The Smiths Do Germany Part 3:

I took the kids on a two night excursion this week. Brave choice, yes indeed, but they had an entire week before school started and I knew I needed to keep them busy. It is weird how we all seem to oscillate sharply between loving it here and homesickness. This is especially true for the kids and when they get tired or bored, they gravitate toward the latter...hence the trip.

We went to Lake Constance (also called Lake Bodensee, pics below). I had planned some stops on the way and had hoped to make two or three of them on the way to the lake. The lake is literally on the southern border of Germany - you look across from the Germany side to see Switzerland (Swiss Alps) and Austria bordering the other side! Very cool. They have an intricate ferry system in the lake that shuttles people here, there and everywhere. I had heard we should get down there while it was still hot (and yes, it was!) so we did.

Driving into the lake...we were blown away at first sights of it. It is a glacier lake so water is crystal clear and a pretty aqua-blue color. Ben said, "wow, that's way better than I expected" when he first saw it. My sentiments exactly.

Our first stop was Baden Baden which means, literally, bathing bathing. Baden Baden is a thermal spa resort located at the foothills of the Black Forest in the south-western part of Germany. I had heard it was a beautiful town and that the drive through the Black Forest would be well worth it.

We went to the tourist center where we paid 50 cents to use the bathroom and got some free advice on where to go. We  had lunch and went to one of the spas that happened to be close by. You go through this long process of scrubbing, soaking, bathing, etc. through sequential numbered doors. Then the last door leads you to the main "bathing" area where there are men and women, all naked, who soak together in thermal spring water  in a very beautiful, old, ornate bathing hall. The entire process lasts 3 hours. The kids were completely amazed that the men and women bathed together naked. I only saw pictures as no kids under 14 were actually allowed in due to the nudity. The kids were completely amazed (and horrified) that the men and women actually bathed together naked.

Speaking of nakedness, the kids have been extremely preoccupied with the relative openness to (partial) nudity here and I have to say I've certainly noticed it as well. Children of all ages (even older ones) go around with little to no clothing. Also, people take no issue changing out of a wet bathing suit into dry clothes by the river/lake/pool out in the wide open. Ben said he was scarred for life after we saw one very-much-older lady change in front of us. I reminded him that God made our bodies the way they were and it is nothing to be ashamed of and well, that's just how they roll here in Europe.

Anyway, we ended up getting really lost in Baden Baden on our way out. My iPhone maps was sending me in circles and I didn't have a specific address to map to the next town so I drove around the hills of Baden Baden for quite some time. After that first stop, it was later than I had planned so we went straight to our hotel at Lake Constance.

Our hotel was on the island of Lindau. See map below at the northeastern corner of the lake. When we got there I thought it looked agreeable, nothing fancy but I knew that going in. We set our stuff down and headed out to find something to eat. We made our way down to the lake where they had a beautiful lighthouse. We found a restaurant and ate dinner. The kids left the table to to watch a street performer do a show on a unicycle. I couldn't believe it when a full hour later it was over. They got their two euros worth, that's for sure.

The next morning we rented bikes and rode around the lake. We went up to the top of the lighthouse. We rode to a little nearby town and passed pear and apple orchards on the way. We swam in the lake and played on the playgrounds. It was really a great day.

Looking down through the lighthouse.

The bike ride through pear/apple orchards to a nearby town.

A Catholic Church & cemetary we found in the nearby town (can't remember name of town).

This guy was biking into the sunset...in a lake. He was moving pretty quickly over the water. I had to drop my bike and sprint to get in the right spot to take these photos. These people REALLY like to ride their bikes. Ha!

One thing I noticed about Lindau was the large number of women who had just undergone plastic surgery (esp. nose jobs) and were out and about with bandages on their face. I started to wonder if this was some sort of a status symbol or something? Very odd.

The next day we took a ferry to Bregenz, Austria where we took the tram up to the top of Pfander, a mountain with amazing views of the lake, Alps, etc. Seriously amazing views. There was a "wildlife park" at the top of the mountain with pigs, goats and rabbits. We've seen a lot of these "wildlife parks" around...sort of like petting zoos? All in all, we had a great trip but we were VERY ready to get home and stay in one place for a bit and also to see Brad. And so we left and drove straight home on the Autobahn at 100 miles per hour (in between traffic jams, that is).

 Ferry to Bregenz

 Lunch in Bregenz

 On top of the mountain

The Smiths do Germany part 1:

After some arm twisting, I have agreed  to keep a blog during our stay in Germany. At first, I thought, "no way", but then as I go through these experiences, I realize how I would like to "keep" them instead of letting the memories disappear as they tend to do. For my kids especially, this will be a memoir of a 4 month adventure they once had.

Well, I knew Americans had a reputation for being overindulgent and now that I am here I can sorta see why. Which leads me to the title of this post, "Europe is like camping." Surprisingly, Europe's lack of (most) things American hasn't bothered me much but then again I've only been here 24 hours! I am sure the time will come for this spoiled American because, as I mentioned, Europe is like camping.

Yesterday we went to look at an apartment in the Neunheim neighborhood of Heidelberg. The apartment is on the second floor of an old building with a giant, beautiful wooden door. You walk up the stairs and the apartment takes up the 2nd floor of the building. Anyway, the rooms are typical of many old buildings/homes in Atlanta: high ceilings, huge windows and spacious rooms. Lovely. However, there were a few things that struck me.

