Karnival > Halloween

The Germans have recently (the last 10 years or so) the American holiday of Halloween. From what I've seen it is more of a amusement )or reason to have a party) to them than an actual holiday. At first I was surprised that they didn't enjoy it more, it feels like it would be something they would like. But I have recently learned why. Because they have something better... they have Karnival!

A story of Hair and water

So just in case all the guys out there are not familiar with a certain unpleasantness that comes from living with a woman I'm going to fill you in, ladies should be mostly aware of this already. Woman apparently have this uncontrollable, and at times gross, ability to shed. Now I'm not talking "oh look a few hairs are stuck in my brush", no I'm talking "dear god! Where did this miniature Cousin It come from and why is it trying to attack me?!"

Schlittschuhfahren!

Our little outdoor rink

The holiday season has ended here in Germany (and still no snow in BS), which means no more Weihnachtsmarkts. Though before the end of Mariko's vacation from work we wanted to go ice-skating, as the outdoor rink here was almost ready to close down. So we check the times and price and headed into Downtown BS!

When Germans get together.....

Tis the Christmas season around the world, and here in Germany that is an important holiday. Mariko's lab held a small (unofficial) Christmas party on Tuesday night, as usual it was potluck style (most of the food was desserts). Mariko and I brought an Apple Coffee Cake.... and I won't mention how Mariko got the date wrong of the party and we were scrambling to get something made in time! Ahem... oops. Honestly though it wasn't too bad, and Mariko came home for lunch to help me make it!! I was happy with that so I'm not going to complain.

Holiday Season- BS style

The Holiday season is upon us now, and seems to be rushing ever closer (as it is prone to do) though here in Germany it has a whole different feel.

Germany in a week!

Fun Berlin Graffiti

As most of you know my dad was able to visit Mariko and I while we are here in Germany. And since it was his first visit to Europe he wanted to see as much as possible. Sadly our trips were all situated in Germany, as we only had one week and were coming and going from Braunschweig. But of course there is plenty to see in Germany, so I had planned as much as I could for him.... this is how our week went:

Life is a game

Mariko and I have met some good friends during our stay in Marburg, though they all tended to be of varied personalities (which is nice, I always enjoy variety). The nice thing about making friends, other than the obvious thing of having friends, is that people come and visit. And one such visit happened to us once more over the weekend. That's right we've had 3 friends stay with us now, and this time was Kirsten. She is the oldest of the three visitors, and closest to my age, so rather laid back and enjoys talking..... we get along nicely.

Kirsten decided to visit us Saturday night. Her train got in late, but she is quite the night owl so it was fine (I made Mariko take a nap so she would stay up longer). We walked home, got comfy, made ourselves some drinks (vodka and apple juice proved very yummy) and started playing our new board game: Das Spiel des Lebens.... aka The Game of Life!

Bureaucractic fun

Germany is a funny country about certain things. And when I say funny I mean they are anal retentive about certain things..... and some of those things they also suck at handling... take bureaucracy for instance. The Germans are horrible at handling things of that nature.... kinda of reminds me of Futurama. If you have not seen any of the episodes of Futurama that deal with bureaucracy let me give you this short video to give you an idea:

I feel as if Germans give you paperwork solely on the basis that they like paperwork. One instance is registering your TV, because guess what? In Germany there is a TV tax, you have to pay a tax just to own a TV. They may come to your door and actually ask you how many TVs you own, and you will have to pay taxes on each one.

BSing it up

So Mariko and I have a friend, a fun friend, and her name is Mary. And Mary lives in Düsseldorf. Now Mary was feeling a little lonely and sad. So what did she do? Thats right she came to the happening city of Braunschweig to hang with us!

