Sea shipment and meds

On Thursday we got the sea shipment with the rest of our stuff from Jersey. About 98% of what was supposed to arrive actually arrived, so I was pleased. Gianna got all of her toys, I got my camera tripod, Bruno got his shampoo and coats, and Dan got his giant TV--unharmed from the voyage. Gianna likes to mess around with the tripod as much as I do, so here are two pics from this morning: a self portrait where Bruno was one second too late, and another fine pastry from the bakery down the street. This one was kuchen filled with creme.

Poor G Mai has another cold and I am all out of US children cold medicines. The medicines over here are all different, they don't sell Dimetapp or Mucinex, so I researched some alternatives. You have to be careful; the pharmacy will sell you herbal meds with unproven effects, and drugs that are banned by the FDA because of harmful side effects. And with children's meds, I don't want to mess around. The medicine I bought is supposed to break up mucus, and is considered safe for kids by the FDA. I am also having trouble getting my prescription drugs over here. The exact formulation is not available, but there are injection and liquid forms produced by the same US company (Sigma Tau) that makes my tablets. You can buy it without a prescription here, however they are very expensive. So for now I am getting someone to pick up my prescription in the US and ship it over to me.

Ash Wednesday Transit Strike

The local U-Bahn, buses and trams are not running today on account of a labor strike. They are calling this a "warning" strike, so it will just be for today. We were joking that they probably did not file their strike paperwork properly 6 months ago and are only allowed to have a 1 day strike. This strike will not completely cripple the city, as Frankfurt is not that large. People can walk if they have too. We live in the city center, but Dan's work is located on the far west end. Since it would take him around an hour to walk, he took the day off. I guess if the strike lasts any longer, he's going to have to put on those walkin' shoes or hitch a ride with some random neighbor.

Fastnacht Day

My Mennonite family back in Pennsylvania and the entire PA Dutch community celebrate today with the eating of doughnuts called "fastnachts". I was lead to believe this tradition started back in the old country (Germany), so Gianna and I set out to conduct a survey of German bakeries in Frankfurt to see if anyone was selling something called a "fastnacht" or any type of special doughnut made only for the day before Lent. We also checked out the local churches to see what they were doing to celebrate the start of Lent.

German bakeries are normally heavy pushers of kreppels (doughnuts), but I have noticed in the past week, some bakeries are making more kreppels than other pastries. Dan said he saw someone carrying half dozen boxes of extra-large kreppels this morning, which was out of the ordinary. So maybe there is a solid German tradition of eating kreppels on the day before Lent. Gianna and I visited four bakeries where everything was business as usual before we found this guy with a little stand out front hawking kreppels to the people passing by. We bought two, one apfel (left) and one pflaumen (center). Gianna and I ate the apfel kreppel as we resumed our bakery/church walk-about and saved the pflaumen for Bố.

We visited half a dozen other bakeries where nothing was out of the ordinary. None the pastries were called "fastnachts" and the kreppels weren't any different than the kreppels sold at other times. Maybe there were more varieties and maybe people were buying more of them, but I don't have enough data points from other times of the year to back that up ;-) My conclusion? In this part of Germany, kreppels seem to be more popular the day before Lent, however they are not called fastnachts like in Southeastern PA and they are the same old kreppels sold at other times of the year. Perhaps in other parts of Germany or Switzerland, you may find something called fastnachts, but not here.

I guess we were one day early for church, as nothing special was happening there either. Some churches are having pancake suppers tonight, another Shrove Tuesday tradition. Here are some shots of our somewhat irreverent visit to St. Bartholomäus.