Upon entering, the first thing the (French) owner of the apartment, Madame Marioni, told us was that there was no air conditioning. I pretended not to be at all affected by this, but I had already noticed it was a wee bit toasty. Now, sitting here at this later date, I really underestimated no air conditioning in 90 degree weather. The first few days here were brutal in this department. There was just nowhere to escape. That kind of heat in small increments is doable, but day and sleepless night got old, fast. My only saving grace was a tiny fan that I slept with blowing directly in my face from only a few inches away. Luckily, the weather has turned a lot cooler and we only had about a week of the heat.

Back at the apartment, we continued down the hall and I noticed a large clothes line out on the deck...no dryer. No way. I knew I had to keep an open mind, but seriously? Have you seen how much dirty laundry my family puts out?

While the size of the rooms were huge, the kitchen was very small and equipped with all things tiny. They offered us some coffee as they showed us how the coffee/cappuccino machine worked. We sipped out of little tiny cups and I had to ask how do you make a big cup when you need a coffee to go? They reached down into the way back of their drawer and said well we have this giant sized cup but we've never really tried it. I laughed when I saw the cup was the same size of the ones in our home. I laughed and said, "American sized!"

On a positive note, I loved the fact that all the huge windows opened fully allowing light to pour in. The apartment has several giant, beautiful plants that I was instantly glad to have as roommates. (Don't worry I warned her that my house is a plant cemetery. She is now asking the housekeeper to "watch" them.) I fell in love with the little terraces overlooking the park and neighboring buildings. There was so much to like that it made it easy to overlook what was "missing".

I am amazed at the way Europeans conserve. The entire building's trash can with 6 adults and 1 teenager is about half the size of the one at home for our family of four. They recycle/reuse everything and use very little to begin with. For instance, the grocery stores do not give out bags. Everything, like the coffee cups, are just smaller. No Big Gulps here, folks.

Another thing that took some getting used to was that our rental car shut down completely when you took your foot off the gas. We didn't know what was happening when we were at our first red light and the car literally just shut off when we put our foot on the brake. Ahm...?

Other observations were the way the lights turn off and on automatically when you enter and leave a room. Walking down the long corridor of our hotel, the lights flicked on one at a time as I approached them. Then in the hotel room, you have to put your room key into a slot in order to turn on the electricity.  

While the Germans seem to be far more efficient conservationists, there are some things we do better. Probably the most noticeable difference is the obvious lack of warmth and casual smiles. At first, I thought it was just us...they must be scowling because we are Americans or we aren't parking right or whatever. After time, I realized it is really just the culture. Smiles with strangers rarely happen. It's not to be taken personally, it's just the way it is. I'm so used to doing it that I think I really startled some people when I smiled at them. I realized I have always taken for granted (even been annoyed by) the obligatory smiles and have-a-nice-days that are casually expressed in the US. Now, going through my day as a stranger-in-a-strange-land, the lack of smiles can gnaw at you a little. 

The Smiths Do Germany Part 2:

I deleted the rest of this post by accident so I'm moving on and picking it up where I am now.

Where am I now anyway? I'm on day 7 or so and I feel like I've been here for a loooong time but still have no idea what I'm doing half the time! There are just so many little "learning curves" around every corner. It has TRULY been an adventure so far. We moved into our house yesterday and now I'm settling into city life after having spent the week in the small town of Walldorf. The simplicity made it much easier to navigate through Walldorf. I think it was probably a really good "warm-up" for moving here to the city of Heidelberg.

I'm going to start from the beginning with some of my favorite photos along the way....

The hotel where Brad and I stayed during our first trip here together.

Flammekuchen - yummm!

USA! USA! USA!

Big man in a tiny car...

Was shocked to see this on a window.

Hmmm....

The market in our neighborhood.

Streets are lined with these and cigarette machines.

EuroBrad

Another castle ruin we found while biking around that had an art and wine show going on. 

See you soon, Smiths!

At the airport...

That's a lot of checked luggage - 8 bags, 1 dog, 4 bikes, 2 LAX sticks...what else could we need?

Really?

Taking off...

First day there...both kids totally asleep...my kids who NEVER nap.

Kids and I go to Heidelberg Castle...

Grocery shopping at the Rewe (pronounced Reevuh)...always an adventure!!

Brad and I are addicted to these little weiner schnitzels (that's what we call everything.)

Winery near our hotel. We were on a mission to find the "wine maker" but never did. Kids did help themselves to a lot grapes, though!

My little girl going up this big hill...trooper!

Brad's drink of choice...PILS.

Crowded around the "TV"...it's the only one we have!

Mary King goes Parisienne!

Found a BMX park by our hotel. These people LOVE to bike.

This was a cut-your-own flowers farm we saw on the side of the road. There were several of them. You pay  on the honor system. One of the kids made this sign and it was next to another one that basically said, "Our family works hard to grow these so we expect you to pay!"

This is our building. You enter the brown door and go to second floor our apartment goes to the corner. The corner windows is the room below:

This is Ben and Mary King's room. Huge rooms!

Mary King taking good care of bear, as always!

Dining room

This is just a little room in the "middle" of the other rooms.

Kitchen is small and cozy!

Mary King's new restaurant, The Sunspot Cafe! She served us a fabulous dinner last night of bratwurst and salad by candlelight. 

                                                                                   Down by the river...the river is about 3 blocks from our house.

Bikes parked at the train station!! Did I mention there are a lot of cyclists here??

My first trip to the Rewe on my bike...overloaded. Also had a full backpack.