Sommer, Strand und Sonne - life in Germany and Austria

[LinzerTorte]

A thread for all those living in Germany or Austria, and for anyone else who would like to chat.

Well done for getting back on the horse, so to speak, admylin!

We also lost marks for grammar and spelling Linzer but now there is a framework for marking which includes a 'best fit'. So if you use excellent vocabulary and make relatively few grammar mistakes, including adjectival endings, cases after prepositions etc, you fall into one category etc.

I never heard much swearing in Germany either, but don't hear Americans here swear hardly at all. I guess it's because it's a nice small town.

Glad you are having nice bank holidays. Our next one is Independence Day.

The DC and I had a lie-in until almost 8 am this morning, which is virtually unheard of but they were all very tired from the night before when two of the neighbours' DDs stayed over. DD1 and DS have just been to the baker's to buy breakfast; it's only a couple of minutes' walk away with no roads to cross so I let them all go on their own. We need to go out shopping in a bit - it's American week at Lidl this week so I want to buy some boxes of mini-cereals (or should that be mini-boxes of cereals?) as they're quite useful when we go on holiday. They don't have much otherwise though, or at least nothing I want.

admylin DH is selling his car as he only really uses it to drive to the station and back, and we've decided that having two cars is a bit of an unnecessary luxury.

Jenny I don't remember hearing much swearing in the USA either, but we were also in a small town (it may have been different if I'd mixed with the students, though!).

Sorry admylin, keep forgetting to answer your questions. DD1 doesn't seem to mind her brace at all; she said it was a bit uncomfortable the first day she had it, but hasn't complained since then.

Thanks again for recommending the Abfrager website btw; DD1 loves it and is on it at the moment (she just got full marks in the Märchen section!).

We're off today too Linzer, but next Feiertag isn't a day off in Niedersachsen. When we lived in the south of Germany ds was in year 1 and he had so many holidays and days off due to Feiertage that he hardly had time to settle into the routine! We had the least days off in Berlin - or so it seemed.

We've been looking at cars but dh hasn't got that much time, I have a feeling after the lawyer visit this afternoon we will just be without a car for a while, but then we'll still be paying extra for the garage to stand empty.

Abfrager is quite a good website as the questions you get wrong once, come round again and you can repeat the tests as many times as you like. We use it alot.

morning all!! just sneaking a few mins MN in the chaos of today!

admylin - good on you for getting back in the car. I was in a crash once and still remember how scary it was coming to junctions that were similar to where I'd been crashed into. But you did the right thing - you just have to get back in the car. Hope you're not to long without a car. Enjoy your extra day today - its the whole 2 weeks holidays here now so it is less unsettling than 2 BH in 2 weeks.

Linzer - wow all sleeping till 8am! unheard of in our house! Think it seems fine to send your dc to the bakers on their own but dont mention that on some of the other threads I've seen on here - they're was hoo ha yesterday on a thread cause someone let an 8 year old go to the shop 5 mins away. But the UK is a very different place to Austria/Germany! We're also off out shopping in a bit - need to leave dh some food for the next few days and need to get us some goodies for on the way tomorrow.

halbwahrheiten - you might not be German thro and thro but you are def german in the things you crave. About the swearing - I'm confused as to what is acceptable here and not. I don't like to here Bloed from the kids - same way i dont like hearing stupid in English. But Scheisse seems to be said all the time by adults and have given my dc into trouble for saying it. But then was more muddled when i saw an advert saying "ohne scheiss" - surely not acceptable for a big advert! And then my IL's use arsch way to frequently and the swimming instructor kept saying "arschbombe" - would not be amused to hear the dc say it and esp not the English "arse" - not right! ever!

So am just waiting for the kitchen man to come to measure up properly. Had to harass dh to take photos of the old kitchen yesterday - we want to try to sell it on ebay with the plan that who buys it will come and remove it themselves. Its in fairly good condition - just a bit old fashioned. But it needs to be sold soon so that we can get the tiler in before the new kitchen comes. But I'm away to the UK tomorrow so will be leaving him to sort the ebay bit out.

So excited about our trip but am not a fan of flying so will feel better when that bit is over. Early start tomorrow - need to leave at 6 but at least we'll be in Manchester by lunchtime then.

Will be internetless for the next week which may traumatise me a bit - will be lost without my FB. Have become way too addicted. Maybe I'll HAVE to take the dc to McDonalds while we're there so i can use the free wifi.

Bis naechste woche!

just a quick extra - thanks for that advice re Abfrager - just showed to it to dd - wish I'd read the thread before she had her maths test last week where she got a 3. But great for the next tests! thanks.

