2017 Highs

December has been a nice, normal month here. Few extremes, just a nice, quiet Advent and Christmas holiday. So I thought I'd write a shorter post (M will applaud that) with some photos of the year's highlights.

HIGHLIGHTS of 2017

• good meals cooked at home as well as eaten at Straub's Krone

• three Kochkurse (cooking classes) at Straub's Krone

• visits from and with friends

• time with family

• Scotland!! (three of the family photos were also taken in Scotland)

• books

 

• two long weekends at the Engel, a Wellness-Hotel in the Schwarzwald

• owls - specifically Steinkäuze!!

Ich wünsche Euch eine guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr und alles Gute und Liebe für 2018!

November Highs and Lows 2017

The worst month of the year is over as of today. Really - is there any month more dull and drab than November? At least October provides pretty colors in the forest. Though I hate snow, (along with winter, ice, and cold) at least it can be pretty. But November means naked trees, no snow, and our first real cold. Good riddance, November. Den wären wir los!

In my personal life, though, there were plenty of highs despite my cold nose and toes. A few lows, too, but not many.

I have actually finished all my Christmas shopping! Somehow it was easy this year, even finding things for M - and he's impossible to find gifts for! This means I can just enjoy the Weihnachtsmärkte, and if I happen to see something I like for someone, I can still buy it. The holiday season is not stressful for me in Germany anyway, but this makes it even more relaxed.

HIGHS

• My birthday is in November, and now I'm really almost 50. Wait...is that a high or a low?


• It was fall break that week, but I met some of my students at a local café for a drink and a chat, which was fun!


• dinner at Straub's Krone on Martinstag (Nov. 11). The traditional meal is goose, and this old post will explain why.

Gänsekeule, Rotkohl, Knödel, und Bratapfel

• dinner again at Straub's Krone on Thanksgiving


• spending a short evening at my Schwiegermutter's home while M got a much-needed massage from the therapist whose practice is in her building.


• new books!!!!  (gifts from M and my kids)

I have finished the Outlander coffee table book - and read every word and caption -
and am into A Column of Fire. It's good so far, but it's a commitment at more than 900 pages!

I've gone crazy for Steinkäuze!

• having a meeting with all the applicants of our summer exchange program and their parents to give them more information about the exchange. We had 23 applicants but only 8 in our partner city, so we have some tough decisions to make in the next weeks. Our limit is 8 anyway, and we face this every year because so many 8th graders want to travel to the US.


• My son was interviewed in the news about Thanksgiving and potential family political discussions. After Thanksgiving he told me he enjoyed the day very much and no one brought up *that* topic.


• I arrived in Esslingen early enough to slither through the Weihnachts- und Mittelaltermarkt that began that afternoon! I was grinning like a fool - I love Christmas markets, and especially this one!

Mäuseroulette! This wee beastie put on quite a show instead of
dashing into his hole like his predecessors in bygone years.

• booking our next holiday in Scotland!!! We'll be back on Mull in September next year, but this time it's just the two of us.

looking out from Glengorm on the northern coast of Mull

LOW

• saying good-bye to one of my students, who had to return to Chile for work. He was a strong presence in the class, and we miss him.

Just for Fun

Many expat bloggers in Germany write about the madness that is navigating German bureaucracy. I have recently had an "entertaining" experience with my Krankenversicherung (health insurance company) that I thought I'd share for your amusement.

In August I received a letter from XXX (my health insurance provider - fake acronym). My rough translation of their letter is: Very honorable Frau H, in order for us to verify that we can continue to charge you the highest amount possible for a monthly premium*, we need you to provide proof of your household income. Please send us at the earliest convenience your Einkommensteuerbescheid (notice of income tax assessment) as well as this, that, and this other document. Without these documents, we cannot be certain we are charging a fair amount and will be forced to estimate the amount you owe. Please send us this proof by 18. August.

One of those documents was a questionnaire.

*I'm not kidding - I am in their highest bracket, despite the fact that they insure only me from our household, and I only work part time.

On about August 16 I went to their office, which is close to where I teach, brought all the documents I had and asked for help filling out their form. The rep I met with was helpful, made copies of my documents, helped me complete the questionnaire, and said everything appeared in order, but I should send my Einkommensteuerbescheid when we receive it.

We received that in September. Admittedly, I did not send it the moment it arrived. In mid-September I received another letter from XXX informing me that they had expressly requested certain documents from me including the questionnaire, and up to that point had received no response or documents from me. Therefore, I MUST provide the proof of household income at the latest by October 6th, or else.

