Life: Idiotropic

December 18th, 2005 - That weekend was the last weekend that the Gillrath steam train ran. The train runs for occasions throughout the year like Christmas, Easter, and the Sparglfest (asparagus festival – I guess that this area is a big grower for white asparagus). For the last few weeks it had run and I’d heard it was a nice thing to do, but knew very little about it. I did knew that St. Nikolaus met the train, so I really wanted to go for the kids. We went on Sunday and it turned out to be a wonderful outing. It had snowed the day before, so there was still snow covering the ground making everything very storybook perfect, lightly dusted with powder. Each window was decorated with a sprig of evergreen and a few ornaments. In our car there was a stove with an iron gate around it for heat. At one stop the conductor came by and added kindling to the fire. It was very nice. The train took off promptly at 13:00 sending billowing swirls of steam streaming behind and into the fields as it passed. The steam was beautiful against the landscape with the open fields and tall windmills. I knew from the train schedule that the ride would last almost 2 hours, but had absolutely no idea how far the train went nor how that 2 hours would be filled. A few minutes after we’d left the station, Kirk noticed a horse drawn carriage. We peered out the window through the houses and saw this quaint old fashioned carriage driven by a man in a long black coat and a very proper tall black hat. The carriage came out from behind the houses onto a dirt road between the crop fields and there we saw clearly St. Nikolaus in the back with Black Peter. (Black Peter is the helper to St. Nikolaus. The good children get gifts while the bad children get lashes with the sticks that Black Peter carries with him). The train came to a stop. Everyone aboard was looking all around excitedly out all the windows trying to see, stirring with anticipation of what would happen next. Parents stood with cameras poised at the door. Kids wiggled in their seats and asked why we were stopped and when is St. Nikolaus coming. Then, the door opened and St. Nikolaus walked through with his long elegant robes and tall papal style hat. The Black Peter followed, dressed all in black with a black hood like a henchman, handing bags to St. Nikolaus as he got to each row of seats. The kids faces all lit up. Arianna exclaimed, there’s “Kirk Nikolaus!” When he came to our seats he kindly shook each girl’s hand and then gave them each a large plastic bag of goodies. It was such a wonderful treat! Each bag contained a Clementine, a large chocolate Santa, and a thick 8” tall tasty bread baked into the shape of a gingerbread boy. St. Nikolaus went through each car full of children, then had his own car to ride in for the rest of the trip. The carriage left and the train started up again. It steamed on for 30 minutes more and then stopped. People started getting off. We were confused. Why were people getting off? We didn’t know there would be a stop! Kirk asked around and got the impression that we had a 30 minute break for shopping. We got off the train slowly, wandering with the crowd, a little flustered that we were stuck who knows where and without many Euro for shopping. The crowd wandered over the track behind a row of trees and over to a large white tent building. We thought we were walking into a giant flea market. I was thinking how odd it was that we were brought to this place for what seemed like captive shopping. Curious and amused we kept walking. Piano carols and voices came from the place as we got closer. I was pleasantly surprised upon entering to find the tent filled with rows of tables set neatly with coffee cups and saucers and coffee pots. In the corner there was food for purchase, cherry covered waffles, rostbrats, and other treats. We got Gluwein and cocoa. In the front of the room was a 20+ foot Weinachtsbaum next to a stage where St. Nikolaus and Black Peter sat. The pianist played lightly on the piano. A Penzey (caught me as funny as I’d seen the same system in the states – very modern in such an old setting) sound system stood mid stage. The train conductor came to the microphone making an announcement. Immediately the German children formed a line at the stage. All was in German, so it took me a while to understand. St. Nikolaus asked each their name and age, then their talent. At this the child would bravely perform their talent into the microphone. Many of the young ones counted or did their ABC’s. The older ones sang songs and one girl brought a small recorder and played into the microphone. As soon as they were finished, St. Nikolaus would reward them with a Snickers bar (at the American Christmas party the kids got German kinder eggs, here, they got Snickers bars… funny). Arianna really wanted to go up too, but Kirk wasn’t quite ready to lead her though that… may be next year. Arianna is picking up German phrases very quickly. The other night she said, “Daddy, what does ___ mean?” The lines are where 4 German words went. I don’t know the phrase nor how to spell it, but she has heard it and pronounced it perfectly to Kirk who immediately recognized it and gave her the English translation. She’ll be speaking German before anyone. Anyway… the train ride was wonderful. We all piled back onto the train after about 30 minutes and had a very pleasant ride back. The train stopped again in the same place where St. Nikolaus came on and there sat the carriage waiting to take him away until the next train came.

