True Life: A Cold, Dreary Saturday in Germany

This past Saturday was dark, cold, and dreary. The perfect fall day for staying inside and being cozy. To combat the dreariness we:

Napped - a very important step when fighting off crappy weather.

Lit candles - what's cozier than candles?!

Cooked Roasted Rosemary Chicken - comfort food, yes please!

Watched College football all snuggled up in bed.

We beat the snot out of that cold, dreary Saturday with ease. The next day was bright and crisp, a classic fall day. Fingers crossed for more of the latter!


Also, we'd like to send warm birthday wishes to Brian's dad, Larry!!

We hope your day is full of joy and laughter. Happy Birthday!
Love - B & C

True Life: Watching the Broncos While Living Abroad

That special time of the year is upon us again. We've waited patiently all off-season for the start of the Broncos (and the NFL) season. Watching the games in the States is always fairly simple: either it will be televised and we can watch at home or it won't be televised so we watch at a bar. This year since we're living abroad has provided new, and somewhat annoying, issues with watching our favorite team. First and foremost, the time difference. Luckily, the game yesterday was played on the East Coast and was the early game so it started at 1900 (7 PM) for us. Unfortunately we definitely, well actually, I definitely won't be watching any Sunday or Monday night games live, that's for sure. But luckily that issue segues beautifully into the whole how-are-we-going-to-watch-the-games issue. With a little word-of-mouth help and a little time spent on the interwebs, Brian found out that NFL.com offers different overseas internet packages. You can purchase the whole season or games by the week. Woo hoo!! We opted for the weekly package since we'll still be traveling and not necessarily at home all day every Sunday for the next three months. With the weekly package you're able to watch the games live or watch the archived games up to seven days after they've been played. Score!

So with our viewing issues mostly settled, we all got ready for our Big Sunday. Toby took a pre-game nap:

I made some snacks:




B got the game up and running:

And we settled in for a fun evening with the Broncos:

Unfortunately, we had some internet connectivity problems that delayed our viewing, but we worked them out and were able to watch the Broncos lose to the Jaguars. Boo!

Better luck next week, Donkeys!

PS - Ron & Holly: We missed watching with you two!!

True Life: Daily Ritual

One of my most favorite daily rituals since we've been in Germany may be surprising (although as much as food makes an appearance on this blog, it probably won't be that surprising...). Each morning, regardless of what else I have for breakfast, I always (seriously, every day) eat one of these beauties:

A bretzel roll!

Bretzels (soft pretzels) are extremely popular here. You can find them anywhere and everywhere. Generally they're served in the more traditional looking pretzel form, but a lot of times you can find the smaller (and cuter) bretzel rolls which quickly became my favorite. Breztels and bretzel rolls in Germany have a much richer, flavorful taste than the soft pretzels we're used to in the States. Early on in my breztel roll devotion, I started pairing my daily breztel roll with this dynamite find:



Kräuter (herb) cream cheese!



Match made in culinary heaven.

Since I will probably go through some sort of bretzel roll withdrawal after I leave Germany, I've already found a (hopefully) good recipe.

What is your favorite daily ritual??

True Life: Patch Barracks Library

Not too long after we arrived here we became intimately involved with the library on base. It's developed into a charming love affair and we couldn't be happier! More than often we have a stack of books at home that looks like this:

Along with a stack of DVDs that looks like this:

Side-note: We've actually already seen Six Feet Under, but we love the series so much we're re-watching it. If you haven't seen it, drop whatever you're doing right now and go watch the entire series. Seriously.

The Patch Library isn't terribly huge or strikingly modern, but it houses a good amount of quality books (our favorite types of book have been travel books; since we're always on the road to somewhere new; instead of having to buy travel books for each new location we simply borrow from the library). Since the library itself isn't very big, they offer Interlibrary Loans which work with all of the other military libraries in Europe to share books. So far I've already received two books through Interlibrary Loan and have a few requests out on other books right now. It's so nice to know that even if our library doesn't have what we're looking for, more than likely another military library will and will send it to us (usually) within a week.

With all of this borrowing and requesting of items, I generally go to the library 3-4 times per week. If I'm not perusing the bookshelves, then I'm usually hidden away in a quiet corner sharing some quality time with my latest book crush. There's nothing better than cracking open a worn hardback book and diving in to a different world for a few hours!

Since we have been reading so much, we'd love to hear any recommendations of good books you'd like to share. Please leave suggestions in the Comments section.

True Life: Being a Puppy

First, I wake up after a deep night's sleep.

Then I open my eyes and look around.

Next, I play with my siblings and chew on my sister's pesky tail (Please don't tell my mom!).

Then it's time to take my new head shots.



All of that posing made me tired. Nap time!!



After nap time I can always go for a snack. I think I'll belly up to the bar for some milk.



Time for bed!

True Life: Mail

It being the 21st century and all, we did not foresee any major problems with sending and receiving mail while we are living in Germany. Oh how naïve of us!

I think the most frustrating part about the whole system is the inconsistency. At least if we knew it would take two weeks to send and receive a piece of mail or package well then we'd know how long it will take. So far though, we've seen it's quite the opposite. For example, the fastest we've ever received something was in four days. FOUR days from Birmingham, AL to our little mailbox on Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. Now that's pretty dang quick! The slowest something has taken (so far, since I know a post card we sent in early March has still yet to reach its recipient) has been four months. FOUR months from Georgetown, TX to our little mailbox on Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. Now that's pretty dang silly!

