Memorial Day and The ErdbeerFest

Things are coming along nicely in the Bingham household and our place is starting to feel more like a home. It's amazing what a few pictures and some curtains will do to a place. The last big project to tackle is organizing the obscene amount of clothing and shoes between the two of us. Oh, by the way, we don't technically have closets. They put some wardrobe units in our second "bedroom" and it's taking some serious organizational skills to make it work. But if anyone knows how to organize a closet, it's me.

On to things more exciting - we had a big barbecue with all of the neighbors for Memorial Day. Sure, we're one of three families out of about twenty that doesn't have kids, it was still a lot of fun. And as far as I'm concerned, Stella is our kid. We kicked the rugrats off of the ping pong table and had a tournament that Brad, of course, won. HOWEVER, let the record show that he was almost beat...by me! That's right, I came the closest I ever have in over 4 years to beating Brad, the Ping Pong Champ. Unfortunately, I lost 26 - 24.

Tired puppy...if Dad goes anywhere, she's going to know about it.

In addition to Memorial Day, it was also the Erdbeer Festival in Mainz. Erdbeer, is that a tasty beverage, you might ask. Not quite, erdbeer means strawberry and with strawberry fields all over this city, it's kind of a big deal. Carnival rides, games, and a lot of specialty vendors. Great cheeses, sausages, wines, and of course strawberries. We took home some fancy olives, capers, and couple different types of sausages. Delicious! And last but not least, a crepe filled with Nutella and topped off with Grand Marnier. One word - sinful.

In other exciting news, Brad bought himself a car. Who would have thought he'd already own a BMW? Don't get too excited. It's what people around here call a beater beamer. It's sole purpose is to get Brad to and from work and that's what it does. No frills, no bells and whistles but it's just what he needed.

Haha! Just kidding! This is Steve's car...the one the movers dropped the dolly on.

Here she is with her proud new owner

As for me, I've started cooking more and trying different things. I enjoy it a lot and I haven't had any complaints from Brad either. I've become a FoodNetwork.com junkie and unpacking all of my old cookbooks was like Christmas all over again. So if you have a good recipe you think we'd like, send it my way.

Panko Crusted Salmon with an Alfredo Risotto and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts...tasty!

Last but not least, my beautiful mother is getting married in 5 short weeks! I am so excited to see her and my family, I can hardly stand it! In the meantime, Brad and I have some serious work to do before we're beach ready. (It's about time we cut back on the schnitzel anyway and Stella is old enough to take running now so we have no excuses.) It's going to be an amazing week and I'm counting down the days. I miss you, Mom.

Officially Moving In

** Warning ** I am about to go off for just a minute so please bear with me.

Where to start? As many of you know, we've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our car and, well, basically everything we own - furniture, tv, the rest of our clothing, decorations, etc. We had been told that our "household goods" would not arrive until May 28th and while that was WEEKS longer than we expected, at least we were prepared for that. However, we had also been told that the car would be here 2 weeks ago....and for 2 weeks it was always "it'll be here the next day or the day after that." It was torture knowing that my car was only a couple hours away but because some yahoo didn't fill out the proper paperwork, the car just sat there and sat there and sat there. THEN on Friday the car finally arrives, Brad goes to pick it up but they won't issue the license plates...again, thanks to the proper paperwork not being sent. Something about my name being on the title and Brad's was not, blah, blah, blah - how on earth did they think we got the car out of the US? Did they think my husband stole the car from his wife or something? Absolutely not, all of that paperwork had been taken care of prior to leaving Dallas so what's the hold up folks? Grrrr. At least we had the car.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only hiccup on Friday. We have been using rental furniture that Army Housing provided until our furniture arrived. Silver lining to the story - our furniture shipment came in earlier than expected and was scheduled to be delivered on Saturday. So, Brad called the housing office to schedule the pick up of our rental furniture. What do you know, they don't answer any of their phone numbers....FOR TWO DAYS! Which meant the movers would be moving in all of our stuff around all the furniture that was already here. Wonderful. But there was nothing we could do about it but get a good nights sleep as the movers were to arrive at 8:00 am.

