A Christmas Message from Claron

This is Amanda. Claron hates, hates, passionately hates cheesy Christmas songs. I'm not talking the traditional Christ centered songs. I'm looking at you "Christmas Shoes" and even "Mary Did You Know?" Yes, Mary did know. An angel came and told her! In that spirit, here is this years' Christmas message from Claron:

Just Another Week in Germany...

I think this week should be recorded for posterity. Here is the glamour of living in a foreign land:
Sunday: Cold, Raining. Eliza slept in bed with me because she woke with an earache. Get dressed for Church. Eliza looks alright. I'm feeling ehhh. Walk to the train. Get all the way downtown before turning around because Eliza now looks like death rewarmed, and I feel that way. Sleep all day.

Monday: Cold, Freezing Rain. Call Eliza's doctor. Busy, busy, busy. Finally get through. "We can give you an appt tomorrow or you can come and wait." We go to wait. Wait almost 2 hrs. See doctor.
Dr: "Yes, her ears are infected."
Me: "So, we'll give her an antibiotic, right?"
Dr: "Well, she doesn't have a fever, and she seems in good spirits."
Me: "Sigh. She gets these often, and they usually don't go away without an antibiotic."
Dr: "I'll give you a prescription for some Emser Salts and a very strong decongestant. Please only use it at night and for a maximum two days. Also, you'll want to make her a compress of warmed onions."
Me: "I think this was caused by seasonal allergies. Could you also give her an allergy medication?"
Dr: "We'll have to allergy test her first. You should also keep her home for the next three days."

Seriously!? Guess what the "strong" decongestant was? AFRIN! OTC in the US. "Emser Salts" are salts from Bad Ems in Germany. So, I tried the onions. Didn't work! I used decongestants and motrin from the US.

Tuesday: Cold, Freezing Rain. My friend, Tamsyn, calls me and asks if I want to go shopping. Yes! Eliza is looking well. We go shopping, but by the end, Eliza and I are tired and not feeling well. We get home. I eventually get Eliza and myself to sleep and the bell rings. I figure I might have a package so I answer. A guy is at my door selling frozen food delivery. I tell him I'm not interested. He says, "Oh, no problem. Here is a catalog." I take the catalog and he starts jammering. I try to tell him I have a sick kid and need to go but can't get a word in edgewise. I try to shut the door. He puts his foot in the way and gets louder. He asks for my phone number. I decline. He yells, "Well, I need this then." He grabs the catalog and slams the door, waking Eliza up. I am FURIOUS!

Wednesday: Cold, Freezing Rain/Wintery Mix. My anniversary and the long awaiting 16 wk baby appt. Eliza comes with me. All is well. Baby looks great. Baby refuses to show private bits. At the end of the appt., I tell the doc that I've been having probs with my sinuses and ears, but no fever. I think I have a trump card and tell her I did the onion thing. Didn't work. Doc says, "Have you tried essential oils?" Me: "Yes." Doc: "Well, call if you get a fever."

Someone shoot me!

Thursday: Cold. Some drizzle. Eliza is back to school. I am babysitting my friends kids and need to get a real German license. So, I get up early and travel all the way to SW Munich (We live in NE) to the Führerscheinstelle (DMV). Get there. Wait 1.5 hrs. The lady says that my address is listing as our old address and we must not have deregistered with Munich. I show her my registration in Garching and say its the same "Landkreis" (County), it should be automatic. She says, "Yes, but the system says Munich, so you must to go the Burgerbüro and get it fixed. Also, now that you are not city Munich, just county Munich, you have to go to a different Führerscheinstelle."

So, I go downtown to the Kreisverwaltungreferat to the Burgerbüro. I wait in three different lines. Finally, the lady says, "No, Garching did fix the address. The system has the right address." I sigh and ask for a print out. "Five Euros, please?" Of course! And, so I go to a different line to pay and go get back in line to get my paper.

Next, I have to travel on a subway line and suburban train to get to the Landkreis Führerscheinstelle in the middle of nowhere (Far SE of town). I get there, walk a mile in the cold. Get the counter. One employee is checking FB. One is talking on the phone to a friend. One is actually working. Another is playing with their phone. They all ignore me. Finally, one comes over. She gives me a paper to fill out. I fill out what I can but it seems to be not in German but DMV speak. She gives me a card to go pay. I go pay and come back. She tells me that they can't process my application because I don't have a translation of my US license! At this point, I do something I never do. I cry. I am tired. I am sick. I am cold. I haven't eaten all day. I've spent all day in German bureaucracy hell only to be told "No!" yet again. She goes and talks to the lady that was on the phone previously discussing a holiday in Malta. They say they will process it, but I need to get a translation and bring it back. I tell them I live all the way in Garching, and it is really hard to get here. The lady goes and talks to holiday chick again. They say no big deal. I can drop it to the Rathaus (town hall) in Garching. She copies my US license and stamps it and says it is okay to drive.

I get on the train. It takes me about 1.5 hrs to get to Garching. Thankfully, Claron picked up Eliza. I retriever her from his office. My phone is dead. I am exhausted.

Friday: Today. Cold, Cloudy. I am afraid of the world. I think I'll stay inside. My house is a mess. I am still sick. Eventually, I have to go pick up Eliza, go hang with my friend's kids and get a Christmas tree, but somehow I can't shake the feeling that everything will end in disaster.

Please note: All conversations were in German. I can't imagine what all of this would be like if I couldn't speak German.

Happy Anniversary, Claron!

9 Years of Marriage
8 Pets (3 Cats, 2 Birds, 2 Fish, 1 Snake)
7 Countries Visited Together
6 Moves
5 Cars
4 Yrs of Eliza (almost 5)
3 Church Congregations
2 Continents
1.5 Children
1 Marriage 

An Accounting Rant

Dear Bavaria,
I think it is absolutely awesome that you decided to give us a Christmas bonus.... HOWEVER! I really don't understand the following....

