Innsbruck

Dan and Ryan both had Thursday and Friday off from work/school in honor of German Reunification Day, and Friday was Dan's birthday, so we decided to head out of town for a few days.  We are still trying to keep our heads above water, in terms of getting into the groove of school, work, daily life, and managing in our temporary one-bedroom apartment (we should be moving to our new house next week!), so we didn't do a lot of planning. 

Our original plan was to go to Cinque Terre, Italy, but there were no rooms available!  Instead we decided on a whirlwind trip to Innsbruck, Austria, for one night, then on to Lake Como (Menaggio), Italy, for two nights.  We thought this would be feasible, since Google Maps said that it would be 2 hours to Innsbruck, then 4 hours to Menaggio, the 4 hours back home.  Unfortunately Google Maps lies!  It took six hours to get to Innsbruck!  Six hours to Menaggio! Six hours back home!!  Not to mention that our dear GPS took us on the most treacherous roads I have ever been on in my life!!!
We finally made it to Innsbruck, located our hotel, and found that despite the less-than-appealing décor, we had a fantastic view!!

 

View from our room at the Golden Krone Hotel

Triumphal Arch was built in 1765

 

 

We decided to go explore the city and try to find some dinner.  Maximilian I designated Innsbruck as the capital of Tyrol in the 1400s and has hosted the winter Olympics twice (1964 and 1976).  There were a lot of people out and about, and Innsbruck had a very urban feel to it.  The people seemed to be either elderly tourists or teenagers getting ready for an evening on the town. 

We did marvel at the vivid turquoise waters of the Inn River, which my IPhone photography didn't do justice.  We ate dinner at a café next to the river, which had a great view, and decent food. 

The next day we decided to go to the top of Norkette Mountain.  To get to the summit(7,657 feet), we first took a funicular, then two cable-cars.  The kids loved the journey, and the idea of going up to have lunch in the clouds.  There was an Alpine Zoo at one of the funicular stops, so we spent an hour walking around there before continuing our journey to the top.  The top of the mountain was completely engulfed by clouds, so there wasn't a view down to the city, but the scenery was still breathtaking.  There was a small restaurant up at the top, where we ate lunch, then headed back down the mountain so we could get on the road to Lake Como.

Dan and our 'mountain goats'

I think Ryan is loopy from lack of oxygen!

 

Treacherous!

These kids are NOT afraid of heights!

 

 

We had a fun day in Innsbruck, and probably would have needed another day or two to get a better feel for the city.  Even though we didn't get to see everything, we are happy to have gotten a glimpse, and may return again in the future.

 

Tomorrow I will work on the trip report of beautiful Lake Como.  Ciao!

Oktoberfest in Munich

Every person of drinking age knows about the infamous Oktoberfest in Munich.  Since my husband has been travelling to Germany on business for the last 9 years, he has made it to Oktoberfest a few times.  So, of course, now that we live so close to Munich, we had to go!  I had it from a few sources that aside from all of the drinking debauchery, Oktoberfest is also a family-friendly festival.  We took the subway from the park-and-ride, and were delighted with all the lederhosen and dirndls, but within five minutes after passing under the 'Wilkommen Zum Oktoberfest' I was ready to leave!  The crowd was overwhelming, and unless you want to wait in line to get into a beer tent, you can't even get a beer! We had been promising the kids that they could go on some of the rides, so we followed through on the promise, got the kids some candy apples (their first ever!), and promptly headed back to the subway. 

We headed up to the English Garden, and made the 20 minute walk to the beer garden at the Chinese Tower.  Along the way, we stopped to watch the surfers, and the kids could have stayed to watch all day. 

The walk took a little longer than it should have, because Ryan took out a biker along the way.  He stopped to look at a map, then turned to run back to us, and the girl on the bike swerved to avoid him, and fell pretty hard.  We felt so horrible, and did our best to apologize in German.  We are very grateful to her that she fell to keep Ryan from getting hurt.
So, we eventually made it to the Chinese tower beer garden, and finally found the family-friendly beer drinking experience we set out for!  It was still pretty crowded, but paled in comparison to Oktoberfest.  What I love about the beer gardens is that so many have playgrounds!  We had a great meal (including pretzels larger than our heads), and were able to enjoy the jovial atmosphere, while the kids had a blast running around with the other kids. 

We had a great day in Munich, but next year, I will skip Oktoberfest.  I guess we are old farts!

