What I have learned so far in Germany

Have things seemed to have settled down here for me, or am I just getting used to all the craziness? What have I learned in 18 months here in Germany?

I have learned that going 3 km over the speed limit will give you a quality picture of yourself. Of course this picture is never a good picture. You are never smiling, you are never looking at the camera with your "good" side. Before the red flash of taking my picture why don't they flash a yellow to tell me to get ready to smile for my ticket. I would totally smile and do other nice things for the German police if I had notice!!
Just was flashed again last week. And we should all know by now that flashed is not a old naked crazy man running around in his overcoat showing us his goods!
I have to drive here for at least 3 more years I do not know if I will make it before they take my license away from too many infractions.

I have learned to always have a euro on me to go grocery shopping so that I can release a locked grocery cart. I also have many recyclable bags to take with me as you are charged for each paper and plastic bag you use from the store.
I have also learned to go grocery shopping almost every day!! The fridge and freezers here are not big enough to hold a week worth of milk so say the least!
Also if you have more than 20 items...do not try and pack them at light speed as the cashier throws your food down the check out lane at you. Just grab and place your idems in your cart, sort and pack after. This means no more Germans glaring at me while I put my frozen with the cold stuff, the hard stuff at the bottom, soft stuff at the top.

I have learned that after taking German lessons for over a year and a half I still know nothing. I can ask for items from the butcher, the bread counter, and restaurant but that is it. My teacher keeps testing me on saying "my name is, I am from, where are you from" I told her..that is it! I never use that stuff. She said "what do you do when you go to a party?" I told her everyone speaks English and they all ask me in English where I am from.
So now we are only working on making appointments and ordering. Again I will be able to make an appointment...but when the other end starts to speak German and asks me questions it will be all over!

I have learned you never want to be the first car at a red light. They do not put traffic lights ahead of you so that you can see them. They put them on top of you so that you have no idea if you can go or not...unless someone honks their horn, and then you know "get going!" Crazy! Who thought of that idea. I always have to ask my kids in the back of the car...tell me when it turns green.

I have learned to appreciate the medical system here. In the US my MS medicine would take 2 hours to administer by infusion. Here, same medicine 15 min. Love it!
For the most part its no nonsense treatment. The doctor's offices look like something out of a magazine and not a cold sterile environment. At least the ones that I have seen.

Recycling! Glass, paper, plastic, Bio and everything else. It will never be the same going back to America and seeing everything go into one bag. I might have a panic attack!

German who say "Sorry my English is very bad", usually speak perfect English. I always feel bad when they say that. I am in your country, do not be sorry, I am sorry that I cannot speak yours!

So far it has been great! Travel to different countries every few months, drive as fast as I want (in no speed zones), see German's hold hands everywhere they walk. Life has been good here in Germany. Learning to live the German way, but with a smile ; )

Turkish Delight?

We just start school here in Germany 6 weeks ago and the kids already have there first fall break. Some friends and I decided to go this club called Lykia World http://www.lykiagroup.com/LykiaWorldOludeniz . The place is in Turkey so I can now cross that off my list of countries to see. We get there and the first two days are just laying by the pool. 7 hours of just laying by the pool, so not used to just laying down and doing nothing. But my girlfriends quickly got me into the habit of doing nothing. They have such a great kids club that I really did not see my kids from 9:30-5. One thing we did not enjoy was the 24 hr stomach flu! My friend's daughters got it first, just 24 hours of madness. We heard about other families dealing with this flu and it was not fun. So going into our last night I thought my kids and I got lucky and did not get it. Well at 2 AM I GOT IT!! 7:30 AM Jenn grabbed my kids and told me to go to the doctor. We had to leave that day at 5 PM. So the doctor told me that morning there is no way the medicine that he normally gives people at the resort