Stella woke us up bright and early at 6:00 am and we got started moving the rental furniture as out of the way as we could. The hours ticked by and when the movers were still not here by 9:00 am, we knew this was a bad sign. The only number we had for the company was sitting on Brad's desk at work, so off he went. Called and called with no answer. Ahhhhh! Fortunately, they just had trouble finding the place seeing as how the housing office sent them to the wrong city. One of the movers came in to let me know they were here and were going to start unloading boxes. About 2 minutes later he comes back in and asks if I know who drives that BMW outside. "Ummmm, yeah, that would be my neighbor, Steve's car. Why?" And as nonchalantly as possible said "I scratched it." Just like that. You picked the nicest car in our little parking lot to scratch (with the exception of my rockin' Audi but Brad was still gone so it didn't count). Well we sure were off to a good start. Time to go tell Steve his BMW now has a scratch on it (which I had yet to see). We go out to see the damage....a scratch??!!! He dropped a flippin' dolly on it! Opened up the truck and the dolly fell out onto Steve's car!!! At this point I can only imagine what is going to happen to our furniture.

But the move went fine and as far as we know nothing is broken. I know it's strange but I honestly don't mind the unpacking. We have about a million boxes and it's a daunting task but I just don't dread it the way I normally would. Brad has been amazing and helped so much! We tackled the kitchen together and got most of it knocked out in one afternoon. The kitchen is what normally takes the longest and I can already check that off my list. The clothing situation is going to take some work though. The amount of clothes (and shoes) between the two of us is a little ridiculous...but not as ridiculous as the amount of "closet" space we have. Wish me luck.

Brad took the day off Monday to get everything squared away with the car. More and more paperwork but we received the license plates so we're official now!! All we needed after that was our gas card. As an American, we can buy gas on base for whatever the average cost is in the US or at certain German gas stations if we have this card. Otherwise, we'd pay about $6 a gallon! So we drive to the next place for our card...low and behold, they tell us Brad is not in the system. All we can do at this point is laugh. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can go right when it comes to this stuff. We took a break for lunch and by the time we finished they resolved the issue with the system and we were on our way. Whew! What a crazy few days!

Things are definitely looking up though. Our apartment is starting to feel more like a home and I'm really looking forward to decorating it. We are finally able to have Tommy and Melissa over after the million times they've had us over. We no longer have to rely on everyone else for a ride when we need to go somewhere (it will be nice when we have two cars though). And the weather has just been beautiful!

Fintherlandstrasse (it's a mouthful, I know) This is the name of our neighborhood

Home Sweet Home

The Neighborhood - A view of the park

Our "Private" Backyard - we're really lucky, our yard is tucked away from everything since we're on a corner.

I think I hear boxes calling my name so I'm off to do some more unpacking. But stay tuned as we're hoping to have a fun adventure this weekend! I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day!!

Taking a Walk With Stella

Well, the car has yet to arrive but instead of staying cooped up all day, Stella and I (and in the evenings Brad, too) have enjoyed getting out and exploring. Just outside of our neighborhood is an area filled with walking trails, gardens, beautiful fields, an orchard, and a creek. We love it so I thought I'd share...

A flower (actually it's a weed) from Dad

Playing in the fields

She loves the creek!

She gets excited on the trip home and walks herself..leash in mouth.

Our backyard

Tired puppy at the end of a walk

Cinco de Mayo - German Style

She's getting big!

Another great weekend had by all! We hadn't planned on celebrating Cinco de Mayo, it just sort of happened. Melissa and I had been discussing having a Taco Night for a couple of weeks and it spawned into a full out Mexican fiesta.

Back up a little bit - we kicked off Friday evening with a great walk with Stella where she made friends with the most beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback I've ever seen (I'm telling you all right now, we WILL have a dog like that one day). Once she was good and worn out, we headed to the Adler and I added another kind of schnitzel to my list, jagerschnitzel. We've become friends with the owner and knowing that we are American he asked if we could get him a few boxes of Honeycombs. That's right, as in cereal. They can't get it here and they're not allowed to shop at the Commissary. The Black Market of breakfast cereal. Gotta love it. After the Adler, we made our way over to Eva's where we are also becoming "regulars" much to the dismay of the actual German "regulars." They'll get over it, we're here to stay (at least for a few years).

Melissa and I started discussing what we should do for our Taco Night turned Mexican Fiesta and the bartender, Anitza, overheard us talking. She had lots of questions so I invited her to join us, thinking nothing of it.

The boys played golf Saturday morning, so Melissa and I took it upon ourselves to venture downtown and hit up the H&M. Believe it! I have an H&M just a trolley ride away from my house now. Woooohoooo! We spent a couple of hours shopping then headed home to start cooking.

