Detroit to Deutschland

"Ich Bin ein Berliner"

2009-03-18T10:30:00.002+01:00

Last weekend we went to Hamburg and Berlin. All the guidebooks say that a trip to Germany is not complete with out a trip to Berlin and boy were they right! Hamburg was nothing to write home about, the highlight is the shopping. We spent the night there but are glad we stayed 2 nights in Berlin. When we arrived in Berlin we drove around the city before checking into our hotel to try and get better acclimated. The city is huge and pretty spread out. Berlin is ever-changing and still recovering from WWII and the soviet rule. You can still very clearly see the destruction from the war and the footprint of the wall. There is so much history it really is hard to put into words. It was very powerful, solemn and exhilarating wandering through Berlin. We are really glad we got there and look forward to returning at some point. Check out our photos on Picasa to get a more detailed picture of our trip.

First Signs of Spring in Belgium

2009-03-18T10:13:00.000+01:00

We started March off with a trip to Belgium. We spent the first night in Brussels, which is only a 2-hour drive for us. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time wandering around the city. Brussels is big and doesn’t have too many amazing sites, but the sun was out and there were signs of spring everywhere. I think one of the best parts of Belgium is the food! What could be better then waffles, fries, chocolate, mussels and beer! The next morning we headed to Bruges, which is about one hour east of Brussels. Bruges is smaller and filled with canals and chocolate shops. Again we wandered around all day taking in the sights, people watching and eating. All in all Belgium was affordable and filled with lots of yummy food.

A little news about our big crazy lives

2009-02-25T14:16:00.003+01:00

So by now many of you have heard that Jeff, Cooper and I have decided to move back to the United States. A number of factors played a part in our decision but we feel like its the best thing for us right now. So Jeff has given his notice at Mubea and his last day will be May 29th. Our current plan is for me to find a job and Jeff to attend a full time MBA program. I have started reconnecting with my professional contacts and Jeff is working hard on his applications and studying for the GMAT. Where we land will primarily depend on those 2 factors, where I find a job and where Jeff decides to go to school. We have a lot of details to work out but we are optimistic and excited about what lies ahead. We have a few more places that we would like to travel before we come back, including a trip to Berlin and then to Italy. We will keep everyone posted as more details are firmed up.

My Valentine...

2009-02-17T11:31:00.002+01:00

For our Valentine’s weekend we decided to go to Reims, France for a champagne tour. We left on Friday and drove through the Mosel Valley region of Germany, stopping along the way at all the little wine villages. I would not recommend doing this trip in February because everything was closed until late March. Nonetheless it was a beautiful drive by the river and through some amazing vineyards. We stopped for the night in Trier, Germanys oldest city. Trier is an ancient Roman capital and is the home of the oldest Christian church and many Roman ruins. We headed out in the morning and stopped in Luxembourg long enough to see a few sites, check out the market and get a parking ticket! We arrived in Reims by midday and went to the G.H. Mumm champagne tour & tasting. After the tour we went in search for a restaurant to have dinner. We found out that no matter what country you are in you need a reservation on Valentine’s day! After about the 15th restaurant we found a little pizza place to have dinner, at this point we were so hungry it didn’t matter! We enjoyed the sunshine on Sunday morning and bought a few bottles of champagne to bring home with us. Nothing could be better than Valentines day in the champagne region of France with my 2 faviorate boys!

Kölner Philharmonie

2009-02-07T09:46:00.001+01:00

Last night we went to the Kölner Philharmonie courtesy of my Dad and Shelly. We saw Grigorij Sokolov play Beethoven & Schubert. It was a wonderful evening and Sokolov was brilliant on the panio. We were amazed that he could play 2 hours of music by memory without any sheet music. It was especially fun to get all dressed up and head out for the evning!

