Schule  

Declan is in 5K, Emma is in 2nd grade and Serena is in 5th grade.  Although kids here attend Kindergarten, the official start of school is First grade which is celebrated in part by giving the child a Schultuete filled with candy, pencils, little gifts. They can be 2 feet long! A kind neighbor gave a mini one to each of the kids on their first day of school. 

 Here’s a closer look at our German 2nd grade experience.  The school year runs from Sept 13 to July 30.   We realize how spoiled we were with MGIS’ late start time of 9:10 as school here begins at  8.  How could we ever have been frantic in the morning in Milwaukee?  Emma leaves home at 7:30 and walks to school with some classmates.  It's under 1 km --> 10 minutes. This independence is new for us and I’ll admit, I hid behind a few trees the first few days to spy on them and to calm my nerves.   

School ends between 11:20 and 1 pm.  Each day it’s different.  Day care is available til 2 pm.  Due to budget cuts, the principal is Emma’s classroom teacher!  The school secretary stays only til 9:45 then she goes to a different school.  If your child is absent, you call your teacher directly on their cell.   

A very precise school supply list is required including Hausschuhe (slippers) and a seat cushion which is also what the kids sit on when it’s circle time on the floor.   All the kids have Schulranzen like the one in the photo with Emma.  They come with matching pencil cases, sport bags and snack/lunch box. 

The chalkboards in the classroom fold out on both sides and can be moved up and down to accommodate shorter kids.  The desks fit two students and have an opening to store the books needed for that day’s lessons.  When teacher asks  a question, theyll say “Finger zeigen!” (pointer finger up!)  Emma was wondering in the beginning why everyone kept pointing to the ceiling!  The eager kids will even snap their fingers.  

Although she's attending a public school, crucifixes hang in every room and she has Religion class.  Bavaria has a strong Catholic presence.

There are  2 recesses – the first one is 20 minutes when kids eat their snack, the next one is just 10 minutes and only happens on days when the kids have lessons beyond 11:20.  Once kids are dismissed from their classroom at end of the day, there’s no liability or obligation on the teacher’s part to make sure little Johann gets picked up. 

Parents are informed of Wandertage (field trips) but no extra permission slip is sent home.  The kids usually walk to their destination!  Two days ago, Emma's class walked the equivalent of 3 blocks to a nearby church to use their library (the school doesn't have a library as such on the premises.)

Fundraisers as we know it are a foreign concept with the exception of the sale of kids’ crafts at the Christmas Market.   As far as academics go, Emma is doing just fine.  German Reading, Grammar and Math are EXACTLY like at MGIS, her school in Milwaukee.  She was perfectly prepared! All 4 of her teachers are surprised and impressed with her proficiency in German. 

Shopping!

Yeah, ALL Americans buy their ketchup and mayo like this

The best thing about shopping in a different country is leisurely strolling down every aisle and exploring the wonderful variety of different local products.  Now, with 3 kids in tow, I don't often get to enjoy the "leisurely" bit, but nonetheless shopping is always an adventure.  Andrew and I are re-discovering some of our favorite items from when we used to live here and unfortunately both of us have already gained over 4-5 lbs in these 2 months!  Yikes - and that's despite all this biking and walking.  Some American brands are well-represented like Uncle Ben's, Weight Watchers and Pringles but most of the American foods here (found in the exotic International Cuisine section!) are expensive junk food:  M&Ms, Lays chips, marshmallow whip, and Oreos (16 cookies for $3).  Many products are apparently deemed "American" just by slapping the flag on it -- see photo.

We've learned a bit about shopping in Germany.

