Craig left for Marburg on August 30, 1998. His plane trip was OK but one of his bags was split open when he arrived in Frankfurt. Without a cart, he had to carry ALL of his many, heavy bags to the train station to find the correct train. It wasn’t a pleasant trip for him. It was a long 2 months for all of us, especially Casey. During his time in Marburg he learned quite a few things about Germany, including some of the language. He also took a trip to Koln (Cologne) and to Amsterdam in The Netherlands.
At the end of October, Craig finished up at the Speak & Write in Marburg and moved to a place in Muelheim, where we would be living. He wasn’t able to move into “our” apartment until November 1st, but he lived just down the block. All he had to do then was wait for me and Casey.
Craig was able to move into our apartment the weekend of the first. It was REALLY small! It had one room that consisted of a table, love seat, wardrobe and t.v. The love seat was also our bed! It was definitely a change to sleep in such a small bed when I was use to our king. There was also a crib for Casey, which left not so much room. There was a tinykitchen. It was made up of 1 sink, 2 stove burners, 1 cabinet, a very small counter top and a dorm size refrigerator. The fridge had a freezer that was smaller than a bread box. There was hardly room for 2 people in the kitchen at once. There was also a small bathroom with a shower but no tub.
Casey and I arrived in Germany after a not so great flight. What was suppose to only be a 55 minute layover ended up being a 3 hour layover in Chicago. It had been changed and our lousy agent was suppose to inform us. I was not prepared for that. And, to top it all off, what I was told about the luggage limit was WRONG! So, I had to lose a little luggage at the airport. When we arrived, we had to go a long distance to get to our luggage and to Craig. To end the trip on the same note it started on, the carts for the luggage cost 2 DM and I had no German money and much more luggage that I could carry. Luckily, there was a very kind lady who got a cart for me. We waited for our luggage, stopped at customs, then was finally able to see Craig. I was so happy to see him but so tired and frustrated from the trip that I didn’t have the enery for the wonderful reunion I had imagined. I was ready to hand Casey over and had just enough energy for a hug.
I was so relieved to have the trip behind us that I didn’t even mind that our apartment was so small. I really just wanted to see a bed but we also needed to do some shopping so we went out. I was really ready for bed that night, but Casey didn’t do so well. It was about two weeks before he slept at night instead of wanting to get up and play. I had adjusted to the time change by the second day, but with Casey’s internal clock so messed up it was a difficult two weeks for everyone.
We had this enormous hill that we had to climb to get ome from the stores and it proved to be very tiring to shop. The small apartment walls began to feel like they were closing in so it was wonderful when we were able to look at our current flat. It was so LARGE! We fell in love instantly and agreed to take it.
We moved in on the 22nd. We all walked over together that morning. The apartment was very cold and took quite a long time to warm up, but I was so happy to be “home” that I didn’t mind.
Our flat was on the bottom floor so we don’t have to worry about steps. You walk in to a small entry way that has a place to hang coats and park the strollers. To the right is a huge kitchen with a much larger refrigerator/freezer, four burner stove with an OVEN, plenty of cabinets and counter space, and a table and chairs. There are two rooms off the kitchen. One has a large bathtub and sink; the other has the commode and a sink. We had to buy a heater for the 2nd room because there is no heat source and without it it only gets up to about 55 degrees faranheit this time of the year. The seat stays pretty cold even with the heater. It will probably be pretty nice during the summer though. Off of the back of the kitchen is a balcony. To the left of the entry way is our living area. It’s very large and came fuernished with bookcases, dresser, couch, chair, table, desk, t.v. and satellite. There are two rooms off the living area. One is our bedroom. It has a huge closet along one wall and a king size bed that is adjustable. It’s very comfortable. The other room is about half the size of the living area and we’ve made that Casey’s room. He’s never actually slept in it yet, but we’re woring on that. The place even came complete with utensils, dishes, pots & pans, towels, bed clothes and even plants. It is decorated very nicely as well, although I had to put some things away so I could baby proof. It really feels like home.
We didn’t celebrate the holidy on Thanksgiving day, but on the weekend. We had our first visitor. Mark was one of Craig’s frinds in Marburg. We had planned to roast a chicken, but thanks to me and my GREAT Germany, we ended up with duck! Well, it looked like a chicken! :o) Luckily, Mark use to be a chef so he cooked it up nicely. We enjoyed our meal and enjoyed having company, although we really missed our family, and Craig missed football! We had many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We were together, healthy, and had a real “home”!
