Ch... Ch... Changes!

My how our lives have changed. I had an "ah ha" moment Thursday evening when I came to this realization. It was after dinner that I found myself sitting at the kitchen table painting, Husband layed out on the couch reading, and Mozart playing in the background. We are either the oldest 28 year olds alive or we have wanted and succeeded in invisioning a different lifestyle for ourselves. Looking back 4 months ago at the same time we would have eaten dinner at the coffee table while watching several hours of tv. While I do wonder what is going on with Sheldon and Leonard this change is good for us.

Baby Steps to Oktoberfest!

Husband and I have had a fun-filled weekend, one that was really needed during the adjustment of moving halfway across the world!  Friday afternoon we decided to head to Dachau to check out their local beer festival.  We had heard it was a lot like Oktoberfest but on a smaller cheaper scale.

On our local train platform we purchased our 3-Day Partner ticket that would get us to Dachau and wherever else we needed that weekend.  Looking more closesly at the ticket we realized it was only valid for Rings 1-4.   Yikes!  We were 6 rings away from Ring 4....we had bought the wrong ticket. With the minutes passing and the next train down the tracks getting closer we debated what to do.  We could play "Dumb Americans" and just get on the train with the wrong ticket or we could take the train to the Central Station and try to get refunded to purchase the correct ticket OR we could walk 3 blocks to the bank, get more money, come back and buy the correct ticket missing the upcoming train.  We choose the latter.  Thank goodness we did!  When we switched trains at our transfer station 45 minutes later the doors opened and standing right in front of us were two DB Employees very capable of yelling "Tickets!"  We did the right thing and it paid off avoiding a hefty fine.  Plus we are running low on "Dumb American" cards.

Here are a few photos from Volksfest in Dachau, Germany:

Kind of a corny stand, don't ya think?

Kinderparadies... Kid's Paradise

An American inspired ride, really people?! Break Dancing?!

Gingerbread hearts are tradition.  A lot different from our corn dogs and funnelcakes.

We are sad to miss the State Fair of Texas this year but this sure does help!

This is slightly inappropriate but it was too funny.  Apparently this is not uncommon in Europe.

In the beer tent I was the only one not drinking beer but instead a soda. 

Traditional Bavarian decor inside the beer tent.

Another beer tent with a traditional band stand at the front.

After talking to some veteran festival attendees and finding out that this "Volksfest" is much smaller than "Oktoberfest" I decided to do some research.   As a former Girl Scout I believe we must be prepared...even if it is for a beer festival.

Important Information to Know About Oktoberfest:

1st- It is in September NOT October.

2nd- We should have made table reservations back in January. 

3rd- If you plan to visit us, we will need to know in December.

4th- Do not go to Oktoberfest on a Saturday.

5th- Do not drink the Schnaps.  So we were seriously told.

6th- Wear dark colored Dirndls because apparently beer spills.

7th- People dance on tables, even the Grandmas.

8th- The Italians come over and attend the second weekend.

9th- More than 5 MILLION people will attend over 16 days.

10th- It is the largest beer festival in the world....

Please visit http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/ for more info.

Or I found this funny informative video on YouTube explaining what to expect at Oktoberfest:

Is That Fall in the Air?

Being from Texas, one thing I am not missing right now is the near triple digit heat!  Currently, in Munich the temperature is 66 degrees Fahrenheit or as I'm learning, that is 18 degrees Celsius.  Nonetheless, it is beautiful weather.  There is a slight breeze, our windows are wide open, and I'm actually wearing a cardigan in August! In fact it kind of feels like fall is in the air.

To go along with the fall spirit I decided to work on some Halloween decorations today.  I was working on a Christmas wreath but that is currently on hold until further notice.  Unfortunately, none of our holiday decorations made it into the shipping crate due to space... which just means more crafting for me! 