On September 20th I sent an Email to my Gesprächspartner (contact) at XXX questioning the threatening email, since I had provided in August everything but the Einkommensteuerbescheid. I attached to that Email the Einkommensteuerbescheid and stated in the text of the Email that it was attached.

My contact at XXX responded and said the documents/letter must have crossed in the mail, and all was well. 

Two days ago (late November) I received a letter from my contact at XXX saying that they had received my questionnaire, but still did not have my Einkommensteuerbescheid. She implored me to send a copy of it immediately, as sending copies rather than originals would speed up their processing time. Huh? Whatever...

I went back to my "sent" folder, found the Email I had sent to my contact on September 20th, forwarded it to her AGAIN with a new message saying that this really IS our Einkommensteuerbescheid, and if this is not the document she needs to determine that they can charge me the highest possible premium, she should please contact me.

I expect to hear from her in February...
Update: I received a letter from her in the mail today (Dec. 7), and they have discovered that they need to charge me more, along with adding extra back-charges for the last year. Clearly I was wrong about them not being able to charge me more.

I hope your November was filled with HIGHS!!

October Highs and Lows 2017

The Reformation Day Edition

Today, October 31st, is Reformation Day, which is recognized by Protestants. On this day in 1517 Martin Luther allegedly nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, detailing his gripes with the Catholic church. In Germany this is normally a stiller Feiertag only in the predominantly Protestant states of Germany - namely the five states that were formerly the DDR (East Germany). Since this year it is 500 years since the cheeky monk officially began his protest which led to the Reformation, much bloodshed between Christians for generations thereafter, and the founding of a new religion, the day is recognized in the whole of Germany with the day off for nearly everyone.

Photo credit: my friend, D. Philipp

The bonus for us lucky bahstuds in the Catholic South is that tomorrow is also a stiller Feiertag - Allerheiligen, or All Saints' Day. We have, therefore, two days in a row off this week, which meant we had to plan ahead for meals with all stores closed Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

HIGHS

• starting the month with two days off. October 3rd is a national holiday - Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or Day of German Unity - and since it fell on a Tuesday this year, the VHS was closed also on Monday the 2nd for a "Brückentag" (bridge day). It's not that my work is so hard, teaching German to a really nice group of students four hours a day, but extra days off are just nice.
  
  Actually on Monday I visited the English class of a new acquaintance of mine in Nagold. He had been discussing with his class stereotypes Germans have of Americans and vice versa, and the students were able to ask me about what things are really like in the US. I enjoyed my visit and the topic!
  
  One of the students asked if if racism is a big problem in the US. What would you have answered?!?


• attending the dance and theater performance of one of my students, who is very talented! He wrote and directed the show, designed and created the costumes and props, and was the principle performer. The other performers are friends of his. The performance depicted Syria's past, part mythology and part history, and the present war and especially its effect on children.

• spending four days at the wellness hotel Engel-Obertal in the Black Forest for M's birthday. Saunas, steambaths, and relaxing during the day after a hearty but elegant breakfast, gourmet dinners in the evening...

• a Greifvogel (birds of prey) demonstration at Burg Hohennagold. We just love owls!

• a weekend visit by fellow blogger Mari and her pug Abner. We dined at Straub's Krone and stayed up way too late talking about every conceivable topic, and then chatted through the next day as well. We have a lot in common and much to talk about.

Abner teaches M how to play tug-o-war
M doesn't understand why Abner seems to really want the stuffed bear,
but then as soon as M lets go, he wants M to try to get it again.

I was flattered that Abner liked the blanket-bed
I made for him!

• attending a Lesung (reading) of one of the books I read this summer by the author and his Syrian friend Soumar, about whom he wrote the book. 

• our 11th Kochkurs at Straub's Krone. The theme this time was "Genuss vom Wald und Feld" (Indulgence from forest and field). As usual everything was delicious and we had a fun group of co-chefs to cook with.

Vorspeise: Forellenfilet mit Petersilienbröselkruste,
Meerrettich Petersilienwurzel Salat & Kürbismayonnaise

Grünkohlsuppe mit Schmandschaum und
gebackene Wildfleisch Wan Tans

Hauptgang: Wildschweinrücken mit Quitten gegart,
geschmorte Karotten & gratinierte Kürbispolenta

Nachtisch: Käsekuchenmuffins, Apfelrose,
und Holunderbeereneis

the Ms dealing with the main course

• ending the month with holidays as well - this week is Herbstferien or fall break, and today and tomorrow are stille Feiertage (see above). While I have the whole week off anyway, M can also be home today and tomorrow.

