Nativity

I had a bit of a break down when my Mom was here.  I was have been so frustrated lately.  All I want right now is some stability, I want to know what tomorrow's going to look like.  I know it's impossible but I do wish I had some idea of what the future held for us.  

Jon and I have been in such a state of flux for the last few years.  We went from having our own home in CO, to renting one of my Dad/Step-mom's houses in TX, to having our own home in TX, to staying in a bedroom at my Dad/Stepmom's house, to a bedroom in Jon's parents house, to a small flat in Germany.  Our transient lifestyle hasn't been ideal but it's this time of year - Christmas - that I upsets me the most.  Our Christmas stuff has been packed up for years and for whatever reason I've felt like our Christmas traditions have been packed up as well.  We haven't been able to put up our tree, with our silly little ornaments.  We haven't been able to hang our Christmas stockings and our lights.  But this year we are trying really hard to get back some of our traditions even if all of our stuff is still packed away.

Here's where my Mom comes in.  I have ALWAYS loved her Nativity.  It is gorgeous!!  It is made from all white porcelain and isn't painted at all.  She always cuts fresh branches from the evergreen and she decorates it with white lights.  I could sit and stare at it for hours.   Because it is so stark it doesn't tell the whole story and it allows the viewer to paint the rest of the picture.  I told my Mom ages ago that when she dies, I'd really like to have her Nativity, but if she wanted to get rid of it sooner I'd be more than willing to take it off her hands.  So of course my Mom has been trying to get my grubby little fingers off her Nativity for the next few decades and has been on a search to find me one of my own.  

While it's nowhere as gorgeous as my Mom's - I love it!  We found it at the Christmas Market in Berlin.  I love that it's made out of natural wood, that it will be easy for us to pack up and take with us wherever our path may take us.  Just like my Mom's Nativity it allows the viewer to paint the rest of the picture.  It's simple, it's rustic - I love it!

Here is our Christmas window sill, with our little Santa, two red Christmas candles, and last but surely not least our Nativity.

Charmian

Heading to Berlin

This morning turned out to be an eventful one.  We were heading to Berlin today and our dog sitter had a change of plans and wasn't going to be able to puppy/house-sit after all.  So there we were scheduled to catch a train in 4 short hours and we don't have anyone to take care of the girls.  Jon was asking some of his classmates while I hopped online to see what I could dig up.  The marrieds made it over to our flat all packed up and ready to go.  I told them about our little predicament and the boys went into fix-it mode while the girls helped with the puppy arrangements, the kids, and tying up the loose ends around the flat.

Have I mentioned in the last few posts how much I love these people!!!!

If you haven't gotten it, let me tell you again - I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!!  They are amazing!

So the boys headed to the train station to take all the bags and to pick up some dog food.  They dropped the bags off in lockers so we would have one less thing to think about when we were trying to board the tram - all 5 adults, 4 kids, and 3 strollers worth.  After that they headed back to our flat just in time for us to pack everyone up and head back to the train station.

We were all go, go, go, until we got to the train station and found out we couldn't take the train we were planning on - so we grabbed a bite and hopped a squat.  Jon was finally able to catch up with us after he got the dogs taken care of with the kennel (they actually came to the flat and picked them up, they didn't speak any English but luckily Jon's German is better than he lets on.)

We caught the train and enjoyed our short ride to Berlin.  We managed to get off and out to the taxis with only a little sweat off our brows.  Jon, and the Reps were in the first taxi and I was with the Enfumes in the second.  Jon's taxi pulled away and that's when our taxi driver told us the babies couldn't go.  I guess this afternoon was pretty eventful too.

Jeremy - My protector
Photo by Kendra

I quickly called Jon and told him our predicament.  He told me to take Jeremy (not Heather because he wanted Jeremy to be there to protect me - isn't he sweet) and catch a tram to the flat we were renting in Berlin.

Okay switch on Amazing Race mode:
First objective - find where we are on the map.
Second objective - find where we want to be on the map.
Third objective - find the trams that run from point A to point B.
Fourth objective - find the place that sells tram tickets.
Fifth objective - figure out what tickets we need to buy.
Sixth objective - catch the tram.
Seventh objective - get a beverage!

