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.

Yes, we'll have a look at all three schools (two Gymnasien plus the neue Mittelschule) and ask DD1 which she prefers and take that into account (I suspect it will really depend where her friends are going).

I don't remember learning about the difference between das and dass (I probably did, but it would have been a long time ago now!) but off the top of my head, I think that "das" only means "that" if it's referring back to a neuter noun, e.g. "das Hemd, das er angezogen hat", whereas "dass" is "that" in all other cases, e.g. "ich habe ihr gesagt, dass ich heute nicht zu Hause bin".

Oh, and "das" if you're talking about "that thing" (sorry, have forgotten all the correct grammatical terms!), e.g. das weiß ich nicht, das ist mein Bruder.

Now off to pick up DD1; as the DC all cycled today, I have to pick them up from school.

Linzer -your Freibad is really expensive. A family ticket here costs 5 euros for the day and people complain about that being too much. I know what you mean about wearing your bikini in front of everyone you know. The weather in Austria must be a lot better at the moment than here - there´s more chance of swimming in the puddles than the Freibad.

admylin - that sounds really unfair. Would your dd be brave enough to ask why she´s only got a 4? Hope your meeting with ds´s teacher goes o.k.

Later - I´ve never heard of an overactive uterus. What are the symptons if you don´t mind saying? - I´m intigued.

Dd gets her Zeugnis tomorrow, but I´ve already seen the Noten as the class are away on a Klassenfahrt, so the teacher let us see the Noten, but not the written report last week. Thankfully dd got mainly 2s with a couple of 1s, so I´m really pleased. I´m not so optimistic about how ds will get on in school as he´s still having major speech and language problems, but at least he loves maths, so hopefully that will be one thing we won´t have to worry about.

The party at the weekend went really well despite the weather. Dh had built up a tent/pavillion thing in the garden, so we all stayed dry, although it was freezing cold.

hupa Well done to your DD, that sounds like a really good Zeugnis. We're hoping that DD1 will get about the same - as long as she gets 2s in the three most important subjects, that's the main thing. One of my friends was complaining yesterday that the Notenschluss at the two Gymnasien her DC go to was a week or so ago, so they have no incentive to do much work for the last three weeks of the school year.

admylin Having pondered the matter some more while cycling, I've come to the conclusion that dass is a conjunction and das is a pronoun - does that help?

DD2 has just shown me her timetable for the last week. I'm amazed that they're actually at school for more than five minutes on the last day; the Zeugnisverteilung isn't until 9.45 am, after the church service. In previous years, they've always been out of school by about 8.30 am at the latest.

Hupa, great that you could still enjoy the party despite the weather. Well done to your dd too.

Same here Linzer, dd knows that the Notenkonferenz is tomorrow for her year and then they wil lbe handing the books in at the end ofthe weke too so it'll be time wasting, tidying up and playing games for the last week. Ds has his last test today (history) and then Thursday must be his Notenkonferenz!

THanks for the ideas for dass and das, I'll have a look later and if I find anything that would explain it to dc I'll pass it on, you'll need it one day too! I'm sure I once read a really good tip on how to use it properly (for German dc) and I've lost it now.

Admylin I would be a little fed up with a 4 too if I had put the work in and got good marks on the test. Could your daughter query it with her teacher? I realise that is probably a lot easier said than done.
I think 'dass' is a conjunction - er hat mir gesagt, dass ich etwas machen sollte
and 'das' is either an article (das Haus), a pronoun (ich mag das nicht/das gefällt mir nicht - in place of 'es' I think) or if after a comma it refers to the noun in the previous clause (das Haus, das ich gesehen habe).
I hope that makes sense! I'm not sure my examples were very good, but maybe someone else can explain it better. I'll dig out my old grammar books later and see if they cover it.

