Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen : German Corner 3 - life goes on

[SSSandy2]

Other thread was getting a bit full. Alles wie gehabt :
"Deutsch or English
Native speakers, expats, anyone
From Brezeln to Bier

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

I have had Battenburg cake and sausage rolls blush. They were not from Greggs though

What a thing to admit to on MN

We are going to my cousins' cafe for lunch today, they have a cafe with children's hairdressers. Fab idea, I think. Wish we had something like that at home.

Apfeldicksaft does sound like something from a health food shop or a drogerie.

DH used to make a yummy apple cake, he has not done it in years. Must mention it to him.

Actually, I think that he woudl be a better baker than me as he is more genau. Typical German

oops that was supposed to be a

Do your dc behave differently back home? Mine do especially dd, she's a different person, happy, more confident, speaks to people of her own free will - here in Germany when people speak to her she doesn't answer (like doctor, dentist or such like). A German friend once looking through our holiday photos from last summer said wow you would think they were different children, I've never seen them smile or laugh like on those photos.

What no Salt and vinager pringles yet? And what about fish and chips and a decent Indian take away ...oh you only just arrived so you have time! Don't forget some nice scones and a pastie. Drool...

I hope you found your Apfeldicksaft, SSSandy. The cake sounds nice - you'll have to post the recipe on here if it turns out well.

Mme Lindt - my dh is a better baker than me for exactly the same reason. He makes a very good Eierlikeurkuchen which also looks really professional. I prefer the type you don't have to spend hours decorating.

For a split second after reading your post I wondered where on earth you managed to sausage rolls from in Germany. Then I remembered you were in Scotland . I quite fancy a Greggs sausage roll myself

First hot day here for a week so we're off to the Freibad this afternoon.

We had a great time, my cousins have not long taken over the cafe/hairdresser.

It is very family friendly, little playhouse, kids menu, very mn friendly, they do a snack plate with carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, raisons, grapes and a few crisps. My two of course wanted beans and sausage on toast

They also had a girl in doing face painting during the summer hols. DS was Spiderman and DD had a flower and a butterfly on her cheeks.

My cousin cut DD's hair very nicely, while watching The Singing Kettle

Sounds great MmeLindt. When I'm back home I often notice how much easier it seems (as compared to Germany) to set up a new business and I also know quite a few academics even who say it's more worth their while to work in a small own business that to stay in the rat race especially in science (like h) but mine needs more convincing, he's still clinging on to his career ladder.

Last time I was home my parents had builders in and one of them had a PhD in botanical science and had been the postdoc and job hunting route but found he earned just as well in his builder business so left it all.

Your French boyfriend is sounding better all the time admylin. He was in a band too, wasn't he? Think you might have slipped up, giving him up. Wonder if you couldn't organise a family holiday to France sometiem and check him out, maybe he's all rotund now and has a funny moustache or something. Exorcise your ghosts maybe Mind you if he's still fabulous that wouldn't be good, would it?

On the subject of nostalgia, do you know who I find really gorgeous in his young days? Neil DIamond. Take a look at him here, sound quality isn't too good though:
here

If he'd been anywhere near me, no way would he have escaped. His voice is amazing too, so manly and romantic, gives me the shivers. Isn't this heaps better than the Pulp Fiction cover of his song:
here

I mean it's good in the film , but listen to the vibrations in his voice

Sigh

I think he's sexier than Elvis because although I like the cheeky way Elvis looks sometimes, I find Neil exudes a warmth that appeals to me more.

In the meantime I suppose there's H!

That cafe cum hairdresser sounds brilliant. What a good idea your cousins had ML. Really fancy some proper fish and chips

Well the cake turned out nicely and everything but H - d managed to not turn up till 9pm so I had to keep dd up really late and it all fell a bit flat because we had some people invited round at 7 which is when he was supposed to arrive and I was feeling annoyed with him when he did finally turn up. Suppose it wasn't his fault really since he had to come from Hannover and the train was delayed but still....

SSSandy, I love Niel Diamond too, have loads of old tapes with him on - I listen to this when I'm in one with h all tragic me -this is turning into a confession thread - usually have to keep this top secret, not cool! My dc think I'm crazy when I start listening to old stuff on youtube! I quite often sing along to Barbara Streisand when alone at home - another confession.

Yes ex- boyfriend played trumpet in a brass band! Maybe if ds enjoys the instrument in his new schol I'll suggest an exchange with the village group he played in - 'Las Murgas' it was real deep south of France Gascogne bandas music!