After the one and half month time period a tracking request was put out on the package. After a week or two of searching, the final response was that the package reached the military facility, but after that was considered MIA. And most likely WIA, since the reason for it not being delivered was that "the label is probably damaged or destroyed". Low and behold last week we received our MIA/WIA package:

From first glance it looks pretty well in tact...and wait, what is that?

It's legible writing! Turns out our little package wasn't so much WIA as it was maybe SIA (Soaked in Action). The box and paper contents appeared to have gotten wet, probably months ago. Who knows where this little guy was waiting ever-so-patiently for us, but I'm just glad we finally got him!

Side note: this story doesn't even come close to the time it took 11 months (almost a year!) for a package I sent from Illinois to reach my mom in Texas. I wonder if when these packages go missing they're really just at some big party with all of the missing other socks of the world....?

On the whole, we can't complain too much since we have yet to actually lose (at least to our knowledge) a package or piece of mail completely. Drastic examples aside, we've found that it can take about one to two weeks for mail to reach its final destination. Not so bad in the long run!

True Life: Faulty Dryer

This is what is looks like around our room when the PCS Lounge dryer decides to not function properly:

Maybe I should invest in a drying rack...?

Luckily I met a nice woman in the PCS Lounge today who gave me a bit of dryer troubleshooting advice. We'll see if it works the next time around. My fingers are tightly crossed that it does!

True Life: The Marriott "Spa"

Another fun perk of living at the Marriott is the "spa" experience. Above the gym is the pool and steam room. Here's a shot of the medium sized pool:

There isn't a hot tub, but there is this:

We're still not totally sure what the Germans call this, but at first glance we thought it was the hot tub area of the pool. Close, but no cigar. It's just a semi-enclosed area with water jets that shoot cool water. The jets are so powerful that if you don't anchor yourself down to the tile bench, the current is likely to push you back into the pool.

The pool is extremely clean and heated to a nice comfortable temperature. The best part about the pool...there's hardly ever anyone swimming so we generally have the place to ourselves!

Next to the pool is the steam room:

The steam room has proven to be a fantastic way to combat the extremely cold, dry winter. 15 minutes in the steam room and your skin feels brand new! As good, old fashioned, clothes-loving Americans, we always wear our swimsuits in the steam room, but we get the vibe that that is not necessarily the norm. So we're EXTRA thankful when other people aren't using the steam room when we want to. Ew!

And just in case we were interested in getting a nice, fake glow in the winter, there's also this:

We have yet to see anyone actually use the tanning bed, but still pretty funny that they offer one! I especially like the little tanning bed icon on the wall...those squiggly UV rays really hammer home the "benefits" of tanning.

Tanning bed aside, our little Marriott spa is a great place to unwind and splash around!

True Life: Working Out at the Marriott

Living at the Marriott definitely has some perks. For us, one of the most utilized perks is the gym. Brian often works out on base during or after work, but since I'm a little less mobile, I take advantage of the gym at the Marriott. It's not terribly big, but it has everything anyone would need for a quality work out.

Here's a look at our gym:

In addition to what you can see in the photos there is also a rowing machine, bike, and a small rack of free weights.

My usual routine is to work out sometime between 0930 - 1130 for about 40 minutes. I have only once ever come across another person working out at the same time. Since it is a smaller gym, it's SO nice to have it to yourself! If Brian is unable to work out on base, he'll use the gym in the evening and it tends to be a little more crowded.

Side-note: The local (German) Mom's Club meets in the mornings to take their kids swimming at the Marriott. They all meet and prep in the room adjacent to the gym. An interesting thing I learned from the Mom's Club is that after they swim they take their toddlers into the sauna. Not sure if I'd feel comfortable taking a toddler into a sauna, but it seems to be the norm around here! Has anyone ever heard of taking young children into a sauna?

With all of the tasty beers and heavy German food we've been consuming, we're SO grateful to have a nice place to exercise.

True Life: Our Town

Yesterday was the FIRST day of complete sunshine we've had since we've been here, so I decided I would take the opportunity to walk into our cute little town and take some photos. The heart of Sindelfingen (our town) is about a 20 minute walk from the Marriott. Most towns in Germany are planned around the Rathausplatz (town hall square) or Marktplatz (market square). Sindelfingen is no different. Here's a view of the Marktplatz:

I got to town at about 1400, right after the local market was being packed up. (Oh, hello there sunshine, we've missed you!) I found out that the local market is up and running on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I am definitely going back for some fresh produce and flowers!

Next I turned down this quaint, narrow street:

This street has a bunch of cute little shops, a few restaurants, and lots of benches. Can't wait to go into town in the spring and people watch!

That street empties into this adorable biergarten area:

You'd better believe we'll be logging some hours here once the weather warms up.

Kitty corner from this small area is this cool looking Italian restaurant:



The menu looks tasty: pizzas, pastas, and so on!

Around the corner from Come Sempre is this teeny tiny bar that we stopped in on New Year's Eve:



Although a little quiet, our town has quite a few charms that we're looking forward to experiencing in the coming months.