The Duesseldorf Spirit

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Little Rock today and Maddie said, "It's okay if it rains today, because we're from Duesseldorf. If it rains while my friend Kennedy is here, we'll just teach her the Duesseldorf Spirit!"

When we asked what that was, she said it's the spirit of just going on and doing what you were going to do--even if it rains.

Spunky, isn't she?

In the States

We made it back to the US in time for Christmas. Just a short 8 hour flight and we were at JFK ready to be picked up by my in-laws and wisked away to Connecticut. Thanks to the time difference Maddie fell asleep in the car on the way home and woke up wide-eyed and bushy tailed at 2 a.m. (8 a.m. Duesseldorf time). Hoping to get her back on track today.

It is nice to be back.

Dortmund Christmas Markt

It was raining for our trip to the Dortmund Christmas Markt, but as I've said before, if you stay inside here when it rains, you won't get to see much. As far as Maddie is concerned, it had the best rides by far and Skip got to hit the Brussia Dortmund (soccer) fan shop for a new team jersey.

We had coffee and cake with Daetliff and Elfie and then met Torstein and Alke at the market. Would have included pictures of them, but it was raining, so pictures were quick and in every one of them someone has their eyes closed or just looks odd. Didn't think they'd appreciate me sharing them with all who happen to tune in to this blog.

Yes, that's us standing in front the world's larget Christmas Tree. It's actually some ridiculous number of Christmas trees bound together. Pretty spectacular.

Just Kidding

The rumor that our stuff was in Germany was false. It's actually in Milan. It's being trucked to Germany and the chances of our getting it before we come home are remote. I'm going shopping today.

Looking forward to

Just a few things I am looking forward to doing (other than seeing family and friends) when we get back to the States for Christmas:

• Eating in a smoke free restaurant
• Diet Coke (not Coca Cola Light)
• Having an ice machine (a friend of mine requested ice in her Coke at a restaurant. When the waiter brought it without any ice, he told her "It's cold enough." Waiters don't work for tips here.)
  
• Having a garbage disposal
• Not having to squeegee down the shower walls after each shower to slow the calcium deposit build up.
• Having people on the street smile back at me when I smile at them (The people here are actually very friendly, but almost never smile at a stranger, even if you smile at them).
• Being able to communicate easily wherever I go
• Not having to carry an umbrella everywhere
  

None of these things are necessities, but they sure will be nice.

The Eagle has Landed

It has been confirmed that our container of stuff from the US is actually in Duesseldorf at the airport and is expected to go through customs today. Theoretically, we could have it tomorrow, but at this point, I'm just hoping for before we leave.

I can't decide what frustrates me more--being without our stuff from home for almost four months or the fact that being without stuff frustrated me so much. We've had four towels for a family of three--that's one more than we really need. I've alternated three pairs of pants (two I acutally bought here because the other two pairs I had were cotten crop pants) plus a slightly dressier pair that I've worn to church every Sunday since we've been here. The best part is that the one pair of jeans I wear have three spots on them from where I dripped super glue back in the states trying to fix one of Maddie's toys. They really didn't show when I arrived, but the jeans have been washed so much that has they've faded, the spots have emergered. I've already broken the zipper on the one pair of sensible, warm boots I bought here, but they have laces as well, so I just kind of tie the laces around my calf to hold them together and my pants leg covers it.

I thought I would be beyond this, but I have to say that having a second(or even a third!) outfit to wear to church, a second pair of boots and enough towels to not have to do laundry when four are dirty will make me really happy. I believe I've said this before, but if there were any doubts, this experience has confirmed that I am not prepared to become a missionary to Africa or China.

Skip will also be glad to have more dress shirts. He's bought a couple, but gets in a pinch when he realizes that all four of them are at the dry cleaners and he has a big meeting the next day.

Maddie will be glad to get her stuffed animals (although she has accumulated enough here that there's not much room for her in the bed now! Wonder who she gets that from, Mom?). She also misses her Polly Pockets and wants stuff to put up on the walls that are all very, very white.

