The Windeck Ruins

Long before we moved to Weinheim the kids wanted to see and visit castles. Once we found our place with castle views right outside their bedroom windows it was a MUST that we get to them as soon as possible. There are two castles to the East right outside our windows, The Windeck Castle Ruins and Wachenburg Castle.  So, on our 2nd day after quarantine that was the plan.  We were hiking up to the ruins. 

The kids loaded up their backpacks, Evie surprisingly enough put some Goldfish, Capri Suns, and fruit snacks in hers while William put about 10 pairs of socks, his jump rope, etch-a-sketch, 1/2 of his wooden tool toys, 1 blanket, markers, crayons and I’m thinking that was it. Needless to say he didn’t carry that for very long and I had to hold my tongue - the guidelines for packing for hikes has yet TBD so we just went with the flow as we weren’t even sure we’d get through town to the hillside. 

Once you are about 3/4 of the way up there’s a few statues of der Grüffelo and die Maus who are characters in a popular children's book that takes place in this forest.  I haven't seen the book yet but all of the local children know it apparently.  The book tells the children that it's okay to be afraid of something and that even a mouse can overcome it.  These were gifted to the city from the publishing house.  This is a YouTube  clip I found, just a snippet of something longer I suppose.

We get to the base of the ruins and Evie is just in AWE! 

Evies “in AWE” look at the castle 😊

We walked to the center of the ruins where they have an outdoor restaurant set up but we couldn’t go up the winding stairs to the upper level. It is all the kids wanted to do - climb those stairs so we will go back when the restaurant is closed so we can explore a little more. 

Such an amazing view of Weinheim! 

Snack break on the way back down.

Walking through the streets, admiring the houses!

She was fascinated by the little moat that surrounded these houses. 

No doubt it was an ice cream kind of day!

The kids did great for their first castle trek. When I mapped it from the house it said 35 minutes walking time to the ruins and I’d say it probably took us close to an hour.  It was steep and I did have to carry my almost 40 pound baby for a bit up the hill.  We took the “steps” path back down to the Alt Stadt that were tricky but we made it and celebrated with ice cream. I wish I had recorded William sitting on those steps enjoying his eis- he must’ve said 10 times how good it was - he loves his sweets! 

It was early afternoon when we got back home but that was fine, everyone was pooped after our long walk and I needed to run out to the store (Edeka) this time to get some things as all stores were closed the next two days.  Stores are always closed on Sundays we have to remember, and Monday is a Holiday which means all stores are closed as well. We remember from before how nice that is to have a family day on Sunday while living abroad but we also remember how nice it is when we are stateside that establishments are open on Sunday if we need something 😊.   

We did just that on Sunday, had a lovely day at home relaxing and enjoying the beautiful sunshine our terrace. We took a little walk, spotted some ducks in the nearby river and enjoyed our neighbor give his normal “Saturday night” concert on Sunday at 6pm because he was gone the previous night. 

Monday we will venture over to a friends for a BBQ and enjoying the company and more beauty weather!

Bis nächstes mal, Tschüss!

The exploring begins...

Day 1 post quarantine Dave headed back to the office and the kids and I set out on foot with the City Select Double Monster stroller.  Dave assured me it was mostly flat so we headed out to see what we could see!

Excited to get out of the house!

We thought it would be a good idea to walk towards the Pestalozzi Grundschule to see how long it would take. Not even 10 minutes, or pushing the Monster Stroller maybe a few minutes more.  That might be the last time I attempt to take that stroller on that particular route - oh the hills!!  I had to let Evie out so that I could push it - I sure got a good workout in that morning!

Being a stinker in front of the school.

Next we walked to the Altes Rathaus where Evie was just in awe of how OLD the doors were, and the rust and the clock tower!  Click on this Rathaus link to check out the city website with an option to read in English and see all that Weinheim has to offer.  It's a great city!

Admiring the OLD door at the Rathaus 

Pointing to the clock on the Rathaus

Before we headed out I asked everyone if they needed any snacks or had enough to eat, used the bathroom, etc... 10 minutes into our journey they both said how hungry they were.  I think they remembered that we were going to be on the lookout for a bakery anyway - William of course wanted ice cream since we passed about 3 different shops.  Inside Riegler, William was determined to get a entire Vegan Chocolate Cake, it is the only thing he wanted.  There weren't too many pastry like items that interested him so he decided on a butter pretzel and loved it!  Evie chose an Apfel Strudel and she ate mostly all of it!

