Name Games

Guess the Gender Name Game:
* Florian
* Heike
* Uwe
* Ute
* Micha

Answers are below. Of course, many names popular Stateside are here as well... but they sure don't sound the same. I asked what a little boy at Eli's school was named and the teacher said "Coll" or maybe "Cawl." What? I asked how it was spelled. C - A - R - L. Aha. The "R" thing... It is not rolled like it is in Spanish. In fact German gives the common"R" two sounds. One pronunciation is guttural - back where your tonsils hang. The other pronunciation, like in the name Carl or the word Butter (yes, butter), is where it is nearly silent. I say nearly because there is a sound there but just thinking about the letter when speaking, rather than attempting to say it, is usually all the pronunciation it needs. Eli, of course, does this perfectly. The most popular names we've run into are Heidi or Katrin/Katerine for women and Torsten or Thomas or Jurgen for men. Other fun ones are Manfred and Wolfgang.

Family Names: Mary is normal, though not common, for Germany, but usually in the form Maria. Eli is completely strange and I pronounce it slowly so people will understand. In the German Bible and translated it would be Elias ('ee-lee-us'). Kevin is normal but not common. But Sandra (pro: 'sondra')? No one my age has my name in the states. Here they are everywhere. Sandra's abound on restaurant name tags and at neighborhood get-togethers. One of the main news anchors is a Sandra. I saw two more on name tags this past week. It's funny, but it actually helps... it's the one thing that's not strange about me when I'm meeting the locals.

Florian = male, pronounced easily like it is spelled
Heike = female, pronounced like the word 'hike' plus 'uh', hike-uh
Uwe = male, pronounced 'oo-vay'
Ute = female, can be spelled Jutta, both pronounced 'yoo-tuh'
Micha = male, pronounced 'mee-shah'

How'd you do? There are some that are even more strange, but I can't even spell them much less pronounce them.

Castles and Ketchup

We went castle-hopping over Easter in Luxembourg. It was great. Except winter finally arrived in Western Europe... on the day of the Spring Equinox. Easter Sunday dawned clear and cold so we bundled the kids and went "hiking" in the Mullerthal Forest. Hiking here is defined as: "drive to next designated parking area near scenic land feature, carry stroller up/down uneven stone steps, take pictures, carry stroller back to car while kicking self for forgetting backpack, repeat." The best castle we've seen to date was in Beaufort, a place not even mentioned in travel guides. It had a torture chamber, tall towers, and was not ridiculously over-"restored" - the sad fate of many a castle. Plus we ate at a French Patisserie (translation: yummy bakery) in Beaufort that had the most delicious fancy finger pastries we've ever gulped down in an unappreciative hurry with pop and apple juice. Ah well. Someday, we've promised ourselves, we will enjoy the culinary aspect of travelling. Until then it's train station McDonald's, curbside brats, or cheese squares and meat sticks from the grocery store taken back to our room. Travelling with the kids does have its advantages. Sleeping all together in a closet-sized room with no Internet access means bedtime is 7:45, for everyone.

My next blog will examine the differences between German and American obsessions. But today, following a great weekend that nonetheless highlighted some of Europe's shortfalls, I must comment on the tight-fisted restaurant culture. Contrary to American belief that portion sizes are smaller here, plates have plenty of food. But in other areas (mostly noticed only by parents travelling with young children), the European restaurant is sadly lacking.

Ketchup, for example. Remember the impossible-to-open-until-it-suddenly-squirts-all-over-your-blouse packets that contained enough ketchup for five - maybe six - fries total? They use those here. And they'll cost you 20 - 50 Euro cents per, my friend. Napkins are rationed here based on the one-per-diner rule that obviously doesn't account for the eating habits of 1 year olds. They don't charge you for them but they will glare at you in disgust, no doubt thinking "slovenly barbarians..." Our diaper bag ensures we always have wipes to fill the inevitable cleanliness gap, but still. And Refills. This is a basic human right in the States and restaurants not offering them for free are stingy, un-family-friendly snobs. Sadly, this is not so here. Some will tell you that the lack of ice in drinks means you get your money's worth. Whatever, cheapos.


