Hiking Trip

Today Brian and I headed out of Frankfurt to go on a day hike! It was a gorgeous day, and the fall leaves are really colorful right now. While we were on the train, a couple sat near us in hiking attire. It turned out that they were meeting another couple to hike the same trails as Brian and me, so we tagged along with the four of them and had a great day! We hiked to the top of a couple of hills for some great views, and the last hill had a delicious restaurant at the top. After a rewarding meal of schnitzle, we went back to one of the couple's apartments for tea. I'm really excited to have new German friends who live in the area!

Our new friends, Linda, Miriam, Stefan, and Konstantine at the restaurant after a good day of hiking

Eins...Zwei...DREI!!

We received our shipments last week! It was like Christmas in October - like in most department stores :) We hadn't seen a lot of our belongings since October 2007! I think the German movers thought I was crazy because I'd yell "WOOHOO!" from the kitchen and then come running into the living room with a thermos.

Before the movers arrived - government furniture only

After the movers came! Stuff EVERYWHERE - but we have everything!!

More stuff in the guest bedroom

More in the master bedroom

Yay for kitchen stuff!

Because some of our kitchen stuff was packed in Islamabad, it had this film of dirt on it from the Pakistani packing paper (Pak-ing paper). I hand rinsed everything to get any remaining Pakistani-ness from our belongings. It was quite the task, but it felt good!

So after our shipment was delivered, we had both our belongings and the government provided furniture. It was very crowded! We unpacked/put away/organized all weekend, and then on Tuesday, more movers came to take away the gov-y furniture. One of the many things they took away were two huge rolls of carpet from our living area. Every other piece of furniture was a reasonable size to carry down three flights of stairs, but we didn't know how in the world they were going to get those long carpet rolls out of here! Please watch the video below to see true moving innovation - it was one of my favorite moments of the entire weekend

Our First Visitors!

We had our first visitors this past weekend! Grandma and Grandpa Laible flew to Frankfurt on their way to Malta, so we were able to spend Saturday afternoon with them. We had a really great time showing them around the city, and we're looking forward to their return trip next week. I hope that we have our shipment by then so that we can host them for dinner at our apartment!

Enjoying a delicious German lunch and some live jazz music

Oktoberfest 2009

According to some statistics I've seen, about 6 million people will attend Oktoberfest this year, and about 7 million liters of beer will be consumed. Brian and I were lucky to be among those individuals who attended and consumed!

We spent last weekend in Munich, which is a beautiful city. Saturday we roamed around the city and enjoyed all of the Saturday markets. That night we met up with Brian's German relatives, the Reiners, and went to the Hofbräukeller. It was so fun to catch up with them!
Then on Sunday, we attended mass at this church with the Reiners.

After church, we met up with Konstantine's fraternity and walked across the street to Oktoberfest! His frat had tables reserved inside the Schottenhamel tent - which is one of the most popular local tents - and he invited us to join them! Here are some of my favorite Oktoberfest lessons/moments:

1) The tents aren't actually tents - they're giant buildings that take 3-4 months to build! Then they are taken down at the end of the festival - only to be re-built the next year

2) Ein Maß = one liter of beer, please! Please notice this waiter is carrying 12 LITERS of beer - check out that forearm muscle!

3) It is tradition for the men to wear Lederhosen and the women to wear Dirndl. Verena's Dirndl was very cute, and she's going to take me shopping for my own so that I can wear one next year!

4) There's a band in the middle of the tent that plays traditional German songs - and John Denver.

5) It is not tradition to drink the water that is served with the Weisswurst (white sausage). If you see someone doing that, they're a tourist who has been tricked! Don't drink the water!

6) Even babies enjoy the fun at Oktoberfest! Isn't she cute in her little Dirndl??


I can't wait to go to Oktoberfest next year!!