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.

grr shopping with older girls is a right PITA!! nothing ever seems right for my dd and she's only 9!! think it'll get worse!
hope your ds enjoyed his okra - not sure i've ever eaten it!

so after all your helpful advice i'm now trying to pick a Frauenarzt - so far been recomended 2 - one who is older, possibly heading to retirement but very good and another who is probably not much older than me, has a swishy practice and is also very good but can be a little abrupt (but only heard this from one person!).

think i'm preferring the younger one - dont want to have to find another frauenarzt in 5 years time if the older one retires! as i said i really need surgery at some point in the near future and want to be happy with the person who does it! had this conversation with dh last night - he said "oh you should only have your surgery done at a big uni-klinik - it has to be done right!!" think he was just worried i'd never do my wifely duties again if it wasnt done properly!! .

Must admit I always feel more comfortable with a Frauenarztin - although I did have a male doctor once who was good but he retired and a woman took over. I'll be changing doctors next time because I can't stand it when they leave you sitting for hours (like last time) If they are going to give you an appointment then they should atleast try to fit you in at that time.

I went to look for clothes again with dd last night. We failed again so I'm going to sit her down at the computer today and shop online with her! Ds needs a new winter coat though, not sure where to look. Am I really going to have to spend 90 to 100euro? (That's what I've seen up to now for decent looking ones)

admylin - have you checked at sites like www.bonprix.de,www.neckermann.de or www.otto.de for children's clothing? The prices are usually not too bad. Winter clothing can be so expensive. Both our boys will be needing new winter jackets and I'm dreading it.

canella - I would try out the younger doc and see what you think. You can always change again if you're not happy there. They all seem to be pretty up to date with surgery and things. My ob/gyn does minor surgery right at the day clinic of the medical centre where his office was. I had a D & C done several years ago and there was absolutely no problem. For the hysterectomy he referred me to our local hospital and they seemed to know what they were doing and I came out of it OK. :)

Ds17 is on a week-long class trip in London, the lucky guy. They get back on Friday and we haven't heard a thing so we're assuming everyone is still alive and well. I bet they're having a fab time except for the rain.

I've just come to say hello :) .
I've only just found this thread. I've been living in Vienna for 2 years with my dh and ds (2y6m). I've just started working and my ds has just started kg so it's all change here.
Will look forward to catching up with you all and getting to know you better :)

hello Zachsmama - welcome!! i think Linzertorte lives in or near Vienna?

are you German? or you must speak good German to get a job? the thought of getting a job scares the pants off me!!

well off to get ds1 some new glasses this morn!

Hi zachsmama, how do you like living in Vienna?

Same here Canella, I've been here ages and I still don't speak perfect German. Nowadays ds stands behind me if I have to write something in German and he corrects my endings infact he's even done it for dh when he's had to write in German for work. Luckily he mostly gets away with writing in English.

Got the dc some biometric passport photos done yesterday, 30 euro for a 5 minute job (that's about how long we were in the shop!) and today we're going to get the passports ordered which cost nearly 40 euro each. I suppose it's cheaper than if they were getting British passports though so can't complain!

Westvan is the trip to London with the language class? Is it like an exchange where they stay in families or youth hostel/hotel style? Ds says if there's a trip to France he's definately not going because they kiss you when they meet you! In a couple of years he'll have changed his mind I bet!

Hi zachsmama and welcome to the thread - nice to see someone else in Austria on here! We're in Niederösterreich but not far from Vienna; DH works in the 1st district, in fact. What kind of work do you do?

admylin - It costs us 30 to 40 euros for the postage alone when we have to renew our British passports, and as for the cost of the passport itself... It's such a rip-off! It would make more financial sense for the DS to have Austrian passports, but I just like the idea of them having British ones (although DD1 thinks of herself as American and DD2 and DS consider themselves Austrian, so I'm probably fighting a losing battle!).

canella - Have you decided on a gynaecologist yet? I would probably go for the younger one too; mine is the same age as me, and we spend most of the time complaining about how tired we are and how difficult it is to fit everything in! She's recommended that I have a general check-up with the GP she shares her practice with just in case there's a medical reason for my tiredness, so I went to have a blood test last week and have to go back for the results of that and various other tests on Monday.

westvan - Very of your DS being in London for a week. DH wants to go to London for the day when we're back at my parents' at Christmas; I did tell him it's over 5 hours on the train one way, but he still seems to think it's doable.

That's 3 of you in Austria now Linzer! Or is Debinaustria still around?

Yes, British passports are too expensive - that's why our dc have German ones. Dh is German although he was born in India. They have both had a British passport in the past so hopefully not a problem if they want/need one later. I registered them at the consulate after birth too.

Good idea to get a check up for your tiredness too - do you know what they tested for? I need to go soon as in my family there is a history of thyroid problems. Last time I checked I was on the lowest level for not having a problem which means I need to check it again every now and then.

