Der Lenz ist da (we hope) - the spring edition of the Germany/Austria thread

[LinzerTorte]

A thread for all those living in Germany or Austria or anyone who just wants to chat/ask a question about living in or visiting this part of the world - all welcome.

Previous thread here.

Gorgeous MrsNutella! Hope the sleeping is still going well

Heinous some nights yes, some nights not so much
I must have eaten something she didn't like yesterday. Screaming until after 1am. Apparently she wore herself out. She had a quick feed this morning around 7am and then slept again until almost 10. Wouldn't have minded if I could have slept too.

Is anyone still around? I hope the thread isn't completely dead; I was thinking (maybe over-optimistically) that starting a new autumn thread might breathe new life into it.

I'm still here! I haven't had time to post for a while but now DS is nicely settled in Kiga and I still have a few weeks (hopefully) before DD puts in an appearance I have time on my hands anything to avoid vacuuming

Maybe an autumn thread is the way to go...

Woolly I wish I had a Kita platz for DS. That or a nanny... But I'm planning on winning the lottery very soon.

Linzer I'm about but have nothing much to say, unless it involves babies.

Still here - caught up in real life for a change though!!

Only just over 2 weeks till Herbstferien here - where does the time go?

Hope the return of summer is making everyone feel brighter!

Can I rejoin?

I was on the threads a while ago and am probably still fb friends with some of you.

I have a dd a little older than MrsNutella's DS, am on my own with her and in West Germany.

Well, that's all your clues! If you recognise me, please don't out me as exH is a bit of a stalker

Anyhow, hello everyone (or Grüss euch) and I'm off to catch up with what you've all been chatting about!

Xx

outer how are you doing? Have things improved with ex H? I hope you and DD are well.

Woolly when are you due and how are you doing?

What is this return to summer people are talking about? It was horrible here this morning. Plus DD has been having a baaad day I'm hoping she gets a bit happier soon. But she is still only very little, 5 weeks today. She is so much bigger than I remember DS being.

I remember you, outer :) How are you doing?

Kita places are like gold dust here too, Nutella. There's no way we'd have gotten a place for DS before he turned three and we were lucky to get the place we did.
5 weeks old already?! How is DS enjoying his little sister? The pic you posted was lovely.

I still have 6 weeks to go (in theory, DS was a few weeks early) but I totally in denial about the fact there is a baby on the way. I've washed baby clothes, bought nappies, all sorts, but I just cannot get my head around the fact we're having another baby. I think I might be in for a slight shock quite soon....

Herbstferien already, dora? The schools here only started back last week! It does feel very autumny atm though.

Kiga, not Kita, sorry!

Hello. Hope I can join in and mark a place. We're in Ireland but DP is from Stuttgart and we're there every so often. Looks like a lovely thread.

Yup our Herbstferien run from Thurs 2nd Oct - mind you we've been back since 20 Aug (NRW)

Weather here - sunny and warm and promising high 20s later in the week....bliss! Though the leaves are already falling and we've had misty mornings - but at least it's not raining!!

We're well thank you. Things with ex haven't really improved. We're still waiting to sort out access and I've got an appointment to get the ball rolling on the divorce next week. Don't want to say too much as we had a nasty incident which meant I had to remove myself from here for a good few months.

Anyway dd is really well. She's just changing all the time at the moment and her language is coming on really well. More English than German but she understands both and will occasionally come out with something that really surprises me - just goes to show she's listening all the the time and learning!

I'm also waiting to hear about a place at kita. We're ok for this academic year but I'm hoping she gets something next summer. Places are like hens teeth round here and I'm restricted because of work - can't be more than 15 mins away because of the finishing times. I love that Germany values mums staying at home but it can be a pita if you have to work. Juggling childcare is going to be my constant headache as dd gets older I think!

Nutella congrats on your new little one dd loves babies and can't get enough of her new cousin when we're back in the uk. How has your DS taken to becoming a brother?

The thread has suddenly got very busy since I last checked it yesterday! Good to see that people are still around; it looks like it will be worth starting an autumn thread after all.

outer Great to see you again; I've been wondering how you were getting on. Completely agree about school hours being a pita here if you have to work - and school holidays too. Our Hort closes for the whole nine weeks in the summer so, unless you're a teacher or have family nearby, you have to spend a fortune on tennis camps etc. This may well explain why Austrians rarely move more than about 5km away from their parents (the few I know who've moved further away send their DC to stay in the summer).

dora Can't believe you have Herbstferien coming up soon! This is the DC's third week back, but they don't get a break between now and Christmas.

lilac Hello and welcome! Do you have DC and if so, are you bringing them up bilingually?

Woolly You sound very organised for someone in denial! How are you feeling? We definitely need to resurrect the thread in time for the arrival of the thread babies; I shall enjoy them vicariously being too old for any more of my own.

Nutella No sign of any summer here either; it's been cold and rainy for what feels like weeks. All talk of babies welcome - see my comment to Woolly above.

The summer feels like ages ago now and we're well and truly back into the school routine. DD2 is settling well into her new school, but it's a long morning; she leaves the house at 7am to catch the bus and is back for lunch at around 2pm most days. I'm sure they do as many hours here as in the UK but it's all crammed into the "morning" with no time for a midday meal.

The afternoons are getting busier too; apart from DD2 having more homework, all three are now at scouts - in separate groups, so that takes up three evenings - plus we also have music lessons and practice to fit in, and I've just realised that DS will be starting first communion classes in a couple of months' time. We don't have any free afternoons as it is.

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New thread here.

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Hi Linzer (and all) Yes, we have a 3.5yo DS and trying to bring him up bilingually. DP speaks German to him when he remembers (which is most of the time actually) and he (DS) even allows me to speak German to him now although up until the summer his attitude was Mama speaks English. He also has German books and DVDs.

We encourage everyone to speak German to him when we are with German friends or in Germany, and he understands really well, although most of the time he answers in English. I think if we spent maybe a month in Germany he'd start responding in German. We were there for 3 weeks last summer and it looked like he was going that way.

Funny thing though, his best friend is German (both parents) but they haven't clicked yet that they can speak German to eachother - such a missed opportunity for a 'secret' language

oh! question for anyone: DS has recently got into Dora - does anyone know if there's a German equivalent (maybe on DVD)?

That sounds great, lilac. I know it can be much harder when it's the father who's the minority language speaker if he's the parent who works outside the home (apologies if I'm making assumptions and this isn't the case for you).

AFAIK you can get Dora in German too - with the foreign language being English rather than Spanish. I've just had a quick look on Amazon.de in fact, and there seem to be quite a few Dora DVDs.

We're all over on the new thread now - come and join us!