Another Castle!!

It must be fall here in Germany because the sounds of tire irons are filling the air as people are preparing for winter by putting on their snow tires. That is right, snow tires. Evidently, they are a requirement here. My car (which is a rental for now) already has them on and John will put them this weekend. I hope this is not an indication of the snow removal service here. I will keep you posted.

This week was another week of firsts. Henry and I had a great outing one day this week to Zweibrucken, a city about an hour and a half southwest of Heidelberg. A colleague of John lives in the quaint city and graciously invited Henry and I for coffee and then took us to an awesome outlet mall just outside of the city. It was much nicer than most outlets in the states and we had a great time. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality Brigitte!! On that note, everyone at Deere has been so anxious to make us feel welcome and at home here in Germany, thank you.

On Friday afternoon, we again took the tram downtown Heidelberg. After the exciting tram ride, Henry soon fell asleep in his stroller, so John and I enjoyed the atmosphere and sites Heidelberg had to offer at night while he slept quietly. After a nice dinner, we headed back home. It was a perfect Friday night.

Saturday was a beautiful day here, sunny and almost 60 degrees!! John and Henry played outside all day with the neighbor girls and I went to a workout facility nearby. John's administrative assistant, Stefanie, joined me to help me through the process. After a short tour of the gym, which included a full spa, tanning, a restaurant, roof top lounge area and outside lakeside and fountain lounge (a bit more posh than the gyms at home) I met with a trainer to orientate me to the equipment. Since he spoke a decent amount of English, Stefanie left us for her own workout. I told the trainer, who was a young man in town attending Heidelberg University, that I was 5 months pregnant, he seemed to understand and we proceeded. He showed me a few leg exercises, then kept trying to steer me towards abdominal machines and telling how much they would benefit me. I repeatedly said, "No, thank you" and we would move on. Finally after about the fourth time he tried to get me to do some kind of a "crunch" I pointed to my stomach and said "kinder" (the German word for child). His eyes got really big and he started laughing.

Sunday was a cooler, very blustery day, so it seemed appropriate we head out for Frankenstein's Castle. It is only a short distance (45KM) from our house so it made for a great day trip. The Internet link for the castle is: http://www.darmstadt.de/en/sights/frankenstein/index.html. A short version is as follows. The first records of the castle date back to 948. After construction, it was apparently neglected until the 1800's when it was saved from further decay. It sits high in the mountains of overlooking the town of Darmstadt, but also has views of Worms, Oppenheim, Mainz and Frankfurt on clear days. This morning, it was quite cloudy and overcast, so we could not see that far, which was somewhat appropriate for the occasion.

Since it was still close to the Halloween holiday the castle was decorated with all of the classical decor one would expect. Coffins, skeletons, guillotines, and all other scary accessories associated with Frankenstein adorn the castle this time of year. Today, the castle was actually closed for tours because of the Halloween show that takes place during the evening hours, however, since we drove up the mountain, with a 2 year old, managed a stroller to the "front" door of the castle, the gentlemen kindly let us walk around. The show must be pretty spectacular. We saw evidence of pyrotechnics, special effects and it looked like there was going to be some kind of a performance, probably a little too much for Henry. Below are some pictures of our visit and one picture of our favorite little crew back in Iowa!!

Halloween and Heidelberg

We hope everyone had a great Halloween. Ours was not exactly what we are used to. John found a Halloween party in Mannheim, we had no idea what to expect. We dressed Henry in his costume (an alligator) hoping other children would be dressed in costume as well and headed out for yet another unknown.

When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. The party was in Luisenpark in the city of Mannheim. It is a large area in the center of town filled with walking paths, fountains, a botanical center and a large indoor/outdoor cafe. It was decorated beautifully with orange lanterns hanging from the trees, many jack'o lanterns, and spooky lights. Entertainment included train rides, puppet shows, spooky ghost tales, and music for the children. There was not any candy being handed out, which was unusual for us, Henry did not mind, but John and I kind of missed it. Oh, good news, Henry was not the only child in costume. Many of the children were dressed up. Witches were a common theme for girls and boys were ghosts or vampires - I think Henry was the only alligator. Halloween is defiantly less commercialized here, probably because they have not been celebrating it all that long. Needless to say, we did not trick or treat this year. We thought about taking Henry around to some of the JD families, but many are out of town on "holiday" this week because the international school is on break. On the way home, we did stop at KFC (it was that or McDonald's) for a late supper, that reminded us of home.

