God Save the Queen

We flew to Heathrow airport in London and drove to Bristol, a port city, on the western side of England. It has an interesting and sordid history - it was the port where slaves were brought from Africa to be sold and sent on to other parts of the world. The harbor was man-made so the ships could dock on stable water away from the Bristol channel and the Celtic Sea. I walked along this harbor on Thursday and Friday while Pete was in meetings. We had dinner with his UK office team one night at a port restaurant called Mud Dock upstairs from a bike shop. Of course, I have to tell you what I ordered: pastry-crusted goat cheese tart with sauteed veggies on top with fresh bread and olives.
This picture was taken in the garden of the Bristol Cathedral - a beautiful old building with, of course, a cemetery in the back. By Friday noon, we set off for London where Pete had a conference to attend. I checked in to the hotel in the May Fair district in the West End. It was a great location - near Piccadilly and just a short walk to Buckingham Palace. So, being tourists, we spent Saturday walking the area.

First stop was the Queen, and the changing of the guard at the Palace. A huge crowd shows up for this daily and I'm not sure why. These guys in funny hats walk back and forth, yelling, playing show tunes, and then another guy takes his posiiton. The Queen is safe. And that's all that matters.

We went on to more tourism sites like Big Ben and Parliament. The sun was shining even though it was a chilly day. We warmed up when we saw this pub named in honor of Sherlock Holmes. It was warm inside, so was the beer and so were the fish and chips. The pub was a traditional layout with a center bar and 2 separate entrances - one for the upper crust, and the other for the commoners. Not sure which side we were on - tourists' side I think.

After much needed warming up, we walked up to Trafalgar square and into St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church. (Mary shown here in a reflective mood or was she sleeping off the pints?) The pipe organ was amazing to look at and someone on cue starting playing to wake Mary up. Trafalgar Square was hopping and pigeons were dropping. So, we kept moving and lo and behold, found another pub along the way. After warming up there, we were off to Heathrow for our flight back. When we walked in the door to our apartment in Wiesbaden, we actually felt like we were home. This week, Pete has a trade show in Amsterdam, so I am planning to go along. It's about a 4 hour drive from here and we will be gone til Friday. The blog may be on break for a bit unless there are newsbreaking pictures....
Good to hear from our friends and family.
Tschus!

Re-thinking "Be the first to say hello"

On my walk today, I took my usual route through Kur Park (Cure Park based on the spas here) and noticed the buds on all the magnolias and rhododendrons in the park. I was hoping they would be in bloom when our daughters Emily and Katie visit in March. Just then I walked passed a man and was the first to say "hallo" and soon he turned around and started following me, chattering away, the same gibberish over and over again. As I started to walk faster, looking around for other humans, he finally gave up his pursuit. I finished today's walk in record time. And am now re-thinking my new motto... be the first to say hello.



In my teeny-tiny kitchen, I thought I would try some spaghetti bolognese and made it with my new find at the market - spicy chorizo sausage from Spain. The pot I used is about as big as the stovetop. We needed even more water than wine for dinner. I noticed a bit of perspiration on Pete's brow, but he kept eating. It was paired with our 3.99 euro ($6) local Rheingau Riesling. Big bottle too. Life is good.

On Wednesday, we are heading to UK to Pete's office in Bristol. We are spending Friday night in London and hope to do a little touring on Saturday before we return. Blogging might be on hiatus for a few days. Thanks for all the comments... we love to hear from everyone. We just changed a blog setting so anyone can participate in comments. We're off to see the Queen!

Cheers!

Home Pics

Woke up Sunday to snow falling. By noon, Mary was going stir crazy in the apt and needed to get out for a drive. So we drove along the Rhein to a little town called Rudesheim. It was really quiet there due to the weather and it being sunday. We were the only ones at this restaurant. Even the waiters all sat together and ate too! OK - here it comes...Mary had a Rheingau creamed soup with fresh herbs and toasted garlic bread. Pete had an omelette with panchetta (ham) and a big pile of pommes frites.
This would be a great place to walk around and do a boat tour in the summer.

