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.

Your dh isn't a neuroscientist is he? Mine worked through the weekend apart from a short break on Sunday to eat his cake! He had proofs of one of his papers to checka nd he couldn't settle until he'd finished it as the quicker he sends the proofs back, the quicker he gets it published.

Gerbil still isn't well but slightly better. I think ds is coming down with something, he's not going to training at table tennis club. Dd is meant to be writing a creative story about a candle and the Feuerwehr (title given by German teacher) and she isn't in a fantasy mood so it's hard.

Just sent application off to California for dh, wouldn't mind a change but would be extremely stressed at a move to USA due to insurance and pension and not having a 'base' to come back to if we didn't like it etc..

California sounds exciting, admylin - quite different from Vienna, but like bananas said, both places would have their advantages and disadvantages. I'm not sure I would want to go back to live in the USA, but we did have a wonderful time there.

They've just introduced Gesamtschule in Austria - it's called neue Mittelschule here and one opened in our town in September. The problem is that the town already has two Gymnasien and DH thinks that it won't not much more than a change of name (it used to be the Hauptschule) and that all the worst pupils will end up there, so he's not keen on DD1 going.

bananas - If you find anywhere that sells poppadums that you can heat up in the oven, let me know! I can only find the kind that you have to deep fry or microwave, and they never seem to cook properly.
Glad to hear you had a relaxing weekend despite your DH having to work. I'm really not happy if DH has to work at the weekend, which in his case means being away somewhere, but he does travel less than he used to.

Well, we had quite a successful shopping trip to Bratislava - not quite as successful for our bank account, though! We managed to buy quite a few Christmas presents plus other things for Christmas (crackers, mince pies, etc.) at M&S and also got a lovely warm winter coat for DD2 at Mothercare (which now stocks clothes up to 10 y.o.). We didn't make it to Tesco - too tired after M&S and the DC had had enough - but did pop in to Debenhams, which was a bit of a disappointment (small and just clothes).

After reading for most of the journeys to and from OÖ and then Bratislava, I've finally finished my book with over a day to spare. Now just have to worry about a) getting into Vienna and back (have never travelled there on my own in the evening), b) not collapsing with exhaustion like I usually do at 7 pm, and c) actually being able to talk about the book - it's slightly reminiscent of A levels/university!

Hope you enjoy the book club Linzer. I wouldn't make it out in the evening. Tend to collapse at around 9pm and wouldn't have the energy to go out.

Do you already know a few of the members? Was it a good book by the way?

I plucked up courage to phone the docter about dd and her spelling problems. I must have said something wrong because I got a really snooty unfriendly woman on the phone, very strange because I haven't had that for ages. Used to get it loads down in the south of Germany. Anyway, she eventually said you go straight to a Kinder und Jugend Psychiater who does the testing but not sure if it's private or not. Will phone tomorrow.

I think your dd1 will be OK at Gymnasium, half the battle is having good support and help at home and she has got that, and you've sorted out the help for her dyslexia too. Those of you with German/Austrian dh's also don't have to worry too much about German homework as they can help there. I reckon, one more year and I'll be lost with ds's German homework.

That's what I'm worried about, admylin - not having the energy to go out I mean, but I'm going to have to force myself. I'm sure once I'm actually out it will be fine. I really enjoyed the book in the end - it was this one, which I wouldn't normally have picked but I ended up being quite gripped by the story. I don't know any of the other members; it's organised by the Vienna Babies Club, or rather by one of their members, and I haven't been to any of their meetings for years.

Sorry to hear about your experience on the phone; I hope you get through to someone a bit friendlier when you phone the psychiatrist. Would you be able to get some of the money back if it was private? We had to pay ?300 to see the child psychologist in Vienna, but luckily the Krankenkasse covered 80% of it.

With all these short weeks/long weekends, I'm completely losing track of the days. The DC are the same; DD2 had to change from a dress and tights into a top and trousers this morning when she realised it was Tuesday and not Monday, which meant she had PE today. She was also quite upset about not being able to go to school yesterday. At least DS was excited about going to Kindergarten this morning, as the English native speaker (who he loves) is there on a Tuesday.

Morning Linzer. Just a quick question, when you've worked for publishers before, how strict are their deadlines? Dh is having big problems with his crazy moody boss and he's making him miss a deadline to be sending the proofs of his publication back to the printer. I think it's really bad to do that especially at the printing stage. He doesn't know what to do.

I haven't worked directly for publishers, but used to translate a couple of magazines whose deadlines were always being pushed back for one reason or another. Once the actual print deadline came round, however, that really had to be stuck to, so obviously it's not ideal if your DH is sending the proofs back late. There may be some flexibility with the deadline - what it is that's being published? - but it must be so frustrating for your DH as it reflects badly on him when it isn't his fault. Is it possible for him to contact the publisher/printer and explain the situation? I'm assuming his boss knows that he's making him miss the deadline...