Since my craft items are packed in a crate on a barge floating somewhere on the Atlantic, I've had to hunt around Munich for creative essentials.  It is so hard to find a decent craft store in Germany.  Hobby Lobby and even Michaels put every place I have found to shame.  I recently asked a local where to buy fabric and they told me to go to IKEA! Oh...no...this isn't good.  SO...here are my Dollar Euro Store items I picked up.

Small canvas, 3 paint brushes, tape, and acyrilic paint.

I wasn't sure how these Euro Store paints were going to do, but they sure are pretty.

After seeing lots of Chevron patterns lately (Can you guess where?) I decided to give it a try.  Most DIY instructions tell you to use painters tape to create the Chevron pattern on your canvas.  I didn't even finish one row of taping before I decided I would rather trace and free hand the paint.  Here is my pattern I created from a Frosted Flakes box!

I drew my letters first because I didn't want to erase the Chevron pattern from the insides.

 Halfway done tracing the Chevron pattern.

 I chose to paint the pattern a gray color because I wanted the orange boo to stick out.

Do you see where I messed up above the middle "o"?

 Ombre boo in shades of orange.

I fixed my mistake in this step too!

 I outlined the letters to stand them out more. 

I think I will be able to create a festive display with this and last year's googley eye frame. That is if the frame made it into the shipping crate!

We may not have a place to live yet, but at least we will be ready for Halloween! On a side note- You better believe I also brought over a can of Libby Pumpkin after hearing there is no such thing in Germany! What do you think, should we make pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread?

Let the countdown begin, 39 days until fall!

Home SWEET Home

After 3 weeks in Germany Husband and I are still in that phase of kind of feeling like we are on vacation... We are ready to be settled in our own place with our belongings.  Not to mention we miss our dog Shelby and cannot wait to be reunited!

Feeling a little homesick I decided it was time for some comfort food.  Craving a chocolatey peanut butter concoction I of course turned to Pinterest for some ideas.  There I found the perfect recipe for No Bake Cookies, a childhood favorite!

Before I could go pick up some key ingredients at the market I had to prepare my shopping list and do some Google Translating (my new bestfriend).  Shopping in German can be tough for an English speaking gal!

Here's what I got:

Frishe Butter= Fresh Butter

Zucker= Sugar

Milch= Milk

Kakoa= Cocoa

Peanut Butter= Peanut Butter :-)

Haferflocken= Oatmeal

Vanille= Vanilla



With the found recipe and key ingredients I was ready to no bake.  Except I had a problem.  I looked high and low in the Küche and could not find the loyal standard measuring cup or cute little teaspoons that I am so used to perfectly leveling.  All I came across was a cylinder measured in metrics, a soup spoon, and a jelly spoon.  Metrics wins again...but with these tools I just had to make do.

Here is the new list of ingredients that I came up with:
1/2 block of butter
472 mL of sugar
118 mL of milk
4 heaping soup spoons of cocoa
a huge glob of peanut butter
800 mL of oatmeal
2 packets of vanilla

In the madness of the conversions, improper measuring tools, and risking an internet recipe, I'm proud to say peanut butter and chocolate did not fail me.  These no bake babies might have been a product of pure guesstimation, but they turned out to hit just the right spot in all their comfort food goodness.

Now if I could just forget where I keep hiding the cookies!

FLASH...is Back!

I know I have not introduced you yet, but Husband and I are the proud owners of Flash!  He is our 4 door, silver bullet (except when Husband stalls out on hills), hatch back, kind of like a whale, station wagon.  The bonus is that Flash has plenty of room for all those Ikea runs. 

 Meet Flash

Husband was fortunate enough to be "loaned" a car from his company during our time in Germany.  60% of the cars you see around Munich are actually company cars!  Flash is made by a company not common in the States called Opel.  Here is his logo, hence his name:

Well in just our short two weeks as parents to Flash something kind of sad happened.  Flash got a flat!  Luckily, it happened just in front of our temporary home.  Saturday morning Husband saw the flat tire on the right back side of Flash.  No big deal.  Husband is perfectly capable of changing flat tires.  He opened the back hatch, inside he lifted the secret spare carpet door, and there it was.  A can of Fix a Flat.  WHAT?!  How can you expect a can of Fix a Flat to work when well, your tire is FLAT?!?!