We got back at 1445 and went out to get our Weinachtsbaum (Christmas tree) that same afternoon. I’d been really worried that I wouldn’t be able to get a large tree. All the trees I’d seen had been so short and sparsely branched. A fruit and vegetable stand in our town just a few blocks from the train station sold Christmas trees, so we stopped there. As Kirk and I went in my eyes got big seeing some very tall beautiful trees. Kirk joked in German that his wife wanted a big tree, but that since I didn’t speak German, that he would have the upper hand. I told them that I wanted a “gross” tree (large) and motioned tall and wide with my arms. We looked around and a few minutes later a nice man emerged from the back holding a perfect tree. To Kirk’s dismay, I excitedly proclaimed, “I love it!” and the tree became ours. In its stand it is about 8.5 feet tall leaving room at it’s top for the star I couldn’t find this season for its top. We brought it home and began to decorate it. I bought the 220 watt lights so once I had those put on, the girls helped me decorate. I put out all the non-breakable ornaments for the little ones so they decorated (over and over again) the bottom 3 feet of the tree. Tiara and I decorated the rest and Kirk put on his airplane ornaments. Elise had fun pulling ornaments off and putting them back on. Arianna and Luci did their share of rearranging too throughout the next week. It’s beautiful – a perfect mix of ornaments both hand-made and bought, old from my childhood and new from my girls.

Yesterday I was cranky from being cooped up in the house, so I had the little ones ready to leave the second Kirk and Tiara came home. We drove 5 minutes away to the local castle, Trips Burg. The "water castle" built in the 15th century and then expanded in the 17th century was built on four islands surrounded by water. There are beautiful pathways extending far beyond the castle for biking, walking, and jogging. We saw people there feeding ducks and gorgeous swans. Now I know where we'll go when we have stale bread. The swans were storybook in their elegance with perfectly orange beaks and bright white feathers. We even saw one black swan with a red beak. The castle isn't huge, but it's still a castle and is beautiful with it's surrounding water and stately manner. Part of it has been modernized with new windows and is used as a care facility for the elderly. The other parts are closed off to the public, but the trails all around are heavily used. We walked quite a distance enjoying the scenery. Not far from the castle down the path is a wonderful old reflecting pool. At first I thought it was just a pretty pond, but it has a perfect oval shape with gorgeous oaks planted around it. The reflection is amazing - perfectly glass-like. Kirk said that oaks are planted around reflecting pools and the branches and cuttings thrown into the water, so in the summer with the heat, the tannins from the oaks turn the water black and thus give off a near perfect mirror reflection. We'll go to this castle a lot. It's close and the girls will enjoy walking and riding their bicycles there in the warmer weather. I have to get more photos of that reflecting pool... I've never seen anything like it.

Tiara will want to go back too. She saw a ton of dogs there and, as you know, she LOVES dogs. Here is seems that owning a dog is like owning a pair of socks. You just have one. I think bicycles are the same way actually. I have never in my life seen more dogs and bicycles than I have here. People walk A LOT. I see people walking their dogs constantly. Wonderfully bundled up ladies with scarves and warm woolen hats will walk by with their bags for groceries, then 40 minutes later I'll see them walk by my window again with their bags full. The girls love to see all the dogs in all shapes and sizes getting their daily walks here too. Germany is VERY dog friendly. Last week when we went out for pizza, a man came in to get some food and brought his dog with him. No on gave him a second glance. Dogs are allowed in restaurants and grocery stores and are taken everywhere as one would haul their children - may be more so. The bicycles are wonderful too. They have very strict laws so all bicycles are equipped with one headlight and a horn and reflectors. It's so nice to see so many people of all ages out riding their bikes and in any kind of weather too. After being in Oklahoma for so long where you only saw your neighbors during the two temperate months of the year, it is refreshing to see so many people outside.

Today we drove around a bit. The kids and I decided to check out a wild animal park nearby, but it was very quiet and no one was there, so we drove around and explored a bit around our new village. I almost got run over by a big truck. They have narrow roads here anyway and in some places they make an S shape with sidewalk areas jutting out into the road on one side and then the other... I think they are there just to slow down traffic. Unless there is a sign, then there are no clear rules, just first come, first served. I got there first, so I entered it, but a big BIG truck thought it should go too, so it kept on going and would have hit me if I had not have driven onto the sidewalk. Now I know a new rule: always wait for the big trucks. They don't care who they hit. We went to the Extra, a big grocery/knick knack store in Gangelt. It was nice to look around. The shopping carts here (at all stores) cost one Euro. At IKEA, the are only 50 Euro cents, so I have one of each coin in my purse to use. The carts are all neatly stored locked together. You place your coin in a slot and once the coin locks in, then the cart comes loose from the other carts and you can use it. If you want your coin back, then you simply return your cart, lock it in, then your coin pops out. A Euro is a little more than a dollar, so needless to say, they have no stray shopping carts rolling all over the lot and there is no need for an employee to spend his time collecting them. Another thing (something that I forgot about today) is that they don't bag anything. No paper nor plastic. You bring your own bags or carry it out yourself. You load it into your cart or bag yourself. Again, it is very efficient (for them) and saves on bags and employees. Most stores have cloth bags you can purchase for a Euro. The Extra was nice. It was a decent sized grocery store but also had a random selection of household things like a drug store might have. We got a couple pastries to try at the backerei inside. So far all the grocery stores that I've been to have a little backerei counter right outside the checkout stands, so you pick up your freshly baked items afterwards and pay for them separately. Right by the door was a little stand with Dolmas, herbed cheese, stuffed peppers and many other Mediteranean delights. The nice man there gave each of the girls a sample of some creamy white cheese and I ordered some dolmas to go. There are a lot of Turkish people here in Germany, so it's not uncommon to find Turkish restaurants and food stands here.

