Frühlingserwachen - spring finally seems to have arrived in Germany and Austria...

[LinzerTorte]

... or at least I hope so.

For everyone in Germany and Austria, and anyone else who would like to chat!

Forgot to say - good luck at the dentist's, bananas. I really must make an appointment.

Canella Your DH sounds very similar to mine.

Like the olive tree farm idea Linzer! We keep saying there are two trips we want to do when dh retires. One is to go to China on the train from Berlin (you really can go the whole way by train) with stop overs in different places. The other is Cuba and a few south american countries that we fancy but then the way things are going, dh will end up as one of those eternal professors who never retires or if he does he'll be 80 and not fit to even get on a train let alone cross continental!

Dd came home today saying she'd managed to ride the unicycle! Of course she wants one now! They are going to put on a show at the summer Schulfest. Ds is in his room with 2 friends with strict instructions to go outside for abit and not sit all afternoon playing cards/nintendo/internet.

Bananas, I charged 15? for the last student who wanted to practise for her lecture and she came to me. I had to prepare at least an hour too so I was sure about the grammar and explaining it. I wouldn't consider a one and a half hour journey for that price though.

Canella, did you enjoy the dvds from Linzer? Just wondering if we could pass them on to each other like a chain letter of decent UK TV?!

oh all these travel plans sound great!! i'd also love to go to cuba and travel on the trans siberian railway - i'm sure that must be a huge part of the trip from berlin to china!

glad your dd enjoyed it admylin - is it every week!

thats a great idea about the DVD's - if its ok with linzer- PM or FB me your address and i'll pass them on!

Yes Canella I think it is the trans siberian! Lets hope we stay fit enough in our old age! Circus club is every week. I'm so pleased she has found something as I couldn't interest her in any of the sports clubs or school AGs.

Great, I'll send you my address. If anyone else wants them after me, I'll pass them on!

Love how much you all chat, but I'm usually so tired I cannot really remember what I wanted to say in comment. I must try to pay closer attention.
Managed to do everything on my list today, plus! I finally finished off Moo's skirt. But I'm so so so tired that I could drop off in a moment...dd is infront of cbeebies (iplayer). I feel so proud of myself :)
Now if only dd would go to sleep well tonight and sleep through the night...

That's fine by me - the DVDs aren't rewritable so I don't need them back. I've finished another two in the meantime so let me know if and when you'd like some more Canella (it's probably easiest to carry on sending them to you so that we know who's already seen what, and also so that they're sort of in the right order - although some of the programmes start mid-series as I'd already thrown some of the DVDs). That reminds me that I must check the Radio Times website as my parents haven't recorded much for me for a while, although I still have about 30 DVDs to keep me going!

I'm starting to get itchy feet now too. Have always fancied going on the Orient Express, although I think I may have read and watched too many Agatha Christies...

As I forgot about pancake day last (?) week, I promised I'd make Palatschinken for the DC today - I always find making them a bit stressful (am constantly being hassled about when the next one will be ready, who can have the next one, etc.) and the kitchen is a bit of a mess now, but they're happy! There weren't any left over for me unfortunately, but it wouldn't have been the same without lemon juice and sugar anyway and I've just discovered I'm out of lemon juice (the DC had the traditional apricot jam filling; they don't realise that we have a carefully concealed jar of Nutella too!).

bananamad congratulations on your scan! It is lovely to see that first one when baby looks like a baby and you are told all is well :)

People who had a scan every antenatal apt do you have private insurance? I have had 3 "free" i.e. scheduled scans - 12, 19 and 29 weeks, and any extras I'd have to pay for - ?30 a time or I could have paid in advance for a "package" of 6 extas - I find the ob/gyn with a price list and sales pitch very off putting tbh! Mine tried to persuade me to have almost everything on the price list because I am 35 this time, but my view is if I actually needed these extras they'd be covered by the insurance ... I do find the care here more comprehensive than in the UK and the hospital experience when DS was born was better than in the frantically busy hospital where DD was born in the UK, but I miss the "cozy" midwife led care in the UK and feel my ob/gyn views me with disappointment because I don't pay for more extras!