Mary finally allowed me to take pics of the apartment now that we are mostly moved in. We are on the ground floor with 3 small patios and just about every window doubles as a door. We have south and east exposure, although it's only hearsay. Can't tell cuz we have only seen the sun once. The garage is under the building down an impossibly narrow drive with a right angle turn. Then when you get in, it's a 7-point turn to get into your spot. I feel like Austin Powers in his golf cart.

Here's the new home. We have in-floor heat which is very common here. Interior and exterior walls are about 6-10" thick and solid plaster!

One thing that is not common are closets. Just like the garage, space is at a premium. So wardrobes are a necessity. I didn't know what those were until I went to Ikea.


Den with Mary's computer lifeblood to public radio...news or the Current, it's on all day. She is the public in public radio.
Brought all this furniture from home. Beats shopping at Ikea (except for wardrobes) and then trying to figure out how to construct it. Plus, it feels like home with our stuff. The guest room is still filled with boxes...you'll see it when you visit.

Tschuss!

Saturday in Wiesbaden

Pete gets to write on Saturdays....This was actually my first walk into town on Mary's walking route. Found this old relic pillar that looks like Roman architecture. It was a chilly morning but you can't believe how many people are out and about with baby strollers and yes, fur coats. Mary was in her familiar walking attire, I stopped short of wearing sweats and went with german-appropriate jeans.

We took a turn towards the marktplatz where the saturday farmer's market was going on. Everything you needed was there...cheese, meat, flowers, sauerkraut! We saw some awesome olive mixes at one stand. We bought a mix of feta and olive and then Mary somehow found a fresh flower stand and... you know the result. This being my first time walking into the city on a Saturday, I was amazed at how busy the town was. There doesn't appear to be an economy problem here - and everyone likes to get outside. There was even an organized protest in the town square... something about stopping persecution of Egyptian Christians. Now there's a protest I never saw in South Dakota.

I was amazed at how many people were out walking and doing the same thing we were doing...wandering around, stopping for coffee, buying stuff in their local marktplatz, and walking with kids in strollers, buggies, you name it. Kids go outside with mom and dad even if the temp is below freezing. The best part for me was stumbling on this imbiss (brat stand) and having currywurst - a grilled brat cut in bite size chunks in ketchup and curry sauce (I found out 'brot' means bread, and 'wurst' is sausage, who knew?) Anyway, it was awesome on a cold day. As we tried to make our way out of the marktplatz, we passed a dept store named Peek & Cloppenburg. It was packed so we had to go in. Before I knew it, I was stripping off my MN hockey sweatshirt and down vest and trying on a suit over my long underwear. Our sales clerk barely spoke english, mostly nodded in appreciation of the perfect fit. For some reason, I tried on 2 suits and bought both of them. I think we hit Wiesbaden's version of crazy days. So, we were told to pay on the main floor and she would send the suits down to the cashier. This seemed odd but we queued up at the only 3 cash registers available and miraculously saw my suits slide down a circuitous hangar contraption to meet me at the cashier. These Rube Goldberg devices are all over germany.

We just tried the feta/olives with some sesame seed bread with Konig Pilsener. Great local bier. Mary napped. All is well.

For dinner, we decided to try our local Ratskeller - real german food in a tavern below street level, with Andech's bavarian benedictine monastery bier from the 1400s. I had the Spezial Hell bier. More like heaven bier. We sat next to a table of 12 you might see in greenwich village... 40-50 somethings, men with ponytails, the women had berets and scarves...would have loved to understand what they were talking about. Of course I ordered schnitzel which is basically a hunk of pork with a mustard/pretzel topping and Mary had creamed mushroom w bread dumplings. (Not for you, Gail) The place was loud, homey and looked like the place for neighbors to get together. We can't wait to bring our friends here. Tschuss!!