When we first got here we saw enormous piles of sugar beats laying in the fields all around. Geilenkirchen and the surrounding areas. Slowly the piles are disappearing as trucks take them wherever. I guess the local apple juice plant uses them for their sugar and it is the main crop here. I've heard that the locals aren't fond of them -- the large melon-sized, potato-like vegetables often tumble off the truck onto the road and irritate drivers who have to swirve to miss them. In this cold, they are near frozen and would not be pleasant to hit with your car. I saw quite a pile of them on the road on the way to pick up Kirk and Tiara today and can understand why the Germans would get annoyed at them.

Today Tiara brought home her folder from school with all of her work in it. She is excelling at school! I am so proud of her. All of her work is A+ work and she got 100% on her biography poster/oral report project. The kids voted for the top 4 and Tiara made it into the top 4 too! She was soooo excited especially being the new student. Next week is a school dance. She's excited and nervous. Only a couple of her friends have dates and Tiara is hoping that no one asks her. She's not quite ready for that, but she is excited to go and hang out with her friends. They are also doing secret santa's next week and she got her friend's name, so that is fun for her. I am thrilled that she is doing so well academically, but equally as happy that she is fitting in and making friends there.

Next week will be the last week before the Christmas break. Tonight I'd hoped to take Gillrath's steam train to see St. Nikolaus, but everyone was too tired, so we'll do that next weekend. Tomorrow we're going to Cologne again and Sunday we're meeting some friends in Aachen. I'll send more photos and a little note when the weekend is over. Monday we'll start moving and email could be hit or miss. Have a wonderful weekend. I am thinking of you all. I tried to get the Christmas packages out today, but the post office closed early. Nice, eh? So, now we have an appointment (didn't know I could get an appointment at the post office... not bad) on Monday before they open. I think I'll start doing all my mailing that way! So... with some luck the packages will arrive before Christmas and if not, please know that they are coming and we are thinking of you all. Tiffany

In about one week I should be able to get my tree and set it up in our new house. I am excited and ready to smell that wonderful pine smell in my home. I haven't seen a u-cut place, but will ask around. There are many roadside stands or signs pointing to a small road advertising "Weihnachtbaum." So far they all look very small. They look like the traditional noble firs with the sparse shelf-like pruning style. Our ceilings are so high in our new house and we have a wonderful front room window opening out to the street, so I really want to get something tall and impressive. Wish me luck!

This is my last week here in the gasthaus. Next Monday we'll move into our house. We're not sure what our phone or internet will be there yet. It takes 10-14 days after you put in the request to get anything done here with that. Seems that inefficiency is international and all the inefficiency in Germany is kept at Deutch Telekom - the phone service. There are people who are already in Oklahoma and elsewhere that have left here months ago and still have service (that they have to pay for) here. Oh goody - something to look forward to!

I'm starting to go a little stir crazy here... really wanting a routine. It's not far off, but until we have both vehicles, it takes a bit of planning and an early morning for me to have the van. It's cold - not horribly cold, but too cold for me to want to walk much with the kids during the day. They have been playing wonderfully together. I'm really proud of them being so resilient through all this.

