The Oldest City in Germany

 Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Backdrop for our last weekend excursion in October.

After sleeping in and making ourselves a hearty breakfast of waffles, bacon and eggs we made a quick stop in town to pick up a new fuse for one of our transformers and were on our way.

Coming highly recommended by our neighbors, Daniel and I recently purchased a few of Rick Steves' books, to include "Germany". His books are great for several reasons, but particularly for their self-guided walking tours. It's only our first use, but so far so good.

Taking Rick's recommendation, we started out at the city's most famous landmark, Porta Nigra (pictured below). The city of Trier was originally built as a Roman capital. Of the four-mile town's four large gates, only this northern gate survives and has become known as Porta Nigra.

Daniel was pretty impressed by the fact that it was built without mortar. For a few euros each, we were able to climb up and around the structure. Totally worth the price.

  

Next on the agenda - lunch. We walked over to one of the food trucks and ordered an original flammkuchen. Basically an extremely thin crusted pizza with a cheese sauce and small bits of ham. Pretty tasty if I do say so myself.  Daniel gets credit for correctly ordering in German on this one.  ...maybe next time we'll be bold enough to attempt our broken German past "Ein original flammkucken bitte."  and add some more yummy toppings. So far I know that onions is "zwiebeln" and meat is "fleisch". It's a start.

After lunch we took a stroll through Hauptmarkt (Market Square). Because I was the weekend, there were all types of tents and food trucks with various treasures... cheese, sausage, pastries, flowers the whole nine yards.

From here we located the Basillica/ Imperial Throne Room. Our handy self-guided tour informed us that this building is the largest intact Roman structure outside of Rome. Sadly, the building was under construction so we weren't able to go inside.

 

The Rococo Wing was added to the Basilica in the 18th century to house the archbishop-elector.

Behind the vast grounds to the Basilica/ Imperial Thrown Room are the imperial baths. Built by Constantine, they are believed to have been the most intricate baths in the Roman world.

 

Just beyond the city wall is the amphitheater. Cruel games with wild animals and gladiators were conducted here. The arena, built in the 2nd century, had a seating capacity of over 20,000.

 

 

Our final stop, the oldest Christian church in Germany - the Cathedral (Dom). Our trusty self-guided tour informed us that that cathedral stands at the "center above a former palace from the era of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. The palace complex was supplanted in the 4th century by the largest Christian church complex from ancient times". From inside we were able to see the four basilicas and rather large baptistery at the front.

 

 

From here we began our walk back to the car. Spotting our first ever Dinkin Donuts in Germany we knew we had to stop. Waiting in line, the anticipation built. We ordered. We fixed our drinks (in German Dunkin's they don't pre-add any sugar or cream). Walked out. Took out first sip and... sad moment. Heart dropped. My "iced coffee" was simply hot coffee poured over ice, causing all of the ice to melt and the coffee to become watered down and a weird temperature between hot and cold. Not a good combination. Daniel ordered a Dunkachiino ...wasn't a dunkachino, more of a mocha. #firstworldproblems #theymessedupmycoffee. Life goes on.

 

Overall, we are doing well with adjustments. Since my last post I have started volunteering at one of the schools here in hopes of getting my name in the door and building some connections. No word on a job yet. However, I can't even explain how great it has been to be in a classroom again. With students. Not the same {not at all really} as having my own class, but Lord willing, that day will come. For now, I do what I can. Daniel is plugging away at work, learning the ropes of the joint environment as he goes. Last Friday his office had a family Halloween party that I was able to attend. It was great to finally put some faces to all the names.

 

We have enjoyed getting back into a running routine together, are looking forward to our trip to Ireland over Thanksgiving, and have been busy working to plan some other trips and adventures. Next week, Rothenburg - the walled city.

 

Now I must go finish dinner.

Heidelberg & Stuttgart

Friday, taking advantage of Daniel's first four-day weekend {thanks Christopher Columbus!}, we drove to Heidelberg. By car, Heidelberg is only about an hour and fifteen minutes from our village; making it an ideal day-trip for us. We parked at the top of the hill, closer to the castle, and walked down a very steep hill to get to the ruins.

