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

Hello everyone

I'd say depending on the context you would like to use the phrase 'nook and cranny', either you might say ...'jeder Winkel und alle Ecken'....or you might want to express you checked and tested everything to a 'T' it would me more along the lines of 'auf Herz und Nieren'...or if you like to express how much you love the other person so much and would like to kiss 'every nook and cranny'...it would depend, but then more along of every 'Falte, Spalte, Beuge, Kuhle'...for example, very much depending on who says what in which context.

admylin sorry to hear about your husband...this is like a "disease" in those areas of work. It is crushing I know. Hope you could manage to build him up.

I looked on Linguee for nooks and crannies, which suggested things like alle Winkel, bis in die kleinsten Winkel and in allen dunklen Ecken (which I almost suggested before) as well as alle Winkel und Ecken. This is why I never write in German; I still wouldn't know what to use, even after checking.

cheas I've only ever read one book by David Mitchell, Number9Dream, but just couldn't get into it at all. I have Black Swan Green on my to-read shelf, but keep finding other books that I'd rather read. I hadn't heard that Cloud Atlas has been filmed and was about to write that I'll watch almost any British film, but it seems to be more American (or at least has a mainly American cast). Not that that should put me off I suppose, particularly as I haven't even read the book but it does.

cheas I´m glad you pointed out who you used to be. I hadn´t guessed, although I think your mention of music today would have helped me on my way.

I´m glad you´re feeling a bit more relaxed about ttc. I know a couple of people who had almost given up and had moved on to new stages in their career/lives and then ended up unexpectedly pregnant. I know it doesn´t work for everyone, but it would be nice if starting a translation course could tempt fate

I must admit I´ve never considered translation work. I really just don´t thimk I would be any good at it. I still do a bit of supply teaching at the Grundschule, but they seem to have an excess of teachers at the moment, so I don´t need to go in very often.

EnglishWoman Have there been any developments today? Í think I´d much rather it was some random act of nastiness from someone unknown. It would be really disconcerting to know your neighbours were capable of such a thing.

ploom Thanks for asking about the new kitchen. It´s finally in and is really great and I think it was worth the endless hours of arguments with dh. I´ve bought 3 new cook books which is a bit ridiculous, because I don´t actually enjoy cooking. However, i can spend hours pouring over cookbooks and imagining what I´d enjoy having cooked for me.

I think I better stop now or this is going to be a massive post.

I've got a bit of a fetish for all things Japanese, so I adored Number9dream. I can see why less Japan-obsessed people might find it rather strange though. Black Swan Green is utterly different, so unless you're actually put off by DM's style of writing somehow, rather than the characters/subject matter/random jumping between narratives, you should give it a go.

admylin didn't get round to posting this last week, but wanted to offer to knit you a pair of socks if you would actually wear them! I bought some wool recently and have started a pair for myself (in black/grey to wear in cold churches when I have concerts there). I also bought some more colourful wool intending to knit a pair for my mum or sister for Xmas, but I'm not sure they'll really appreciate them, so I would be happy to knit them for you if you'd like?

hupa I thought I'd save you the bother of having to trawl through old threads looking for my namechange . I'm sort of hoping that will happen wrt getting pg. I certainly don't think obsessing about it helps (not that it's possible to choose actively not to obsess about these things, of course).

world thanks for the suggestions. The context was work getting into every nook and cranny of life once you start working from home. It just bothered me that I couldn't think of an equivalent in German!

cheas I found reading Number9dream quite disorientating as I kept thinking I was still reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, which I'd finished not long before. I shall definitely give Black Swan Green a go at some point, anyway!

hupa Quite a few people I know have said they just wouldn't be able to translate, which is how I used to feel about teaching. And having tried it, I've discovered that I can do it but don't really feel like I'm cut out for it. Far too many people here seem to think that as a native English speaker, you a) can teach and b) will automatically want to.