Last night I wanted a real meal and our toy refrigerator* was sadly empty, so I went to the local supermarket by myself (ahhh, the joy of solitude). It is a small place, but has a decent selection of things and a nice little bakery counter in the front. I walked up and down the aisles to look and see what was there. There was an amazing collection of sauce mixes and other cooking shortcuts. Some looked really good. Among the cereals I found Trix and Choco Krispies. I also found an inordinate amount of chocolate. There was chocolate in the cereal aisle - actual chocolate bars! (I'll have a chocolate bar with milk for breakfast any day!) There were also chocolate bars/candy in the baking aisle (and not just baking chocolate), the dairy aisle, and a few other aisles in addition to the candy aisle. It was amazing. I truly think that there was a grouping of candy and chocolate in every aisle there - even among the breads! What I can't buy there: Mexican food and Asian food. There are no tortillas, fresh cilantro, refried beans or tomatillos. There is no tofu or yummy Asian sauces. I can find Italian imports, but that's about it for foreign food there. There are not prepackaged meats there like there are in the U.S., so you go to the deli counter where they have fresh meats adjacent to the sliced meat area. I looked there a lot not really sure what I wanted and how to pronounce things and I was not really feeling very adventurous with language anyway. I saw what looked like very puffy cooked hamburgers in the back corner of the case. I asked the woman, "was ist?" leaving off the word das that would have made that phrase "what is that?" I don't know what I was thinking. The woman very kindly answered me IN GERMAN. So, I was back where I started, staring at a meat case with absolutely no idea what I wanted. Still, I was curious, so I pointed again at that puffy thing and said, "eins" meaning one. I then ordered "zwei cordon bleu und zwei paprika" (this is when my hand again started pointing vigorously towards what was a pork roladn with paprika on top). "Ist alles?" she asked. I knew to answer, "ya, danke shoen." That concluded my adventure. I'd picked up a few other grocery items including a beautiful white cyclomen that had three flowers with one pink petal each. There is a nursery nearby with long rows of greenhouses through which I can see hundreds of beautiful cyclomen plants in red, pink, and white. I went to the counter and paid. The man was very chatty and smiled. I smiled and said nothing but the danke shoen at the end. It bothers me. I really want to learn German and to be able to communicate. In so many ways I don't feel like I'm in a foreign country, but at home I love to talk to people and meet people when I'm out. I always talk to the cashiers when I'm out shopping. It feels strange to nod and smile so dumbly in reply to what seemed like friendly chit chat. It will come, but I'm impatient.

Tiara is going to try out a ballet class next Thursday. The teacher is British and took classes at the Royal Ballet Academy in London. She seems very nice. The class Tiara is going to try only has two other students. They are both Canadian girls who have been dancing 9 years each. I'll also try her at a couple schools in Sittard and another one here in Geilenkirchen.

Elise is talking a lot more now... starting to copy words and has a few little phrases she says a lot. There have been a few times recently when she has said something and I've thought it was Luci talking.

The coffee here is good and very strong. I actually add sugar to some of it to take the edge off. I like it, but sometimes I think I'm drinking tar.

December 6th is a big holiday here for the children. It is the day when St. Nikolaus comes by and fills the shoes of all the good boys and girls with candy, fruits and nuts. It's called St. Nikolaus Eve, so last night before bed, the girls set out their boots before bed. I heard Arianna yelling from the bottom of the stairs when she awoke this morning. Then the bounding feet came up the stairs. "Luci, Luci, come here. We have candy in our shoes!" Elise sat up immediately with the noise, crawled out of bed and started to stagger towards the stairs. It was the call of the wild... they knew chocolate was near! Tiara was thrilled with a German fountain pen with an ink cartridge. The little ones loved their bubble pipes and pens. They all loved the chocolate gelt and Koala Kripies. We've been prounoucing St. Nikolaus the German way. This morning Kirk asked Arianna where all the candy came from and she said "Kirk Nikolaus!" We all laughed... little did she know what she said... Kirk's middle name is Nicholas!

Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow looks like an uneventful day. Kirk needs the car, so I'm stuck again. Friday I'm taking it though. I think I'm going to go to the castle here and may be drive over to my village and take a walk there. The weekend will be busy. You'll get a full update when that is over - a lot of activities planned. Love you all and look forward to talking to you soon.

*It's smaller than a hotel fridge and no, this tiny fridge will NOT hold a gallon of milk! They don't even sell gallons of milk. And in Oklahoma I'd buy 4 gallons at a time! Here the biggest you can get is a quart size. Pathetic. The kids will go through one of those in a day. Next week I will get a real refrigerator, so that will be nice, then I can have it well stocked and do a little more cooking for everyone.

The last I'd written, I'd just gotten my license to drive here which was quite liberating, but scary. I've now adjusted and am a very happy driver here. Getting to know my way around is the only challenge. The right of way and odd street signs are starting to become second nature. I'd gotten my license on Tuesday, so on Wednesday I had the car for a half day and drove around on the base, exploring and getting my bearings. I checked my mail for the first time (Kirk usually does). It was a challenge as the post office box has a combination lock and I haven't opened a locker since high school, so I had forgotten how to use locks like that! Still, it felt great to be out and doing normal errands. The little girls and I also parked near one Natex store and walked around to investigate them all. The Natex is like a BX for the Nato forces (a general store of sorts), except that this one is actually divided up into several smaller specialty stores. There is a Natex that has toys, linens, home decor, jewlery, makeup, electronics, and more. What is fun is that since they are geared towards serving NATO forces, they carry items and brands that all NATO countries have/would enjoy, so there are some nice and interesting things there. Officers in foreign military also hold a higher status/prestige, so many items are high end. I can't shop there every day, but it does have beautiful things there and it's fun to look. The clothing store follows suit with many European high end brands, but interesting fashions and a few very pretty things. I love the Scottish wool sweaters there. The Natex also has a drink markt and a bicycle shop where they also sell tires, then they have a wonderful grocery store with all the things we'd need plus an excellent wine selection and chocolate selection. I will have a lot of fun trying new wines. Many are very good and very inexpensive. Kirk just got a bottle of Crimean champagne. I've heard it's great - we'll open it on our first night in our new house.