Frau Beeking, my new best friend

Took another great walk today, feeling more confident, and moving at a good clip. Something I noticed is that people you meet look at you sternly but when you say "morgen" they greet you back with a smile. My friend Kaye has a saying in her house - be the first to say hello - so that's my new motto. My route is down Wilhelm Strasse which is sorta like Chicago's Michigan avenue. Uschi says shop there with your eyes, not your pocketbook. And she's right. I actually heard myself humming Joni Mitchell's 'Free Man in Paris.' It's a sign.


As I returned to my apartment, Frau Beeking appeared again out of nowhere and invited me into her apt to meet her husband and housekeeper. I'm starting to consider her my new best friend since Uschi went on holiday to the Canary Islands this week. (Everyone seems to be going there, including one of our movers)
Frau Beeking invited me "back for wine sometime" - our "let's meet for coffee" is their "let's have wine." I think I like that. She also showed me a lovely mini-orange plant that is 6' high and 25 yrs old. She moves it out in the spring along with her other pots. I found another plant lover who shares my addiction.

I can now say when I returned to the apt, it really felt like home. Then I attempted one more load of wash. And who appeared in the laundry room? Frau Beeking. I think she's following me. I had about a hundred questions for her and I think I'm getting the gist of it - an hour and 15 minutes is the normal wash cycle. So much for energy conservation. "The german machines are very long, but they are good." I think I can now call Frau Beeking a friend (but maybe not by her first name quite yet). She said if I like walking, she could take me up to this wooded area not too far from us...but, (and lowered her voice to a whisper and peered at me over her glasses)...'you shouldn't go there by yourself.'

Tschuss!

Guten Morgen

Found myself waking up in the guest room bed this morning since mr snorehead was out of control last night. At least I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to start a new day in our new time zone finally. (pete in his defense blames this on delayed stress syndrome or something).
The picture is our marktplatz that I have been walking to daily. Today I decided that I was not going to try so hard to look like I fit in and that starts with my walking attire. Everyone is really dressed well. The women are in fur coats and leather heeled boots - OMG I can't walk that way on cobblestone streets. The first day I wore my ugg boots, jeans and a leather coat. I fit in. Yesterday, I wore a nice wool coat and black leather shoes...I sorta fit in. Today, however, I put on my Brooks shoes (my feet were so happy), my black sweatpants, and my bright yellow jacket (that everyone has seen me in). Ok, I didn't fit in except for my blond hair especially since I had it highlighted before I left. Thanks Pam.

Anyway, I found the perfect walking route exactly 1 hr from start to finish. The last part is a steady climb uphill to our apt. That #10 incline on the treadmill paid off (Nic, you can vouch for me). My route even passed a street called Frankfurter Strasse! How about that?
Yesterday my accomplishment was to conquer the washer and dryer. I got the washer going but the dryer was going for 2 hours and the clothes were still wet. I tried every button including Pflegeleicht! Finally pete came home and pushed a combo of buttons and voila, the towels were soon dry. Maybe he should keep doing the laundry.
Last nite, we made a trip to the larger grocery store to load up on basics. Thank goodness for pictured labels, it takes forever to look up products with our german dictionary (tku birthday club). When we loaded our goods on the checkout conveyor, the pretty pink tulips pete bought for me stopped the checkout fraulein. She held them up and said "not here!" She said we need to pay for these outside at the flower shop. We must have looked like we were kyping them from the floral shop. Pete came out of the shop after paying looking like he saw the ghost of Frau Bleuker.
(Whinnnnie)
Ok, so I must be the only one home during the day. Anyway, I seem to be here to collect packages for everyone in the building (all 6 apts) from the german post. About 5:30, there was a knock on the door, a big guy named Wolfgang (really) was looking to retrieve his package. He mumbled something in german, I said "who are you and what do you want?" He pointed to his package (ha ha) and promptly whisked it out the door. On his way out, he invited me for wine when the weather is nicer so we can sit outside. At that point, I told him I would bring my husband Pete with me. Was that the right response?
After replying to emails, I thought I should make a nice dinner with all the groceries we bought so Pete would think I did something today. WARNING, FOOD NETWORK LINGO: I made chicken cacciatore with mushrooms(champignon) and roma tomatoes over rice with fresh steamed broccoli and baguette. And of course, rhein wine and a beer for Pete. Oh yeah, and Pete worked today at the office and found his way home without incident (his story).
Tschuss!

