Lego Land

Yesterday we went to Lego Land. What an awesome place! Unfortunately, the weather didn't play along. It was about 50 degrees (Fahrenheit) and raining buckets. Even with rain jackets, we still got pretty much soaked through. The kids were troopers, though. We saw the whole park, went on almost all the rides. And they hardly complained about being soaked and cold.

I'm not a big fan of roller coasters. But I rode them anyway....hey, if a 7 year old who also dislikes roller coasters can cut it, so can I! And it was scary, but it was the fun kind of scary.....

And the Lego displays were amazing. Nearly life-sized animals in the safari area. And then displays like the airport in Munich or the harbor in Hamburg or the capital building (Reichstag) in Berlin. Absolutely astounding what can be done with Legos.....

This and that....

I have a fabulous four day weekend this weekend. It's so great to know that tomorrow's Sunday (well, actually, today is Sunday, because it's already 1 a.m. here), but I don't have to go to work on Monday.....or on Tuesday!

The weekend started yesterday at 3:30. I decided a while ago that I really wanted to buy a bike. There are so many great places to bike here. But I hadn't gotten around to really shopping for one. So yesterday, Marc and I went to 3 different bike stores to look at bikes. But we didn't find "the one." Either the color was too ugly or it had more features than I needed or.....It was a good start, though, and gave me an idea of what I would be spending on a bike with enough features to maybe be able to do a weekend biking trip, but not one that would let me trek through the Alps.

Then, last night we went to the Opera. We also went to the Opera several weeks ago, to see a modern Opera piece. It was horrible. Absolutely awful. So, because it was so awful, it was absolutely necessary that we go to the opera again to wipe away the bad taste of the horrible piece. So we went to see La Traviata by Verdi. It's a tragic story, but absolutely beautiful. And the music was amazing. The set design was a little funky, but the music was amazing....It was wonderful. (If you've seen the movie Pretty Woman, it's the Opera that Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to.)

Today was the Day O' Shopping. First, we went to Ikea and had breakfast (1.50 Euro for two rolls, jelly, cold cuts and cheese and unlimited coffee....!!!). Then, we bought stuff....I bought a new bench for my apartment, which I'm really excited about. We left Ikea and realized we had forgotten something. So we tested how long it takes to buy a shower curtain at Ikea from the time you switch off the motor in the car to when you switch it back on.....our result: 15 minutes. (I think it should be an event on the next Amazing Race - it's really not as easy as it sounds!) And then we went to another bike shop....this is cool - Marc looked in the internet to see which bike shops were around the Ikea. He picked one randomly and we went there. The guy was totally helpful (which, in the customer service desert that Germany is, is not always to be expected) and they had a bike, which was perfect for what I needed, a good price and a good brand. And it's a lower bar than the trapezoid frame, so it's way better for short persons like me! So I bought a bike. Another cool thing happened....we were driving along and Marc's mom called to say that she wanted Asparagus and if we passed a stand, could we please buy some. As he was still on the phone with her, we passed a stand. So we stopped and bought fresh asparagus and strawberries. We promptly ate tons of the strawberries....they were delicious! Then we wanted to go to another city, but took, for some reason, the surface streets and not the Autobahn. The view was fabulous and then another great thing happened....we drove past the Ritter Sport Factory......Do you know Ritter Sport? Well, it's chocolate. Do you know me? Well, I love chocolate. So Marc had to turn around and go to the Ritter Sport Factory. We bought a bunch of chocolate (some of it will be gifts). It was great! Then we went to a furniture store and Marc bought a new dining room table. It's absolutely gorgeous, real solid wood, made in India. And I bought cushions for my bench. It was a very Shop-O-Rama day.

Tonight we watched Stuttgart play for another title (they won the German championships last weekend). Unfortunately, they lost tonight. But it's not really so tragic and watching the game was really fun!

And now I'm going to bed....shopping is exhausting!!

