Living in Germany: Six Months in the Making

Abby captured this photo in our backyard

Is it almost August, already? I think back to last January and it seems as though we were just packing up our belongings and boarding a plane for Germany. But then again, a lot has happened since then and I often find myself needing to slow down and smell the roses.

I'm currently sitting in a McCafe in Saarbrucken, Germany. I've just gotten off a bus from the city and country of Luxembourg where I spent a final day and evening with my twin sister, Abby, before giving her a somewhat tearful goodbye this morning. I have a two hour "layover" before my train to Heidelberg, and then another hour until my train home. It was a wonderful month with my sister. We have been best friends since birth and been through almost every major and minor life event together and everything in between except for the last two years when she went to grad school in Saint Louis and I stayed in Indianapolis and now Germany. Now she is moving to Denver and I will move back to Indy; we are not sure when the next time will be that we actually live in the same city. So for her to spend a month here with me before starting her job and moving to Denver was amazing. It's the most time we have spent together since we went to Costa Rica two years ago after undergrad graduation. Anyways, it was fun to play "twins" for a month; we even bought the exact same shirt (color and all) yesterday.

Yes- we actually danced on stage!

For my own memory's sake, in the last six months, I've quit my job, moved to Germany, visited about 15-20 new cities and countries, met Derek's German family (now mine), finished planning a wedding, got an internship, returned to the USA for four weeks, went to Florida for a week and married my best friend, returned to Germany and spent four days in Sicily before picking up my sister for a month-long stay where we spent two nights in Munich, four days in Switzerland and enjoyed many wonderful dinners, festivals and glasses of wine. Derek and I have been on many adventures- we've skied in the German Alps, biked around the backstreets of Paris, and even slow-danced on stage at a wine fest to German folk music. We've had our share of adventure, but we're not finished yet!

To start with, we are in the process of acquiring my residence permit so I don't feel illegal. To clarify: I am not here illegally; I'm still on a tourist allowance. But I'll feel better once I have my paper saying that I can stay. Currently, we are having our marriage license translated into an international paper- a costly venture. 

I am also extremely excited to welcome my parents to Deutschland and Europe for a 1.5 week visit in September. It's their first time out of the country, so I look forward to making it a wonderful experience for them and I have no doubt that it will be anything but great! We are going to London for a night then visiting the University of Evansville sister college of Harlaxton Manor near Grantham, England. (My dad works at UE). Then it's back to Germany for a few days before heading to Munich and Salzburg for a long weekend. I'm packing the itinerary full!

The two largest trips that Derek and I have declared as "must-haves" during the rest of our time here are Rome and Sevilla, Spain. As an engineer, Derek is greatly looking forward to the architectural history of the Roman capital. And since I spent four amazing months in Sevilla while in college, I want to share the city with Derek. And eat some delicious paella while at it.

What I've Learned So Far

• It's OK to not be on the go constantly. Although it seems like we are, I've learned that during the week while Derek is at work, it's alright that I'm not constantly up to something. I learned this during my first month of arriving.
• You can get anywhere by public transit.
• Bringing our cat to Germany was the best decision ever!
• I can drink a liter of beer if I must.
• America needs more vacation days. They have a minimum of 24 in Germany.
• Not everything will go your way, but just roll with the punches. It's not the end of the world.
• Germany enjoys all genres and ages of music. I've heard more American oldies here than I've ever heard in America. 
• Bread is a staple to every diet and enjoying it with coffee at any part of the day is completely acceptable.
• If beer and wine are cheaper than water, why order water?
• The German language is very difficult to learn, but I need to try harder.
• I eat way more sausages then I ever thought possible.

What I Know for Sure

• Kaffee und kuchen is a tradition we are bringing home.
• If you don't put yourself out there, what's the point? ( I love this quote from a favorite movie, We Bought A Zoo, "All it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage")
• I'm losing (somewhat) my fear of spiders! (thanks to our furry child)
• With a smile on your face and kindness in your voice, you can get through almost any uncomfortable or difficult situation.
• I am so lucky to have this amazing experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything and I still can't figure out why we have been so blessed.

