It’s been a bigger adjustment to life in Texas than we had imagined, but it’s starting to feel a little more like home as we get the walls painted and things hung. Our bedroom is still a mess as we haven’t put everything away yet. The living areas and Elijah’s room have been done for a while now, though.

Things with my business are going well. I have done three shoots in the past 2.5 weeks and have a proposal for more work that I’m putting together today. Let’s hope the trend continues.

John is doing well in school and likes his class for the most part. It is a core requirement, so it doesn’t pertain to his major, but he does have a great professor and is taking away a lot from the class.

Elijah is growing like crazy and will be 12 weeks tomorrow, meaning he will have spent half his life in Texas and half in Germany. We went to the doctor two weeks ago and he weighed 14 lbs 5 oz, so he is a big guy already! He is also dealing with reflux which is no fun. We go through burp cloths like crazy, but thankfully the Zantac seems to be giving him some relief for the burning.

This weekend, we are headed to a reunion for John’s side of the family. Since I’ve never been to a family reunion before, I’m especially looking forward to this one. I will also get the chance to meet some of his family that I haven’t met previously. To top it all off, we’re getting to celebrate his grandmother’s 90th birthday. Hurray!

I will update more soon, but for now, my litlte squirm bug has almost wiggled completely off his play mat, so I must go!

We won’t miss the lack of German customer service. I will never forget when we were sitting in Mandy’s diner, a restaurant near our house, and our waitress got mad at us because she brought two servings of an appetizer when we had only ordered one. She insisted that we were lying and we had ordered two. She didn’t want to take it away or take it off our bill. She was so rude, and it infuriated us so much that we can’t bring ourselves to go back. Too bad that was the only place we know of where we could get jalapeno poppers. Gosh, I love those things. And no, the commissary does not sell them. Speaking of the commissary…

We won’t miss the inability to go to other grocery stores. Sure, we can go to the German grocery store, but then we are paying extra (because it’s in Euro) for the same products. Sometimes I get so fed up with the commissary. Their produce is far from fresh, and oftentimes, their chicken expires within 1-3 days of the purchase date. In fact, I have brought chicken home that expired THAT day. Ugh. Oh, and I won’t miss paying exorbitant prices on our groceries. I had my mom check it out, and we are almost paying double on our milk price to what we’ll pay when we get back. That’s just ridiculous, especially since pregnancy gave me such a hankering for milk.

We won’t miss my cell phone contract. We never even went near the monthly minute limit. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what I am allotted. I just know that we pay far too much for what we use. It comes out to about $90/month and I use less than 200 minutes/month. It’s an iPhone, so I have unlimited data usage as well, but most of the time, I’m on our home network, so I’m not even accumulating data usage. Bah.

We won’t miss having to pay bill at the bank. That’s right. We cannot pay for my iPhone online. You have to either have a direct debit set up from your German bank account or go to the bank and pay directly from your bank account. We did not like the direct debit option, because it didn’t give us a chance to review the bill first. So now, we have to go to the bank once a month, deposit money and then go pay our mobile phone bill at the machine in the lobby. It would not be as much of a headache if the banks had good hours, but they don’t. They close at noon at least one day a week and it varies by branch. They are closed for an hour and a half or so around lunch time. And they are closed by 4 or 4:30 in the afternoons. They are also closed on Saturday. When, pray tell, do Germans make it to the bank?

We will not miss dealing with two currencies. It has made budgeting rather difficult, and it gets a little tricky with our cash budgeting since the amounts we need each month vary with the exchange rate. It will be nice to only have to withdraw one currency type each time we go to the bank.

We will not miss paying for parking everywhere. If a store has free parking here, it’s a major advertising point. Only really big stores like IKEA and OBI (the Home Depot equivalent) have free parking. The new mall in Mannheim doesn’t even have free parking. With nearly 82 million people in a country the size of Montana, I guess space really does come at a price.

We will not miss having to spend thousands of dollars to visit our family. Once we’re back, they will just be about an hour or so away by car. Here, however, we have to take off from work (read: lost money), buy plane tickets that are usually in excess of $1000 each, pay someone to watch Béni, and pay for the normal expenses of being on vacation (rental car, eating out, etc.).