I made a delicious 7 Layer Bean Dip (miss you Amy!) and some tasty beer-ritas (miss you summers in Dallas). We also had awesome queso (which you will NOT find here), Tommy's homemade salsa, fajitas and some pretty fantastic chicken enchiladas! The greatest part was that right at 5:00 pm, Anitza and her husband actually showed up and she brought chili. I couldn't believe she came but was so excited she did as we had the best time hanging out with her and her husband. Our first official German friends! Yeah! We're already planning to spend Memorial Day Weekend with them (if we don't travel somewhere) and potentially a trip to Paris in the near future.

We all stayed up late playing Guitar Hero so Brad and I were pretty lazy Sunday morning. At about noon we had a knock at our door; one of the upstairs neighbors thought we should all have a cookout that afternoon. Granted we were a little tired, we weren't about to miss the first cookout with our new neighbors. All four families joined in - everything from brats to chicken wings to hot dogs to veggies. Not to mention cookies, cupcakes, and a yummy bread bowl dip. You'd think we'd all sink into a food coma after all of that but we finished it off with an intense game of Monkey in the Middle with the football. You'd be surprised how exhausting that can be. Needless to say, Brad and I could barely keep our eyes open and crashed at about 9:00 that night.

I can't wait until we start traveling a little more on the weekends but until then - this isn't a bad way to spend them. :)

In other news - Brad and I have finally received our new camera (thank you Debby!) so pictures of the town should be up soon. Just waiting for a little bit better weather, it's been overcast. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of Miss Stella.

Doing her part to recycle

She likes to chew...especially on us!

Playing with Dad

Attacking her new ball! Superdog!

Fun in Frankfurt

As my Dad would say, this weekend was a "good marble" weekend. We kicked it off on Friday with dinner at one of our favorite biergartens with Tommy, Melissa, and Lewis. Yes, I ate schnitzel yet again but I changed it up this time and got it with onions on top. Tasty! Over dinner, it was decided that we should hop on a train in the morning and just go somewhere...so we did.

We got Stella squared away with the neighbors for the day (we have the best neighbors in the whole world) but not before she swallowed a rock and scared me to death. After we were sure she was fine, we hopped on the trolley and headed to the main train station in Mainz. We had no idea how easy (or inexpensive) it would be to for all of us to get to there. We were at the main train station in Frankfurt in about 30 minutes, how awesome is that?

Frankfurt is the New York City of Germany - modern buildings, street vendors, great shopping, and lots of restaurants. However, it still has that German feel to it with the look of the townhomes and shops. We didn't really have an agenda other than "find food" because we were all starving. We left the station and just started walking; in about 30 minutes we stumbled upon a Mexican food restaurant. Jackpot! Sure, it was no Mi Cocina or Gloria's but they made decent enchiladas and the margarita's weren't half bad. After lunch we wanted to check out the Sachsenhausen area, the oldest district in Frankfurt that is full of clubs, restaurants, and bars. After being sent in the wrong direction TWICE, we finally found it. There were not many people there during the day but I can see how Sachsenhausen could be a lot of fun a night. I have no doubt we'll be going back.

One of the most amazing things we saw was the Kaiserdom (Frankfurt Cathedral). It is a midieval/gothic looking church and was one of the few things that was not demolished in WWII in this area. We also visited Römerberg Square, an area surrounded with half-timbered houses and shops and enjoyed some gelato.

There is so much more to see in Frankfurt (and I haven't even scratched the surface of the shopping possibilities in that town) so we will certainly be going back.

Stella's new favorite place - Our (rented) Nightstand

We spent Sunday relaxing and spending time with Stella. Brad threw the football around with one of our neighbors and we grilled out for dinner. So like I said, it was a good marble weekend!

Meet Stella!

The wait is over! We finally have our new puppy! Meet Stella, our baby black labrador.

How It Happened: I had been researching different breeders around Germany before we even moved and more once we arrived but didn't have much luck. I visited the local shelters and checked the classifieds daily but still nothing. I finally got lucky when I found an ad in the Stars and Stripes (the Armed Forces daily newspaper) advertising a puppy finders service. Checked out the website and it was exactly what I needed. I contacted the lady on Thursday evening describing what we were looking for and we had pictures of potential puppies on Saturday. We slept on it and decided a lab would be perfect. Fortunatley, they were ready to be adopted immediately, all we needed was an appointment with the breeders to pick her up. So we waited and waited to hear back from the puppy finder lady...then we waited some more. It was driving me crazy so Brad and I went to the store so we would be completely ready when we brought her home. We got back from the store, still nothing. I called and emailed again.....waiting, waiting, waiting. Watching my email inbox was about as exciting as watching grass grow. THEN, at 7:00 pm I finally get the call! She said we could pick her up on Monday....but we don't have a car yet and we could only borrow our friend's car that day. Soooooo, off we went to a town we'd never even heard of that was an hour and a half away. What did people do before GPS?