First walk into town

I went for a walk today all by myself! I took pictures along the way sorta like Hansel and Gretel but instead of bread crumbs, I have photos to find my way home. Big event for me. The sun came out for the first time since we arrived, just when I started my walk.
It's a sign!

I made it into the marktplatz and found a new street to walk down. I found a mini crate and barrel style shop so you know I'll be back there again. Walked around the cathedral - Markt Kirche - and took a different path back home. As I was taking a picture of this frozen pond in the park, a pigeon swooped down and almost knocked me over. I looked like a spaz trying to shoo it away.....must be another sign. Pete wishes he was there to take that picture.

Got home and did my least favorite job in the world - ironing my curtains. I have a good german iron - very efficient and powerful. With 220amps, everything is powerful. (Pete says: 220, 221, whatever it takes). We made a quick run to our local Tengelman for dishwasher stuff and more wine. Found a good local Rheingau Riesling that is our current favorite. (Kami, you will love it)

Pete had a busy day at work checking in with his regional guys and doing some car shopping. On his way home, Pete got cocky and decided to find a faster way home from the office. Of course you know what that means...HE GOT LOST! And ended up on a cobblestone tiny street going the wrong way. A nice german coming towards him flashed his brights (this is the universal sign for "what the #$%^&&" YOUR GOING THE WRONG WAY. He promptly backed up, turned around and found his way right by the same pond I was attacked by the bird. It's a sign.
Tschuss!

One Week... OMG!!!!

It's already been one week in Wiesbaden. Here I am in front of our apartment building. We are on the ground level, more pics to follow when the snow melts. We slept in today because nobody was coming over to fix stuff, take our passports, or tell us what we're doing wrong. We started the day by changing a light bulb. Everything seems to take forever. It took 2 of us 30 minutes. Where's Frank the handyman when we need him? 4 little screws, glass plates, special screwdriver...blah blah. Anyway got that done. Pete then put on Railroad Earth bluegrass tunes and brought tears to my eyes. The music made me miss the USA.

We finally got through all the boxes including the ones hiding in our storage area in the basement. Just when Pete thought he's moved his last flower pot, I managed to sneak in 22 pots/bird baths in our shipment. All are on our terrace now waiting for dirt and water. After emptying the last box, we took a much needed walk. We have not seen the sun all week but near the end of the day, a red sky peeked out and it was about 38 degrees F. I learned the path from Johann Sebastian Bach strasse to Richard Wagner strasse to the markt-platz so tomorrow I can go for coffee in the morning and find some friends. (bagel !)

After coming home, we made our first full dinner in our teeny-tiny kitchen. FOOD NETWORK LINGO WARNING: dinner was pasta with alfredo sauce and chives (italian) + sweet and sour red cabbage (german) and mixed green salad with sesame seed oil (asian). We ate while listening to Prairie Home Companion (sunday's repeat is perfect timing for dinner here - wunderbar!!)

After working in the kitchen, I am now sending back a box of cookie sheets, roasting pans, and my large soup pot made for large american kitchens. Hope to get pics of the apartment inside tomorrow.
Til tomorrow... Tschuss!

The day started by sleeping in to 9:30! The handyman was coming soon. Before we knew it, our doorbell rang and 2 guys and a gorgeous young german girl were at the door (with their wet boots on - oh well i'm used to it now). The fraulein, Janine, was the daughter of Frank the handyman. She would be the interpreter and was really charming. Her dad went right to business with his sidekick who was more like laurel to Frank's Hardy. They were always laughing about something. They went from one project to the next... I kept saying "perfect" then, "next one." They loved to mimic the "next one" part. But they were extremely fast...hung pictures, light fixtures, shower head (in the guest bath), mirrors and curtain rods. Non stop for 2 hours. They were good!