Admylin work was fine - it isn't a big class, just 11 adults, it's a VHS text book based course so not difficult to teach but I do have to prepare a lot in advance as I have never taught the course before - I find it takes a good chunk of my Tue morning to prepare, then I teach on Tue eve, but if I run the same course again in future I will not have to prepare it all over again! I taught the same group the first course in the series last semester and 11 out of 14 signed up to continue this semester. It is most definitely a whole lot easier than teaching kids (I was a secondary school teacher for 4 years in the UK - never again! Although in that job I found the internal politics and private agendas of senior staff and management more stressful than the kids - still it is nice not to have to "manage" senior management OR teenage behaviour when just doing a VHS adult course! I teach at a private "freilernen" Gründschule here one day a week too, but have literally just stopped that for maternity leave - it was also hard going physically due to the natural style of the school involving a lot of movement and also a lot of sitting on the floor working in small groups (very hard on a large lady in her 3rd trimester!), and was 7 hours with no break from the kids (tiny school, no extra staff for breaks) so wearing me out. I am pretty tired by the end of the evening course at 9pm now though, I find I cannot teach sitting down, I naturally have to stand and walk, which is hard going at this stage of pregnancy and the course finishes 2 weeks before my due date!)

bananasananas I don't think that teaching job pays enough given the short session and travel time - VHS pays ?37.50 per 1.5 hour lesson, maybe try your local one if you fancy doing a little bit of teaching - I drive 25 mins each way to teach my class because we live in the middle of nowhere and nothing is local but would not be keen to spend more time travelling than teaching - if you think about it a different way you would only be getting about ?6 an hour if you include travel time, and maybe ?4 or less if you factor in your preparation time! Makes it less and less attractive unless you are doing it for CV building... I think that rate would be OK for 1:1 lessons if the student came to you though.

Sorry I have forgotten what else I have read - tired today and preg brain!

ah yes the scan! lovely having a scan and seeing the babe. :) It's a nice feeling.
Speaking of which no EHIC card and I really feel the need to make an appointment. :S anxious abt it...I so can't speak this language.

I can just about manage to read posts while dh is away and then forget who said what, sorry. I've always wanted to do the transsiberian express but expect I will have forgotten all the Russian I ever learnt if and by the time I get the opportunity to do that!

I get paid $17 an hour for 8 x 2 hour sessions plus $3 per student for materials etc. It's not great but it is the only gig in town teaching German now. It depends on whether you think it will lead to anything, iyswim?

What did you teach in the UK 2and1? I have to say I quite miss it at the moment, but that may be because there is little chance of going back to it...

Palatschinken sound lovely to me!

Sorry if I have missed anyone.

bebe what is an EHIC card? Health insurance card? Why haven't you got one? If it's lost just get your DH to contact your insurer for a new one? You will definitely find an English speaking ob/gyn in Munich though, don't worry about that! I moved here 6 months preg with my now 3.5 year old and spoke very little German, and even out in the sticks where we live one of the ob/gyns was willing to speak English to me. He since left the practice and the current one only speaks German to me, but I am sure I could switch to someone else in the practice if I needed to speak English. The health assistants and receptionists are less likely to speak English but if your DH speaks German maybe he can help you make the apt or coach you on what to say? Otherwise if you actually go into a practice I always found at the start that I could do things like make apts face to face even if they were daunting on the phone.

Have you really had no antenatal apts or am I getting the wrong end of the stick?!

Good luck!

EHIC card replaced the E1-11 card, if I recall correctly. Plastic instead of paper?

Would you be able to claim the money back later if you paid to have an appointment now, bebe? If you're feeling worried (and can afford it), maybe it would be worth paying just for your peace of mind?

2and1 Probably not relevant to you as I'm in Austria, but I saw a normal Kassenärztin (i.e. not private) when I was pregnant and had a scan every time. I also had scans at both my antenatal appointments in Germany IIRC (which would have been before about 14 weeks) and didn't have to pay any extra there. I wouldn't have known DS's sex if the last scan had been before 30 weeks, as he didn't get into a convenient position until 32/33 weeks (it was useful to know that I needed to stock up on boy's clothes - it's amazing how much pink you accumulate without realising)! Do you know what you're having?

