Frohe Weihnachten!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and einen guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr (slide well into the new year)!

Gogol Bordello

I went to see Gogol Bordello at E-Werk, a small, local concert venue here in Erlangen. I started listening to Gogol Bordello after seeing the film Everything is Illuminated, which featured their music and starred Eugene Hütz, the singer of Gogol.

It was my first punk concert in I don't know how many years, and I was definitely out of practice. I had no intention of moshing, but the whole club was one big mosh pit. I had to jump or be jumped on. And I'm too old to jump for an hour and a half. There were a few "seniors," like me, in the group, but most of the people looked college age. Even though I had fun, I was exhausted, so it may be few years before I do punk again.

Back in the Sattel Again

I started riding horses again. Actually, I started riding last spring, but then took the summer off before returning last week. I wasn't too sure I wanted to return.

After my old instructor took his Icelandic horses and left last winter (see earlier post), the stable, conveniently located 5 minutes away by bike, was taken over by a woman who breeds American Paint horses and teaches Western riding. I had hoped that another instructor with Icelanders would take over, because I really enjoyed riding them. Icelandic horses tend to pace more often than trot, which means no bouncing and therefore no posting. Just a smooth, comfortable ride.

I also didn't want to ride Western, because I've always thought that there was no technique involved--just sit in the saddle and pull the reins left or right. But then, I wasn't too crazy about going back to English either. I definitely don't want to jump, and dressage sounds like too much work. But, like I said, the stable is only 5 minutes away, and the return trip home is downhill all the way!

Well, I was wrong about Western. My new instructor has me riding through slalom not only forwards but backwards too, and I have to make the horses sidestep around the entire arena, which is not easy. Her horses are also trained to respond to shifts in weight and changes in leg pressure. To speed up, I need to shift my weight forward, and to slow down, back. To turn right, I need to press the horse's left side with my left calf, and the opposite to turn left. I use the reins only if the horse doesn't respond to my legs. So much for just sitting in the saddle.

Although I'm learning a lot about riding, and I'm learning Deutsch too, because my new instructor speaks very little English, I still miss my old instructor. "Just get on the horse and ride," he would say, and I truly miss that attitude. I also miss his horses, not only because they paced, but because they were a little wild. They were very sweet to humans, but very playful with each other. When they were running together in the arena or in their paddock, they reminded me of a herd of Mustangs, even though Icelanders look nothing like Mustangs. The Paints, in contrast, are very well-behaved.

And, it seems a little ironic to me that I moved to Germany to ride American horses and in the very American Western saddle.

Handball Mom

In the US, we have soccer and hockey moms, and here in Germany, we have handball moms (and dads) too! Alex played in his first tournament; his team, HC Erlangen Tigers, won two games and lost one.

German Elections

Yesterday Germans voted and re-elected Angela Merkel as their chancellor. And when did I learn of this election? In July, when my German teacher mentioned it in class. And when did I learn who was running against her? A few weeks ago, when they debated each other. And when did I learn of the debate? The day after. And when did I learn of the exact date to vote? On Friday, when Alex came home from school and reminded me to vote, which, of course, I cannot do.

Granted, I don't keep up with politics the way I used to, but this time, I missed the entire horse and pony show. That is, if there ever was one.

Croatia and Belgium

We returned to Fazana, Croatia, this summer, and stayed at the same campground, Bi-Village, as last year. As promised, we stayed longer, and it was worth it.



We went kayaking. We rented a pedalboat and went snorkeling. We went swimming in the Adriatic. As I mentioned last year, camping in Europe is nothing like camping at Rock Island State Park, our favorite in the US. Bi-Village has a resort-like atmosphere with restaurants, pools, and sport facilities. The boys even found a video arcade.



Outside of playing at the campground/resort, we did a little touring. We visited the town of Rovinj, up the coast from Pula. It was touristy, but for good reason--it was very charming. The architecture was Venetian, and it was interlaced with narrow, winding streets lined with art galleries and laundry hanging overhead.