Fastnachtszug

Today was the Frankfurt Fastnachtszug, "fast night parade" or Karneval. Despite the cold and dreary day, we all had a great time enjoying the food and watching the parade. Fastnachtszug is much different than anything you would see in New Orleans Mardi Gras or Carnival in Brazil (although I can't speak from personal experience, as I have never been to either). Fastnachtszug is family friendly, with candy and fun costumes. I didn't see one woman flashing her boobs...but maybe it was just too cold for that ;-) We caught a lot of hard candy, bags of popcorn, and peanut puffs. Gianna caught a stuffed dinosaur, Dan caught two bags of some spiced bread called magenbrot, and I caught a chocolate covered marshmallow waffle from one of the bäckerei floats. Holy yum! During the parade, the people would yell "Frankfurt! Helau!" which was some sort of local greeting. I posted a whole album but here is a summary.

We've arrived! This is the Römer part of the city, Gianna, SpongeBob, Barb, and Bruno. Yeah, the coat makes me look like the stay puff marshmallow man, but I stay really warm.

Gianna is tired since the parade is happening over nap time. She's wearing her carnival mask that we made together.

Bratwurst for me. Dan got the currywurst, a spicy chopped up sausage in a hot curry sauce.

Gianna was curious about this woman in elephant costume until we got close enough to take a picture with her. Then she started screaming and burried her head in my chest!

These "paper mâché" bobble head guys are a big part of Fastnachtszug, see a video here.

I don't know what this guy was supposed to be. He was wearing what looked like a stone on his back. Anyone out there have an idea?

Are these people supposed to be Vietnamese? It was part of a troop that were dressed from different parts of Asia.

Not sure what was up with this tropical-themed black-faced crew, like they were out of the jungles of Africa. They were one of many strange, sometimes offensive groups of "fools" dressed up for Fastnachtszug.

Quark

Today Gianna and I were out and about the city looking for stores that sold toys, art supplies, and/or stickers. I stopped in at Rewe for a few groceries on the way home and found the elusive and intriguing quark cheese. Quark intrigues me because the Germans bake it into all kinds of pastries and it's delicious. Wikipedia told me that quark is local to Germany and other parts of Europe. My friend Eric said German guys at work eat it with fruit, but he didn't care for it. So of course I had to try it myself! Tengelmann's (where we usually shop) only sold quark mixed with chives, dill, or radish--yuck. But today I found plain quark and relatively low-fat (0.2 g per 100 g container). It only cost me 0.35€. Here's what the product looks like in action.

Opened the package, the texture was a bit like ricotta.

Threw it in a bowl with kirsche mit orange preserves...

...and made Gianna try it. We both tried it. The verdict? I liked it plain, it tasted like plain yogurt, but thicker. With the cherry preserves, schmeckte sehr gut!

Schnee!

We woke up to a nice coating of snow this morning that turned the city into a gingerbread wonderland. Well, that's exaggerating a bit, but it did look nice. Around lunch time big flakes were coming down but it wasn't sticking to the ground much.


This weekend we took a trip down to the red light district with Gianna [gasp!] to go to a Vietnamese grocery store. I was impressed. The Hong Kong Supermarket back in Jersey was huge, but sold almost exclusively Chinese food. Asia Land had food directly from Vietnam, not Thai knock-offs! So we stocked up on noodles, fish sauce, seasonings, and shrimp chips. Both Gianna and the dog are huge fans of shrimp chips. I like them because they are not too messy for snack. Here's Gianna enjoying a trough of noodles for lunch. She ate the whole thing (one whole pack of instant rice noodle Phở).


We also took a walking tour of the Main this weekend. It was really cold, but the sun was out, so that made it a little easier. I uploaded the photos and other photos from around town into a Kodak Gallery if you want to take a look.

My Valentine

Little Gianna Mai will forever be our Valentine. Last year on February 14th, we got a phone call that a little girl living at an orphanage outside of Hanoi needed a family. We saw her pictures, read her file, and fell in love. I still keep her baby picture as the wallpaper on my cell phone. Look how much she has grown!