Well, they would have been lovely if the DC had actually left any over for me Jenny! Did you use to be a teacher in the UK, then?

bebe Agree with 2and1 that going into the practice is often far less daunting than phoning, esp. if you're not confident about your German. (That reminds me, I really must stop using Praxis instead of Ordination - I know it's wrong but keep coming out with it for some reason!) Didn't someone on this thread offer to help you (Ernest, maybe?)? I wish I was a bit nearer so that I could help out.

Hi jenny. Were you a secondary teacher in the UK too then? What did you teach? Forgive me if you have already said please!

I taught English and Media studies in the UK, it wasn't my first career, I re-trained at 25, I was prepared for the difficult kids but not for the difficult head teachers and heads of department nor for the career ladder climbers trying to dump extra admin type work on more junior staff and claim credit ... I also hated the fact people expected me to be in school late - I am more of an early bird work wise and pre kids used to like to get into school at 7am to get sorted, but to leave by 4pm and take remaining work home if there were no formal meetings - I had to drive around the M25 for my first job so leaving at 5.30pm doubled my commuting time - and people were really judgey about me not being there if they looked for me at 5pm, and didn't care whether I'd been in at 7am when they were still in bed, nor whether I was up marking at home til midnight!

I also hated all the constantly changing "initiatives" and the hypocrisy of senior management and careerists who claimed to totally buy into them even when they contradicted what we had been doing previously...

When I got pregnant with my first child I was told off for leaving a (well behaved year 10 top set) unattended when I had to run out to be sick (morning sickness) - only alternative was to be sick in the bin in front of them all, HoD told me I should have arranged cover! The Head also congratulated me when I told him formally then pulled me aside in the corridor later in the day and said he felt "lady teachers" should "asses their priorities" and decide whether they could stay "loyal" to the school by coming back full time after maternity leave, as he didn't feel part time was in the student's interest, and that his wife had given up teaching when they had their children "even though it meant I couldn't afford pipe tobacco!" and that I should think about what I planned to do... Plonker! I did try going back part time but the school gave me a very unhelpful timetable and made it clear they were doing me a massive favour, and after 6 months I gave it up and became a child minder - much nicer, and I was actually financially slightly better off than teaching a 60% timetable over 4.5 days, as I was fully booked straight away and had no child care costs myself!

Oh - I hated the marking workload too, teaching KS3 and GCSE English .

I am glad to be out of it, and though I still enjoy teaching I'd never go back to teaching in a mainstream UK secondary school.

Ah I see bebe are you only here short term then if you are using an E1-11 (EHIC) card? I wonder if your DH's work shouldn't be covering your costs though if he is working here? I was insured under DH's health insurance from day one (I wasn't earning at first, and even now don't earn enough to have to have separate health insurance). Does your DH use a EHIC card too? Might be worth investigating I would think, as I think I read that you are going to be here most of the way through your pregnancy?

Linzer I am having a 2nd boy - he was sitting on his "bits" at the 19 week scan but was lying (very uncomfortably) horizontally across my belly at the 29 week, so more could be seen, although the cord was then between his legs so the view was not totally clear and the doc said she is 99% sure - poor old DD is still holding onto the chance she might be wrong, as she feels one brother is enough and she would like a sister! Like you I wanted to know for practical reasons - I have some boy and some girl clothes but wanted to know which to wash!

2and1 I think it depends on your Dr - the nurse (well, Arzthelferin) at the practice told me at first that the health insurance only pays for 3 scans, but that the Dr does 4 and you don't have to pay any extra. I don't have private insurance. However, I'm 12 weeks, have had 3 appointments and she has whipped out the (internal) ultrasound machine thing every time. I know I definitely have another at 20 weeks and another a little later (I can't remember how much later but it says in my Mutterpass).
I did wonder whether she meant that 3 external (jelly on the belly, as it were) scans were paid for by the insurance and that the internal ones don't count somehow. No idea! As long as I can see the baby, everything is ok and I'm not receiving huge bills for it then I'm happy :o)

The Dr did mention that if I wanted to know the sex at 16 weeks I would have to pay for an ultrasound but at 20 weeks it's free.

This is my first pregnancy so I'm afraid I have no idea what's normal, I'm just floating along, taking my vitamins and hoping everything is ok!

Linzer Bit late with this but I LOVE the idea of an olive farm.

Bananas Dentist! Glad you reminded me. Must. Make. Appointment.