After all my looking around that day I picked up Tiara and Kirk and we drove to Schinnen (in the Netherlands) to do a few things there. I drove - my first time driving that far. It was great. Some of the roads there are a little confusing for me. There is a one way road going into the base and then you have to take a completely different loop around a deer farm to get out, but we made it. On the way home we stopped at the little pizza place just across from our new house in Gillrath. They toss and make the pizza right there in front where people watch and they give their guests shots of Marsala wine - yum! We ordered a couple different pizzas and some tortellini - all was WONDERFUL! It kind of reminded me of Gaspare's in San Francisco... very thin crust with toppings almost thicker that just melted in my mouth! The only difficulty is that the owners/cooks are Italian who speak German as a second language, so by the time they get to the English menu translation, it was pretty poor and even the German translation wasn't spot on. To them, peperoni means pepperoncini peppers! So when I ordered a margherita pizza with pepperoni for the little girls, I was surprised to see it arrive meatless and covered in little green peppers. The girls picked the peppers off and we all stuffed ourselves though. I ordered the gorgonzola pizza - their translation: moldy cheese. Bet that one doesn't get a lot of takers! I'm thrilled that they are only across the street and am sure that we'll eventually have their menu mastered pretty well. May be I'll offer to help them with their English one once we've been there a while.

Yesterday I picked up a friend of mine and we drove to the IKEA in Herleen (also in the Netherlands). The kids loved it. They played in these little egg shaped chairs that spun around in circles and had little shades that pulled down. We had lunch there after. They serve meatballs and salmon and a lot of other yummy things. The kids meals were only 2E, so we got those. They came with a lot of food and ice cream too. Arianna and Luci like the machine. You put the cone into the slot and the machine raises it up, fills it perfectly, then lowers it for you - no waste, no mess! Herleen seems like a nice town, so I know I'll be back to explore. There is a nice thrift shop there too and so many Europeans want new modern things that they are getting rid of wonderful old stuff which can make the thrift shops a real treasure trove for someone like me who likes old and eclectic. We also stopped at Brunsum yesterday at the NATO base there. It has a nice indoor swimming pool, so we picked up a schedule. I got my library card and took the girls, so they checked out a bunch of books. I also stopped at the craft center. They have an enormous kiln and the guy in charge (who happens to look a lot like Grizzly Adams) just got another kiln for glass slumping and a few slump molds, so I hope to learn that while we're here - making vases, bowls, and other things by slumping (kind of like fusing) colored glass!

Today we took the kids to a Christmas party on base. It wasn't the most exciting thing - just a typical miltary children's party, but it was fun. The little girls each did three different crafts and had some snacks. Unlike Tiara who still doesn't really like Santa, they were eager to sit on his lap. The head elf directed each child in turn to Santa's lap, then would turn to the parent when the child was safely out of earshot to ask the name of the child and what they wanted for Christmas. Then the elf would talk into his walkie talkie. Santa was obviously wired. Seconds later he would shock the child by knowing their name without being told and knowing what they wanted for Christmas assuring them that he would be bringing it by. Arianna wanted to bring Santa a present, so we'd made chocolate chip cookies the night before and when she climbed up on Santa's lap, I think he was surprised to see her reach out and hand him a bag of cookies. She didn't know what she wanted for Christmas. I didn't know either. So Santa said he'd surprise her. Santa handed out kinder eggs to the children instead of candy canes. They had a drawing later and both Arianna and Luci got special gifts from Santa Claus. Arianna got a playdough set and Luci got a talking phonics book with letters and sounds. Elise was happy eating her kinder egg and toddling around. Tiara talked to a few friends... she's still getting her bearings with school and the social stuff.

This afternoon Tiara and I joined some friends at the Foroxity theater in Sittard. It's a nice big modern movie theater that place a lot of American movies with subtitles instead of dubbing. We saw Harry Potter. Before the movie we went to get snacks. I got a very good cappuccino. Beer and wine were also available. I was very surprised! They really seem to serve beer and wine EVERYWHERE here! The movie was great. We were sitting in the dark enjoying our snacks, intently watching the movie, when I saw stars, then black, and then it stopped. The lights came on. People got up and left. It was wierd. Then our friends told us it was intermission. Intermission in a movie theater????? Yep. An entire 30 minutes. I guess some had to go refill their beer. So a normal movie after the long preview time and an intermission turns into an all afternoon event. We left at 13:30 and didn't get home until 18:00. There is a nice bistro attatched to the theater, so next time we might just get dinner there.

