Detroit to Deutschland

"Ich Bin ein Berliner"

2009-03-18T10:30:00.002+01:00

Last weekend we went to Hamburg and Berlin. All the guidebooks say that a trip to Germany is not complete with out a trip to Berlin and boy were they right! Hamburg was nothing to write home about, the highlight is the shopping. We spent the night there but are glad we stayed 2 nights in Berlin. When we arrived in Berlin we drove around the city before checking into our hotel to try and get better acclimated. The city is huge and pretty spread out. Berlin is ever-changing and still recovering from WWII and the soviet rule. You can still very clearly see the destruction from the war and the footprint of the wall. There is so much history it really is hard to put into words. It was very powerful, solemn and exhilarating wandering through Berlin. We are really glad we got there and look forward to returning at some point. Check out our photos on Picasa to get a more detailed picture of our trip.

First Signs of Spring in Belgium

2009-03-18T10:13:00.000+01:00

We started March off with a trip to Belgium. We spent the first night in Brussels, which is only a 2-hour drive for us. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time wandering around the city. Brussels is big and doesn’t have too many amazing sites, but the sun was out and there were signs of spring everywhere. I think one of the best parts of Belgium is the food! What could be better then waffles, fries, chocolate, mussels and beer! The next morning we headed to Bruges, which is about one hour east of Brussels. Bruges is smaller and filled with canals and chocolate shops. Again we wandered around all day taking in the sights, people watching and eating. All in all Belgium was affordable and filled with lots of yummy food.

A little news about our big crazy lives

2009-02-25T14:16:00.003+01:00

So by now many of you have heard that Jeff, Cooper and I have decided to move back to the United States. A number of factors played a part in our decision but we feel like its the best thing for us right now. So Jeff has given his notice at Mubea and his last day will be May 29th. Our current plan is for me to find a job and Jeff to attend a full time MBA program. I have started reconnecting with my professional contacts and Jeff is working hard on his applications and studying for the GMAT. Where we land will primarily depend on those 2 factors, where I find a job and where Jeff decides to go to school. We have a lot of details to work out but we are optimistic and excited about what lies ahead. We have a few more places that we would like to travel before we come back, including a trip to Berlin and then to Italy. We will keep everyone posted as more details are firmed up.

My Valentine...

2009-02-17T11:31:00.002+01:00

For our Valentine’s weekend we decided to go to Reims, France for a champagne tour. We left on Friday and drove through the Mosel Valley region of Germany, stopping along the way at all the little wine villages. I would not recommend doing this trip in February because everything was closed until late March. Nonetheless it was a beautiful drive by the river and through some amazing vineyards. We stopped for the night in Trier, Germanys oldest city. Trier is an ancient Roman capital and is the home of the oldest Christian church and many Roman ruins. We headed out in the morning and stopped in Luxembourg long enough to see a few sites, check out the market and get a parking ticket! We arrived in Reims by midday and went to the G.H. Mumm champagne tour & tasting. After the tour we went in search for a restaurant to have dinner. We found out that no matter what country you are in you need a reservation on Valentine’s day! After about the 15th restaurant we found a little pizza place to have dinner, at this point we were so hungry it didn’t matter! We enjoyed the sunshine on Sunday morning and bought a few bottles of champagne to bring home with us. Nothing could be better than Valentines day in the champagne region of France with my 2 faviorate boys!

Kölner Philharmonie

2009-02-07T09:46:00.001+01:00

Last night we went to the Kölner Philharmonie courtesy of my Dad and Shelly. We saw Grigorij Sokolov play Beethoven & Schubert. It was a wonderful evening and Sokolov was brilliant on the panio. We were amazed that he could play 2 hours of music by memory without any sheet music. It was especially fun to get all dressed up and head out for the evning!