Ooh - has anyone else tried quince tea? I discovered it in Tegut (new supermarket, what a treat!) the other week and am addicted.
The Owl and the Pussycat would be proud....

I hear you about the management 2and1. I was an MFL teacher and also Head of Year in a failing school. They liked to think they were supportive but you had to be in the clique. The kids were great even if challenging!

DD was also disappointed with another brother and wants me to have one more to see if it's a girl! Er, no!

Hi 2and1, jenny and psammead. Anyone else join since I last posted? I'm another one who struggles to keep up, but it is nice to have something to read every time I check MN.

The ladder household has recovered from the stomach bug. I got through my concert on Fri evening and then drove home to find that DH had spent the evening on the building site arguing with our future neighbour in the dark about the boundary wall between our plots. We came to an agreement the next day, but still feel we've drawn the short straw. It also made me realise that it won't be the only problem we come up against while we build.

Re antenatal scans, I read that pregnant women were exempt from the Praxisgebühr and asked about it at my ob/gyn. They said that it would only cover three scans and therefore they charge the 10? and scan at every appt. This doesn't make sense to me. My theory is that they find a medical reason for every scan (need to rule out ectopic, mother has low/high bp, baby is small for dates, CTG is unusual, baby was breech at last appt, whatever). I was referred to the hospital for Frühfeindiagnostik because of "maternal angst". They presumably earn quite nicely from these scans and no pregnant woman is going to complain that they are unnecessary, so everyone wins (except the Krankenversicherung).

Re teaching, I used to get 26? for 1.5 hours at the VHS . I would not do anything for 10?/45min, especially if there was travel involved.

Re libraries, I haven't been to our local one yet, but I was stuck on the sofa under a sleeping toddler recently and counted all the books on the bookcase waiting for me to read. I knew there were a few, thought maybe as many as 20, but there were actually over 40 , not counting DH's crime thrillers which I read as well. I am definitely not allowed to buy any more for quite a while.

wow you lot were busy chatting last night!!

silken - glad you're all better!!! sounds like building a house isnt easy wherever you live! i would have thought germany would be simpler - more in Ordnung!! but think i'm going to have to drive up the motorway to your house to steal your books - 40 unread books!! like heaven!

bananmad - not seen that tea but i'm not a fan of any tea unless its normal black tea!! and preferably decaf!! but glad you enjoy it!!

Linzer - had a lovely time in bed last night watching Relocation Relocation!! thank you!! got one whole DVD watched and some of the others but will save it till i've watched all 3 to hand them to Admylin!!

Bebe - you really need to sort out some antenatal care while you're here - its not good for you or the baby to not be seen. Unfortunately you're going to have to bite the bullet and either try to speak to someone in German or find somewhere where they speak english! like 2and1 - i also live in the sticks but even i found a Frauenarzt who speaks some English - in fact most doctors do since they need to read articles and go to conferences which are quite often in English. Puzzles me tho how you thought this 6 months in Munich while being pregnant was going to work? wonder if you didnt think the whole thing thro!

well my car is back in the garage for the TuV this time (no umlaut on the laptop). oh and dh suggested i get my tyres changed back to summer so you all need to cross your fingers that there's no freaky late snow or i'm screwed! so need to pick that up later, then drop ds2 at a friend then do the nachhilfe!! all go later!

I managed (well, almost!) to stay off MN this morning so actually got quite a bit of work done. The problem is that the proofreading I'm doing at the moment isn't very urgent and I need a deadline to spur me into action!

Canella Hope your car gets through the TÜV OK; hopefully you've got the main expense out of the way now that the brakes have been fixed. It's gone back to cold and rainy here again, but I suppose we should think about putting the summer tyres on our car too (didn't bother with my old car as DH suspected - correctly, as it turned out - that the tyres would outlive the car).

silken You've inspired me to count my unread books - 27. So I think you win! I also have a pile to pass on to charity, but DH is refusing to take anything to Caritas in Vienna as they were quite rude to him there last time, so things are piling up in the cellar. I'll be carting them all back to the UK to take to Oxfam at this rate, unless I can find a flea market to donate them to!

Jenny DD1 thought that if I had another boy, it would even things out a bit. No chance.