Chilly in The Czech Republic

2009-02-03T10:21:00.002+01:00

This past week we took full advantage of our long weekend and headed to Prague. We arrived Thursday night and found that our hotel was VERY centrally located, almost too much! But we checked and headed for a little walking tour and dinner. Prague is a really neat city at night. There are so many buildings and bridges that are entirely lit up, the whole city really glows at night. We had dinner at a wonderful Argentinean restaurant that was warm and fun. The Czech Republic really isn’t known for their food so we didn’t feel like we needed to eat at a Czech place. When we returned to the hotel at about 11:30 the women at the front desk told us there was a problem with Cooper. Apparently he was barking and the people in the room next to us complained. He was quiet when we arrived so I am not sure what the problem was, but they told us that we couldn’t leave Cooper in the room when we left again. The hotel room was also really smoky and seemed to get smokier as the night went on. In addition there was a music club in the basement of the hotel that was attracting all sorts of different people and causing drunk people to gather outside our window until around 6:30 a.m. So needless to say we decided to find a new hotel for the next night! There are so many hotels in Prague that it was not a problem and we ended up finding a much nicer hotel in a quieter neighborhood. We spent the day exploring the city and checked out Old Town and The Jewish Quarter. It was VERY cold so it made it hard to fully enjoy all the sites. The best part of the day is when we stopped at a warm café to break for lunch. You can never go wrong with soup, warm sandwiches and a latte! We had a nice Italian dinner and then went back to the hotel early to visit with Cooper. The next morning we toured the Castle and the weather had gotten worse so we decided that we had seen enough and were ready to head back to Attendorn. Prague is a beautiful city that can be very inexpensive if you go to the right places. We are not really into the nightlife but I think that it would be the place to go if you were. On the way home we stopped in Plzen, CZ at the brewery where Pils beer was invented. Then we stopped in Numnerg to check out the town and the Zeppelin Field. We forgot our Germany guide book so we missed a few sights! It was a cold trip, but we are glad we had the opportunity to go.

A Swiss Adventure

2009-01-27T10:16:00.003+01:00

We just returned from an amazing trip to Switzerland. We began the trip in the Capital, Bern. Although it was a rainy, snowy night we explored the city and had a nice Swiss dinner. We also spent some time there in the morning and got a good look at the city in the daylight. We then headed south for Zermatt. The drive to Zermatt was stunning; we wound through the Swiss Alps and enjoyed the views on the way. Zermatt is an auto free village so you have to park at the train station in the village before and ride in. Zermatt is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. We stayed 3 nights and had a great time walking around and had 2 great days of skiing. We left Zermatt on Saturday and headed for Lucerne. On the way we had to take the car onto a train to get through the mountains, which was pretty neat. We arrived in Lucerne and had an evening of sight seeing and a Swiss fondue dinner. All in all it was a great trip filled with amazing sights.

Next Stop...Switzerland

2009-01-20T07:13:00.002+01:00

We are leaving for Switzerland this morning for a 5-day adventure! We are driving down and stopping in the capitol, Bern for a night and then heading to Zermatt for skiing and then stopping in Luzern on the way back. We are excited to get out of Attendron for a few days and explore another country. Cooper has had a haircut and a bath and is ready for his Swiss debut. Full report and photos to follow!

Full Moon

2009-01-18T09:53:00.002+01:00

This is a photo of the full moon on January 10 from our house.

Back to the Blog...

2009-01-13T09:42:00.001+01:00

We had an exciting and busy holiday season and have been very neglectful of the blog as of late. We returned to Germany on January 3rd after 6 weeks in the US (for me) and about 4 weeks for Jeff. We spent the entire time home visiting with family and friends and going to all the places that we missed. We started our visit home with Thanksgiving with the Weber’s and then reunited with many of our friends at Nicki & Keith’s wedding. We were so glad to be home to celebrate with them! Christmas was also filled with lots of family visiting and holiday parties. We ate a ton and were happily reminded of all the food options in the US that we don’t have in Germany. And we did our share to stimulate the economy in the retail sector as well. But all good things do come to an end and we are back in Germany and getting readjusted to our life here. We are gearing up for a ski trip next week to Zermatt, Switzerland and have gone to a smaller resort here in Germany 2 times to warm up. We are back to the gym and were warmly welcomed by everyone who thought we were on “vacation” for 6 weeks. It has been very cold and snowy since our return, but the sun has come out almost everyday, which makes it a little better. With winter in full effect, we are very much looking forward to spring!