And last but not least,

We will not miss being in the Army!!!

We won’t miss the bitter winter cold. We’re not Rochester, MN, but boy howdy does it get nippy here in the winter. It wouldn’t be so bad if it warmed up above freezing, but we’ll see multiple weeks pass by without breaking freezing. That is enough to make a Texan go crazy and start wearing weather inappropriate clothing.

We won’t miss shoveling the sidewalk or having to clear our car of snow and ice before work. Shoveling snow is hard work. Enough said.

We won’t miss the darkness of the winter months. In December, it gets to a point where the sun has completely set and it’s pitch black by 4 PM. The sun also doesn’t come up until after 8 AM. That’s less than 8 hours of daylight, folks. It can be depressing.

We won’t miss the gray, misty winter weather. It is one thing to have cold temperatures but for it to also be sunny. However, a typical German winter lends itself to very few sunny days. We can go weeks (that’s not an exaggeration) without seeing the sun. One more weather complaint…

We won’t miss the lack of thunderstorms. I bet you we have had less than 10 storms in the past 3 years that involved thunder. And those storms were nowhere near on par with the nasty Texas storms that roll through in the summertime. I love a good Texas thunderstorm.

We won’t miss the lack of Southern hospitality. There is nothing like walking down the street in Texas and waving at random people passing by, nodding hello and the general friendliness of people you run into while out and about. We have really missed that here and cannot wait to be welcomed back to Texas by all the strangers we will pass on the street.

We won’t miss the lack of hot days. In Germany, it’s a hot day if it hits the upper 70s. In Texas, that’s a nice breezy day. We won’t miss the inability to wear flip flops most of the year. We won’t miss the very short outdoor swimming season.

We won’t miss the lack of air conditioning. On those few days that do get up there in temperature, there’s nowhere to go to escape the heat. We set up our bedroom as “the cave” during the summer months. We never open the blinds, our portable A/C is always running (and can barely provide enough air to cool one room) and that is our escape.

We won’t miss living on post. Had it been up to us, we would have chosen to live on the economy and immerse ourselves in the local culture. We would have learned far more German, had better living conditions and overall been happier. We would not have had to deal with endless Army politics even at home. We would not have had to deal with neighbors who never grew up and learned to be responsible.

We won’t miss stairwell living or the thin walls of our apartment. We have heard all sorts of intimate details of our neighbors’ lives from fights to shunned children to the more private matters of the bedroom. We won’t miss knowing a little too much about our neighbors’ private lives.

We won’t miss the Armed Forces Network (AFN), our sole source for television. We do not get regular commercials on there – it’s all PSAs for the military on things ranging from military history to don’t drink and drive. We won’t miss the season-old shows they choose to air, either. However, we may or may not miss our weekend morning programming of Mythbusters, Top Gear and the like.

We won’t miss the lengthy shipping times we face, especially during Christmastime. It’s always hit or miss as to whether our gifts will make it to their destinations by Christmas Day. This year, my gift to John arrived a week late. Bummer.

We will not miss the lack of shops open late into the evening. Most stores around here close by 6. There are a few that stay open until 8 or 9, but that’s a real novelty. I am always amazed by the late store hours when we visit the States.

We will miss the Heidelberg “hilltains.” They technically are mountains, but they are nothing compared to the Alps, of course. They are also much more than hills when you compare them to the Texas Hill Country. Thus, John and I dubbed them hilltains. It’s nice to look out our windows and see them. Watching the colors of the trees change in the fall on the hills or the green return in the spring is extra special. It is also magical to see the tops of them dusted with snow when we barely got anything down in the city.

We will miss our garden. Just over a year ago, we cleared out a weed-ridden portion by our building, ripped out old decrepit rose bushes and built a raised bed garden. We planted flowers, vegetables, fruit and herbs. We learned a lot about gardening and took great pleasure in checking in on our garden on a daily basis. We also brought back the grass instead of the weeds in the area in front of the garden. Now, with our departure, the only things remaining in that area are the grass, our hydrangea (my favorite flower), chives and our asparagus plant. We were hoping the pepper and pepino would make it through the winter, but I think they’re done for. Anyway, we don’t think anyone will take care of this area once we leave, and it will be sad to know that it will return to the nasty, overgrown, weed-ridden area that it was before we got here.

