Fruehlingszeit in the German Corner - chat continues here

[SSSandy2]

"Deutsch or English
Native speakers, expats, anyone
From Brezeln to Bier

Please don't ask if you join in, everyone is welcome "

Morgen! I haven't been around much in the last week as my parents came to stay which was nice. I felt quite down though when they left as it'll probably be a while now till I see them again.

Hannover sounds great, admylin. And you sound very much on top of things for your move. I know the Harz mountains a bit as that was the first place I ever went to in Germany when I did a school exchange trip. We stayed in a village right by the East German border and I remember swimming in a gravel pit which was overlooked by guards in watch towers.

Anyone else having loads of thunderstorms? We've had one nearly every day for the past week. The mornings start off nice and fresh and by late afternoon it's unbearably hot and muggy.

Hi everyone, well we've been promised cooler weather and even rain - and I hope they
've got it right this time because we could do with a cooling down!

I've spent all morning taking my bed to bits, we will now be sleeping on the floor (on matress) as our rubbish bed broke last night (and no we weren't the cause of it, no wild you know what!) - when we moved to Berlin we were still quite broke after the student life and we ordered a cheap bed - I think it cost 300 Euro including matresses etc. Anyway, it's so close to our move I can't be bothered with buying one or fixing old one so it's floor for now! I bet the dc will want their beds on the floor when they see it after school!
So for a later date if any one has a good shopping tip on where to get a decent bed (Ikea?)

Taipo, I know the feeling, it's so nice to have family to stay and so bad when they go back at first. My parents haven't been for ages as they are too busy seeing the world, busiest pensioners I've ever known. At least I'll get loads of visitors when we move as they will all be wanting to see where we live so I'll get atleast 3 visits atleast from different people. Do your parents stay at your place? Mine won't - they always book into a hotel so they can get away for their afternoon naps (haha, thing of the past in my house)

My parents are always flitting off around the world too. Sometimes it feels as though we are just another thing to be fitted into their busy schedule. They do stay with us which works well on the whole but they are getting more set in their ways, e.g. my dad went off every morning he was here in search of an English newspaper so he could do his crossword! I suppose I'm getting more aware of the fact that they are aging and maybe won't be able to visit at all sometime in the future. They're both still quite fit now but my dad's asthma is getting worse which means they've had to cut down on some of their travelling.

Mine always stayed in a hotel. They preferred it that way which says a lot about how welcoming a host I must be! I think they liked being able to lie down during the day for a nap when it was too much for them. They found being in a city quite tiring which it is if you are elderly and not really used to it.

Does seem cooler today. Certainly it was freezing cold this morning when I took dd to school, shivered all theway back but I was not prepared for a drop in temperature and was just wearing a tshirt and skirt with sandals, brrrr....

Hope finks' garden finally got some rain. She never reported back on the pipe but she is very busy these days, perhaps digging a huge pit. She's lucky in that her school closes for the holiday next week. When does yours close taipo?

At last it's cooled down abit eh, I'm really enjoying being cold again!

Remember we got ds a new bike from the internet for his birthday? well , I tried to fix it as it didn't come fully put together but knew we'd have to get it checked. First bike shop we went to the owner said he'd need an hour to check it and would cost 50 Euro, dh said that was a rip off so we went to the next shop, they said Ok costs 36 Euro but gave us a Termin 2 weeks later as if they were so busy, no room in the Werkstatt etc, well yesterday I went to a litle corner Werkstatt and the old man there took the bike, checked it and put real mountain bike mud flaps on it all for 35 Euro. He had to untangle the breaks and set the gears too. Anyway, ds is really pleased he can ride his bike and I'm really amazed that the Handwerker here don't seem to want customers, one was so expensive and wouldn't even go down a few Euro, one was quite unfriendly the way he spoke to us and only found a real service at the smallest hidden away bike rental shop.

I think it's considered somehow demeaning to serve people and that's why they are often so unwilling - shops, banks, supermarkets. I don't think there is much of a concept of it being a good thing to serve a customer well although you can strike lucky sometimes. They were very nice at our bike shop come to think of it.

It makes you wonder how some of these smaller shops and companies stay in business when they are so hostile to potential customers.

Cooling down here too, although it's been blowing hot and cold today.

We don't break up here until the end of July so still quite a long way to go.

I know it's strange isn't it. My dad had his own business and he was so nice to customers, infact he was over-nice and he knew it got him more customers because of that. In south Germany I refused to go into some bakeries because of the unfriendly manner of the staff. Must admit this bike shop experience has been my first bad one in Berlin.

The lack of a service culture here really amazes me. I now make a point of commenting if I receive good service - hoping the positive reinforcement will pay off. I can´t bring myself to complain about bad service, but dh more than makes up for me on this front.It still makes me cringe even when I know it´s justified.

We´re also sleeping on mattresses on the floor at the moment. Dh ordered new mattresses while I was away in England, but they don´t fit our bed, so we need to buy a new one. I would have sent them back, but they were made by a local firm and I don´t think dh wanted to admit he´d made a mistake. I haven´t been to ikea yet but everywhere else have quoted delivery times between 6-12 weeks.