BananaM I used to love the Owl and the Pussycat - must dig it out for the DC. I don't remember quince tea in it, but it's been years since I read it.

2and1 At least with one of each already, no one will assume the only reason you had a third is that you were desperate for a boy/girl.

Oh no, work has just arrived and they want it back today (DD2 is already home from school) - must have a look at it and see whether it's doable.

Well

1. we originally thought we had insurance and were covered....
2. found out 2 days or so before we left we were not and that everything we had planned was not really so
3. had the scare 3 days after arriving
4. tried to contact ob/gyn (granted via phone) and no one spoke English on the phone
5. went to the hospital and had a rather cold experience there which did not make me feel welcomed or at ease with the system and had to pay 200+ euros for it

And if the majority of doctors/staff can speak English then they certain exercised their right not to while in the hospital and indeed made obvious comments abt the fact that we 'trouble' because we did not have an EHIC and not registered locally yet

1. since applied for the EHIC card so that I would have some coverage without having to pay an arm and a leg but it's not arrived
2. my 20 week is coming up and so know I will have to 'bite the bullet' even tho my EHIC card has not come in... and see what can be done. However I cannot get into the building it seems without speaking German as I need to ring a buzzer and ask for 'whomever'and to be honest I'm not even sure who 'whomever' is.

I did not think I'd go 6m without care. I don't think that as much care needs to be had as the German system gives. I did not anticipate the stress of trying to learn the new language. I was naive to think (because people told me) that it was not that hard to find someone who did speak English. I assumed that people would be friendly and helpful when they realised you did not speak German, not look at you rather blankly. I did not realise that it would be like living in the Midwest again, only not knowing the language and people being far more grumpy and indeed rather rude to strangers they saw on the street.
It was very silly indeed, not well thought out I whole heartedly agree coming to this God-forsaken country.

Afternoon!

Hello Silken. How on earth do you manage to have 40 unread books, I even read DH's sci fi when I'm desperate (he is German but prefers to read in English), unread books don't last here! Actually I can see how you have unread books if you were lying on the sofa with a sleeping toddler stopping you moving but did not have a book within reach to pick up - perfect reading opportunity missed! I have shelves piled double with English books but I have read them all except the one I am half way through atm.

Canella hope the car gets through OK and there are not unexpected extra costs! Fingers crossed spring weather is here to stay! I would not be happy about more snow either.

Linzer No you are right, when you have one of each already they don't assume you are trying for the other gender, they assume number 3 must be an accident! Several mums said "It can happen to anyone" when I told them, took a minute to realise what they meant the first time! On the subject of giving away books, my very local library (in tiny town, only open 1 morning and 2 afternoons a week) has no adult books in English and I offered to donate some of mine and they said they'd be glad to have them, but haven't got around to it yet - could be an option for the ones you can't find a charity eager for? We go to the library for kids books and because it has such limited hours it is quite sociable as there is always somebody we know there! I have just joined a bigger library in the main town of the Landkreis and they have a few shelves of English books, so I am glad to have found that to reduce my Amazon spending! Hope you manage to get the unexpected work done somehow by the deadline!

Bebe are you there in "real time" - we cross posted. Wait a minute if you are, I think I have an idea where I might be able to look up English speaking Ob/ Gyn for you. When I had DS in hospital here only the anaesthetist spoke English, I had a different ob/ gyn as mine was on holiday and she didn't - thing is most doctors do have a good level of English but many people are embarrassed to speak it as they feel foolish! But some people like to speak English, you just have to find them! Please wait there I'll be back

Canella - I am craving a cup of normal, lovely, tasty, steaming PG Tips! I reckon now I'm past the 12 week mark the odd cup shouldn't do any harm. Will see how I go.

Silken Glad to hear you're all feeling better - a stomach bug is nasty enough on its own but when the whole family comes down with something, that must be awful!

Bebe I'm so sorry things have been such a nightmare. You're just outside Munich, right? I'm afraid I'm nowhere near but I'm happy to google away (in German I mean!) and try and find some english-speaking ob/gyns for you.

Linzer I don't think it was quince tea, it was something like 'they dined on mince and plenty of quince' at the wedding, I think. I do love that poem :)

The sunshine has disappeared again here, but it's still warm-ish. Thinking of heading out for a curry tonight and am really looking forward to it!