We will miss the Weihnachtsmarkts (Christmas markets) and all the other seasonal festivals: Spargelfest (asparagus fest), the wine festivals, Flugtags (flying dags), etc. Germans like to fest everything. It’s fun! The Christmas markets are definitely our favorite, though. We will miss all the sights, sounds and smells of the markets – particularly the crepes and Glühwein.

We will miss the Kaffeehaus and Schwetzingen. Schwetzingen has held a special place in our hearts since we got here. It’s a cute small town, and the people there have always been friendly to us. It is also home to our favorite restaurant, the Kaffeehaus, which gets it major points. We will miss our brunches, lunches and dinners at the Kaffeehaus. No matter what you order there, it’s going to be good. I miss it already!

We will miss tax-free shopping. Because we are military stationed overseas, whenever we buy something from the States and have it shipped here, it’s tax free. I will miss getting everything at about 8% off. (I won’t miss paying for shipping, though!)

We will miss not paying for rent or healthcare. This has been one of the major benefits of the Army. We have had these needs provided for. However, it has not always been wonderful (some of which I will cover in the next series on what we won’t miss). There have been several instances where we have been completely frustrated with the standard of healthcare. For instance, having a non-cavity drilled and filled as if it was a cavity is beyond infuriating.

And the last of the “we will miss” series:

We will miss Sunday being a rest day. Almost all shops and many restaurants are closed on Sundays. It is nice to have a day where you cannot do anything other than relax and enjoy your family. However, when you and your spouse both work full time, it can also be exasperating to only have one day (Saturday) to be able to get out and do errands. We have a love/hate relationship with this one, which brings us to things we won’t miss about military life and living in Germany.

I will continue posting as normal next week. I hope everyone has a great weekend. We are going to (hopefully) go to Spargel Samstag (Asparagus Saturday), which is the asparagus festival in Schwetzingen, our last German fest, visit our favorite German waitress at the Kaffeehaus on her last day of work (which only seems appropriate considering she has served us nearly every time we’ve dined there over the past 3 years) and enjoy time as a family.

We will miss leisurely dining. In the States, servers are trying to turn tables quickly in order to maximize their tips for the day. Also, Americans often are in a hurry to get from one place to the next, so a quick meal works out well. (Exception being fine dining) Over here, however, the wait staff is paid a normal wage (aka not $2.13/hr), so they do not rely on tips for their income. It is not abnormal to spend 1.5-2 hours enjoying lunch. LUNCH. No one tries to hurry you from your table. You are expected to relax, enjoy the meal and eat, drink and be merry. While I’m on the topic of eating…

We will miss our bakeries. Oh boy, we will really miss our bakeries. We have already scouted out some bakeries to try once we get settled in Austin, and I’m certain we will be regulars at one of them. I just hope their Schokocroissants (chocolate croissants or pain au chocolate in France) satisfy our cravings. The recipes and examples of these that I have seen online has been subpar, so please, Austin bakeries, don’t disappoint me!

We will miss coffee. Sure, you can get coffee at any Starbucks, McDonald’s or local gas station, but the flavor is lacking. The first time I had a cup of Starbucks coffee after having been over here was in the Detroit airport. I ordered a caramel macchiato. When I took my first sip, I announced that the barista must have forgotten to add the coffee. It just tasted like warm water and milk. John took the drink back to the counter, and they remade my order. Unfortunately, try #2 was no better. Coffee in the States is that weak compared to what we normally drink, which is rich and full of flavor. I will really miss it.

We will miss pretzels. Like with the coffee, you can get a warm pretzel in the States – namely, at the food court in the mall. However, it’s just not the same.

We will miss doner and our lovely Turkish fast food joints. There is a large Turkish population here, and so there are also a proliferation of fast food restaurants and food stands who carry doner, Turkish pizza, etc. Yum. One place in particular, Sisal, has phenomenal doner and fries. They make their fries fresh and add great seasoning. There’s no need for ketchup or mayo on the fries. (Yes, here it’s more common to put mayo on your fries than ketchup. And you know what? It’s delicious!)

