Der Nebel steigt, es fällt das Laub - a German and Austrian autumn thread

[AntiqueMuppet]

A thread for anyone living in Germany or Austria, or anyone else who fancies a chat.

Previous thread here

Oh no Ploom, was it really busy there? Trying another Aldi sounds like a good plan; the one in the next town to us is usually a bit quieter so I've often been able to get things there that have already sold out at our local store. I couldn't get the winter boots in the size and colour I wanted for DS last week either - I arrived at 7.58 and they'd already opened! - but at least I was able to get some in a different (not pink!) colour.

ploom I was going to suggest the online shop at C&A for ski trousers but maybe you found some in the other Aldi.

Linzer that's an early start to the day, hope the English lesson is good. Sounds like your dd1 was getting the school garden/grounds ready for winter! Good idea to save getting a gardner!

Just got our yearly electric bill and we're going to have to pay 22? more per month from now on. Can't understand where we have used so much more electricity. I know the price has meant to have gone up but not that much yet.

admylin They actually went to a park to do the gardening; child slave labour is obviously the way forward!

That sounds like a big increase in your electricity bill; I think ours has gone up by that much over the past four years. How much are you paying per month now? Personally, I think we should get a discount on our electricity bill but sadly DH's employers (our electricity supplier) don't seem to agree!

Thanks for the reassurance, Linzer & Ploom! He seems a little better today. Still has the runs but nappy-free time, wet-wipe avoidance & Heilwolle in his nappy seem to be helping. I think I just had a panic yesterday as I felt so awful for him. He was desperately trying to get away from me while I was changing him and screaming in pain, but needing to come to me for a cuddle, you could see the dilemma in his little red face. It was horrible!
Who knew a sore bum could cause this much trouble! I'm not sure whether to take him to the Dr for the runs or whether to leave it for a few days and see if it clears up. Will see how he is this afternoon.

Ploom Pull ups are amazing! I've used nothing else for the past few months as DS is a very lively baby and will not lie down, let alone lie still. I'm currently the master of changing nappies while crawling around the flat
God luck at Aldi! Hope you manage to get the rest of your bits. I reckon black or blue ski stuff would be fine on a boy, but it all depends whether the boy in question knows it was actually meant for a girl....

admylin Our bill has gone up by that much too. It's ridiculous, isn't it. We (well, DH) went through the bill and we had used a little more since having DS, but most of it was due to a price increase.

cake Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and with the restaurant! Do pop back in and let us know how you're getting on (and of course when your gorgeous baby arrives).

antique and linzer that's bad news but good to know that you also pay more! Our electricity is expensive anyway as the water is heated by an electric boiler thing. We pay 102? a month and before that it wa sabout 50? less in more modern flats where the hot water came from goodness knows where but not the electric!

Dh applying for a job in Austria now! In Graz. The pay seems very high but maybe cost of living is that much more than in Germany.

antique glad your ds is feeling abit better. I can't remember any of the specifics about teething/nappy problems we must have had, blocked it all out I think since we hit the teen years! I did have a teething gel and did the baby oil bum cleaning but otherwise no idea. I'd have been to see the doctor by now for sure as with ds we used to run there for every little thing, dh was terrible - one sniff or cough from ds and we'd be off to the doctor!

Ooh admylin we spent last week just south of Graz and it was absolutely stunning! Graz was a really nice city too.

Graz would be good, admylin - I'd come and visit you and we could try out a few Buschenschänke. Seriously though, it's a nice part of the country - DH went to university there. I don't think the cost of living here is significantly higher than in Germany; in fact, I thought that salaries in Germany tended to be higher than in Austria. It's over 10 years since I last lived in Germany, admittedly, but I don't find the cost of living particularly high and wine can be ridiculously cheap.

The electricity does sound expensive. We pay just over ?70 a month and I think it was only ?40-something when we first moved into the house. We probably have the heating on less than most people, though (although far more than my parents would!).

