Yep, Still Moving

This has been the longest, most ridiculous move I've ever experienced.  It's hard to believe it all started a month and a half ago with the sorting, then the packing, then the physical relocation, then the waiting, and the more waiting.

The past two weeks have been simultaneously wonderful and insane.  I can truly say I love living here--even with all of the crap we've had to deal with on-base and from time to time on the economy.  It's an amazingly beautiful country, I know once we're settled into our house it will be perfect for us, and I'm nearly drunk on all of the travel opportunities we've already had, not to mention the ones that are yet to come.

We're still internetless and phoneless at our house--TMobile did their part in turning on the service, but there's a disconnect between that and what we're getting at the house.  When I call our phone number, it rings on my cell phone, but it doesn't ring in the house, and there's no internet signal.  I tried calling customer service, but shockingly, everything is in German--there is no "Press 1 for English"!  So, we'll probably be making our weekly stop by the TMobile shop some time soon so we can ask our questions and hopefully get everything worked out.

We're really enjoying living out in our village and being away from the Little America feel of the Air Force base.  Last Sunday, we did like the Germans and took the puppies out for a long walk through fields and up and down hills.  One of the things I love about the Germans--and most European countries I've experienced so far--is how active they are.  If it's a nice day, you're going to see scores of people out walking, biking, and running, and bicycling is HUGE here.  There are bike lanes almost everywhere, and bikers are treated like equal vehicles on the road, unlike in the States where in most places you're still taking your life into your hands trying to bike on the streets.

Our neighborhood is wonderful.  I think I mentioned before that there are a couple of Germans on our street, but it's predominantly American military families.  Both of our next door neighbors have come over to introduce themselves, and last week the other wives invited me out to a little street party to celebrate the kids' last day of school.  It's been such a new experience to feel welcomed by our neighbors, and they're all so excited that we've got two babies on the way.  I'm really looking forward to getting to know them over the years.

I also got to experience some interesting local cuisine.  Evidently, there is a huge Turkish population who has settled in Germany, and they brought with them their food to spice up the typical schnitzels and wurst options.  I finally got to try out a doner kebab, and though people make fun of them, I actually really liked it.  It's basically just a gyro, so like any time you're eating meat off a stick, you want to make sure you're getting a quality product, but I don't know why they have such a bad reputation.  I ate the heck out of mine and am looking forward to another!

This past weekend, we ventured down to Switzerland and explored Luzern and Bern.  Switzerland is an INCREDIBLY expensive country, but luckily the exchange rate between dollars and the Swiss Franc was almost 1:1, so it wasn't as financially painful as it could have been.  And we LOVED it.  I still have to go through our photos, but I can't wait to share our adventures with you--it was an absolutely amazing few days

And yesterday, we had the great excitement of welcoming all of our stuff into our home!  We got an email on Friday that our household goods were available for delivery on Monday, and we actually managed to respond in time to lock it in.  Unfortunately, when we called to schedule the pickup of our loaner furniture, the soonest the Air Force can come is July 9th.  JULY NINTH.  Uggggghhhh.  Have I mentioned recently that this base is ridiculous?

So, anyway, we've got all of our furniture and boxes PLUS the hideous Air Force furniture crammed into our house, and I'm going more than just a little crazy from the chaos.  We worked from about 5 until 11 last night unpacking boxes, and I worked from 9 to 12 this morning and that is still an accurate representation of what our main living space looks like.

But hey, it also means that I was finally reunited with my Tempurpedic last night after many, many weeks of sleeping on the shittiest beds imaginable.  I'll take all of the unpacking if it means I get to sleep on a cloud of comfort every night!!!

Comments

[Casey]

Ahhh I love Doners!! I don't care what anyone says...they're great! And a nice departure from the typical German schnitzel and sausages. You can only eat so many of those. Haha. Hate to hear getting settled is taking a bit longer than you'd expected, but once it happens, you'll look back on all the moving troubles and laugh! Can't wait to see photos of Switzerland! We're heading down to Lake Constance for 5 days in July and plan on crossing the lake to Switzerland while were there! :)

[erin]

Okay, that gyro looking sandwich looks INCREDIBLE! Moving is so UNfun. Boooo. It sounds like you're enjoying things though. YAY! Loving the photos. Keep them coming.

[The Incubator]

I love your cows:) They do look so peaceful and so National Geographic worthy! Soooo glad you are reunited with your cloudy mattress. At least after all your hard work of the day (and maybe in between times during the day) you have some really nice quality time to slumber peacefully;) Hugs and kisses!

[Caro]

Oh wow, I guess settled isn't happening quite yet, but yay, you are now one step closer! :) The view is gorgeous, by the way and I'm glad you're enjoying it all so much!

[Solange]

mmmm... that gyro thing looks yummy! Ugh. I hate moving! I can't even imagine doing it the way you're doing it. Thanks for all the pics :) I love seeing the beautiful countryside.
I'm glad you have your home comforts even though you're not getting your loaner furniture yet. July 9th will be here before you know it!

[Stephanie]

We did the doner kebab in Istanbul. It's considered their street food for about $5 for a kebab and a coke. OMG!!!I could have lived off of these things!! :) Super yum :)

I am happy you and Colby are finally getting your stuff and feeling a bit more settled.

We *might be in Sweden in about a year so I definitely want us to consider taking a detour through Germany :)

[erin - heart in ireland]

yay for your own bed! doesn't that make a world of difference!

hope the unpacking is going well!

Can't wait to hear about Switzerland!

[Molly]

Glad your stuff is there! Even if you have to climb over the other crap to get to it!

[Jessica]

OMG Doner Kabobs. You are really taking me back now. Glad you guys are getting settled, even if there is a delay until July 9 with the furniture

[Mandy]

Good. I hope our stuff shows up in 6 weeks too. We're actually borrowing furniture from a retired friend of Dave's, and have internet and phone but no hot water because the leasing agent neglected to mention that the hot water heater is gas. We only figured it out after realizing the fireplace is gas. (Dryer and stove are electric. Weird, right?)

Take it easy though, growing tiny humans is hard work and you need to treat your body nicely!