Chilly in The Czech Republic

2009-02-03T10:21:00.002+01:00

This past week we took full advantage of our long weekend and headed to Prague. We arrived Thursday night and found that our hotel was VERY centrally located, almost too much! But we checked and headed for a little walking tour and dinner. Prague is a really neat city at night. There are so many buildings and bridges that are entirely lit up, the whole city really glows at night. We had dinner at a wonderful Argentinean restaurant that was warm and fun. The Czech Republic really isn’t known for their food so we didn’t feel like we needed to eat at a Czech place. When we returned to the hotel at about 11:30 the women at the front desk told us there was a problem with Cooper. Apparently he was barking and the people in the room next to us complained. He was quiet when we arrived so I am not sure what the problem was, but they told us that we couldn’t leave Cooper in the room when we left again. The hotel room was also really smoky and seemed to get smokier as the night went on. In addition there was a music club in the basement of the hotel that was attracting all sorts of different people and causing drunk people to gather outside our window until around 6:30 a.m. So needless to say we decided to find a new hotel for the next night! There are so many hotels in Prague that it was not a problem and we ended up finding a much nicer hotel in a quieter neighborhood. We spent the day exploring the city and checked out Old Town and The Jewish Quarter. It was VERY cold so it made it hard to fully enjoy all the sites. The best part of the day is when we stopped at a warm café to break for lunch. You can never go wrong with soup, warm sandwiches and a latte! We had a nice Italian dinner and then went back to the hotel early to visit with Cooper. The next morning we toured the Castle and the weather had gotten worse so we decided that we had seen enough and were ready to head back to Attendorn. Prague is a beautiful city that can be very inexpensive if you go to the right places. We are not really into the nightlife but I think that it would be the place to go if you were. On the way home we stopped in Plzen, CZ at the brewery where Pils beer was invented. Then we stopped in Numnerg to check out the town and the Zeppelin Field. We forgot our Germany guide book so we missed a few sights! It was a cold trip, but we are glad we had the opportunity to go.

A Swiss Adventure

2009-01-27T10:16:00.003+01:00

We just returned from an amazing trip to Switzerland. We began the trip in the Capital, Bern. Although it was a rainy, snowy night we explored the city and had a nice Swiss dinner. We also spent some time there in the morning and got a good look at the city in the daylight. We then headed south for Zermatt. The drive to Zermatt was stunning; we wound through the Swiss Alps and enjoyed the views on the way. Zermatt is an auto free village so you have to park at the train station in the village before and ride in. Zermatt is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. We stayed 3 nights and had a great time walking around and had 2 great days of skiing. We left Zermatt on Saturday and headed for Lucerne. On the way we had to take the car onto a train to get through the mountains, which was pretty neat. We arrived in Lucerne and had an evening of sight seeing and a Swiss fondue dinner. All in all it was a great trip filled with amazing sights.

Next Stop...Switzerland

2009-01-20T07:13:00.002+01:00

We are leaving for Switzerland this morning for a 5-day adventure! We are driving down and stopping in the capitol, Bern for a night and then heading to Zermatt for skiing and then stopping in Luzern on the way back. We are excited to get out of Attendron for a few days and explore another country. Cooper has had a haircut and a bath and is ready for his Swiss debut. Full report and photos to follow!

Full Moon

2009-01-18T09:53:00.002+01:00

This is a photo of the full moon on January 10 from our house.

Back to the Blog...

2009-01-13T09:42:00.001+01:00

We had an exciting and busy holiday season and have been very neglectful of the blog as of late. We returned to Germany on January 3rd after 6 weeks in the US (for me) and about 4 weeks for Jeff. We spent the entire time home visiting with family and friends and going to all the places that we missed. We started our visit home with Thanksgiving with the Weber’s and then reunited with many of our friends at Nicki & Keith’s wedding. We were so glad to be home to celebrate with them! Christmas was also filled with lots of family visiting and holiday parties. We ate a ton and were happily reminded of all the food options in the US that we don’t have in Germany. And we did our share to stimulate the economy in the retail sector as well. But all good things do come to an end and we are back in Germany and getting readjusted to our life here. We are gearing up for a ski trip next week to Zermatt, Switzerland and have gone to a smaller resort here in Germany 2 times to warm up. We are back to the gym and were warmly welcomed by everyone who thought we were on “vacation” for 6 weeks. It has been very cold and snowy since our return, but the sun has come out almost everyday, which makes it a little better. With winter in full effect, we are very much looking forward to spring!

Happy Holidays

2008-12-25T03:25:00.000+01:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Lots to be thankful for...

2008-11-10T15:54:00.001+01:00

We had a great past week and have a lot to be thankful for. On Wednesday we awoke to the news of our new President, OBAMA! We are supper happy about the election results and hopeful for good things to come. It has been very interesting watching the election from overseas and it certainly has given us a different prospective of the US. The Germans are also really excited about our election results. It was a great day to be an American in Germany!

Wednesday was also Jeff’s 30th birthday. We celebrated with Jeff’s favorite, Mexican and then a homemade cake and champagne. We had a nice little celebration with just the 3 of us. Zum 30 Jeff!

This weekend we traveled to Bremen, which is about 2 hours north of us. We had a nice time exploring the city and checking things out. We spent most of Saturday touring the Beck’s Brewery, which was very neat.

Here are a few photos of our week!

Happy B day Jeffy!

At the Becks Brewery

A Beautiful evening in Bremen

Happy Anniversary to us!