We´re off to München tomorrow to see my brother and niece. I´m really looking forward to it, but the forecast is for rain the whole time we are there.

Does anyone know if Ernest has had her baby yet?

Yes, I just 'found' Ernest on her due June thread and she's had a little girl earlier than planned I think!

You know I said the dc would want their beds on the floor too, well I was right. when dd got home from school and saw our floor-bed she demanded that we get rid of hers too! Ds is still in his old bed. They have antique wooden beds and dd's was very creaky (?) and past it's best - they are both 90 by 190cm so I'd rather change them and get a bigger size eventually. Keep me updated if you get an Ikea bed so I know what to look for! Have you got your eye on anything yet? I'd go to another Möbelhaus but don't know any for reputation or price etc. Looking in catalogues to compare but it's hard to tell what the quality will be like.

Hello all, I'm out of hospital - my little beastie arrived early and caused no end of trouble.

I had a girl

She is called Adele.

and thank goodness for a mumsnetter - the red queen - who I'd only met once before and who saved our bacon, looking after ds3 & providing dh with a magic shepherd's pie when I went into hospital. I would've been really stuffed without her.

3 cheers for theredqueen
3 cheers for mumsnet

Unfortunately we need a 200 x 200cm bed and I´ve just looked in the catalogue and Ikea don´t do any that size.We did think maybe if we ordered off the internet the delivery time might be shorter, but as with catalogues you don´t really know what the quality is like.
Great news about Ernest - thanks.

ps got 3 photos on

Sorry posts crossed.

Congratulations Ernest and welcome to Adele .

Well done theredqueen for saving the day.

Oh she´s gorgeous and so much hair, how lovely.

I take it from the ed faces that you didn´t know you were expecting a girl. What do the boys think of their new sister?

Bet that was the best surprise you've ever had ernest, I thought you were having your 4th boy then I saw your announcement on your due june thread! Never seen theredqueen on the German corner either - well done anyway!

Ooh, that is the size bed I want too! 200 by 200 - our old bed was that size but we couldn't bring it when we moved to Berlin and ended up with a rubbish 160 by 200 one for the cheapest possible price. Now I wish we'd just bought decent mattresses and waited for the bank to recover from studentdom.

congratulation Ernest!!!!

I was wondering about Ernest and her Bavarian baby too, hope she's OK.
Lol at me digging a pit, Sandy. We've had so much rain, thunderstorms mostly, that the water butts are full thankfully. Good thing as h, having bought the connecting Kupplung thingy and been unable to connect it to the pipe, has not been seen in the garden since.

We've had the car converted to LPG and fill up on Autogas so h's feeling v smug - till the govt start taxing it at least. Petrol is blimming expensive and out here in the sticks we have little decent public transport. I'm knackered and counting days till hols - 7 more school days...

Kindersurprise, I like your village green scenario. My h is an ueber-geek and always online for something or other, I'm usually the one who complains about him.

Hope you all have a great summer - our lot start school again on the 4th of August - and we're off and away most of the time till then. I hope to fit in a gin & tonic or gallon 2 and am visiting my parents so serious Quaver indulgence coming up I've been converting German friends here to Bombay Sapphire gin - am on a mission to improve international relations

"See" you all after the hols

just seen! Congrats Ernest!
Lovely name, lovely baby

Ernest
Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl, she is absolutely gorgeous. I am trying not to look too closely so that I do not get broody. Well done theredqueen for her help.

@beds
We have a metal bed from Porta in Hannover, they were quite good, but we did have to wait for a couple of months for it. We bought our mattresses in Ikea, and they are ok. They have lost their shape a bit, so will have to be exchanged in the year or so. You are supposed to change your matresses every 7 or 8 years, for hygiene reasons.

I used to work in a furniture store so can tell you to shop around, do not believe any stories about 30% off (they put up their prices by 35 - 40% to enable them to offer such big discounts).

There is a big Ikea in Grossburgwedel, just north of Hannover and as far as I recall they were going to build one in Laatzen.

Ooh, just remembered, there is a good diner in Laatzen, just down from the Messe. Good for burgers and chips.

Congratulations ernest! She's gorgeous, although like KS I'm trying not to look too closely! What do her brothers make of her?

oh goodness me, absolutely CANNOT get broody atm although dd keeps reminding me that she wants to have a little sister called Anne (Famous Five effect).

Ernest Adele is a beautiful little girl, isn't she? Love the photos and those little hands. How is she, is she well and how about you? Are you coping with everything? I think Adele is a lovely name btw. Is dh fussing around his little girl all the time then?

Who is theredqueen? I'm sure I've never seen that nick. She sounds fabulous, we must all cultivate her assiduously!

Morning all! I also think Adele is a lovely name and the Germans will be able to manage it too! I gave dd a name with a 'Y' in the middle and I didn't realise the Germans would pronounce it wrong/differently. It really bugs dd when they say it wrong! All my fault for not learning teh German alphabet sounds I suppose.

Onsecond thoughts they could say Adele wrong couldn't they, because of the e at the end. You'll just haveto go around correcting people.