One down.. one more to go.

For the past 2 months, we have anxiously been waiting on two "necessities" - a bed and our boxes.

Our crackhouse bedroom

Today is the day that we finally get a real bed.  For the past two months, we've been sleeping on "beds" that would only seem fitting in a drug den.  They are hard, scratchy, and offer no comfort whatsoever.  As I type this, Kevin and our good friend Klaus are on their way to the furniture store to rent a van to carry the new bed to our cozy apartment.  If we had it delivered, it would have been another 2 weeks.  Considering we ordered this bed 8 weeks ago, picking it up was the only acceptable option.  Is it sad that, all day, I've only been thinking of the new bed and sleeping late on Saturday?

As for our 21 boxes which were shipped the 2nd of July, we should hopefully see them next week. My frustration with the company in the UK (and the company in the US for that matter) is immeasurable.  Apparently the delay has been because of a hold up in Customs, which is out of our control.  The frustration comes from the absolute lack of communication, and failure to stand by anything they promise us.  We were told two weeks ago that we would have them last week; then last week, we were told it would be by Friday the 25th.  Now, we are told that it will be next Friday, the 1st.  What is in the boxes, you ask?  Only clothes, shoes, coats, blankets, pillows, towels, dishes, glasses, pots, pans, kitchen utensils, school books & supplies, and personal effects.  We are lucky that it is still warm here (in the 60's today) because all of our cold weather items are in the boxes.

On a positive note, we are going on our first vacation next week.  We are off from school next week, and Kevin and I are headed to Lake Garda in Lazise, Italy, about 20 miles west of Verona.  We are staying at Hotel Castello San Antonio, which is a converted castle sitting on a bluff overlooking the lake.  We are going to rent a car on Monday, and drive the 4 hours down, staying until Thursday.  Who would have ever thought that Kevin and I would be renting a car to drive  to Italy?  Crazy. Anyhow, we are going to meet our friends, Katharina and Klaus, who will be staying there from Saturday to Tuesday.  I'm definitely looking forward to some R&R and Italian food.

On the way back, I've talked Kevin into stopping at the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum to see Outzi, the 5000-year-old man found frozen in a melted glacier in the Alps.  Anyone that knows me knows that I'm very excited about this!!!!   I may even get an Outzi hoodie, if they sell them!  To see more about him, check out www.iceman.it/

Hate to cut it short, but Kevin just called and the bed is HERE!!!!!  Sweet dreams!

Lazise, Italy

Hotel Castello

8 weeks in Germany

Please forgive the structure of this blog. These are just random thoughts.

After waiting more than 8 weeks, we finally have internet and furniture.

The internet has been just one example of how things run at a much slower pace here.  If you buy something that needs to be delivered, it will take a minimum of 8 weeks for it to be delivered. We bought a bed on August 6th, and we may actually get it sometime next week. Even if we get the bed, we still need to find somewhere to buy flat sheets. We have discovered that they do not sell flat sheets in Germany. You can buy a fitted sheet and a duvet cover but they do not use any additional flat sheets on the beds.

You can get quick service at any restaurant, but it will take forever to get the check. Sometimes it is nice to not feel like you are being rushed out but there are times that you better ask for the check about 20 minutes before you want it or you might not make it to where you need to be.

These are just minor issues.  We are having a good time. It is completely different. Going to the market to pick up basics is always an issue the first time you are looking for it. I am slowly learning all of the German words for food products as well as other things.

I have completed the first four weeks of the German courses. If you want to try something very difficult, trying learning a new language at the age of 45. The structure is made even more difficult by the fact that every item has completely variations.
To give a small example:
English:                                                    German:
I speak                                                      Ich spreche
You speak                                                 Du sprechst
He,She, It speaks                                       Er,Sie, Es sprecht
We speak                                                  Wir sprechen
They speak                                                Ihr sprecht
You(formal) speak                                      Sie sprechen

You have to change the verb depending on you is performing the action.

Then the second part which is completely different from English is the fact that all nouns are either masculine, feminine or neutral. And depending on whether it is masc., fem. or neutral, you have a completely different pronoun (a or the).
The class has allowed me to be able to read very basic German and to properly figure out how to pronounce most words. But the bottom line at this point is that I do not have to pay attention to people on the streets having random conversations because I still don't have a clue as to what they are saying. It is okay though. We have learned to speak restaurant German. We are not even coming close to going hungry.

We and the cats are settling in nicely. Every day is not great but we are still doing ok. We have plans for the break in a week and we will be able to see Italy for the first time. We are both looking forward to spending a few days in Italy to celebrate our 8th anniversary. We will make sure that we post pictures and share the experience.

We finally have internet.

It has been a crazy few weeks but we finally have internet. I will be writing a blog about the past few weeks this weekend from the "Haus Frau" perspective.

Kevin