Reflections on Year One

The 26th of July marked the end of our first year in Germany.  I've been thinking about that year and have compiled my thoughts. 

*I thought (hoped) I'd have a better grasp on the language.

 Not even close!  I freak out and stress when someone wants to talk to me.  Darin is doing awesome and the neighbors love to talk to him.  They usually wait until he is around if they want something.  "Jessica uses her hands and feet to talk."  Yep, that is what they think of me.  When I told Darin that I was disappointed with my skillz, he said he wasn't surprised because I don't study everyday and I don't talk to people.  Of course I don't talk to people, I don't know what to say!  A really bad cycle.  I can only hope to have a better year this next year.

*I thought (hoped) that we would have travelled to more places. 

Now that it is summer and we are travelling quite a bit, I stopped complaining.  (Darin just laughs at this one.)  I love that all the countries are close enough to drive to and visit.  Texas took days to cross, but in days I could drive across Europe!

*I miss my garbage disposal a lot.  Also miss having 2 sides to my sink.  I've gotten used to the small stove, oven and fridge, but the small sink is still a drag.

*I love my big house.  We have tons of space.  I love my village, neighbors, and yard. 

We were concerned about living farther from base than most people choose to, but it really isn't that far.  I like to say that in real life people drive 20-30 minutes to work.  We just happen to live in a place where people can live right by where they work.  We actually only spend about 22 minutes driving to base.  I like to find the best and fast route and time myself.

*I love the autobahn.  It makes up for those days when I seem to be running 5-10 minutes late.  Get on, drive 130km/hr and tah duh - On Time.  (130 is only about 80 mile/hr.  I average about 75-85 when I am on the autobahn)

*I  hate the European parking spaces and parking lots.  They are so small!  Almost daily I am so grateful for our van the the sliding doors because after we have wedged ourselves in the parking spot that is the only way we can get out.  Darin and I have had to climb into the back and exit out the sliding doors before.

*I love some of the food here. 

I love the French Onion soup, but that probably isn't German.  I kind of like the schnitzel, but not often and it is very heavy.  I LOVE the bread.  We will miss that the most.  It is mostly rye and super chewy.  Yummy.  I enjoy the bakery products, but haven't found any that I LOVE.  I still partake often in search of the one I will love the most.  I love all the yogurts that I can get here!  Yogurt!  I love the chocolate.  I love the German salads with the yogurt dressing.  I don't love the brats. 

*I don't love recycling. 

I know that doesn't sound PC, but really I would love to clean out the fridge and just toss everything into the trash where it belongs.  I don't love having to remind my kids everytime they throw something away which color of bag it belongs in.  I don't love that my kids haven't figured that out yet.

and Lastly,
* I love the green and the beauty that is everywhere in this country.  It is amazing to me that I live here.  What an amazing opportunity this is.

My Amazing Neighbors

I love my neighbors.  They are the sweetest.  I don't know if I will ever be able to leave.  In fact, I get sad already thinking about the day I will have to tell them good-bye.

Herr Cappel has an amazing garden area and has brought us over 2 boxes of blueberries because, "they make the kinder happy."  Yes, they do.

Some are very big.

Frau Weber made me these hot pads just because. 

She also frequently brings candy for the kinder.

And Frau Arnold (Erica) gave Anya a purse so that she is 'chic.'

It was filled will lots of little treats.

How can we ever move? 


EVERYTHING I could have hoped for from a European zoo



Living outside of the good 'ol US of A you get used to things being a bit different.  Being able to climb around in really old castles.  Hang out windows without the guard rails.  Being responsible for your own safety and not relying on someone else to tell you that Hot chocolate might actually be Hot.  Many times in our travels we will say, "This would Never happen in America!"  or "Oh, you wouldn't be able to do this anywhere else."  That is the kind of stuff that I love.  The kind of stuff that will make the memories that I will never forget.  I was hoping that our European zoo experience would be like that.  I really wanted to tell my kids that they will never ________ at a zoo again. 

First stop Bird Show!! 

The birds were leashed up with open houses.  They had a chain that hooked around one of their feet and they were free to "go ahead and try to fly away."



The kinder in front of a huge vulture.

 Once the bird show started, I spent about 90% of the time laughing.  I just couldn't believe my eyes...yes I could, I had been hoping for it.  First of all, the "trainers" looked like shaggy kids that they'd found to help out for the day.  They had baby birds (chicks) that they were feeding and bribing the bigger birds of prey with.  They weren't sneaky about what they were feeding like they are in the States.  While standing about 5 feet from us, we watched the shaggy kid hold the chick by the feet whilst banging its head on a large stump in attempt to get the owls attention.  Repeatedly.  My little guys couldn't keep their mouths closed or their eyes from the "poor baby chick."  Repeatedly.

Next, they would walk through the crowd and toss chick parts (mostly legs) right next to where you were sitting so that this large falcon could jump right up on you and eat it.  No need to worry about your nice clothes, dead bird comes out in the wash.  This is how the main trainer would talk about and show off the bird...all in German, of course.

