BAMBIs

My friend Robin is back in town for a very quick visit. Got to have dinner with her tonight. Fun and sad at the same time. Forgot how much I missed having her here! We had dinner with another friend who will be leaving at the end of December. Too many comings and goings in this ex-pat world.

Got home just in time to see Bon Jovi on the Bambi Awards (www.bambi.de) which are being held right here in Duesseldorf this year. The Bambis are the German "best of" awards. They go to everyone from athletes and muscians to philantropists and activists to models and actors. There's no surprises. Award winners know ahead of time they are going to win. Bon Jovi receive the Bambi for international music. I can't believe I didn't run into Jon Bon Jovi in Duesseldorf today. Tom Cruise apparently won the "courage" award for his willingness to take risks in film make. Not really getting that one. Queen Ranier is also receiving a Bambi. That one mkes a little more sense.

Christmas markets are up and running, and we're hoping to hit a couple this weekend if the weather is decent. It will be cold. We just need it to be dry!

Advent Coming

We had a HUGE dinner at the Foster Family home along with Oklahoma Mary and her family. Bless her, Mary made cornbread dressing. It's great to have someone over here who comes from around the same parts in the US. Nobody else understands missing a Route 44 diet cherry coke from Sonic or knows how to make dressing.

The pre-Christmas season has officially hit in Germany. Meaning that the Advent Markets are open. Except for yesterday which was Totensontag--or the Sunday of the Dead. Basically it's the Protestant All Saint's Day. So all the markets closed after being open for just one or two days. It's amazing how many religiously based holidays they have in a country where not many people actually attend church!

Speaking of church, I've started holding "Wednesday Worship" at my house on--of course--Wednesdays at 1:30. You can check out what's happening with that on my OTHER blog at www.wednesdayworship.blogspot.com. Anyone think I might have a blog problem? My friend Andrea is amazed that I believe that other people care about what I have to say enough to actually post it on the Web. She may have a point.

Used my last packet of chili mix today. Good thing I'm coming home soon. It's very much chili weather here. It has not been nearly as wet as last November, but much colder. I never thought "cold" would become my preference, but I'll take it over daily rain anytime!

Before I get Maddie from school and get her to ballet (I HATE ballet days! Lot's of screaming, excited, hungry, tired little girls changing from school clothes to leotards and back to school clothes in a too-small dressing area with no place for moms to watch once they actually get in class), I have to seek out purple candles. Lots of Advent wreaths in Germany, but they all come with Red candles. I thought the whole liturgical color thing was universal, but I haven't seen a purple candled advent wreath yet. Here they are red. Come to think of it. I'm not going to look for purple candles. I'll just use the red ones, and I have no doubt that at some point, someone here can explain to me why the red is just better.

Thanksgiving at the Holiday Inn

We were fortunate that ISD had a break on Thursday and Friday. It wasn't for Thanksgiving, since that's not a holiday here. It just happened to fall that way.

So along with several other American families in Duessedorf, we drove up to Leiden, Holland where the Pilgrims lived for several years before heading to the "new world." There's a church there that isn't used as a church, but every Thanksgiving hosts an interfaith Thanksgiving Day service.

Leiden is a beautiful, historic town with canals and the oldest university in Holland. Rembrandt grew up there and there are tons of little art galleries along narrow alley ways. I got to wander while Skip took Maddie back to the Holiday Inn to swim.

The Holiday Inn put out a huge Thanksgiving Day buffet. It was fairly authentic. No cornbread dressing or sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes. But there was turkey and pumpkin pie and all the food was delicious. They even had chicken nuggets and french fries for the kids--complete with ice cream for dessert.

Maddie was pretty much a pain the whole day unless she was swimming or playing, and sure enough, she woke up with an ear ache Friday morning. We decided to cancel going up to Amsterdam as planned and brought her back to Duessedorf to the doc. He looked at her ear, gave me a prescription for antibiotics, but suggested that I hold off for a day on getting it filled. He said that her ear was at a place where it could become a full-blown, terribly painful middle ear infection, or it might just go away on its own. Kept her dosed with Tylenol yesterday for the pain, and sure enough, this morning, she is pain free.

This afternoon, we will go over the our friends the Fosters. Most of the Foster family was in Leiden with us, but dad Ron had to work, so they wanted to have a second get-together. Madison Foster (who is Maddie's age) is recovering from busting up her chin at the aforementioned Holiday Inn pool. You may be getting the picture that it wasn't a seamless holiday.

Thanksgiving Prayer

This was my contribution to the November issue of the American Women's Club magazine. I've received a lot of positive feedback from it, so I thought I'd post it here.

A Thanksgiving Prayer for Women Who Love Their Children but Aren’t Always Crazy about Being a Mom
Submitted by Anne Russ

Gracious and loving (insert deity here),

Thank you for my child. I am blessed by his/her presence in my life. There is magic and mystery and wonder to be found in his/her eyes.

Thank you for the extensive education that I can now put to use baking cupcakes, waiting in car lines, packing lunches, juggling sports schedules and presiding over petty playground squabbles.