2008-10-21T16:04:00.000+02:00

Today marks 2 years that Jeff and I have been blessed with wedded bliss! It feels like yesterday, but at the same time like it has been forever. Maybe that’s because I could not imagine my life with out Jeff. I feel truly grateful to have such a wonderful husband! I think these past 7 months in Germany have helped us realize how lucky we are to have each other. We have learned to lean on each other and know that no matter what challenges we are faced with, we will get though them together.

I love you Jeff, Thanks for a great 2 years, here’s to the next!

Remembering Nanny

2008-10-17T10:33:00.000+02:00

Yesterday my Nanny left this world and transitioned to the next. I know that she has been reunited with my Papa and she is now in a better place. I have so many wonderful memories of my times with Nanny and I will always cherish those. I know that Nanny and Papa are RVing through the clouds; exploring all the places they didn’t get to see while they were in this world.

It is difficult to be so far away from family during times like these. I certainly have a deeper appreciation for the importance of family from this experience. Life is incredibly precious and it’s important not to get hung up on the small things in life and remember that we have so much to be grateful for.

I love you Nanny, your compassion, generosity and kindness will be carried on for generations. I will miss you but never forget you.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of her hand.

Hunter Johnston McCarthy - September 27, 1926 – October 16, 2008

Our Sight Seeing Whirlwind

2008-10-05T18:13:00.001+02:00

We just returned from our sight seeing tour of Southern Germany and Austria. Here is a recap of some of the things and places we saw.

Oktoberfest – The world’s biggest fair is truly that. It was the most amazing collection of people, beer tents and carnival rides. We spent the afternoon in the Paulaner beer tent with fun people from all over the world. It was a great day and a really fun event to see.
Salzburg – We spent the next 2 days in Salzburg, Austria the home of Motzart. Salzburg was clean, quiet and just a really nice town to visit. The Eagle’s Nest – Hitler’s tea house, It was cold but well worth the amazing views. Deutsche Alpenstresse – the road we traveled from Salzburg to Garmisch-Partenkirschen. The road winds through the mountains and lots of little Bavarian villages. Schloss Neuschwanstein – Mad King Ludwig’s Castle. We toured the amazing castle while Cooper waited in the car. Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber – A well preserved mid evil German town. We went on the night watchman’s tour and learned some interesting history about the city. All in all it was a great sight seeing trip! Next up: Skiing in France and Switzerland and then Italy in the Spring!

Sorry we can’t come to the Blog…We’re Off Seeing the World!

2008-09-26T14:56:00.002+02:00

So this week marks another trip for us. We are leaving on Saturday and driving to Augsburg, Germany. Augsburg is just about an hour North of Munich, which is where we are headed on Sunday. We are excited to explore Munich during Oktoberfest (Jeff went last year, but it’s my 1st time). After a day in Munich we are going to spend the next 2 days in Salzburg, Austria. Then we will be going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and ending our trip in Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. We are excited to see a lot of Southern Germany and some of Austria. Stay tuned for photos.

Not working and all that Jazz…

2008-09-24T10:44:00.000+02:00

Not working certainly has its perks:
You don’t have to wake up when the alarm goes off, You can spend the entire day in your pj’s if you want, You can find the end of the internet, You can read all the books you want,
And take lots of walks.

Let me tell you…it gets very old after a while. When most people hear that I am a Haus Frau in Germany, there response is “I would give anything not to have to work.” That is what I thought when we first moved here. Now after 6 months here, I am beginning to feel pretty bored. Especially since I can’t work here because of visa restrictions. I do not have a child to keep me busy, unless you count Cooper. And he really isn’t that difficult to care for. Haven’t the Germans every heard of paying you “under the table?” I am not thinking a full time job, but something that I could do a few days a week, like teach English. You may be asking yourself, “Why doesn’t she volunteer?” Well the crazy answer is in a town of less than 20K they don’t really do volunteering, and then they say “What happens if I get hurt on the job?” How would one get hurt teaching English!

So I am venturing out on the World Wide Web to see what I can find to keep me busy. We heard something about working from home and only needing a computer. I also think that when we return from the Holidays in the States, that I will pursue an online master program. We shall see...

A few updates...

2008-09-23T11:24:00.001+02:00

After a few very long weeks of renovations and moving, we are settled into the new house. We basically re did the entire house in one week! It was very hard work but the end result is worth it. If you want to check out the before and after photos they are on picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.com/deidre.weber/HouseBeforeAndAfter?authkey=Yf9qNlCNT_4
We still have some projects to keep us busy, but for the most part we are finished.

We also had our first visitor, my mom. It was great to see her and we had a really nice week showing her some of the sites. She was a huge help with the unpacking and setting up. We are excited that it will only be 2 more months until we get to see all our family and friends. We will be coming home on Thanksgiving Day until after X mas so we will have lots of time to see everyone.