Visiting a German Doctor

There were some medical things that I couldn't take care of before we left the US, so I made an appointment with an English speaking doctor recommended by the US consulate. Just like in the US, I had to wait a while past my appointment time. It was difficult to fill out the questionnaire about my medical history since it was in German. They also had a hard time understanding how I can have a child without giving birth. Adoption is apparently a pretty foreign concept in Germany. I thought perhaps I should learn the German word for adoption--which turns out to be "adoption". Tricky. The doctor did routine German procedures that you would need a pre-approval or special referral in the US, like a cancer screening sonogram. The total price tag was 213 €--not cheap. I got into a US vs. European birth control "discussion" with the doctor. I was just discussing, but she may have thought I was challenging her authority. She said she has over 25 years experience in the medical profession; what do I do for a living (miss smarty pants)? I told her I am a chemist that used to work in drug discovery, but am currently unemployed. She was impressed and whipped out her German medical publication to find me some job listings. Excellent!

Dan met me at the doctor's office to wrangle Gianna while I was on the table, so afterwards we got two of the famous German soft pretzels. Gianna ate half of ours before we got home. I saved my half to smother in mustard. Feeling guilty about eating the whole "quark" pastry from the other night without sharing, I stopped at the bakery to get another. No quark doughnuts, but they were having a special on quark horns! Incidentally, the quark horn turned out to be unfilled, still delicious, but a bit of a disappointment. I was really looking forward to more cheese in the center.

Bleich! And another fine pastry

In an earlier post, I claimed they don't sell chlorine bleach in Germany. This isn't the case, it's just REALLY hard to find and very dilute. After reading some online forums, I found a bottle at a Rewe down on Grüneburgweg. It was like a super-Rewe! They even had a small salad bar (Gianna enjoyed some melon), dried beans, chili seasoning, canned chili beans, pancake syrup, Bisquick, Hershey's chocolate syrup and some other hard to find American delights. We've been dying for pancakes, but the syrup alone was 5€. It will have to wait for a special occasion calling for pancakes. Too bad this Rewe is such a long walk. After hauling all the groceries back with Gianna, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.I should also mention, after eating all the melon, Gianna ate the small fruit fork >:-(

Speaking of heart attacks, tonight I sliced into another mystery pastry! Its fun to go to the bakery and pick something out without knowing what you are going to get. This one smelled delightful, and when I chopped into it, the filling looked like butter. A sugar doughnut filled with butter? Those silly Germans, is there anywhere they won't stick butter? Much to my delight the filling was actually something close to marscapone cheese. YUM! Too bad Dan is out playing volleyball. I don't think the other half of this "quark" pastry will find its way to his mouth.

Schools in Frankfurt

I'm sitting in the apartment listening to the wind rattle the shutters around. It was a very stormy morning to go school shopping in Frankfurt, but we were successful. The relocation assistance person pulled up in her shiny new Volvo around 9:30 this morning. She even had a car seat ready for Gianna, so we just loaded ours into the trunk. First stop was the Carl Schurz School near Dornbush station. It is located on a US State Department compound with heavy security. I got in trouble for taking pics, so I won't specify which school is which in the photos. Carl Schurz School was a little island America in Frankfurt. The kids and teachers were multicultural. Everyone spoke American English. Two little Asian kids came up to welcome Gianna, it was so cute. They had a huge library for the kids. When I explained to them that Gianna's books are either being sent by sea or got shipped to storage and we've been reading the same four books since we got here, they sent us home with a grocery bag full of English books! Gianna was thrilled and so was I. If I have to read "Mr. Brown Can Moo" one more time... We did some schmoozing and suddenly an afternoon spot opened up for 12-5:30. Sweet! The only drawback is this school is a good walk from the train station both Holzhausenstrasse and Dornbush.