We also took a boat trip to the Brijuni Islands, the private residence of Tito for 30 years. We saw the Cadillac that President Eisenhower gave him, and his private safari park, where he collected exotic animals given to him by politicians from all over the world. This cow, I think, was a gift from Indira Ghandi. And long before Tito, the islands had been the private residence of Roman nobility.


When we came home, the boys' Aunt Irene spent a couple of days with us after her business trip to Switzerland. The boys, of course, took her to the BMX track.



And finally, the weekend before the boys returned to school, we drove to Belgium to visit friends. On the way, we stopped in Maastricht, Netherlands. We've visited Maastricht many times before, but rarely ventured beyond the main square. This time we got there early, ate lunch and walked!


In Belgium, the boys played with their friend, Sasha, while we sampled beer in Leuven, the home of Stella Artois. I think, to most Belgians, Stella is what Budweiser (although Stella is stronger with 5.2% alcohol) is to most Americans, but I really like it.

Sommerferien

Summer break began on August 1, and we've been busy ever since. First, Bob's sister with her family came to visit, and we went through our standard sight-seeing repertoire--Nürnberg, Bamberg, Fränkische Schweiz. It was especially nice for the boys, because they had a chance to spend time with their cousins, who they haven't seen in three years.


Then we did some local things, like spending the day with friends at Freizeitland Geiselwind, before our vacation in Denmark.



This time I was prepared for lazy Denmark, much more so than last year. I brought lots of books with me and told myself not to expect anything special. It worked, because I didn't feel bored once. We did many of the same things we did last year, such as visiting the WWII bunkers on Houvig Strand and Legoland, and since we celebrated Alex's 8th birthday in Denmark, he picked out his present at the Legoland store. We also experienced a new ride--Power Builders. You receive a chip card and program what you want the ride to do. Then you're strapped into a huge arm that moves you around. Alex and I kept it simple by programming it to swing us back and forth and tip us onto our backs, but not flip us over like it did Bob and Philip.

The one new thing I did this year was ride a horse, a Norwegian Fjord, along a beach. I've always wanted to ride on a beach. I've ridden over fields, through forests and in deserts, but this was my first beach. Unfortunately, I rode no faster than a trot, because I'm timid about galloping. But next time...


On the way home, we stopped for the night in Stade, on the Elbe River, not far from Hamburg. To get there, we took a ferry across the Elbe. At first, we thought we would have to wait for a long time, because there was a long line of cars. But there were so many ferries loading and unloading that the entire excursion took less than a half hour.



We stayed at Hotel am Fischmarkt right in the center of Stade, and it was perfect. Stade is a very charming, old port city with a plethora of brick Fachwerk buildings. In Bavaria, Fachwerk houses are mainly wood and stucco, so it was so nice to see the brick variation. Thank you Matthias for recommending it!

Now we are getting ready for our trip to Croatia.

Aufgeber (Quitter)

I just handed in the boys' resignation letters from their swimming classes. Letters! I had to write letters letting the swim club they belong to know that they were quitting. Something about writing it down makes me feel like a quitter, and I hate quitting.

In Chicago, I would register the kids for classes for 10 or 12 weeks at a time. At the end of this period, we would decide whether to re-register, or not. It didn't feel like quitting, because we were simply not returning.

Here, most sport programs are run by sport clubs, so one has to join to participate. The clubs usually allow potential new members to take one or more classes for free before making the commitment. (Some programs let you pay as you go, as with my yoga and horseback riding classes--more on this in a future blog.) After joining, dues are paid through a Lastschrift, which means I give the club my bank info and they pull the money out monthly or quarterly. But in order to terminate the Lastschrift, one has to do it in writing, hence the resignation letters.

Note: Our rent and bills are also paid through Lastschriften. In these cases, I love it, because I hated writing out checks.