Finally, we cannot neglect to mention gas stations and bathroom access in our rant against the purveyors of stinginess, though their connection to the culinary culture is tenuous (or truck driver related), at best. Despite a fascination with all things auto, Germany and surrounding countries will make you work to find your fuel. Gas stations are often not on main streets or autobahn exits, not open early / late / on weekends, and not very close together. I guess the lack of competition must be nice, it costs us almost $8 per gallon of diesel; gas would be even more painful. And you'd better have change with you just in case you do find a gas station or rest stop. That'll be 50 cents to use the facilities, thank you. The term "public restroom" refers to trees and bushes. Those wanting modern plumbing, even at many tourist attractions and shopping areas, will be coughing up the museum admission fee, buying an appetizer, or desperately pleading to get to their goal.

Party!

Fasching = Carnival = Dress up, dance, eat and parade. Valentine's Day warrants exactly one tiny end of the aisle in the grocery store in February. The rest of the store is devoted to Fasching. The adults are almost as into it as the kids and their outfits are definitely wild. We did not partake but the kids joined in... and took over all the events they were invited to. I don't know where they get it from but my kids love to party.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful ladybug and a fierce pirate. And they revered the same colors - black and red."
Here's my attempt at a pirate ship. The treasure chest was on the other cheek but not as recognizable, I fear.

She really was awfully darned cute.

My tough soldier with his real sounding gun... the first i've allowed around here. It was, of course, very popular at school and the teachers finally took it away. Eli's costume was the coolest that day, for sure.

At the village Fasching celebration Mary discovered 'fairy dust' confetti on the floor. What a find.

Battling Back

Yesterday I...

• Re-stocked the bookshelf
• Re-packed the playdoh supplies
• Re-filled the paper recycling basket (twice)
• Re-rolled the toilet paper roll (twice)
• Put countless items back into my makeup bag AND my husband's shaving kit
• Re-assembled a baby book
• Put the candles back in the drawer of the entertainment center
• Threw away an entire box of emptied, torn-up tissues
• Re-constructed Eli's train track
• Put away 4 baskets of numerous small toys (not to play with, just to see them dumped)
• And, finally, kissed two sets of drawer-squished fingers

The cause of so much 'work?' My beautiful, charming, determined, destructive, and apparently deaf daughter. The work "No" prompts smiles, not obedience. Why even try to follow and repair? I really, really wanted to vacuum just one level of our townhouse. And I succeeded, though mysteriously exhausted. My husband must wonder how 10 minutes worth of vacuuming can cause a backache and be so tiring... hard to explain the 5.8 hours of preparation and hurricane-Mary-recovery operations.

Besuchers!! Besuchers!! It sounds like 'berserkers' but really it means 'Visitors' - i'm sure no irony is intended. We took our first visitors, Mom & Dad Flikkema and Janelle & David Lee, on a week of touring Switzerland, France, and our little corner of Germany. By touring I mean driving, walking, driving, walking, and then driving. It was wonderfully draining. We saw the Alps, did some sledding, were awed by the Black Forest, silenced in a church called 'God's Lantern', devastated at Verdun, and romanced in the castle and town of Heidelberg. We loved having them and welcome all to come and see - for the first time or again and again.

March 2008 Vacation

Since they left we have been busy.... sleeping. Have you ever thought that "travel recuperation" could be a multi-million dollar wellness business? Specialist providers could partner with chiropractors (also a popular post-trip service) and give out sleep-drug prescriptions, unpacking advice, brag-book production, and sell things like sweats and old t-shirts as well as catered meals for that 'first week back.' It could all be booked ahead of time during pre-trip planning. I may be on to something here...