On Saturday we headed out for our first sight seeing trip. (It is so weird to get up on a weekend and not have a million chores to do or errands to run! Renting is not so bad after all.) The day after Halloween is "All Saints Day" so most stores and businesses are closed. Restaurants are still open and the trams continues to operate, so we headed downtown Heidelberg on the tram. The tram station is only two blocks from our home so it is super easy to ride. On weekdays it runs every 10 minutes and on the weekends is runs every 30 minutes. The cost is only 2.50 euro round trip for adults and 1.50 euro for children, so it is much easier and economical than driving and parking downtown.

Once we were downtown (it took about 10 minutes after stops), we walked for miles. Most of the stores were closed because of the holiday, but there were still plenty of people roaming around. Oh, the shopping - fabulous- I cannot wait to go back during a time when the stores are open. Christmas markets should be starting soon, and from what people tell me, they are wonderful. I did not bring any Christmas items besides our stockings and manger seen, so I have a great excuse to shop.

Although we did not tour the castle yesterday, we did get a nice view of it. It is called the Heidelberg Schloss (Palace). It is hard to believe it was constructed before 1214 and has survived war, fires and time. It is currently being renovated, but is still open for tours. We plan to return for a tour when we have more time. I think it will take some time just to walk up the "castle trail" to get to the entrance. When you have time, google it, it is very interesting. Below are a couple of pictures.

Heidelberg is an interesting city. The population is only 135,000 people, 28,000 of whom are students at the Heidelberg University which is also very old. It was established in 1712 and is full of history itself. From what I understand, there is still a University prison open for tours. Evidently, when students misbehaved back in the 1700's (partying and being disruptive), they were jailed for a period of time. I bet they didn't have be told twice.

On the home front, we finally got our upgraded cable package (nothing happens quickly around here) so we have a few more channels than CNN international and BBC shows. It is nice to have reminders of home, I love having Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity back, and Henry has missed Playhouse Disney. John and I are looking forward to watching a football game tonight (we should get the noon game at 7:00PM here) - GO PACK GO!!!

We are getting around Germany quit well these days. I have been to IKEA twice now and to couple of grocery stores. Before we left the states, we bought a Navigation system with European maps, which is a lifesaver. The road signs in Germany only indicate what city the road leads to, there is no indication if the road goes north, west, east, or south, so for a foreigner, it can become confusing without navigation. We have also learned that speed limit signs (when there are speed limits) are mearly suggestions. Henry and I have been on the auto ban by ourselves a couple of times, Henry must sense I get a little nervous because the other day he said "Hold on tight" when we were accelerating off the on ramp.

Henry is trying to make friends. When we were walking home from the tram station yesterday, he saw a group of German children and he started waving and said, "Hi guys, I'm Henry Archer". He said it about three times, each time a little louder until one of them finally smiled and waved back. It is hard to explain to him that they have no idea what he is saying.

I am spending time everyday trying to learn German. We have the Rosetta Stone software and it is pretty good. When Henry starts school in January, I will probably also start language lessons with a tutor.

Here are some pictures of the past couple of days. If you put your cursor over the picture, it stops the slide show and there is a caption.

We miss everyone.

Our First Couple of Days

Our first couple of days in Deutschland have been busy. John and I have been trying to organize our new space, while Henry has been busy trying to figure out his new schedule. The first night here, he was up almost all night, but since then he has done well with the time change.

This weekend consisted of some exploring, a little shopping, deciding what we need, and meeting a few people. We live in a row of townhouses that consists of three units. One unit is of course, ours, another is the landlord's and the other is a couple with no children. The landlord has two girls, ages 2 and 4, their names are Anaise (Anna-ees) and Anuk. Henry insists on calling Anuk "knock knock". The other couple are Anva and Fabian. Fabian just happens to be a golf pro at the local golf club - darn the bad luck!!