What's Left on My Never-Ending List

• Become conversational in German
• Brush up my Spanish while I'm at it
• Visit Rome, Spain, and the rest of Europe
• Tour a winery
• Visit Berlin and northern Germany
• Hike the Melibokus (the highest mountain in our backyard)
• Go on a natural adventure- camping, whitewater rafting, paragliding, etc.
• Race for the Cure in Frankfurt in September
• Learn to drive the BMW (this may be a stretch)
• Pick grapes at the vineyards for the wine harvest
• Tour the family bakery in Oberstenfeld
• Gain more experience to add to my resume for my future career
• Read some books that make me think
• Cook Thanksgiving dinner for our German friends

And the list goes on....

Have an idea? Let me know! Leave a comment in the section below or email me at: courtney.logel@gmail.com
If you're reading this as an email, click the Life as I Know It link and it will take you to the blog site.

Two Nights in Munich: The City of Biergartens & Surfers

Munich provided a great side trip for a weekday adventure. Voted as the city that most Germans would love to live in,  it is so modern, with fashionable stores, great transportation, and endless restaurants, but is also very traditional with its bier gartens, thriving Viktualienmarkt and lively Marienplatz. We stayed in Munich for two nights and about 2.5 days. Without going to the museums, we had plenty of time to explore the city, its well-known treasures and the endless green space of the Englischer Garten.

Abby and I took the 8am train from Zwingenberg to Munich on Tuesday morning. We had to change trains one time, in Darmstadt, and arrived in Munich around lunchtime. We stayed at a Rick Steve's recommended pension in the heart of the city- Pension Linder, and although there was much construction right out our window, it was a great stay with a delicious breakfast and a lovely host.

Our room at the pension. We had our own shower but shared a toilet.

On Tuesday we strolled around the city, stopping at the famous and eye-appealing Viktualienmarkt market and its beer garden for a famed Munchen beer. We walked among the fruit, vegetable, honey, meat, cheese and flower stands and marveled at the wide variety of produce sold. I've read that this market, located on prime real estate, has been alive for so long and is such a tradition of Munich that the store owners only pay a small part of their profits to the city. We even walked past the market another day around 10:30am and there were several locals enjoying a beer- I guess it's never too early for beer in Bavaria!

The very popular  Viktualienmarkt 

We spent the rest of Tuesday exploring the streets of Munich by climbing the tower at St.Peter's church (only 2 Euro), visiting the famed Marienplatz, home to the Glockenspiel, and walking to the Englischer Garten, the largest urban park in Europe. We passed the large meadow, called the Schönfeldwiese, filled with students throwing Frisbee, dogs playing fetch and nude sun bathers flaunting their stuff. Yes, it's legal. We stopped for dinner at the Chineseischer Turm, a famous bier garten next to the large Chinese Pagoda resembling the original built in the late 1700's but burnt down during the war. Here we tried curry wurst, potato salad and a gigantic pretzel. One thing I love about the bier gartens in Munich is the way that you order your food. You go to the beer counter and pick up the beer you would like to drink, usually served in .5L or 1L mugs, and then you choose any food you want to eat. You take your entire selection to the Kasse (cash register) and pay for your meal. Now I'm not the world's biggest beer lover and neither is Abby (at all!), but when you are visiting a city of beer, you must join in. After our dinner and meeting some people from Indianapolis, we made our way to the city center for some ice cream of course. This became a daily event while in Munich.

Abby overlooking Munich from the tower at St. Peter's church

Picking up our beer at the  Viktualienmarkt bier garten

Green space in the Englischer Garten

Beer, potato salad, pretzel and curry wurst (Note: We split this meal)