Canella, wouldn't it be strange if you got back from UK and the kitchen had gone! Hope the packing is going smoothly, don't worry if you forget something, you'll get loads of choice and nicer clothes in UK. Have you packed a couple of extra bags for the return trip? I could really do with a trip to Sprts World for some cheap sports gear for the dc. How come I can get them Umbro or Addidas shorts for 8 to 10 pounds but have to pay 29 Euro here? Ds had loads of Umbro polo shirts - all too small now and they cost next to nothing in the sales in UK.

I'm happy to say the lawyer has taken over all the car accident job and I can keep the hire car until Thursday. We'll have to get used to using the bus for a while though as there won't be any money from the insurance for a while. I still can't believe I get left with no car and the tank was full (over 80 Euro just put in), insurance and garage and all those things need sorted out.

Wonder if I should go back to the doctor as i can't sleep. Every time I try to go to sleep at night I see the big lorry driving into the side of my car and I shout no in my head...I hate going to the doctor though.

Ad! I just e mailed you about the accident. Just read about it today! I should check in here more often.

Good news about the lawyer taking over, admylin. Are you still having trouble sleeping? I don't like going to the GP either unless it's something very straightforward, but I would definitely go in your case to see if they can help.

Sports gear is ridiculously expensive here too. I wanted to buy myself some running trousers at the sports shop but the cheapest pair there cost ?50. We happened to go to Hofer afterwards, where I found a much cheaper pair (the last ones, which were luckily in my size), but otherwise it's generally far cheaper to order from UK sites despite the postage.

A bit late now Canella, but hope you have a great time back in the UK! I wanted to use the free wifi at McDonalds in Passau but you had to send a text and then they would text you back your password, and I wasn't sure it would work with a non-German mobile (plus it just seemed like too much hassle).

Hi westvan.

It's suddenly got much cooler and has been raining this afternoon; it must have been getting on for 30° this morning when I went for my run - if only I could have waited. At least I managed to run for 25 minutes non-stop, so it's looking slightly less likely that I'll completely embarrass myself next Sunday at the Stadtlauf.

Linzer, 30° is far too hot isn't it? Unless you're on holiday near a pool or something! Have you got any good UK sportswear sites as a tip for me? I've used sports world but have to send to my parents as postage is quite high. Marks and Spencer postage is OK I find but their sports wear isn't what the dc are after!

Still not sleeping well so might force myself to go and see the doctor tomorrow. Went and bought dd a sleeping bag for her party on Friday, meant to be camping in her friend's garden but now it's cancelled due to weather forcast. I guess it will come in handy some time though. She's fed up at the prospect of a 45 minute bus ride to get home after it too. It's only 20 minutes by car....

The lawyer has sent off his first letters so things should move now. Dh and I spent all morning until 1pm looking at cars but half were no good, some too expensive and others from not so trust worthy Autohändler. No idea what happens now but as of tomorrow we're stuck.

Westvan, I emailed you too! Dd was at Lemmie at the weekend, must be near you. Her friend's dad lives there and has a huge villa with pool in the garden. She said it's nice and she would live there if she could!

Wow, you guys are up to 30C already! Apparently there's a freeze warning for tonight and dh still hasn't got any vegetables in the ground! At least it is sunny now so we are making daily trips to the various parks round here.

Glad you have got a lawyer sorted admylin. I hope you get a new car soon. We'd definitely be lost without it here, but the dcs preschool is next to a nice little supermarket and coffee shop, so we could go a while!

My parents arrive on Friday and I am so excited that ds2 can finally meet some family. He won't care of course, but I do! May not be on for a while but hope you are all having a lovely summer!

Anything over about 25° is far too hot for me! 29° forecast for today, but then it's back down to 18° and rain on Sunday (according to my iPod, anyway).

admylin I bought some running gear from JD Sports recently. Postage to Austria cost 8 or 9 pounds, but they had lots of good stuff in the sale and I could easily have spent three or four times as much on the same things here.

Hope you manage to get a car sorted soon. DH has decided to sell his car to the garage that made him the original offer as they upped the offer to ?1800 plus a couple of tyre changes. The sale should go through in June so we'll be back to being a one-car family within a couple of weeks. I don't think we'll miss his car much, though - it's in the garage most of the time, anyway - and we certainly won't miss the expense.

Jenny Hope you have a lovely time with your parents and that it gives you a bit of a break as well.

DS wasn't happy this morning as he has his five-year check-up this afternoon and keeps saying that he's not going to go as he doesn't want to have any injections. Unfortunately he does have to have at least one; DD2 didn't help matters by telling him that the two she had last time hurt. He also needs to have some neurological tests as he was born by Caesarean; not sure whether this is a one-off thing - it's the first I'd heard of it, anyway (we've just started going to a new paediatrician).

