Monday Madness

Hi friends! I hope everyone had a grrreat weekend! I know it is Memorial Day there. So I hope everyone is enjoying themselves.

Saturday we had three things we wanted/needed to accomplish.

1. Buy a grill.

2. Buy a drain cover (hair catcher) and Drano.

3. Get Blake a haircut.

We wanted to buy a grill so we can enjoy BBQ-ing in the park as much as possible. A quick walk and we have a great spot for dinner or lunch.

We sent out to Hornbach. Germany's version of Home Depot. It was AMAZING. 

They had everything you could possibly every want/need for your home and garden.

We quickly found our BBQ! 

Cutest thing ever! They had this one in Black, Blue, or Pink...But unfortunately black was sold out. So we settled for blue!

At the Hornbach we also found our drain cover! Yay. But we still needed drano or something to put in our shower to make the water go down. We walked around the entire store with NO luck. I knew that it had to be somewhere. We couldn't ask for help though, because we had no idea how to say drano or describe what it was in German. So we just went up and down every aisle hoping we'd see something! And sure enough after 8 aisle's we hit the jackpot! Our shower had some hope after all!

***Side note - our shower is not broken...it just drains incredibly slow when taking a shower. After the drano the situation has cleared up!

In the parking lot of Hornbach there was a small grill restaurant set up. Kind of like a food truck without wheels. It smelled good, and there was a line. So we dropped our stuff off at the car and got some lunch. It was probably the best sausage we have had! It was so tasty!

We stopped at the grocery to get some burgers to grill and then we set out for a stroll through downtown. Blake was looking for some new shoes and a place to get his haircut. It was still early in the day so we had time before our BBQ...Plus we couldn't go on Sunday since all the shops would be closed. 

Our first thought was let's try the mall. We shopped for shoes, ate gelato, and found a hair place. They were decently priced and they did a great job!!! Even though Blake didn't really know how to tell them what to do it all worked out! We didn't see anything worth buying though (shoe wise). But as we were wandering through the mall, making our way to the exit we stopped in this cute outdoorsy store. I suggested we look for a picnic blanket for all of our BBQs. You know the ones with the lining on the bottom so if the ground is wet, your bum stays dry? Well we didn't find one of those but we found this SUPER cute reusable picnic set!

The plates and silverware are made from recycled materials, and the set is hand washable. It was inexpensive and will prevent the use of paper plates!

After there we went to this massive department store in the center of town. Our relocation manager said it was like a Macy's. We thought we might be able to find Blake some shoes there. 

Well... this store is like a Macy's on STEROIDS. It was massive. 6 floors of everything you could possibly ever need or want (except food). We struck out on finding shoes. But we found ourselves in the BBQ section :). We got a picnic blanket and a fun outdoor game! It was getting later now, so we headed home with all of our BBQ finds!

On our walk home from downtown we ran into our English speaking friends that we met a couple of weeks ago at a bar! We invited them to the park with us to share a few drinks.

Our blanket :) and sangria! Yummy! We were having a great time in the park! 

Our friends showed up and we had a few drinks and chatted!

It was 10 pm before we packed up and headed home - it just started to get dark! It was awesome. After we dropped our BBQ goodies off, we met up with our friends at a bar that is one street away. We caught the tail end of the soccer game and had some great chats! We love our English speaking friends!

That was our weekend! Next weekend we're making a trip to a German city - just not sure which one yet! :)

Wanderlust Wroe Sick Day

Well sad news folks. Today, the day is running me. But I hope all of you run your Fridays!

The fun exciting things I wanted to tell you didn't get to happen because I got a stomach bug. I am resting on the couch today, and cursing Germany for not selling Pepto (and myself for not bringing any)!

I could give you the details, but they aren't pleasant. 

Lets just say, we tried to leave the house and do something, and we had to go home because Riley got  barfy sick! 

Please join me on Monday, and have a great weekend!

Trip to the Market

Unfortunately, not every one of my blog posts can be glamorous! But I want to still share what I am up to. It gives me something to do, and to look forward to. As well as hopefully giving all of you something to look forward to reading!  We are still living a normal life, we go to bed at 9pm and we sometimes don't do exciting things.. and that is A-OK!