1st bakery stop!

We went home for lunch and a little rest.  It was another beautiful day, we've been so lucky in the past few weeks to have such warmth and sunshine.  We do not remember the weather being this beautiful when we lived here before!  After a nice video chat with my cousin in Japan we ventured back out for a stroll in another direction where the kids discovered snails crawling up the stone walls.  Everything is cool and exciting for them :) 

Snail spottings!

Might have to look into this delivery service!

We finally made it to the bouncers behind our building.  They played on them for a good 10 minutes before the novelty wore off.  It was actually a little bizarre, playing down there surrounded by all of the houses feeling like we were being "watched" from every which direction!  

That's something I guess we just have to get used to here instead of our huge private yard that we were so used to previously. 

It was a good day.  The kids were pooped and I doubled my step goal for the day which was a huge accomplishment after being "inside" for 2 weeks!  Dave got home from work, Evie fell asleep around 4:00 and we ordered delivery again - because like we said - it's just so easy!!  I took my very first drive all alone to one of the Aldi's up the road.  It is connected to an Edeka store, another great grocery, but after spending so much time browsing in Aldi I didn't make it into Edeka.   I got home to my deliciously delivered Döner and had to try to get Evie out of bed to eat.  Needless to say by the time she got up, ate and bathed she didn't go back to sleep till nearly 11:00!  Oh well, fun first day of freedom in Germany!

Tschüss!!

We made it to Deutschland! Now for two weeks of quarantine...

It was time, our nuclear family needed to be together and on May 14th the kids and I were ready for our flight from Chicago to Frankfurt.  We drove from Des Moines the day before and stayed overnight near ORD so that we could have a direct flight into FRA.  We had a 4:00 PM flight but wanted to get to the airport early because we really had no idea what it was going to be like flying during the pandemic.  

I dropped my mom, kids and the luggage off while I went to park.  This luggage was stressing me out - I didn't know how the heck I was going to handle it all and then how the heck we were going to put it in our vehicle when Dave picked us up!  I had already gotten rid of so much, donated, sold, left even more behind for mom to donate yet I still had 6 checked bags and carry-ons!  

Thank goodness we did get to ORD early, while there were not many people at the airport the line to check in was very slow moving.  Once we finally got to the counter, handed over our passports, flight info, lease to our apartment, and a photo of Dave's residence permit I was told that we could not board because we had no proof of residency.  The Lufthansa agent made a phone call and used his Google Translate to read the paperwork I gave him but finally said that if he were to allow us to go, once we got to Germany they'd put us directly back onto a flight back to the US. WHAT?!  I called Dave, I was about to throw up.  I had no idea what to do.  The agent directed me over to a ticketing agent and said that I could push the trip out to give us time to take care of the necessary arrangements.  Oh Lord, I was about to lose it.  I was nearly in tears with the other ticketing agent and she walked over to a gentleman who simply told her that I needed a copy of our marriage license and a printed picture of Dave's residence permit - and that was it?!  That was all I needed I asked her?!  Perhaps the 1st agent could have asked the same gentleman who was walking back and forth in front of the check in counter and have saved me a million gray hairs and an almost panic attack.   Good God we were able to board!

We walked Grandma out to the van, had a snack and said our goodbyes.  We knew we'd see her soon on FaceTime!  During our prior 2 months I purchased a collapsible wagon from Target that the kids and I used everyday on walks since our double stroller and wagon were shipped.  I figured the wagon would be of great use to haul the kids and stuff through the airport and I was right, it really was a lifesaver.  We got to the gate and the agent let us stand in the early boarding line as we'd be boarding in 20 minutes but asked that I gate check the wagon because it was just a tiny bit too big to fit overhead - I think I could've made it fit but regardless I'd have it in FRA. 

The kids were so excited, saying hi to every stewardess and looking for our row.  We were in the 2nd row of premium economy on a newer 747 and had the 4 middle seats all to us.  There was a lot of room.  I immediately took out my Clorox wipes and got to work.  Everyone on board was asked to wear masks and for the most part everyone did.  The kids did a great job of keeping them on for quite some time.  It was about an 8 hour flight and the kids were excited to get food on the plane, have their own TV to watch and sleep - I knew the sleep part was all talk - but I just let them roll with it 😉 I’d hope they sleep but I wasn't going to force it. 