LOWS

I've got nothin'. I don't remember even once saying to myself, "Well, that can go on my list of lows..." Granted, there's always the world news, but that's the case every month.

I hope you had a fine October and will enjoy November. And hopefully you had as few lows in October as I did!

September Highs and Low 2017

Here we are again at the end of another month, and it looks like I'll actually get the highs and lows done punctually this time. It might not have any photos, though, because we changed something on our computer network and without M's help, I can't access any of my pictures. (edit: M to the rescue; photos are ready to go.)

It's a beautiful day today, which is nice except that means I should get my tail outside to do some gardening and yard work. Way to suck the joy out of a lovely day, though once I get going I usually enjoy it at least a little.

Here we go with September's highs and low.

HIGHS

• a visit from my "first friend" and her husband. They're from Wisconsin, and she was the first friend I made when my family and I moved to Sheboygan when I was three. Her husband had a conference in Freiburg, and they flew over early to spend the weekend with us. We shared a lot of memories, had plenty of laughs, and caught up on all kinds of things one doesn't write in Christmas letters. We took them to Burg Hohenzollern where there was a visiting Falknerei giving a demonstration about falcons, owls, and eagles, and although it was a bit chilly up there and rained a bit, we enjoyed it. We also had Sunday brunch at our favorite restaurant and a nice walk through our village afterwards. 

Photo credit: M

• They had a gorgeous little Steinkauz as well, but his handler marched him past me so fast I couldn't get a good picture.


• M's electric scooter arrived!! He got tired of me gallivanting in his car all the time and not being able to get down to town for a haircut or over to the store for a fresh pretzel, so he ordered a scooter a few months ago. He's been having fun with it.

• I passed the five-year mark of being an expat/immigrant, and the more I read about what's going on in #45's America, the gladder I am I don't live there.


• dinner on the last night of the month. We tried a new recipe tonight, which M saw on the noon show we watch: Hackfleischstrudel im Blätterteig (ground meat roll in puff pastry) from Vincent Klink, a chef we both appreciate. If it's good and photogenic, I'll come back and add it to my highs. (edit: Damn!! It was delicious!)

• the return of George!!! I can't believe it - our little hedgehog friend is back! M went out to his man cave for a smoke, and he heard some rustling around. He shined a flashlight under the table, and sure enough, there was George! He is such a little darling, and I don't care that M says he probably has fleas. I brought him a soft towel to sleep on, and I wanted to bring him some salad, but M says he'd rather eat slugs and worms. I don't have any of those in the kitchen, so I'll let him take care of his own dinner.
  
  The man cave is rather dusty and cob-webby, which George discovered while looking for an escape route while being flashy-thingied.

the LOW that should have been a High

• Mustafa, our Tuesday vegetable guy, had one cob of corn this week. My mouth started watering as I envisioned that sweet cob dripping in butter... You see, although corn-on-the-cob is a staple of a midwesterner's diet, it's just not a thing in Germany. Corn is cow food, and messy hand-held food makes Germans uncomfortable. I boiled it the next day, wiped the butter on and bite in with relish. Merp. Just not the same. It was not bursting with flavor, as the sweet corn in Wisconsin does.

Neither Here nor There, Neither High nor Low

• the Bundestag (Parliament) election in Germany. The results were not unexpected - Merkel's party (CDU) won the most votes, but that was still only 33%. Their former partner party (SPD) took the next-most votes, but they said they no longer want to work together with the CDU in a coalition. The AfD (right-wing populist party) came in third, and about 13 hours later their party leader left the party. Decent people everywhere are disappointed that the AfD got so many votes, but this is our world today.
  
  For a much better recap of the election than I have time to write, see my friend La Mari's post here.


• M knows a lot of trivial facts and things, and so I figured he'd know when the German language came into being. I've always imagined a group of 12 grumpy men sitting around a table trying to decide how best to drive future learners of the language absolutely bonkers.
  This was his response to "When was the German language developed?"
  
  "Around tea time."

• I attended a sales pitch by the rep from the publishing company that put out the textbook series I have to use for my Integrationskurs. I mentioned in a recent post that it's the worst book I've ever had the misfortune to use. The session was three hours long, and I knew what to expect - I've been to such meetings before. I actually did learn a few very helpful things, which will reduce my - and my students' - stress level for the remainder of this course, so I'm glad I went.

I hope you had a good September!!