This weekend we are headed on our next vacation. On Sat we are driving to Southern Germany and Austria and will visit Augsburg, Munich (during Oktoberfest), Salzburg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. Cooper will of course be coming with us on the trip! We have a full week of site seeing planned and are excited to not be working on the house for a while.

Today is the day!

2008-08-31T06:40:00.000+02:00

So after of 4 months of living in the company flat, today we are receiving the keys to our new house. When I say "new" I mean new to us, but the house is actually very old and run down. Today marks the first of projects and we are excited to see what awaits us. We know there will be a lot of cleaning, painting, building a kitchen, and putting floors in. We have grand plans to do all the updates and have our things moved in by Friday! Yes our things which have been sitting in a sea container since May! Stay tuned for before and after photos they are sure to be dramatic.

Oh the places we’ll go...

2008-08-26T12:04:00.002+02:00

We are merely beginning our adventure here in Geramny, and there have definitely been bumps in the road. We have found this transition to more difficult than we ever imagined and there are days we long to back in Detroit! Imagine that! But I am thankful every day for the most wonderful Husband to go through this journey with. So thanks hunny, you make it all worth while!

I was feeling pretty down thinking about spending my birthday here, I have never been away from home or family really ever on my birthday. So spending it in Germany didn’t really excite me. We decided to do what we love best about being here…Travel. So Jeff planned a wonderful get-a-way for my birthday celebration. We woke up early Thursday morning on the 21st and watched a beautiful sun rise over Attendorn. Then we hopped in the car and headed south to Baden-Baden, a city known for their Spas and Casino. We arrived just in time for the most perfect picnic in the park, which included sandwiches, champagne and chocolate. What could be better! Then we headed off to spend the afternoon at the Roman spas. Jeff arranged for massages and we ended up spending almost 4 hours exploring the spa pools, saunas and steam rooms. We went back to the hotel and got all dressed up and went out to a wonderful candle light dinner and then headed to the casino to watch people waste their money! It was the most perfect Birthday! Happy 26 to me!

On Friday we toured the Black Forest and the Cuckoo Clock Villages. It was about a 5 hour drive that was filled with neat towns and great views. We ended our day in Freiburg im Breisgau with a nice dinner and beers. After exploring the Freibburg market on Saturday morning, we continued on our Journey to Heidelberg. We toured the castle for several hours awed by the views and castle grounds. We returned home after checking out Heidelberg. It was a great trip and we saw a ton of amazing sights. We are already on to planning our next get-a-way to Munich and Salzburg, Austria. So we will continue to focus on what makes us happiest, being together and traveling to anywhere and everywhere.

Frankfurt

2008-08-17T10:39:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we spent the day in Frankfurt with my cousin Jahje and her husband Joe. We had a great time exploring the city and taking in the sights. And it was wonderful to spend some time with Family! Here are some photos of the day.

Weekly Update

2008-08-14T13:28:00.001+02:00

We have been keeping busy over the past few weeks with all sorts of “stuff”. We found out that we will be able to move into our new house on September 1st. Finally! We are planning on spending the first week painting, putting in new floors, and building the kitchen. So in preparation for the move we having been spending a lot of time at IKEA and electronic stores. This week we purchased most of the kitchen and all of our appliances. We had to get everything: refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, and the little things too: microwave, coffee machine, toaster and an iron. We are ready to move in and are looking forward to lots of house projects to keep us busy.

Work is gradually getting better for Jeff. He has had 2 big presentations that went really well. For one of them he had to travel to Italy, so that was exciting. He is slowly gaining respect from his German colleagues, which has not been a easy thing to do.

I am spending most of my time reading and exercising. I just started playing tennis with our neighbor, so that has been fun.

Last week we found an engorged deer tick on Cooper. It was super big and gross. I guess they are really common here so we have some new anti bug medicine and have been on the lookout for bugs. The removal process was rather traumatic for Jeff and I. Poor little Coop!

This weekend we are headed to Frankfurt to meet up with my cousin Jahje and her husband Joe. We are just going for the day, but are excited to spend some time with family. We have also planned a little get a way for the following week to Baden Baden and the Black forest. So we have lots to look forward to in the upcoming weeks!

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that...

2008-07-24T11:52:00.002+02:00

We have been a little neglectful of the blog lately, so here is a little update. After nearly a week of solid rain and freezing temps, the sun finally appeared yesterday and today is going to be beautiful. Finally!

This past weekend we went to the Nürburgring for the car races. Jeff was in heaven looking at all the amazing cars. We have a new friend who races on the weekends and invited us into the pit, so we were right in the middle of all the action, which was pretty neat. The Nürburgring was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg, so it is situated in a really neat area.