The before 24 hour bug picture

will help me in time to get on an hour bus
ride and then on a plane for 3 1/2 hours. Told me I needed to go to a hospital. I am in Turkey! I am going to go to a hospital? By myself? The doctor told me that he would call

the hospital and make sure someone was waiting for me so that I could get the medicine through an IV drop that would take at least 2 hours. So I kiss my girls goodbye and I get in a taxi for a 30 min drive to the hospital.
Someone was waiting at the front door for me to take me to tourism department where they all spoke English. They told me they they need to feel my belly and do an ultrasound. Why the ultrasound I will never know, I am sure they heard "I have insurance" and they let the fun begin.
So after the ultrasound they take me to my room. The orderly was going to put me in the first room that was available but the head nurse yelled at him in Turkish and
Turkish Hospital with IV
my translator told me "she said to put you in this room (she was pointing to it and it was locked) since it is the nicest room and you are a foreigner" Quality points for being American for a change!
So in they come to take my blood and start my IV. Was not as bad as I thought it would be. In and out in 3 hours, just to go back to the hotel and sleep some more. Had a few more episodes in my hotel room and I was good to go for the rest of the trip. Can't say that for my friend Simone. Her poor little daughter got the bug just as we opened the van door to get out for the airport. She had to change her clothes a few times just waiting for the airplane.
The Germans that were on this plane were so great! Never giving us a bad look for 7 kids between 3 adults or upset sick kids at that.
After the flight the people on the plane were helping us find our toys, pass up our coats that we left behind, grabbing Simone's bag and leading her all the way to the front of the passport line to get her out of the airport as fast as possible. There had to be over 200 people waiting in line to get through pass port checks. Another nice lady told Jenn to follow her with out kids and we went right to the front of the line. Thank you Germany!! She told us German law says you can request to go to the front of the line when traveling with kids. Sometimes you have to love the German laws.
So we are all home safe and sound. Even after this crappy bug, we would all go back again. Great place!!

Flat Tire Take 2!

Ok this did happen last week, but I still have to talk about it. It was almost poetic that I get my 2nd flat tire here a year after my first flat tire here.
Me and curbs, we do not get along. They are just there taunting me, seeing how close I can get as I take a turn. Well this time I was trying to look at my stupid Navi while turning..hence hitting the curb. Heard a pop and then my car started to shrink down so I pulled over to the side of the road. Just before some major road construction, so I am not in an ideal place to park. I get out of my car and go into the trunk to pull out my quality orange warning triangle to put it out on the road. See all the studying for the German drivers test paid off. I know how to use a triangle!
So this nice German man sees me from across the street and motions me to come an park in his lot. I move my car over and he asks me if I have a spare tire. (he says this in English after I tell him I have no idea what he is asking me). So we go to my trunk and the place for a spare tire is there, just no spare!
Now what. I have my kids and I am suppose to be meeting friends for lunch.
Last time this happened it cost us 500 euro! I was not going to make that mistake again, there had to be close tire places around without going back to the dealer 45 min away!
So the German man asked me if I know anyone with ADAC (Germany's AAA), I said yes. He told me to call them and have them get me a tow truck. So I call my trusty friend Tricia and tell her the story, she hooks me up with ADAC and they are coming to rescue me.
In the mean time I have called Lindsay to come pick up my children as they are now starving after waiting for an hour now. She whisks them off to lunch while I wait for the truck.
Well the truck comes, but it is just a normal truck. He wants to fix my tire, but the hole is on the rim of the tire and not on the sole...and since this is my second rim hole I know it cannot be fixed. The ADAC man then asks me for my spare tire. Really? Are we suppose to have one? I call up my husband who drives a company car which is a Mercedes. I ask him "do you have a spare tire?" he tells me no, if he gets a flat his car automatically inflates it with steal and..blah, blah, yaddy yadda...he lost me..all I know is that he is spoiled!
So me and my little Golf sit and wait for the "official" tow truck.
The Tow truck man speaks no English and is trying to talk to me. All I have is Das Auto ist klein! Das Auto ist Blau. Das Auto est kaputt! (car is small, blue and broken)
So he loads up my car and motions me to get in his big truck.
He takes me to a local tire place to get me a tire, except they do not have any of my tires in stock. The very nice mechanic lends me one of his own personal winter tires so that I can get home. So the man that works in the office tells me to tips his mechanic really well since I now will have his tire on my car. So I give him a 20 and tell him I will see him tomorrow and that I will treat his tire with care (doing all this in charade motions)
Well the tire does not come in for another week. So I go back and tip my good mechanic again for lending me his tire so that I had a car for another week. So now he tells me I am to ask for him by name the next time I come in and he will take car of me. I am sure I will be back in another year, so I will remember to do that.
Total cost toe truck free, tips 30, new tire 120! That is way better than 500! So I guess after a year I have learned how to survive in Germany with friends and my keine deutsche.