This week I have been really focused on organizing our things and making this apartment our home. Our shipment came yesterday, so I spent the better part of my day putting it away. OH and ironing. I iron Blake's dress shirts for him... and I think it took me 4 hours to do them all yesterday. I learned that I am really bad at it!

Throughout this journey I am learning to appreciate all of my experiences and embrace them, no matter how small or trivial. Like a trip to the market!!! Something that most people do a couple of times a week. A normal part of life. 

Except, what happens when you can't read any of the packaging or you really don't know how much meat your buying because it is in a weight system you aren't used to?! Or what happens when the cashier asks you a question and you BOTH just blankly stare at each other cause you're not sure what's happening?!

Come with me on my first trip to a smaller neighborhood market.



The street I walk down to get to the markets. It is a short 7 min walk from our house!

First up was a trip to Aldi. Aldi is really big in Germany (it's a German company after all, and they own Trader Joe's #facts) and it is more shopped at than in the states. (Honestly, I don't really know if that last part is true, BUT I've never shopped at one in the US. But I've been to one in Germany twice already. And they're all over. SO I think it could be true.)

I set out needing groceries. Like empty kitchen, only have a pizza box in the fridge and a jar of peanut butter in the cupboard empty.

Items on my list included things for dinner (chicken, pork, chicken), stuff to make salads for lunch, snacks, milk, eggs, butter, cheeeeeese and salami, you know typical stuff.

I was SO surprised by how much I found at Aldi. It was fresh, it looked really good, and it was CHEAP! I bought so much food and I spent 22 euro. I kid you not, cleaned that grocery store OUT for a fraction of what I would pay in the states. Now, Aldi doesn't have everything... and it was kind of a cluster inside, but I was pleased with what I found.

In addition to buying food items, I bought trash bags, paper towels, ziplocks, and dish cloths. Yep, and still only spent 22 euro.

 
Marinated chicken!



Soy RICE drink... Missed that part when I bought it! Whoops. I had originally just wanted Soy milk. But it'll do.



I can only find 1.5% milk but hey, it costs .42 euro cents! SO who's complaining.

I also noticed that the Organic milk is only .92 euro cents!



TRADER JOE'S what a find! Blake asked me WHY I would buy BBQ Ketchup and not just BBQ sauce... well it was TJ's so it has to be good. #SuperFanOfTraderJoes *** After tasting it, it has no resemblance of ketchup... it just tastes like BBQ.



This garlic butter bread baguette thing is to die for. And for .40 euro cents can't beat it! It probably isn't the best thing we could eat, but who cares!



Finally, some flowers I picked up. :) They were so cheap I couldn't resist!

I also got some english muffins even though they weren't even remotely close to being called that, as well as some other pantry staples. I picked up a salt grinder... and it was the most expensive thing I bought!

Next to the Aldi there is an Edeka. Edeka is more like a small version of a Kroger. At least the one by me. It was more organized though, had a lot more to offer, and was more like a grocery store I had been in before. I just looked around and picked up a few things that I didn't find at Aldi. It was more expensive than Aldi, but still very cheap compared to my American standards.

One night earlier this week we walked through the park behind our house!







Prinz-Albrecht Park! It was lovely. Lush and green, and the weather was perfect. The paths throughout the park are perfect for jogging, riding your bike, or just taking an evening stroll. I have a feeling that park will become our second home!

I am looking forward to our trip to Amsterdam! We will be meeting up with a friend of mine whom I used to work with back in Rochester. YAY, can't wait to hang out with Ali and her hubby. I am looking forward to celebrating Blake's birthday. :) ALSO looking forward to Oktoberfest. We JUST booked a place to stay and we didn't have to sell our souls. Can't believe we were able to find a place this late that didn't cost a fortune!!

So that is what is happening here. Happy Wednesday...even though it feels like Friday.

Monday in Germany

Today I bring you the blog from our HOUSE! No more hotel!!! What a joy!

It finally feels like we actually live here now. No more vacation!

