Motherhood

Motherhood

New Flat

The blog posts have taken to infrequency partly due moving into a new flat and partly due to my laziness.  Na ja (oh well).  If you are interested, I'll take you on a quick tour of our new flat.

Here is the entry as you enter the front (and only) door.

Straight ahead is one of the bedrooms.  The other bedroom is just to the left.  Here is the girls' bedroom.

The phrase "if I don't get those 15 minutes of sleep, I'm a hot mess" was spoken from this room by my 8 year old daughter.  Missing is the usual area rug consisting of dirty clothes and legos.

As you turn left from the entrance, you enter the dining room and kitchen.  The kitchen has all the kitcheny kind of stuff.

Living Room

 
Our favorite part of the flat is the balcomy.  The living room and one of the bedrooms has a door to the balcony.  Here is the view from the balcony.

I have to give props to the bathroom.  It has all the bathroomy things.

My daughters redecorated the flat as I was carrying boxes up from the van.  All their stuffed animals found there way onto the display shelves.  They are still there.

A Word of Caution (Vorsicht)

Thus far I have focused on the good things about Germany.  But, there are also some bad things about Germany.  Last night I discovered one of the bad things.  I want you to know so you do not make the same mistake. 

It took shape during an innocent evening in the city of Bamberg with my family.  We were approached by a stranger and she asked us what we wanted to order for dinner.  I said "Calamari bitte".   The bad part of Germany came in the form of luke warm Calamari on my dinner plate.  Now I hesitate to speak of this because I know the Calamari community is sensitive.  If you were to interview a group of young, aspiring Calimari (Calamarichen as one may say in Germany), or better yet take a Gallup pole, you would find the majority of Calamari dream of being served breaded with a spicy pepper sauce at Carrabba's restaurant.  A well kept secret in the Calamari community is that a few unfortunate Calamari end up at a Bamberg Italien restaurant looking like some kind of noodle bathing in non-spicy, spicy tomato sauce.  Schade (what a pity).

Beware of Calamari posing as a noodle.  It won't end well.

Tear Down that Wall

Imagine going to sleep in the town you live in and waking up the next morning forbidden to contact or visit your neighbors or family across town.  I think the townsfolk of Modlareuth, Germany had a little more warning than that, but not much before they were forbidden to cross the river which became the division between East and West.  The river cut right through the town.  This tiny river over time and escalating tensions became an impenetrable wall separating not friend from foe but friend from friend.

With successful escapes brought more security to the wall.  The final version of the wall was a concrete structure roughly 12 feet high and 8 inches thick.  A security barbed fence was offset about 40 feet from the wall.  The space in between was raked to reveal the footprints of anyone trying to escape.  Concrete blocks were buried to prevent digging under the wall.  An elaborate communication line was strung along the wall so that watchposts could communicate.  If the fence was breeched, the guards knew within a hundred yards where the breach occurrred.

Dogs were tethered to lines to help prevent escape in some areas.  There were watch towers like this one.  This tower is in its original location.

While we were in the watch tower, we met an American who was in Germany on a mission trip with his church.  He was stationed there 20 years ago and this was his first trip back since he served.  He said he wasn't sure what his emotions were going to be during his return visit.  He described it as "pure joy" to see the town without division.

I have many more pictures and pictures of all the placards with the historical background written in English.  If you are interested in these, send me an email at andrewpwasson@gmail.com and I will try to send you a link where you can download these photos.

I was quite surprised to find out that Buckeye Nation is alive and well in Germany.  Check out the end of the gun on this statue of a border guard.  OH....

Follow the Falcon

     Today, we were invited by some good friends to take a castle tour which included a presentation by a falconer.  Back in the day, this castle served as a hunting villa for royalty.  It was built in 1550.  Usually when we visit something in Germany, there are travel hiccups along the way.  Not this time.  When we got out of the car near the castle, there was a guy with a falcon on his arm walking behind our car.  Ah ha.  I figured, follow the falcon.  Sure enough, the falcon led us right to the castle and the place to purchase the tickets.

Since the castle was a hunting villa, the museum inside had hunting artifacts.  It was very prestigious to hunt with a falcon.  This picture shows one of the royalty with a falcon.  We were told one of the little blinder hats with plumes for a falcon from this time period sold for 18,000 Euros.