Why, why, why did you take out extra Solidarity Payments (that is another rant)*, Health Insurance, Retirement, Unemployment, and Care Insurance?! It is a one time bonus! Total Stolen: 314.78 Euro! Also, more than TWICE the normal solidarity rate! C'mon! Bonuses should not be treated as normal income.

Heck, I even understand that you taxed our entire pay in a 4% higher income tax bracket. I'm almost okay with that, but that "bonus" ended up being taxed at a rate of 45%! Thanks! I guess...
Signed,
Another German Consumer Who Won't Be Buying

*P.S. Solidarity payments are money that former West Germany pays to former East Germany to help them rebuild. Crap, I know!

P.P.S. The retirement is just money down the drain since we won't be vested. 9.95% of Claron's pay goes this!

Hiatus

Sorry for the "break." The last few months have been a bit difficult. I've spent most of it in the bathroom. Thankfully, I don't have a tape worm... it's just a baby. Well, I hope it is a baby:

I am due May 2012. Eliza says that it is a girl, and her name is "Joshua." Well, at least part of that will be proved to be incorrect. I am feeling a bit better and hopefully, I will update the blog (from the past few months as well as going forward).

Nymphenburg: Let's Go Inside!

The downstairs of the main floor has been converted to a ticket, souvenir, informational area. You go up the stairs and you enter this:

Turning to your left, you quickly realize it is only going to get better. The ballroom:

Looking back you realize the first room is just the bottom of the ballroom balcony:

 Here is a better look at the top:

A painting in the ballroom:

And the ceiling. Cool, no?

All of the areas above the doors were really cool. I made you a collage. Make sure you look really close at the picture in the bottom left.

Yep, that is a goat playing a horn. It makes me giggle every time.

Ok. We'll leave the ballroom now. Here is a painting of Therese. She is the daughter of the King of Poland. She married Max II.

 Here are more rooms:

 This is where Ludwig, the last king of Bavaria was born. He was the crazy one who built all of the castles (including Neuschwanstein) and almost bankrupted the House of Wittelsbach and the Bavarian Government.

Sorry there aren't more pictures. It's not that I didn't take them. Flash photography wasn't allowed. Most of the windows were covered and I didn't have a tripod. Therefore, taking photos was ummm... interesting.

I'm Going Fruity

We take a break from Nymphenburg Palace for a quick report on fruit. Often when I go to the market, I will see a fruit that I don't recognize, I've never tasted or isn't common in the US. Here is my listing so far:

Zuckermelone -  Originally from Spain. This is an awesome melon. Like the name says it is sweet, but has some cucumber tones.

Kelek - I found this at the Turkish Market. It is very sweet and nice. Similar to a sugar melon but a little different.

Johannisbeere - Yes, we have these in the US (currants), but here they are so common. There is Johannisbeere everything - juice, ice cream, you name it. Also, they are sold all over here. They are even in the tiny markets that barely have any produce.

 

Maracuja - This is another thing that we have in the US (passionfruit). But it really is a staple here. There is Maracuja ice cream, yogurt. It is quite tasty and one of my favorites. They love to mix it with mango.

Mirabellen - I bought these today. I thought they were going to be like grapes, but no, they are like tiny plums. Very yummy.

Physalis - Growing up, I had a neighbor that grew these and sold them to the Hotel Dupont for like $40/lb. Here, they are common (and much cheaper). They taste like a mixture between a tomato and an apricot.

Pomelo - This is kinda like a grapefruit. I personally haven't tried them, but I have seen them around.

 Stachelbeere - I think these are gooseberries in the US. I've never seen them though. They are the size of grapes, but when you bite in they have all these little compartments. Eliza really likes them.

I will continue to keep you updated as I buy whatever I don't recognize at the market. In addition to these, Germany has the normal assortment of fruit: apples, bananas, oranges, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, cherries, etc.

Nymphenburg: The Outside

The great part about going sight seeing by myself is that I get to take my time shooting pictures. There is no husband sighing and saying, "Can you hurry up?" or small child whining that they need to go potty or want to see the souvenirs. Also, I get to take way more pictures. ;)

Here is the front:

Unfortunately, the main facade was being restored. 

This is one of the front wings:

Flowers in the front:

The palace just keeps going and going. These are some out buildings in the front:

 A statue in the front:

In the back, here is the facade:

Look at the faces:

Here is a lion guarding the steps:

And the best part... the park. It goes on for practically ever:

Sorry if you are tired of Nymphenburg. We still have to see the insides (especially the Gallery of Beauties).

Cygnets and Other Fun

At Nymphenburg Palace, the entire front reflection pool was filled with all sorts of interesting water fowl. No sooner had I arrived did these two handsome little guys come over and pose for me:

So fluffy and cute! But look at this! Can it get cuter?

They look just like chicken wings! So adorable! I like this next one because it is like a before and after (however, I got photobombed by a duck. Sheesh!).

I think this next swan does yoga.

Impressive, no?

I also took some photos of the other interesting water fowl. This bird dives under the water.

These were some kind of geese. I like the Canadian Goose in the background. He looks like he is saying, "You kids get off my lawn!"

There were also Mallard ducks and some Wood ducks.

Next up: More Nymphenburg

Preview: Nymphenburg Palace

So, I'm keeping up on my promises and trying to get to some touristy stuff. Yesterday, I went to Nymphenburg Palace (by myself!). It was really relaxing and enjoyable. I don't have too much time; so, here is my favorite picture of the day (unedited):

More to come...