I made my own breakfast today, for the first time in 3 weeks...and it was amazing.

Last week we went to the laundromat. Boy oh boy, what an experience! Seriously. We put all of our clothes in what we though was a washer, even poured in the soap. Only to realize 10 minutes later it was a dryer. After we finally figured out how to somewhat make sense of the machines we were stylin'!

Our clothes being washed... how exciting! The washing machine was HUGE. It was a bit expensive though. 8 euro to wash, .70 euro cents to dry. We had to dry 3 times before the clothes were no longer wet. We mixed, darks and whites (my mother would be so disappointed, sorry ma) all went together. So we did manage to wash 3 weeks worth of clothes for about 10 bucks! And we will be making a few more trips there. Our washing machine at our new place will be out of commission for 4-6 weeks! Aye aye aye. But at least we have a kitchen.

Friday we went to apply for my visa. And... drumroll please. All went well! They were fine with all my documents and they gave me a one year visa! They are waiting to process it just until we are able to get a letter from the bank. So there is one small piece still missing but nothing that involves a decision! The decision is already made. :) 

The front of our building! We are on the second floor. The building has a paging system? Is that what they're called? I am not sure, as I have never had one. But there is a button with our name and if it is pushed, we can ask who it is and buzz them in :) so that is kind of fun!

Our new landlords are so very sweet! They got us champagne, and painted us a picture that has USA to EU on it, it is very cute! 

Friday night we stayed in. We needed to rest up for our big day on Saturday! ;) Not really a big day, but a trip to Ikea - so that requires rest. 

I am bad and took NO photos at Ikea. Maybe I am not actually bad, I don't know what there is to see! If you have been to one Ikea, you have been to them all! The process was the same. And even though everything was in German, we could still figure out how to get around. There were arrows - a universal symbol :)! There was not a whole lot of differences. Many of the things I have seen in the US were there. The only difference I saw was more of some things and less of others. In the US, Ikea's selection of kitchen tables is awful. Well here, it is lavish! There were tons, and a lot nicer than the ones in the states. But everything else, pretty much the same!

Since we will only be here a year, we didn't need much. We set out to Ikea to buy some pillows, an ironing board, a drying rack, a few things that were missing from the kitchen, and any other random inexpensive thing that we felt we might benefit from (like an ottoman tray). 

After that we headed to Real. I would consider this like a Walmart or a Target. It was huge and it had everything from produce to TV's. We needed some staples - food for Sunday's dinner only, hand soap, toilet paper. Things like that.

A cart ramp at the Real! This thing was neat! An escalator for you and your cart! The cart wheels had little magnets on the bottom and off it went! (See that Haribo! I wasn't joking when I said we eat too much of it!)

Saturday night we were invited to a BBQ and Beer Tasting at our friend Vanessa's house. She lives in the town right next to Braunschweig. Her brother picked us up and drove us over there. Her family was incredibly sweet and generous for welcoming us over with a wonderful meal! Her dad had over 20 German beers for us to try! We had a great night, and headed home in a cab at 2 in the morning. Let that be an indication of how we spent Sunday. We didn't do a whole lot. It was relaxing and wonderful. It was almost 90 degrees here. And no, we don't have air conditioning. Our apartment stays surprisingly very very cool!

We did cook our first meal though. I was making baked potatoes. I never knew how difficult it would be to read the oven signs.

 

Even with the help of this site I still am not sure I know what they mean. But any who, I have never had a brand new oven, so I was not entirely aware of what was going to happen after I turned the oven on. I let the oven warm up like normal, and then I open it to put my potatoes in and the BIGGEST gust of smoke comes pouring out. And the smell. The smell was awful. I googled, and apparently the first time you turn the oven on this happens, and it's normal. #thankyougoogle

Blake opened all the windows and we went on with our dinner! I am hoping tonight the oven isn't so bad! 

Come back Wednesday to read about my first solo trip to the market! I am off to get the house in order and find spots for our things. :)

Prague: Days 2 & 3...More Photos

I told you it would be worth coming back for more photos! :)

It was very gloomy! But it made for divine photos.

Every street was just lovely.