Hupa I'm not even sure an overactive uterus exists! Mine goes really hard quite a lot, which as far as I am aware is perfectly normal during pregnancy. I mentioned it to the midwife as it seems to be happening a lot and she said the frequency is not normal (sometimes every 2 hours, sometimes every 30 seconds - apparently a few times a day is normal, a few times an hour isn't) and that the Dr needs to take a look. She said it might not be anything serious, just that my uterus is overactive. I managed to get an appointment for this afternoon so I may be able to report back later and solve this uterine mystery!
Good news on your DD's Zeugnis!

Linzer That season ticket does sound expensive. You would have to go an awful lot to justify the price. Does the weather where you are hold out for long enough to be able to go regularly?
I'm with you on the bikini issue, I don't think I would feel comfortable in my bikini in front of everyone I know. I spent a few months in South America for work last year and spent quite a lot of time at the hotel pool in the afternoons with a few (female) work colleagues who I knew quite well and even that took a bit of getting used to.

I hope the doctor was able to put your mind at rest, Later. I remember being worried about frequent contractions/stomach hardening at a similar stage when I was pregnant with DD1 (several times an hour some days). I think I asked the midwife about it but can't remember what she said - it turned out that there was no cause for concern, anyway.

You explained the difference between dass and das far more clearly and succinctly than I managed, btw.

Hello, just popping in briefly while Mum and Dad are out shopping. Have I missed anything/ can someone catch me up please? It's lovely to see the dcs, especially ds2 have fun with their GPs. It does make me feel guilty being so far away. The weather seems to have finally turned here. It was hailing 10 days ago and today it is going to be 90F . Still haven't got the plants in the garden though as it very cold at night!

Hope you are all having a lovely bedtime routine and pregnancies/ cars are going well. Must dash as have a French lesson to plan .Bye!

Hi Jenny, glad to hear you're enjoying your parents' visit. I don't think you've missed any major news - I seem to remember waffling on about nothing in particular yesterday, so not much change there!

DS had a temperature yesterday evening and still isn't 100% today, so I've kept him at home. He's lying on the sofa at the moment covered in a blanket, as he says he feels cold - we were outside earlier and I had to put sunscreen on him as it was so hot (still is).

Must go as as a job enquiry has just arrived and I need to write back before I pick up the girls.

Hi everyone,
I dont post very often but often lurk from Vienna.

Does anyone know a nice (not too expensive as we will need 2 rooms) but reasonably child friendly hotel in/near Munich? We are going for the weekend at the end of July (and seeing Take That in concert!).

I have just come back from a hectic trip to the uk from which Im taking a little while to recover and settle back in. Im frustrated with my lack of Deutsche (or active brain cells to apply what I actually do know). So my mission is to wean the baby so I can get a babysitter and go to classes.

Enjoy the sunshine today!

Hi sticki, sorry can't help with the hotel. I'm useless at finding them and tend to go into a trance after searching the web for them on all those hotel websites! Actually, the last one I used was OK - it was on the Deutsche Bahn website and I found dh a good and cheap hotel in Hamburg when all the other proper hotel websites were telling me everything was full.

Linzer, hope your ds is feeling better. Is it still hot? We'Ve got thunderstorms and torrential rain.

Jenny, how do your parents like the US? Have they been before? Are they getting some good bargain shopping to take back to UK? We got lots of bargains in Texas on jeans and sports wear and shoes!

Later hope the doctor appointment went well and you feel OK. Good explanation for das or dass, thanks. I found this rule which is what I use when I have to check something quickly: Wenn man es mit dieses, jenes oder welches ersetzen kann, ist es das. Helps me anyway!

Went to the lawyer about the car and he's being very helpfull. We'll be getting about half of what we payed for the car and I told him we can't find a car anything near the same as teh old one for that price and he said he'll get me the extra money too if I show him the offers and there really are no other options. So I won't end up driving a tiny ancient car as I feared! we just have to find one that is suitable.

My neighbour just told me that the old lady who owns this building fell in her villa and has lost an eye. She's over 80. She also told me she is completely crazy and I should get the Mieterverein sorted out and pay less rent until she fixes our bath! I feel like I can't bother her now somehow.

Aargh, just lost a long post as the site went offline for an upgrade and I'd forgotten to C+P before pressing Post.