Well... that's about it for now. We may do a train ride tomorrow, so I'll write then if we do. We are still doing a lot of just settling in things trying to get on track and normalize. The kids are all doing extremely well and are happy. I'm going to get some more photos taken this next week... it is so beautiful here. There are still big patches of snow left in shady areas along the road. The fields are vast and green. The birch trees still have golden orange leaves dangling from their branches and in the distance always you can see the old brick steeples from churches build a century ago. It is still new, but is quickly becoming home. I know now that we won't want to leave when it's time.

means one-way street. I have my German driver's license!!!!!! The test has a fairly high failure rate and some German laws are very different, so I was really nervous this morning, but I passed it!!! In Germany they have a Good Samaritan Law which states that if someone is in need that you are obligated to assist in anyway possible as long as it does not endanger you. You can actually be fined and imprisoned for up to one year if you do not act as a Good Samaritan when possible! The other interesting thing is that on autobahns in Germany (not those in other countries here), the speed limit posted is just the recommended speed limit and that no actual speed limit exists. When we took the autobahn to Koln, we averaged 80-85 most of the time. Other cars passed us like we were standing still. Many drivers actually drive 150MPH!!!! So, I am legal to drive in Germany. Later this week we'll take our German licenses to Heinsburg where they will issue our international licenses. Then I can drive anywhere! Scary, eh? I also got my Nato ID today, so I can now shop on base at the Natex which is like the BX, but caters to all the NATO nationalities and is really a lot nicer than the PX on Schinnen (the army base). Kirk made me drive afterwards. I was really nervous about it, but it went fine and I think I'll be ok getting around. We went to lunch at a great Greek restaurant here - it was soooo good. I had baklava afterwards - good, but not nearly as good as the kind Kris makes! Anyway... I will now have more freedom and am no longer sequestered to the gasthaus. Tomorrow I'll get to have the van half the day and do a little exploring! I can't wait! Talk to you later! Tiffany

Pronounced don-ka shern, meaning thank you.

Since Kirk worked on Thanksgiving (not a NATO holiday) and Tiara had school, we postponed our Thanksgiving until today. Kirk got up to see our front door without a view, but covered in white. The wind had blown a layer of snow over it. The snow outside was deep and fluffy and everywhere. Almost every doorway had someone in it shovelling their walks. The cars were all being scraped. It was nice to see so many people out. People were walking their dogs too. Nothing phases them here. The snow was absolutely beautiful. Apparently, it is very unusual for GK to get so much snow and it was obvious by all the kids playing that they were very happy. We had to head out and look at our house before we played. We met the landlord to sign the contract today at 10 and met her husband and her aunt who were also very nice and loved the kids. We looked at the house, planned rooms, and fell in love with it again. It is such a nice place. Frau Bemmelmans told us that she was born and grew up there... it still has a couple of the original light fixtures. Driving to and from our house was great. Fields of white were so peaceful with little houses and church spires in the distance. We still saw the bakery and dairy trucks making their daily deliveries to houses and people were out and about both by foot and on bicycle. A few cars sat in the ditch too, but the roads weren't bad... just snow, no ice. We came home and the kids played. Tiara built a wall. Arianna and Luci ran around picking up big clumps of snow. Elise walked in it and touched it a little. She looked confused, but liked it. I started cooking and cleaning and did that most of the afternoon.

Today was our Thanksgiving and I was really stressed about it because Kirk invited friends and I am operating in a kitchen with a horribly small, "easy bake" oven - not big enough for the turkey pan. The dinner ended up turning out amazing with one sad exception. While all the dinner was perfect, the dessert (usually my crowning glory) was a flop due to the inadequacy of German pumpkin. I will have to stock up on that at the American commissary next time someone goes there. Kirk brought back the only pumpkin that the grocery had locally... it was two jars of pumpkin in chunks floating in a sweet honied brine of some kind. It didn't smell anything like pumpkin and I was not thrilled, but it was all we had, so Kirk pureed it for me, I added all the other ingredients, and I baked it. The crust was excellent, the whipped cream for the top was great (Germans don't do cool whip), but the pie tasted like a bad hybrid of a lemon merangue pie and a pumpkin pie... tangy lemony pumpkin is not exactly appetizing. Not an experiment worth repeating. Luckily, we had Aachener Printen cookies, so we had those with coffee and they were great. Anyway... our friends had a good time and were very understanding about our experiment with German pumpkin... most Americans just eat Thanksgiving on base and don't do their own meals here for some odd reason. They stayed until 2330 and we all had a very nice evening. So... it's tired time now. Tomorrow we're going to the Christmas market in Gangelt and may be the one in Geilenkirchen too... should be fun. Thinking of you... hope you are enjoying a nice weekend.

p.s. Elise is talking up a storm... words like chicken, thank you, daddy, thirteen, hand, nigh-night, help me, up, down, all done, and many more

Kalt means cold and oh my goodness is it cold! Socks and slippers are my new best friends!