Janine wants to email Emily to learn english better and so Emily can practice her german. When she started talking about shoes, Mary showed her Nordstrom.com...and all of a sudden, Dad understood english and groaned... "oh no, no more shoes"

They left the apartment at 1:30 and the place was a disaster. But, we had everything up and in place. Pete said it would have taken him a week to get that done ('measure twice, cut once. blah blah). We took a walk to our grocery store
to pickup supplies for our new fridge (note well-stocked fridge with salad, beer, wine).

We ended the evening going to our favorite fave restaurant (so far) "Lumen" that we found on our last visit. Great ambience, in the market center, great food. WARNING: food channel lingo follows.... pete had herb-crusted swordfish with creamy leek risotto which may have been the best thing we ever tasted. Mary had baby fingerling potatoes with fresh spinach and toasted pine nuts sauteed in brown butter.
OK - for Katie Egart Sr: the wine was a dry Weissburgunder from a local wineyard http://www.wagnerstempel.de/englisch/start/frameset.htm
Yes - there is excellent Rhine wine in this region that is not sweet!!

We have been listening to MPR almost non-stop. It's odd hearing Scott Simon on Saturday afternoon. But we'll take him any time.
Tschuss!

MPR saves the day!

Today I started unboxing air freight that arrived yesterday. Haven't quite gotten that done yet. At 4:30, the door bell rang and a new refrigerator was outside the door. Our fridge was dead and we have been living with our cooler out the back door to keep things cold.

The delivery man, handy man, the landlord couple, and sister of the landlord arrived and tromped in with wet shoes and all had to help get the new fridge in place. All were speaking german. We all went into the bathroom to determine where the shower head should go.. omg, I need to figure out this language.

After they all left, Pete arrived and said we're going to Ikea to get light fixtures so the handyman can install them tomorrow. See, all the walls in the apt are cement walls so the landlord wants only real handymen hanging curtains, installing light fixtures, etc. Mark Kelsey would be a busy man here!

After 2 hours at Ikea, we were glazed over but had all we needed for the Saturday installation. And Pete had everything needed to hookup the computer and internet. He surprised me with "live" MPR - we are listening to All Things Considered as we write this! You can't believe how great this is. Flowers yesterday and MPR today. This girl is happy.

Tschuss! (bye!)

...the wheel is turning and you can't slow it down..

Pete's first day of work on Wednesday was a trip to Basel, Switzerland to meet a customer at the FC Basel soccer stadium. Still snow flurrying and colder than normal here. Everyone says we brought this cuz it has barely snowed here the last few years. I stay busy unloading boxes, making lists, and our heads are spinning. Pete was gone all day in meetings with customers in the office today (Thursday). So I met up with our relocation lady again - Uschi - and had tears for the first time. It was the age-old question...what are we doing here? I miss MPR, Belle, my daughters and our friends.

We walked a few blocks to our local market and it's great - sorta like old Midway foods but with a deli, wine, beer, fresh veggies. And, Pete bought me fresh flowers so all is well. Finally got our computer and final shipment and still unboxing.

Pete had dinner with customers at the Ratskeller - a real authentic German restaurant in a cellar.

I am putting off the inevitable first run of the washer with german instructions....bunt wasche or fein wasche. My best friend Uschi taught me all I needed to know. Everyone has really been helpful. Yes, Germans are blunt but generally have patience to help and even speak english when necessary which is all time.

Hope to get pics soon...Auf wiedersehen!!

Moving In

3 guys and a container were waiting for us at our home when we arrived at 7:45am for our 8am appointment. Germans are on time! And they spoke English! As they brought each box and piece of furniture, Mary pointed. Everything actually fit and we now have room for 4 guests, after we empty the boxes. Our relocation advisor, Uschi, came in to get our passports so she could get us a residence permit, work permit and register us with the city. In Germany, if you switch residences, you have to re-register with the city. Uschi told us "Pete will get a work permit and Mary will NOT." Got it.