House Hunting

edit:(Apologies for no photos in this post!  They somehow were deleted, and I am not savvy enough to figure out how get them back.  Maybe I will get around to fixing it someday)

These last two weeks, Meredith and I have played our own version of 'House Hunters International.'  We have visited seven properties, four were easy to cross off the list, and three that have required careful consideration.  Our previous house in North Carolina had an open floor plan, with a large, built-in kitchen, five bedrooms, two-car garage, backyard, and loads of closets.  Houses in Germany are slightly different.  Houses typically have more than one family, as in apartments, row houses, or duplexes.  The garage is usually close, but not attached to the house, only for one car, and costs an additional 40-100 Euros/month.  Instead of heating the whole house at the same temperature, rooms are typically heated individually, and hallways and staircases are not heated at all.  Everyone here is very conscious of using energy wisely, and houses have very thick stone/concrete walls to withstand the harsh winter weather.  When a family moves, they move the entire kitchen, as well.  Cabinets, shelves, and ventilation hoods come off the walls, appliances are packed up, and all that is left is the flooring and tiles on the wall.  Most of the differences in housing I can understand, but I cannot understand moving the kitchen cabinets!  Inevitably, someone's new house will not be the same dimensions as their old house, and the cabinets will not fit quite right in a different space.  So, now I am faced with designing a brand new kitchen (probably from IKEA), a task that is daunting in itself, and in a country where I can't speak the language!!!! Houses here do not have closets.  People buy wardrobes or armoires to act as closets.  I would prefer not to have to pay a lot of money for these large wardrobes, since I will have no use for them when we move back to the US.

In typical HHI style, here are the three runner's up:

House 1 "Cottage Charm"

Two family house- 3 bedroom, 2-1/2 bath, no fitted kitchen, one car garage, unfinished basement, 160 square meters
+ convenient location within walking distance of Danube and city center; nice bathrooms; owner says he will pay for kitchen
- noise from road and trains; a bit small; yard needs a bit of TLC to make it nice

House 2 "Larger Than Expected"

4 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath, no fitted kitchen, one car garage, unfinished basement, finished 3rd floor storage/attic space, 189 square meters
+ cul-de-sac location will be great for kids to ride bikes; convenient to school and autobahn; quiet neighborhood; nice garden; American neighbors
- dingy bathrooms; no fireplace

House 3 "Big But Far"

4 bedroom, 2-1/2 bath, one car garage, no fitted kitchen, 200 square meters
+ Pretty neighborhood; close to great parks; two fireplaces in the living room; 'winter garden' room
- most expensive; owner has a dance studio in the basement where he teaches ballroom dance; farthest from Ryan's school

Choosing a new home is an exciting and daunting decision.  Having a house that works for your family can make daily life much easier.  This will be a tough choice!

 

The Cows Came Home

On Saturday, we drove down to the small Alpine village of Tannheim, Austria, for an Almabtrieb.  During the summer the alpine cow herds feed up in the mountains, and the farmers have to herd them back down in the fall for the impending cold weather.  Many areas make a celebration of the autumn 'cow train', complete with festival music, food, and beer (of course).  Ryan ran into two boys from school, and we ended up spending the afternoon with the other parents, drinking beer to the sound of cow bells, while the kids played at the nearby playground.  It was great!

 Meredith was being camera shy today, but Ryan was happy to pose for me!

  The kids loves being in the mountains, and were disappointed when it was time to go.  We had to reassure them that we could easily visit again, since we now live so close to the mountains.  Hopefully we can make another trip to the Alps in a few weeks to see the fall colors and do some hiking.  We are also hopeful that we will get to do some skiing this winter.  Dan and I have only been skiing once since having kids, mostly because we live so far from the mountains in the US.  We have heard good things about the ski schools for kids, and are hopeful that we might even have some blissful adult-time swooshing down the Alps!

Willkommen im Deutschland...

So...We have survived the first three weeks of living in Germany!  I have decided that I am going to *try* to blog about our family's adventures living as expats, so that I can share our stories with family and friends back in the US.  Even in the three weeks we have been here, we already have lots of stories to share!
At this point in our adventure, Dan and Ryan are settling into work and school, respectively. Meredith and I have visited three houses, and have 3 more to visit next week.  By Monday, we should have our cars, and be done with the TEDIOUS process of leasing cars in Germany. 
This weekend's adventure will be a trip to the Alps for a festival celebrating cows! Can't wait!

The Munster

Ulm farmer's market

statue in Ulm