Linzer, thanks for the JD sports tip. I'd forgotten to look there. I've had really cheap but good quality stuff from here but delivery charge to Germany is high. Do you ever get those little cards stuck on your car window about buying your car, sofort Bargeld, auch Umfallwagen etc? We've got a couple and I was thinking I should offer them my wrecked car. Wonder if I'm allowed. I know most of them get shipped to Africa but if it goes towards the price of a new car it might be good.

Jenny it's hard to imagine it still being so cold in June. I always think of The US as having either similar weather to us or even hotter. Is it exceptional this year or always like this? Hope you have a great time with your parents.

Well, dh gave the hire car back today. I'm really fed up but we'd have to fight for more days if we wanted it longer. I'll have to dig my trusted old lady shopping trolley out to go shoping. Dd is sulking about getting back from her party on Friday but I told her to ask the other 2 girls who are going how they will be getting back. We've driven them around and picked them up before so their parents might be able to return the favour. She'll be exhausted sitting in a bus after 7pm for 40 minutes.

I miss the proper summer weather.. it's currently about 17*C and pouring with rain here.. but imagine the moaning from everywhere if temperatures should reach the high 20s!

linzer I remember that my paediatritian used to be really mean, drawing little faces on my arm, and then stabbing the needle in for the nose. bloody traumatic! never heard of neurological tests for CS babies, my half-brother (11) was born by CS and he hasn't had any, and none of my friends who had kids by CS had either. But I'm no expert..

admylin have you tried amazon?

I have chocolate! :o

I've seen that site mentioned on the C25k threads, but was slightly at the postage costs to Austria. I could always get stuff sent to my parents, though; I'll have to have another look before we go back to Wales in August.

DH rang the number on one of those cards and a man came to look at the car last week. DH said he wanted ?2000 for it; the man said he would get back to him the next day after he'd spoken to his boss as he didn't have that kind of money on him, but we never heard from him again. I wonder whether they're more interested in very cheap cars that you'd find it hard to sell otherwise. I'm sure it couldn't hurt to ring one of those numbers though, admylin. It would be a good idea to include the fact that you don't accept liability for any faults etc. in the contract when you sell the car (which is often included in standard contracts here; it was in the one that we picked up from the ÖAMTC). From what it says here, as long as you mention that the car has been in an accident and don't try to conceal it, you should be OK.

Hope your DD manages to get a lift sorted out for tomorrow. I can't imagine being without a car now; I try to cycle as much as possible with the DC, but there are still things like shopping to be done and the piano and dyslexia lessons are on the other side of town. There are always buses I suppose, but everything would take at least twice as long.

Halbwahrheiten Good news on the chocolate. Maybe the paed was trying to distract you, but it does sound like rather a traumatic experience!

Halbwahrheiten, I've seen some great stuff on Amazon including sport shoes for the dc but they often won't deliver to Germany for those items. No idea why, something to do with tax maybe.

Linzer, if you can get to one of those sport shops in August you will save a fortune but need an extra suitcase! Just for school sports stuff you can get everything cheaper.

I'll ask my Anwalt about selling the car as an Umfallwagen then. It was a Mazda 626 and I know they like the big cars and there will be parts they can use. We went yesterday to get the navi holder and gloves and sunglasses out and I noticed they had already taken the wheel cover thingys off (Radkappen) and I asked about them and he put them back in the boot. The Winterreifen were still on and also worth selling.

I've had the same problem with Amazon admylin; it often seems to be when you're not buying from Amazon directly but from another seller via Amazon and they don't want to ship abroad. Have just checked out sportswear on Amazon and ended up buying another Shock Absorber bra as they had it in my size and for less than I originally paid on figleaves (despite having 10% off)!

DS started crying almost as soon as I went to pick him up from KiGa and kept saying that he didn't want to go to the paediatrician. Then he decided he wanted a friend to come and play, so we took her along to the doctor's as well, which distracted him until he came to have the injection. Unfortunately the normal paediatrician wasn't there, only a locum, and she said we'd have to go back in the summer for the neurological check-up - I don't know why she couldn't do it. She asked whether he'd been born by C-section when I said he was supposed to be having this neurologische Kontrolle so it's obviously more of a standard thing than I thought.

The joys of online shopping eh! I'd much rather do all my shopping inline to be honest but usually the delivery charges put me off. I could do with some new bras too for summer.

I've just had to order some trousers and sports trousers in black as dd has lost hers and she needs them for the acrobatic show they are putting on, all have to be dressed the same.

Hope your ds is feeling better after the ordeal this afternoon. Health care sounds good though, abit like Germany. Is it also as expensive? We pay something like 650? a month for health insurance.

Yes, it's expensive here too - DH pays around ?750 a month in Sozialversicherung (not sure how much of that is for health insurance) and my health insurance for this year comes to around ?2500. I hope I'll get some of it back though, as it's based on last year's earnings and I don't think I'll be earning as much this year. Still, I had a nice surprise at the gynaecologist's just now when she told me that today's appointment wouldn't cost me anything as it's a follow-up appointment.