Happy Holidays

2008-12-25T03:25:00.000+01:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Lots to be thankful for...

2008-11-10T15:54:00.001+01:00

We had a great past week and have a lot to be thankful for. On Wednesday we awoke to the news of our new President, OBAMA! We are supper happy about the election results and hopeful for good things to come. It has been very interesting watching the election from overseas and it certainly has given us a different prospective of the US. The Germans are also really excited about our election results. It was a great day to be an American in Germany!

Wednesday was also Jeff’s 30th birthday. We celebrated with Jeff’s favorite, Mexican and then a homemade cake and champagne. We had a nice little celebration with just the 3 of us. Zum 30 Jeff!

This weekend we traveled to Bremen, which is about 2 hours north of us. We had a nice time exploring the city and checking things out. We spent most of Saturday touring the Beck’s Brewery, which was very neat.

Here are a few photos of our week!

Happy B day Jeffy!

At the Becks Brewery

A Beautiful evening in Bremen

Happy Anniversary to us!

2008-10-21T16:04:00.000+02:00

Today marks 2 years that Jeff and I have been blessed with wedded bliss! It feels like yesterday, but at the same time like it has been forever. Maybe that’s because I could not imagine my life with out Jeff. I feel truly grateful to have such a wonderful husband! I think these past 7 months in Germany have helped us realize how lucky we are to have each other. We have learned to lean on each other and know that no matter what challenges we are faced with, we will get though them together.

I love you Jeff, Thanks for a great 2 years, here’s to the next!

Remembering Nanny

2008-10-17T10:33:00.000+02:00

Yesterday my Nanny left this world and transitioned to the next. I know that she has been reunited with my Papa and she is now in a better place. I have so many wonderful memories of my times with Nanny and I will always cherish those. I know that Nanny and Papa are RVing through the clouds; exploring all the places they didn’t get to see while they were in this world.

It is difficult to be so far away from family during times like these. I certainly have a deeper appreciation for the importance of family from this experience. Life is incredibly precious and it’s important not to get hung up on the small things in life and remember that we have so much to be grateful for.

I love you Nanny, your compassion, generosity and kindness will be carried on for generations. I will miss you but never forget you.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of her hand.

Hunter Johnston McCarthy - September 27, 1926 – October 16, 2008

Our Sight Seeing Whirlwind

2008-10-05T18:13:00.001+02:00

We just returned from our sight seeing tour of Southern Germany and Austria. Here is a recap of some of the things and places we saw.

Oktoberfest – The world’s biggest fair is truly that. It was the most amazing collection of people, beer tents and carnival rides. We spent the afternoon in the Paulaner beer tent with fun people from all over the world. It was a great day and a really fun event to see.
Salzburg – We spent the next 2 days in Salzburg, Austria the home of Motzart. Salzburg was clean, quiet and just a really nice town to visit. The Eagle’s Nest – Hitler’s tea house, It was cold but well worth the amazing views. Deutsche Alpenstresse – the road we traveled from Salzburg to Garmisch-Partenkirschen. The road winds through the mountains and lots of little Bavarian villages. Schloss Neuschwanstein – Mad King Ludwig’s Castle. We toured the amazing castle while Cooper waited in the car. Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber – A well preserved mid evil German town. We went on the night watchman’s tour and learned some interesting history about the city. All in all it was a great sight seeing trip! Next up: Skiing in France and Switzerland and then Italy in the Spring!

Sorry we can’t come to the Blog…We’re Off Seeing the World!

2008-09-26T14:56:00.002+02:00

So this week marks another trip for us. We are leaving on Saturday and driving to Augsburg, Germany. Augsburg is just about an hour North of Munich, which is where we are headed on Sunday. We are excited to explore Munich during Oktoberfest (Jeff went last year, but it’s my 1st time). After a day in Munich we are going to spend the next 2 days in Salzburg, Austria. Then we will be going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and ending our trip in Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. We are excited to see a lot of Southern Germany and some of Austria. Stay tuned for photos.