Next we visited Fintosch International Toddler School with two locations in Westend near the Frankfurt University. It was run by a bunch of Germans trying to teach English. I say "trying" because in my short visit, I saw some botched English throughout the school and the administrators were speaking very broken English to me. The school was about 50% German kids, 50% truly international kids. It was bright with lots of toys and resources. They have a caterer make lunch for the kids, so you don't have to pack, whereas Carl Schurz asked you to provide your kid's lunch. Like Carl Schurz, it had a little gym area where the kids could romp around. Gianna was getting into all sorts of toy bins and didn't want to leave. Schmoozing was harder with the Germans. At the beginning of the visit, they said they have hundreds of kids on the waiting list. But by the end of the visit, they suddenly remembered they have an afternoon spot open at the smaller of the two locations.

I think we are going to put Gianna in the State Department school, Carl Schurz. It felt very comfortable there and they said full time spots open up all the time since US government officials can be suddenly transferred around the globe. I am really excited and so grateful to the relocation assistance company that we have these opportunities for Gianna. Here are some pics from the day.

Gianna in the car holding one of the books kindly given to her by the Carl Schurz School

Outside of the Fintosch school.

Gianna is impressed with all the toys

Here is a nice treehouse to climb in

Bright and colorful area for the kids

A small gym to romp around.

Another gym to romp around in. This one has a parachute, Gianna's favorite.

Internet at home--yay!

We finally have internet access at home, so I can start making some regular posts with photos and everything--hooray! One update about the previous post. After the relocation people called me and said it was impossible to find Gianna a school, the woman made a few more calls and got some more leads. We are going to visit an expat school tomorrow that is close to Dan's work and accepts kids starting at 1 year of age for full-time day care. This would really be ideal, so I hope they do not have a really long wait list.

This weekend we ate at the local Vietnamese restaurant. It was good, but I've had better, more authentic Vietnamese food. Gianna was happy to be there, so that's what I care about. She was also stoked about our friend's birthday party at a Spanish restaurant last night. There was food, music, cake, and presents, some of Gianna's favorite things. This Friday (Bruno's 5th birthday) Darth's parents have offered to babysit Gianna and Bruno. All I can think about it what we are going to do with this free night out. It would be nice to see a real movie at the English cinema. Dinner we can do with Gianna, but she would never sit still for a movie. I'll have to see if there is anything playing worth watching. But if you can't tell, just having the internet and the prospect of a night out has made me über happy!

No School for Gianna

Our relocation firm has been searching high and low for a school for Gianna with no luck. German schools cater to German speaking kids over the age of three. The English schools have waiting lists of hundreds to over one thousand kids. By the time your kid gets to the top of the list s/he will be going off to college. Our only remaining options are a nanny or small group babysitter. But my main concern is that she learn English in a social setting, not just finding a sitter so I can work. So we have a few things to work out. Can we afford to have only one income, especially since we are still paying mortgage and taxes on our money pit house in NJ? And where can we find an English speaking group of children for Gianna to play with or English classes for her to attend? I already have a few leads on English children's groups that meet at local churches, but they are just play groups where the English speaking moms gossip and make fun of the Germans (hahaha) while the kids play. Yesterday I saw an ad for English classes for kids 6 months to 14 years that I will have to check out. I might also bring her home to the States for a few weeks this summer to attend camp at her former daycare with all her old friends.

Being a stay at home mom takes some getting used to. As long as we can afford my new espresso habit that keeps me from losing my mind, I think I can make the adjustment. It's a challenge to find activities for Gianna to do each day. We go shopping, go to the playground, make crafts, watch DVD's, cook, play with toys, and walk Bruno. But she gets bored, says she wants to be at school, play with other kids. Hopefully we can find her some little friends here fast.

Trip to the Palmgarten

Just a few pics from our trip to the Palmgarten this weekend. Its within walking distance to our house, so I'm thinking of buying a season pass. I'll start taking more/better pics once we replace the Nikon battery charger that got put into two year storage in CT!!! Still pissed about that one. Gianna was being cranky here and didn't want her picture taken. But she still looks cute.

Gianna in Germany

Friends often ask about Gianna's well being and development, especially during this transition. I usually cut it short with “she's adjusting well”. So here are a few more details in case you are interested.