I've got out of the gymnastics run (and parking nightmare) this week as it's my friend's turn to take the two girls. In return, I have her DS here and she gets a couple of free hours. It's not as short straw-like as it sounds, however, as his arrival (and DD2's departure ) has finally stopped the constant squabbling and they've been playing really well together, so I've even been able to get some work done.

Yay bank holiday tomorrow.... Boooo no DIY! It feels like a wasted opportunity :o if only we had long bank holiday weekends
I spoke to DP about the ILs seeming to rush off, he said it was only because there wasn't anything for them to do - so all is well.

I'm interested by the translating talk, it's an idea I've mused over but I only have two years of learning German asunder my belt and I know it's a way off yet, but thank you for all the links Linzer I will be saving them all and taking notes :)

admylin there is so much stuff I don't have it's frightening! Although I suspect tomorrow will be spent searching for a cot and a dining table (since creating the baby-ecke involved throwing out the ess-ecke and we haven't had the chance to look for a replacement) yay eBay!
I need to buy all the grooming type stuff and nappies etc - about the only thing we are planning to buy new but I think I'm getting there need a post-it that says "the shops will still be open once the baby is born".... How do I know when I have the essentials?

Hope everyone had a nice day off!

Nutella, you really don't need much for a baby, and if you do need something, are you close enough to decent shops to be able to send your OH out? Although I'd probably panic a bit without the Sunday opening.

We are taking a few days out next week for a little holiday, somewhere in Germany. I am thinking of a small holiday let in the Black Forest, if we can find something nice. Unless anyone has any ideas? DS will be two on Tuesday, so we aren't after nightlife and too much adventure just yet! Any tips on where to find info on where and how to book, etc?

Morning!

vegans - a few days in the Black Forest sounds like a great idea. If you put "ferienwohnung" into google there are lots of websites that can help you.

nutella - did you forget that all the shops were shut yesterday? I always find it so different from a BH in the UK where shopping is the normal activity! I agree you really dont need much in those first few days after a baby is born (if you plan to BF). As long as you've got some nappies & babygros for baby and sanitary towels and PJ's for you then you could survive quite a few days at home.

hupa - glad the kitchen is in - I'm still in love with mine a year later. I also do that with cookbooks - am even planning on asking for more books for Christmas and bet I only ever try a few recipes then go back to our staple dinners. Have tried a few recipes from a Lorraine Pascale programme that I saw on the BBC - they were relatively simple (which is always important for me!).

cheas - the scottish saying I always think is "whats for you, will not go by you". Did you go back to the Frauenarzt? I really think she should be offering you some more investigations about your hormone levels etc. I feel like I keep going on about the Agnes Castus tablets but I discussed them with my Frauenarzt the other week and he said it is probably the lowest risk tablet you can take so maybe it might help - I've been really pleased with them.

admylin - hope your dd is feeling better today. Did you have a sofa day yesterday?

antique - glad the funeral went as well as can be expected. How was the house that you viewed?

We had a random but nice day yesterday. The weather was sunny so we thought we'd go on a day out to Coburg (70km away). Dh thought we'd take the scenic route but after about 30 mins the road was closed so we had to follow the diversion that sent us miles out the way, dd was complaining of travel sickness so we just changed direction and went to the nearest big city to us which isnt overly pretty but it was lunchtime by then and we knew of a good Italian to go to. We had some really good food then drove home. Felt like we'd driven a very long way for some lunch. But at least dh was off - it was his one day off in the middle of working 18 days so at least he had the chance to have some beers with lunch (and then a nap afterwards at home!).

Need to crack on with getting some shopping now - its ds1's birthday soon and he's left me a big choice of lego so need to go and decide whic one looks best value for money.

Morning all,

I've finally finished planning today's English lesson (for DD2's class at school), which I must have been doing for the last 1.5 hours (and I was only really finishing off the planning and printing out some handouts); I'm sure I've spent a good 2 or 3 hours on one 50 minute lesson! I do seem to have rather a lot of material though, so hopefully it will be enough for the next lesson as well.