We'll be taking over the thread before you know it, admylin. Although the other MNer in Austria who posted on the last thread seems to have disappeared - can't remember her name now, but I think she only posted once. I've seen DebinAustria posting on other threads, but I've no idea whether she's still here or not. Otherwise there's just Cinders, who I chat to off board sometimes (she was the one who told me that Tesco in Bratislava sells slow cookers - I'm virtually a fully fledged MNer with my slow cooker now!).

I registered DD1 at the British embassy in Washington so she has a British birth certificate, but didn't bother with the other two. In fact, the woman at the consulate in Vienna more or less told me not to bother with DD2 as she was automatically a British citizen through me. I sort of wish I had registered them now, although it was ridiculously expensive (over 100 euros) and I don't know whether it has any real advantages. Also, am I right in thinking that our DC's children won't be entitled to British citizenship unless they're born in the UK?

I've had anaemia in the past so the doctor said they would check for that, and I'm sure she mentioned thyroid as well. She seems to be much more thorough than my normal GP, although I suppose that's what you get when you see a Wahlarzt (although she doesn't charge for Vorsorgeuntersuchungen). It was actually a blood test that prompted me to change gynaecologists last time, as my old one was just no help whatsoever - she started moaning about how elend she felt all the time but no one ever asked how she was, and she wouldn't like to see what her blood test results were like, and my tiredness was definitely due to the fact that I have three DC (despite the fact that they're all sleeping through the night, are out all morning, etc.). It's not as if she was a friend of mine (like my new gynaecologist, so moaning about our DC and tiredness is a bit different with her!) and it all seemed a bit unprofessional - basically, she was more interested in complaining about how awful she felt rather than trying to solve my problems.

Yes, I think I read that too about our dc's dc but who knows what will change until then.

Dh has just called me as his sister just contacte dhim and his mum has been diagnosed with lung cancer and probably 6 months to live. They are setting up a webcam by the weekend so she can see us. Not sure what to do but she always says she wants to see her gdc again. Wonder if we can manage a trip at Christmas. Although it'll be difficult for my 2 if she's very ill by then, somehow I'm not sure that's a good last memory of a grandma.

So sorry to hear that, admylin - it must be so difficult with you being so far away. The webcam is a great idea, but I can see how a trip at Christmas wouldn't necessarily be ideal. It's difficult if she wants to see her grandchildren, but at the same time you don't want the last stages of her illness to be their last memory of her. It all depends on how ill she is by then, I suppose, which must be difficult to predict (especially as I assume you'd need to book the tickets some time in advance). Have you spoken to your DC much about her illness?

No, I've just found out. Before we thought she was in hospital for pneumonia and the dc were chatting online to their cousin over there so they always asked after her and told him to let her know we're all asking after her.

The sad part is - we sent a get well soon card last week which she hasn't got yet but it's maybe not very appropriate now with this diagnosis.

I'm sure they'll understand about the get well soon card - it's really just to let someone know you're thinking of them when they're ill and they must realise you'll have sent it before the diagnosis.

DD2 has a German friend over to play so I'm having to brush up my "German" German - I had to think twice when she asked for Apfelschorle earlier (it's called Apfelsaft gespritzt here) and it's quite unusual to hear someone talking in the imperfect tense (ging, machte, etc.) too. DD1 has to learn it for school this year (for writing essays); apparently they'll have a day when everyone has to speak in the imperfect and even the teachers struggle with remembering to use it.

oh admylin - thats really sad news about your MIL - obviously 6 months isnt a definite figure (a relative of a friend lived 6 months beyond the 6 months she was given) but she will still probably very ill by christmas since she's not been so well recently - hard decision to make.

linzertorte - hope all your blood results come back ok - sounds like your docs are doing a good job in investigating it! at least they're not just saying - ah you've got 3 kids of course youre tired!

so i think i am going to phone the younger Frauenarzt - i've asked quite a few women round here and they all seem to go to the older one but a friend had phoned his praxis to make a smear appt and the first one is 17th december!!! not enthused about having an old doctor in the first place but even less so if you have to wait nearly 3 months for an appt! thats as bad as the NHS!

also the younger doc speaks good english and although i can get through the day with my german i doubt i'd be able to discuss the ins and outs (literally!} of a posterior pelvic repair in german!!!

That is a long waiting time canella. When I lived in the south of Germany in a middle sized town every other Frauenarztpraxis would say they aren't taking any more patients even - so you couldn't even get an appointment as a new patient!

We saw MIL on the webcam this evening. She looks well considering. The connection was bad as I'm not sure if they have high speed internet. Anyway, we'll keep trying.

Dc's new passports will take 3 weeks - I am now 120 euro lighter but keep reassuring myself that it's a heck of a lot cheaper than if I'd sent for British ones!

i'm going to the younger Frauenarzt - i phoned this morn and got an appt in 3 weeks! much better than waiting 3 months!

glad you managed to speak to your MIL on the webcam - at least if the kids can speak to her regularly then if you went at xmas then it might not be such a shock to them if she was iller?