We are settled in our home now and things are going nicely. Germany is very beautiful at Christmas time. They go all out. There are “Winter Markets” all over. There are little stands where vendors sell all kinds of Christmas and crafty items, along with lots of great food. They also have little rides for the children. Lights and decorations are everywhere! They also have little shows nd things for families and children at the mall on the weekends. One thing I’ve fond that I really like is their special holiday drink. It is served hot and tastes like spiked cider. It is called Gluhwein and tastes GREAT! I think it has quite a lot of alcohol because it really packs a punch! We plan to go to a few other towns to check out their Winter Markets this weekend.
What a wonderful Christmas holiday it has been! We found out some wonderful news…
We are back from our trip to Paris so I thought I'd share a little. We went on a German tour bus so everything was in German, of course. We were the only Americans on the tour. Every time we stopped or they explained something they made sure that "their American friends understood." They were really very nice to us. It was actually kind of nice too because they always checked to make sure "the American friends were on the bus" before they left any place. We were one of the first places they picked up so we spent about another hour picking up people from neighboring cities. We made two stops on the way, one in Germany and another in Belgium. It's more expensive to pee in Belgium than Germany. In Germany you only pay 50 pfennings, in Belgium it was 60 pfennings to use the toilet. It's very strange to pay to use public toilets. It will probably get pretty expensive when we start potty training Casey. I'll hve to stop at the bank and buy a roll of 50 pfenning pieces. ;o) We left Muelheim at 5:15 am and arrived in Paris at our hotel at 2:00 p.m. We had the afternoon to do what we wanted. While unpacking we realized that we had forgotten to bring a pair of shoes for Casey. Boy did we feel like idiots! We decided to just venture out walking and see if we could find a shoe store and whatever else. The first store we came along we stopped in and bought a very cute pair of shoes. Casey needed a new pair anyway. He was outgrowing his tennis shoes. There wasn't a big selection but we needed shoes. As we walked further along we counted at least a half dozen BIG shoe stores! We didn't even look because we didn't want to see a bunch more cute shoes that might have been cheaper. We went on to explore and found a grocery store where we bought some things to eat in the hotel. Casey wanted to carry the bananas so we let him hold them. I told Craig to make sure that if he dropped them that he didn't run them over with the stroller. We were doing great until we got back to the hotel. About 100 feet from the entrance Casey dropped his bananas and Craig smushed one with the stroller. At least there were 2 good ones left. At 6:45 we met the tour bus for our boat tour. It was chilly but not bad. It stayed in the low 50s the entire time we were in Paris. When we got on the boat you could see the Eiffel Tower and it was all lit up. It looked so beautiful at night. We toured all up and down the river. I think Casey would have been happy if all we had seen was the river, boats, and the birds! He could care less about everything else, although he kept pointing to the Eiffel Tower and asking, "What's that?" The boat tour was great! On the trip back to the hotel, Casey fell asleep. What a gift. We were able to just get him ready for bed and lay him down. He slept all night. We had to wake him up the next morning so we could eat breakfast and meet the bus for our tour of the city. We saw practically everything. We didn't stop at everything, but we did stop at the Concorde, the Louve, Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame. We didn't have time to go inside Notre Dame so we went back in the afternoon and checked it out. It was beautiful inside. We lit a candle for the new baby and said a prayer. We walked around quite a bit and stopped at the grocery store again. After we got back to the hotel, we decided to get in our suits and see how Casey liked to swim. We really hoped he would like it since we had to pay to swim. Casey looked so cute in his speedos with his little round belly hanging over the top. He LOVED swimming. We even put our faces in the water and asked him if he could do it. To our suprise, he did it! Daddy had to make him pull his face back out because he wanted to leave it in. It was amazing, but he didn't even inhale any water. It's like he knew not to try to breath. He loved the deep end. There was a ramp that slowly got deeper as you went down it. He kept wanting to walk down it and wouldn't stop when the water started going over his face. He got so mad at Daddy when he made him turn around and wouldn't let him walk where it was over his head. We swam for about 1 1/2 hours. We figured that Casey was as wrinkled as he could get and we were worn out so we headed to our room. Casey screamed when we left. He wanted to swim some more. Getting Casey to bed that night was quite different than the night before. I was feeling a ;little sick so I laid down. Around midnight, Craig woke me up and asked me to watch Casey for about 10 minutes so he could rest. Casey