Jag, in the orange jacket, is watching the large bird eat a chick that was just tossed at the little girl.

Here is the bird parading in front of the kids.  The man would randomly toss bird parts at the kids so that the bird would hop up on them.

 The following picture is one that Christian took, while trying to take my picture.  This is the back of the shaggy teen that tosses chick legs.  I was standing about 2 seconds before the picture was taken.  While standing and watching, with Anya in the stroller, I start to notice that the main guy is talking about me.  Then the kid comes and walks right next to me.  Next thing I know, this kid is putting a bloody chick over my head (its feet were touching me) as a bald eagle comes screeching across the field towards my head.  I tried to hold still, but I tell you, the thought of a talon in the eye caused me to flinch and drop right as it swooped over Anya and went for my scalp!  I got lots of cheers and clapping.  I laughed and laughed.  That would never happen in America!   Anya spent the rest of the day talking about the bird on moms head.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  It was spent looking at and feeding goats and guinea pigs.  Watching elephants eat bare branches and killer ants run through tubes all around a small room.

One of the best things about going to the zoo was watching Anya's amazement as she saw the animals for the first time.  She hadn't been to a zoo and to watch her smile and hear her squeal as she recognized the animals from her books was priceless.

Elephants eating sticks. 

Baboon mountain

The MSC Poesia

How people lay out on a Baltic Cruise.

Aunt Melanie was trying to teach her to pose.

Every night Davis tried a new kind of seafood.  He loved having the choices.

One of Noah's favorite boat memories was when he went dancing with Melanie.  He was so excited to show me all of his moves later.  He still talks about how good he dances.

St. Petersburg, Russia

We would have loved to tour around St. Petersburg on our own, but Russia doesn't make it easy for tourists to do so.  The visa process is such an expensive hassle that it wasn't worth it this time.  However, you can't visit or leave the boat without a visa.  So we went with a tour bus that provided the visa, transportation, tickets to everything, lots of information, and saw the city that way.  We were able to really get a good taste of what St. Pete had to offer.  I LOVED being there with Darin.  It was wonderful to listen to him tell me about the sites and his memories about the streets that I was seeing.  It was neat to see the things that hadn't changed and listen about the things that had. 

Darin, finally back in Russia. 
It has been 17 years since he served in this city.

Rainy, cold, and gray just like Darin remembered it.  Just like I thought it would be.

Darin and Noah

The battleship Aurora that fired the signal for the 1917 Soviet Revolution.  The gun currently points at the KGB building.

The Hermitage square.  Rainy.

Yep, the bus ride was fun.
 Anya gets a whine going that makes her sound like a siren.  Everyone around her wants to slam their head in the nearest door.  A little bit annoying.  Poor baby, just wanted a bed and a nap.

Darin on the hydrofoil boat. 
We rode the boat to the Peterhof gardens. 
It was on this boat that we were swindled by a Russian man selling playing cards.  Darin let him know that he was being dishonest and the guy pretend not to know what he was talking about.  I wanted to inform the boat that he was a crook and they shouldn't deal with him, but we just left.  5 euro less and grouchy.  It wasn't worth the fight.

Peter Paul Fortress

Christian at the Peterhof Gardens.  Finally the rain stopped and the sun thought about coming out.

The Peterhof has lots and lots of fountains.  Some of the fountains were "trick" fountains and would go off getting you wet if you happened to step on the wrong rock.   The "trick" part was that there was a man in a booth who happened to think it was funny to get tourists wet when they were not expecting.  Ha, ha.

An old Soviet style building.

 

Lots and lots of apartment buildings.  Lots and lots.

We took a metro ride just for fun to see the communist stuff inside the metros.

Workers of the World Uniting

Inside the metro.  Communist stuff all over the place.

I am so mad that Christian and Jag decided to stay on the bus.  The fam plus Darin's sisters in the metro station.

 

A lot of apartments and a rickity old tram.

An awesome and authentic lunch of Russian salad, borscht, stroganoff (I didn't realize it was Russian) and bread.  I enjoyed it, the kinder, not so much.

In front of a Soviet mural that was one of Darin's favorites when he was here.  I'm amazed that it is still around and in good shape.

In front of Isaac's Cathedral.  The 3rd largest cathedral in the world.

Davis took this picture.  It is of the gray building behind the yellow bus. It was there that the Russians made that bad deal when they cheaply sold Alaska to the US.

Inside Isaac's Cathedral.  It is filled with mosaics.

In front of the Church of the Spilled Blood.

Inside the Church of the Spilled Blood.  Filled with mosaics.

Finally back on the ship.  The traffic in St. Pete made us almost miss the boat.  It was stressful, but everything worked out OK.  Good bye Russia.

Looking at the sky at 10:30 p.m.

1:30 a.m. Experiencing the white nights with a Finnish island.