We will miss two great sodas: Mezzo Mix and Fanta. Mezzo Mix is a blend of regular and orange cola. Next to Dr. Pepper, it’s my favorite. The Fanta sold here is a different recipe than is sold in the US. It’s not a bright orange Crush-looking beverage.  It looks more like Sprite plus orange juice. The sweetness factor is a fraction of the US Fanta, too. Fanta is my third favorite soda and my top pick if I’m going caffeine free (as in, I have been ordering it often since June!). Speaking of something I haven’t been enjoying lately…

We will miss wine. Old world wine. French wine. Burgundian wine. We can buy this in the States, but it’s usually the mass produced wines, and they are sold at a huge mark up because of import taxes and transport costs. I will miss walking down to our favorite little wine shops and picking up a fantastic bottle of French, Spanish or Italian wine for as little as the US equivalent of $9-10. Our oenophile-tendencies are about to get a lot more expensive, which means that we will probably have much less opportunity to enjoy truly great Old World wine. Perhaps this will give us a chance to delve more into Californian wines. (And no…call me a wine snob if you will, but I won’t accept Llano Estacado as a noteworthy wine.)

We will miss neuer Wein and Zwiebelkuchen, otherwise known as new wine and onion cake. This is a popular seasonal treat in the fall. New wine is wine that has just begun the fermentation process. It is not filtered, so it has a feathery look to it, leading some to call it Federweisser (feather white). Oh, and it’s carbonated! Depending on where you are in Germany, this sweet treat has many different names. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federweisser The alcohol content can be quite deceptive and can have an alcohol content of anywhere from 4-10% by volume. The Zwiebelkuchen is an important part of enjoying the neuer Wein. It is a lot like an onion-based quiche. The tastes complement each other well and you would be remiss not to order them together.

When I first set out to write this, I meant for it to be a two-part post. However, after jumping in, I realized that this was quickly turning into more than just two quick blog posts. So, please, enjoy part 1!

We will miss our slow pace of life. We live and work in the same community, so we do not travel far and we see the same people every day. It lends itself to a nice slow pace. We are also as isolated as we want to be from the 24 hour news cycle. We don’t have local news (unless we seek it out online), and our newspapers revolve around the Department of Defense and other military news. As a result, I feel less anxious and cynical about the state of the world, and I like it that way. This is not to say that we are uneducated when it comes to current events, because we certainly still hear about them, but our lives aren’t overly saturated with days of reporting on Charlie Sheen, violent murders or the endless drama of Washington D.C.

We will miss orderly highway driving. While I still prefer not to be the driver on the Autobahn, I will say riding on it is rather nice. Everyone sticks to the pass on the left law (yes, it’s a law in the States too, but people rarely adhere to it), which leads to a much less stressful drive. You do not have to worry about cars zipping past you and the left and right and being surrounded by 18-wheelers. Here, they are only allowed in the right hand lane unless they are passing. They also have a maximum speed limit, which is usually 80 kph or roughly 50 mph.

(I must note that I just lost the rest of this post. I had written five more paragraphs. I am no longer a happy camper.)

We will miss our friends.  During the first three years of John’s assignment here, we struggled to find likeminded friends. However, when John got send to work at the band, we were introduced to a great group of people. We have spent Thanksgiving together, welcomed new babies and celebrated pregnancies as well as many birthdays. Truly, this will be the hardest part about leaving.

We will miss the ease of traveling to our favorite places like the French countryside, Paris, Switzerland, Garmisch and Baden-Baden (in the Black Forest). We will have new places to visit on long weekends like San Antonio, the Texas coast, Dallas and Houston, but none of those have the same relaxing feel or exciting ring of our European getaways. I will admit, however, that if we were German, chances are we wouldn’t think the travel opportunities here were so great. We just wish we could have travelled more, but thanks to the poor exchange rate and our work schedules, we were a bit constrained by what we could do. We are really happy with the vacations that we did go on, though. Every one of them was special and wonderful in its own way.