Good news on the car, admylin. I remember you complaining about your landlady before; I know it probably doesn't seem like a good time to do anything about the situation at the moment, but you'd hardly be taking advantage of her (it's the other way round from what I remember). Probably a good idea to wait a little while if the accident has only just happened, though.

Hi sticki. I'm not much help on hotels in Munich either as the last time we went there was pre-DC. I usually find hotels by searching on roomfor5.co.uk and then checking reviews on holidaycheck.de, but you'd obviously have more options if you have fewer than three DC.

Still hot here and for some reason we're up on the top floor, where it's much hotter than downstairs. We came up to make the dragon recommended on another thread (couldn't get it to work), then DS fell asleep on the sofa bed, and now he and DD1 are watching Wickie und die starken Männer on her laptop. Fortunately DD2 was able to have a lift to ballet with a friend, as DS was still asleep at the time. Must check what time DH gets back from Brussels, although I doubt it will be early enough for him to help out with bedtime - the DC will def. want/try to stay awake until he gets back, though.

Hello, sticki, I saw Take That in the Olympiahalle in 1995 when Robbie was still with them first time round! I also saw them at the Manchester City Stadium when they reformed in 2006 and I was still breastfeeding dd. They were fantastic both times, though it's not my kind of music usually. I had rock boobs at the end of the second gig . Can't help with the hotels, sorry, though I'm going to take note of Linzer's website.

Glad things are going well with the lawyer and I hope you get something decent admylin. My dps have been to the States lots of times as my aunt was married to an American (she died 20 years ago though) and they really liked it. Dad has ordered a camera off a website to be delivered here as he thinks it's much cheaper than the UK. It's great having them here as even though they don't want to do much, the dcs are getting a lot out of it.

Hope your dh gives you a decent break Linzer and brings back some Belgian chocs!

sticki I am not really sure about hotels in Munich, having actually lived there sort of meant never needing to find out, but I could ask my mother when I speak to her tomorrow. She always knows everything :o

Morning!
Hope your ds has recovered linzer. Still not hot here and rain forcast again. I'm going to make a quick trip to the shops (yet again) befor eit starts or I'll be even madder about not having a car yet!

Well, dd's teacher didn't phone so I've written my questions in a letter (probably with loads of embarrassing mistakes) and told her she can answer by email if she wants! I have a feeling that a lot of parents want to speak to her as she has her own class and she's standing in for dd's teacher who is on Vaterschaftsurlaub.

Dh maybe found a car, a Honda limousine, no idea which make but it's silver and looks like our old one abit. He's going to ask about it today.

Jenny, will your dad not haveto pay tax on his camera when he comes back to UK? I always watch those Mein Revier programmes where the Zoll searches through peoples luggage after certain flights. One student got away with not paying extra for his new laptop bought in the States as students are allowed but a normal tourist would have had to pay. One person had too many cigarettes in the suitcase and had to pay 70 euro.

DS is much better today, thanks. We're having a nice bank holiday so far; went out for coffee (DH) and ice cream (DC) at the baker's, followed by a walk round the park, and are now just about to go out for lunch with friends.

A limousine sounds impressive admylin! Silver is a good colour too, as the dirt doesn't show up as much. I used to have a red Polo, and it would look dirty about a day after it had been washed.

We had to pay tax on the video camera we brought back from the USA, even though we were only coming back to Austria for a visit and taking it back to the USA with us afterwards - DH was still an Austrian resident though, of course.

Jenny I found out about the roomfor5 website on MN and it's proved to be very useful so far. I used it to find the hotel where we stayed in Berlin last year and also the B&B in Chester where we're staying for the christening in September.

I did indeed get some Belgian chocolates from DH. I also asked him to buy me some perfume from the duty free and gave him a list. He did buy one of them but I don't know yet which one; he said I have expensive tastes and is waiting for a special occasion to give it to me!

Linzer, no Feiertag here today. Sounds nice that your dh can switch off work and do things with the family. Mine has work in his head constantly although I could try to force him to do something with us I suppose!

