I already know everything in it. So, I spent the afternoon hunting for the book. I didn't find it at the first two stores, ugh. So Albert and I went to Konigstrasse to the big buchhaus and found it. Now I have to spend tonight going through the first chapter.

Ironically, after being bored for my first few weeks here, I have again loaded my schedule beyond anything relaxing. I will have German classes from 8 in the morning to noon everyday. I'm still working on my novel for NaNoWriMo. I'm still working for a publisher. And I'm planning on opening my etsy shop this weekend. How do I manage to do that? The dinners might lack a little something these coming weeks, and Albert will just have to forgive me.

Our apartment!

We actually hit a lucky streak and found the best apartment on the first try. It's 100 square meters (about 1,000 square feet). Probably too big for us, it has three bedrooms, but very affordable for its size. I'm in love with it. It has a loft, a balcony, and for Albert's pleasure a garage. He can walk or bike to work because it's only about a kilometer away.

We don't have any furniture yet, not even a mattress, and the essentials are definitely lacking. We didn't ship anything over with us except silverware, a tea pot, and some pictures. But hey, I get to spend my time perusing IKEA!!!


Let's see, in the first picture...Kuche=Kitchen, Eltern and Kind=Bedroom, Balkon=Balcony, WC and Bad=Water Closet and Bathroom, Essen=Dining, Wohnen=Living.

The second picture is the loft and has a gallery and bedroom. The stairs up to the loft are those cool spirally kind.

We're on the top floor (the third) and are the only door up there, so it's like a private entrance. There are only four apartments in the building. It's on a very quiet street and very close to a train station.

I'll post more pictures when we get in there. We move in January 1st.

Reading in Germany

I know you'll all look at that title and say, "You're doing what in Germany!" But the fact is. I'm not a tourist here, I live here now. Plus Albert is at work all day. So I'm doing what I would be doing in Colorado. I'm cooking, cleaning, taking photos, and reading. But so far it's been an odd experience. I didn't think it would be any different than doing it in the states. But with this book it's been shocking. I've read a lot of World War II books in my time. Ranging topics from an American pilot crashing in France, to a holocaust survivor, to a woman who was a Nazi guard. This one, well let's just say it hit me hard.


It's about a little girl in Nazi Germany who is illiterate. The narrator, Death. That alone is one for the record books, and he really makes you kind of pity Death. Death has a horrible job, and that's all it is. But Death is fascinated by humans and their stories. This is the first Holocaust story I've read that doesn't feel like a Holocaust story. We go through the years of the war with this girl, but we see her struggles. Her foster father teaches her to read. She makes friends. They hide a Jew in their basement for a while. They sit through air raids with her reading aloud to calm everyone. She steals books.

It's depicted from the German side. Of course it never condones what Hitler did, in fact her foster family goes against him. But it's not overtly Holocaust. It really focuses on Leisel and her daily life. It is written really well, and truly sucks you in.

The weirdest thing for me...reading a Holocaust book in Germany. I've never been to this country before. And I never thought this would effect me. But as I read through this book I started to think, "That happened here. I'm on that ground." It was very unsettling.

And yet, I went for a walk this afternoon through the farm fields. The countryside is absolutely gorgeous (pictures coming soon). I grew up in a country that hadn't seen war in a very long time. I grew up in a state that has never seen war, maybe a few skirmishes but nothing to the scale of World War II. This is a whole new experience for me, and even though it scares me a little bit, I'm going to embrace it.

First Day in Germany

We flew in yesterday morning. The flight was good. I don't think anyone enjoys flights, but it was ok. We had an extra seat so that helped. Amazingly I didn't need to take a motion-sickness pill or a sleeping pill. Albert barely slept, but he slept hard last night.

We moved directly into our interim apartment. It is very nice. Wide open and very modern. We have a deck and backyard; and wood floors; and cute little radiators in every room.

For some reason I had to get sick. My throat is killing me.

I walked through our little town today and found the market. Everything is in German, and I had a little bit of culture shock. Their trash system is crazy. They have a bin for paper; a bin for organic material; a bin for metals, plastics, and synthetic material; and a bin for other trash. And if you get it wrong, you get fined. Sounds fun, right? I'm a little frustrated, but attempting to be open-minded about it all.

We went to Stuttgart proper last night and found the big street that is their mall. It's kind of like the 16th street mall in Denver. Konigstrasse is the name of the street, King Street.

The cheapest food is Italian. We're very close to the border and a lot of people here speak Italian and German.

Can't wait to see what the next few days, and especially the weekend, bring.

Finally

We leave on Tuesday for Germany. Finally. It seems like it has been forever even though it has only been a few months since the interview. I'm definitely not looking forward to the flight, thank God for sleeping pills. We head to Atlanta and then straight to Stuttgart. It's nine hours over the Atlantic. Ugh. Right now we are just preparing everything including cell phones, our bird, and extra baggage. It looks like Delta only allows one bag, even overseas. How am I supposed to fit my entire life into one bag? We each have two...that'll be quite an overcharge. Oh well. Soon we'll be in Germany getting settled into our new life. I can not wait.

Exploring our new city. Finding an apartment. Buying a car. Fixing up the apartment. And really getting into the new job. It's going to be such an adventure and I thank God every day that He gave us the opportunity. Even just these few weeks in D.C. have brought my husband and I closer. I am so excited!

Updates

Last night Albert and I went to the drag races. He has a 69 coupe Mustang that we have overhauled and put a fancy 427 engine in. Right now it can run 12 second 1/4 miles. That's pretty fast, especially considering with the last engine it only ran 14.5 seconds. I've raced it a few times before, but not since this big engine and fast setup. He let me drive last night. I ran a 13.29 and wish the track had stayed open later so I could have run it faster! He's entering a race on Saturday and then the poor car is getting shoved into a little garage to gather dust for 18 months (and we are headed to D.C.!).