Thanks for the welcome ladies :)
Linzertorte I assumed you were in Linz from your name but obviously just a fan of the cake
Vienna is lovely. I really like living here although I don't suppose it will be for ever...the travelling bug is starting to make my feet itch again!

I'm a teacher working in an international school, so my German is pretty rubbish tbh. I'm English but we've lived abroad for 10 years now so I feel more international really.

Sorry to hear about your mil admylin.

I'm a fan of cake in general, zachsmama - so feel quite at home in Austria. All the Viennese food-related names had already gone, but I do like Linzer Torte - DH is from Linz and it's one of my MIL's specialities.

I know what you mean about feeling more international than British; I've lived abroad for 11 years and in some ways feel more at home in Austria than I do in the UK now. Do you move around with your DH's job?

Hope everyone has had a good weekend. It's starting to feel quite wintery here now, so we haven't been out much - DH and the DC have been busy building Lego. DH is going to a conference in London tomorrow so I've been making a list for him of things to bring back. It's a shame my ILs aren't near enough to leave the DC with so that I could go with him - almost everyone we know here has family nearby, but two hours seems near enough most of the time!

Me too on the cake front, Linzertorte

Dh and I are both international school teachers so we've chosen to move around rather than stay put. We've been together 11 years and chosen to live abroad for 10 of them, never staying longer than 3 years anywhere! I think we'll be here for 5 maybe, but we'll have to wait and see. It's such an easy place to bring up a child that it will make it quite hard to leave.

We haven't been out today either. It's definitely feeling like winter.

morning!! spent too much time on MN this morning catching up on the trolling nonsense!

understand what you both say about not being sure where is home - scotland is definitely where my roots are but i sometimes feel like a stranger there but dont feel germany is home yet either.

sorry that your weekend weather was wintery´- it was 21 degrees here and sunny yesterday so definitely not wintery!! dh and i kept saying to each other - can you believe its this nice on the 3rd october!!!

so we made the most of it and had a nice day out in the Rhoen. But ended up right at the border of Hessen, Thueringen and Bayern so had a nice history lesson for the dc at an old watchtower - ds's were obviously a bit too little but thought it was fun to walk back and forward over the "border" saying "are we back in bayern now!!!". but it was good for dd as she's learning about the DDR in school at the moment.

well better go and tackle the leaves on the drive! my love/hate relationship with autumn has begun!!

Tell me about it, canella - I've spent far too much time reading that thread today; it's very distracting when you're trying to work!

I think part of my problem is that I don't know where "home" is in the UK - England or Wales. I don't feel 100% either and never know where exactly to say I'm from if someone asks me. Austria does feel like home now, but at the same time I know I'm always going to feel British and never Austrian.

I know what you mean about itchy feet, zachsmama - before we moved to Austria, I'd never spent more than three years in one place since I left home at 18 (14 years of moving around altogether). It's a bit different now that the DC are at school though, as we would think twice about uprooting them (plus the fact that we've bought a house here makes us feel more settled).

Apparently it's 26 degrees in the shade in parts of Austria today - I can't quite imagine it! I wouldn't mind some nice crisp autumnal weather, but it's another cold, grey and rainy day here today.

I got my check-up results today - nothing that I wasn't expecting, really. My iron levels are quite low so the doctor has doubled my dose; I suppose that could explain my tiredness. Otherwise, I ought to be getting more exercise (but didn't need a blood test to tell me that!) and am probably allergic to something, so am having more blood tests to find out what (there are a few things I suspect it could be).

linzer - i feel like its some kind of mystery novel i'm reading at times when i read these troll threads - involving possible stolen identities etc and people playing sleuth on the internet trying to catch them out!. Feel sad for the people who were more entwined in it tho - especially since this time it involved the bereaved mothers threads - if it is a troll then its a very cruel one!

glad u got ur test results back - wonder why your iron is low? but it will definitely explain your tiredness! hope you get the rest of the results back soon!

(21 degrees and sunny again here today - sorry!!)

SOrry to butt in but does anyone know - does 'Falkenseeerin' mean 'Woman who comes from Falkensee'? That would be my best guess but none of the online dictionaries I have tried can come up with a translation...

It does indeed, SGB - although it would more commonly be spelt with one e (i.e. Falkenseerin).

canella - The fact that I'm a vegetarian probably doesn't help my iron levels. I should eat more spinach but can't find any fresh spinach here at all, just frozen mush!

Hi

Ive just found this thread too as it is "active". I'm in Frankfurt and have been here for some time. My DS has just started Kindergarten too, some tears but he seems to be OK, he was in a creche here before as well, which I think he misses!

any one else here in Rhein Main?