Ooh, have just found the music group where I used to live in France! Las Murgas but ex isn't there, an old friend is though - she was studying to become an English teacher when I was there,so looks like she's stayed in her village! I love youtube! Must admit the music could get a bit painfull at times.

OMG lovely, two world class voices with QUALITY in them, you know? Do people like not get born these days or do they just not make it studios? Beats all that frantic bum wiggling and screeching out their necks that you get on MTV, doesn't it?

Now, we're all feeling teary and reaching for the chocolate, aren't we?

Are they like a mixture of Spanish/French there? Wonder why he leftthe band and where he is now, eh?

I'm counting the hours now -I get dd back atlast! Heard from anothr mum yesterday, she met one of the mums who has a dd on the trip too and she told her she had been on the phone every day and even spoken to her dd one day - she had the mobile number of the Erzieherin. I find that so unfair, one or two parents who obviously know the Erzieherin better than we do have managed to get her mobile number and are phoning and getting news about our dc but then not passing it on either. You would think she could have atleast rang a few other parents to say everything is OK. We were supposed to do a phone chain with the class list.

He's still in the band but not on that video. I've searched for him online before and found a video of him and his 2 best friends playing trumpet at a festival. They go round all the fetes and course landaise (like bull fighting but not with the bloody bit) and play there and generally have a good time. You know one thing - when I lived there we were constantly laughing and having a good time even though the people work very hard, they also take time to celebrate and dance and laugh with their friends. Everything and everyone is so depressed here in Germany.

I've found there are always a few slimey types who do this kind of thing. You see, if they could call the Erzieherin on her mobile, why couldn't your dd take a mobile with her?

Well dd is off on a trip today but I was nervous about it after what you said about that boy being left behind on the tram and whilst she was eating breakfast, I kept going on at her that she was to stick like glue to the Erzieherin and not wander off and if she DID get left behind, she was only to speak to a policeman in uniform or a mother with dc and no one else and only ask them to call me, not go with anyone, not even a policeman.

I went on and on and on and she was saying, mum you're annoying me, why do you keep saying the same things and how many times are you going to say it? I said I was probably going to repeat it as many times as I could befroe she left because actually it was making me feel a bit better. Poor dc, bound to grow up totally neurotic

I know what you mean. I thought maybe laughing was considered uncool and that's why it wasn't the done thing so much? When dd and I are travelling to school, I usually tell (what I think are funny) jokes (mind you she'll laugh at anything. And I can get her crumpling over and rolling off her seat laughing but I have never seen any other dp and their dc laughing together on the way to school. Not once. Seems odd to me, we always laughed a lot at home too. Maybe we're nuts, I don't know

Ds also calls me ridiculous when I go on about always being able to see the teacher because the teacher won't be watching for him etc! I hate those trips and find them a waste of time mostly. One subject that h and I actually agree on is that our dc should be at home with us when not in school! Preferably 'til they leave home to go to uni!

Where has your dd gone today?

Slimey types, exactly my thought when I heard the tale!

No it's a German thing. In everything they do they go so serious on you. I had a Dutch friend who was studying philosophy and she came over to Germany to do a year of philosophy here and she said it's so depressing and serious - everyone is depressed and down and philosophy back home was fun and we enjoyed discussions and would leave the uni laughing and happy. She left earlier than she was meant to because it all just got her down.

No idea really some exhibition since it's raining and they couldn't go anywhere outdoors.

OMG at leavign home to go to uni, surely not?! I was planning on her staying at home then (I'm such an overprotective Übermutter I know)

maybe philosophy was not such a good choice though. Bet that was really not at all upbeat!

Actually, h says we should always try to live in a city with a good university so they CAN still live at home!! He has visions of himself as a professor and his dc going to the same university he works for! Infact mine can carry on teh Indian family system of all living together even after marrying so I'll get my grand children to visit me every day. Wonder when h is going to build this big house we're going to need. In India they usually just build upwards and add a floor! His colleague from PAkistan who is profesosr of chemistry has built 4 floors, his own, 2 for brothers and wives and one for parents.

maybe he could go and be prof in India one day? Think I'd find Pakistan too dodgy but somewhere in the south of India might be quite nice.

He could get in an assistant profesor job in Pakistan straight away but he couldn't keep his mouth shut long enough and would end up in prison. He's abit outspoken when it comes to extremism in religion.

We could go to Bangladesh too but probably 6 months of the year are so unbearably hot and humid it would be a torture for us fragile Europeans

He'd never get a job in India as he has Karachi as birth place so Pakistani even though he's really from an Indian family (from Patna region) and was brought up in Bangladesh - he'll never get rid of the birth place on his passport (even as a German now)