It was a good flight, went relatively fast and the kids did wonderful!  They both slept, I woke Evie and she was excited.  William on the other hand, was a tough cookie to wake up and get off the plane but we made it.  Thank God for that wagon - it was at the end of the jet bridge and I can't tell you how many people asked if I needed help or needed to carry anything for me because they could see the struggle with a super tired 3 year old but I made it. 

At immigration a nice man from our flight opened up the rope to let me go ahead with the kids (ahead of 5-6 people!) because I was a super-mom he said.  That was a nice bit of encouragement!  Only a few questioned asked from the German Polizei and we were on our way to baggage!

I retrieved a luggage cart and we were so close to meeting Dave on the other side!

Finally, to see Daddy after two months!  It was so great to be reunited 💗 

We walked out to the garage and had to play a game of Tetris to get all of the luggage to fit.  I stuffed myself in between the kiddos in back and luggage went every place else!  We couldn't have fit one more thing in that Volvo!  The kids talked the whole 40 minutes to our apartment, they were just so keyed up.  We pulled into our underground garage and rode the elevator up to our apartment, it was all such an adventure for Evie and William.  Once inside it was a mad dash to their rooms and reunite with all of their belongings after 2.5 months!   Since it was all brand new to them, staying in for the next 2 weeks wouldn't be so bad.  As tired as we all were, the kids ran at 90% ALL DAY on Friday while I may have dozed on and off 2 or 3 times 😊

Saturday morning both kiddos woke up throwing up, and it was an ALL DAY event.  They could not keep anything down.  Thank goodness Dave had us all stocked with laundry supplies and food/drinks so that we had nothing to worry about but making sure they were ok.  

We decided that their little systems were super messed up from all of the anxiety that had built up for the trip, the lack of sleep and especially the lack of food in their bellies.  While they were running like crazy the day before they barely ate a bite!  Evie was able to keep food/drinks down by early afternoon but for William it lasted till the evening.  They both were considerably better before they went to bed and by Sunday they were back to their normal selves.  

Our time in quarantine went just fine. There was plenty to do to get the house organized and the kiddos kept so busy with all of their “new” toys.  We are so lucky to have this wonderful terrace to be out on everyday. The kids ride their bikes and scooters and sometimes just run back and forth - there’s about 50’ on two sides (south and west facing) of the house. The other side facing east has a much more narrow walkway. 

This is the west facing side - living room, master bed/bath. 

The terrace also made for a wonderful home office for the days Dave had to work. This particular day ⬆️ was right after we washed ALL of the huge windows in the apartment - and by we I mean me and my two little helpers.  

We enjoy hearing our Saturday night neighborhood concert and Evie loves dancing!

The kids are always finding something creative to do.  Evie drew a mermaid on a box so of course William had to pretend 😊

There were a lot of boxes due to A LOT of Amazon orders happening during the 2 weeks. And sometimes same day deliver?! Come on!  I have seen the same guy nearly everyday, I’m certain we will be best friends. 

Only one night did we order food for delivery, a combination of Greek and German and it was delicious. There is also grocery deliver, which are both so helpful, easy and amazing!  To have everything dropped right off the elevator onto our floor! Still getting used to how cool that is. All this technology though is so so so completely different than it was 7-9 years ago when we lived in Alsenborn. The city of Weinheim is probably close to 10x bigger than our quaint little town from before so there is so much more to offer. 

On our final night of quarantine we ate some Würsts, potatoes (loving my German air fryer!) and broccoli. I love cooking in our modern kitchen, the kids have been  eating pretty good too. Although when I mentioned that it was going to be pretty challenging to find ranch dressing Evie dramatically asked how she was going to live her life without ranch? We ensured her I stocked up to get us through quite a few months 😉

So, tomorrow we can venture out into the world and honestly that means we will walk around for a bit till the kids start to whine or have to go to the bathroom. I’ve already coaxed William by telling him we’ll go to the bakery. Truly, they just want to play on the bouncers that are right behind our building. 

Quite frankly if that’s all that makes them happy, that makes me happy. This adventure will be exciting for them no matter what we do and see, we can’t do it ALL this coming weekend as Evie would like but in time we will.  I’m just happy and thankful that we’ve had these 2 weeks as a family, we are healthy and Mother Nature has been very cooperative! 