DO

• Before you leave home, go to the bathroom.  Free public restrooms are rare and some stores require a purchase to use their bathrooms.  If you must go when you're out and about, be prepared to pay 50 cents either in a turnstile apparatus or directly to the Toilletendame whose thankless job is to wipe down stalls and seats all day.  As you walk out, you have to pass her sitting (and silently staring at you) at her little table with the coin dish. 
• Pack a water bottle.  Public water fountains are basically non-existent.  This might also explain the high number of cafes along shopping strips!
• Bring a 1 Euro coin to get a shopping cart.  Going to Aldi in the States is good practice!  This is common even at non "discount" stores.
• Bring your own shopping bags or be prepared to pay 10 Euro cents.
• Pay attention when you're checking out.  Once your items are scanned, there's about 10 inches of real estate so you have to hop to it and pack them up quickly lest you out yourself as a newbie.  Worst case scenario, you are too slow and the cashier has to stop scanning to let you catch up. Congratulations!  You've earned the wrath of all the shoppers behind you.  Hurry out to your bike and ride home.  Now!

DON'T

• Don't count on using your credit card.  We're surprised at how many transactions are still in cash.  Some weeks in Milwaukee I'd only need cash to pay the babysitter or send in money for the next field trip!  For larger purchases, people use their EC card which is basically a debit card and is accepted everywhere.  I get blank stares when I ask about VISA and Master Card somewhere that's not a major tourist sight or a large department store.
• Don't be surprised at your total - the Mehrwertsteuer (19 % tax) is included in the product price. 
• Don't forget your garbage!  Bring your rinsed bottles to the receptacle at some (not all -- another bit to learn) grocery stores and get your deposit back.  Some stores only take back the products they sell.  There's curbside pick-up for paper, packaging garbage and trash but you have to haul in your glass, cans and non-deposit plastic bottles on your own and take them to a separate collection area - often in the parking lot of certain grocery stores.
• Don't lose track of the time.  Stores close at 8 and are not open at all on Sundays or holidays.  Many smaller stores will close over the lunch hour as well. The post office in our town closes at 5:30.

Farm fresh!  Sometimes we also find other things on our eggs...

Whoa!  Now that is a big bag of lettuce for 29 Euro cents ($0.34)

Baking is trickier than cooking as the exact ingredients don't always allow substitutes.  I've already had to toss a whole batch of cookies :(  You know it's bad when your own kids won't eat the cookies!  Things I haven't been able to get here:  sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, Mexican seasoning like adobo, shredded cheddar cheese, good italian salad dressing, frozen corn, ranch dip (that one hurts) and chocolate chips.  There are similar items of course but not exact.  For example, the brown sugar is dry like white sugar and the granules are enormous so that even if I melt my butter first to try and dissolve the brown sugar, it still is a bit sandlike.  By law, all eggs are some version of free range, come in cartons of 6 or 10 eggs and are not necessarily refrigerated. In fact, some milk (H-Milch) isn't either.  Our swap family had left 4 liters of H-Milch in the pantry for us.  Yep, it'll be there when we leave.  Let's just say it has an acquired taste...

This version of Frosted Mini Wheats was $3.50!

 As far as prices go, groceries in general seem to be the same/slightly cheaper.  One liter of milk costs 51 Euro cents ($0.65) and a loaf of bread is about 2.50 Euro.  Bioprodukte (organic) are everywhere and sometimes there isn't a non-organic choice.  In fact, the prices for organic non-meat items aren't that high either. Clothes and shoes on the other hand are crazy expensive.  Walmart and TJ Maxx I miss you!

The Neumarkter Stadtlauf was held in the middle of town.  Andrew ran 5.5 km, the girls 1 km each and Declan ran 500 m.  Similar to American runs in many ways, participants got a t-shirt but also the kids each got a backpack and a medal.  It was a huge, well-organized event and we're happy we could be a part of it.

Refreshments afterwards?  Giant pretzles, fruit and cookies and of course... beer!  (non-alcoholic in this case)

His wagging tongue is so cute I can't stand it.

The kids all had their names on their tags and as they crossed the ZIEL (finish line), they'd be announced be name.  "Hier kommt die Emma - toll gemacht!"  Wow - talk about feeling like a superstar!

Felix Magath announced some of the runs.  He's a famous former soccer player and current coach in the Bundesliga (German soccer league).  Just seeing him was enough of a lure to get Andrew to do the run.