As for the boys, they're happy to be done with swimming. Philip's next step would have been competitive swimming, but he's not interested in competing. And Alex just wants a break. I'm the only one that feels like a quitter.

Children's Music

This is what my 7 and 11-year-old are listening to these days.

Birthdays and Bonfires

Philip turned 11-years-old on Wednesday, June 17, and celebrated on Saturday with an Übernachtung (sleep-over) party. While he along with his brother and three friends destroyed our apartment, Bob, Oscar and I went to the Johannisfeuer in Spardorf, the village next door.


The Johannisfeuer is a bonfire that commemorates both the summer solstice and St. John the Baptist's feast day, June 24. And many things coming into season now are named after the saint, such as Johanniskraut (St. John's wort), Johannisbeeren (currants) and Johanniskäfer (fire flies).

Die Besucher (the Visitors)

Bob's parents came to visit us, and since Bob took a few days off, it felt more like a vacation for all of us than last year's visit.


We went to the Bergkirchweih.


We took a boat trip through the Danube Gorge to the Weltenburg Abbey. Drank some very good beer!


And we spent a few days in St. Wolfgang, Austria, and stayed at the White Horse Inn.



While in Austria, we hiked a strenuous 400 meters, all uphill (the internet site called it an easy walk through an alpen pasture--only if you're Austrian), to the Dachstein Ice Cave.


We also visited Hallstatt, a town often used in travel posters for Austria, and for good reason. It's built on the side of a mountain, on the edge of a lake. What could be more picturesque?


Because there is not much room in Hallstatt's cemetery, after 10 to 20 years, the bones of the dead are removed from the graves, cleaned, painted and placed in an ossuary, or bone house.

It was a good holiday for all of us. Where shall we go next year when they, hopefully, return?

Realschule Addendum

Here is the document I used as a reference to get Philip into Realschule:

http://schulberatung.km.bayern.de/imperia/md/content/schulberatung/pdfmuc/migration/tn_skript_db_250908.pdf

See page 8, Ziff 7, Übertritt.

Realschule

Philip made it into Realschule, but it wasn't as easy as I had hoped. He never managed a 2.6 GPA (see my last post on the subject). Instead, he got a 3.0. Normally, he would have had to sit in on the Probeunterricht, a series of three-day lessons and tests to determine if he was "fit" for Realschule. In order to prepare, I downloaded a bunch of tests from Note1plus, a website with sample tests from previous years. But instead of making Philip more confident, they made him more anxious, and me too.

Thankfully, a South African friend now living in Germany told me about a rule in the Bavarian school system that allows foreign students, who did not start first grade in the Bavarian system, to enter Realschule or Gymnasium with a GPA up to 3.3. Unfortunately, not everyone in the school system knows about this rule. Philip's teacher never told me about it. The assistant director of the first Realschule I contacted wasn't familiar with it. I called the Schulamt (school board), and they transferred me three times before I finally spoke to someone who knew something. He told me to talk to the principal of Philip's school, and she was very helpful. She spoke with Phil's teacher, and together they decided to recommend Philip for Realschule.

But as Philip's principal explained, the Realschules still don't have to accept him. So, I emailed the assistant director of the first Realschule, the school that Philip really wanted to go to, and he told me to set-up an appointment with one of their counselors. In the meantime, I also emailed the director and assistant directors of the other Realschule in Erlangen and set-up an appointment with the director. At the Realschule am Europakanal, Philip's first choice, they told Bob and me that Philip would still have to sit on the Probeunterricht, but based on his report card, the counselor said his chances of passing were very good. He also explained that they were overcrowded and therefore could be more selective. At Werner-von-Siemens Realschule, the director told us that they would take him WITHOUT the Probeunterricht. He also explained that a 3.0 for a non-German speaking student was considered the equivalent of a 2.0 for a native German speaker. This made me feel so much better, because Phil's friends got 2.0s and I know they are not any smarter than him.