wasn't showing any signs that he was going to sleep for us. Well, I fell asleep and Casey woke me up with Craig's mangled glasses in his hand. I woke Craig up and tried to fix his glasses so he could at least wear them till we got back to Germany. Craig was so mad, and so was I. Not minutes later, Casey poured a small box of potato chips in Craig's pants. Craig was so tired and worn down that he just told Casey in a "i give up voice" , "I don't care what you do; pour chips in my pants, pour them in my shoes, tear up my glasses, just please go to sleep!" Casey finally went to sleep around 1 am. We can now laugh about that night, but at the time there was no laughing going on. I was even to the point that I wanted to sleep and just let Casey do whatever he wanted! We were really tired. On the third morning, we got up, ate breakfast, and dropped our bags off on the bus. We checked out of our room and took the Metro to the Concord where we walked through the parks and to the Louve. We really didn't have time during our trip to go inside. It would require at least an entire day. We talked to a couple that went and they stood in lines for about 7 hours total, so we just looked around and took some pictures. From there we walked to the Arc de Triumph. It was a LONG walk. We stopped in a couple of shops along the way but it took us about an hour and a half to get to the Arc. We found the Virgin Superstore and found a couple Teletubbies video tapes for Casey and one for us; in English! I think it was a good investment since Casey has watched both tapes at least 5 times since we got home. He loves them! One of them is called Dance with the Teletubbies and he loves to clap and dance to it. It's fun to watch him. We ate at McDonalds the last day. Real European, huh? We met the tour bus and had a nice drive home. Casey did really well on the bus both times. Craig and I both had a seat next to us so we traded him back and forth. Everybody on the bus seemed to really like Casey. They played with him and talked with us. There was a family behind Craig and one of the little girls played with Casey a lot! It was a wonderful trip. I'm really glad that we went. Craig was a little sceptical about going. He figured that it wouldn't be that cool to see a big tower and a bunch of buildings, but he was very impressed with everything, even the tower! Casey even seemed to really enjoy himself. It was a nice vacation, although it was nice to get home to our own bed! We got home about 8 pm.
We celebrated New Year’s about 9 p.m. with champagne, silly string, and noise makers. We didn’t want to mess up bedtime for Casey. Casey had so much fun with the silly string and noise makers.
January was a pleasant month weather wise. It was always between 40-50 most days, so not too cold. The only bad part of January was the morning sickness. I was nauseous all day and sooooo tired! Luckily it ended at the end of the month. We were back into the swing of everyday Germany life after our adventurous Holidays.
So far this month we have seen the new baby via ultrasound, heard the new baby’s heartbeat, and currently have a visitor! Grandma is here and is Casey sure excited. Of course she never spoils him! ;o)
She had a crazy trip getting here. She was flying from St. Louis to Newark, to Dusseldorf. She was due to arrive at 6:50 a.m. While in Newark, a lunatic with a gun ran through security so everyone had to evacuate the airport and stand outside for 2 hours. This caused her plane to leave Newark 3 hours late, in which they made up 2 hours flying. During their landing they were told they couldn’t due to fog. They were rerouted to Frankfurt where they were going to land, refuel and wait for clearance to fly back to Dusseldorf. They waited and waited and waited, only to be told they would have to deboard the plane, go through customs, get their bags, and get on a bus where they would be driven back to Dusseldorf. They finally arrived in Dusseldorf about 3:30. Mom still had to ride the train back to Muelheim and a tram to our house. She got here about 6:00 p.m. At least she got here safe. We will be visiting Amsterdam and a few places in Germany during her visit. I will post our adventures after her visit.
We had a wonderful visit with Grandma. We spent a day in Amsterdam and a day in Koln (Cologne). Craig and Grandma walked to the top of the Dome in Koln, which was a great accomplishment for Grandma. It requires walking up 500 steps with no elevator! Grandma sure was huffing and puffing when they came back down. We also went to the chocolate factory which Casey loved! They were making large chocolate soccer and footballs. Casey just kept pointing, saying “BALL!” and “YAY!” We also visited the city museum in Koln. In Amsterdam, we took a boat tour of the canals, looked through the wax museum, took a tour of the Anne Frank House, and walked all through the city. While Grandma walked Casey along one of the main streets, Craig and I took an eye-opening walk through the red-light district. It was definitely a different experience. We spent the remainder of Grandma’s visit around the Muelheim area. Grandma got to experience lots of new food and life in Germany. Luckily, her flight back home went much smoother than her flight over. The only problem she had was waiting for someone to pick her up at the airport. Her ride was pretty late!
