Hauswirtschaftsleiterin

Boxes of Stuff

It took about 7 weeks, but all our worldly belongings finally made it to Germany! We had them shipped by boat, which takes forever. Every day, I longed for a sharp kitchen knife and a sauce pan. And I can’t wait to get my rocking chair put together. The floor in this apartment is ridiculously hard.

There were a few small damages to larger furniture items, but everything packed in a box looks good. What I didn’t see coming, was electric problems. Before we left the US, I went around and checked a bunch of electronics. My computer? Check. Monitor? Check. Various other things? Check. Everything else? Forgot to check!

So here is a comprehensive list of all the electronics we shipped three thousand miles, and can not currently use.

• Rice cooker
• Bread maker
• Computer speakers
• UPS battery backup
• Laser printer

I was hoping to avoid getting a voltage converter, but it looks like we’re going to need one. I hate converters.

But enough of that! Time to make some sauerkraut!

Germany just won against Portugal in the European Cup. It’s very loud outside.

When we lived in New York, laundry involved several awful steps. And it was always awful. Not so bad that we didn’t do laundry when necessary, but bad enough for me to start whining the day before. Soul-sucking boredom. And folding was a pain too, because it meant you had no choice but to stand near Really Annoying Guy.

Stuttgart doesn’t seem to have many laundromats at all, so we really needed a washing machine quickly. But washing machines are expensive, so I spent several days researching our options. It had to be small, because our hookups are in a tiny corner of our bathroom. So small, that if you were to plot the depths of all the washers and dryers on the market, we’d be left with the smallest third of the “small washers” market. 58 centimeters is not a lot of room.

You are probably aware that we had the option of stacking a dryer on top of the washer, but what you might not know, is that they make washer-dryer machines that are all in one! You just stick your clothes in, add detergent, and set some options. Bam! Some hours later, you have clean, dry clothes! We wanted one. And it was cheaper than buying two machines.

Well, long story short, we got one. It’s sitting in our bathroom right now. It’s glorious. We’ve only washed three loads so far, but it’s perfect. We’re still experimenting with the options. Oh, and it has a timer to delay the start until later, so you can launder overnight if you wish. The only downside is that washing takes at least three times as long as it used to. The Cotton cycle with drying can be almost four hours long!

But it seems to do a great job. And we don’t have to leave our apartment to do laundry. And it looks kick-ass. There’s a display that tells us how much time is left, the current cycle mode, and error messages when you try to mess with it. And the spin cycle sounds like a fighter jet. A quiet fighter jet.

I’ve stopped whining about laundry day.

I don’t mean to be dramatic, but there’s a chance we’ll be without internet for several days. I realize, moms, that this isn’t what you wanted for your children. You taught us to call early, with plenty of time to have a technician set up the modem.

We called a couple days before we moved. We ordered DSL service from O2 and assumed that the internet package would arrive in about a week. That’s what we deserve for ordering late; a few days of stealing internet from neighbors!

When we moved in, the previous tenant (who we knew) was boxing up his modem, and said “Hey guys, did you order internet already?” And we said yes. So he called the company to see if they could just switch our service to his modem. Unfortunately, that was too complicated. So in an act of great kindness, he left his modem with us. It was already paid, so it didn’t cost anyone anything.

After a week of not hearing from the company, I called their hotline.

“Sprechen Sie Englisch?” No.

“Sprechen Sie Englisch?” No.

FINE.

I walked to an O2 store and talked to them about it. The lady offered to call them herself. Some words were exchanged.

“When did you sign up?”

“Last week”

“Last week??”

Apparently, one week is waaaaay too short to expect a telecom company to set up a service. Silly Americans! They need at least three weeks. THREE WEEKS?! So we’ll probably have to return our borrowed modem before our new modem arrives.

Anyway, if anyone wants to mail us a care package filled with internet, we’d both appreciate your kindness.

We’ve moved! We’re finally out of the 20 square meter temporary apartment, and are now comfortably spread out in a fantastic place in the city center. Awesome. We have no furniture or dishes, but that’s okay.

Anyway, when we moved in, we were pleased to see that the apartment had fancy modern light fixtures.

Modern Light Fixture

It’s reminiscent of the Dada movement from the 1920’s.

Just kidding. German apartments don’t come with light fixtuers, because (as it was explained to me) “What happens if you move in, and you don’t like the light fixtures?”