Next stop on our tour of local sights - Nearby Velburg's König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle has the largest intact stalagmite/stalactite cave in Germany! Discovered on the Name Day of the Bavarian King Otto I. on September 9, 1895, it was immediately opened to visitors which led to some damage as the candles caused blackening on the first section of the cave.






They naturally grow 1 mm every 4 or 5 years and the oil from your fingertip and stunt their growth for years!


If a drop should fall on your nose, according to legend you'll live to be 100 years old.  I had two hit my forehead... close but no cigar!




                                                                               Stalactites are from the top and stalagmites grow from the bottom.  Once they meet, it's called a column.

After the cave, we continued onto the ruins on top of the Velburg -- it was quite a hike!  The path you see here is the gradual incline and we were all huffing and puffing.  The top is 621.5 meters above sea level and from here you can enjoy the ruins of the 1000 yr old Velburg castle.

Long live Bureaucracy!

Organizing an exchange like this is a lot of work.  There's a reason why people go through programs!  We were able to set up some things like car insurance and school registration ahead of time but most things we have to handle in person.  All residents in Germany (and Europe too for that matter) need to register their new address with the Einwohnermeldeamt (Residence Office) as soon as possible upon moving.  Proof of this registration is necessary for all sorts of things ranging from setting up a bank account and getting a driver's license.  Foreigners like me need to also register at the Auslaenderamt (Foreigner Office) so the authorities can determine if we're allowed to live here, work, study, and for how long.  Luckily I am married to my dear Andrew, a Brit, so I should have an automatic residence permit (barring of course criminal activity -- so far I'm in the clear.  The folks at the Foreigner Office still needed to examine everything, of course this included submitting my proof of residence from the Einwohnermeldeamt.  I then was sent directly back to the Einwohnermeldeamt with the document from them and obtain a confirmation that the document they gave me earlier is correct and then return to the Auslaenderamt.  Like we have nothing else to do!

THEN there was the small but crucial issue of proving my proficiency in German.  "Frau Richardson, you can take a German class at this institute and get a certificate and then you get the permit!"  Mind you, all of the exchanges so far were in German!  The lady had a form and desperately needed to know which box to check regarding which document I had submitted proving my proficiency and since there was none, she couldn't possibly determine on her own whether I could speak German or not.  Finally Andrew retrieved a certificate from 1994 from an exam I took at the Chicago Goethe Institute (I didn't even know we had brought that to Germany!) so she could check the box and we could go on our way.  We needed four visits, 2 photos, various documents and 125 Euro to procure my permit.

Then there's the Ministry of Education in Bavaria, to whom we are forever grateful for approving our request for this exchange in the first place.  We are, however, struggling to understand  how the left hand really has no idea what the right hand is doing.  Case in point:  Andrew's contract.  About 10 months ago, we submitted all the required documents (many of them notarized) and filled out all the paperwork necessary.  In March, we checked in again on our initiative and discovered that they needed more forms filled out.  We were told Andrew would receive his contract the day before school starts, Sept 12.  Well, we were literally packing up our life and definitely would have preferred to have something in writing before we boarded the plane but what were we going to do?  Then, Sept 12 came and went and no contract materialized so Andrew called and apparently our case hadn't been processed in months and could we please submit X documents again?  Also, it's quite normal that new employees endure a delay of compensation of several months in order for all the paperwork to get done.  We might not see a check from the Ministry until December!

My new employer

Yes, we have some savings but 5 months' worth?  Fortunately, we anticipated the extraordinary expenses of this year and set up a Home Equity Line of Credit in Milwaukee before we left.  We have numerous running expenses that continue to need to be paid (mortgage, home owner's insurance, property tax, etc).

In addition, I got a job!  I am teaching two English classes at the Volkshochschule (Community college) in Neumarkt.  Now approximately $250 per month certainly isn't a substitute for a full-time salary but luckily Germany offers a little something called Kindergeld.  This financial support is calculated by the number of children you have and limited by your household income and keeps many families afloat.  (Side note - there is no additional tax deduction for children like in the US.)  Since we're legally registered... (see above) we get it too!  That's just over 500 Euro a month.  Who knew my uterus would be our biggest source of income?