Last night we gave Maddie her Christmas present from us. We didn't want to haul it all the way to the US and then bring it back and, once the container gets here, things are going to be kind of nuts until we leave. So, we went up to the playroom, put on the Santa Clause movie (we opted to to view it in English) and let her open her present of the Playmobil Fairy Tale Castle. Good Grief! In terms of pieces and assembly, IKEA has got nothing on Playmobil. I've never seen anything like it. My hands look like I was attacked by an angry cat with all the scratches I have from pieces and the "special" tool slipping. But Maddie loves it!

It's the Little Things

Today, I found food coloring. Kind of exciting. Hadn't been able to find any before. It's put out by Schwartau, the jelly people. Comes in Gruen, Gelb, Rot and Blau. Going to make those little Cornflake Christmas wreaths. The whole marshmallow/rice kripsy/cornflake thing is apparently pretty much exclusively American and some of our Asian friends here LOVE it but aren't too sure about cooking it up themselves. Marshmallows, apparently, come out at Christmastime here as well--not in large quantities, but the regular grocery stores are carrying the really big ones. Out of luck on the mini ones.
Food coloring and marshmallows all in one day. I must be living right.

Is Anybody Dreaming of a Damp Christmas?

We're paying for a weekend of blue skies (fairly unusual here) with rain and more rain. The weather is so consistently rainy here that the prevailing wisdom is "there is no bad weather, only inappropriately dressed people." The upside to the bad weather is that you really appreciate a nice sunny day and never take it for granted. Even Maddie comments when the sun is shining.

Since it does rain here so much, people just go on about their business--people of all ages. Moms are pushing around strollers with plastic bubbles around them, kids are playing with rubber boots on, but the best are the nuns from the local Catholic Hospital. You would never seen octagenarians strolling in the rain in Arkansas (actually, you rarely see anyone strolling), but here you'll see two elderly nuns sharing an umbrella because the one with two good legs is holding it over the one using her walker. Or they both might be in rain slickers because one is pushing the other in a wheelchair.

I think that just as living in Boston changed our definition of "bad traffic", living in Duesseldorf will change our idea of what "bad weather" really is. So far, none of us has melted.

Getting Closer to Christmas

Maddie was an angel in the church Christmas musical this morning. She stayed up in front of the church throughout the whole service. She had a great time and was too cute. There are almost more children in this church than there are adults. It's one of the few places in town where you can find English-speaking Sunday school for your kids.

Afterward we hit the Christmas markt in Kaiserswerth and tonight we are meeting Maddie's friend Madison and her parents for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. It's been a busy, but fun, weekend.

Breakfast With Santa

Our friend Joy (seen in the first pic and mother of Matthew and Madison seen in the next one) help put together a breakfast with Santa up at the International School this morning.

Maddie was a little shy with Santa, but handed him her list. She has asked for a toy that does not exist since Santa can just make it in his workshop. Can't wait to see how Santa works that one out!

Sleepover

Maddie with friends Paige and Zoe. They actually DID sleep...some.

Rumor has it...

It has been reported that the shipment of our stuff from the U.S. will be at the Duesseldorf Airport on Tuesday, December 12. No word yet on when it will actually get to our house, but I have friends who have said they will come and help me set up housekeeping--a mere 16 weeks after our arrival.

I am looking forward to having my clothes--particularly the warm ones. Maddie wants her toys and her big pillow. Skip will be glad to have more of his dress shirts, so there isn't a panic when I can't communicate to the dry cleaner that we need a "rush job." We are all looking forward to having something to put on the walls. (Maddie actually colored the wall in her room and when we got angry about it, she said she was just trying to help. "All the walls are so white")

Mary Haley and my mom have decorated our house in Little Rock for Christmas, so that we can enjoy a tree, Christmas village and nativity scene when we get home. We'll be in Connecticut visiting Skip's family from the 21st through the 25th and arrive in LR on Christmas Day and be there until January 4. Maddie has to be back in school on the 7th.