After a BEAUTIFUL drive north, we finally arrived just after 9:00. The breeders lived in a gorgeous home that had the perfect little room just for the puppies. When we walked in, this little black ball of fur came running towards us so excited like she knew that we were there to take her home. She slept in my lap all the way back to Mainz, perfect little angel.

Our First Night: When we got home she wasn't so sure about "going" outside and after 20 minutes, I gave up. We were exhausted so we put her in her bed in her crate...which lasted all of about 30 seconds before the howling and whining started. Sorry neighbors. We moved her bed into our room and she did just fine. I did learn, however, patience while she's outside is much better than the alternative. I'll leave it at that. It was a long night with little sleep but we made it through. (I'll be so glad when our stuff arrives, I'm really missing my coffee pot.)

Since Then: She sleeps quite a bit but when she's not sleeping she wants to be wherever I am...unless Brad is around, in which case she wants to be with him. The great news is she slept ALL the way through last night with zero accidents. We have a long way to go between the potty training and chewing but I know it'll all be worth it. She is the perfect little addition to our family!

Our New Life in Germany

Hello all! Brad and I have arrived in Germany and it is absolutely incredible! After a 9 1/2 hour (sleepless) plane ride from Dallas, we stepped foot in Frankfurt. The positive here - a direct flight IS available to/from DFW Airport, get excited folks! :)

We spent our first week staying at the Hotel zum Schnackel in Mainz Castel...pictures wouldn't do the Schnackel justice. When we were given the key for room 102, I was relieved as we had SIX pieces of luggage with us. Now, for those of you that have traveled to Europe, you know the first floor is typically whatever floor is above the ground level, something I had clearly forgotten. So after schlepping our bags up 3 flights of stairs, we stepped foot into our, uh, "room." To give you a glimpse of The Schnackel, here are a few of the pros and cons: Pro - We had a place to lay our tired heads. Con - We had two separate twin beds that were pushed together (and Brad ended up having an allergic reaction to the pillow). Pro - Breakfast was provided in the dining room every morning. Con - I'm not one for ham and cheese every morning. Pro - There was plenty of hot water, which is great news for me! Con - The shower was in a bathtub...with no door or curtain which meant lots of water on the floor. Oops. Pro - We had a TV that worked. Con - it was about a 10 inch TV on the opposite side of the room that had all German channels with the exception of an International CNN channel and MTV Germany that had some shows in English (ie Double Shot at Love With Bisexual Twins, Paris Hilton's New BFF, Rock of Love, etc). Pro: We thought ahead and bought an adapter that would fit in the 220 volt plugs which is exactly what the hotel had! Con: There is a difference between adapters and converters and without a converter, your 110 volt appliances will blow up. Fortunately, we figured this out prior to anything blowing up; however, I was not able to use a blow dryer or flat iron. My hair was rockin' for over a week. I'll pause while you get a visual.......................

We obviously survived and now we can look back at our stay at Hotel zum Schnackel and laugh. We are now in our apartment and getting used to the area. Our furniture and the rest of belongings should arrive sometime mid to late May but in the meantime, they've given us some furniture and kitchen supplies. Our friends, Tommy and Melissa, loaned us some bedding and I brought a few towels with us; it's the bare bones but it's certainly enough to get by.

From what we hear, this area had one of the worst winters they've had in decades this past year. In fact, they had a snow storm the week before we arrived. We must have brought good weather with us because it's been beautiful every single day. We've cooked out with Tommy and Melissa and their nephew, Luis, three times in the past week. If the winters are going to last a long six months, we're going to enjoy every day of sunlight we can get. We have a great walking/biking trail near the apartment that goes through an orchard...and with the amount of beer and schnitzel that we have consumed in the past two weeks, we're trying to utilize that as much as we can.

After some extensive research, we've narrowed down which camera we want and now it's just a matter of finding it or ordering it. Thus, pictures will be posted shortly. We're not certain where our first traveling adventure will be but I will keep everyone posted!