Day 16

1. Took my placement test for German classes*.
2. Bought some school supplies (book, notebook, stabilos, public transport pass).
3. Measured and estimated how much material I would need to make custom curtains for the living room**.
4. Moved all the furniture in the living room so that painters could come and fix the cracks in the wall.

*So I was sooo excited that after the test I qualified for the A2.1 level!  I was really hoping that I wouldn't be put in the very first course.  After talking with the teacher about my language experience (which is one community college course and a lot of listening) we decided that I should go into A1.2 to solidify my writing and grammar knowledge.  Professionally, I feel I must add that I was surprised that the language placement test didn't probe all language dimensions (speaking, listening, reading, and writing- I only had to read German).  On the upswing, I will be in an intensive course which is 4 days a week from 9am till 1:00pm.  I'm so ready!!! Class starts after Easter, which gives me a good two weeks to sew some curtains :-)

**About 21 meters. www.howtosewcurtains.com Who knew?

Day 13

1. Painted our living room ceiling blue- it looks so cool!
2. Unpacked and assembled all of our living room furniture.
3. Loaded up the station wagon with cardboard to drive to the recycling center.
4. Watched TV for the first time in our new living room!

Day 12

1. Once again (believe me, I am so more tired of doing it than you are of reading it) went shopping for STUFF like coffee makers and vacuum cleaners*.
2. Found our local Vino market and got a case of really really tasty Bordeaux.
3. Discovered we weren't given enough parts to assemble our kitchen chairs and went back to the store to get them.
4. Put out the Gelbe Sacks** for tomorrow's collection.

* Though I must say nothing can put Joern in a better mood than a good vacuum.
**Gelbe Sacks: For some reason Nuremberg felt the need to distinguish itself in the world of recycling.  In every other state in Germany- nay, in the world- you get a green plastic box and you fill it up with recyclable things and then put it out on the street once a week, feeling altruistic about yourself and slightly superior to your neighbor's less full box.  Here, where I am happy to say you can recycle literally everything, you collect it all in a Gelbe Sack (yellow sack), and these then are left by the curb to be picked up.  Simple, right?  Nope.  How do you get these Gelbe Sacks?  "Well, they give them out once a year or so..." we are told.  How do you get some if, let's say, you've recently made an international move?  "Um, we have a few you can have..."  What day do we set them out? "Oh, well, they don't come every week- just once in a while..."  After being delighted to find that even the plastic baggie my clothespins were packaged in can indeed be recycled, trepidation ensued.  What if- provided I get some- I fill up my Gelbe Sack before the collection?  How will I know when they are coming?  Is there some sort of secret Nuremberg Gelbe Sack signal?  Does everyone just have piles and piles of Gelbe Sacks full of interesting, yet recyclable items, sitting in their houses, waiting for the signal?  Once again, our neighbors came to our rescue with a WHOLE PACKAGE of Gelbe Sacks (after so much trouble they seemed more gold than yellow) and a list of dates to put them out for pick-up (twice a month).  I was thankful for the sacks, but a little bit disappointed that there was no secret signal to be learned.

Day 11

1. Finished assembling our wardrobe and filling it with clothes.
2. Built our nightstands, dresser, and desk and cleaned and filled those up too.
3. Tried to contain the cardboard mountain that ensued so we can drive it to the recycling center.
4. Called family and friends and felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

Day 10

1. Helped Anke paint her new flat while Joern and his Dad installed her kitchen.
2. Finished putting together a wardrobe, which was what kept us up really late last night.
3. Put away most of our clothes (yay!) and had a quick dinner.
4. Got ready to paint a little bit and put together more Ikea products in the morning.

Day 8 (and a summary of 7)

Wow! I am so tired it's crazy, so I'm taking a short blogging break to sum up the past two days, which was a whirlwind of wheeling, dealing, and shopping! 

Day 7 
1. We got 2 chairs, a couch, and a bed from Ikea and rented a truck for an hour to take it all home. 
2. We got the truck stuck in a driveway that slanted down to the garage really sharp (think San Francisco crazy steep).
3. We met our new neighbors who helped us to get out of the driveway of doom*.
4. Joern cut a great deal on mattresses, bed-support-sticks-things, and even some free pilloows!

*So Joern was trying to turn around and just went a bit over the edge, but that was all the driveway needed to swallow up our truck.  He tried to put the truck in reverse (remember that almost all cars here are manual) and instead rolled forward 2 meters.  This happened three more times, until our truck was uncomfortably close to the garage door.  At this point Joern wisely decided to take a break and re-asses the situation.  Concurrently our downstairs neighbor arrived on the scene and suggested we put some of his garden stones under the tires to stop the wheels from rolling, and the rental car guy explained on the phone to Joern that he had to pull a special reverse level as well.  After everything was in place, we all (me, the neighbors, a few pedestrians, window-watchers) bit our nails as Joern tried once more, knowing that failure would mean adding a new garage door to our shopping list.  Success!  Joern was finally able to back out and triumphantly drove the rental truck 5 meters to our house.  All said, it was a great way to get to know the neighbors.