1. Since her toy shipment has not arrived yet, she spends most of the day watching the same four Vietnamese DVD's, reading the same four books, or watching SpongeBob Schwammkopf.
2. She is fascinated with birds (chím! chím!) and loves to chase pigeons, which she used to call gà (chicken in Vietnamese).
3. Ever since her NJ daycare class made moon and star crafts. she has an obsession with moons.
4. She likes to put everything on coasters.
5. She is trying to teach Bruno how to sign “more” when he is done eating his dog food.
6. She can write the letter “O”, spell Bó and Mẹ, and can read the words Bó, Mẹ, Bruno, and Gianna.
7. She counts to 10 in Vietnamese and recites the ABC's in English.
8. Her latest antics include hiding things, then asking “where'd go?”. This can get annoying.
9. She has tried German beer, apple wine, and coffee, but only liked the coffee.
10. She likes to sing on the train, loudly for all to hear, usually an off-pitched rendition of the ABC's which makes old German ladies scowl.
I was disappointed to see her toys did not make it over in the air shipment except for one blocks set and her SpongeBob ball. Dan went out and bought a bunch of art supplies to hold her over until the sea shipment arrives in 1-2 months. I'm also thinking of checking out the local library to see if they have any kids books in English...or Vietnamese.

Gianna watching one of four Vietnamese DVD's that made it to Germany
Bruno watching Gianna watching Vietnamese DVD's

Food—Guter Geschmack Ist!

Life on Oederweg has so far been about the food. Even as I type at the internet cafe, I'm getting cappuccino and biscotti all over the keyboard. There are three bakeries within a block of our house and an espresso cafe. Today I took Gianna on a pastry/espresso run. Although I was tempted to get another almond horn that puts its American counterpart to shame, I got a chocolate nutella pastry (pictured) that Dan introduced me to yesterday. I didn't think I was a fan of nutella, as people have always served it to me on Wonder bread or straight out of the jar, both yuck in my book. But in a pasty, its delicious. The espresso bar has too many stairs out front to get the stroller up, so people just leave the baby and stroller outside while they go in to order their caffeine fix. Today I tried this with Gianna. She stood guard in the stroller with all our groceries and I was back in less than two minutes without a fuss. There's also a beer store on our block, much to Dan's delight. He has been trying all kids of rich German brews.



Our food adventures continue at the grocery store. I have hunted down milk, yogurt, and sour cream with 0.1% milk fat. Processed foods are much more expensive here than staples, so we have switched from cold cereal to muesli for breakfast. Diet coke comes in lemon with vitamin C and green tea flavors. We've yet to try the green tea but the vitamin C lemon is pretty good. They sell many types of pasta that I prepare with the tomato paste in a toothpaste tube. I don't know if its the tube packaging or better tomatoes, but this European paste is more delicious than any American brand I have tried. We were even able to track down some chips and salsa, but both are prohibitively expensive and not that tasty. I guess we will have to savor the Mexican food when we are back in the States.

On the weekends, we have been enjoying the local restaurants with our friends. Gianna inhales anything Asian. On Sunday we shared an amazing lychee curry at a Thai restaurant. Last week we ate at an Italian restaurant where I ordered gnocchi stuffed with cheese served with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and arugula. Gianna ate at least half of it. My liver is thanking her but my taste buds are scolding me for not moving to Germany sooner! Also this weekend we went to a traditional German restaurant where I got a gigantic pork chop with sauerkraut. It was good, but my Grandma used to make comparable cuisine, minus the apple wine accompaniment. Apple wine can best be described as alcoholic sparkling apple cider, without all the sparkle. Its very refreshing. The dogs even got to come along to this restaurant. The waitress gave Bruno and Darth each a sausage and Bruno spent most of the night sitting in Gianna's stroller waiting for food to drop. He's really aching for his turn to ride around in her chariot while Gianna walks on the leash!