Alarms, Sirens and Lights...oh my

Early this morning at 4 AM our security lights go on all around the house and our alarm is sounding off. Does anyone wake up but me? No! How they cannot hear this blaring noise is beyond me. I wake up Ben and he says "what?" The Alarm is going off! Get up! Is something on fire? How do we turn it off? Did someone come into our house? Were all my standard questions in a 10 sec period! I am thinking Police are coming to our house, should I get dressed? Should Ben? Are my kids up? I go into their room, fast asleep. We start walking around the house, no fire, all doors and windows are closed. Ben finds the alarm box and turns it off. No ADT calling to make sure we are ok.

So we go back to bed. 5 min later the fans turn off and I can hear beeps from downstairs from computers turning off. Power outage. I grab my iPhone and turn on the flashlight app. Ben and I get back up and see that all the power is gone from the neighborhood. We can hear other homes alarms and police sirens.

So weird that no one got out of their house to see what all the commotion was at our house. They were all fast asleep I am sure.

I love Paris in the Spring time!

Last weekend of "Celebrate Kara's Birthday Month" and I am off to Paris with four of my girlfriends. But wait, would it be blog worthy if I actually got to Paris with no problems? NO!! So the story begins.
We started planning this trip months ago...well at least talking about it. What we were going to do, see...but never where we were going to stay. So I took the bull by the horns and got us a great apt, just a 16 min walk to the Eiffel Tower. About a month out I start to look at flights for the 5 of us, not bad in pricing, all under 160 euro. After sending out the email about times and prices I get a email back from one of the ladies and she tells me that she is afraid to fly, and that she is going to drive. Well I do not want to drive for 5 hours if I can fly for 1! Love you all, but I am not going in a car if I do not have to. So Tricia tells me that her husband will use his frequent flyer miles and get us tickets. Great Birthday Present!
Its a week before we leave and the other 3 ladies still have not decided if they are taking a train or driving. I can't handle it, I like to be organized, know what I am doing before I even know what I am doing.
So it is now the morning of the trip. Its about 7:20 AM and I am getting everything ready for my 7:30 taxi pick up. I see on my iPhone that I have a message from Jenn. I call her and she tells me that Natalie's leg is swollen, maybe a blood clot, and that Leslie ate something the night before and had an allergic reaction. So now poor little Jenn is not sure what to do.
I get in the cab and I am thinking well Leslie will take some benadryl and be fine and go with Jenn. Natalie I have no idea what is going on with her but she is not coming for sure.
So Trisha and I meet at the airport and get on a plane and arrive in Paris at 10 AM. We have messages that Jenn is getting Leslie and they are driving. But then the next message is that Leslie does not want to chance it and Jenn is all on her own again. Tricia and I get on our iPhones and start looking at flights for Jenn to get her butt here to Paris. We find flights for 250 and she will be here by 3 pm, with enough time to be here for our 6 PM time for the Eiffel Tower trip. So really I do not know what is going on, but I find out later that Jenn was going to take the train by herself, but did not have her passport, then two ladies from school drive her to the airport to get her on a plane, but its too late and too expensive for a ticket.

So what does this all mean? Tricia and I are in Paris all by ourselves.
I am adding another rule to traveling with women. If you are traveling with me, always, always do what I do, do what I say, stay with me! I will get you to where you need to go one way or another. Don't ask questions, don't ask "why?", just do what I say.

Tricia and I had a great time. The first day was so sunny we went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. Not too many people on a Friday so we were able to get up nice and close.

It got so warm that we went into Esprit to try on clothes since we brought blue jeans and sweaters (cold and rainy in Germany). Tricia bought a skirt, I just rolled up my jeans and wore my tank top. Problem solved!

We went to the top of the Eiffel tower that night. Such a great day, the sky was clear and we could see for miles. We had met a family earlier that day while having lunch and overheard them talking about going to the Eiffel tower. Tricia told them that we had 3 extra tickets since our friends did not make it. So they paid for the tickets and went to the tower with us. Very nice.

This picture is the family we met treating us to dinner..which was a crepe and a coke light. He told us there are different menus when you go to a cafe. When you sit outside in front the prices are different than if you were to sit inside. My coke was 7 euro! Inside it was 2.50! Then when he ordered wine he told the waiter in french "not the table wine, the good wine behind the counter" Tricia said it was one of the best red wines she has had. He told us that tourists do not know about the pricing or that they are getting the cheaper wine for the same price as a good wine. He had lived in Paris before moving to the states after college, so it was great to get his in site on the city.