Bis zum nächsten mal, tschüss!

Where has the time gone?

It’s been 4 months since our last post about how slow the expat process was going and yet with the way the world is currently it seems as if it’s been a whole year.  

We are finally together in Germany but more about that to come later!

It’s hard to remember at this point but December was a blur, full of sickness and Christmas chaos! The weather was mild and enabled us to get outside! A new year began in January with the same agenda of getting ready for this upcoming move!  We hadn’t locked down dates for the movers yet or done anything more for the move except continued  to clean out closets to donate or sell and slowly set aside things we might need for the shipments. 

We celebrated Williams 3rd birthday a little early since Dave had to be over in Germany on his actual birthday on the 16th. We secured our pack dates for the beginning of March! That meant the short month of February was going to fly by! 

Dave was back in Iowa till February 10th so that we could be together as a family for my birthday. We cleaned out as much as we could for the upcoming pack and sold off as many of our large items as possible that we knew we weren’t taking overseas. Valentines Day came and the kids came down with sickness once again. This was not great timing but we made it through thankfully with the help of Grandma Viv and our neighbor Diane.  It lasted almost a good 2 weeks! 

March came in like a lion due to our crazy and hectic schedule. Dave flew back to Iowa only to turn around a few days later to drive our leased truck to his parents in NY to keep while we are in Germany. He flew home 2 days later and our movers came 3 days after that. 

This was by far the most chaotic move process we’ve ever had. I don’t know if it is because our last international move was quite seamless or putting two more little bodies into the mix, or just too much going on all at the same time did it or what. I’m a super organized person and for the life of me I could not get it together this move! It seemed too much of a task to separate what we were keeping vs. what was going into storage vs. what overseas items were going air shipment vs. what overseas items were going on the sea shipment!! AGH!

The week the movers were there was utter chaos, and I have to say it was not a team I would ask to have again!  We took many things down to Grandmas house because we’d be staying there during the transition and then we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn (because of the great kiddie pool) for a couple nights before Dave headed back to Germany again. 

March 8th was a Sunday and little did we know at the time it would be the last time together as a family of 4 for two whole months!  Dave flew out on the 9th and the kids had their preschools which meant I was getting the house in ship shape to be listed that week. We moved into Grandma Viv’s on the 11th and the house was listed live on the 12th.  After 1 showing that weekend we were hit with the news of COVID-19!!

Now, for anyone who is still reading I would NOT recommend selling your house or making an international move during a global pandemic. Ugh. How would we ever have known?!   Timing of everything was completely impeccable!  This absolutely changed everything we had planned for the upcoming weeks.  The kids were not in their schools and we were basically in a quarantine at Grandmas house.  It was very surreal and weird and just emotional.  There were so many questions about our process, whether Dave would be able to come back by Easter as planned and not sure if and when we would be able to plan our trip to Germany.

All we could do was take it one day at a time.  Dave waited patiently in our empty apartment and slowly started getting furniture delivered and put together and explored our new town solo. Grandma Viv and I kept the kiddos busy with projects and schoolwork thanks to their wonderful preschools for providing it.  Dave kept pushing out his trip as the weeks went by, still uncertain of any of our plans.  All of our belongings were delivered in Germany and Dave had the super fun task of taking care of all of that by himself :) but he knew full well that I would completely rearrange it all when I got there!

Nearly two months had gone by since we moved out of the house and we watched the Covid case numbers change each day.  It always seemed like Germany was a better place to be than the US during this pandemic but there was no easy or safe way of getting there.  May finally came and I just couldn’t wait any longer, I booked the very expensive one way flights for myself and the kids to get to Germany on the 14th.  I wasn’t sure of all we needed to make the trip but I needed the date set to have a little light at the end of the tunnel.  

It was another emotional time knowing our time at Grandmas house was coming to an end.  We were so lucky to have been able to have the opportunity to stay with her during this crazy transition rather than have been stuck in a hotel or in our house with only staged furniture!  It was certainly a time that we will never forget and hopefully we made some fun memories for the kids while we were “quarantined” for so long.  While that whole time period could’ve been a series of posts in itself I just didn’t have the ambition or brain power to execute them.  As it is, I worked on this post for 4 months!

Bis nächstes mal in Deutschland!