The decision was obvious to me--we didn't need the stress of preparing for the tests. Philip agreed, but he was disappointed. The curricula at both schools are exactly the same, but more of Phil's friends will be attending Realschule am Europakanal. I had to remind him that his two closest friends will be going to two different Gymnasiums, and all three of them will be separated. But we'll all be still living in the same neighborhood, so they will have time for each other after school and on weekends.

Besides, the city bus that stops right in front of our building also stops near the Werner-von-Siemens Realschule. No transferring like he would have to if he were to go to am Europakanal. And Philip, being the practical guy that he is, likes this.

Oscar's 4th Birthday

In honor of Oscar's birthday, the boys decided to make him a doggy pizza. I made the dough from a dog biscuit recipe, and the boys added Oscar's favorite toppings--peanut butter instead of pizza sauce, crumbled dog biscuits instead of cheese, and carrots instead of pepperoni.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Like I said in my last post, May Day fell on a Friday, which meant a three day weekend for us. So, we drove down to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, at the foot of the German Alps. It was the home of the 1936 Winter Olympics, and is a good base for visiting the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak. And that was the plan--to ride either the cog-wheeled train or cable car to the top. But the weather did not cooperate. Even when it wasn't raining, the peaks were still in the clouds.




Therefore, we walked through Partnachklamm, a gorge just below our hotel. We followed a narrow path through the gorge, and since one end of the gorge was closed, we had to turn around and return the same way on this narrow path not meant for two-way traffic. Because of the rain and melting snow, so much water was flowing into the gorge that it felt as if we were walking behind a waterfall the entire distance.


Our hotel was also a treat, because to reach it we had to ride a Seilbahn (cable car). The hotel, Forsthaus Graseck, is perched along the top of the gorge, and although there is a narrow road leading up to the hotel, there is no parking. The best way to get there is by the cable car. When we walked out of the cable car and into the Biergarten and playground, Alex said, "This is paradise!" Oscar, on the other hand, was nervous riding the Seilbahn, and whined all the way.



In addition to our walk through the gorge, we visited Schloss Linderhof, one of King Ludwig II's three fairy tale castles. This palace was the only one ever completed and the only one he actually lived in. Since I consider myself a minimalist, I found it way over the top with all the gold leaf and intricate porcelain chandeliers. He also had an artificial grotto built so that he could view Richard Wagner's operas from a shell boat. Why is it that all kings have extravagant tastes? Someday, I hope to visit a palace decorated with white walls and simple hardwood furnishings.

Since Oscar always (almost always) travels with us, his blog has also been updated.

May Day

May 1, International Worker's Day, fell on a Friday this year, so we spent the long weekend in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (more on this in a future post). The night before, in my German Conversation class, we discussed how May 1 is celebrated in different countries--we're a very international group. As the only American, I had to say that we don't celebrate on May 1, instead we have Labor Day in September. Then, a man from Vietnam said, auf Deutsch of course, "But Worker's Day started in the USA." Our teacher said that this was what she had also been told. So, when I got home, I went straight to Wikipedia, and I learned that not only does May 1 commemorate a worker's strike and riot in the US, but in Chicago!

May 1 marks the anniversary of the Haymarket Riots. It is embarrassing for me that I didn't know this, because back in the Reagan-Bush years, I became very interested in anarchy, and for reasons that are not clear to me, labor unions and strikes seem to be always organized by so-called anarchists. Well, I did a lot of reading about the Haymarket Strikes and Riots back then. I made a special trip to the Near West Side to see what was left of the monument marking the spot of the riots. And I knew that five of the eight men tried for starting the riots are buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park. But I never knew that the riots resulted in an international holiday (a guy from Spain thanked me for this holiday, even though I was totally ignorant about it). I always thought of the Haymarket as a slice of Chicago history, not even American history.