We were able to get into our shipping container this week and get some of our things. It was really fun to see all of our stuff. We got our bikes, some clothes, DVD’s, the grill, our pillows and some things for Cooper. We are feeling good having some more things even though we will have to move them again to the new house.

We went to the new house yesterday and measured everything so we can plan our kitchen and other improvments. Unfortunately the woman living there has treated the house VERY poorly and it needs a ton of work, but we are up for the challenge. We won’t know until next week when we can move in but hopefullyit will be August 15th. We have been busy thinking about all the things we will do to make it nice. Its too bad our families are not closer to help with the construction, because we have BIG plans, and could use some help!

Cooper is doing well too. He is enjoying his daily walks and the freedom during the day to nap and relax. He dosen’t get locked up much anymore and we think he is happy about that. He went to see the vet last week for a check up. We got some good information that will hopefully make it easier to travel between the States and Germany with him. He had to get a puppy passport, which we think is pretty funny!

Well, that’s about it for now. Here are a few photos from the past few weeks.

Jeff at the Nürburgring

In the Pit

Wonder Cooper, So cute!

At the pub

Finally a place to call home!

2008-07-13T15:39:00.000+02:00

After a VERY long and challenging search, we are excited to report that we have finally found a place to live! It is a single family home with a HUGE garden, it needs a ton of work but we are looking forward to making it our own. We are not sure when we will be able to move in but are hoping it will be mid August or early September. We are so glad that the search is over and are now able to focus on getting settled here in Attendorn. Now that we have a place we just need visitors, so come see us!

Happy Birthday Miles!

2008-07-07T13:39:00.000+02:00

On July 5th, Miles Oury Christensen celebrated his one year B Day! Happy Birthday Miles, we wish we could have been there to celebrate with you!

Amsterdam Getaway

2008-07-07T13:34:00.000+02:00

We had been feeling a little down last week…our house hunt is not going so well and we were a little homesick. So we decided what better way to celebrate the 4th of July and to get our minds off things than to take a little trip to Amsterdam. We left early Saturday morning and arrived in Amsterdam about 10 a.m. Amsterdam is about 2.5 hours away from us, so not a bad drive. We checked into our hotel and quickly went out exploring. What a wonderful, amazing city! Amsterdam is filled with history, canals and friendly people. We spent the 2 days wandering around and taking in the beautiful sights. We had a great time and Cooper was very well behaved for his first stay in a hotel. We posted some photos of the trip at: http://picasaweb.google.com/deidre.weber

We are back in Attendorn, it’s a new week and we are optimistic that we will find a house in the next month. In the meantime we are going to focus on our next trip…

Cooper's New Do!

2008-06-27T10:25:00.001+02:00

Cooper would normally go to the groomer and great a nice hair cut and his nails trimmed. That was in our last life! Now that we are living in Germany we decided that this was something that we could take on for several reasons. 1. We really don't know where a groomer is in Attendorn and 2. why not save the money and do it our selves. So last week I decided to use our new buzzer clippers and trim his body. it took about 2 hours and cooper didn't like one minute of it, but in the end it turned out pretty well. Then we still had his legs and face that had to be cut with the scissors. We decided to so this few days later so he could have a little break. Cooper hates the scissors so his part was a bit more difficult. I held cooper and cut around his face and ears while Jeff entertained him with treats. It was quite a project! So now Cooper has a new haircut, it's a little short around his face and a little long around his body. But with time and practice we will get better at it. I have a new found respect for Groomers. I am not sure how they get everything so neat and perfect or how they get the dogs to hold still! Here is a photo of Cooper after the haircut. He is still the cuttest little guy!

The disappearing Passport

2008-06-22T21:23:00.001+02:00

On Saturday Jeff noticed that my passport was not with his in my purse. Sometimes I have a tendency to put things in places and forget about them. In this case I had NO clue where my passport had gone. We searched the flat and determined it must have fallen out of my purse and we would have to go to Frankfurt and apply for a new one at the US Embassy. I was totally angry with my self! We went for a walk to get my mind of the passport and when we arrived home I had this weird urge to look under the armoir in the hallway. Believe it or not there was my silly passport. Needless to say we are no longer keeping our passports in my purse. Here is where we found it!

The Smell of the Rain...

2008-06-22T19:37:00.002+02:00

Thunderstorms in Germany are truly amazing. The sky turns from a bright sunny blue to a dark green in a matter of seconds. They are intense, powerful and very exciting. Before you know it they have blown away and all that is left is the smell of the rain.

Germany - on to the Semifinals!

