** German Chat ** Alle sind willkommen. ** Frühling läßt sein blaues Band ...

[MmeLindt]

...
Wieder flattern durch die Lüfte
Süße, wohlbekannte Düfte
Streifen ahnungsvoll das Land
Veilchen träumen schon,
Wollen balde kommen
Horch, von fern ein leiser Harfenton!
Frühling, ja du bist's!
Dich hab ich vernommen!

*

Für Deutsche und nicht-Deutsche, Goethe-fans und Gottschalk-fans, für Herzschmerz, Heimweh und Heimatgefühle.

Alle sind willkommen.

Sounds as if you're well and truly settled in Scotland ! No plans of going back?

There's a horrid storm brewing over here, wind has been blowing round the house all morning and rain, poor dd in her Freiluftschule. At least she'll be getting good use of the wellies I bought her at the weekend. She's been 'wearing them in' all weekend too in the house, clomp clomp clomp.

they would have some buildings though, wouldn't they where they go and look at things under microscopes or whatever they do there? I'm pretty sure if the weather gets out of hand, the dc will be indoors admylin. I think this Waldschule sounds great

Yes, it sounded as if they would have abit of indoor lesson time also lunch in own canteen and then rest of time in forest, building bridges over stream and such activities were mentioned!

how many town dc in the UK get to do that kind ofthing admylin?

Not so DH has just wandered in stating he was not sure photo call was today, maybe NEXT Monday - aaargghhh! Yes, confirmed by architect friend, next Monday! This state of immaculateness (only word to describe this totally neverbeforeseen state of Elle Design-like tidyness, will never last until tonight), and I am not doing it again, sulk!!
No, no real thoughts of going back normally, although at this v moment I am tempted ...
New bit contains kitchen and dining bit with sliding/folding doors to (v small) garden. Was worth the effort, but I am never ever building anything ever again (This was our 2nd gut-and-build-again-from-the-ground-up project.
Oh, well, he has offered to do the big Sainsbury shop AND get DS1 from school, so something good may come of today yet!
Where do you ladies stay?

Ahh, Sainsbury..can't wait to go round a supermarket, even aldi is differenet in UK! The dc want a chinese take away as soon as we get there too!

I must admit ZZZen, this primary school has it's positive sides especially compared to what went on in Berlin. After Easter she will have a whole week project in the zoo! Hannover zoo is meant to be great and if it's an organised project, who knows - they might be let in behind the scenes and feeding the animals etc. Actually I was wondering if they still need helpers as I would love to see it all, must ask!

Lidl had the easter lamb baking tins last year a few weeks before Easter, came as a set of two, lamb and chicken (holding an egg) for about £5.
I'm in Argyll, Mummy3, at the coast. I can see Mull when I look out the window, except at the moment all I can see is hail battering the windows. I'm planning a new kitchen too right now, no extension, just new floor, walls re-plastered and painted and new kitchen units. Have organised most of it, all I need is a plasterer.
I might be the only expat who isn't home sick, it seems, don't really miss anything. There is barely anything you can't get here anyway, even Milka is available now.
My favourite Easter chocolaty thing were chocolate eggs with a creamy filling and a pistachio inside, from Lindt. They make them as a chocolate bar now but it's not quite the same.

Gracelo, I think we have "spoken" before, hello!
Nah, I am not really homesick - this kind of distance from my parents is just about right !
Have you found a source for Chio Chips? If you have and are willing to share, you can be my friend for life - v sad addiction, and they are always reduced to crumbs by the time I have flown them home [hopeful emoticon].
Where you are sounds great! Good luck with the kitchen. Plasterers are magicians, IMO, before they come everything is a mess and after they have done their thing everything looks sooo nice and smooth - I have been known to stroke freshly plastered walls .

Think this is the busiest thread!! i only get to read it once a day - seem to have no time to sit down on the internet!!
Mummyfor3 i'm a bit homesick that your in glasgow - i havent lived there for 12 years but it'll always be home!!
Not sure whats going on at the boys KG - they made a big fuss at the first visit about putting the boys in different groups so they would be challenged to speak german but on the 4 days they've been there in the same group! think ds2 was upset the first day so they let him in with his brother to settle him but the other 3 days they've said he's been really good but somehow he's still in there!! should i ask them to seperate them or am i being cruel - they were never in the same group in the UK! they're making no attempt to speak german cause they just play with each other!! think i'm wanting it all to happen right away - i want them fluent by tomorrow!
off to do more housework!

Hi Mummyfor3! Totally sympathise re keeping house immaculate. I did it when we sold our house in London. Took me a good couple of days to get it looking spic and span and then had to keep it like that whenever we had any viewings. Mind you the couple we sold to in the end saw it on a day when I couldn't be bothered to make it ultra tidy. I know from when we were looking at houses that I was often a bit suspicious of the houses that were really like show homes.

Yeah, I thought I remember you. I havn't found any Chio Chips here. I ordered some from a German deli in London once. I had put a big order in because I was doing a German dinner for my very international colleagues and added a bag of Chio Chips to the order. It felt a bit frivolous. The parcel must have been sent by plane and the bag burst open. They still tasted ok but I won't do that again.
The kitchen should be pretty straight forward. I have watched enough Grand Design to know that this is the moment when everything goes pear-shaped. Plasterers seem to be hard to find here. I had a painter and decorator round who says putting some sort of mesh on and then lining it would do. I'm not convinced, though.
Scotland is actually the closest to Germany I have been for many years.