Day 8
1. Picked up our new table and chairs (Joern got an even better deal!).
2. Purchased cabinets of all kinds because most German homes do not have many closets).
3. Carried another 5,000 pounds worth of stuff up the stairs (I'm not worried about the gym yet).
4. Began to assemble said products.  

Day 6

1. We got a kitchen table and chairs*!
2. We made our first trip to Ikea Germany- which was really cool- and got dishes and glasses!
3. We shopped for living room and bedroom furniture, which involved testing a lot of it.
4. We made another great salad for dinner :-)

*We can pick them up later this week.

Day 5

1. Got up early to go to the Apotheke (pharmacy) to get Joern some cold medicine.
2. Filled out my alien registration form and got my picture taken for the I.D. card.
3. Went to every furniture store* in Nürnberg scoping out prices.
4. Had a nice salad dinner and measured to see what furniture fits into our house.

*There are about four or five versions of Ikea here, and yes, I have now seen every one of them.  Somehow it lost its glamor by store 3, but...I see potential :-)

Day 4

1. Walked to the baker for some fresh bread this morning, because it was the only shop open on a Sunday.
2. Relaxed a bit after breakfast while Joern organized.
3. Climbed about 15,000 stairs* helping Anke move some more stuff.
4. Cooked** for the first time in our new flat!

*I'm beginning to see Germany as one giant stairmaster, which Beth attributes to a love of right angles.
**I boiled some noodles and heated up some sauce- it totally counts.

Lost count..will fix later

1. Drove from Joern's family house near Sinsheim back to Nuremberg with stuff for Anke and our new homes.
2. Unloaded all of our stuff up about 5,000 stairs.
3. Went shopping with Anne to Aldi because all stores are closed tomorrow.
4. Unpacked stuff at both our place and Anke's while watching a brand new kitchen appear in her flat before our eyes! (Good job Joern and Vaddi!)

WE"RE HERE!!!

1. Got on the airplane and had a really long, uneventful flight to Germany where Anke (Joern's sister) picked us up.
2. Got the keys to our brand new home, which looks amazing, especially in the wonderful weather we're having here. We also met one of our neighbors.
3. Set up a bed, bought some cleaning supplies, and got to work setting up house.
4. Ate döner kebab for dinner. Yum!!!!*

*Sidebar note: Be assured, dear readers, that we had been eating pretzels pretty much continuously since we arrived.  We would never ignore the best baked product the world has to offer.  On the other hand, the world does have to offer some pretty amazing other foods as well, one of which is the bliss that comes from meat of mysterious origin and shape carved off a spit and thrown into a pita pocket with lots of veggies and sauce slopped on the top.  We have the Turks to thank for this creation, and one in particular for enthusiastically honoring my request for "ein bischen scharf" on both my, and inadvertently, on Joern's döner. 
     **Sidebar to the sidebar: Scharf means spicy in German.  Like sharp.  Like knives dipped in fire sliding down your throat.  Sorry Joern. 
:

Monday (2 days to DE)

1. Joern and my Dad built a frame to store our mattress above the boxes (yelling meant they were okay).
2. I sorted my clothes (again) to make them fit into the suitcases.
3. Joern packed up all of the clothes (they fit!!!).
4. I made ice cream with lots of candy in it for everyone to celebrate a great day.

Thursday (5 days to DE)

1. Got my eyebrows waxed for the last time.
2. Went to the Title I meeting to give my team shamrocks for luck.
3. Picked up Joern early from the airport (with an awesome car!).
4. Had some more Mexican food to store it up for when it may be harder to come by.

Wednesday (6 days to DE)

Well the past couple of days have been really busy with pakcing and cleaning so I never did make it to the computer at the end of the day.  But I'm back in the saddle now!  To recap, I finished packing the kitchen and did the laundry, and then I did some major cleaning and climbing around the kitchen like a monkey.  Leah was a huge help as always and we dropped off a lot of things at goodwill.  Here's today:

1. Read a book for fun.
2. Had brunch with Leah (since we're roomies again).
3. Took care of odds and ends.
4. Had dinner and got ready to race through the next few days. 

Sunday (9 days to DE)

1. Made a big breakfast in the kitchen (got to use my kitchen stuff for the last time).
2. Packed up more stuff.
3. Re-potted the citrus trees into bigger pots.
4. Packed some more and tried to fit everything into our bags...not so much.

Saturday (10 days to DE)

1. Woke up at Leah's and ate rice krispie treats for breakfast.
2. Picked up a really fun rental car for the week (since we sold our car (Joern is still recovering)).
3. Packed up the hall closet, bathroom, and man cave.
4. Ate Goodberry's with Leah and hugged Maria good bye forever again. 

Friday (11 days to DE)

1. Joern sold the car to a nice family (there were a few misty moments).
2. We had a nice breakfast at Panera and sat and talked of good memories with said car.
3.  Joern organized the computer while I read my nook.
4. Had a great Aloha party with good toasts and great friends.

Thursday (12 days to DE)

1. Got goodies and decorations for tomorrow's luau.
2. Realized I could do anything I wanted with the day, so took a nap.
3. Went for a long walk in the warm breezes and sunshine.
4. Picked up Joern from the airport.