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Sonntag, 19. Juli 2015
New Buddies
durhamfamily, 13:49h
Hello again from the marvelous Deutschland.
Elizabeth and I had some firsts this week. On Thursday, I had dinner with 6 other Americans from work. My old CEO, Pierre, was in town and arranged for us all to meet at his favorite Italian restaurant. The other people already knew each other (all engineers from Michigan), so it was likely a lot more beneficial for me than it was for them. Pierre intends to plan 2 or 3 of these outings per year. It will be fun to meet the new expats in the future and be able to help them out.
Of course, everyone has heard the news about our temporary kitchen that came this week. It is better than our previous setup, so we can't complain too much. The only silly part is that they clearly brought the wrong kind - with the sink on the right instead of on the left - so the temp kitchen is very awkward. Let's hope they're smarter than this when it comes time to install our actual kitchen (in October). I'm not holding my breath.
(ignore the dirty dishes)
Friday night, Elizabeth and I ate at a restaurant called Südbahnhof. It was recommended to us back in March, but it wasn't open at the time. Elizabeth ate Käsespätzle for the very first time and I had the Gnocchi. Käsespätzle is essentially grownup mac & cheese, in case anyone was wondering. Südbahnhof has a cute little Biergarten that sits on the edge of the woods on a bike path. I can see ourselves going back... especially to try their desserts.
After dinner, we strolled to Cafe Eishorn for ice cream. I'm very pleased by the German ice cream cones that cost 1 €. As we were heading back to the apartment, an American coworker (from Thursday night) got back to us, and so we met him at Paulaner Wirsthaus for a beer. It is very comforting to hang out with Americans. It's just so easy! Certainly, it's easy to talk to many German people as well... but when all conversations are in English you feel like they are constantly doing you a favor. A room of 10 Germans all speaking in English is undeniably catering to the dumb American. They are very nice about it, but I've never enjoyed that level of attention. I'm more of a background character.
Yesterday I went for my 2nd official long run since I've been in Germany. Running is much slower this year than it was a few years ago. However, I've officially decided that, speed or not, I need to get into marathon shape! This is the most amazing running opportunity I'll ever have in my life. Over the next 2 years I'll be able to "cheaply" run in any European marathon I choose. I mean... it's not like I'll fly BACK to Europe in the future just for a marathon. Added benefit: random races will encourage Elizabeth and I to take more weekend trips!
In other news, Elizabeth and I assembled our wardrobe! We were growing very tired of hanging our clothes in the TV room. The best part is that the wardrobe has a full-length mirror, which we haven't had since we've been here.
Lastly, here's a picture of the bike room in the new parking garage at work. It's an unlocked room, and the bikes are mostly unlocked. I'm not sure anything like this could exist in America.
Alright, I think the rain has stopped for now, which means it's time for Elizabeth and I to wander the trails! She wants me to take her to an old fort today (maybe 3 miles away). Maybe she'll take a few pictures for everybody.
Unit next week!
Elizabeth and I had some firsts this week. On Thursday, I had dinner with 6 other Americans from work. My old CEO, Pierre, was in town and arranged for us all to meet at his favorite Italian restaurant. The other people already knew each other (all engineers from Michigan), so it was likely a lot more beneficial for me than it was for them. Pierre intends to plan 2 or 3 of these outings per year. It will be fun to meet the new expats in the future and be able to help them out.
Of course, everyone has heard the news about our temporary kitchen that came this week. It is better than our previous setup, so we can't complain too much. The only silly part is that they clearly brought the wrong kind - with the sink on the right instead of on the left - so the temp kitchen is very awkward. Let's hope they're smarter than this when it comes time to install our actual kitchen (in October). I'm not holding my breath.
(ignore the dirty dishes)
Friday night, Elizabeth and I ate at a restaurant called Südbahnhof. It was recommended to us back in March, but it wasn't open at the time. Elizabeth ate Käsespätzle for the very first time and I had the Gnocchi. Käsespätzle is essentially grownup mac & cheese, in case anyone was wondering. Südbahnhof has a cute little Biergarten that sits on the edge of the woods on a bike path. I can see ourselves going back... especially to try their desserts.
After dinner, we strolled to Cafe Eishorn for ice cream. I'm very pleased by the German ice cream cones that cost 1 €. As we were heading back to the apartment, an American coworker (from Thursday night) got back to us, and so we met him at Paulaner Wirsthaus for a beer. It is very comforting to hang out with Americans. It's just so easy! Certainly, it's easy to talk to many German people as well... but when all conversations are in English you feel like they are constantly doing you a favor. A room of 10 Germans all speaking in English is undeniably catering to the dumb American. They are very nice about it, but I've never enjoyed that level of attention. I'm more of a background character.
Yesterday I went for my 2nd official long run since I've been in Germany. Running is much slower this year than it was a few years ago. However, I've officially decided that, speed or not, I need to get into marathon shape! This is the most amazing running opportunity I'll ever have in my life. Over the next 2 years I'll be able to "cheaply" run in any European marathon I choose. I mean... it's not like I'll fly BACK to Europe in the future just for a marathon. Added benefit: random races will encourage Elizabeth and I to take more weekend trips!
In other news, Elizabeth and I assembled our wardrobe! We were growing very tired of hanging our clothes in the TV room. The best part is that the wardrobe has a full-length mirror, which we haven't had since we've been here.
Lastly, here's a picture of the bike room in the new parking garage at work. It's an unlocked room, and the bikes are mostly unlocked. I'm not sure anything like this could exist in America.
Alright, I think the rain has stopped for now, which means it's time for Elizabeth and I to wander the trails! She wants me to take her to an old fort today (maybe 3 miles away). Maybe she'll take a few pictures for everybody.
Unit next week!
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