Yes he told his boss this morning and showed him the email and the boss said I don't care what they say, I have to sleep and eat and I didn't have time so they will wait. He's like a child having a tantrum, if someone says he has to do something he says no - he has the god in white syndrome of being a chef arzt and no one can tell him what to do.

What should he write to the printers do you think? My boss won't let me send the proof back? It sounds so Kindergarten, but anything else makes him look bad.

It's a tricky one - on the one hand you don't want to look like you're trying to shift the blame onto someone else, but on the other it is his boss's fault and if he covers for his boss, he's the one who comes off badly. Tbh his boss sounds like a nightmare... how much of a delay is this causing? Is it for publication in a journal?

Yes, it's for a publication in a really good journal that even his boss never managed to publish in. He's really proud of it as it's in the top 10 of journals for his science.

I think dh might blow one day, his boss is really horrible. The other week he sent dh out of the meeting because he asked too many questions - he just said OK you can leave now, and he waited until dh had got up and left befpre he would speak anymore.

That's just awful; I'm not surprised your DH is looking for a new job. Even if he is his boss, it's no excuse for treating your DH in that way.

Well done to your DH for getting into the journal, anyway. I would imagine they have quite strict deadlines as the publication date is set months in advance, but there may still be some leeway. I can ask DH if you like, as he has far more experience of having papers published than I do (not difficult, admittedly!).

That boss of your DH sounds dreadful... is it a joint publication with the boss then? Would it hurt to let the publisher know that the off print is with the boss who will be sending it shortly? Ah that power over people and their future....yuck. Esp as it such a great journal.I hope it gets sorted.

At one point we thought of moving to the USA but then worked out that on the av salary we would not be better off than we were in the Uk. It was a higher salary but by the time we paid for health insurance, education (everyone was telling us we did not want to send our children to state school) etc, it worked out the same. Fingers crossed that something comes up for you.

Sympathies regarding the nasty telephone conversation. I hate those.

Today I took a further step into my integration into Austria. I got told off for crossing the road on red....hee hee hee. You see, when the DC are not with me I take risks, big ones like crossing an empty street on red . I had heard about this happening but first time for me.

Linzer, I am also confused by what day of the week it is. If I find some poppadoms I shall let you know. I hope you enjoy the book club. good for you for getting out. When is it? Did you leave any Xmas stuff in M and S? Or did you empty out the shop? . We are thinking of going there within the next couple of weeks to stock up.

I´ve had a long day, which involved a new course from the AMS. I don´t get any money from AMS but they have sent me on this course, that is about 25 hours a week and called Jobsuche Intensiv mit EDV. Not sure about the Jobsuche (one day of it and I think I LOVE being a SAHM) or the Intensiv bit either (my current rate of one application a month suited me fine). But it is good German practice, I guess. Let´s see... and now to empty that washing machine before collapsing.

Update on yesterday. Just after my last post yesterday morning dh walked in the door - he decided to take the rest of the day off. He got about 5 calls from different colleagues asking if he was Ok (everyone was in the morning meeting so all heard the exchange between dh and his boss).

At about 11am his mobile went and it was the boss, sitting in the helicopter on his way to operate in a different city and apologising for his bad behaviour and to say he should of course send the proof in as it is fine and he also accepts the minor changes that the editor had made. Phew, so in 4 weeks his paper will be in the journal.

We had a guest last night so it made me tidy the place up before she arrived. Should have guests more often, it's the only thing that makes me really tidy up - although alot of stiff just got shoved in my bedroom out of the way!

Bananas, what sort of work are you not really looking for? Are there plenty of jobs going?

Our guest last night said that she has a 15 year old brother at Gymnasium and most of his class either goes to Schülerhilfe or has a private tutor. Makes me think it won't be long before we should be sorting that out too. Dd will need German and maths now really, ds is still doing well and rarely getting a 3, mostly 2 or 1 but next year it'll be harder. I know quite a few of the girls in dd's class go to a private teacher, some go twice a week.

Morning all,

That sounds like a tiring day yesterday, bananas - how long does the course last? Can you fit it around kindergarten and school? I think it would be a bit too intensive for me too; I briefly thought about looking for more work when I lost one of my major customers, but decided I just don't have the time!

I think you're already more integrated into Austrian society than me as I haven't yet been told off for crossing the road on red! Mind you, this could be because I'm so integrated that I rarely dare to do so since I'm worried about a policeman leaping out of nowhere if I do.

We did leave a few bits and pieces in M&S, although I'm afraid to say we grabbed the last box of affordable mince pies. Make sure you support the cafe while you're there - I'm a bit worried about it closing down as there never seems to be anyone in there! They seem to be cutting back already; the only hot meals they had on Monday were baked potatoes and lasagne.

The book group meeting is tonight, so I have been studying U-Bahn maps, train timetables and street maps - if you see anyone wandering along Kärntner Strasse looking lost, it will probably be me!