Yesterday my friend Renee took the little ones and I to Sittard (in the Netherlands) while Kirk and Tiara were at school. Sittard is a nice city and according to friends, the Dutch speak English better than the Germans. Sittard has an open air market every Thursday all year, so we went there first. They had a ton of fabrics - beautiful fabrics in all types. The curtains were amazing, so I'll get curtains for our new house there, I think. Prices seemed very reasonable. I will take visitors there. They have waffle stands at all markets it seems serving various flavors of hot belgian waffles with powdered sugar. The girls and I got some chocolate-covered waffles. The market also had beautiful flowers and arrangements and advent wreathes. I could have gotten 30 beautiful fresh roses for 4 Euros which is about 5 dollars. There is no reason here to not have fresh flowers at home. The plants all looked amazing too. There was an egg booth with stacks of cartons of brown eggs sitting out on the counter... I'm sure in summer they must do something with them, but in this cold, there's absolutely no need for anything. Entire booths of fresh meats and cured fishes were tempting and the produce was amazing and cheap! Big bags of Clementines were only 2 Euro! We didn't say very long because of the cold, but it was nice to see it all and know what was available there.

After the market we drove to a nearby chocolate factory. Apparently the family invented some machine to shave chocolate into curls and sold it and made a fortune, so the son now owns and runs this small chocolate factory and is just enjoying an "easy" life. They give tours many days, but yesterday he was busy. We got to peak in the back and see all the machinery and the big pool of liquid chocolate. The ladies there gave the girls all free samples. I got a couple little pieces to share with Kirk and they were quite good. That's another nice little place to take visitors. When Kirk got home we all got really bundled up and took the train to Aachen. Aachen is an easy 30 minute drive, but the train was cheap and fun for the kids and less stress for Kirk. He was told that the Christmas market in Aachen was in walking distance from the Bahnhof (train station) so we got out there, but were told from locals there that it was a good 15 minute walk (longer with kids, of course), so we took a taxi to the market. It rained on and off lightly and was quite cold, but we all had a great time. The girls rode on a carousel, then we had hot drinks in a covered area to warm up. We did a lot of looking and thinking about what goodies we may want to get later. It was like many open air market/fairs... Christmas ornaments, food, Shmuck (jewlery), toys, decorations, glassware, and other crafts. My favorites were these amazingly detailed stoneware houses that you could light. They are so incredible. I think we might get one each year that we are here, so that we can have a little Christmas village to display each year. We got these hot candied nuts that Kirk had remembered and loved from his time here and then we had hot dogs and fries (the currywurst line was way too long). I kept seeing people with 4-6 of these patties and I didn't know what they were, but sooooo many people had them that I told Kirk to get one too. They were like an extra thick potatoe pancake, and sooo good. Ours came with melted cheese and ham over the top.

This market was nestled at the bottom of an amazing old Rathaus (government building) and curved around to the backside of the old Aachener Dom (dating back to Charlemagne). It was so beautiful to look up at this building and it was lighted too at some of the statues. The towns call the cathedrals "Dom" and each big town usually has one large (OLD) Dom. Aachen looked like a very nice city... old cobblestone streets and old cathedrals all sprinkled among new modern shopping centers and buildings... and Starbucks! People all seemed very friendly too.

Anyway... we took the train back and were all so tired that bedtime went very smoothly. We did get one thing at the market - Aachener-Printen - a traditional cookie of Aachen that is very cakey and covered in white, milk, or dark chocolate. It has a very subtle anise flavor. They are good and remind me of cookies I used to have during the holidays at Grandma's house.

Last night it snowed, so we are staying in today. Kirk is at work. Tiara is at school. Arianna and Luci are playing monster and Elise is walking around with backpacks slung over her shoulder. I'm going to do some cleaning today. Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving, so I have to get the house ready for a day of cooking. We're also seeing our house again tomorrow to sign all the contracts. It will give me a chance to sketch rooms and do some planning.

Love you all and hope you're not too "kalt" there where you are.

