Life in our temporary apartment

I can hardly believe that it's been a little less than a month since we left Ohio. It seems like it was such a long time ago that our things were put into boxes and  I was scrubbing our home from top to bottom, and yet the pain of leaving my friends and home there is still so fresh. Since that time, we made our way to South Carolina, through Virginia, then through Baltimore on our way to Germany. Once in Germany, we lived in a hotel apartment for 12 days, and now have been in this little furnished apartment for 12 days. While I still haven't quite been able to establish what I would call a "routine", life has a way of moving on and forcing a person to redefine normal. Groceries still need to be bought, clean clothes are still a necessity, and the kitchen (even though it's harder to do in this apartment) needs cleaning up. And so, as much as this is NOT home, I'm starting to feel a little more relaxed.

I wish I had a picture to share, but B and I were able to finally find a home! The apartment we are in now was always a short term solution, and we were very anxious to find something more permanent. I had my short list of things I could "live with" for 6 months until base housing opens up, and then I had a list of things that a home MUST have if I were to even consider it as a possibility for our entire stay here in Germany. My long term list were all things that base housing offers, and I figured a home off base had to offer at LEAST what the home on base had. To those who don't know, I have zero (and if it were possible to have less than that I would) interest in living "on the economy" as they call it, which means in a German village. Nothing about it appeals to me. I just don't feel like I need to live in the towns to be able to be fully immersed in the culture. If I were in a home on base, I would still need and want to venture out into villages for shopping, meals, sight seeing, festivals... but there is something comforting to me able being able to return to a home where I can communicate easily with my neighbors- neighbors that share an understanding of where we're from, are in the same season of life that my little family is in, and could provide a support structure for me if B is deployed. All of this being said, due to the on base housing shortage here, there is a minimum wait time of 4-6 months before moving into these homes. So we must find a place on the economy for a time. This suits B just fine, as he has zero interest in living ON BASE! His philosophy is that we are in Europe but once(ok so the military could always send him back but we can really on count on this tour), and we should soak up as much about it as we can. That being said, he is very sensitive to my need to feel safe and secure if he were to deploy or be on frequent TDY. So, we have reached an agreement that we will move into this home and when base housing opens up, we will readdress the situation and see what works best for our family. If I feel like I'm living alone at the top of a hill (funnier because the home we are moving in to is alone, at the top of a hill) then we move on base. We will also have the option to defer 2 homes on base and buy us another couple of months if the on base home comes available right when our daughter makes her way into this world, which is a very real possibility.  Ok, with allll of that background on the situation, I have to say- this home had every single thing on my long term list, with the exception of being close to the area of base that I want to be close to, which is pretty darn amazing because my list was considered "unreasonable" by many here! I do know that some of the stuff seems kind of high maintenance, but again, these are all things that are offered on base. My requirements were:

- A fenced backyard. I refuse to walk my crazy dog 3+ times a day in the ridiculous German weather, especially when I'm 10 months pregnant or with an infant. This was a non negotiable.
- A garage.
- Reserved parking that can accommodate B's truck
- 2 bathrooms
- 3 bedrooms
- A modern kitchen with an American sized refrigerator in it (German fridges are TINY, they prefer to shop often for more fresh items)
- Washer/dryer hook ups
- Porch for patio furniture
- Easy access to safe walking trails for when I do want to get out and moving
- 10 minutes or less to the area of base where housing is (which is where most of the parent groups meet, as well as the shopping I want) and 15 minutes to the area of base where the hospital is.

The home we will be moving into on May 15 has all of those things, with the exception of the location. We actually have 4 bedrooms and a separate apartment below the home that belongs to us as well that has its own kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom (for any guests that might want to come visit? anybody?). To top it all off, it's BEAUTIFUL! Ivy winds down the front porch columns and covers the back fence, it has been well maintained, and I'm just so excited to move in to a more permanent home in just 18 days!

In other news, I have now visited my first German castle :) Now, when I say castle, I mean ruins. I think this needs to be clarified, since I was fully expecting to see complete, whole castles when I arrived in Deutschland. Silly and naive of me? Yes probably, but nobody ever said to me "castle ruins" so I just assumed they had been preserved and maintained by families or the government.... ok well I was wrong so let's just leave it at that :)  Anyway, yesterday was a spouses group lunch in a rebuilt area of the castle Burg Lichtenberg. A woman who is part of the spouses club here was kind enough to give me a ride to the luncheon last week, and then emailed me again this week to offer to take me to this event. I am so grateful for her willingness to make me feel welcome here. As it turned out, it was just the two of us for lunch but we had a great time. The food was fantastic, and I was able to look out of one of the small windows in the restaurant down the hills into the town below. After eating we wandered through the castle ruins for a bit before it got too cold and the rain really started coming down. I plan to bring B back with me for another trip, when it's warmer and we can take a guided tour of the grounds. Here are a couple of shots from the day

Today, Friday, marks another big highlight of my time in Germany- the first time I have woken up here and it has not been overcast! That's right folks, I can see SUNSHINE! There have been some sunny-ish afternoons, or some times when those golden rays have poked through for a minute or two, but for the most part our entire time here has been overcast, cold, and just rained, raining, or about to rain with a high of the very low 50s...or 40s. For this warm weather girl who gets cranky at even the possibility of snow, it has been wretched uncomfortable. I had been spoiled by the spectacular weather Dayton had offered this year, and had already transitioned to spring/summertime. Weather.com forcasted it should get up to 72 today... until I woke up this morning at which point it had changed to 63. BUT, it is supposed *crossing my fingers* to get up to 76 tomorrow, in which case I might put on a swimsuit and lay out in the patch of grass in front of the war memorial across the street. Kidding, kidding... you hope :)