The same is apparently true for kitchens. Some apartments do not come with a kitchen; only the hookups that make kitchens possible. Luckily, our apartment has one built in.

Our New Kitchen

Everything is very modern and new. The wall behind where I took the kitchen photo, is completely covered in large windows. And the hallway is wide and welcoming. I think we did well.

I realize I haven’t been posting much. I’ve been working on my CV and general job search stuff. That takes way more time than you’d think.

Anyway, I was about to break into my Belgian Beer Stash when I realized I hadn’t posted about it yet! So without further ado, I present you with the list of amazing (I hope) Belgian beers. Those of you who appreciate the Stille Nacht (Ryan) may appreciate the De Dolle beers I found.

Belgian Beer Haul

It doesn’t look like much for those of you with cars, but we were cursing them by the time we got home.

And for the sake of completeness, here are the beers we sampled while in Belgium.

• Orval
• Orval Verte
• Kasteelbier Bruin
• St. Bernard Brouwerij Grottenbier Bruin
• Maes Pils (this was more or less an accident)
• Leffe Blonde
• Brasserie Dubuisson Bush Amber
• De Koninck (original)
• Tongerlo Brune 6 deg.
• Tongerlo Blonde
• Brouwerij Bosteels Pauwel Kwak

Delicious.

Now it’s time to go to a “Vegan Festival”. Because we’re adventurous.

Orval Beer in Chalice

There are six remaining Trappist monasteries in Belgium that brew beer: Westvleteren, Orval, Rochefort, Chimay, Achel, and Westmalle. And the beer they brew is delicious. It’s so delicious that tourism for these places has grown fairly high in recent years. This has prompted the monasteries to build small restaurant outlets for tourists to treat as a destination, and sample the beer and cheese they make. My brother and I visited a few of these places some years ago, but we missed Orval. So I was excited to add Orval to the list.

We stopped at a local restaurant in the town of Orval, before we arrived at the brewery. We didn’t know it at the time, but the monastery was about 100 meters down the street. Anyway, the first thing to do was try the beer. They only make one kind, but after the drought of flavorful beers, it tasted phenomenal.

Next, we toured the ruins of the old monastery before it burnt to the ground during the French Revolution.

Orval Ruins

They were pretty awesome. I read all the signs, which taught me that the Orval logo (a fish holding a ring in its mouth) was based on a legend. Apparently, a countess (or someone like that) dropped her ring in some body of water, and after praying that she’d find it again, a fish brought it to her. I’m telling it badly. But that prompted the countess person to give a ton of money to the nearby monks, who started the monastery.

We got to tour a little building that explained how they make beer. They only sell one kind, but they also make a lighter beer called “Verte” (or “Green”) that the monks drink. It’s not for sale, but you can taste it in the cafe nearby.

Orval Verte. Comes with green writing!

The Verte was a bit odd. It tasted like it was brewed with herbs. I liked it okay. At least it was different; I have a lot of respect for beer that’s different.

Before we left, we picked up a 6-pack of Orval and a block of delicious hard cheese. The beer is sitting on a bench in our apartment. I’m doing my best to resist drinking one.

Here is a box containing sauerkraut juice with some apple thrown in. My body can’t decide whether to gag, or convulse.

Tastes like someone threw bad meat into the fruit juice

It’s pretty awful. I think if they hadn’t put apple juice in it, I could drink it. But the “it’s juice, but then we added rotting things!” notion has failed here. Back to the drawing board.

No sense in throwing it away yet! It’s time to trick Alissa. Just wait till she comes home! Nobody call her!

Last Thursday was a national holiday, so we took a four day vacation and went to Brussels. I’ve been sorting through my photos, trying to pick a photo that best describes the adventure and culture.

So many snack possibilities

Mr. and Ms. Kreckel, our driving trip friends, wouldn’t stop at all the gas stations between Germany and Brussels. So we had to compromise, and buy all our snacks here. I got “bolganiese” flavored chips. Alissa got some meat snacks. They were selling huge tubs of loose “American Tobacco”. I would have gotten one, but we haven’t yet taken up smoking.

Anyway, it was a huge success. We ate everything we bought, plus all the snacks the Kreckels purchased for themselves. Sliced meats, gummy bears, chips, chocolate hearts; pretty much all food related items that ended up in the back seat were consumed. We’re pretty proud of ourselves.