Thank you for the profound sense of peace that I have in my heart. For it is that peace that prevented me from smacking my child upside the head when he/she said for the fourth day in a row, “But I want a different snack!” after school on the playground. It is that same peace that kept me from doing bodily harm to the lovely woman who recently asked, “So, when are you going to have another one?”

Thank you for those times when my child behaves like the gracious, kind and loving person I have tried to raise her/him to be. Help me to hold those moments in my heart that I might be sustained in times when he/she behaves like the spawn of the devil.

Thank you for that moment last week when I got to see the mom who always looks perfect, packs nutritious lunches and never raises her voice, roll into the school parking lot with no make-up and shove her kids out the car with two euros yelling, “Just go to the cafeteria and grab a donut!” It really gave me a lift.

Thank you for helping me find that apple core behind the couch before it started to grow mold and for the ability to remove that unidentified stain on the living room carpet.

Many, many thanks for the strength of character I displayed in not screaming at my friend from the states who wanted to know what I did with my time here.

Thank you for those times I am blessed to witness my child thrilled out of his/her mind over a new friend, a discovered talent, a revealed truth, an acquired skill or a simple “found” treasure. Those moments keep me from curling up in a ball in the corner of the room after hearing “I’m bored!” ten times in one day.

Thank you for the moms who nod understandingly and don’t judge when my child throws a fit. Thank you for the wisdom to avoid throwing tantrums myself, and I pray such wisdom will continue in my life.

Thank you for happy and healthy children. I ask your help in raising a child who will make the world a kinder, stronger, more peaceful place.

May my child know that, even on days when I consider running away to join the circus, I am grateful for his/her presence in my life. May he/she always know that he/she is always loved by you and by me come what may.

What a Day!

Skip went into downtown Duessedorf today, and as he was coming out the British chain H & M, he noticed quite a crowd at an establishment across the street. Going closer to see more, he discovered that there is now a Dunkin' Donuts in the Altstadt of Duesseldorf. This is one of the two stores (the other being Trader Joes) that I feel would make Little Rock the perfect place to live. If we get one of those in Duesseldorf, I may have to stay. The line was too long for him to pick up a bag of coffee, but it's there for the taking. What a great thing. For those of you who don't know, I ate a Dunkin Donuts chocolate covered donut and a small iced hazelnut coffee almost every day of my pregnancy with Maddie. Have had very few donuts since giving birth, but still LOVE the coffee.

Maddie has friend Lizzie spending the night tonight. They have had the best time. Lizzie is from England, but will be in Germany indefinitely. How odd it will be back in the states when all of Maddie's friends have similar accents.

Skip really blew it on the phone tonight. When calling a hotel in Amsterdam, he asked the woman who answered the phone if she spoke English. To which she replied, "I'm speaking English." Oops!

I'm a German Girl Now

Friend Andrea headed home to her one husband, two kids, three dogs, four fish, two guinea pigs and a couple of hermit crabs this morning. It was really great to have her here. We had a super time. She was able to hit three countries--Germany, France and Holland. I think she had just about recovered from the jet lag when she boarded the plane this morning.

Today there was a joint meeting of the American Women's Club and the British Women's Club and the American women showcased the "talents" of the group. I was asked to put together a little ensemble of singers and we sang this song that I adapted. The tune comes from singer/songwriter Christine Kane. She wrote "Southern Girl" after she moved from Boston to North Carolina. I changed the lyrics to reflect the experiences of living in Germany.

We were quite a hit.

Here are the lyrics:

Never been to Munich, never been to Berlin-O
Never really thought about it, never cared to go
I thought I’d live back in the states in some cute suburb out of town
But living here in Duesseldorf
Guess I’m a German girl now
Yes I’m a German girl now

I talk too loud. I smile too much. But I’m not without some class
You never see me pour an Alt beer in a pilsner glass
No one’s in a hurry in the cafes or the bars
But you better get a move on when you’re driving in your car
Cause you’re a German girl now.
Yes you’re a German girl now

Well days since I have seen the sun
I guess it’s seventeen,
But think of all the money that I’m saving on sunscreen
A scoop of ice is half the cost of Coca Cola light
Guess that’s the reason why my jeans are getting kind of tight
Cause I’m a German Girl now.
Cause I’m a German Girl now

I go to the café where I order ein café
The waitress clearly thinks that for this I must have all day
And laundry loads take all day too, they’re clean as they can be
My shower is too small, but then there’s less I must squeegee
Cause I’m a German girl now
Yes I’m a German girl now

You ride your bike all through the town in rain or wind or sun
And take the train to Alstadt to get all your shopping done
You only need five bins to separate all of your trash
Toss all of your credit cards, you better carry cash
Cause you’re a German girl now
Cause you’re a German girl now

I know all of the wursts including curry, brat and weiss
Those German beers are heavy but the white wine’s mighty nice
A beer with cola, lemonade or Fanta is the tops
And when we’ve finished all of that I’ll offer you a schnapps
Cause I’m a German girl now

Paris...The Adventure Continues

Here I am in front of the Eglise De La Madeleine--the church that bears my daughter's name. Got her a book all about the church and its design and art. Someday, she may actually appreciated it!

