Life in the Slow Lane

Life in Germany moves more slowly than life in America. Which might be nicer if you weren't waiting for service in a restaurant with a 5-year-old. It's weird to be in a crowded cafe where waiters seem to have no interest in turning tables as quickly as possible.

We're also held up with Skip's work permit. The process is (surprise!) slower than we expected, which we didn't think would be that big of a deal--but without it, we can't set up a bank account or lease a car. Very few places in Germany take a credit card--they only take debit cards (German debit cards). So we've been having to access cash from our Visa card, convert it to Euros in order to pay for things.

We went to get beds for our new house at IKEA and they can't deliver 'til Tuesday. So we have a choice of borrowing some camping cots from Skip's cousin Daetliff or extending our hotel stay. We're leaning toward the hotel--which is really great and serves a terrific breakfast. Not a donut in sight, but plenty of grainy bread, cereal, yogurt, fruit, cheeses, meats and, oddly enough, tomatoes. The coffee has been great everywhere we've been which is really important for my caffeine addicted self since Diet Cokes here are Coke Light and not exactly the same formula as back home.

Maddie has discovered that anywhere you go in Kaiserwerth-Dusseldorf, there is ice cream to be had and she is committed to trying every option. She is really rolling with this whole thing.

Chus!