I find it far too easy to spend money online as it doesn't feel like I'm spending real money. The postage for the bra wasn't too bad as it was about 4.80 GBP; it would have been cheaper to have it sent to my parents for free and for them to post it on to me, but more hassle (and I don't like them seeing what I spend on everything!).

DS had forgotten about his injection by this morning as he was so excited about the KiGa trip to the fire station today. I saw all the children coming out of KiGa when I went for my run, but didn't spot DS. Another KiGa was having their Sommerfest in the park this morning so I changed my route slightly as I knew quite a few of the parents!

Sounds about the same in price but yu seem to have to pay for alot more than we do. I've never had to pay for dental treatment except for 100 Euro every quarter when the dc had braces and we would have got that back at the end of the brace wearing period if we hadn't moved and stopped the treatment!

Well, I just got back from shopping with my trolley! I keep getting myself worked up and angry at the situation. Stupid lorry driver in such a hurry, why can't people chill and drive slowly? I'll have to go shopping again this afternoon as I couldn't fit a weeks worth of food in one trolley so I'll go out when ds goes to table tennis club later.

I'm going to order some books on amazon now, books always calm me down! I've ran out of decent stuff to read and although ds's Septimus Heap books are OK, they aren't my idea of a great read! I still haven't read his Eragon books either but I don't fancy a dragon book.

We've had to pay for DD1's dental treatment because the orthodontist is a Wahlärztin, i.e. private but we get some of the money back from the Krankenkasse. I'm not sure how it would work if she was a Kassenärztin; I suspect we'd still have to pay something towards the braces.

When I first moved here, I was very British about it all and couldn't see why I should have to pay to see a doctor so only went to Kassenärzte. I am becoming more Austrian in my old age, however, and my gynae and dermatologist are both Wahlärztinnen - waiting times are much shorter (I was seen 10 minutes early today) and it's generally a nicer experience. After my student discount (!) and with the money I get back from the Krankenkasse, I only pay about ?12 for my normal gynae check-up, which is well worth it.

Hope you find some nice books on Amazon. I must stop reading MN book threads as they encourage me to spend far too much money; I bought around 20 books on the strength of last year's summer reading thread. I also bought Into the Darkest Corner, which everyone has been raving about on a couple of threads - it was definitely a good read, although I wasn't as blown away by it as I was expecting (too much hype, I think). I would offer to pass it on to you if it's your kind of read, but I can't find it either on the bookshelf or in my Vienna charity shop/Oxfam pile.

I know, those threads about good books are dangerous! I've had quite long wish lists on amazon since reading some of them! I'll read anything really, last book I read (apart from ds's) was about North Korea 'Nothing to Envy' - I think someone said it was good on MN! I've just ordered the Larkrise to Candleford trilogy for 7 pounds, it's been on my list for ages and Three Cups of Tea about building schools in remote parts of northern Pakistan.

Just realised we've only got 2 weeks left of school. We got the book lists yesterday, we rent the books from school and next year it's about 65? for dd and 74? for ds, then there are a few to buy (work books) and all the rest.

I´m glad I´m not the only one obsessed with buying books. I´ve got about 12 unread books on my shelf at the moment so I´m refusing to buy anymore until I´ve read them. Most of them were presents and not really my cup of tea, but I can´t stand having unread books on the shelves. We´re off on holiday next Friday, so I should get through a few then.

We had a parents evening for ds´s new teacher last night. This will be her first class after finishing training and she looked about 18, but insisted she was 26. You can really tell you´re getting older when teachers, doctors etc. start looking too young to being doing their jobs.

We´re having a big party tomorrow for about 45 friends of which 19 will be staying overnight. This is my idea of hell, but dh loves a good party, so I´ve left virtually all of the organising up to him. I´m just keeping my fingers crossed that it stays sunny, although I think rain is forecast.

Sounds fun hupa! Who's doing the cooking? Is it a special occasion? We used to have dinners and loads of friends over but since being to Hannover we haven't got back into socialising at all.

Dh brought a couple of young doctors home the other night for dinner. One of them has been working with the e-coli patients and she was saying that none of the staff is allowed any of the results from tests - they're all locked up in an office. Wonder who'll get them, maybe Robert Koch Institute has a first look in.

I know the thing with teachers being so young! My dc have a good mixture of nearly ready to retire and fresh from uni teachers. Even my doctor and lawyer look younger than me. Dd likes the young teachers, she'll say Frau Schulz even wears red converse and the maths teacher drives a trendy mini! Ds likes the older ones for some reason!

I feel a Friday afternoon siesta coming on. I haven't felt so exhausted for ages.