DD1 has to go to the dentist's this afternoon to have a tooth out, but I've managed to persuade DH to come home early to take her - I don't think I could cope! I never used to mind going to the dentist, but it's got worse as I've got older. Did you get an appointment at the psychiatrist's for your DD, admylin?

Right, must go and prepare today's English lesson, put the washing on, sort some stuff out for the local church bazaar, etc etc. (btw bananas - can recommend the Christ Church Advent bazaar (this Saturday) to get you in the Christmas spirit!)

That's great news, admylin - it probably needed your DH to react like that to make his boss come to his senses.

Having visitors is one of the few things that motivates me to tidy up too, although far too much ends up getting shoved in drawers, out of the way upstairs, etc. I must admit I'm losing my way on the Flying a bit; I'm almost tempted to give up for the year and make a start in the New Year...

That's interesting what you said about so many pupils at Gymnasium going to a private tutor; I can imagine DD1 needing extra help too. We decided not to send her to LOS for the time being as she already goes to dyslexia lessons at and after school and we thought it would be a bit much for her otherwise (plus they couldn't pinpoint anything that specifically needed working on), but maybe we'll reconsider if she has problems at Gymnasium.

Lol at crossing the road on red!

In Berlin you could always tell who was foreign as they all used to just cross (at Potsdamerstraße for example) and I usually only dared cross on red when all the other foreigners did!

Did you know the pavement rule about walking to the right too? If you're in the mood you can get some people really mad by just walking on the left side.

Hope you enjoy the book club linzer, are you not driving then? What's public transport like in and around Vienna?

I picked up the pavement rule without thinking about it; only noticed it when I was back in the UK and realised I kept heading for collisions with other pedestrians!

Oh no, you wouldn't catch me driving into Vienna - I am a nervous driver (particularly if I don't know where I'm going), have no sense of direction and hate parking, which is not an ideal combination! Even DH catches the train to work as he finds it far less stressful (and he doesn't mind driving) and actually quicker in the mornings. Public transport here is generally very good - frequent, clean, reliable; it's often a bit of a shock to the system to catch a train when I'm back in the UK!

Yes, same here with the transport in UK. Last time I took a train to Newcastle I thought I'd gone back in time!

I'm OK with driving since we got the GPS in the car, somehow feel reassured when a voice tells me to turn left or right! I'm still useless at finding a parking space that I can get into but as long as I see signs for Parkhaus I can manage those!

What kind of GPS do you have, admylin? I'm thinking about getting one for DH for Christmas (nothing to do with the fact that I might find it quite handy too, of course!) and a friend of mine has recommended the TomTom, but looking at Amazon, Navigon has slightly better reviews.

We got a TomTom western Europe traffic. We went to a shop to have a look at the displays and that's the one we liked. It has been worth it for sure.

You sound very organised for Christmas already, thinking about presents hasn't even crossed my mind yet. I'm lucky in that my family in UK don't bother to send gifts, they just send money so I do that back to them, silly really.

I think we'd probably just need the central Europe one as it seems to have all the countries we'd need - Europe traffic does have a bigger screen (and obviously more countries) but other than that, I don't think it has any major advantages and is 40 euros more expensive. Oh hang on, it does have text-to-speech too; would we need that? I'm getting more confused by the minute.

Sorry, no idea there! Funny with ours you can set the voice to male or female, then there's a choice of accents! We kept it on German because Englsih one kept telling us in so many miles and we haven't a clue - we need km and metres!

This is ours if that's any help!

Ah, it looks like you have text-to-speech as it says it has "gesprochene Straßennamen", which is what text-to-speech seems to be (a device without text to speech would just say "turn right in 100 m" but not onto which street). I suppose that might actually be quite useful if you're driving in a town/city where there are turnings every 20 m - what do you think? Do you find the size OK? (Am trying to decide between XL and XXL, although there's less than an inch in it.)

Size is OK and tbh when driving myself I don't get to look at it much (too nervous) so just follow the instructions. The good thing is, it doesn't matter if you go wrong as it corrects you by telling you to turn around ot it just moves the route to get you there somehow!

At first ours wasn't set to not take the Autobahn which I hate driving on, it would direct us straight on to it so I would just carry on driving and it would correct the route. Now it's set to take nice slow roads only!

I am becoming more and more convinced that this is exactly what I need DH needs for Christmas. I don't particularly enjoy driving on the motorway but I will do it; at least there's a speed limit here.

My family don't go in for exchanging presents in a big way, either; if we're there for Christmas, we'll exchange small presents but we only send cards at birthdays. Also, there are only my parents and brother to buy for; DH has to get presents for his parents, sister and BIL and their two DC - not to mention all the presents to us from his parents as his mother doesn't go shopping (not even for food), so they give us money to buy presents for the DC. Yet somehow - despite working full-time and having more people to buy for - DH manages to be far more organised than I am with his present buying.