2008-06-20T16:47:00.000+02:00

Last night Germany beat Portugal 3-2 in the Euro 2008! We watched the game from a nearby pub with several of our friends. It was a very exciting game and no one expected Germany to win! Germany will play the winner of the Turkey/Croatia game, in the semifinals next week.

Practicing Patience

2008-06-18T21:09:00.000+02:00

Patience is not something that Jeff or I come by naturally. Things here just seem to take a very long time at least for us. This week we are waiting to hear about a flat that may or may not be available and waiting for the company to accept the proposal for our language classes. So here we are another week just waiting…UGG!

Cooper's New Friends

2008-06-15T20:24:00.000+02:00

Everybody is making friends! These are Cooper's new friends Enox and Oscar. He may be small but he has very BIG Friends.

Driving in Deutschland

2008-06-15T18:07:00.000+02:00

Driving here is quite an experience, but very complicated. The roads in and around town are winding, sometimes very narrow, and are generally difficult to navigate…… but can be very fun after learning the roads, what the signs mean, and where the “blitz boxes” are located – green boxes next to the road equipped with radar and a good camera all for speeding tickets.

The autobahn is similar to driving in town but at much higher speeds. It consists of long curves that smoothly integrate into the terrain that are also difficult to navigate - because there is no direction posted (such as I-75 N, just a city such as Frankfurt aM). In order to get around, you have to know if the city on the sign is in the same direction you want to go…. we now have a nav system and no longer have to worry about this though. For me, the autobahn is all about a round white sign with black lines crossing it diagonally = no speed limit.

This sign is not to be taken lightly though, there are many associated responsibilities on the autobahn and these must be carefully followed in order to return in one piece. Some quick rules to follow:
- Always drive right, even when driving really fast.
- Pay close attention to the road, not the radio or the bottle of water next to you
- Keep a good distance from cars ahead of you
- Don’t drive with your knees, people in the car will get nervous!
- Make sure you have good brakes before driving above 160. It is amazing how often the brakes get a hard workout, and at high speeds – no time for failure
- Make sure you have good tires – think about it…. at a 220km/h cruising speed, the only thing holding you to the road is gravity and a small contact patch of rubber
- Vehicle dynamics are different going 160 km/h and above, don’t go that fast if you don’t know how to control your vehicle.
- Get out of the way quick for Porsche’s doing 250 or more!! (always look in your mirror for twinkling blue lights, they come up very quick)
Really, there is nothing more exciting (and scary) than driving on the autobahn at 240km/h. Its something every auto enthusiast should experience once.

More than Nutella & PB...

2008-06-15T15:55:00.000+02:00

Although it would appear that we have spent the last 2 weeks doing nothing but eating Nutella & Peanut butter, we have been up to a few other things.

We are continuing to search for a place to call home. This has been a pretty frustrating aspect of our every day life. Our realtor here is making us promises he shouldn’t and continues to show us places that we are not interested in. So the house hunt is consuming a lot of our time and thoughts. Hopefully we will find something soon! We never imagined it would be this hard. Keep your fingers crossed, maybe this is the week:)

Work is going pretty well for Jeff. He is getting adjusted but the language barrier continues to be a challenge. We are waiting for Mubea to approve our language lessons, so hopefully we can start our classes soon.

Cooper and I are walking a lot and becoming very familiar with Attendorn. It is a very nice area to walk with a lot of neat sights and fun trails. I am reading a lot and am finding it amazing how many books I can read when my time is pretty much uninterrupted. I have found a few book stores with English sections and Aimee has been sending me lots of good stuff!

We have made some really great friends who we have been spending a lot of time with. This Friday they took us to the Attendorn disco. We walk by the disco all the time and never realized that at night, it turns into a techno hot spot for people of all ages. It is a bit weird going to the bar and seeing kids that are like 15 and 16. It makes us feel a little old. Then after the disco we went to the American equivalent of a Coney Island. It was a Turkish restaurant that served some sort of pita sandwich with pork and all sorts of other stuff. It tasted really good at 3:30 a.m. Our new friends have really taken us under their wing and we are having a great time with them. They are very kind and fun and we feel very luck to have met them!

It was really cold and rainy here this weekend. On Friday night is was under 40 F. We could see our breath when we were walking home. Now we understand why they don’t have air conditioning in Germany. Next week the forecast says it will be in the low 70’s and the Germans think that is really HOT!

A most wonderful discovery…

2008-06-01T11:31:00.000+02:00

Peanut butter and nutella…The 2 mixed together on a warm slice of toast are just great. I am thankful they have PB in Germany, but I suppose I could live with just Nutella if I had to. But the 2 together…delicious.