Antique Glad to hear your DS is on the mend. I would take him to the doctor's if it's not better in a day or so; I took DD2 (possibly the others as well - it's all a bit of a blur now!) and it turned out she had a yeast infection, which is why the normal nappy rash cream wasn't having much effect.

linzer do you heat the house with electricity? Our heating is gas and included in the Nebenkostenpauschal but the hot water is an electric boiler and we pay directly to the electric company. Shame you can't get a deal from your dh's employer!

Graz sounds good, the pay was quite high and as a plus they pay 14 months, unheard of here. I'd guess it would be payed at Christmas and for summer maybe. Here dh gets a small sum at Christmas but no where near a full months pay. I wonder if family health insurance would be available for around 700?? That's what we pay here.

admylin No, we heat the house with gas - so you can completely ignore my comment about us not having the heating on much! I blame my early start.

Fourteen months' pay is standard here - DH gets an extra month's pay in May (for the summer holidays) and November (for Christmas). I'm sure that it doesn't really increase your salary, i.e. the employer would work out what annual salary they want to pay and would just divide it by 14 rather than 12, but it is nice when DH gets a big monthly salary twice a year!

Most Austrians don't work Friday afternoons; DH does (although he wouldn't have any problems if he wanted to come home at midday), although he's usually home a couple of hours early. Lots of bank holidays and Fenstertage here too.

admylin DP also gets the summer holiday and Christmas bonus... his company is based out of Nürnberg though... But a move to Austria (and more money) sounds great!
DP might have the chance to move to Köln or back to Nürnberg... problem is with Nutellachen (Ploomchen was so cute I've stolen it :o - ps. happy belated birthday to him!) on the way and family around here as much as any other a bigger city sounds great I'm now in two minds about a move...

cake I also bought chocolate digestives in England - they have to be the dark chocolate ones though. What is it about chocolate digestives - don't say the chocolate - I like normal digestives too but put that little layer of choc on top and....

Good luck with all things baby related and hope to see you on here again soon! At the very least with news of babycake!

Linzer who would have thought that the schools would be organising free child labour?? it does sound a bit bizarre though... I was very to learn DP had to do knitting at school. I tried to explain this to my Mum but I don't think she believed me

I realise I have been very slack in not coming back and telling you what else I bought while in the UK. I also got some M&S pants and when I got home DP asked if I had bought him more socks :o last time we were there I said you have to have a multi-pack of M&S socks but he wasn't convinced... and now it seems he has grown quite attached to them!
I did buy some baking supplies - cream of tartar and baking powder (I don't trust the little packets - and it's too much faffing) and a lot of green and blacks chocolate... it was on offer! :)
Probably my favourite UK purchase though is my new slippers :) they were also from M&S and look like bunnies :o

Nutella that was almost like a session of therapy for British retail deprived me! I used to wander in a daze down the baking isle and the crisp isle of supermarkets whenever I went to the UK! M&S are great for basics aren't they? Dh orders online from them and last time he went to London he ended up getting himself a jacket and some shoes!

Hmm, I can see what you mean about a move once Nuttellachen is here but it'd also be a good chance to go straight into somewhere bigger and you'd have to sit back and occupy baby while someone else did all the moving/carrying. My 2 house moves with toddler/baby were great as I couldn't help even I'd wanted to as someone had to watch the dc. It got alot worse when we moved and the dc were old enough to occupy themselves, then I had to muck in and do more!

Linzer how long is your dh away this time? We're STILL waiting for the money to come from the Portugal trip. They're asking him to go to a meeting in Germany now but he's turned it down.

Nutella I don't think knitting is taught at school here (or when I was in the UK - I did knitting as part of my GCSE in creative textiles, but already knew how to), but everyone learns to crochet. Sadly, crocheting was still very much for girls when DH was at school so he was of absolutely no use in helping DD1 and I had to send her over to our neighbour when she was struggling to learn.

DH loves his M&S multipacks of socks! The most recent ones he bought all have multicoloured stripes on the toe and heel; not noticeable normally, but some friends of ours found it very funny when we went over to their house recently and he had the pink/red striped pair on.

admylin DH will be back this evening, but I've no idea what time. I don't blame your DH for turning down the German trip; it's bad enough that he has to pay out of his own pocket in the first place, but you'd think they could reimburse him fairly promptly.

