Realities of The Rhine

Ahhh, The Rhine. Romantic castles, incredible views, and tourists. It felt a little bit like being on a foreign game show where players' expectations don't quite match up with the reality of experience. Our odd impressions and pictures are below. Having said that - I can't wait to go back. It is beautiful. The castles are cool. The trip (in August) was great.

There really are castles everywhere you look on this section of the Rhine and it is impressive, especially from the river. We went to one 'ruins castle' where you can explore freely, and one 'tour castle' where you have a guide to see the restored inside rooms (not as much fun but cool to learn about). And we rode a river boat, the train, and a ferry. The ferry rides were Kevin's first and I think he liked it. We rode it five times. There are no bridges over the Rhine for 60 miles so ferries are necessary, plentiful, and fun.

Odd Observation #1: There is no shortage of flying insects on the Rhine. Be prepared to do battle for your food. You may have paid for it but he flies and the bees.... they want it. And they are persistent - indoors and out. Meals were all-out war zones with menus and hands waving and they were, unfortunately, long. I would love to 'do as the Europeans do' and linger over a long and lazy meal. But I have two kids. Who do not linger well when hungry. And I hate insects. Particularly those that fly.

Odd Observation #2: There is a shortage of blonds in Europe and particularly among tour groups. We've run into this before being (often) the only tourists with two cute little kids around. But Mary, with her platinum hair, gets celebrity-level attention. This was particularly strong attention to the point we were dodging tour groups and Kevin was getting upset. Strangers wanted to hold her (and tried to lure her from my arms) and numerous home movies and photos were taken, all featuring Mary. I said it was fine but I would hold her, thank you, and would have to be in the pictures too. Finally we just had to avoid them. Don't be afraid to bring your cute little towheads to Europe... just make sure they wear hats.

Odd Observation #3: We used to be the enemy and sometimes it still feels strange. The plaque in one very touristy town stated (in English) that 23 little kids and teachers died at a Kindergarten during an allied bombing raid. It's so sad to think my country was the likely bomber, but that the war against Germany was necessary back then, however we feel no animosity toward each other as people now, and how odd it all is, 62+ years later.

...education, in progress.

One Year On / A Friend!

Exactly one year and two days ago we arrived weary, confused, and cold in a strange country that was gray and rainy and impossible (at that time) for us to understand. My, how things have changed. God's grace got us through those first very, very rough weeks and then the rough couple of months that followed. And here we are. A year later and I can be grateful that:

• I no longer go to bed early with headaches from brain-strain. Now I just stay up too late.
• We rarely need to throw out scary 'adventurous' foods anymore.
• This is home (apologies to offended family members).
• We have successfully, though not without hilarity, travelled with our kids.
• We have many friends, a busy social life, and a good church.
• I can have a simple conversation with my neighbors, and I even like them.
• My kids are healthy, happy, and humbling (to me).

Honestly, we love having visitors from the States. Please. Come visit us. Our rules are simple. You must stop by, use us for a base, or let us meet you for a day or two at least. BUT you must also venture forth on your own and explore this very interesting area of the world. Tough love. My old friend Deb came this week after hanging out with her husband (then he left to join his dad). Kevin was gone so it was us girls and the kids. We had a good visit and I really enjoyed having a girlfriend around to talk to. We even went to Luxembourg for a day. Then Kevin came back from Iowa and brought me lots of goodies. What was I most excited to see? Vanilla. As in vanilla extract for baking. Pathetic, but thrills come cheap when you're desperate for good old American basics.

Trouble

Our beautiful daughter is smart, determined, and on a collision course with danger. She watches and then continues trying until she figures out how to do something. Here, she is disabling the child safety lock to the cupboard with the garbage and cleaning supplies (which have now been moved to a shelf six feet high). She's also recently been caught carrying around a knife, standing on the kitchen table after moving the counter height chairs back and pulling herself onto them to get up there, and purposely laying on her back under the bath water where she can't get back up. And she's very close to running. We're afraid to even leave her in another room.

How to Say "I'm American!" Without Words

First, some humorous mistakes I've made that I'll share... for your enjoyment.

#1 Before our summer sojourn and immediately after I wondered why our dishes and glasses were so cloudy coming out of the dish washer. On my next trip to the store I took a closer look at the cleaning aisles. I saw the tabs I use in the dish soap aisle - okay. Then I saw them (again?) in the laundry soap aisle! Huh? Wouldn't you know they look identical and come in the same size/color boxes except for the instructions on the back. You can guess what was wrong. Freshly laundered wine glass, anyone?