Done and Done!!!

Watch out Berlin, here we come!!!

After One Month

Every once in a while I need to recap the things that I've done, otherwise the following happens...

1. I seem to forget everything I did

2. I soon loose sight of where I am at

Hence, I shall now partake in a recapitulation of the things that have been absorbing my time over the last month. (A small side note, I have been reading a lot of FREE classic novels on the Kindle, so please pardon my loquacious use of the English language.)

At the airport:

I am the guy who travels a lot. Therefore, I am generally the jerk who complains when the mother with 2 kids (mit kinderwagen) is in line to go through security in front of me.

My turn. It only took 1 hour to check in at the airport. Not bad considering the passenger manifest included the following...

- Jon

- Charmy

- Oma

- Alessandra

- Dot

- Ripley

and..........

- 9 checked pieces of luggage! (By the way, only an additional $600 for the two dogs and extra baggage...not too bad in my opinion.)

Lesson learned. Don't complain about the poor mom, by herself, with two kids and two strollers.

Frankfurt:

We all made it safely...almost. Only one casualty, of which I don't have a photo. But needless to say, the stroller arrived in two pieces, neither of which could not be reconnected to the other. Thank you Lufthansa for the new stroller to replace the....oh yeah, new stroller!

Made it into the van (more like a bus) and 6 hours later arrived in Leipzig. All the bags found their way upstairs, and after another two hours of driving around...rental bus returned!!

Leipzig:

I was gone the first week teaching English in Jena. I have no idea what transpired except for a trip to Ikea.

We did make it to the Nikolaikirche for a concert, which I hope Oma enjoyed. The organ in the church is pretty magnificent.

Nikolaikirche

The next thing I remember is a concert at the Thomaskirche. It was pretty great too!

Thomaskirche - Leipzig

That is about all in Leipzig.

Berlin:

What can I say other than it was a very unique trip. This was Oma's last weekend in town so we decided to head to Berlin so she could see somewhere other than Leipzig, and also because she was flying out of the airport there.

We had a really great time. There was the opportunity to go see a couple of nice historical things, such as Schloss Charlottenburg, The Brandenburg Tor and the Berliner Dom, which we all enjoyed.

Chamy ended up having to leave early to head home so she could unlock the door for our dog sitter. Apparently it all worked out, she is still here and the dogs are sleeping in the chair behind me.

I was able to catch a couple of photos while we were there, though I am sure that Oma, Charmy and A would have preferred not sitting around for so long while they waited on me.

Berliner Dom by Night

OC&A in front of the Berliner Dom

Schloss Charlottenburg Gates

JC&A in front of the Berliner Dom

Schloss Charlottenburg - From the royal gardens

Low and behold, we were able to get Charmy back to Leipzig to let the dogs in, Oma to the airport so she could head home and still have enough time in between to enjoy a drink or two while wandering around Hackescher Markt enjoying the Berlin skyline during the blue hour.

I think that brings me to today, or perhaps the rest has already been purged from my short term files (not really, but the rest has simply been school related, and Charmy has been doing a delightful job keeping everyone up-to-date).

Hence, have an enjoyable weekend, and until next time...... Tschüss!

City Dogs

Alessandra's second train ride happened sooner than we were expecting.  We were sitting in church at the Berliner Dome when Jon got a text.  The dog sitter locked himself out with the girls.  Jon told me he had to leave and I told him that didn't make any sense.  Why would he leave to take the train back to Leipzig to let the dog sitter in just to turn around and come back to Berlin to see Oma off.  The solution was simple.  I leave with Alessandra and go save the dog sitter and Jon stay behind and spend the day with his mom in Berlin.

We said our goodbyes and Alessandra and I got on the train.  Just a little while later we got off to see my two little girls in the train station.  I was so proud.  They weren't barking or nervous or anything.  They were jumping around with their tails a wagging generally glad to see me, but otherwise acting like happy little City Dogs!   

The girls with the "Dog Sitter"

Charmian

Firsts

Train Ride