Oh dear, I've just noticed that my 1er-Mama friend on FB (the one with several million friends) has a new friend called Robert W*nk. I just hope he never has to deal with anyone in an English-speaking country.

at Robert Wnk, Linzer*

Robert W*nk.. brilliant!

I was really surprised by DP wanting more M&S socks but now I know next time I (or more likely we) go I will buy him a new multipack. Sounds like I have the ones your DH has Linzer - I found the ladies ones a bit too small :) DP's socks are similar with just a colour (i.e. pink, orange, blue) and grey stripes from toe to heel.

admylin Your poor DH's employers sound terribly slow, can't believe he hasn't been paid back yet for portugal! That would really bug me if I had to pay for an expensive work trip out of my pocket and know it would be weeks before I got the money back... I did enough grumbling about one of the schools I work for not paying me for August until this week - Although they are often slow.

Our lovely upstairs neighbours are moving out in December :( and we found out that not only are our retired miserable neighbours across the way racists but also the old owner who lives downstairs
Basically the new owner (our building changed hands from old to new owner at the beginning of the year) was coming to show someone around the flat and a turkish family had also expressed an interest. The old owner collared our neighbour and between repeatedly saying he doesn't mind foreigners (me thinks the lady doth protest too much) told our neighbour to say they want loads of money for the kitchen and things to put this family off! ridiculArse!

Anyway, on a random note DP has just shown me this version of Felix Baumgärtner's jump :o I love all things lego!!

Sorry to barge in like this, but felt like sharing this for anyone interested to watch this documentary (2012) tonight...

HOME SWEET HOME
Do 18.10.22:45 - 00:20ARTE
Doku, 95 Min.

In London wartet eines der größten Stadterneuerungsprojekte Europas auf die Umsetzung.

1974 fertiggestellt, bildeten die Betonklötze von Heygate Estate im Bezirk Elephant and Castle eines der größten Sozialbaugebiete der Stadt. Doch die gigantischen Blocks verkamen schnell, Kriminalität und Armut regierten. 1997 versprach Tony Blair vollmundig eine Sanierung und die Errichtung lebenswerten Wohnraums für Geringverdiener. Die Finanzkrise ließ die Pläne stocken. Neue Investoren wollen im Herzen Londons keine Sozialwohnungen, sondern lukrative Büros, Shops, Apartments. Autorin Enrica Colusso traf Bewohner - die Verlierer im Spiel der Politiker, Geldgeber und Architekten - und beleuchtet kritisch die englische Wohnungsbaupolitik.

Wow its been quiet on here this morning !

Spent way too much time and effort this morning trying to get rid of an old rain butt that we inherited from the previous owners thats now cracked. The local tip wouldnt take it cause its plastic and told us to either drive 30 mins to the bigger tip or saw it up ourselves and put it in the yellow sacks . Thankfully some friends locally have a skip so they said we can chuck it in there - now hope it fits!

nutella - Isnt it shocking that some people in the world are still racist? I dont know anyone personally who is racist so it always comes as a shock to me that there are people still around with such narrow minded views. Someone I went to school with posted some really vile racist (and homophobic) stuff on FB - I couldnt delete him fast enough.
Love the lego link - have just posted it to my FB wall! Very jealous of your supplies from the UK - thats half the reason I go back now .

linzer - at Herr W*nk but really shouldnt since I'm also afflicted with a rude sounding name in English speaking countries (not my FB name obv). You have to laugh tho - its only a name.

admylin - thats shocking that your dh is still waiting for the money - they really take the piss there. Have got everything crossed for him that one of these other jobs works out. I only learned yesterday that dh also gets paid 13 monthly. Had never thought to ask before. Nice idea.

antique - glad your ds is a wee bit better. Hopefully he'll carry on so (well until the next lot of teeth come thro!).

I got ski trousers at C&A in the end yesterday - they were 39 euros (the aldi ones were 19) but I just couldnt be arsed driving back an forward trying to get them from an Aldi. Also got myself some new sneakers (altho dd says they're not proper sneakers ), dh got a jacket and I got ds2 some insulated trousers so a successful morning. Oh and brought myself some Chinese food home for lunch too - I miss takeaway food in the UK so much so that was my biggest treat.