After the movers and Uschi left, we both needed caffeine since it was about 1p (6am US). We found the Starbucks, got vente mochas, and asked ourselves again...what are we doing? Pete still doesn't have an answer. Mary returned home to take a nap while Pete got on wireless at our local motel. After a vente mocha, mary unloaded just one box, then another...no nap and soon it was 4:30 and, well, time for the wine we bought at the airport duty free. Pete came home to find mary with a lot of empty boxes and in a good mood. Pete had the half glass of wine that was left.

It was time to get out and find dinner. We tried to find a little italian restaurant we visited the first time here. After going up and down streets, we finally parked and tried to find it on foot. About ready to give up, it suddenly appeared - Da Roberto. Now for the food channel aficionados, mary had tortellini in cream sauce and pete had salmon fettucine... this has now become our favorite place (this changes daily).

We slept in our home for the first time. All the windows have electronic metal blinds on the outside so we close them at night. When the alarm went off it was so dark because of the blinds, and we are still in time warp, we thought it must be a mistake. No mistake, we needed to get going cuz Uschi would be here at 9.45 sharp for meeting with Deutsche Bank. Let's just say there is a fee for everything. Uschi says its because the president is swiss. There's something goin on between the swiss and germans.

When we got back home, the burglar alarm guy was waiting for us and our internet/phone guy showed up. We are now not sure if our internet code will trip the alarm, or the alarm code is our debit card pin #. After they all left, we walked to our local grocery, got canned soup, fresh kaiser rolls and cheese and opened the other bottle of wine. Dinner at home is sometimes the best.

Pictures are coming as soon as we find our camera. Pete is off to Basel, Switzerland tomorrow with his Daktronics colleagues (presumably to find out about the swiss/german thing). Mary will continue unboxing...

First Day - Jan 10, 2010

Arrived in Wiesbaden today and started the adventure. It was a smooth trip to Germany via Delta. A regular pat-down for Mary in Sioux Falls due to her bionic knee. She's not complaining. As most of us know, SF is the toughest security in the world. We made it through Amsterdam airport without smelling any sweet fumes. Picked up all 4 bags in Frankfurt and walked out without even showing our passports....hmmm, so much for German security. Then we stood in line at the Thrifty rental car behind 6 american government guys....FOREVER. Note to future travelers, Thrifty might be the cheapest, but the wait at 2am US time is a killer.

We drove to Wiesbaden without getting lost (this time) until Pete wanted to show off to Mary how well he knew how to get to our apartment...had a nice little tour of our neighborhood. Finally found our new home and immediately crashed for a nap in our only piece of furniture - a bed purchased from another expat moving back to the US.

When we woke up, the heat wasn't working well so we decided one night in a warm hotel room would be perfect. We found a quaint, old hotel near our neighborhood to try. Keys on the wall hook, huge staircase... it looked like something out of "Young Frankenstein" except without the candles. We got room 30, which of course is on the floor with all the 20s - we grew to love going up and down that staircase. The room was old and clean, but...freezing. The hotelier had raced up ahead of us to turn on the radiator heat. Back down the stairs we went and apologized. We went to our old standby Motel One where we had stayed before...your room welcomes you with a video of a fireplace on your LCD screen. (in the summer, it was a creepy fish tank with even creepier music).

We walked to the Hauptbonhof a block away and found a nice french bistro 'Pastis' attached to the train station. Mary had a hot bowl of french onion soup and a glass of red burgundy while Pete had a pastrami with melted camembert toasted sandwich accompanied by red slaw salad with balsamic. (sorry for the food channel cliches)anyway, a much appreciated warm meal.

The weather was mild by our standards, but about 30F and a blanket of snow had fallen here which is fairly rare. Didn't slow the autobahn drivers any though.
Now having hot tea and getting some sleep before the movers show up Monday 8am.

We already miss everyone! Keep in touch and post!