 

 



"Once a Gothic masterpiece, the Castle of Heidelberg has encountered turbulent times: It was plundered and burned by the French army in 1689, then struck by lightning 100 years later, and its red stones were even used to build new houses.

The Castle of Heidelberg never regained its original glory, but the ruins have a ragged charm of their own. They are considered the symbol of German Romanticism."  About Travel

We enjoyed walking around the ruins, exploring all the charming details and breathtaking views. Walking around the castle grounds is free and open to the public daily. However, to enter the castle and explore the inner walls there is a small entrance fee of 6 euro per visitor. For an addition fee you are able to purchase headphones for a guided audio tour. We opted to wonder around on our own this time.

 

{The photo below is the view I was attempting to get into the background of the picture above.}

 

The weather was perfect for exploring. Perhaps not ideal for picture taking with the heavy cloud coverage, BUT certainly cool enough to walk around without breaking into a sweaty mess  . . .that is, until it was time to climb back UP the steep hill to return to our vehicle. We're also pros at reading German parking metros & pay stations now. . .  riigght. ;)

S A T U R D A Y  we woke up extra early to catch our train for our next adventure. . .  Stuttgart. We of course needed to stop at the train station bakery for fuel. "Zwei zaffee, ein brezel bitta."  . . .two coffees, one pretzel please. Breakfast of champions. Okay, so it may not be fluent German {or really, anywhere close to fluent} BUT it's something.

Bahnhof selfies.

Final weekend of the festival AND it was Saturday = P A C K E D. But so worth it. We went with our neighbors (the ones I mentioned here in my last post), riding the train the entire way {we're learning!}. Once we arrived, the six of us walked pushed our way through the crowds to the tent where we would spend the afternoon.

 

 



At 4:00 PM they clear the tents to make way for the second set of visitors. We took our exit and decided to wonder around the rest of the fairgrounds. We were on a mission to find the go-carts. Check. ...even though I completely and utterly LOST. We're talking last place people, l-a-s-t  place. I will say this though - the Germans know how to do "carnival food". You're not limited to cotton candy, peanuts and hot dogs. Unfortunately, I inhaled my food far too quickly to even think of taking a picture, but trust me - deliciousness on a bun.



By this point we were all pretty beat from the loong day soo we voted to head towards the train station and stop for some STARBUCKS. That's right, the Bahnhof in Stuttgart has a Starbucks. I'm pretty positive I dreamed about that pumpkin spiced latte. YUM. From there, we boarded our train and headed back to Kaiserslautern and HOME.

Sunday and Monday we decided to lay low and finish up some of the organizing and unpacking around the house. Sunday morning we were both craving a hearty breakfast from one of our favorite local spots back in Massachusetts. Since hoping on a plane wasn't an option, we decided to improvise. SO we made waffles {thankful for transformers that make my American 110 appliances work}, crispy bacon & eggs AND of course dripped some coffee from our beloved Keurig. Monday I was in a very fall-ish mood. Daniel didn't mind too much as he benefited from many warm pumpkin, chocolate chip cookies.

QUALITY weekend with my favorite boy and some of our new friends. Thankful for a refreshing, restful AND fun long weekend. Thankful for our house here in Germany and the ability to make it feel a little more like home. Thankful for pumpkin flavored things and changing leaves.

finding a "new normal"

If you translate the word "normal" into German, you find that it's not too different from English; just slap an "e" on the end and attempt your best German accent - normale. The idea of finding a new normal is something that has consumed much of my thought life for several weeks now. Feeling such an array of emotions. Filtering through them, trying to make since of them as I go.