Hope everyone enjoyed the bank holiday. I did hear something about an LKW-Fahrverbot because of the bank holiday on the traffic news when I was on the motorway yesterday, but I'm not quite sure what it was all about - there were certainly plenty of lorries on the motorway, anyway. Unfortunately, bank holidays don't seem to apply to freelancers (not that we had a holiday here anyway) and I had to do some work for a German company that arrived at about 7pm yesterday, needed asap. So it ended up being quite a late (for me) night.

Ploom Sounds like a lovely day out. Your DH definitely deserved a beer or two if he's working 18 days more or less non-stop!

Vegans A holiday in the Black Forest sounds good.

Nutella Like everyone else says, you really don't need a huge amount of stuff for a small baby. If you're planning to bf (or maybe even if you're not?), you might find Stilleinlagen (nursing pads) useful as well as a nursing bra. We were advised not to use baby wipes initially (too harsh for the skin) or to add anything to their bathwater, but the advice may have changed since then - or may never have been the case in Germany anyway.

Nutella I agree with vegans about not needing very much at the start. A car seat and a few clothes are the only real essentials. We were given masses and masses of nappy creams and shanpoos, etc. as free gifts and presents when dd was born - I still haven't had to buy any 3 years later! We didn't buy any disposable nappies until after she was born either (switched to cloth after the first few weeks, but was too shell-shocked at first to use them straightaway).

ploom I'm thinking about going back to the dr this month for ultrasound to confirm that I'm ovulating when I think I am. I will definitely ask her about AC, can't decide about the referral to an endocrinologist though - would hate for it to send me back into obsessive mode!

cheas I did a translation certificate through AKAD when I was pregnant. It wasn't expensive, only takes 3 months part time and is the company recommended by the IHK so might be worth looking into. I haven't started looking for work yet so can't tell you how it has gone down on my CV, but it might be worth looking into. (I studied languages, which involved a lot of translation & translation theory, so only really wanted something with 'translation' in the title to put on my CV, as opposed to actually learning to translate, IYSWIM.)
I don't think AKAD offered a certificate in medical translation, but I can't remember. I'll look up the details of the course I did and PM you.
I hope the ultrasound confirms things for you & that the Dr can suggest a few things to help.

Hope everyone enjoyed the BH!

The house was lovely, Ploom, we liked it so much, that we spent yesterday evening trying to get hold of our current landlady, who said that as long as we find a Nachmieter we can move out, yay! We're hoping to move in December, depending on how quickly we find someone - which shouldn't be too much of an issue as there are always flyers on trees round here with people looking for flats in this area. It's a bit yummy mummy round here so I'll be glad to get away from it, but the landlady is pleased as it means she can put the rent up!
The couple who own the new house are even dropping the rent for us as they want someone in there who they know, so we're getting a bit of a bargain. (We don't actually know them, they are DH's colleague's PILs, but the last people they had trashed the place and disappeared without paying rent, so I think they want at least a connection to the new tenants. Good news for us as it means the rent is cheaper and they are renovating the whole house before we move in, new double glazing and everything!)

Nutella One thing we needed, which meant an emergency dash to the shops for DH in the first few days was another sleeping bag and a few extra sleepsuits - we thought we'd be ok with 2 sleeping bags, but DS' nappies used to leak all the bloomin' time when he was tiny. We had bought sleeping bags on offer in the supermarket, but when we desperately needed another one, they weren't on offer anymore and we ended up with a lovely but ridiculously expensive one.
I'm not saying go out and bulk buy sleeping bags, of course, just sharing a problem that we were unprepared for!

antique that sounds awesome!!!!!!! Congrats to finding a great new place

Antique That´s great news about the house. Hopefully it won´t take long to find a Nachmieter and you´ll be in before Christmas.

Nutella I agree with everyone else who says you really don´t need very much. Like Linzer, we were advised not to use wipes, but cotton wool and water to begin with. If you´re planning to breastfeed it would be worth getting some nipple cream. I think I used Lansinoh which was really good and luckily the kind midwife in the hospital gave me some in a syringe to take home until I had time to buy some.