Our little cash cows with their cousins Mijo and Jennifer (2 on left)

Daytrips

Anyone with young kids here knows Playmobil!  There just so happens to be an awesome  Playmobil Fun Park about 30 min away and cost 10 Euro ($13) per person to get in.  It's basically a spider web of linked "Playmo" themed playgrounds with life-sized figures.  The kids absolutely LOVED it.  We weren't sure if Serena at 10 would be too old for this but that concern was unfounded - lots of tweens were there enjoying the day. 

One of the highlights was this fantastic area with huge oysters and kids had 5 min to harvest the "treasures" which were little sea creatures.  We could have stayed in that area for hours. 

As we had noticed at other amusement parks, parents are kind of casual about supervising their kids.  Every 10 minutes or so all day long, an announcement would come over the PA that little Steffi was looking for her Mutti.  Tons of kids (and their parents) were walking around barefoot although it isn't a swimming Noah's Ark type park.  Some kids were wearing swim suits but, interestingly, many of the little girls (even 8 or 9 yr old) only had bottoms on.  When the parents packed the cute little bottoms, why not pack the matching cute little top? Am I too American?

Court is in session!

Clean, uncrowded and fun:The verdict is unanimous - We'll definitely come again!

My favorite spot?  A shaded bench....

The Swap!

About 2 years ago, an idea started brewing... fueled partially by our Wanderlust, Andrew's inevitable homesickness, and my insatiable need for a "Project"...  Wouldn't it be great to live in Germany again?  The kids could really learn German culture and fine tune their language skills, we could see friends and family more than every three years AND then there are little perks like fantastic beer and real bread.

We had our home in Milwaukee and were thrilled with the kids' schools so completely uprooting everyone wasn't as attractive as a limited one year exchange.  Plus, moving from Germany to the States in 2003 was so emotionally and physically exhausting (and expensive), we weren't too keen to take that on again. The search for programs began.  Lots of possibilities for US citizens with a full-time position... well, I'm the American but Andrew has the full time position so unfortunately we weren't eligible for a single program in the US.  Alright, on to British and German organizations.  Alas, no program will send you to your home country (Andrew also has German citizenship) so no luck there either.  My spirits were getting down a bit at this point. So I called on every and anyone I could think of who might have a contact or lead for us. I contacted a handful organizations like the Geothe Institute, Kennedy Haus, etc. but unfortunately - nothing.

I started sending out cold applications to every American/International school in Germany as well as various language schools hoping to lure another like-minded family.  A few rejections came back.  Must remain postive. Then I began posting on various German/Teacher blogs.  A nibble from a Klemens Graf from Neumarkt in Bavaria.  He saw my post on the AATG message board and wanted to know if we'd already
found a match because if not, they might be interested!  Yahoo!  He and his wife are English teachers and they have three kids.  Perfect match!  The planning began.


The next 1 1/2 years were an emotional roller coaster.  Arranging an exchange privately like this was quite an ordeal - between major undertakings like convincing the Bavarian Ministry of Education and getting visas for the Grafs to smaller but still important issues like health and car insurance and school enrollment.  Andrew's school, Brookfield Academy has been supportive from the get-go.  There seemed to be no end however, to the required documents for various offices, this one needs to be notarized, that one needs to be original. And the German bureaucrats certainly don't have the monopoly on confusing/contradicting requirements -- alone Andrew's green card paperwork cost us over $600 plus the $500 to renew it while we're there. No wonder so many people are here illegally!   Several times during this period, one office or another basically said it wouldn't work out or it isn't possible because of X. Two days later, we'd happen to get someone else on the phone and be told a different story. Finally, it seemed as if all the stars were lining up and it would indeed work out.

We waited until Christmas to tell our own kids.  Declan's first question was if the other kids would play with his dinosaurs then he ran upstairs.  Serena asked where she would have to go to eat lunch (she didn't yet know that school here is only half day so that's a moot question.  While Emma was talking about the bunnies waiting at the Graf house, Declan came back with his PACKED suitcase!  Contents:  3 teddy bears and yes, 20+ dinosaurs.