Sunset in the park

Maypole in the  Viktualienmarkt - it displays all the local brews being served

Beautiful church at sunset in Odeonplatz

Standing in Odeonplatz

With our bikes at Nymphenburg Palace

 On Wednesday, we awoke early and went to Mike's Bike Shop where we rented matching pink bike cruisers. To me, biking is usually the best way to see a large city. You can cover so much more ground than walking, and for 15 Euro, we rented bikes for the entire day. Out first destination was 30 minutes away: The Nymphenburg palace. This was a pretty palace and was the summer home of a royal family. We didn't explore it too much, but just walked the grounds a bit. Then we headed to Olympia Park, featuring all of the sport arenas and tower from the 1972 Olympic games. The park seemed nice, but it wasn't overly interesting. We then biked about one hour to the Englischer Gartens to a resting point at the Hirshau bier garten. Then I led us in a giant circle detour before finding the lake within the gardens. We snacked on some pommes frites and biked to the Eichbach stream where a wave in the river allows surfers to actually surf in the city. It was so neat to see! The surfers would take turns surfing; when one would fall into the river, another would take their place surfing the wave. There were about 8-10 guys in wet suits waiting their turn to get in. I'd say that this aspect of the city helps define it's laid back, enjoy-life type of feeling. After watching the surfers, we biked back to the bike shop and returned our bikes. It was definitely a great day and a wonderful way of exploring the outer regions of Munich. That night we visited the world-famous Hofbrau Haus, a famous beer hall filled with many tourists. It was definitely not my favorite atmosphere, especially since two different people approached us trying to sell us something. But, it was a good experience. We ended up sitting next to a retired couple from South America who live in New Jersey. We had great conversation with them and it was nice to meet friendly people!

Nymphenburg Palace

Abby at the palace lake

The beautiful Hofgarten

Olympia Park

Famous beer hall

Lake in the Englischer Gartens

Abby biking in the Hofgarten

Surfer at the Eisbach

Surfers catching the wave at the Eisbach river

For dinner, we found a cute restaurant showing the Euro Cup game of Spain & Portugal. We both ordered pasta, but Abby's contained spicy sausage, so of course, I had to switch our dinners. After getting ice cream, we returned to our hotel and finished watching the game. Before heading home on Thursday, we wondered the streets a bit more and made it the Marienplatz at 11am to watch the Glockenspiel dance. It lasted about 8 minutes and we enjoyed watching it come to life with the other hundreds of people in the plaza. During summer, the Glockenspiel performs at 11am, 12am and 5pm. It showcases almost life-size characters dancing in a wedding and wine celebration from long ago.

The Glockenspiel Performing

Overall, it was a great 2.5 days and definitely enough time to explore the city, taste several types of beer and take in the beauty of Munich. I look forward to taking my parents back to the city for a night in September- it contains many beautiful must-sees and must-dos.

The Move to Zwingenberg

After a whirlwind weekend in Paris, we are finally settled in to our new flat in Zwingenberg. After our train arrived from Paris to Mannheim around noon on Tuesday, we drove into the Odenwald to the cat pension and picked up Simba and the headed "home" to our new apartment.

Simba looking out the bedroom window

Side note: Simba was sleeping when we arrived at the pension. When he heard Derek and I whispering, he popped his head up right away and started meowing. He then proceeded to roll around on the floor as he usually does when he is happy. This made us smile as we had thought he might like the pension so much that he wouldn't want to go home.


We headed to our new apartment and after getting a few things unpacked, we went out to the town center for some lunch - a great German wurst- and started to climb the vineyards to see what the Weinwanderweg was all about. On May 1 vine owners set up tents along the trail and people walk from Zwingenberg to Heppenheim trying different wines and picnicking. We only walked about 1.5 km through the trails. This area is truly stunning and I'm not sure if my photos can do it justice. Maybe you should come visit us now to see for yourself? We do have an extra bedroom! We walked on the trail for a little while and then made our way through the town park and back to the apartment.

Walking along the wine trail in Zwingenberg

After a nice discussion with our landlady and her son, we enjoyed the sunset views of our new home for the next nine months. The place is definitely not perfect, but is very spacious, has a great location and has most of the stuff we need. For example, I went to heat up my dinner in the microwave a few nights ago. This led me to discover that we don't have a microwave. Interesting. But we will manage!

Yesterday I explored the town a bit and I must say, it is one of the cutest, quaint towns I have seen yet. The cobbled streets of the city center are filled with cafes and restaurants with outside seating next to fountains and trees. I even found a chocolate and wine cafe- sounds like heaven to me. There is a grocery store near the train station, which is only about a 13 minute walk from our flat. As in most parts of Germany, the houses are beautiful, the gardens are plentiful, and I even saw bright pink peonies in bloom. I think Zwingenberg will make a great home for us for the next nine months.

The entrance to our flat and our patio

This weekend is relaxing - on Friday night I had dinner with some friends from work and on Saturday Derek joined Marius at a Springfest (beer festival) in Stuttgart. He took the train back last evening and met me at a friends house for game night. Today we explored our backyard, literally, the Odenwald National Park. It is a very large hilly forested area that occupies several hiking trails, large valleys, streams, picnic tables, etc. I was in awe at the beauty right out our backdoor (It's a 1 minute walk to the park entrance from our flat). I am so excited to be able to explore this area - its a great place to spend one hour or five just hiking and exploring.

