Süßes oder Saures

Happy Halloween!!! I love Halloween but was a little sad to celebrate it in Germany this year. I love dressing up for this holiday but this year was a little different for me because I didn't have a costume loft full of costumes at my disposal. Plus we just moved to Germany and I have no idea where a fabric or craft store is around here. I don't even have a glue gun yet :( But I do have a bazillion boxes because the movers were just here so I came up with the idea of being a Lego couple this year. I thought up a design and pattern and started cutting away. I was very short on supplies so masking tape was all I had to tape it all together. (Just think how amazing these costumes would of been if I actually had the right materials!) I went to Toom (a German store like Home Depot) to get spray paint. They were 6 euros each (over $25 total) and didn't even stay on the cardboard so I had to run to the BX on Ramstein Air Base to get more paint. It ended up being a pricey project but they turned pretty good... if you squint your eyes and turn your head a little.

We only got a few children come to our door this year. It was funny hearing them say "Süßes oder Saures" ("sweet or sour") instead of the American "trick or treat." 

Schloss Heidelberger

This has been a very busy month of traveling for us! The other day we took a day trip out to Heidelberg. The drive was not bad, just a little over an hour. When we first got there we drove up the Schloss Heidelberger (Heidelberg Castle). We were there on a week day so it was not that busy. We were able to park on the side of the street near the entrance. There is no fee to wander the grounds but  with the entrance ticket we got to visit the Apotheke museum, giant wine tank and the castle gardens. To see the interior of the castle we joined a guided tour that lasted about an hour.

Nursery Inspiration

When we found out we were having a baby I immediately started creating inspiration boards for nursery themes. I love decorating and could not wait to start putting together a room for my new baby. Here are some of the ones I created. 

Baby Girl

Neutral

Baby Boy

Burg Eltz & Cochem

On a random day in October we decided to take a trip to see a couple castles in the area. First, we drove 2 hours north to Wierschem to see Burg Eltz. It started out as a hazy cold day but by the end of our tour the sun came out and it warmed up quite a bit.

There is a parking area above the castle so you have the option to take the shuttle or walk the steep roads. We opted to walk but it was a hard hike back up to leave. The castle offers tours in dutch and english on a regular basis throughout the day. There is a gift shop along with a little cafe.

 

Next we headed 45 minutes West to Cochem. We had a great time wondering the cobblestone streets of the city and admiring the view of the Mosel River.

Salzburg, Austria & Berchtesgaden, Germany

On our 2nd adventure in Europe we decided to take a USO trip to the "Sound of Music" tour. It was a long bus ride (only would of been a 6 hours but we had many long stops so it took close to 8) plus we had a screaming child on the bus. We opted to do the USO tour because we were still new to traveling and didn't want to worry about transportation (our car didn't arrive from the states yet), finding a good place to stay and a big bonus was having our own tour guide by our side during the whole trip!

 We got to visit the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace where the gazebo scene was filmed, view the Von Trapp movie home, stand at the lake where the Von Trapp children fell into the water, skip up the pathway as Maria did, march down the aisle of Maria and Captain Von Trapp’s wedding church at Mondsee, explore the grounds of Leopoldskron, and drive through the idyllic, beautiful Salzkammergut. 

 Maria and Captain Von Trapp’s wedding church at Mondsee

 We stayed two nights in a charming 4-star inn in the center of Salzburg called Altstadt Hotel Stadtkrug. It was in a perfect location surrounded by many delicious restaurants. Our favorite was a little Italian restaurant called Wasserfall. 

 Salzburg has much to offer in its beautiful plazas and churches, Baroque architecture, and Hohensalzburg Fortress—and, of course, shops, restaurants, and coffee houses. We took a ride up the into the Hohensalzburg Fortress where we got to enjoy an evening of Mozart music performance, along with an amazing dinner with a breathtaking view of the city.

 On our way out of Salzburg we stopped at a little picturesque town called Ramsau. Don't forget to stop and get a drink of water from the crystal clear river that runs next to the parish 

church Saint Sebastian.

 The final day of our trip we traveled to the spectacular resort town of Berchtesgaden. After our guided tour, we ventured out to Lake Königsee. The weather was awful. It was freezing, rainy and cloudy but the views were still spectacular. Rob and I have already decided we will be back on a sunny day.