A day trip to Düsseldorf

2008-06-01T10:15:00.000+02:00

On Saturday we decided to take a little adventure and check out Düsseldorf. It was a bit rainy and dreary but still a very cool place with lots of people and lots to see. We went to the recommended Uerige for an altbier. Düsseldorf is well-known for its altbier, a dark beer, which is brewed only in the region. We also explored Altstadt (the old city), there were hundreds of restaurants, bars and people. There was a beautiful market with lots of fresh things to buy. Then we wandered around the uber shopping district known as the Königsallee (King's Avenue). The "Kö" is a popular shopping destination that reminded us of Paris.

It was a very busy area even on a very rainy day. We are excited to go back when the weather is better and maybe take some visitors! So far it is our favorite city that requires more exploration.

Mini Cooper S!

2008-05-28T22:00:00.000+02:00

I may be bias, but I think Cooper is the dam cutest dog in the whole country...or maybe even world. I tell him this often, but remind him not to let it go to his head. Coop and I are enjoying our time together immensely, the days are a little long when Jeffy is at work but time passes so much faster with munchkin by my side. He is being very well behaved...I mean the poor guy has reason to be difficult. He has lived in 4 different homes in the past month (soon to be 5 when we find a permanent home in Attendorn). While he is a bit confused and still adjusting to his new surroundings, he is enjoying his daily walks in his new community and frequent trips in the car to the neighboring villages!

The STUFF has arrived!

2008-05-27T21:26:00.000+02:00

Our container has finally completed it’s long journey from Michigan, to New Jersey, to the “Singapore Express”, to Bremerhaven, to Kreuztal, where it had to be unloaded….. because the container rental is expensive and we failed to locate suitable accommodations (hopefully that will be taken care of on Monday) before the arrival. We were relieved to see our tan shipping container filled with all our possessions but were disappointed to see them loaded into another container where they will sit alone in a parking lot until we find a home. The new container was locked by the shipyard owner and a new serial number lock was placed on the container so we know if it was opened while we aren’t present. We are a little disappointed, but even though we can’t have our stuff yet, we feel relieved that our container passed through customs without intrusion and that it arrived safely.

Moving our things from one container to another!

Also… bis unsere naechste.. posting (for lack of the proper word), tschuess!!

The big move...

2008-05-25T11:17:00.000+02:00

Since our last post a lot has happened.

On April 23rd the movers came to our house on Emmons and packed up all our belongings in about 3 hours. It was like a tornado. In a way it was good that it was quick because we didn’t have time to think about anything. The next morning they arrived with our shipping container, loaded everything in about two hours and then were gone. It was a very quick process.

We cleaned the house and turned in our keys. It was a little sad to leave the house, the flowers were just coming up that I had planted they year before…. I imagine they are all in full bloom now. It was a good little house.

We had a nice going away party on the 26th and were able to spend some time with family and friends before our departure. Neither of us like good byes so it was a lot of “see ya later for now’s.” After a few last minute errands, Jeff left for Germany on Monday, April 28th. I headed directly from the airport to West Michigan for a week, then to Chicago for a week, and then back to Detroit for a week.

There was a lot involved in getting Cooper ready for departure. We had to get a bunch of paperwork from the vet and then drive to E. Lansing to have it all certified. From my understanding this was a requirement for the NWA and the German Customs Agency. The airline barely looked at the paperwork and German Customs didn’t even see Cooper or ask for papers.

So Cooper and I arrived in Germany on May 18th (also Coopers 1 year Birthday). We had a bit of a stressful flight. Coopers bag didn’t fit under the seat at all and this was after they mandated that I sit in a particular seat. I guess something about the video equipment under the seats. I gave Cooper Dramamine to calm him down, and it kind of worked. He was only calm when he was able to sit in my lap. You are technically not supposed to have the dog out of his carrier bag, but the flight attendants were Ok with us doing it, thankfully. So we arrived, a little bleary eyed but very excited to see Jeffy.

So today marks the end of week one for the 3 of us together here. We are staying in a nice company flat while we continue to look for a place of our own. The house hunt has proven to be a bit more difficult than we imagined. There is a large demand to live in Attendorn and a low supply of housing. We did find one place that we really liked but then were told it was not available! So the search continues.

Jeff had become very familiar with the town and knows were to go for everything. We have visited the grocery store, pet store, drug store, etc. We are managing to get along just fine with the German we know and most speak English if needed.

Cooper and I spent most of the week sleeping, reading and walking. We are just about fully adjusted to the time change. Thursday was a German Holiday so Jeff had Thursday & Friday off. We have a new circle of friends who have been inviting us to the pub, soccer games, BBQ’s etc. We took a few road trips this weekend…. one to a festival in a small village called Cobbenrode (which included a long, spirited country side drive….. very exciting!!), and then another trip to Köln for an afternoon of shopping, eating wurst, drinking Koelsch, and sightseeing.