As our departure date grew closer, we called and skyped more often with the Grafs.  Such an undertaking is not for everyone.  It really does require an incredible amount of trust and honesty and, at the end of the day, we didn't really know these people.  Fortunately, after spending a week in Germany with Andrew's family in the North (blue dot), we were able to drive down to Bavaria to visit the Grafs in Neumarkt (green dot).  

Both sides were clearly nervous, but any concerns we had quickly evaporated.  Klemens and Christina were very friendly and welcoming and since they had done a Fulbright exchange 10 years ago, we knew we were in good hands.  We felt comfortable immediately and Andrew and I agreed, we couldn't have found a better match.

As we walked through the various unique bits that every house has -- "This is broken so you have to jiggle this but don't touch that, etc." I have to admit, I personally felt a little overwhelmed.  So much to remember (and why didn't I write more down?!#!). Of course, we too are entrusting them to every possession in our house but somehow I am much more nervous that we'd break something of theirs.  The reality of this tremendous responsibility sank in.

From the front

We've been in the house now without them for about 3 weeks and it's starting to feel like home -- hey, we've already lost one sock!  How does that happen?  In terms of square footage, it's not an equal exchange.  We definitely are enjoying a larger home for the year. Plus there's a fitness room, office and guest room. We've been exploring - What's in that drawer?  Where are flashlights?  Now where would they put potholders...?  (Nowhere! - it turns out she just uses a towel!) To our great surprise, despite whining about sharing a room for as long as I can remember, the girls only slept in their respective rooms on the first night.  After that, under the guise of "My room is too hot,"  Serena has moved into Emma's room and has been sleeping on a mattress on the floor!  Emma's is not complaining :)

From the backyard

Our front door

Salzburg

       To avoid a mutiny, we decided to spare the kids (and their parents) more hours together in the van and opted to take the train to Salzburg instead.  The state of Bavaria offers the Bayern Ticket with which you can travel anywhere in Bavaria for one day and since Salzburg is right on the border, it's included even though it's in Austria.  The first person pays Euro 22, then an additional adult pays 4, and the kids are free.  What a deal!  Some people have asked how we can afford to travel like this, well, deals like this help but we try to be thrifty as well.  We only stay in hostels and so far all 3 have been clean, quiet and cheap!  We bring sandwiches for lunches, and each morning, Andrew would run to Aldi, or Hofer as it's called in Austria, and get rolls, fruit and misc for the days.  As most hostels have kitchens, we'd make spaghetti or chicken nuggets and fries for the evening meal.  Since admission to sights isn't negotiable, we save where we can but despite being thrifty, we couldn't keep it up for a full year so perhaps it's good that school starts next week!

      Our main goals were to see the Sound of Music and Mozart sights.  We were astonished that no Salzburgers (a name they call themselves... ) apart from people catering to tourists, has even heard of "The Sound of Music!" The tour of sights from the film wasn't even available in German! (only English and Spanish). So the kids and I had to "Do Re Mi" all by ourselves. What fun!  Here we are at Mirabel Gardens where Fraulein Maria and the children sang, and danced around the fountain and on the steps.





Yes, they are rocking out to "My Favorite Things"  FYI the ear buds aren't even plugged into anything!





Beautiful gardens but I couldn't help but thinking that all the visitors didn't know what they were missing!

Of course, Salzburg is known as Mozartstadt and in addition to his birth house, we were able to see his baptismal font in the Dom.  Fun Fact:  he travelled more than 10,000 days during his short life.  EVERY store sold these Mozartkugeln, which Declan just gobbled down until Serena said, "Yuck! What's that green in the middle?"  (pistachio) and then of course Declan couldn't even look at them.

Salzburg is nestled in the Alps and it's highest peak, Untersberg, 1,972 meters high, is relatively modest -- no glaciers here.  We took the Bergbahn (mountain tram) up and enjoyed the view and took the Talbahn (valley tram) down.  Were we the only ones to notice it was the same tram?