Ploom The Lorraine Pascale book was one of the ones I bought. We made twisted bread at the weekend which tasted ok, but I think we´ll be finding poppy seeds in the kitchen for the next few weeks.

vegans The Black Forest sounds like a great idea. Mind you I´ve been here over 10 years and still haven´t visited, so can´t make any recommendations.

I´ve just been into school with 2 of our guinea pigs because ds´s class are doing a project about pets. Of course one of them promptly weed all over ds´s best friend. He was naturally not impressed, especially as the rest of the class found it hilarious.

antique that sounds great about the house, good luck with finding a Nachmieter. Will you have a garden?

hupa hope the pet day went well! Never had to that thank goodness! What did everyone bring? I know dd's friend brought her rabbit oince (to Gymnasium) but dd didn't want to take her gerbils as it would have scared them she said.

cheaspicks how sweet of you to offer to knit socks for me! I'd be happy with all the left over bits of wool and multi coloured but only if you have time!

nutella as everyone says you won't need much and you can send your dh out if you need anything. Prepare yourself with plenty of cosy blankets and warm socks for you and baby (December is cold!) and accept every offer of help with cooking and housework. Ds had bad colic so we stopped off at the Marktkauf to get some bottles and baby fencheltee on the way home from the hospital as that hadn't been on my plan at all!!

vegans if you are heading the black forest way I would suggest a quick trip over to Strasburg. Nice change after a few months in Germany and you'd get the nice drive through the black forest too. The Hohenzollern castle is worth a visit (I used to live near here) and if you like castles this one is great. Went there often when we had guests visiting.

Just waiting to be able to get my car out to go shopping. A builder has blocked me in and gone off to the shops to get his lunch on foot!! Good job I'm not in a hurry eh?

hi everyone, hope you all had a good BH! It rained all day here and of course we were working so not much of a holiday for us!

antique that's great news about the house, I hope it all works out for you and you can find a Nachmieter.

hupa that is one brave teacher offering to have pets in for a visit! I'm not sure I would have had the energy or inclination... the most my class did was bring in photos :)

Pouring down here today... we're taking advantage of it being quiet and getting some boring tax/admin done.

Ploom nooo I knew the shops would be shut, but I still find a little frustrating (probably in the main because I'm simply not organised :) ); DP had also decided that being a BH it wouldn't be a good idea to do anything noisy (our neighbours are the most miserable bunch) so even if we had some supplies for the next stage he probably wouldn't have let me crack on.

But we did sort out the office (finally) and managed to free up a set of shelves which might come in handy :)

Then we went out to another kinderkleidung sale... and got a bit wet in the rain. But found a couple of nice things. I need to go through it at some point and count up what I do have and what I need. Waiting to do the nappy/nipple cream/cotton wool type shopping until a bit nearer the time (also then we might have somewhere to put everything).

Officially 28 weeks today off to the Dr's later and need to get a fit to fly certificate for my trip to England next week :o DP will staying here (it was too expensive for him to come too :( ) and enjoying some man time. I'm going to see my family though which will be lovely :)

Oh, and thank you for the advice everyone! There are just a few obvious things that I don't have (i.e. nappies) which I'm not panicking about but just keep wondering what else needs to go on the list.
And baby is due on the 27th so lots of BH when of course everything will be shut!

Antique Great news on the house! I suspected the viewing had gone well when I saw on FB that you're looking for Nachmieter.

hupa Yes, Lansinoh was a lifesaver. Luckily the big tube I bought when DD1 was born lasted for the other two, as I've never seen it here. I also wish I'd discovered the numbing powers of ice cubes a bit earlier!

Am feeling a bit fed up after today's English lesson, as the teacher basically said that what I was doing with the class was too difficult for them and I shouldn't go by what DD2 can do as she's one of the better ones (I would have thought the fact that DD2 is a native speaker would have made it obvious that I shouldn't go by her English abilities!). What I wish I'd said, although I didn't think of it at the time, is that I was actually going by what DD1's class had been able to do in the 3. Klasse (l'esprit de l'escalier is a phrase that was invented just for me). And actually, from what I saw, the only ones who were struggling were the two children who've just joined the class from another school (the teacher said I should bear in mind they'd never done any written English before). I think I'm just feeling a bit despondent because I must have spent a good three hours of my time on that lesson (although I've prepared enough for next time too), unpaid, and it would be nice to get a bit of positive feedback occasionally.

