Number 1 and Number 2

Guess what we've been working on at our house?

Yup. Poopin' on the pot. So far- Austin 572. Mommy 0.

But one day, he will do it. Right?
On the brighter side (literally) the peeing is going well. Except for the aim.
But does that ever get better with guys?
After living with two brothers I'm going to say a big NO on that one.
At least he's cute when he pees...

Take a Hike!

Last weekend we joined a huge group of people from Chris' Fab at work for a hike into the Saxon Switzerland area of Germany and into the Czech Republic. We started with an hour train ride to the border of Germany and the Czech Republic, then a ferry ride across the river into a VERY small Czech town. We then walked up a very well worn road to where our trail head was supposed to be. Unfortunately there had been some serious flooding a few weeks before, and since this small town isn't exactly a place you can get information on easily, we were unaware of the damage that it had sustained. The trail was closed, as was the long boat ride down a small river we had planned for. But no worries, we all walked up further to enjoy the Fall colors and found a VERY cool hole in the wall restaurant with some pretty cheap and pretty amazing Goulash with Dumplings and beer. We then walked back through an interesting market area (cough cough BLACK market) and then split off from the rest of the group with a few pals to head back to the ferry. One hour later we were back in Dresden and finally getting the warmth back into our bones. This is definitely a place we will take on again, hopefully in the Spring when the trail head is open and it is a little bit warmer ;o)

       Americans overtaking a train car.

The guy who organized the trip gave the adults a little something to keep them warm on the trail.

 Heading down to the ferry. It was a bit nippy.

 Americans and Singaporeans taking over a ferry.

The kids loved the ferry. Can't you tell Austin was thrilled?

 The entire area is filled with beautiful sandstone rock formations. 

We are SO going to explore this area some more.

 The black market and a small Church.

 Austin strolling through the leaves.

 Whatever this sign says.

 Water overflow. Still a bit wet there!

 Not as pretty as WV in the Autumn, but good enough.

 Austin's friend Mary catching a ride with her Daddy.

 Austin hijacked his friend's stroller.

 Mystery meat Goulash with Dumplings. Delicious!

 Budvar beer. Delicious!

 Buildings and homes through the town.

 Water wheel circa 2004 (apparently).

 "Fancy" Hotel.

Our train station leaving.

Czech This Out!

This past weekend found us traveling by train into the Czech Republic. Our good friends Chad and Suzanne were flying in from the Netherlands to meet us in Prague for some good old sightseeing fun.

The next three days were filled with A LOT of walking and desperate attempts to find out where Tom Cruise was (as they were filming Mission Impossible 27 while we were there). We had some great food, KFC once, and lots of good Czech beer. And above all, we did it with some fantastic friends who made the whole trip all that much better!

Here are some of my favorite things about the trip:

*Seeing the Astronomical Clock... again and again.

*The beautiful Churches and Synagogues.

*The Old Jewish Quarter and it's amazing stories

*Seeing the Oldest Synagogue in Europe (where Golem was created)

*Crossing the Charles Bridge and rubbing a statue for good luck.

*The Prague Castle and it's St. Vitus Cathedral

*Taking a "Haunted Prague" nighttime walking tour with Suzanne and getting to walk into the underground areas that were visited by the British TV show Most Haunted.

 Riding the train from Dresden to Prague was really nice.

Chad and Suzanne partaking in a pretzel.

 Creepy marionettes EVERYWHERE. Shiver.

We spent the first afternoon there wandering the streets and scoping out the infamous Astronomial Clock. Apparently everyone flocks into the old square to watch it as it chimes on the hour and then you hear "is that it?" in about ten different languages. Then we all watched it again. 

 Old Town Square

 Suzanne and I hanging out with Good King Wenceslas

 Statue of Franz Kafka

Chris and I overlooking the Charles Bridge

 Rubbing the bronzed plaque under the statue of St. John of Nepomuk

 We three in front of the Prague Castle gates

 By a fountain within Prague Castle

St. Vitus Cathedral

 Austin posing for all of the Japanese tourists

 Attempt to get a family portrait by the Cathedral when we realized that Austin had a HUGE poopy diaper and I had gotten some on my hand

 Take 2

After we had changed his diaper on the doorstep of a really old and beloved Cathedral

 Old Synagogue in Prague where it is believed that the remains of Golem are hidden.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

So the one thing that we heard over and over again when we were starting the moving process to Germany was how we needed to be conscientious of our trash and recycling. That it was a very big part of their culture and we must follow their rules to fit in. No problem says I. Recycling is fun! They sing songs about it on Sesame Street and Yo Gabba Gabba! A 2 year old can do it. Heck WE already do it!

Then we received a copy of the recycling rules from our relocation people.

Sweet heavens above. Now I start to break into a sweat when I think about throwing something away. What if I do it wrong? We hear horror stories of people who put the wrong items into the wrong color coded bin on the curb only to have the mean trash man dump it all out and make them re-sort their items in the street. What have we gotten ourselves into? Fortunately it gets easier with time, the trash man has never even looked in our trash can, and our neighborhood seems to be pretty relaxed when it comes to all of these German "rules" that we were warned about. But I'll admit, I'm looking forward to getting back to the good old USA way of recycling- putting it all into ONE bin and letting THEM do the work.