Not working and all that Jazz…

2008-09-24T10:44:00.000+02:00

Not working certainly has its perks:
You don’t have to wake up when the alarm goes off, You can spend the entire day in your pj’s if you want, You can find the end of the internet, You can read all the books you want,
And take lots of walks.

Let me tell you…it gets very old after a while. When most people hear that I am a Haus Frau in Germany, there response is “I would give anything not to have to work.” That is what I thought when we first moved here. Now after 6 months here, I am beginning to feel pretty bored. Especially since I can’t work here because of visa restrictions. I do not have a child to keep me busy, unless you count Cooper. And he really isn’t that difficult to care for. Haven’t the Germans every heard of paying you “under the table?” I am not thinking a full time job, but something that I could do a few days a week, like teach English. You may be asking yourself, “Why doesn’t she volunteer?” Well the crazy answer is in a town of less than 20K they don’t really do volunteering, and then they say “What happens if I get hurt on the job?” How would one get hurt teaching English!

So I am venturing out on the World Wide Web to see what I can find to keep me busy. We heard something about working from home and only needing a computer. I also think that when we return from the Holidays in the States, that I will pursue an online master program. We shall see...

A few updates...

2008-09-23T11:24:00.001+02:00

After a few very long weeks of renovations and moving, we are settled into the new house. We basically re did the entire house in one week! It was very hard work but the end result is worth it. If you want to check out the before and after photos they are on picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.com/deidre.weber/HouseBeforeAndAfter?authkey=Yf9qNlCNT_4
We still have some projects to keep us busy, but for the most part we are finished.

We also had our first visitor, my mom. It was great to see her and we had a really nice week showing her some of the sites. She was a huge help with the unpacking and setting up. We are excited that it will only be 2 more months until we get to see all our family and friends. We will be coming home on Thanksgiving Day until after X mas so we will have lots of time to see everyone.

This weekend we are headed on our next vacation. On Sat we are driving to Southern Germany and Austria and will visit Augsburg, Munich (during Oktoberfest), Salzburg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. Cooper will of course be coming with us on the trip! We have a full week of site seeing planned and are excited to not be working on the house for a while.

Today is the day!

2008-08-31T06:40:00.000+02:00

So after of 4 months of living in the company flat, today we are receiving the keys to our new house. When I say "new" I mean new to us, but the house is actually very old and run down. Today marks the first of projects and we are excited to see what awaits us. We know there will be a lot of cleaning, painting, building a kitchen, and putting floors in. We have grand plans to do all the updates and have our things moved in by Friday! Yes our things which have been sitting in a sea container since May! Stay tuned for before and after photos they are sure to be dramatic.

Oh the places we’ll go...

2008-08-26T12:04:00.002+02:00

We are merely beginning our adventure here in Geramny, and there have definitely been bumps in the road. We have found this transition to more difficult than we ever imagined and there are days we long to back in Detroit! Imagine that! But I am thankful every day for the most wonderful Husband to go through this journey with. So thanks hunny, you make it all worth while!

I was feeling pretty down thinking about spending my birthday here, I have never been away from home or family really ever on my birthday. So spending it in Germany didn’t really excite me. We decided to do what we love best about being here…Travel. So Jeff planned a wonderful get-a-way for my birthday celebration. We woke up early Thursday morning on the 21st and watched a beautiful sun rise over Attendorn. Then we hopped in the car and headed south to Baden-Baden, a city known for their Spas and Casino. We arrived just in time for the most perfect picnic in the park, which included sandwiches, champagne and chocolate. What could be better! Then we headed off to spend the afternoon at the Roman spas. Jeff arranged for massages and we ended up spending almost 4 hours exploring the spa pools, saunas and steam rooms. We went back to the hotel and got all dressed up and went out to a wonderful candle light dinner and then headed to the casino to watch people waste their money! It was the most perfect Birthday! Happy 26 to me!

On Friday we toured the Black Forest and the Cuckoo Clock Villages. It was about a 5 hour drive that was filled with neat towns and great views. We ended our day in Freiburg im Breisgau with a nice dinner and beers. After exploring the Freibburg market on Saturday morning, we continued on our Journey to Heidelberg. We toured the castle for several hours awed by the views and castle grounds. We returned home after checking out Heidelberg. It was a great trip and we saw a ton of amazing sights. We are already on to planning our next get-a-way to Munich and Salzburg, Austria. So we will continue to focus on what makes us happiest, being together and traveling to anywhere and everywhere.