Fix a Flat= Not a Solution!

Most businesses close at noon on Saturday and do not reopen until Monday mornings.  For the rest of the weekend our Flash was out of commission and we were summoned to public transportation. (I actually like the trains and pretend I'm at Disney World on the tram.)

After much deliberation and different scenarios of how to get Flash rolling again it was decided that a tow truck would have to be called in.  Monday afternoon they towed Flash away.  The tow company claimed that in addition to the flat tire there was also a bent wheel.  We knew that wasn't from us because Flash got his flat sitting in his spot and I saw the tow man drive Flash a few yards to the tow truck.  Not only did Flash need a new tire but a wheel part had to be ordered as well.

Goodbye Flash!

Thursday, after three days in the shop, Husband was able to bring Flash home.  What a process a lil' o' flat tire became!  And yes, we did try calling Triple A...Germany is not in their territory.

We Live Here!

Saturday evening Husband and I spent some time in the downtown area of Munich.  We walked north of Karlsplatz, one of the busiest intersections, and ended up at the edge of the English Garden.  Here are some pictures!

 Wittelsbach Fountain on Maximiliansplatz

Theatine Catholic Church

One thing that we love about living in this area is that most businesses and stores are closed on Sundays.  We think it is a great way to take a day of rest.  Our time on Sunday was spent strolling the English Garden and the surrounding city blocks.



Siegestor "Victory Gate"

It was so nice to stop the hectic transitions of moving for a bit.  We enjoyed exploring some of the wonderful sights of Munich.  Who is coming to visit?

His and Hers

Thursday evening Husband came home after his first week of traveling.  I was very excited to have him back after being alone all week in a mostly German environment.  I'm pretty sure we stood in the kitchen a good 30 minutes while I talked his ear off.  It got pretty lonely around here and a girl needs to socialize!  With this in mind and the realization that we need to make some friends, Husband and I decided to go out.

Our goal was to meet an English speaking group named the 20-Somethings at a place called Beach 38 Degrees.  It is a restaurant and bar located in an old warehouse with several sand volleyball courts.  This place sounded pretty interesting and we decided to kick off our weekend a little bit early.

After we stepped out of the underground train station Husband asked "You know where we are going right?"  Confidently, I reassured him "Yes, we go past the Burger King and through the Sixt car lot."  I specifically remembered seeing the Sixt last summer when we were here and rented our car. 

We walked down 2 city blocks before Husband asked aggravated "Are you SURE you know where we are going?"  Upon seeing the confused look on my face Husband whipped out his phone and pulled up Google Maps. Piping hot with steam coming out of his ears Husband said "We were supposed to get off at Ostbahnhof not the Hauptbahnhof train station!"  How was I supposed to know that two different train stations could BOTH have a Burger King and a Sixt car lot? 

5 train stops later, I was FINALLY enjoying sand between my toes and a pina colada in my hand.

Hers

What comes around goes around right?  Well the following night Husband and I again decided to go out to meet some new people.  This time we planned to attend an event at Laimers called Friday Night Beer Garden within the English speaking community.

As we stepped off the train at our stop I asked Husband "You're not following me are you?" And he replied "No, I know where we are going" to which I replied "Good because I'm following you."

And following did I.  Down this block, down that block, over to this block, turn on that block.  After twenty minutes of walking in my whiney irritable voice I commented "Didn't the group say it was a quick walk from the train station?"  Husband responded "This is a quick walk." Uh huh.

Seeing a group of guys sitting out on a balcony we asked them in our best German "Wo ist Laimers Biergarten?"  Unfortunately, they did not know where Laimers Beer Garden was. 

Finally, Husband pulled out his cell phone and we once again let Google Maps rescue us from what had become the never ending "It's just at the end of this block. I can tell."

His

The good news is we are still married even if "For being lost or for being found" was not in our wedding vows.