#2 I always wondered why my first playdate with a German neighbor didn't go that well many months ago. A boy in Eli's class invited him for the afternoon and we went - it was awkward and tough discussion for a few hours before we left. Come to find out recently through some German acquaintances that when an invitation is issued for Eli... it's just for him. I wasn't supposed to barge in with my daughter and stay!! Horror! She still says hello to me but there haven't been any more invitations. Oops.

Summer, especially, has revealed some noticeable differences in our two cultures that I'll call: How to say "I'm American!" without words.

• Wear shorts. In Germany, the only shorts you can even find to purchase are jogging or exercise shorts. That goes for men and women. Otherwise you wear capri's. That also goes for men (they all wear them) and women. And if you're going swimming? Wear speedos... tops optional. Again, that's for men and women.
• Wear your wedding ring on your left hand. In Europe, wedding rings are worn on the ring finger of the right hand. Feels too weird to us, though.
• Wear khaki's. Kevin learned this at work, and it's true. Professional men in Germany do not look like they could leave work immediately for the golf course without changing.
• Have your fork with your right hand. The fork never touches the right hand in Germany. You don't cut with it and you don't eat with it. Fork in left, knife in right, no exceptions.
• Hug your friends in greeting. I've quickly learned to become comfortable with the double-cheek-kiss greeting with guys and gals alike. Kevin is still working on it.
• Start drinking your beer / wine immediately. You always, always say 'Prost!' and clink glasses while making eye contact (VIP) before taking a sip. This rule holds even when a coupla guys are going out for a few beers.
• Dress casually. This is my most regular infraction and may have been mentioned before. A German does not leave the house in the morning, even if they are only going to the post office, without doing their hair, donning makeup (women only), and shining their shoes (which, by the way, should be boots 90% of the time).

Now you know what to do if you are looking to fit in... or stand out.

The European Way

You may already know that Europeans often take the month of August off. Entirely. This is easy to do when one has 6+ weeks of vacation to burn each year. Well.... my absence from the blog this past month was unintentional (lazy?) but, I like to think, very "European." Anyway, please forgive me. I'm emerging from my summer haze and will be getting rapidly back on track. This post will have to be updates on summer happs and the next will be more strange things about being American in Germany. Being gone awhile changes ones perspective all over again, at least temporarily.

ELI: Removing this child's tonsils was our wisest decision this year. His appetite is up 90%. His whining is down by 90%. He is happier when he wakes up, needs no naps, and needs far less disciplinary intervention. While I'm sure there are coincidences as well as causes here, we like it. In fact, I'm thinking mine ought to come out.... I could do with a better attitude myself. Eli's social calendar is currently busier than ours with soccer, tumbling, school and playdates. Sadly, he had a cavity this summer and it was not a pretty scene. But he is mature enough to understand why it was needed. He really is a great kid.



MARY: Our own little 'Dennis the Menace' is at least as social as her brother and now has mommy-and-me playgroup as well as tumbling on her weekly calendar. She says 'heis' (hot) and 'tschuss' (bye-bye) in German and 'Maaaahh' (mom) and 'Doddee' (daddy, Eli, dog) in English. She says many, many other words and screeches in her own language as well. She is also a celebrity at church and when we travel (story to come on the Rhine trip). She revels in the attention and is an opinionated, overly-dramatic tomboy. She's also incredibly cute.



KEVIN: Struggling to hold a 3-person team together with one going to the states, soon, for a 2-year assignment and another laid up for 2 months following a bad fall off of her horse. Trying to find some employees and do work occasionally. This good man almost always comes home in time for dinner and always, always comes home in time for me to go to German class, Bible Study, or get my haircut. Plus he meets me in town for tough doctors appointments.

ME: I gained a bit of weight back during my States stay and have been slowly but surely losing it since getting back. Strange. Really feeling like this is my neighborhood lately and talking to lots of moms, getting together for playdates and talking... it's a good feeling. Looking forward to welcoming possibly two new Deere families to our area (only three families right now) this fall and - are you sitting down? - starting some homeschooling with Eli. I know, I know. This from the mom who looks for places her kids can go away from the house. But Eli wants so badly to read (already does most 3-letter words) and asks math questions all day long. These are things he won't get in school. Found a cool christian homeschooling company through a friend and will spend 30-60 minutes a day with Eli working on a rounded program. Not hardcore yet, we'll see how it goes. It can only happen when Mary is asleep anyway.