It was a long train ride for her, 5+ hours aboard regional trains all the way here. But she survived and arrived here in good spirits. Of course Mariko and I picked her up from the train station, and since it was dinner time we all elected to go out to dinner on our way home. The restaurant Mariko picked was of course not "on the way home" but it was our favorite restaurant so far. We had a good walk and a good dinner, though we were the last customers of the night, so we felt a little bad as we were leaving. We got home, popped in some BBT (Big-Bang Theory for those of you who don't know) and just relaxed for the rest of the evening.... which wasn't too long as it was late and everyone had a long day.

The feel of Fall

So finally Fall has made its way to BS! During most of our time here in Germany has been with hot summer weather, so Mariko and I have been looking forward to some cooler weather.... and hoping that we have an actual Fall (unlike Colorado most years).  And of course our Fall started with some REALLY cold weather. We went from one day being short-sleeve weather to the next being jacket and scarf weather. It was raining and blustery for a few days, making us worry a bit... but luckily it warmed up for a few days once more.

The weather since then has slowing been getting more fall like each day. Now it truly feels like Fall out! The skies are mostly cloudy for the whole day, but grey clouds that hint at rain... not the dark boiling clouds that promise to soak you. Add to that the wind that is almost constant.... which varies from a light breeze to strong wind. But any wind makes it difficult if its raining, because if you are attempting to use an umbrella then the wind will either turn it inside out are try to wrestle it out of you hands.

Pizza, Movies and Visitors.. oh my!

The day was Sunday October 9th, 2011. The time was approximately 4:15pm. The place... Braunschweig, Germany. The event... Mariko and I had our first visitor to our German apartment!! Our friend Rachel lives in Göttingen, which is 40ish minutes SW of us by ICE (high-speed train), decided that she wanted to visit us poor lonely folk in good ol' BS. And of course we were quite ecstatic to have her over.

We picked her up from the train station, and even though it was the coldest day that we have been here (not Colorado cold, just windy cold) it was a pleasant walk back home. Luckily we had an idea that she might be visiting, so we had plenty of food for the 3 of us. We made Flat-bread pizza, which actually turned out rather well! Mariko and Rachel did the cutting of all our toppings: Pineapple, Mushrooms, Garlic, Green Peppers, Onions and of course Pepperoni!

Dining out

So Mariko and I have decided that every Friday night will go out to eat. We want to be able to try new restaurants and experience more of what Braunschweig has to offer. I won't talk too much about our first attempt, suffice to say though it was expensive for soggy onion rings and bland schnitzel strips... not fun.

However our second attempt was MUCH better. Our original goal was to try one of the Mexican restaurants here in town, and it was rather simple to find (as I've been scoping the city out). However we looked at the menu and saw two problems... First was the price. It was a little more expensive than we would have liked to spend, each meal costing between 10-14 Euro per plate. Secondly, and most important, it wasn't safe for Mariko as they had molé!

So with that option removed, we had decided on walking back home and choosing something along the way. And as luck would have it we spotted an Italian restaurant almost immediately... it was about 3 building over from the Mexican place. We checked out the menu: It was safe and prices looked decent! Our restaurant had been decided!

Home Sweet Home

So Mariko and I have arrived in our new home for the next 10ish months or so. It was a rather smooth transition from Marburg to Braunschweig.... mainly because we did the move in two trips. But it was still sad to leave Marburg and all our new friends. Our train left around 9:50 and we were on the same train to Hanover as two other couples, Gabe & Leighanna and Caetlynn & Tyson. We weren't next to them, but I was still able to walk back and talk to them during the ride (Mariko was sleeping as usual).

Once we made it into Braunschweig we were greeted by Tobi, Mariko's supervisor, once again. He drove us home and helped us drop off our luggage.... and then was kind enough to take us to IKEA for some essentials. And this was both of our first time in IKEA!! I'm curious to compare a German IKEA to an American IKEA.... have to check one out back in the states to see if anything is different. We got mostly kitchen and bathroom things, as we brought nearly everything else with us.... if you're surprised you should have helped us carry our luggage, then you may not be.