Foreign Relations

Dear Hillary Clinton,
Watch out! There is a new diplomat on the block, and she is irresistible! She regularly introduces herself (and her family) to the native people, and while they are initially surprised, they are quickly charmed. She has made friends all over Munich, including such places as on the subway, in the supermarket, on the street, at the park and on and on. She is always sure to tell them her name, her parents' names, how old she is and where she is from, and she always, always shakes hands.

Here is a picture of her in action:

Actually, maybe we should send her to Libya. I'm sure she could convince Gaddafi to bend to her will.

Best,

Amanda

Englischer Garten: Monopteros

In 1832, they used leftover building materials from the building the Residenz (Royal Palace) to build a small Greek temple in the Englischer Garten. The temple is called Monopteros. It was completed in 1836. The English Garden is the "Central Park" of Munich.

The view from Monopteros

The View from Monopteros

The Ultimate Germany Tourist Photo

The Kindness of Strangers

Before coming to Germany, we were told that the Germans could be a bit "cold." We were told that they liked to stare, they weren't very open and that there weren't enamored over the children of strangers. Well, I whole heartedly disagree.

Today, we went all over the city. We talked to tons and tons of strangers. I am so thankful for all of the people who assisted us. I am thankful for:

• The (gorgeous) guy who helped us find the hidden office, 
• The girls in the office who loved all over Eliza,
• The cashier in Aldi who tried to speak English to Eliza and was so nice, 
• The lady on the street who stopped to tell Eliza how gorgeous she is (even though Eliza didn't understand a word), 
• The real estate agent who drove us to the subway (in his Porsche), 
• The kebab guy who gave me a free yogurt drink, 
• The girl who let the "kleine" (little one) use the employee bathroom at the bakery in the subway,
• The secretary at Claron's work who is so helpful and give him my messages,
• The people who complimented me on my German,
• The random people Eliza talked to on the subway that were nice to her,
• and for the innumerable people who answered my questions on the street, in the subway, in the offices.

I am just so thankful that people have been so nice and helpful. It has really made everything so much easier!

(P.S. One day I will start posting pictures, really! Right now we are trying to get everything settled... a permanent house, phones, furniture, tax forms, bureaucracy, and on and on)

An Indian Sunday

A few years ago, Claron's labmate at the time, Lauren, went to India for a conference. She very sweetly brought us a dress for Eliza. As I was packing, I found it, and it fit!!! Eliza wore it to church this week. When we went outside to take pictures, Eliza thought it warranted a dance. Doesn't it look like she's doing a Bollywood number?

Or maybe a ballet?

Here are some of my other favorites of the day:

Thanks for the dress, Lauren!!

Reality Check

We've sold our car. I miss her already. She was a great car. Sigh. Bye bye, little hybrid. I hope your new family loves you!

For now until we leave, we'll be rocking around in this lady:

 

That's right! A real deal police interceptor! She's even bulletproof with working spotlights. She was graciously loaned to us by some friends at church. It's been fun driving her around. Let's just say, people slow down!

Braids!

I've been doing Eliza's hair each day, and we've been having so much fun with it. My mom has been able to braid her hair for quite some time, but here is some proof that I've finally caught up.

She chose this whole outfit herself (including the sunglasses!).

Blanca

This is Blanca. She is a beautiful pointed mini-rex rabbit at the BUNS shelter here in Santa Barbara. She is the sweetest rabbit, and I would take her home in a heartbeat if I could.

Eliza loves her too.

We will miss her when we move to Munich. :(

Someone, take her home. She is the best! Here is her petfinder ad.

Houston, we have a problem

The other day we went for a hike to the Coronado Butterfly Preserve on the Ellwood Mesa. Imagine my surprise when I took a picture and got this:

This was on an automatic setting. I took this next one in manual. See the difference?

Same exact scene. Uhoh. I knew I had a problem. Shortly thereafter, I got an error message: Error 01, Communications between the camera and lens is faulty. Clean the lens contacts. I cleaned the lens contacts and still the error message.

I took these the day before:

Confused, I google'd the error. I got everything from faulty lens connectors to a blown motherboard in the camera. To test the camera, I tried on another lens. Here is the result:

"Good" news. It is only my one lens. Sigh. Anyone else ever lose a lens? I can't figure out what changed from one day to another. Strange.

Too Soon

The countdown to Munich has definitely begun. I can't tell you how much I will miss days like this.