Life: Idiotropic

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!