Exhale

So, it's almost the end of May. It's also almost the end of a conference here in Stuttgart that I was responsible for organizing. I purposely avoid work issues on my blog, but this is nothing negative, definitely very positive and I will intentionally write generically......we have an annual conference where the colleagues from all over the world gather in one location. Last year was in Vienna directly after my move to Germany. I had to pay really close attention, knowing that the responsibility for the conference would be transferred to me. So this year it was my turn. And I was so nervous that something would go terribly wrong or that I forgot to think about something. All of the preparations have been totally stressing me out for the last couple of weeks. Well, the conference started on Sunday and it will end tomorrow morning. And with the exception of the problem of the beamer going out during the presentation of a senior engineering VP, it has run extremely well. There have been very good discussions. And the dinners have also gone very well. Yesterday we toured a winery and then had a wine tasting. And tonight we had dinner at a cafe in the middle of a big park in Stuttgart. It's been really nice. So I'm happy to report that barring any totally unforeseeable dramatic events in tomorrow morning's 1.5 hour session, the conference has been a success! Tomorrow afternoon, it's back to the normal workday. But only for a couple of days, because Monday is a holiday and Tuesday I have the day off to go to Lego Land with the Dressler clan. Should be really, really fun, especially because the adult to child ratio is 1:1. :o)

Also, if it didn't make the international news, the soccer team in Stuttgart won the German Championship (Meister) on Saturday. I have never seen anything like it.....they put up a big screen in the middle of Stuttgart on the square in front of the castle (Schlossplatz). So Melissa, Rene, David and I wanted to take the train to the city to meet Marc and watch the game. Melissa and Rene live a few stops further out from the city than I do and Melissa called to say that there were about 400 people at the train station and she didn't think they would make the train. As I was standing at the train station in my town and talking to her, another train drove through without stopping, because it was so full. So they got in the car and drove to David and I. We drove together into the city (we had to park pretty far away - actually not in the city center (Mitte), but in the West) and went to the Schlossplatz. But it was so full, they had already closed it, 1 hour before the game even started. We looked for a place to watch the game (on TV, it was only being shown on a premium channel or satellite, which we don't have), but everything was so full. I have never seen Stuttgart such a mess - bottles laying everywhere. And another "odd" thing, the police were filming the crowd, so that if anything happened, they would have record of it. Anyways, we ended up driving to a whole other part of Stuttgart (Bad Canstatt) and saw only about the last 7 minutes of the game. (Live and learn. Next time we'll go 3-4 hours beforehand to the Schlossplatz.) But anyway, they won and the whole city celebrated until the wee hours of the morning (I was in bed by 12, no worries....). On Sunday, we were in the city again and it was absolutely disgusting....McDonald's bags everywhere, broken glass from bottles. (I bet the rats had a field day! Yuck....) But they won, which no one was expecting at all at the beginning of the season, so I guess it was worth the clean up.

In other news, I got my first ticket ever. No points, but I was caught by one of the "Blitzers", going 15 over the speed limit. A blitzer is a radar detector, which takes your picture when you are over the speed limit. So, I got to pay the city of Stuttgart 25 Euro for speeding. First time in my life that I got a speeding ticket.....

Happy Birthday, Buddy

15 years and nine months ago, we were a family of 5. And had been for 10 years. And then there was a suprise. A surprise named Seth. And while the addition of Seth to our family was a suprise, it was a surprise only in the best sense.

When my Mom said that she was going to have a baby, I hardly could believe it. When she gave my Dad the positive test wrapped in a gift box, I think he could hardly believe it. It was all so exciting...another baby....would it be a boy or a girl? (I have to admit that already having two brothers, I was pretty much hoping for a little sister....but Seth, I wouldn't trade you for any sister in the world.) When the ultrasound said you were a boy, the debate over names started and was only made more difficult by the fact that the siblings wanted a say, too. Mom wanted to name you Eli. But that seemed waaaay too old-fashioned. (Now I think it's a great name.) I think Seth was Mom's idea, too. I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled with it, because the only Seth I knew was a boy in my class who ate the core of his apples and was a real nerd. But it's a great name, a strong name, which means "placed" or "appointed" in Hebrew. And that you are, you're placed by God in our family.