Tricia and I had walked so much the first day that I awoke in the middle of the night with a terrible cramp in my calf!

The next morning limping around the apartment I told Tricia, more water less diet coke today!

Today was Notre Dame, Chocolate tour, Sacré Coeur, and Moulin-Rouge. I swear Tricia was wearing the soles off my sneakers! I went to a souvenir shop after Notre Dame, and there were Japanese people everywhere in this store. The store owners were even Japanese, and yelling Japanese to everyone. After living in Japan for over 3 years I start yelling out Sumimasen!! To try and get their attention. I told Tricia I am an American in France speaking Japanese to buy something. How does that work?

We went on a fabulous chocolate tour of the city. Adam our tour guide showed us

La Maison Du Chocolate
Jean-Charles Rochoux
Poilaine Bakery
Pierre Hermé Macaroons
A Pastry Store
Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier
Patrick Roger Chocolatier

I do not think we could have had one more piece of chocolate after that 2 1/2 hour tour. I will never look at a normal American piece of chocolate the same. I have been tainted for life! Seriously look any of these up! They are to die for, cannot even explain to you what it was like to bite into the first eclair! First cold truffle. Yum!!!
It was a great trip, with a great friend. What a great birthday month! 40 rocks!!

Baden Baden

Ben took me away for the weekend to Bühlerhöhe Schlosshotel. It was wonderful, so pretty, way up high in the Black Forest.

www.buehlerhoehe.de

We are going there for my 40th birthday, since you should know by now that May is my birthday celebration month!

The first day of my spa package is Sugar/Salt peeling, Milk and Honey Bath, followed by a Indian Oil Massage.

I am so used to being naked that I did not bring a bathing suit with me. Ben cannot figure me out, he asks me what am I going to do? I told him "Go Naked!" Well the people with children at the pool probably did not want to see that, so I had to go buy a bathing suit.

The bathing suits at this place were all over $250! Could not figure out what was so great about these bathing suits that they could charge this price, and then I see the label, La Perla! I would never pay this much for a bathing suit! Ever! This costs more than my wedding dress! (I rented) So I guess if you are desperate...you get it. I will have to wear this thing for the next 5 years to get my money's worth out of it.

So I go to my first apt and she tells me to take off my bathing suit top. I think there is no way I am getting anything on this bathing suit, I am taking off the top and bottom! So she gives me this paper underwear to stick on. Why? We are in Germany! So I put it on, she scrubs me down and then tells me to take a shower. I take off the paper underwear to take the shower, and when I come out she tells me to put on a new paper underwear for the bath. Again I think, Why do I want to wear underwear while taking a bath? So I don't. I get out of the bathtub and a lady standing there tells me to put on the paper underwear for the next apt. If they do not want to see my privates, then stop coming in when I am drying off and putting on my robe! So I put on the stupid paper underwear again to go for the oil massage. Really? Europe, land of the naked? Paper underwear? Come on.

Ben had a 90 min massage I bet they did not make him wear paper underwear!

Next day was a facial, and thank goodness it was nothing like a previous blog where I had talked about how painful that facial was. Ben had one also for the first time, he quite enjoyed it. Our pores were clean! And she plucked all the quality facial hairs that were growing out of my chin...that I obviously did not see, nor did any of my friends or husband. That should be a unsaid bond between all women. If you see a hair that should not be there, then tell the woman casually with the "point and pluck" sign language gesture.

Great relaxing weekend!

Turning 40!

May is a good month to turn 40. I have been planning my 40th birthday since I was 35. I saw a picture of Demi Moore and I said "I want to look like her when I am 40". (she was 42 when I was 35) So I think I did a pretty good job on that one..except the really long hair, millions of dollars and a really young husband...other than that, I nailed it!

So at 35 I told my husband that I wanted to take a girls vacation when I turned 40. The girls would be 6 and 9 by then, and easily manageable for him. I told my girlfriends at that time, no having babies, no breast feeding, you have to be free in 5 years time. Don't tell me I did not give you advance notice on this trip!

So when I turned 39 I was in CT, and I knew it was going to be a tough sell on getting my friends from CT, OH, CO, AZ all to fly to Germany to celebrate my birthday. But I gave them a year to figure out what they could do. So as it got closer to my big day I decided that I better go to the states to make it easier for them to come and party with me. What city would be a good meeting place? VEGAS BABY!!

