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!
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whoopee! You are there!
ReplyDeleteLove the blog, Mary. Keep the details coming (unfortunately the cuisine details are a little lost on a loser cook like me).
Hope all the furniture arrives intact and the heat kicks in.
Congrats on arriving in your new home! I had been thinking about you as USA TODAY posted on Saturday that Germany had received unusual amounts of snow and flights were being canceled.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Katie and I will be big fans of yours! I have your blog on my RSS feed so I can spot a new entry asap.
These posts will provide you with a lifetime of memories so keep them up!
Cheers to you!
Glad you arrived safe and sound! Been thinking of you alot-temps are warming up alittle here so hope they do the same there. I love all the details you blogged and unlike Katie:)I love the food details!! Hope you are having fun getting settled in. Keep the blogs coming-I'll be waiting!
ReplyDeleteI think I am going to need a photo of the space in which our computer is set up in your new European flat. Just so that Kate and I can thoroughly envision mom narrating and interjecting thoughts of the day's events to dad, the scribe ( for now ;-) ) and adding to his wit and bit of worldly sarcasm. This is all kind of weird, but I love it! Talk to you guys tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Shelly needs all your contact info...she was worried about the snowstorm. Ha.
XO Meine Mutti und Mein Vati! Ich liebe Sie! Guten Morgen!
Emmy
Hey Pete and Mary, Just trying to figure out the technology, to see if I am doing this right. I am loving the blog, and getting caught up on what's happening with you guys. With you leaving, then us onward to BVI, now finally taking a deep breath and catching up. Will see if I get this posted, if yes, more to come!
ReplyDeleteLuv you guys, Brenda and Fredly