I remember the day you were born. Mom had a scheduled C-section and we three kids got sent to school. I could hardly concentrate - I just kept staring at the clock, waiting for them to call my name to the school office to tell me that you had been born (Mom promised that someone would call school to let us know). And then finally, FINALLY, they called Andy and I to the office (Josh was in the other building in elementary school) and told us that you and Mom were both fine.

You were the most adorable baby I had ever seen. And you were good. You'll have to ask Mom, but I really don't remember you crying very much. I do remember cuddling with you. Especially when you were sick, you liked to cuddle. So that time you had the stomach flu, I had the pleasure of wearing the contents of your stomach....But I didn't mind, because I was so happy that you wanted me to hold you and nobody else. One of Andy's favorite stories also has to do with bodily fluids....the first time he babysat for you, you had it "coming out both ends" as Mom says. You even threw up in his shoe. I'll let him tell the rest to you....it's too gross for this blog.

For a long time, we thought you wouldn't talk at all. You just pointed at whatever you wanted, said "uh" and someone got it for you. Too many older siblings, I guess. But then once you started talking, well, you hardly stopped. I don't know which parent that comes from, but you and Josh definitely have that in common. And once you started talking, we had to be careful of what we said in front of you.....I found it pretty funny when Mom told me that she was driving with you and you were talking to the drivers of the other cars - "What are you thinking, driving like that?", "Yeah, nice cut us off..." and so on. She couldn't figure out where you had learned that. And then I had to confess that you had learned that from driving with me.....Boy, was I glad that I hadn't used any bad words!

I see all three of us "big kids" in you. You and I share a major love of reading. Andy was always the sportier one and you like to play football. You and Andy also look very much alike. And your sense of humor reminds me of Josh. But you're also very much your own person, too.

You're your own person on your way to being an adult. But I have to tell you that no matter how old you get or how far away from me you are, you're always going to be my baby. (I won't embarass you (further) by using my nickname for you, but you always be that to me, too.) I'm so proud of you, of who you are and I'm very excited to see who you'll become.

I love you very, very much. Happy, happy birthday!!
Sis

My New Apartment

Hello again from Turkey! For the second time within three weeks, my work travels have brought me to the lovely city of Bursa. Since I have some time (and since the hotel has free wireless internet), I thought I would post some pictures of my new apartment.

Here's my living room. You can see the doorwall and the windows, it's really bright and sunny. The balcony starts just outside this door, continues in the direction of the windows, past the bedroom and wraps around the corner. It's narrow, but really long. Since I took this picture, I hung sheer curtains as well, so I'll have to get some new pictures. I can't tell you how happy I was to have my couch! And I really like the terracotta accent wall. The floor is also really nice, it's some kind of biological wood, so it shifts a bit, and my landlord is really attached to it, so I worry about it getting scratched, but....

Standing in front of the couch, here's looking into the dining "room" (more like the dining corner). Here's another doorwall, but there's no balcony, it just looks out over the street. But I get a really good cross breeze with all of these windows. You can see from the picture leaning against the wall and the coat tree in the middle of the room that I'm not finished moving in yet, but in the last few weeks, I have come much farther than I ever did in Feuerbach. At least the coat tree is now in the basement. If you continue past the picture to the left, there is the kitchen:

I have no idea why this picture is sideways and I can't seem to turn it. The kitchen is basically a perfect square. It's not huge, but it's sufficient. (And blue!) I didn't photograph the bathroom, which is just to the left of the kitchen. My washing machine is in the bathroom and I also have a bathtub, which I didn't have in Feuerbach. To the left of the bathroom is the front door to the apartment.




And the last room then is my bedroom. You can see the door to the balcony (the shutter-like window cover is down). The bedroom door is to the right of the ladder shelf which is to the right of the couch in the living room. At the foot of the bed is also a window, so the apartment really is very bright (which is great. As you face the bed at the angle, behind you is the Kleiderschrank, which ended up fitting with room to spare in the corner for the vaccuum cleaner, ironing board and stepladder (if you remember, I was worried that the bed and the Kleiderschrank wouldn't fit....they do). You can see in this picture also that I'm not all unpacked.

And since I had a bunch of hair cut off, I thought a picture of me with short hair might be good: