O du wunderschöner Herbst - life in German and Austria thread

[admylin]

It is a wunderschöner Herbst at the moment isn't it. Lovely sunny bright blue sky with a chill in the air. Shame we're stuck in the house, ds has a flu like virus so the balcony is as far as we'll get.

admylin - we went to London last year just after New Year and had a great time. I think maybe if you live there all the time it probably is bleak and gloomy at that time of year, but for a few days we had a brilliant time. We visited a couple of museums and art galleries, went to the new Westfield shopping centre and caught up with a couple of friends. We´re even thinking of going again this year as can´t agree on an alternative.

Thanks for the explanation, admylin. I wouldn't have a clue where to start with Lüge; I have the feeling I'm going to realise how lacking my German really is once DD1 starts secondary school!

From what I remember, London was more bleak and gloomy in January/February time than around Christmas (all the lights and decorations helped). But anyway, I think it's going to be horrendously busy if DH and I do go there for the day by train, although he hasn't mentioned it for a while. We should probably make more of what Vienna has to offer, but it just doesn't have the shops! We'll probably go to Bratislava next Monday though, as there's no school and DH has the day off work in lieu of the bank holiday when he was in Turkey.

I've got to go into school for English in about an hour, but at least I've got used to teaching the class on my own and the teacher provides me with plenty of handouts. It would be even better if they'd been written by a native English speaker (one of today's includes a poem with the line "This am I" in it), but I don't want to make a big deal out of it in case the teacher wants me to bring in my own handouts - I did with DD1's old teacher, and it was so time-consuming trying to find something suitable.

Right, back to my book - 27 pages down, 514 to go!

Hupa, what else was on your list that you couldn't agree about? Just it might give me an idea! Dd would love to go to Mme Tussauds and I would like to go shopping mostly for stuff for the dc, they all want fish and chips.

Linzer, I wouldn't know where to start teaching a class of primary school dc. Have they got a book too or is just you and the teacher's handouts?

We went past the queue for Madame Tussauds when we were in London in the summer, and it looked about a mile long - I'm sure it never used to be that bad!

No, no book - just me and the teacher's handouts. I'm glad I had much more input from DD1's old teacher as I wouldn't have wanted to teach on my own right from the start, but I've got to know the class now so it's not so bad. Teaching really isn't my vocation, though; I'd much rather be sitting at home translating!

admylin - the list is way too long, but to give you an idea. If we went for somewhere warm, most of Europe is a bit too cold eg Mallorca, Greece, so we´d need to travel further eg. Dubai Eygpt, but then that is too expensive. The Canary Islands are a possibilty, but we´ve been so many times we fancy a change. Dh suggested South Africa, but it´s too far for a week.
I quite fancy a city break so suggested Vienna (dh lived there for a year and loved it), but he says too bleak in January. I´d really like to go to Barcelona, but dh not convinced. He´d quite like a snowboard holiday, but would rather do that with friends and it´s also mega expensive after Christmas. So it´s looking like London. We usually drive over and can then fill up the car with all the goodies we buy. The exchange rate is still pretty good for us at the moment.

Linzer - I have to say I think London for a day would be absolute madness. You´re a braver woman than me if you go ahead.

Would your parents have the dc for a couple of days Linzer then you could stay longer in London?

Driving over would be great (for the shopping and cartons of salt and vinager crisps etc) but dh is a mad scientist so he'd crash on the wrong side of the road (he can only cope with his lab, rest of life he has his eyes closed!) and I am like Linzer, hate driving further than I have to and don't even mention Autobahn!

Hupa, your options sound exactly like ours, we've discussed going to to the same places! One travel agent just looked at us and said but people are booking their summer holiday 2011 already, as if to say what do you expect when you leave it so late.

Wonder if we should go somewhere in Germany.

I`ve always wanted to go to Sylt and thought wind swept beaches might be fun. I then looked up the prices and realised we could have a week in the sun for less, so abandoned the idea.

I did wonder about that admylin, but my parents looked after the DC when I went to London for a couple of days in the summer (when DH was at a conference there) and I would feel slightly guilty about asking them again so soon - well, on my next visit. I also wondered about taking the DC with us, but think they're still a bit young (and would get very fed up shopping, which would be one of our main reasons for going). I'll have to have another talk with DH about it!

Confession: we have already booked our summer 2011 holiday.

Well done Linzer. We should be doing the same and book something for next year. Trouble is dh is waiting as usual to find out where we will be in August (will he be changing jobs or staying on etc) so it always puts us off planning too far ahead.

Yes, hupa, the price is always the problem isn't it? I was looking at some offers for package deals with flight and hotel in London and I would get 4 days for the price of a package deal to Mallorca for 7 days. Not that I fancy Mallorca really.

Linzer, it'S funny isn't it with asking for babysitting? If we lived next door to our parents they would be having the dc all the time especially if they are retired (well, mine have for my sister) but it's such a big thing and like asking a massive favour for us.

this thread is really busy at the mo! by the time i've read all the posts i've forgotten what i wanted to write!!!

ernest - cant believe your still fighting to get the internet and phone connected! thats been ages! hope the rest of the troubles are getting easier!

Linzer - you are super organised in booking your summer hols already! where are you going? i long to be that sorted but we've still not booked our skiing and thats only about 7 weeks away! must harass dh tonight about it!

admylin - i know how easy it is to give up looking and just stay at home!! but it would be nice for you all to have a break! hope you get something sorted!

thankfully i got quickly better from my poorlyness! i always warm up those part-baked rolls and eat them dry when i've had diarrheoa and it always seems to stop it! but it was back to german today - cant moan since its my only lesson this week - my lush table comes on friday morning!!!! will happily wait in for that! admylin - todays lesson wasnt too stressful - just all about past tense of verbs! i find that hard since i dont read enough german so i never know the imperfect form - and it sometimes looks nothing like the infinitive form! but i suppose i just need to learn that (along with cases, adjective endings and everything else i dont know!). think i thought learning a lanuage when i was here would be easier than it is!

Glad to hear you're feeling better Canella, and that your German lesson wasn't too stressful! I thought the imperfect was used much more in Germany than it is here; the Austrians don't really use it in speech at all. DD1 is learning it at school at the moment, and her teacher told us that even the teachers struggle with the "Mitvergangenheitstag" they have when everyone has to speak in the imperfect, but that her son lives in Germany and has started using it much more (apologies if I've written about it before!).

We're going to Italy in the summer - the same place that we've been to for the last four years, so no decision-making required. We just wanted to book early to make sure we got a decent apartment; if we'd actually had to make a decision about where to go, we wouldn't have been as organised!

admylin - For some reason I feel guiltier about asking my parents to look after the DC than my ILs, probably because my PIL have spent so much time looking after my SIL's children (they all live in the same house, which isn't that uncommon here) that I feel like it's our turn now! I must admit I do feel slightly envious when I see how much help other families have from the grandparents; our neighbours have just spent four days in Crete while the GPs looked after their three DC (slightly younger than ours).

Oh my brain is hurting. I'm preparing to help dd when she gets in from school at 3pm. She has to learn for a maths test so I have ds's maths test from last year but only the questions, lost the answers so am doing it now so I stay calm when dd is trying to do them and sound as if I know what I'm talking about.

Honestly scarey stuff: Lisa has 3 rabbits. She uses 750g of food a week. Her neighbour asks her to look after her 2 rabbits for 3 months. How much food will Lisa need for the next 3 months?
Also Lisa gives her rabbits vitamin drops which last for 12 days. How long will they last now?
WHY OH WHY....

hope i'm not about to make a complete fool out of myself but isnt the imperfect "ich dachte ....." and the perfect is "ich habe gedacht" - if i'm right then they actively teach you that people only use the perfect in speech and in informal emails & letters and the imperfect will be in formal letters and written text.

or maybe thats a bayern thing?

italy sounds lovely - i've only been once nearly 20 years ago for skiing but i'd love to go in the summer!

we dont get that much babysitting of all 3 at the same time either- our overnight in a hotel on saturday was the first night away in well over a year. But the GP's do have the kids one at a time for up to a week and have looked after them here in the day but i would be v grateful for a bit more time away with dh! but since the GP's are going on holiday on new years eve for 3 months then it'll be a while before my wishes come true!

1250g a week admylin so multiply that by 12 weeks

7 days?

Canella - maybe Bavaria is similar to Austria (I often can't tell the difference between an Austrian and a Bavarian accent!) and you only use the perfect tense in speech there as well. I've definitely noticed that my German friend here will say things like "ich ging", whereas an Austrian would only ever say "ich bin gegangen" - maybe it's more of a northern German thing to use the imperfect in speech?

I'm trying to help DD1 with her homework as well atm, admylin - yet more imperfect (can manage that!) and also direct speech (the teacher has written in her book that she needs to practise it more). Is it just me, or does direct speech in German look wrong? For example, DD1 has had to write:
"Schaut, ein Hase!", ruft Doris.
The exclamation mark and comma looks a bit doppelt gemoppelt to me, but her teacher has corrected it so it must be right I suppose.

Yep, that's what I got - did you do it in your head too? They have to do it all in their heads which is what slows dd up most of all.

Spent an hour going over long division last night. The sum was 91,64 divided by 75,4. Took her ages to figure out the moving of the decimal and the adding of zero here and there and the long multiplication inbetween.

Same here, I envy the people or especially the expats who have parents willing to fly over and look after their grandchildren. I got four days help after ds was born and another 4 for dd and have had one night in a hotel with dh in the last 12 years.

Yes Linzer, dd often forgets the komma. The best way is to get some text on Word where you delete the marks and she has to put them in properly. That's how we did it.

Two rabbits would need 500g a week, but are there four or five weeks in a month, admylin?

The vitamin drops would last 4 days for one rabbit, so 8 days for her neighbour (or rather, her neighbour's two rabbits).

My brain isn't used to having to think so much... I have all this to look forward to!

So how did you both get 1250 g a week? Am feeling very now.

No if it's 12 days for 3 rabbits, one rabbit uses less so it's 36 days, divided by 5 rabbits it's 7 and abit!

Right, I make it 6 kg if there are four weeks in a month. And I still make it 8 days for 2 rabbits.

Really must go and pick DS up...

yeah did it in my head which is why i wasnt so sure! but maths is my fave subject so i'm happy to help!

but 91.64 divided by 75.4 - now i'd need paper for that! 1.21... - think i need a refresher maths course!

Ah, I see now! I'd forgotten that she still had her three rabbits to look after.

I might as well just give up now...

The 1250g is Lisa's 3 and the neighbour's 2 for 1 week, multiply by 12 weeks to get 3 months worth.

This is where most of ds's class went wrong. They worked out the 1250 but forgot to work out the 3 months worth. It was one of the worst tests ever for ds last year and the whole class got bad grades. I figure if dd can do this her teacher might have written a slightly easier test and she could manage it!