Looking forward to getting our things and creating a more homey home here in Germany and getting to come home for Christmas.

Lubeck

Skip and Maddie and I had a great time in Lubeck this weekend. Skip's cousin Joerg and wife Annelee are very gracious hosts and we enoyed spending time with their son Daniel and his girlfriend Merry.

Lubeck is way up by the Baltic (or East) Sea and we got to walk on the beach in our coats and hats. Maddie took some time to meditate at a chinese-inspired bookstore. We also got to enjoy Lubeck's very old and very crowded Christmas Market. Maddie's favorite part and Skip's least favorite part was getting to ride on this huge ferris wheel. I think Skip's favorite part of the weekend was getting to play a Sunday morning soccer game with Joerg, Daniel and their friends.

Happy Advent

We're picking Maddie up today at noon to head to Lubeck (check it out at http://www.luebeck-tourismus.de and click on the British flag for English translation) to see Skip's cousin Joerg and wife Annallee and enjoy the Christmas markts there. Maddie is looking forward to the fairytale wood, and I want to be sure and make the one at the Hospital of the Holy Ghost.

Maddie is rejoicing that today is December 1 and she could start opening her Advent calendar which gives her a little bag of gummi candy everyday between now and Christmas.

My big triumph this week was finding a container of milk that was actually a liter and a HALF rather than simply one liter. It's the biggest milk container there is here. My friend Joy, who has four kids, has to buy six at a time. Joy has also rescued us by loaning us their portable DVD player for our trip up to Lubeck. Ours, of course, is in the container that, as Maddie says, is either on a really slow boat or in a really big ocean.

Still no word on our stuff. Really hope we get it before we come home for Christmas.

Christmastime in Germany is really amazing and beautiful, but it is still hard not to be at home. I can't be at the funeral today for my uncle who died this week, but thoughts and prayers are with my Aunt Gail and the rest of the family. If only we could travel by floo powder like they do in Harry Potter.

Translation Problems???

Today I was in the Altstadt (spelled it right this time, Skip) and stopped in at Starbucks for a holiday peppermint soy mocha. By the way, the sizes here in Germany make much more sense--short, tall and grande, rather than tall (for the smallest), grande and venti. What the heck is a venti?

Anyway, most of the employees there speak at least some English and after I ordered my coffee the guy behind the counter asked, "Would you like to eat everything?" I almost answered, "How could you tell?" when I realized he was really asking if I wanted anything to eat. At least, I'm hoping that was the case.

I think my debate over whether or not we should get a second car here in Germany is over. Tonight Skip is in Amersterdam with the car. Our small Christmas tree (Maddie could just reach the top to put the star on) is leaning a bit in its pot. When I reached underneath to straighten it, my arm had some sort of allergic reaction to the pine needle pricks and my whole arm swelled up in hives. We have no stash of Benedryl or cortisone cream and it was 6:15 and the only apotheke open would be over at Wal-Mart which is not accessible by train. My friend Joy (who has four kids to feed and get to bed) drove over a tube of cortisone cream. Ahhhhh. I have never been so happy to see a tube of cream.

I think Skip may have a point about possibly needing a second car. It wouldn't get used a ton as many of the places I go it's easier to take the train or walk, but you can't get to the gym by train or to the good grocery stores. And when the weather is particularly icky, it's nice to be able to pick Maddie up in the car. Most of all, my minor allergic reaction made me realize that to be without immediate transportation in a foreign country when your husband is in yet another foreign country is probably not the best idea.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Enjoying the Christmas markets here. Maddie had a big weekend. A sleepover at Paige and Zoe's house AND her first time on ice skates. Skip's back is still recovering.

Engaged!

Just got the news that my dear, dear friend Susie Kirkwold is engaged. Great news to make a great holiday even better. Justin is one lucky guy!