Linzer at the idea of you planning a lesson aimed at your dd's level! The teacher can't have been thinking when she said that, surely? It all sounds rather soul-destroying though. How much longer do you have to do it for?

admylin it may well take me quite a few weeks, but I find knitting in front of the tv relaxing, plus it stops me snacking. I hadn't thought of randomly mixing all the leftovers into a pair of socks. Sock wool is often quite colourful to start with, plus I knit baby socks with any substantial leftover amounts. It's still an idea though.

antique haven't read your pm yet, but thanks anyway. My parents are coming in a couple of weeks, guess I'll mull it over with them and buy some books on Amazon, yay. Congratulations on the house btw!

nutella oh yes, stilleinlagen. I had a fantastic wool pair from www.babykind.co.uk. Disposable ones are okay, but the wool ones were much less visible and comfortable, plus the lanolin helps condition your skin. Babykind ship to Germany reasonably cheaply, good place for cloth nappies etc, which are VAT exempt in the UK but not here.

I spent the morning in the recording studio and now have a headache. Fortunately my private student has cancelled this afternoon, so I just have to teach one lesson at the kiga before I can curl up on the sofa with a cup of tea. Hope the kids aren't in a nosy mood!

Nutella are we the same person? I'm 28+5 and need to get a fit-to-fly letter at the doctors on Monday as I'm also flying back to the UK next week!!

Whereabouts are you going? I'm in London for my niece's birthday.

Thanks again, antique. I haven't found much detailed infrmation on that link, but it's certainly another option and cheaper than the DipTrans. I can't read the information on the DT site about prep courses (ipad problem, I assume) do I really need to do one, bearing in mind I have some experience and plenty of cultural background knowledge/near native competency?

I guess I'm asking how important translation theory is! There is a suggested reading list on the DT site - do any of you who have studied the subject have any book recommendations?

cheas I've just asked a friend of mine who did the DipTrans whether she did a preparation course (the link is to a list of institutions offering them) and, if so, whether she found it worthwhile - I'll let you know when I hear back from her. I didn't find translation theory particularly interesting useful and enjoyed the practical translation classes that I did during my MA much more (plus they've been much more useful). I'm not sure whether any theory is necessary for the DipTrans (I had to write an essay when I took the ITI exam) but again, can check with my friend.

cheas Have PMed you. To answer your earlier question, I have just under two years to go with DD2's class and then may go through it all again when DS goes into the 1. Klasse. I can't say I'm overly keen on another four years of it, although I suppose I should have all the lessons planned by then, but it seems a bit unfair on DS to teach the DDs' classes and not his (he keeps asking me if I'm going to be his English teacher too).

I was quite tempted to tell the teacher that actually, DD2 can already speak and write English without any problems and she hardly needs me to spend two hours teaching her how to say/write her name, age and that she's fine, thank you. Well, I would have been if I'd actually thought of it at the time.

linzer you are saint for still going there honestly! Next time you should say that you've been thinking about what she said and then tell her your dd doesn't need to be taught all that and you do it for the school.

cake and nutella hope you both get your fit-to-fly letters and have a great time back in the UK. Take empty suitcases and stock up on baby clothes, so much cheaper than here!

cheas hope your headache is better, I have one too this afternoon. I keep forgetting to drink so I've forced 2 cups of tea down and will try to drink my water before it gets too late (thinking that might be the cause).

Taking ds to table tennis now. Just got a parcel that I'd ordered on amazon.de for dd's birthday. It's a Lötstation and I've just realised I have no idea what she is planning to do with it! It was on her wish list anyway so I just clicked on a few of the things and that has turned up along with some books and a dvd!