I had to move to Germany to learn about its impact on the rest of the world.

Neubeuern and Radstadt

On the way to Radstadt, Austria, for our annual ski trip, we stopped for lunch in Neubeuern, Germany, a small town not too far south of Munich. This is where my father and his family were refugees after WWII. They lived here in the shadow of the castle, which is now a school, from 1945 to 1949, when my father immigrated to Tennessee to work on a farm. It was from Neubeuern that my father was sent to Traunstein, last year's stop, for school.


We only skied three days, and of those days, only the first was good. It just got too warm too fast, and the snow became slush. But, nevertheless, we had fun and the boys are developing into pretty good skiers. Better than me!



The rest of the week we spent swimming or hiking near our apartment. One day we visited Burg Hohenwerfen. Every year drive by this castle on the way to Radstadt, so this year we decided to pay it a visit. It turns out that this was the castle featured in the movie "Where Eagles Dare." Unfortunately, it's been a long time since I've seen this movie, and so it did not seem familiar. We took a tour of the castle, which included a torture chamber and weapons cache (it seems to me that this is how people during medieval times spent their leisure hours--inventing new ways to inflict pain), and saw a great falcon show. I was impressed, because at the end they released a Kaiser eagle, a vulture, a large hawk and two smaller hawks all at the same time. With the exception of the Kaiser eagle stealing some food from one of the smaller hawks, they all seemed to enjoy flying around together. Add your own metaphor here.

PS Oscar's blog has also been updated.

The Old Couch

We got rid of our old couch, and some other stuff, last week. In Chicago, we would have put it out in front of our house, and someone would have taken it. If not, then we would have "convinced" the garbage men to take it.

Here it is more complicated. If something doesn't fit in the dumpster, such as a couch, then it is called "Sperrmüll," or "bulky wastes," and one has to call the city to come and haul it away. They'll come twice a year for free, and after that, you have to pay. I don't know how much, because I don't know anyone that has made an appointment for "Sperrmüll Abholung" more than once a year.


And here, the city doesn't send one truck--they send three. Because not only do they collect your junk, they sort the metals and electronics from the furniture and wood products. (NOTE: I missed the trucks that picked up our stuff, so I used a photo I took earlier this year, hence the snow, of someone else's junk being hauled away.)

Rote Wand mit Neuer Couch

And now, our red wall with our new couch!

Red Wall

I now have a red accent wall in my living room. And I painted it all by myself! Actually, the boys helped. Back in Chicago, I wanted to paint one of the bedrooms red, but the painters talked me out of it. I'm sorry they did, because I love my new red wall.

Fasching

For almost a week now, the kids have been on break from school. They call it a winter break, but it's really a break for Fasching, also known as Karneval or Carnival.


Fasching begins officially on November 11, when the clubs organizing the parades and festivities start throwing balls. These balls are televised, especially during the week before Ash Wednesday. But to me it seems like all the partying really begins on Weiberfastnacht, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. This is "Ladies' Night," and women cut off men's ties and collect them. I've never participated, so I'm not really sure how this done, and what does one do with these severed ties later? The parties continue through Faschingsdienstag, also known as Mardi Gras, and there are lots of parades over the weekend. The big parades are on Rosenmontag, or Rose Monday, but the biggest and best of these are in the Cologne/Dusseldorf area and Rhineland.


Since it was wet and cold with a chance of snow, we opted to stay in town and go to the parade in Bruck, one of Erlangen's neighborhoods, on Sunday. This is a very small parade without the impressive floats and costumes of the bigger parades. It also means the kids collect less candy and junk food, which is what they throw from the floats. Two years ago, we went to a parade in the Cologne area, and the kids collected three large shopping bags full of candy, chips, and little toys. But this year, like I said, it was cold and wet, and most of the candy ended up in puddles. And we left the parade about halfway through because our feet were frozen. Well, at least we tried to participate in the big bash before Lent.