Next week is my last week of work before returning home on Sunday the 13. I am so excited to go home and finish last minute preparations for the wedding, and of course, to see everyone. After the wedding, we will return to Zwingenberg for a day before traveling to Sicily for four nights. Abby (my sister) will arrive the following Tuesday for one month. I must say, we have been blessed with a wonderful experience abroad, wonderful family and friends.

My Paris blog is almost ready, but due to slow Internet connectivity, I can't upload the photos. Hopefully sometime this week I'll have it up!

Our Last Week in Heppenheim

Well, the time has come for us to move out of our little Bergstrasse town among the vineyards and cobbled stone streets. We won't be moving far, however; we will be moving into another vineyard lined town with cobbled streets and sidewalk fountains, down the Bergstrasse to Zwingenberg.

On Friday evening we will meet our real estate agent, Gaby, and our landlords for a walk around the apartment and to receive the keys. However, we can't actually move in until Saturday at noon, so I am wondering if our walk-through on Friday evening will be clean, or dirty. I really don't want to see a messy, dirty apartment right before we move in, but here's hoping! Anyways, we are dropping our belongings off on Friday night to be stored at the new apartment, dropping Simba off on Friday night at the cat pension - an apartment for cats to stay at while their owners are away - and then sleeping at our place in Heppenheim until we drive to Mannheim at 5:30am to catch a 6:40am train to Paris on Saturday morning. Whew.

We will be in Paris for three nights - from Saturday until Tuesday. We will arrive back in Mannheim, pick up Simba, then head to our new place just in time for the holiday. Tuesday is Father's Day, and also a reason to celebrate spring and the vineyards. Since wine is ingrained into the German culture, most holidays and festivals have something to do with beer or wine. On next Tuesday, people will be at the vineyards in Zwingenberg (which is out our backdoor) and they walk through the vineyards to Heppenheim, all while tasting wine along the way at different wine huts.

On another note, Derek was very intrigued and really shocked by an email sent to the entire company from his boss. Through Google Translate, it reads:

Colleagues from the given occasion, I would like to reiterate that no one working day of 10 hours maximum may be exceeded.

Unfortunately, there was in the first quarter of this year already exceeded 17!

I am sure that you want to do something good for the company and therefore sometimes lose track of time.

Please take care in the future better for the 10 hours policy, we will pursue every transgression and accept no exception.

Why can't we live like this in America? Action will be taken if you work over 10 hours a day. I am not sure if every company in Germany breathes these same values, but I feel like his company has it figured out.

Last Weekend Recap

We kept it pretty low key last weekend and explored a few towns around us - Schwetzingen, Lindenfels and Michelstadt. Schwetzingen has a palace with acres and acres of manicured lawns, parks, statues, fountains, etc. We could have spent an entire day strolling the grounds, but the weather was moody and rain showers popped up out of the blue. So we spent the rest of Saturday at the mall in Viernheim. On Sunday our goal was to go hiking in the Odenwald (the forested hills around us) but after a 25 minute drive through the winding roads, I was fighting nausea. So we visited the castle at Lindenfels and toured the small town of Michelstadt, then headed home before making a quick stop at the self-cut tulip garden. Here are a few photos:

At the palace gardens

I was hoping this was a fleur de lis

Derek in the dome

A Turkish Garden

Garden walk

Fountain at the Bath House

This goose started honking and waddling towards Derek

Schwetzingen is known as a spargel town - asparagus everywhere!