A German Thanksgiving

My friend Melanie and I had a really good time going to Leyden for the Thanksgiving Service. It too, however, was a learning experience. Leyden is so far away that basically we had time to get there, attend the service, turn around the come back. Next year, we think we'll leave after school on Wednesday and take the kids out of school on Thursday. The town on Leyden (or Leiden, depending on who is spelling it) is really beautiful. There's a Pilgrim's Museum and also a Rembrandt museum with quite an extensive collection. There are canals that run through the town. Lots of people on bikes.

It was really neat to be in a foreign country and gather together with 500 other Americans to worship on Thanksgiving. It was especially moving to be in a church that operated on a "everyone is welcome" basis 500 years ago. That's kind of novel even for today.

We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the home of Melanie, Brad, Zoe and Paige Roberts. Friends Susan and Michael Poszar and their kids Zach and Nicolas were also there. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, apple pie and even Paula Deen's gooey butter cake were all on the menu.

We felt very blessed, even as strangers in a strange land, to be able to gather around such an abundant table with good friends.

More Lessons to Learn

Apparently, vinegar in Germany comes in a more concentrated form than in the States. So Skip had to carry my first attempt at sweet/sour green beans for Thanksgiving dinner out to the trash, and I had to run to the store to get more ingredients for a second try with diluted vinegar.

Since the kids will be in school, the Thanksgiving meal will be at night, but here is a link to information about Leiden, Netherlands, which is where I am headed for a noon church service on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

No, it's not a German holiday, but there are enough Americans around here to put together an acceceptably festive celebration. Got Mom to send cornbread mix along with Skip when he was back stateside, I e-mailed my mother-in-law to find out how chicken broth is found here (it's in buillion cubes or powder), paid the equivalent of $10 for six sweet potatoes and got some brown sugar (doesn't exist in Germany) at the last international market. So I'm set to make cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole. Mom also sent some pecans as they are not common here--hazelnuts are another story. Am also going to put together Sara Jane Douglass's green bean recipe. All those ingredients were readily available.

My friend Melanie is going to cook the turkey. She had to put a special order in for it at a local market. Had a fleeting fear that it might come with the feathers still on it, but was relieved to find that it looked like the one she always buys, except that it still seems to have its neck.

We had several hours of sun today in Duesseldorf. It was great!

Stuff

Maddie scored today with some hand-me-downs from friends Zoe and Paige. She LOVES that she's gotten clothes from her friends who are 8. She feels very cool.

This weekend we had Skip's cousin Torstein and his wife Alke over for coffee and cake. For those of you who don't know, coffee and cake is the German version of tea. Families tend to do this on the weekends, but you see the bakeries full of retired folks between 3 and 4 p.m. every weekday.

The weather here is really dreary--it's rainy and windy and cold. And that is apparently the forcast until March. But you just have to get out and about in it because if you waited for the weather to clear up, you'd become a hermit. Skip is not a big gym person, but I think he may have to break down and join. Yesterday he was determined to go for a run and he came back soaked!

I have been going to the gym and using the cardio and weight equipment, but the coolest thing is the "figur studio". They've got this room with the old vibrating belts and a couple of these chairs hooked up to rollers that are supposed to help break up cellulite and give a boost to your exercise program. I don't know how much good it will do, but it shakes out any knots or tension, plus it reminds me of an "I Love Lucy" episode.


We're getting ready to hit some of the many Weihnachtmarkts or Christmas Markets around Germany. Here are some of the ones we plan to attend:

Advent Market at Christ's Church

The 2006 advent market will be held on November 25th,From 13:00-17:00. We will be hosting a number of stalls such as;

• English Books
• British Foods
• Arts & Crafts
• Toys
• And much more

The British Woman's Club will also be having their 'guess the weight of the cake stall'

Aachen Christmas Market
Aachen's brightly lit Christmas market is set around the cathedral and the town hall. This lovingly decorated "Christmas village" on the market square has everything your heart could desire. One local speciality you really must try is Aachen Printe, a kind of gingerbread. Don't miss the music groups at the weekends and the varied Christmas programme.


Duesseldorf Christmas Market
Every year Düsseldorf's Christmas market opens its "gingerbread houses" not far from Königsallee. Until 5 January Corneliusplatz has a huge outdoor ice rink offering fun for all the family - ice skating is free and there are instructors and childcare facilities. A great way to work off that excess "Christmas energy".






