Weekend

The weekend was very successful. We had some good news Friday night, just about when we were about to give up on the car, we managed to get a second lease. So now we are proud owners of a 2012 Ford Fusion.
This is a photo from an add, a real one will follow.

After a frustrating week of only having one car, I treated myself to a Kitchen Aid Artisan. SO cheap here, very easy decision.

After realising that there is no nice bread here and I'll have to start making my own, this could come in handy. What a beauty! Can't wait for it to arrive!! All I need now is to find some fresh yeast, which could turn out to be tricky. Found another gadget in Bed, Bath & Beyond today, Yorkshire puddings seem to be called popovers here, and I found a popover pan. Now, we may have to wait a little until it gets a tad cooler outside to have a roast dinner, today we had 28 degrees C, no clouds. Can't wait to see how they will turn out though, and now when we have gas instead of electricity, they will turn out crispier in the oven as well.                    

Something I have discovered while buying all these bits and bobs today and yesterday is that I may have to work on my patience a little LOL. People here are in no rush when parking, when the light goes green at the traffic lights or, when getting back to the car after doing the shopping. It starts at the lights. It is green, and sloooooowly they are moving forward. Had it been in Germany I would have beeped 3 times already, or someone else would have. You then pull in to the parking lot. Since you don't need any real parking skills here (HUGE spaces), people take their time, making sure that they don't hit anything or anyone (they are already at least 1 m away from the nearest object)..And what is this sitting around in the car when returning to it? They eat, drink, text, rest? Perhaps there is a tiny German gene growing inside me after all. Where else would this impatience come from?

Settling in

We have been here for nearly one and a half week. After one culture schock after the other, we have now pretty much settled, you know, done some grocery shopping (bought some delicious Gerolsteiner sparkling water at Trader Joe's, $20 for 15 bottles, VERY expensive but SO worth it), managed to unpack at least half of the five suitcases and made a mess around the apartment.

First day here included a visit to the OB/GYN where I for sure got the full education about the complexity and paperwork when going to the doctor here. I am glad I didn't have to go through that for the whole pregnancy. I still can't believe she measured my belly with a tape measure! Germany seems very modern all of a sudden. Also, having to go to a different doctor for the ultra sound, how do people who work full time mangage it when they have to go to several doctors (and they don't seem to be open at night, either)?

We had also registered for the super Saturday birth preparation class at the hospital we have chosen. Now that was an experience!! Watching powerpoints and video clips for 6 hours and then getting pizza and soda for lunch. Whereas in Germany they really put the emphasis on eating healthy during the pregnany (and in general) this didn't seem to be of interest here.  So glad we are having a girl, otherwise the baby might get circumcised by mistake. Remind me again why the Americans are so crazy about it again? However, this class was so different to the one I visited in Germany, they only had the name in common.

The weekend was mostly about finding a second car, which has turned out to be trickier than expected.
Second hand cars seem to be a rarity. And if you do come across one, they are fairly expensive. We are looking into the possibility of leasing a second car, but if that falls through, we might have to bite the bullet and put some more effort in and buy a car from an owner and not dealer. Only having one car here sucksbig time though and I have no intention in getting up at 6.30 am to drive hubby to work.

Second mission has been to find a cleaner. Not so easy either. And by looking at Craig's list, I realise it works completely different here. No hourly rate in most cases, a very pre-defined list of what they do and don't do in which room..and it is expensive! $65 for a 2 bedroom and 2 bath room apartment. This must be a very good business because so far, no one has returned my calls.

Hopefully we can enjoy the upcoming weekend a little bit more. My cold is nearly gone, jetlag is gone, perhaps the stress with finding a car will be gone too. A great Mexican meal is definitely over due so that will be on the top five priority list as well. Weather is still fantastic according to European standards - the locals seem to think it is getting a little chilly. Well, think Swedish summer night and you'll get the idea.

/J.