Got a busy afternoon of driving the dc about then tomorrow is ds2's first football match followed by ds1's birthday trip to the cinema. Going to try to sneak drinks and sweets into the cinema - has anyone else done this? Will they catch me at it?

Hope you all have a great weekend

Afternoon!

Yes, it was spookily quiet on here this morning, wasn't it? Good for me though, as it meant fewer distractions while I was trying to work! Sounds like you had a successful shopping trip, Ploom - I want to go to C&A tomorrow to get pyjamas for the girls (apart from DD1's ridiculously short ones, DD2 is complaining that hers aren't warm enough). Hope you all enjoy the film - what are you going to see? I'm sure you could get away with taking your own drinks and sweets in with you, unless you made a really obvious show of it going in; no one's going to know exactly what you're eating and drinking in the dark.
I'd never thought of your surname as being rude btw; I suppose it could sound rude if you didn't pronounce it in the German way, but at least it doesn't look at all rude when it's written down. Do you use your maiden name when you're back in the UK?

Nutella DH and I were chuckling over that link last night; we were very impressed with how soon after the proper jump they'd recreated the Lego one!
at the racism but I can quite easily see it happening here too; I'm just shocked at the racist remarks and words that Austrians come out with sometimes. Mind you, my Dad isn't all that much better (although he'd never consider himself racist; people never do though, do they?).

Oh, and DD1 got a 2 in her English test. It was a bit disappointing as she'd made virtually no mistakes in her English, but had misinterpreted two pictures (she'd written "open the door" instead of "close the door" and "sit down" instead of "stand up"), causing her to lose 4 marks. It's a little frustrating that she got a 2 when her only real mistake was to write exercise book as one word, but what can you do?

Ha ha ha it was quiet, as no-one felt comfortable enough to post first right after my last one, maybe?!
It was a great and very enlightening documentary in original with subtitles...

Ploom I grew up in a really small village in a rather middle England environment and I remember moving back to London at 20 was a shock but I loved that shock too. I just don't understand racism, it makes me so :( I can be really naive and am always shocked when I come across it.

I'm also a bit weird and ask people from different backgrounds why they do stuff their way - some people think I'm mad for asking but I've never had anyone object to explaining something to me, often the response is they're really pleased I'm interested. I find it all fascinating :)

Oh on the subject of rude names my favourite was during the olympics, I can't remember the sport or the country (Aus, NZ, USA of UK) but the female competitor's name was C*ckburn what made it worse was the German commentator trying so hard to not pronounce it how it was spelled, he only succeeded in drawing my attention to it when otherwise I probably wouldn't have remembered it!

Well I'm blaming everyone's absence on the beautiful weather! I have been out and enjoyed it but our dishwasher is broken so I better get on with the washing up oh dear... such a 1st world problem, I really shouldn't complain!

world I would have been fast asleep by the time that documentary came on and I only saw your post today :( which is a shame because it looks really interesting!

see you later everyone!

ha ha ha :o world yup, I was going to come on and say you killed the thread! but it seems everyone is back now... and it took me so long to write my post everyone else has popped in! I'm so slow... but I do have to go and wash up... otherwise DP and I will be eating out of mugs for dinner :)

Well, I was working and I know that silken said she wasn't going to be around much for a little while, so I think that's most of us accounted for. Am hoping to meet up with platanos soon and try to persuade her to rejoin us!

Nutella I was at school with someone called C*ckburn, but I don't remember a tremendous amount of teasing going on - the fact that it was pronounced Coburn doesn't really fool anyone probably helped a bit!

Aargh, sorry, I've done it again. Apologies cheas!

Isn't that funny nutella , in all seriousness I am not really on this thread as I am not a British ex-pat living in Germany...and the only good thing I might be able to come up with, is at least some good TV program recommendations...by the way there is a new Ken Loach Film, this time playing in Scotland, in the cinemas. He is one of my favourite British film-makers.