Dortmund Christmas Market
Dortmund's Christmas market, one of the biggest in Germany, has over 300 stalls. Its hallmark is a gigantic Christmas tree which consists of 1,700 individual fir trees, stands 45 metres tall and is adorned with 13,000 lights – the biggest in the world. This enormous tree bathes the Christmas proceedings in a seasonal glow.


Luebeck Christmas Market
The annual Christmas markets of Hanseatic Lübeck take place in the old quarter around the historical town hall and Koberg, with fairy lights and Christmas trees adorning the streets. There is an enchanting Christmas fairytale forest outside St. Mary's Church with more than 20 lovingly handmade stalls which tell the stories of the Brothers Grimm. In addition there is also an excellent craft market in the vaults of the old Holy Spirit Hospital plus don't miss the Iceworld snow and ice sculpture festival in the heart of the town centre.


Oberhausen Christmas Markets
In Oberhausen there are two Christmas Markets one in the old town market square and the other at CentrO, europe's biggest shopping and leisure mall. During the festive season the mall shines in 3000,000 lights; 65,000 new Christmas decorations and more than 4,000 crystals all sparkling fabulously. Highlights of the Christmas Market are:
- About 135 huts with international goods
- Glasblower- factory
- CentrO-Winterworld with toboggan-run and jetski-run
- One of the biggest pyramid from the "Erzgebirge"
- Chairolplane
- Nostalgic Ferris
- From 06.12.: daily distribution of presents by the Coca-Cola Santa Claus
- Christmas stage with varying programs from Wednesday to Sunday
- Woodcarving from South-Tyrol
- 20-metres high Christmas Tree with more than 50,000 lights


How will we have time to do all this? As much as I miss being a pastor, I have to say, it's amazing how much time you have when you don't have to prepare a sermon every Sunday.

It's a Small World After All

Yes, here we are in Duesseldorf, Germany with one of my favorite singers, David Lamotte. David has friends here and has been coming to Germany regularly for several years now. His German is better than mine, and his music translates easily.

It was a real treat to get to see him.

Maddie had a great time with her new babysitter, Jade--who knows more languages than I can keep count of.

Milestone Reached

Maddie is out of school yesterday and today (of course next Thursday for Thanksgiving, she'll be in school all day!). Anyway, we went to the Duisburg Zoo and to IKEA and didn't get lost once! This is a first for us. It was nice.

A note on IKEA: it is a great place if you don't need anyone's help. There are a number of things you can just pick up and buy at checkout. If that's all you need, IKEA is the place. They even have a great cafeteria about half-way through the store. But if you need a service person to help you order something, that's when things get hairy. Our good news is that the couch we ordered from them is arriving on Thursday. We'll have somewhere to sit! But the chair we ordered has been discontinued. Fortunately for us, December will see the exodus of a number of ex-pats heading back to the States or Canada or other points, and we may be able to pick up something they are leaving behind.

My weird song on the radio today (there seems to be one every day) was a cover of Mark Cohn's Walking in Memphis by Cher.

Tonight Skip and I are leaving Maddie with a babysitter who lives down the street. She is fourteen and speaks German, English, Dutch and is learning Spanish. Skip and I are going to see David Lamotte, one of my favorite singers, who is on tour here in Germany. He's playing the Duesseldorf YMCA, which is actually a hotel, hostel and conference center. Looking forward to it.

Lovely Weather We're Having

Here's the five-day forcast for Duesseldorf. You can began to see why there are so many tanning salons here . It's not about vanity--but sanity!

5 DAY FORECAST

	Monday 58°F (14°C) | 49°F (9°C)
	Tuesday 59°F (15°C) | 48°F (9°C)
	Wednesday 61°F (16°C) | 50°F (10°C)
	Thursday 59°F (15°C) | 48°F (9°C)
	Friday 59°F (15°C) | 50°F (10°C)