I wish dh would go for a polo as I would have more chance of parking it! I find big cars safe to drive but I can't get into 50% of the parking spaces. I'm thinking of getting a driving teacher to give me an hour of parking lesson when we get the new car as it is a joke how badly I park!

Dd happy today, the teacher showed her book project (Lesetagebuch) around the class and said how lovely it was and she got a 1 for her poster about her future in Werte und Normen.

Hmm, not sure about DH switching off from work - he seemed to spend half the time checking his messages on his phone when we were out and complaining that it's not a bank holiday in Turkey, Italy or the UK. One of the reasons he's not keen on me having an iPhone is that he said I'd be constantly checking my e-mails etc. when I'm out; I've now told him that he can hardly complain if I do!

I did miss my Polo when it gave up the ghost, but must say that I find the Galaxy almost as easy to park - partly thanks to the parking sensors, which I insisted we had fitted if I was going to drive a bigger car, but also it seems easier to manoeuvre somehow. The only place where I really notice that it's bigger is in multistorey car parks, where I def. have less room to manoeuvre.

That's good news about your DD's book project and poster admylin; she must have worked really hard.

We had a nice meal out and sat outside (it was almost too hot), but it's getting cooler and cloudier now. I hope it's not too hot for the run on Sunday, but at least it starts at 9 am.

Thanks v much for the help with Munich hotels everyone, Linzer that web site is a great idea (yes we are 5!).

We have a Galaxy too and I agree with Linzer that its pretty easy to park. I often have to park in spaces that are so small in vienna that both front and back sensors are screeching on full (then the dcs join in and laugh at me). I think sensors are fab! I had to be careful recently when driving a car hire - there were no sensors.

Jenny I havent seen TT before but saw RW in London and LOVED it. Clearly this was pre-dc so Im hoping my dancing shoes will be found somewhere. It is my birthday present too, so hopefully will take my mind off getting old!

We are having a quiet feiertag - yes DH has had calls to do too. DS1 has some kind of tummy bug so was sick 3 times last night and isnt himself today. Fingers crossed for better night tonight. Ive been trying hard to dry the bedding - dashing in and out to the washing line when the showers arrive!

How old are your three, Sticki? It was slightly easier to find rooms up until DS was about 2/3 as he could sleep in a cot, but now that he's almost 5 that's no longer an option of course. Kinderhotels are good at catering for larger families but are ??? (and not really an option for city trips, or indeed trips outside Austria, either).

Sorry to hear your DS is ill too. DS's temperature was back up this evening so he'll be at home again tomorrow. At least DH is off work - DS doesn't want anything to do with me when DH is around! We'll probably have to postpone going to my ILs as well; we were planning on going tomorrow afternoon, but may just go for the day on Saturday (can't go on Sunday as my run is at 9 am - eek!).

I can't imagine going back to driving a car without parking sensors now, and am probably more confident parking the Galaxy than I was the Polo. We only have the rear sensors, though; I thought we'd asked for both but they only fitted rear ones, and I decided in the end that I could manage without the front ones for the sake of around ?500.

morning and long time no see to everyone.

Just back from 2 weeks in UK. 5 weeks short term now till summer holidays.

Actually feeling homesick for uk, but not really got out and about here yet.

Hope everyone ok, how's things going Ad?

While away got letter from ds1 gym, he's in trouble at school and we have to go in to meet head and his teacher together with him. The shame and horror. Dunno what to do with him. This is 2nd letter - after 1st, dh was pretty brutal and it hasn't had too much success clearly. Waiting to get fact from school before we react. bloody kids.

Morning all!

Hope all the ill children are feeling a little better today! Summer really is the worst time to be ill.

Admylin A limousine does sound rather impressive! At least it's silver and not hot pink!!

Ernest Sorry you're feeling homesick - when is your next trip back? I hope things work out ok with your DS1.

Linzer How was your run?

Sticki Hello! I'm very jealous of your Take That trip! I know a few people who have been to see them and they all said they were amazing!

