Atmospheric conditions reported by TANK GIRL: More foggy, misty, damp and chilly weather today.
Today I wanted to sleep in late because I haven't really recovered rest wise since we landed here in NEVER NEVER LAND. We slept until 9am then went and had breakfast, and I went back to bed. I slept until 1pm, which I never do but when I woke up I felt so much better.
We decided to take Karmella and go for a walk/jog around Bad Windsheim and then made our way down to the large park they have near the train station. Some observations in the park, many many Germans walk in the park on Sundays, none of them were obese, also even if they are disabled they are still out walking, we must have seen 30 or 40 Germans in wheelchairs, canes, and walkers. Here is a montage of pictures of what I see:
Around the city:
The Store above and the park below:
They have these Cigarette machines all over the city.
Tomorrow I am supposed to go look at the other Apartment in Ickelheim (pronounced Ickle like the word Nickle without the "N" and heim sounds like hime) , I am hoping it has a little more room then the one I liked. After thinking and inventorying all the things we have I suspect we may need a little more room. And....I think we will have to get more storage type containers for the bathroom and our bedroom.
So we get about 800 Euro from the ARMY for rent. If we don't use the entire 800 we don't get to pocket the difference. The places we have been looking have only run around 430 Euro. We get another 600 Euro for Utilities. Utilities include waste, water, heat, and electric. Usually the utilities bill will only be a fraction of the 600 Euro, but if you go over during any month at the end of the year you have to pay back what you went over, but you don't exactly know what that amount will be. Its kindive like Budget Billing. Another benefit we get is all the appliances we will need, washer,dryer, a large American fridge if we want it, but we don't, etc., from the ARMY for the duration of our time in NEVER NEVER LAND.
The dilemma we are having is using all the Euro LEGS is entitled to, but not getting a place so large that we over extend ourselves on heating it. And we are not necessarily looking for a gigantic place, we are just looking for one that accommodates our material possessions. We had a large house in Alabama and I really hated cleaning it, and we barely filled it up.
The Children Factor: This is incredibly personal, but I want my blog to be genuine, honest and real. We really do possess a great desire to have children. LEGS has wanted them for a long time, but I have just recently felt a strong eagerness to start our family.
After long discussions and forward thinking we have decided to wait two more years. I refuse to be anywhere near a boxing gym while trying to get pregnant, and I really want the opportunity to travel/eat/drink my way around Europe. I have to also consider LEGS' being away at WAR.
Even though I worry about our age/ability to have children, I feel left out since all of my friends are doing it, and I really want to experience motherhood, I never want to look back with regret. So we really don't need a large house with multiple rooms in it.
During our transition from Alaska to Alabama:
When we lived in Anchorage all we did was rip and run and spend more money then we had because we were in a big city where there was lots to do. I know my Alaskan counterparts are laughing at me right now because they don't think of Anchorage as a big city but when you compare the population of Enterprise which is 5,000 people to Anchorage which is 250,000 people it really is a big difference.
I was eager to move to Alabama to slow down, enjoy life more, spend more quality time with LEGS, and on my hobbies. I was very successful in doing so. We did save a little more money, we slowed down, and we have been more happy and satisfied in Enterprise. The one thing we didn't like about Enterprise was the lack of culture and good food.
Now that we are in Germany I have no desire to suddenly change up our lifestyle to being back in the city. It may sound crazy but I want to garden, blog, sew and knit. We can always take the bike paths down to the city to eat and get our dose of culture. Bad Winsheim is a tourist town because it has a lot of SPA's in it, so I feel like if we really want to live as the German's do living in the city is not right for us.
There is some drawbacks to Ickleheim. The internet is not necessarily what we are accustomed to, however, we have done some extensive research with the help of Heidi and the Peterson's and it will be sufficient for Skype, Blogging, Facebook and General Internet use, but not necessarily sufficient for lots of downloading. We do have some options though as far as getting two boxes instead of one etc. (Side Note: from what I understand they best we can get is comparable to Clear Wire)
Here is my phone from when I was in the States. Here is my phone in NEVER NEVERLAND:
I am not going to lie, it has been a challenge to be away from facebook and the constant access I had to the Internet on my phone. Also, texting on the new phone has been nothing short of a nightmare. Having an iphone is exceptionally expensive and I'm not so sure its worth it without 3 G.
So basically my whole point in this blog is, if you want to know what it is like living in Europe- and mind you I have only been here 5 days, or you have the desire to live in Europe, you should be prepared to give up the technology, media, and constant access to information we are accustomed to in the States. That being said, I am really looking forward to enjoying a more 'real' and genuine lifestyle full of culture, history, amazing food and adventure over here in NEVER NEVER LAND.
Random Thoughts:
German's stare at us and I haven't been able to figure out if its curiosity or disdain.
The driving over here is both terrifying and exciting. I have my driver test on Friday......weird to be saying that since I haven't taken a driver test since 16....
This sign was posted in the park, we didn't know what it said and I was worried that we weren't allowed to bring the dog in the park, so when we got back to the B&B I had to translate it. It says Dogs must be on a a leash, and that you shouldn't be driving through the park.....I don't even know if that is what it says exactly because it was tricky to translate.
The chicks over here look super hot, they wear lots of leather, high heeled boots, and scarves.
I am breathless, speechless, and astonished at the beauty and potential of living over here.
Over & Out.....
Just another day in the life of an unlikely military wife......**
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