Frankfurt

2008-08-17T10:39:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we spent the day in Frankfurt with my cousin Jahje and her husband Joe. We had a great time exploring the city and taking in the sights. And it was wonderful to spend some time with Family! Here are some photos of the day.

Weekly Update

2008-08-14T13:28:00.001+02:00

We have been keeping busy over the past few weeks with all sorts of “stuff”. We found out that we will be able to move into our new house on September 1st. Finally! We are planning on spending the first week painting, putting in new floors, and building the kitchen. So in preparation for the move we having been spending a lot of time at IKEA and electronic stores. This week we purchased most of the kitchen and all of our appliances. We had to get everything: refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, and the little things too: microwave, coffee machine, toaster and an iron. We are ready to move in and are looking forward to lots of house projects to keep us busy.

Work is gradually getting better for Jeff. He has had 2 big presentations that went really well. For one of them he had to travel to Italy, so that was exciting. He is slowly gaining respect from his German colleagues, which has not been a easy thing to do.

I am spending most of my time reading and exercising. I just started playing tennis with our neighbor, so that has been fun.

Last week we found an engorged deer tick on Cooper. It was super big and gross. I guess they are really common here so we have some new anti bug medicine and have been on the lookout for bugs. The removal process was rather traumatic for Jeff and I. Poor little Coop!

This weekend we are headed to Frankfurt to meet up with my cousin Jahje and her husband Joe. We are just going for the day, but are excited to spend some time with family. We have also planned a little get a way for the following week to Baden Baden and the Black forest. So we have lots to look forward to in the upcoming weeks!

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that...

2008-07-24T11:52:00.002+02:00

We have been a little neglectful of the blog lately, so here is a little update. After nearly a week of solid rain and freezing temps, the sun finally appeared yesterday and today is going to be beautiful. Finally!

This past weekend we went to the Nürburgring for the car races. Jeff was in heaven looking at all the amazing cars. We have a new friend who races on the weekends and invited us into the pit, so we were right in the middle of all the action, which was pretty neat. The Nürburgring was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg, so it is situated in a really neat area.

We were able to get into our shipping container this week and get some of our things. It was really fun to see all of our stuff. We got our bikes, some clothes, DVD’s, the grill, our pillows and some things for Cooper. We are feeling good having some more things even though we will have to move them again to the new house.

We went to the new house yesterday and measured everything so we can plan our kitchen and other improvments. Unfortunately the woman living there has treated the house VERY poorly and it needs a ton of work, but we are up for the challenge. We won’t know until next week when we can move in but hopefullyit will be August 15th. We have been busy thinking about all the things we will do to make it nice. Its too bad our families are not closer to help with the construction, because we have BIG plans, and could use some help!

Cooper is doing well too. He is enjoying his daily walks and the freedom during the day to nap and relax. He dosen’t get locked up much anymore and we think he is happy about that. He went to see the vet last week for a check up. We got some good information that will hopefully make it easier to travel between the States and Germany with him. He had to get a puppy passport, which we think is pretty funny!

Well, that’s about it for now. Here are a few photos from the past few weeks.

Jeff at the Nürburgring

In the Pit

Wonder Cooper, So cute!

At the pub

Finally a place to call home!

2008-07-13T15:39:00.000+02:00

After a VERY long and challenging search, we are excited to report that we have finally found a place to live! It is a single family home with a HUGE garden, it needs a ton of work but we are looking forward to making it our own. We are not sure when we will be able to move in but are hoping it will be mid August or early September. We are so glad that the search is over and are now able to focus on getting settled here in Attendorn. Now that we have a place we just need visitors, so come see us!

Happy Birthday Miles!

2008-07-07T13:39:00.000+02:00

On July 5th, Miles Oury Christensen celebrated his one year B Day! Happy Birthday Miles, we wish we could have been there to celebrate with you!