We have had some pretty nice weather so far this month. Last weekend we found a nice little park where we took Casey. We bought him a bucket and shovels so he could play in the huge sandbox. He loves going to the park and seems to have overcome his aversion to getting dirty. He pours sand all over himself and has a blast! He has also found that he loves bakeries. We go quite often and he always gets to pick out a treat. Now if we ask him if he wants to go to the bakery, he lights up and says, “YAH!” He looks so cute carrying those huge pasteries around.
My good friend has now left Germany. Her mother is very ill so she and her family is moving back to South Africa. I will really miss her. She was a big help in my German class and we had so much in common. I hated to see her leave. On a good note, Casey and I are going home to the US next month. We will be there for about 4 weeks. I can’t wait to see family and Oscar! We figured I had better go soon or I would be too pregnant to go later. I just hope we have a good flight!
This month did not get off to a good start. On April 1st I was admitted to the hospital for an incompetent cervix. I had a cerclage done on the 2nd and spent a total of 9 days in the hospital, including Easter. Now I am on partial bedrest with restricted activities for the rest of my pregnancy. We reluctantly have to send our wonderful son to the states to be taken care of since I can’t do it with this complication. He will stay with his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin; and spend lots of time with his grandparents. It will be a long, lonely summer without him but it is the best for him and for the baby. He will be able to do so much more than he would have been able to do here and I will be able to follow doctors orders and make sure I deliver a healthy, full-term baby. August won’t be here soon enough. I miss my little boy already and he hasn’t even left yet. The good news is that the baby has been doing wonderfully through it all. I am just lucky we caught the problem. Most women with this problem lose a baby before they even realize they have a problem. I feel very lucky and hope that we will continue to be blessed.
May did not go as planned but we did get a wonderful gift. On May 19th our little baby GIRL was born. She came 14 weeks early and I spent most all of the month in the hospital but she is doing pretty well considering her prematurity. To read the details click HERE!
Lots happened during this time but at the same time not much. We spent every day at the NICU in Duisburg waiting for Maggie to grow big and strong enough to come home.
Maggie was finally released on the 9th of September. It was wonderful to bring her home. Right after she came home our Caseybug came back to us. Now our family is together again and finally complete. We took Grandma Rita to Cologne where we went to the Dome, City Museum and Chocolate Factory. We also visited the Duisburg Zoo. Grandma, Daddy and Casey spent a day in Amsterdam as well. We are working on getting things back into a normal mode.
Casey and Daddy took another trip to Cologne with Uncle Mike and Aunt Diane. Casey even went to the top of the Dome. Grandma Madonna can tell you what an accomplishment it is to reach the top. Aunt Diane didn’t even make it. She had to turn around with only 1% left to go. It is quite high with an open spiral staircase in the last part of the climb.
Dogs, dogs, everywhere! (grocery stores, department stores, restaurants, malls, trains, buses, banks, bars, everywhere)
Germans talk to themselves; a lot! (DISCLAIMER: This could be due to the fact that we use public transportation frequently.)
You are never more than a couple minutes from a cigarette machine no matter where you are. That might account for all the children smoking.
The police drive small station wagons!
When in the hospital, all medicine is dispensed in the morning and you are responsible for taking it on time throughout the day; even if you have to take it at midnight. They don’t wake you.
Bakeries and fresh, baked bread
Public transportation system
Gluhwein
Jagerschnitzel
Stroller sleeping bags
Shoes
Beer
Chocolate
Thick, soft, and warm covers/pillows
The Storks Nest baby store
Weinachtsmart
High prices (including 16% tax)
Store hours
Small refrigerators/freezers
Skinny aisles at the stores
The terrible service you get EVERYWHERE. (The “no tipping” could be part of the problem.)
Shopping for groceries 2-3 X per week
Language barrier
Attitudes
Dog doo-doo on the sidewalks
Need a prescription for virtually everything