I have been so encouraged and challenged by an on-going email correspondence with one of my dear sister-in-laws. In a conversation about this very topic she encouraged me, "...the seasons you are facing...the dynamics, facets, relational and physical adjustments to diet, culture, time zone, driving, shopping, not knowing how to get anywhere, only knowing your husband...etc.etc.etc.etc. these are NOT small things." On this particular day I was feeling pretty low. Beating myself up because I was feeling less than content in my "here and now" and at the same time, feeling so ungrateful to be less than THRILLED for this new adventure. She gently and powerfully explained that finding contentment in the Lord was not the same as finding contentment in my season. There is such freedom in that sentence y'all. Freedom to acknowledge that I don't have to like every minute of this transition. This time of finding my our new normal. It's okay for me to miss home, friends, the familiar. It's okay for me to cry when I feel overwhelmed. It's okay. God's grace is enough. It is sufficient for ME.

In similar conversations I expressed feeling a sort of clumsiness. She graciously shared the link to a post she had written during her time overseas. In this post she compared learning a new culture to a dance... a cultural dance. What she had written years ago spoke directly to my heart. I jotted down several notes. "It will take time... I don't have to adjust in a certain amount of time... or even really completely ever." There is so. much. grace. in that sentence. I shared the following story with her... Daniel and I went to a town a few weeks ago about an hour away for a local festival. After walking by the first several cafés giggling and looking awkwardly around because we were unsure if we were "supposed" to seat ourselves, or if anyone in the café spoke English, or if we would "like" anything on the menu, we decided to bite the bullet in the next café we passed and set down. Our waitress walked to the table, said something in German we did not understand to which I bashfully asked, "Sprechen Sie English?" She smiled and replied "Nein" (no). At that point I glanced Daniel's way, glanced back at the waitress and asked for "eine moment". She said "Ja" and walked away. This exchange, although I'm sure it was less than 60 seconds felt like at least 5 minutes of silence. At this point, we also realized the menu was entirely in German (duh!). We decided to stay and figured we could point to what we wanted on the menu. Moments later, another waitress walked over, speaking English and was able to helpe us order.

Awkward and unnatural as it may have felt, we did it, we set down at a German café, ordered from the menu, listened to everyone around us speaking a language we did not understand, paid in euros and went on our merry way. All this to say, I think our baggiest obstacle is going to be having courage to step outside our comfort zone and look a little off beat on the dance floor the first few songs. We aren't going to learn the language or the culture if we never step out of our "American bubble".

Since this adventure we have met some American neighbors (two couples in particular), and have, with their help been able to step outside the American bubble a little easier. We have experienced riding the bus, navigating the bahnhof (German train station), experienced a true German festival, and attended a local sporting event. These neighbors have been an absolute gift. They have each been here for over two years and know so. much. Sadly for us, one of the couples are headed back to the states in a matter of weeks. But seriously, they've been a living-breathing "how to navigate life in Germany" book for us. And we so appreciate it.

 

 

In other news, our household goods shipment has ARRIVED. We are by no means completely unpacked, but are slowly getting there. So thankful to have our stuff in country. Bedding. clothing. dishes. coffee. TVs. ALL of it. It's here, in our German home!

Rental Sweet Rental

A quick look at our new rental. Can't wait to turn this white walled, tile floored, stair filled rental into our  H O M E  here in Germany. Endless possibilities.

 

Thankful for this hardworking guy.

 

View from our the balcony where we're standing in the above picture. 

 

Our little kitchen with our European fridge, more white walls & no garbage disposal.

German culture is big into recycling  E V E R Y T H I N G,  to include compostable items. Hence, no need for a garbage disposal.

The living space on the main floor. The wheels are turning & the Pinterest searches going with what kind of nook I could create under that staircase. Those beautiful, larger than life doors in the back open up to the backyard. ALL of the floors throughout the house are heated. Little fun fact, no German houses have air conditioning.

Our Chewy's backyard. The white building to the right is our garage.

 

The full bath on the second floor. Another fun fact for ya - German toilets have two buttons. A big button & a small button. Again, this all goes back to the environmentally conscious culture in Germany. To the right is the shower & to the right of that is the laundry room with our tiny German washer & dryer.

 

...Beginning to see a theme here? I am. I can't help but wonder why it is that as an American, I feel so many "German things" are so small when in reality, it could all just be a matter of perspective. Maybe Americans are just accustomed to way too much excessive-ness. More to ponder...     