 

A large (many kilometers) area was fenced off around the castle to serve as a game preserve.  Hunting parties used spears and then guns for hunting.  These spears were used for bears and wild boars.

 

 

Here are some pictures of inside the castle and the views from the castle tower.

The climb to the top of the tower was very steep.  About 1/2 way up there was a pit used as solitary confinement for a prisoner.  This pit was 7 meters deep.  No thanks.

I know you are thinking  "Will there be a falcon on this falcon tour?"  Here you go.

 

 

I'm putting some text here so the blog post does not end akwardly with just a photo.

This Cave is How Long??

After we rode on the toboggan run down the mountain, we walked about 1 km to the cave. Here is the trail along the way to the cave.

We arrived at the cave entrance and paid the fee to go inside.  After waiting, a group of about 100 people entered the cave through a small door.  We walked into a large expanse, and they closed the door.  I was thinking this was the cave.  There was a short program and then we started walking deeper into the cave.  Then deeper.  Then deeper.  Then down stairs.  Then up stairs.  Then deeper.  The cave is 1.5 km long and takes 1 hour to walk through.  I hit my head on the cave ceiling several times.





They call this cave "The Devil's Cave".  In the 1920's, livestock kept disappearing in the area so people thought the devil was taking them.  They found bones of all the animals that had fallen into the cave when the cave was discovered. 



A little paddleboat ride to cap off the day.

Random Thoughts

We've been in Germany for about 3 months now.  Time for some random thoughts.

Things I never dreamed of doing

• Listening to the Macarena with my German coworkers at work. (They play the radio all day long in the office.)  The radio station we listen to plays modern pop songs, but some of the filler songs are quite amusing.
• Listening to Gansters Paradise with my German coworkers at work.
• Going to Disneyland Paris for my birthday.
• Watching a town erect a Kerwa pole in the city center (every town we have seen has one of these for their Kerwa festival).  There was plenty of beer on hand to aid this task.  The Kerwa is a 2-3 day festival with music, eating, and drinking.  Each local town has its own version (at least in Franconia).  I didn't have the heart to tell them this tree is not going to grow.

Causes for Celebration

• I finally wiped the kitchen counter without banging my head on the range hood.  Still working on the light in the living room.
• Giant bottles of nutella.

• Mastering a new toy.

• No presidential campaign ads.

Things you may not have known until now

• About 70% of the music I've heard on the radio is American.
• Times I've heard "The Eye of the Tiger" on the radio in the last 10 years prior to Germany: 2
• Times I've heard "The Eye of the Tiger" on the radio since moving to Germany:  6
• Top speed thus far on the Autobahn 185 kph (we drive a van).
• American TV is pretty much banned here (even on the internet).  I haven't even seen David Hasselhoff.
• It is definitely not 1 gallon per flush.  The toilets here actually work.
• The German national handball team takes precedence over the gold metal basketball game for Olympic coverage.  Apparently, the 4x100 m men's relay final is not as critical as field hockey.
• There are no weeds in Germany.  Alright, that may be exaggerating a bit.
• Gummi Bears are a national phenomenon (this is not an exaggeration).  Here is the typical Gummi aisle at the market.

• American girls can play German Folk music.

• Dancing is allowed in the kitchen.

Dancers and Evil Range Hood

• Driving in Germany is awesome.  It is the way driving should be.  There are very few stop signs.  If there is line of sight at an intersection, you have a yield sign (even at t-crossings).  Rolling stops are very much encouraged to keep things moving.  Stop signs are only at places you can't see oncoming trafic.  I've seen about 3 stop signs since we've been here.  In addition to the obvious benefits of the Autobahn, I have yet to see someone pass on the right.  Very nice and predictable.  I'm in trouble going back to the U.S. 
• The Autobahn does have a speed limit in areas around cities, bridges, and curves.
• Blueberry jelly is more popular than grape jelly.
• You can buy peanut butter here.

German Language Tips

• You only need to know 2 words and one jesture in German to survive:  Genau (which means something like "right on brother", ja ja (ja means yes), and a head nod.

Here are some sample conversations with the use of your new language toolbelt:
-All rherorical questions: head nod.
-All statements not requiring a response: head nod with an occasional genau.  Hold the e sound longer for greater effect.
-Any question, just say ja ja and live a little.
-Statement:  "Your German skills are really lacking"  Response:  Combo: ja ja, genau with head nod