Well, a quick trip to see the Dr turned into 4 nights in hospital! They were worried that the contractions might be real contractions so kept me in for a few nights to keep an eye on me. It turns out everything is fine - it's just a very big, active baby and I am very slim, so all the bouncing around is picked up by the CTG machine as contractions. They checked for infections and changes to my cervix etc, but as everything was ok they finally let me out on Saturday. A worrying few days, but feeling much better now I know everything is ok. The biggest worry was that no-one really knew what was going on so no-one wanted to commit to a diagnosis or give me any concrete information, but there were words like 'Wehenhemmungsmittel' and 'Lungenreifenmittel für das Baby' being bandied around which sent me into a bit of a panic at one point, so of course the contractions went through the roof! On top of that, the baby is so wriggly that it was hard to maintain a constant heatbeat on the CTG machine. Nightmare!

Anyway, I am now nicely rested after not being allowed out of bed for 4 days, and I have needle marks that would make a hardcore junkie proud :)

Glad everything turned out OK in the end, Later; it must have been such a worrying time for you. I sort of know how you feel as I went in for a routine CTG with DS and they decided I needed to be induced there and then - but I was already 38 weeks so there were no concerns about his lungs not being mature enough, etc. I know how frightening it all felt at the time though, so can only imagine what it must have been like at an earlier stage of pregnancy.

Hi Ernest, sorry to hear about the problems with your DS, hope the meeting goes OK.

Well, I survived the run on Sunday but my legs are aching now! The weather wasn't great at the start (heavy rain), but it turned into a light drizzle which was actually quite cooling. I found it much harder running without music, and because of the weather there weren't many spectators to cheer us on (there are usually people lining the route), but I knew I could do it as I'd run further on the C25k runs. Will def. take my iPod next year, though, and see if I can beat this year's time! The results have just gone online and I can even print out a certificate to say I came 5th in my category (W-40, although I don't turn 40 for another four months ), which sounds quite impressive unless you know that there were only eight women in that category!

Am now battling with my tax return. The tax office has normally always sent me the forms to fill in at the start of the year, but I suddenly realised last night that I couldn't remember filling anything in and didn't have any record of it. As my mind can be a little sieve-like at times, I thought I'd better call in at the Finanzamt and check as I needed to pick up some forms for DH anyway. The woman there confirmed that I haven't submitted this year's tax return; I've already missed the paper deadline and have just three days to file it electronically. It shouldn't actually take me too long to fill it in as I know what I'm doing from previous years, but the Finanzamt website is all a bit overwhelming so I think I'll wait until DH is home before I try to submit it. I should probably get him to check it first as well, as I've just discovered a mistake in last year's!

Just got back from buying a new car, well not new but not too old so we should be mobile at the end of the week if all goes according to plan!

Linzer welldone on doing the run, you'll be signing up for marathons before you know it! Good luck with the tax return, I would probably end up paying someone to help me!

Later, hope you are feeling OK now and the hospital stay wasn't too exhausting. Did you get a room to yourself?

Ernest, hope the meeting goes well. Has your ds said anything about what has been going on? We were all called to school recently for a serious talking to (the whole class) and ds couldn't tell me before what it would be about, he's so head-in-the-clouds so he doesn't notice half of what's going on, no idea how he manages to get good grades! How is your ds doing academically? HAve you got your new place set up in UK yet?

Well, I'm putting off making some phone calls so I suppose I had better do them or I think I'll have a coffee first and see what I can sort out for lunch for the dc getting home at 12 today.

What kind of car did you get, admylin? I'm sure you can't wait to be mobile again.

Well, I've finally finished filling in my tax return and have sent it off (felt confident enough not to ask DH to check it!). The good thing about filling it in online is that it checks it for you before you send it and also tells you how much tax you should have to pay, so I might even switch over to doing it online in future.

DD2 has just arrived home with a huge bag full of school things that she no longer needs this year - she has to take a bag in every day this week. Now off to pick up DD1 and then take them to the last piano lesson before the summer.