Castle in Lindenfels

Overlooking the Odenwald

Castle in the Odenwald

Storm's approaching 

We made a stop at Derek's work

Michelstadt Town Hall

Famous Rathaus

Picking tulips in the "Self-Cut" field

Oh to be a Roman - A Visit to Germany's Oldest City

This weekend we visited the oldest city in Germany - dating back to the Roman empire. I've learned throughout the last month on our history adventures that the Romans not only occupied Italy and "Rome", but their empire spread throughout much of present-day Europe. I'm sure this sounds dumb to any history buff reading this, but I have definitely gained a new interest in the Roman history and methodology. Anyway, we went to Trier, Germany on Saturday morning. Only a two hour drive through the scenic hills, we arrived around noon and checked into our B&B. We stayed at Hotel Astoria, a quaint, welcoming and warm place that I found on Booking.com but is also recommended in Rick Steve's Germany Book. When we arrived, the owner gave us detailed directions to the parking garage and a map to guide us around Trier. We then received three keys and were able to visit three different rooms and decided which suited us the best. It was quite nice - I'm not sure many places care enough to actually let you pick out which room you'd like to stay in. That's what I love about B&B's - the owners work the front desk, serve the breakfast, and take a moment to get to know their guests. We had a very pleasant stay and I will certainly write a great review on TripAdvisor.

After checking into the B&B and drinking a nice welcome glass of champagne provided by the owners, we headed out to explore the city. We walked through the Hauptmarkt - a lovely market area with flower stands and pastries. Of course, pastries were the first thing on our list that had to be checked off. So we scurried around until Derek found the perfect pastry for his lunch-snack. Then we headed to the Porta Nigra, a large Roman gate (the only one left in Trier) dating from 186 to 200 Ad. It is the largest Roman gate North of the Alps and lasted through the Middle Ages. Today it is a World Heritage Site. This gate is definitely Trier's trademark and is a site that you can't miss. It's a wonderfully drastic mix of very old architecture in a new age.

After the Porta we wondered the streets, only to buy another pastry and stumble upon the Kaiserthermen - a large Roman structure that was supposed to be a thermal bathe, but was never completed. Romans sure knew how to live the good life - baths and chariot races and wine. It was pretty interesting to stand among the ruins and try to imagine what the bathes would have looked like or could have been. I think we decided that we'll definitely make a trip to Baden-Baden and experience the thermal bathes for ourselves.  After the Kaiserthermen we visited the Trier Dom - the oldest church in Germany. It was another beautiful church and is said to house the robe that Jesus wore.

Trier is surrounded by vineyards of the Mosel Valley - like many, many towns in Germany- and so of course we wanted to go wine tasting! We walked around and couldn't decide where to go. We finally decided to go back to the first Weinstube that we had found - Oechsle Wein & Fischhaus - and see what their tasting would be like. We were pleasantly surprised. For 15 euros, we were able to taste 120 wines - yes, 120 WINES. We were given a glass and a short tour of the stube. Each wine had its own description and photo of its maker. The wine that we could sample was in a cooler nearby. It was all self-serve for as long as you wanted. I liked most wines - but the Mosel region is definitely a white wine specialty (Rieslings for sure). I'm a fan of most reds, but some were pretty painful. Needless to say, it was an evening well spent. Including the Pizza Hut supreme pizza that we ate for dinner later on.

After a wonderfully German and fresh breakfast on Sunday, the owner of the hotel ( I think her name is Paula) suggested we visit Saarburg for the afternoon. We had one more stop until we left Trier- we visited the Roman Ampitheater - dated to the first century- it was used for gladiator and animal fights. We then headed to Saarburg - a cute little town in the Mosel Valley. There was even a waterfall and stream going through the town. It's quaint little towns like Saarburg that make me want to visit every small town in Germany. The Altstadt was alive with accordion players, Easter decorations and plentiful Eiscafes- so we of course indulged.  All in all, in was a great weekend. But Simba was excited to see us on Sunday evening and he had, of course, managed to eat all of his food and spill all of his water on the floor for us to clean when we got home.

Here's some photos of our trip:

A pastry tent - I think it was a fundraiser

Look what he found!

Standing in front of the Porta Nigra

The flowers in the marketplaces will never get old!

I can't wait for our new apartment so I can grow flowers outside so Simba won't eat them.

Derek in front of the old Roman gate - Porta Nigra

A portion of the Weinstube

Which wine to choose next?

                   It was wonderful - we were practically the only ones tasting with a private piano player.

Our great find: The Weinstube

I'm not ashamed of this dinner - it was amazing!

Standing in front of the Kaisertherman Roman Bathes

The architecture is still so amazing - notice the brick patterns.

Trier's Dom - the oldest Christian Church

The Roman Amphitheater of Trier

Derek in the amphitheater

Gelateria stop in Saarburg

Lovely town of Saarburg

The Saarburg Castle

The Saarburg waterfall

View of the valley from the Saarburg Castle