Grocery shopping was a learning experience. The milk and eggs are not refrigerated, don't ask me why, and the stores do not have grocery bags (not even to buy). The good news is there is a small market about two blocks from our home so we can walk there often, which is great since our refrigerator is about 1/3 of size of most American refrigerators. The same rule applies to our oven. I can fit a 9 X 13 pan in the oven, but it is tight. I have no idea what the knobs mean, and it is a convection oven, so cooking has been by trial and error.

John and I are learning to be more environmentally friendly. We now have three trash cans in our kitchen and I think we need one more for "rubbish" (food that is thrown out - no, there is not garbage disposal). I have no idea what they do with the "rubbish" and don't think I will ask. Bikes are very big here. There are bike trails everywhere and bikes are also on the streets, which I feel is extremely dangerous considering how fast people drive here, although everyone seems to know what they are doing. Even the mail man rides a bike - and this morning it was pouring down rain!!

In addition to biking, walking is very big here. Again, this morning, I saw a woman pushing a stroller in the pouring down rain. The stroller was fully equipped with rain gear and it seems to be the norm. I don't think we will be venturing out in the rain anytime soon. I know I am not up for that and I think Henry might object to a cold October rain as well.

When John gets home from work today, we are going to pick up a car for me. My VW van is not in at the dealership yet (because I wanted an automatic), so they have a loaner car for me. It is hard for me to imagine a manual transmission minivan!!

I had they opportunity to meet many of the JD families this weekend. Everyone was very nice and eager to help out with whatever we needed. JD pairs us up with a "buddy family" to assist with getting settled (what a Godsend!). I think someone is going to take me to IKEA this week. I am not really comfortable taking a new vehicle on the A5 yet (the auto ban) with Henry along, so a couple of people volunteered to drive. John did not like IKEA in the states, so I am sure he will not be up for it in Germany.

This coming weekend we are going to take the tram (the station is one block from our house) to the castle in Heidelberg. We drove down there last night, what a breathtaking area. The houses are spectacular, the river (the Neckar) is amazing, the shopping is awesome, and the castle speaks for itself. The trees are at their peak color now, so everything looks like a postcard. I will post many pictures after we go. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of Henry on the swing set at our new house and some pictures of my parent's house the night before we left.

We are here!!

We are finally here!! Henry and I arrived safely in Frankfurt last night (or this morning). Our trip was amazingly uneventful. Henry was great on the plane, everyone commented on what a nice boy he is.

John was thrilled to see us after almost four weeks on his own, and we were equally excited to see him. When we were getting off the plane, Henry thought every man with brown hair was John, (I think he was a little sleepy).

We still have a ton of unpacking to do, I will post more in the the coming days with some photos of our home. Germany is beautiful right now, the leaves are turning making everything even more spectacular. Tonight we are going a small "ex-pat" (a term used to describe John Deere employees abroad) party and then to a fall festival in Heidelberg this weekend. Hopefully, Henry and I will adjust quickly to the time change.

Summer Fun

I have taken the opportunity to practice using my "blogging skills" before our move to Germany by sharing some events from the summer. As you can see, there were a couple of birthdays, Henry's was early, trips to the river, trips to the zoo, 4th of July fun, and my graduation. Of course it was a fun filled summer with family and friends, these are a few of the many wonderful memories the summer provided.

July 2008

July has proven to be another busy month for the Archer family. As we prepare for our move to Germany, we are trying to fit in as much family fun as we can. Trips to the Zoo, a truck show, days at the pool, ball games, and outings with friends have left us little time for anything else.

John has been busy trying to wrap up projects at work, I am preparing to graduate (August 1st) and Henry is busy playing tractors (John Deere of course) and trains. Our home will probably go on the market this week, just as we leave for our house hunting trip to Germany, August 3rd.

This summer has been a busy one so far. We have enjoyed spending time with our family and friends. Henry had his first "camping" adventure this month. Nancy and her family, my parents and Henry and I spent the night at my parent's home on the river. We played a few games, took a walk by the river, Will and Papa fished, and we roasted marshmallows!! The next morning Nana made us a big breakfast and finally we headed home. Henry was exhausted from the late night and early morning, he took a four hour nap (Mom napped too)!!

John and I are playing as much golf as we can before our extended trip, I am new to the game and really love it, even though I am not great at it.