Hello! We are here in Germany and getting settled. We've been here just over a week and are finally feeling "normal." I'd never had jetlag before, but this last dose just about killed me. Kirk and Arianna sat a few rows up from the rest of us on the flight. Misha slept in her carrier under the seat in front of Kirk right at his feet and did great. I had Elise and Luci on either side of me and Tiara in the seat just across the aisle. The flight left around 6 in the evening and was only 7 hours long, but when it landed it was 9am in Brussels. The stewardesses were mostly Dutch and were strikingly tall, but very friendly. The food was great and the movie and music selection was wonderful... but still, not enough to keep the kids happy. At least half of the flight I spent standing in the back of the plane talking to other restless passengers and rocking back and forth with Elise in my arms and Luci hugging my legs hoping that they'd both eventually fall asleep. They did, just 30 minutes before the plane landed. They were tired and miserable when we landed and had to wake up and there was a long treck to baggage. Customs was nothing. We flashed our passports and that was all. They didn't even notice our cat. We got our baggage and met our friends who told us we would have to wait for another passenger who would arrive in an hour. So we went to the cafe and had white wine and chocolate mousse... the only things that sounded good in my sleep deprived state. I felt ill all the way back to our gasthaus (lack of sleep or mousse and wine... who knows...). The ride was a blur. I just remember being so tired I was nauseous and the driving seemed crazy and irrational at the time. Now I know that's normal driving here.

The kids are all doing great now. It only took us 3 days to get over the jet lag. Tiara started school on Monday. Arianna and Luci will start school in January after the holiday break. Kirk is already at work and I am going stir-crazy here in the gasthaus with not enough to do and no license yet. I should get my driver's license here next week and enjoy a little more freedom.

We found a wonderful house in the next village. Kirk was dragging his feet a bit with looking for houses, but I wanted to see what was out there and knew that even in the off season, the good houses go fast, so I called two numbers on our list and made appointments for Friday afternoon. The first house we saw was ok, not great, but I'd decided that if there was nothing else out there that it would suffice. The second house was amazing. I loved the entryway and with each room, it just got better. The landlord just happened to come by when we were there, so Kirk was able to tell her that we'd like to think about it and let her know the next day. That night it kept bugging me... and Kirk and I finally decided to call and take it. It's so beautiful and has so much space and a big back yard. I love it and will be so sad when we move - it's so much more than we could afford in the US and it has plenty of guest space! We move in on December 12th just before a little weekend trip to Bayreuth in Bavaria to visit some friends.

Last weekend we went to Cologne which is just a phenomenal city right on the Rhine. Train tickets are only about 10 Euro, so I think I'll be taking that trip ALONE once Kirk is up for a day with all the girls. We drove it and it only took about 50 minutes to get there. We parked underground right next to the Dom. It was cold that day - extremely cold, so we didn't do a whole lot. The Dom was amazing - so much detail to see - it was hard to focus on the details with the immensity of it all. We went inside just in the back and didn't walk around much. It was a Sunday, so the worship areas were roped off for non-tourists. We walked around the shopping areas near the Dom. The stores were beautiful and modern. The backeries were over the top and so inviting. Each pastry was bigger and more magnificent than the other and they all looked very inticing. Weihnachtsman-shaped breads were stacked in the window beside large cakes overflowing with custard. Large cookies hung above. We wanted to eat inside, but there wasn't any seating. It got colder, so we ducked into Starbucks where we found seats right by a kid play area. It was nice to get a hot coffee and panini and escape from the cold. Speaking English we caught the attention of a gentleman from the states who sat down by us. He is a UPS pilot and comes to Koln regularly. We enjoyed the chat and the kids played. Arianna tried to ask a German family where they lived as we were leaving. The father understood her, but seemed confused. Her openness is not common to Germany where people are a bit more reserved. We walked back to see the Dom again before leaving. There were three men in front of the Dom standing on objects and posing as statues. One was a Greek Athlete with long johns sticking out underneath his white sheet and laurel leaf headpiece. One was dressed with animal skins and a creepy mask. The kids weren't fond of him. The best one was dressed all in silver and squeaked when you put a penny in his jar. All of them moved if you put coins in their jars and then would bend down and shake your hand. The girls were a little nervous, but enjoyed it and especially liked the "squeaky man." As we left we walked through the Weihnachtsmark as they were setting it up. It looked beautiful with little wooded buildings almost like a little village all around the base of the great cathedral.




















Happy Thanksgiving! I almost forgot about that. Thanksgiving isn't a NATO holiday, so Tiara is in school and Kirk works. I'll cook my big dinner on Saturday. Tomorrow evening we'll take the train to Aachen and visit that Christmas market. Christmas is just HUGE here. Without Thanksgiving, they start celebrating/decorating very early too.

The advent is this Sunday which is the official kickoff. On December 5th we'll all put our shoes out for St. Nicholas to fill with goodies. Anyway... I'm off to get dinner started. Kitchens here are horribly small, but that won't stop the cooking! More notes when I'm settled in the new house!