The Prague Castle.

After you cross the river on the Charles Bridge, there is a little town beneath it. 

Riley at the beer museum. :) 

A huge candy store! We got yelled at for taking this photo.

Potato chips on a stick. MMM delish. 

Like I said, every street was soo beautiful!

This was in the museum at Golden Lane on the grounds of the Prague Castle. 

Golden Lane. 

Each little house used to be individual dwellings for craftsmen, defenders of the castle, and other individuals that helped contribute in some way (one of the houses belonged to a Herbalist!). People lived in these houses until World War II. 

Above the houses now is the museum of armor. Below, some of the houses remain as they were and illustrate the story of who lived there. Others have been transformed into little shops. 

The front of one that has been transformed into a shop. 

Castle Views!

That wraps up our Prague trip! It was a beautiful city and my first BIG European city so it will always hold a special place in my heart! 

To fill you all in on what else has been going on. Not much. We get the keys to our new place tomorrow (FINALLY).. but our washer isn't installed yet! SO we are taking an adventure to the laundry mat this evening... because I am against dry cleaning under garments #sorryNOTsorry. I went and took a language placement test this morning, they told me my German stinks.... (tell me something I don't know)! We found ice cube trays - I was about to ask someone to mail me some. I guess Germans aren't crazy about ice? But I am... and I love a good iced coffee/water, so that was an exciting find. We eat too much haribo... like really too much, we are always buying gummies. 

That's all for today folks'!

Prague: Days 2 & 3

If you missed day 1 you can read all about it here.

We didn't set an alarm, and it was glorious! We ate breakfast at the hotel and set out around 10 am!

*Side Note* I forgot to download the photos from Blake's phone... so tomorrow I will share additional photos that will go along with this post... Cause if we're being honest my photo skills are bad... So come back tomorrow for more!!!

We walked to the Charles Bridge again, and actually went across. There were tons of vendors and performers. 

Just a guy playing some water music.

John Lennon art from the John Lennon Wall. There used to be a wall that looked like the above. It was a tribute to Lennon and a way for people to express themselves. Sadly, the wall was painted over a few years ago. Here is some good info on the wall.

Little fishies biting random people's feet! I told Blake we should do it. He was not interested. (I wasn't really interested either.)

There are two ways to get up to the Castle. 1. Go up a really steep hill. 2. Go up a lot of stairs.

I was pretty sure at one point I was going to pass out right there on those stairs.

View from the top.. It was worth all the pain!

Entrance to the Castle grounds! #somanypeople

Up close.

The pictures do NOT do it justice!

Monday morning we went back to the Castle and bought tickets to actually go inside the Cathedral and a few other buildings on the grounds. That was all we did on Monday before driving home!

Everything was so beautiful! Just breathtaking.

After touring the Castle grounds on Sunday, we went to the Prague Beer Museum. 

 

The people in Czech LOVE beer. So, needless to say, we fit right in! 

Flights of beer! MMM delicious. 

After this we set out for a little snack. We got potato chips on a stick (photo to come tomorrow) and a traditional Czech dessert.

 

Yum. That is all I have to say. YUM!!! If you ever find yourself in Prague. Eat this. Three times. Because it is THAT good. You can fill it with ice cream, chocolate, whip cream, fruit. Or just eat it plain like I did!

We went to a few random bars to enjoy cocktails and people watch. We roamed the streets for 10 hours! Just walking and taking it all in. We experienced rain, hail, and sunshine. It was glorious. For dinner we went to a little corner cafe. I got some crepes, Blake got some chicken. Then we walked around a bit more. It was lovely!

Blake and I want to get a little something from each place we visit. After a lot of back and forth, we settled on Christmas ornaments (thanks to my sister for the idea!) - practical, inexpensive, memorable - they aren't souvenirs you will end up throwing away, they aren't cheap clothing that will end up falling apart, and they are more enjoyable than shot glasses (in my opinion). Plus, how neat will it be to pull out all of our ornaments from all the place we have been each year and enjoy them for a month!

Prague was our first ornament.

Come back tomorrow to see MORE of Day 2 and 3!