The Master Bedroom. Check out there fabulous windows! They fully open AND have automatic blinds they call "rolladens" that come down with the push of a button. {They're actually on every. single. window. in every. single. home in Germany.}

 

 

Oh yeah, did I mention the house is four {4} stories?...

 

 

T-8 days till move-in. Then it's another waiting game, hoping our HHG {House Hold Goods} shipment catches up with us this side of the Atlantic.

 

 

Would appreciate thoughts & prayers as I seek the Lord and His peace, learning to enjoy this transitional, unsettled, uncertain, in between time in this European adventure.  

Guten Tag

We have been in Germany for just under two weeks now AND what a week it has been. So many stories, thoughts & ideas flood the keyboard as I try to formulate this post and fill you all in on our adventures so far. Bare with.

Holding back from playing the tourist just yet, we have tried to focus on house-hunting & getting all of our affairs in order. You see, as if moving to a new country and jumping time zones wasn't enough to take in, we have also needed to study for & take our German drivers test {we are both official German licence holders!}, open a German bank account to link to our bank back in the States, car-shop, {For those who don't already know, Daniel said goodbye to his faithful truck of ten years in Massachusetts}, track our car being imported from Maryland, as well as our household & expedited shipments, get new cell phones, attend briefings {Daniel many more than I}, learn about VAT forms {who knew?!}, sign up for ration cards{..yes, ration cards. When we buy things like gas & coffee here we have to use ration card}, buy a GPS because in addition to not being able to pronounce any of the towns we have been house-hunting in, we absolutely have no idea how to get to any of them & many more things that escape me currently ...you get the basic gist.   

Now, perhaps more than ever, I am so extremely thankful for the life-partner God has gifted me. Daniel has been such a rock throughout this entire process. I have immense respect for this man whom I love with ALL of my heart. He has encouraged & loved me in moments of uncertainty when he knows {sometimes even before I know} that I am feeling overwhelmed. He has been so gracious, giving me space when I've needed space & holding me tight when I've needed to be held. He loves me so well & cares for my needs AND wants in a way I've never experienced before. His sense of humor is perfect. for. me. He keeps me smiling and I am so excited to be on this European adventure with HIM. Okay, I could gush all day, but you get the idea... you don't know me very well if you didn't already know how crazy I am about him.

In other news after replying to endless posts online, communicating back & forth through both broken and embarrassing German/English combinations with landlords and realtors, and visiting five potential houses and apartments in the local area, WE HAVE SIGNED A RENTAL CONTRACT. Last Monday we met with the landlord to go over the contact. From there, we visited the housing office & three hours later got their {literal} stamp of approval on our housing contract. Then, MONDAY we'll meet with our landlord & realtor {/translator} & will officially be given the keys to our new place. ...re-reading that makes it all sound SO MUCH simpler than it actually was.

We basically liked three of the five enough to consider moving in. Let's pretend we're on one of those HGTV shows, you know House Hunters or something & give each a title.

For rental #1 we'll go with...  

"Apartment with Breath-Taking View"

 

 

 #2 "Close Commute Duplex with Yard"

  

#3 "Charming Barn with a Commute"

 

D R U M R O L L    P L E A S E . . .  

We've decided to rent the "Close Commute Duplex With a Yard"! We love that its less than 15 minutes to where Daniel will be working. The area is great - very close to lots of local spots. There is a bus stop right outside our street AND we will finally have a backyard for Chewy. The duplex also includes a garage, and had already been inspected by the Housing Office on base, making things much less of a hassle on our end (the other two had not been inspected yet). More pictures to come. We officially move in on the 18 September. Until then, it's suitcase, hotel living for the Langstons. 

Other steps in this housing journey have involved more than a few trips to some other departments on base {TLF, FMO, VAT, AFRC... and probably guaranteed a few other acronyms I'll remember later}. Vising FMO, we were able to sign up for some temporary furniture to use while we await our household shipment. That delivery is set to arrive in two weeks. Until then, we continue to live in TLF {i.e. the hotel}.