Auf Wiedersehen Österreich!

Heim süß Heim

I was so excited to go house hunting! I was just imaging an episode of International House Hunters and touring through beautiful German homes. My imaginary bubble quickly got popped when we looked at the first place. 

I didn't think my list of musts was unrealistic, at least not to me. All I wanted was:

2 bathrooms

2 or 3 bedrooms

outdoor space

Laundry area

lots of charm & nothing "American" looking

15 minutes from Rob's work

electric heating (I will get into this later)

Rob really wanted a garage

And of course, under budget

First off, I have to say that finding a place in Germany with a garage is VERY difficult, even if you have a house. The houses here are very close together and they would much rather have a spacious backyard than a place to park. Most homes here don't even have front yards! We looked at about 12 different homes in the course of 2 days (yup, we were determined). The best one had to of been a really creepy apartment that smelt like fish that had a Russian landlord with more gold teeth than I can count. Luckily, the places started getting better but you had to move fast because they got snatched up quickly! 

I was in love with two different places; a HUGE home with a a spiral staircase and 

sauna, and an adorable bungalow within walking distance to Rob's work that would only fit a twin size bed (but I REALLY wanted it because it was so "German" looking). Rob was not sold on anything so we kept looking. 

The final place we looked at I was not into at all. Rob was the one who at the end of the tour said "We will get it!" before I could say no. The reason I didn't want it was it had oil heating. The basement had a huge tank that we had to fill up ever so often with oil for heating our water and house. It is VERY expensive at about 1700 euros ($2,300) to fill up. You will be filling it up anywhere from 4 months to 9 months, depending on how much you use. The kitchen was also VERY tiny. 

The house has so many things that I l0ved about it:

-the backyard

      LOTS of fruit! blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, apples and blackcurrants

-a 2 car garage

-a spacious basement with laundry and lots of storage

-2 bathrooms and both had a shower

-an American size fridge 

     So what if it is on the other side of the house from the kitchen? It was 3 times the size of a normal German size fridge and had an ice machine which is unheard of here in Europe 

-a finished attic space for my sewing room

-a beautiful balcony with space for potted plants

-a wood burning stove

-2 block away from the train station

After we moved in and got settled, it was interesting to see all the "weird" features that are normal in a German home. 

Here is a list, along with some things that are just different for me:

-interior doors

    These doors are not flimsy at all! These are some heavy interior doors and each one has its own key!

 -rolladens 

    Probably my favorite thing now! They are like garage doors for your windows and doors that block out sunlight. It also protects your home from burglars breaking in.

-windows

   The windows here are very different. They are huge and can be opened two different ways. They can pivot at the bottom of the window and open towards you for a breeze. The other option is for them to pivot in towards you like a door.  We have not come across a single window that slides up or down.

-outlets and light switches

   They are just funny looking

-toilet flushers

   The toilets have a huge button you press that is mounted on the wall behind the toilet.  Also the toilet bowl tank is usually located inside the wall!  Ours do not have them, but most toilets have what we call a 'poop shelf'  It is a shelf that catches your poop so that when you stand up to flush, there it is, looking back at you.  Our mostly German friend told us that is because German winters can be so harsh that there is nothing better to do than look at your poop.  Understandably we were dubious of this explanation.  

-kitchen oven

   Its so tiny!!!

-cement walls

   You seriously can't hear anything from the next room. These walls are so thick and heavy duty. Also, they are decorated with wall paper EVERYWHERE!

- no storage

   There is not one closet in this house, or any German house. I don't know why but they don't. We are borrowing some trunks from FMO while we live here.
Update:  My husband explained why MOST German houses do not have closets... something about how thick the walls are and not being built by wood... I zoned out.

-stairs!

   Our home back in Alabama didn't have 1 step in it and now we have a 4 story home with stairs everywhere you look!

-front sidewalk

   As I mentioned above, we don't have a front yard but we do have a sidewalk. Now, don't you think for a second that we get out of front yard chores, because we don't. Germans take pride in keeping their property nice and tidy. I have seen my neighbors with tiny clippers trimming blades of grass between the bricks in their driveway and blowtorching weeds on their sidewalk. I kid you not, this is for real!

Our new home!