Canella, I think I'd probably leave them together for the time being but ask the KG if they could separate them for certain activities so they can't rely on each other all the time. I think the German will come soon enough but there might be a delay in them speaking it. That happened with my ds when he started KG here - he understood everything fine but was very reluctant to start speaking. I think it would've helped his confidence to have a brother in the same group.

How's your dd getting on at school?

Lol at Chio Chips order. What other foods do you German Mnetters miss?

taipo, my DS's nursery used to make sure that they were in seperate groups when they did different types of activities, ie outside play and reading. That way they spent some time together and some time apart which was important not so much from a language point of view, but socially as they previously had been joined by the hip (not literally, but IYKWIM).

Food (in the widest sense of the word ) I miss: Caro Caffee - but my parents keep me supplied (they cannot be all bad then )

Wow, this thread moves fast! Hello everyone, from a rather storm swept Gutersloh! We have been in Lubbecke all weekend at an army/christian families weekend. It was good fun, and the weather was lovely on Fri/Sat so the kids got to play outside in the grounds of a huge old house. I succumbed and bought DS his first pair of roller skates and he had a great time trying them out on the tennis courts (only on forward roll, not free wheeling yet!)

Tomorrow DS has his Sprachkompetenz test in Kindergarten. Will be interesting to see how he does, not expecting miracles or anything though! I don't know if he will even go to school here but I figure it can't hurt, and he is very sociable and likes to chat so will probably enjoy it!

Tomorrow evening we are going to see Felix das Musical in the Stadthalle in Bielefeld, which I am quite looking forward to, sad as it sounds!

Canella I would not worry about your boys at Kindergarten, once they settle down they will naturally start to play with other children and talk more German-it is early days yet, and I think it is more important to be settled. They will probably get bored with each other soon enough!

Must go now and get DS to bed-am hoping the gazebo does not blow away tonight!

I like Caro too but I used to be able to get that in Holland & Barratt in the UK.

Very windy here too down in SW Germany.

Goodness, it was busy here today.

Hi again, Mummyfor3, think we have bumped into each other on another thread.

Canella
I would leave them be in kindergarten, it is more important that they are settled and happy. They will make their own friends soon and rely less on each other.

My two are getting on great with learning French, we have been here 6 months tomorrow. They are able to understand most of what is going on and can help me translate if I get stuck. When they started school they stuck together a lot at playtimes but now have their own group of friends.

DS told me that a Katy, a friend of DD told him that his wee friend, Olivia should give him a "Bussi". I must have a word with Katy's mum that her DD is leading my son astray.

He is only 4yo.

I used to love Chio chips, but cannot eat many now as they don't agree with me.

You were talking about Lindt earlier. As far as I know you get a pretty good selection of Lindt in UK now, except the Lindor blue. I think they are dark choc and a Swiss mummy told me recently that she cannot get them in UK.

Otherwise, I would go for Milka. Seems to be popular when we take it with us.

Was in town again today about my contacts. The weather was fab here today, but is forecast to be miserable the next day or two. Oh, well, I need to do the ironing anyway.

thanks for your replies - wont worry so much now!
taipo - my dd is loving school!! she's quite a bright wee thing and has always spoke german when she's spent holidays with oma nad opa so she's managing the language thing quite well!! but its everthing else she loves - the bus stop is only at the bottom of our raod but the fact i let her walk on her own and get the bus to school - she thinks this is the best thing!!and wearing her own clothes and finishing at lunchtime!! she loves it all!! and its nice for us to see her happy - i worked 3 days when we lived in the UK so she was at school from 8 - 4 to let me get to work on time so i think she's enjoying me being here when she finishes!! i spent nights before we moved worrying about her changing schools - cant believe its all worked out so well!!

Mmme lindt - i'm impressed with how well your kids are getting on with learning french - how old are they!! they'll be amazing as adults if they keep up with all their languages!!

off to bed now - tho not sure why i'm tired - the wet weather has kept us in all day and its forecast for more tomorrow !!!

Thanks for including me today but I am off to bed now.
'Tis lovely to know there are some people out there in similar shoes as me.

Gute Nacht!

Taipo,

I'm predictably German in what I miss (besides Chio Chips): it's bread and other baked things, such as Brezn.
I miss things from other countries I've lived in as well. I miss Sesameal crackers from New Zealand and Feijoas. I miss rosemary and sea salt crisps and green tea ice cream from Trader Joe's in the US, oh and I miss the Portland farmer's markets. They are the most fabulous thing. I also miss having a cheap Pho (the Vietnamese beef noodle soup) place right next to my place of work or more in general, having very good and reasonably cheap eating out options. Eating out in Scotland can be quite depressing at times although it is getting a bit better.

gracelo,
i'd love to be going to the chinese takeaway in scotland for my dinner tonight!! loving the food in germany but not sure there's a chinese takeaway delivering to the rhoen!! was only having this conversation yest with dd - she wanted indian food not chinese!! but really just the poppadoms not the curry!! will just have to make my own chinese food!! but its not the same!

That's one of the great things about moving around I think, you really get to experience loads of different cuisines. I can't imagine Scotland is a place of many culinary delights, however. Apologies to all Scots on the thread I did once have a very nice vegetarian haggis in Edinburgh though.

morning ladies.

Wow we have some newbies here

Bad windy night last night but awoke to 2 inches of snow and it's still falling fast. Of course the Rathaus has removed the salt bins so we are all slipping around...