So with frequent flyer miles I was able to get a business class ticket for 80 000 miles. Bargain! I told my friends I was going, who was coming?

My dear friend Gina said she was on board! That's all I needed, one good co pilot and she was the one.

My good friends here in Germany are going to take me to Paris at the end of the month, so that will be another blog. 40 is good people.

Day 1, 1st hour in Airport

I get to the airport 3 hours before my flight and go to the business lounge. After about an hour this loud Irish man is complaining that he has a 7 hour layover, that CNN is boring on the TV, and why can't he get a good beer! Someone from Delta comes over to talk to him, to try and get him to be a little more quiet. I keep saying to myself..."please, please do not be on my flight! I know he will get unruly on the plane and we will have to make an emergency landing, and he will be arrested. I just know it!"

He calms down but then gets a little loud again and starts to walk around. Two Delta guys come out to go handle him, but they cannot find him. They are walking around trying to find this man. This place is not that big, it is not like he turned into a Leprechaun and disappeared under a cushion! He has just left the building people.

Hour 2 in Airport

Getting bored and one too many diet cokes I check out the bathroom.

Check this toilet out! Have to love the Japanese. I am sure a woman created this toilet as you can see by the way the water can "massage" you with different pressures. ; )

Hours 3-11

Finally I am on the plane. Ready to relax for 8 hours and fly to NY with no kids, and no husband. Just me. No one else to worry about, I am giddy with excitement. When the flight attendant comes around with the ice cream and topping for dessert I tell her to put it all on top! Yum! All for me!

One of the ladies who kept handing out water finally gave me a 1.5 liter bottle since I was going through the little ones so fast. Of course with all that water drinking, you have to go to the bathroom a lot! So now the f.a. comes to me and says "we should have just giving you a seat in the toilet and knocked on it to see if you wanted anything", loved her! She was like, 70!

Flight to Vegas from NY Hours 14-18

Sat beside a guy named Chris who was 45, single and had is own law firm (he also was quite proud of his Rolex watch with diamonds and that he got the new iPad..that I showed him how to use). He was a character. Do not know why we got so chatty, maybe it was because he was drinking, and I will talk to anyone. He was going to Vegas for his 1/2 brothers bachelors party. I told him I was going to shop! He told me "your idea and my idea of Vegas are very different". Chris told me he rented a yellow Ferrari to take his brother golfing. I told him he will not be able to fit two sets of golf clubs in that car. He told me he never thought of it. Oh course not, you are a man. I told him he will have to hire a cab to take the clubs and follow him! He told me I could ride in the car if I went topless. I told him thanks for the offer, but I will pass. I did tell him that I would be at the topless pool Sunday at 10 AM. Do you think he showed up? So much more to say about this man, but that really could be a book!

Been up for 24 Hours Straight

Get off the plane and I can see Gina waiting by one of the luggage claim areas. We hug, we bond, we get our rental car and head off to In and Out for a hamburger. Nothing like french fries after being up now for 26 hours!

Vegas in a Nut Shell

I swear no one has told the youth of Vegas that they do not have to wear skin tight clothes that barley cover their bums. This is obviously geared toward the girls. There were prom parties going on and these 17, 18 year old girls had on 4 inch heals with a dress (and I use that turn loosely...dress) that leaves no imagination to the mind. Gina and I pass another couple our age and I look at them and say "my daughter would never be wearing that!", and he looks and us and says "I was just telling my wife we would never move here because of the way the kids dress" What are the parents teaching these young girls. This is what you have to wear to get a boy, and then once you get they boy give him what is left under the dress? Sad

Saw Carrot Top in Nordstroms. That man has had too much plastic surgery on his face, and steroids? Come on! His arms and shoulders are huge! He walked in like he was just gettitng up at 3 pm and totally stoned, hung over, or maybe his face just looks like that. Yuck!

Saw Cirque Du Soleil-LOVE (the Beatles songs) very good!

Saw Penn & Teller-Magicians that are a little crazy. Also very good (My sister came on the last day and I saw this with her)

So basically shopped 80% of the time, ate when we had time, and walked our feet off! Love Gina for coming and doing this trip with me. She is a trouper to watch me try on clothes and to shop through lunch so that I can buy everything I need. She did not buy one thing the whole trip! Unreal!!

Kara And Gina Vegas 2010!