We are feeling good about things and adjusting pretty well. More adventures to come, we will keep you posted.

Kitchen Not Included

2008-03-23T20:13:00.000+01:00

As a part of our preparation for the big move, a quick trip to see Germany from a different angle was in order. I guess one would say that I took my tourist blinders off and began looking at what the Sauerland region has to offer Deidre and I in terms of living and working. Even though I didn’t accomplish all our objectives, I considered this trip to be very valuable. Deidre and I were both reminded how dangerous it is to hold high expectations of the unknown, and how the consequence is typically major disappointment. The lesson learned: it’s OK to be unaware of what to expect, but keep an open mind and control your expectations so you can be pleasantly surprised and excited if things go well.

Now for the boring details-

My trip began with a few quick meetings at work to wrap up contracts, assignment details, etc.... Going in, I was unsure how my colleagues would treat me knowing I will be there longer than a week, but I think everything went well and I was made to feel at home. The only problem, we have been working very hard to learn the language and I thought things were going well….. but I was overwhelmed beyond belief when trying to use my newly acquired skills. The pace of their communication is unbelievable and it sounds to me like a bunch of mumbo jumbo (for lack of a better description). I feel as if I have to spend extra time to expand my vocabulary and perfect my grammar in order to be better prepared for my first day.

The real driver for this trip was to find a place for Deidre and I to call home for the next three years. I had no clue what I was going to see and for the most part considered it a journey to the unknown. There are many small villages around Attendorn and of course there are some larger towns within driving distance..... but most lack the amenities or character (or both) of Attendorn. What can I say, it rains a lot, but it’s a dam fine town!! With that decision out of the way (thanks to lots of exploration), it was time to see places and get to the source of our disappointment. Some painful details of the search:

Fact: Homes in Germany are different?? Duh, we should have known better!
Fact: Most rentals in Germany (house or apartment) don’t come with kitchens.... only a tile floor, a tile backsplash, wall sockets, and three pipes sticking out of the wall. In addition to this minor shortcoming, some places I looked at didn’t even have flooring!! (just cement). This is one of the kitchens I saw.

Fact: Homes in Germany don’t have closets? But I’m told that some new homes can be found with a walk-in closet in the bedroom, just not the ones available to us.
Fact: well maybe observed opinion…. Everything looks the same, white block homes, thick walls, and black tile roofs.

Also, it seems that most people don’t want to lease for less than five years and definitely not to people with a dog (because dogs have a tendency to bark ?!?). I walked through six places, two of which are pretty nice but will require us to relax our qualifications a little before we can commit. For now, I guess we stay in the company provided condo and continue our search in a month when we return. Hopefully the choices will get a lot better, because we both have a hard time with compromise when it comes to housing. Nevertheless, it was a good trip and we now know what we can bring and what we need to buy (a kitchen, closets, electronics, and maybe flooring).

Our New Adventure

2008-03-01T22:49:00.000+01:00

Well the title says a lot. In early February Jeff received an offer from Mubea for a promotion in Germany. We always talked about living abroad, so it made our decision very easy. How could we pass up an opportunity like this! We are 90% excited and 10% scared and nervous.

It is now March 1 and Jeff is scheduled to leave the end of April and I will follow in May. There is a lot to do and think about before we go. First and most importantly, we need to learn German. A language that neither of us have studied before. We have been doing our lessons for about an hour a night and feel like we are getting the basics down. We still have a long way to go. The language issue is probably our biggest fear about the move. Although most Germans speak English, it is very important to us to learn German. Especially for Jeff, he is expected to communicate at work in German in a relatively short time. So yeah, we need to learn German.

We are also thinking a lot about: what to bring, what to leave here and where to store it?, what paperwork we need so Cooper can come with us and not be abandoned at the airport. (I am very scared about this) Poor little guy is going to have to be in a crate for 8-9 hours on the plane. Luckily he can ride with me and not in the luggage compartment. Thank god for our small little guy. So a lot on my mind lately.

We have lots of people we want to visit before we leave for our 3 year stay. We will of course be home once or twice a year for the Holiday's. But our remaining weekends are filling up very fast.

We have officially sold both the cars. The Mazda is gone as of Feb 29, and my dad and Shelly are buying the Audi. Jeff can drive a company car for the time being so that is very helpful.

So here we are March 1, less than 2 months away from venturing out past Michigan's walls. You know Jeff and I have traveled a lot, but never lived outside of Michigan. So here we are moving to Germany. HA Something I am sure my family expects from Aimee & Nico, but not me and Jeffy.

So more on our progress later....or shall I say Auf Wiedersehen.