Friends & the Almighty Dollar

Went for lunch with Christina and her little Oliver to Hotel zum Hirschen. Even though we don’t eat there often, I will miss that place. I miss the Käsespätzle already. After we’re home and I’m able to be off the gestational diabetes diet, I am going to have to start doing some research and trying to replicate that meal. I’m not a “signature meal” kind of gal, really, but for that meal? For that meal maybe I’ll become that kind of gal.

Anyway, it was a nice lunch. Everything’s starting to have that “last time” feel to it. (Have I said that already?) We will see Christina & Oliver again, as we’re going to their house for the Expat Thanksgiving Dinner, but that may be the last time.



We went to Möbelhof after lunch and Wee Laddie was admiring the sling Christina was using to carry Oliver. When we got home, Wee Laddie used a pair of pants as a sling to carry Baby Spunky. And he was carrying him around in his jacket like this:



And the dollar is now worth .6535 euro. Ouch.

Snow Big Deal

What I learned today: Do not stall about putting snow tires on when you live someplace like Bavaria. I suppose we got a bit spoiled last year with the remarkable lack of snow and the fact that our cars had the snow tires on already, it being January and all.

We got snow overnight so we took Guitarman's car to base this morning to have BK breakfast and check out the holiday bazaar. He said it was slippery and that he hoped we could get an appointment for the tires before we leave. I thought that remark was for dramatic effect since he has reminded me a couple of times about the tires...but no, the first available appointment at the car shop on base was December 8. Yikes. The woman there was unusually nice and suggested another shop and even called them for me. The guy said to come in an hour... they're in Parsberg. Readers who've ever tried to get anything done quickly in Germany (and especially on a Saturday, for goodness' sake!) are probably now sitting with mouths agape. But I swear this is true.

Anyway, we went home, Guitarman put the tires in my car while I shoveled the driveway... and off I went. Got stuck on the first hill up out of our neighborhood. Downside of living somewhere hilly. The upside of living somewhere hilly is that I was able to back down far enough to find a spot that went uphill, so I could get enough speed to get back out. Didn't get stuck anyplace else and, thank goodness, didn't run into any other cars at any corners on hills... but I was sliding all over the place. Not pretty. Been a long time since I've driven in snow in a rear wheel drive car.

When Do We Eat?

We tried to have brunch at the mess hall this morning (which we’ve been doing a lot on the weekends) but all of a sudden they’re only open for breakfast from 8:30-9:30 instead of brunch’s timeslot of 9:30-1:00. Now, despite the fact that we were there just LAST weekend for brunch, they all acted completely surprised that we would show up there a little after 9:30. Expecting food, of all things.

Having not learned our lesson (nor read the schedule) we tried again at dinner, since we haven’t had a dinner there yet. We picked what we thought was a logical time for dinner (6ish, I think it was), but they foiled us again. Dinner is from 3-4:30! Wow, talk about early-bird hours. So we went to Burg Imbiss, my favorite döner shop. (There aren’t many options, so we’re delighted that the döner shop that is right nearby is also very yummy.)

Feels Like Bavaria

Had our first Bavarian snow today. (Actually, the first snow in the area this winter, as well.) 5.5 inches in our backyard and no shovel ‘til evening. (Neither of us had thought to buy one before now.)

We had to go back to the ID office for SOFA cards ('Status of Forces Agreement,' which does something about easier access in & out of the country… it’s like saying that we’re as crucial as military even though we’re not) then went to the car registration office to get my name added onto the car now that I passed the drivers’ license test. The woman working there had total bed-head. There’s something sort of freeing about living in a country where it’s socially acceptable to turn up for work without even brushing your hair.

Went shopping for boots in Parsberg (a bit of a trick since we have no phone book and I didn’t know where any shoe stores were) but no luck. Did find some boots, just none that seemed practical, really. And the 'fashion' ones were a little too frou-frou for my tastes… too many knit trims and tassels.

Guitarman’s car was supposed to be ready today, but Peter was working on Charlie’s (Guitarman’s coworker) CD player, so it won’t be ready ‘til tomorrow.

A Better Place to Stay

We’re definitely renting the house in Parsberg… Guitarman met with the landlord & a guy from the housing office today to do a walkthrough. He’s supposed to take the rent check to the landlord tomorrow. It’ll be really nice to get out of the hotel & into a place that’ll be ours even if our stuff won’t be there for a while yet.

We made a run up (down? over?) to IKEA in Regensburg tonight after Guitarman got off work. It was a horrible trip doing something I normally really enjoy. The people who lent Guitarman the truck (it’s connected with work so they can only use it for a short time) didn’t have their paperwork together, so it took him like 1.5 hours to get the truck. Those of you who know how patient he is can imagine how that affected his mood. (And I’ll just leave it at that.) He was supposed to have the truck at 4pm, IKEA closes at like 7 or 8pm (I forget exactly) and it takes probably 1/2 hour to get there.

The drive up was awful...my first time driving on the autobahn. Here’s the deal with the autobahn: There is technically no speed limit for the whole autobahn, but certain areas are marked with speed limits for certain conditions (60kph when wet, 80kph because of road damage, etc). And if you’re in an accident and are doing over 130kph (which is roughly 80mph) you can get in some big trouble if they think you were driving too fast for conditions. Still, a lot of people drive very, very fast. So I’m driving this Lancia rental car that is essentially a Euro minivan… tall, top-heavy, plus it’s shorter and narrower than a US minivan. And on this drive it was really windy. I felt like I was getting blown all over the place! So I wasn’t able to drive very fast but was trying to hurry. I'm a fairly confident driver except when weather conditions make me uncomfortable.


(photo from constructeurs.photos.caradisiac.com...trendy people included for perspective)

Wee Laddie and I ate dinner in the car (sandwiches from the Esso gas station…gotta say, much better than the 7-11 kind) and then we made a mad dash around IKEA, Wee Laddie in tow, trying to get all this stuff. We wanted to get: a bed for us, a bed for Wee Laddie, bedding for all, a TV stand of some kind, and some seating for the living room while our sofa is en route. What we got: a bed



and bedding, but just for us. (Guitarman had already picked up a TV, of course.)

There’s a weird phenomenon here… all the people in shops love to give out gummy bears (or sometimes lollipops) to the little children. Wee Laddie was being really whiny at the Esso when I picked up dinner and the woman handed me one for him. I stuck it quickly in my pocket so he didn’t see it because I was not about to reward his whiny behavior. I did refrain from telling her that, though it probably was mostly because my German is so limited.

Sick Day at Hotel Yogurt

Wee Laddie was sick today... he slept nearly all day. He was feverish, shaking, not eating, sleeping in fits & starts (woke once crying out, 'Blueberry! Crackers!'). Poor little guy!

He wouldn't sleep without me holding him, of course, so I was virtually trapped in bed all day. I read part of the drivers’ license manual (we have to get a special license to be able to drive cars here under the agreement Guitarman’s on) and a few Truman Capote short stories and knitted.

Guitarman looked at a house this afternoon and then we all went to see one in Parsberg (it was hard for me to really check it out, though, ‘cause Wee Laddie was pretty much crying the whole time and I was trying to keep him quiet so Guitarman could talk to the landlord). Guitarman really liked it so we’ll probably rent it since he’s got a better idea than I do of what else is available. And we're both pretty anxious to get out of the hotel even though I haven't even been here a week yet.