And now for your entertainment, a discussion of the recycling rules in Germany from a website for expats:

Deposit Bottles:

Over the past several years Germany has introduced a comprehensive deposit system (Pfandsystem) of 25 cents per plastic bottle or aluminum can and eight cents for glass bottles - mostly for beer and mineral water. This deposit system covers all carbonated beverages, water and beer, but it excludes for some strange reason both wine and non-carbonated drinks. To collect your deposit you can bring bottles back to a supermarket or beverage store, most of which now have automated machines. Your best bet is to return them directly to the shop where you bought them, because some stores annoyingly refuse to accept bottles from brands they do not carry.

Glass:

Every piece of glass for which you did not pay a return deposit (Pfand) should be placed in the designated glass bins which can be found throughout all towns and cities. Glass is sorted by color: green, white and brown.

Paper:

Newspapers, magazines, cardboard boxes and any packaging consisting of paper or cardboard belongs in the Altpapierbins. These bins are green or blue, depending on where you live and sometimes only the lid is green or blue. Cardboard boxes should first be flattened before being deposited.

Plastics:

Aluminium, tin cans, plastic wrappings and containers, polystyrene, and objects made of composite materials like beverage cartons or spray cans, belong in the yellow bins. A sure way of knowing what objects belong in the yellow bin is to look for the Green Dot symbol (Grüner Punkt).

Bio-degradable waste:

Kitchen scraps, peels, leftover food, coffee filters, tea bags and trimmings from your garden belong in the brown waste bin labeled Biotonne. This waste accounts for 50% of all the waste produced in Germany.

Old clothes and shoes:

These are regularly picked up at your curb by various charity organizations, who will announce their visit a few days before hand. Otherwise, there are containers for old clothes and shoes set up by commercial companies around the city.

Unwanted appliances, old furniture, and large household objects:

These items are called Sperrmüll in German and are picked up three to four times a year on pre-arranged dates. In some cities you will need to contact your trash collector for a pick-up appointment.

Household waste:

If after all of this throwing away of trash you have anything left, place it in the gray bin, the contents of which are termed Restmüll. This includes cigarette butts, personal hygiene items, textiles, diapers and old kitchen objects.

If you read ALL of that and are still awake without your mouth hanging open, then you my friend, are a better person than I. My eyes glazed over before they even got to plastics.

In the grey containers I sort everything into the following:

Paper, Plastic/Aluminum/etc., Recyclable Glass, Return Deposit Containers

And our Bio container which has been exiled to the porch due to those nasty gnats.

Moritzburg Hunting Palace

Every good German needs a nice modest hunting palace to visit when the mood strikes. A few weekends ago we ventured out to Moritzburg Palace for an afternoon. Wow. Technically, it was my first time actually INSIDE of any type of palace. It was amazing. Unfortunately, you couldn't take pictures inside, but we were able to buy a nice book in English with photos of the famous Feather Room and hunting trophy room (aka room of deer death). If you come visit- we'll definitely take you there!

Just a lil' old hunting lodge.

Some threatening weather.

Maybe bad juju from all of the deceased woodland creatures?

Front entry with the church steeple behind it.

Oh- your hunting lodge doesn't have a Chapel attached?

Beautiful.

Ye deer be warned...

There were these cool statues all around. They tend to be of elaborate urns and naked babies.

Austin taking in the grandeur. 

Mein Kühlschrank

Here she is. My sweet lil' refrigerator (or Kühlschrank). I think this may be one of the biggest adjustments for me. Especially since Chris thinks that since we live in Germany, there should be a designated shelf for fine German beers. Seriously? We need that space for FOOD.

Can YOU find the refrigerator?

Warmer... wait. Colder?

Bingo!

Some of you have asked about why I grocery shop so frequently. It is because of our limited storage AND the fact that I have to walk home from the store carrying my haul in 3 reusable bags. Trust me, when we get back home I'm taking our SUV to the store, filling it up till I have Dr. Pepper and peanut butter coming out of the windows, and then singing "God Bless America" all the way home.

And our freezer?

2 mini ice cube trays

1 box of berries

2 salmon fillets

3 hot dogs leftover from a package I opened last week

2 containers of ice cream

and a partridge in a pear tree!

(just kidding- we couldn't fit a partridge in that tiny thing, let alone a tree!)

Door storage. We buy 2 liters of milk every 2-3 days.

I am SO thankful to have a small organic foods store on our street.

Inside. I haven't been grocery shopping today, we'll probably hit the fruit and veggie stand this afternoon for some tomatoes.

And- what is that? A shelf for beer?

Hmmmm. How did that get there?

And our non perishables?

In a small cupboard.

Even the bananas and potatoes are in there since the

gnats are attempting to overthrow me in my own kitchen.

I will prevail, Americans always do.