Here is another one in the series of Andrea pondering Paris. Here she is looking over the Place de la Concorde

Continuing the series, Andrea contemplates a giant bottle of Dom Perignon

Here are the stairs that lead up to the church of the Sacred Heart (or Sacre Couer) in Monmantre

Here is the little tram car we COULD have taken if Andrea hadn't insisted we take those stairs

The view from Sacre Couer

Andrea ponders the wonder of Sacre Couer

Here I am in front of this store we found in the Marais district called "Thanksgiving" that specialized in Louisiana Cajun foods. Who knows what you'll find in Paris?

We have seen a lot of Paris in two days and have the blisters to show for it. Andrea has a sore calf and I'm pretty sure I've slightly strained a hamstring. But...we're in Paris!

Paris Day Two

Andrea in front of the L'Arc d'Triomph. We took a moment to imagine what it must have looked like to see Napolean's troops make their victory march down the Champs d'Lysee and through the arch. We decided everyone looking on probably did the very first version of the The Wave.


Andrea ponders the meaning of art at the fountain of the Musee Pompidou

Anne is just happy to be in Paris

Here we are next to a guy who suffered from a bad case of getting "the big head"

This is a rent-a-bike station. With a credit card you can "check out a bike" as long as you return it to this or another staion throughout the city. Andrea and I considered it, but figured we would never make through Paris traffic alive. We still have children to raise.

Here we are at Notre Dame--Home of Quasimodo



I have run Andrea into the ground today. At least I got her to stay out until 8 p.m.--this is a late night for her! Way to push through the pain, Andrea. We did take advantage of the Metro (the Paris Subway), but we also covered quite a bit of ground on foot.

Our hotel is right by the Bastille. Hard to imagine that we are just feet away from where such a bloody revolution began. And that some of the buildings that surround us date back to around the time of that revolution. Andrea is overstimulated-too much walking, too many sites, too much history to contemplate. Oh, well, she'll be ready for another round after a good night's sleep.

Flashback:Germany

I realized that I never posted anything about my friend's time in Germany. We only had one full day there before I wisked her off to Paris, but I tried to give her a real German experience.

The day she arrived, we walked along the Rhine in the windy cold to try to keep her awake and went through the old town of Kaiserswerth where we live.

The next day, we dropped Maddie off at school and took the train into the Altstadt of Duesseldorf. We got off the at the Heinrich Heine station where we went and got my favorite bakery item in Duesseldorf--it's a pretzel covered with pumpkin seeds and just a little gouda cheese to hold them on.

We explored the German department stores where Andrea coveted more modern looking houseware designs, strolled down the Konigsallee where all the out-of-our-leaugue shops are. Then we went to the city market where there are stalls selling meats, cheeses, veggies, spices, craft gooods, etc. We bought a beautiful bouquet of flowers from a little old lady at a flower stand. Andrea even understood that woman was explaining that these are the perfect colors for fall. She'll be speaking German in no time. If she had waited a few more weeks, she could have hit the Christmas markets.

She had her first Alt beer--which is the Duesseldorf beer and we split a pizza sitting at a common table with a group of German electricians on a lunch break. She was amazed, but not disappointed, by how much of life in Germany revolves around food.

Before we headed back to our house, she even to to see a little old German woman push a pregnant woman out of her way. Thus learning one of the cardinal rules of living in Germany--don't mess with the Omas. They've seen and lived through too much.

That night--in keeping with our food theme--we took her to our favorite local German restaurant.

So, after we both get our hair dry, we're off to conquer Paris!

Anne and Andrea in Paris

So, we arrived today in Paris. Our driver from the airport got confused about the location of our hotel, so we spent an undue amount of time in the car getting here. However...we are IN PARIS! And we shared the ride with a group of women from West Virginia. Small World!

Anyway, we are here. Tomorrow we hit the Centre Pompidou (modern art museum) and possibly Montmartre. There will be food involved. Andrea has been amazed at how much I know about European food and drink. Then she looks at the circumference of my waist and ceases to be surprised.

Ahhhh, Venice

Okay, so our trip to Venice had it's snake bitten moments--the hotel was further from Venice than we thought, Maddie had a cough, the discount airline was kind of a pain, and various other obstacles. But then, how much can you really complain when you get to go to Venice? It was crowded and over-commercialized and didn't have enough bathrooms for people traveling with a six-year-old, but it was still absolutely magical.

The hotel where we stayed was over an hour away from Venice, but it was fabulous. The best shower I've taken in all of Europe. Check it out at www.locandacandola.com.

So there are no cars allowed in Venice. And although there are all these canals, many of the homes and apartments sit on pedestrian streets. I want to know what happens when you need a new refrigerator or buy a new couch. It would literally have to be walked to your door from a boat.

I left my cell phone there. hoping to get it back, but in the meantime have picked up a replacement. I just do a pay-as-you-go plan, so it's not that big of a deal--except all the numbers are in the old one and that's the number everyone has. Told you--the trip was kind of snake bit. But it was still Venice.

Friend Andrea has come to visit from the US. She is jat lag recovering, but we are planning a grand time while she is here.