** 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.

Willkommen Morgymoo. The more the merrier.

Are you going to study in Innsbruck?

Yep! It seemed the safest option as I didn't want to be left without a job! I've never been before but it looks beautiful.

willkommen an Bord Morgymoo! Ich hoffe es gefällt dir in Innsbruck. Wie lange bleibst du dort?

Looks like a pretty kind of place. Actually don't we have a MNer near Innsbruck?

Geige went well admylin. I tried asking the teacher if we couldn't have a bit less to practice this week. It always seems so much. Today she wanted dd to practice 6 different pieces, admittedly they just involved two strings but with the fingering back and forth between different strings and remembering to hold the bow right, start with the bow above and here below and then above again... and all the other ten thousand things you're supposed to do, I do find 6 a bit much.

Not sure how she took it. Hope I didn't offend, I know she puts a lot of preparation into it and she looks crushed if I ever say anything about taking it slower but I knocked it down to 3 which I think is really enough at this stage.

We have DebinAustria, but I am not sure where in Austria she is.

Good on you, Zzzen for standing up to the violin teacher.

Does anyone feel that they are not doing a lot for the DC, in comparison to the locals. I think it is even worse here. DD's friend goes to pony riding, music, chinese and something else that I have forgotten. DD goes pony riding, that is it.

Her other wee friend goes to music, pony riding and English - on Saturdays the poor wee thing.

DS was going pony riding but now says that he does not want to go back, I might sign him up for the football club.

What after school activities do your DC do?

I always seem to know dp whose dc do HEAPS more. Yet I always feel dd does so much already, I don't know how the dc (or more importantly really the DP manage it). I think it just has to feel right for you and there is no real right or wrong. We all value different things.

I think it is probably important to do some kind of sport in addition to what they do at school because we all have such a sedentary lifestyle these days and it is good to counteract that in some way, also thinking ahead to life after school - good to have soem kind of sporting hobby.

whereabouts is cinderella? She's in Austria too.

The DC do quite a bit of sport in school at the moment, some kind of gymnastics and then a dance/rhythm class too. I think 3x week.

And they are always out in the garden playing.

We will be swimming in the lake in summer

Thanks for the welcome!

I am so keen to visit Austria this year-specifically Pertisau am Achensee, which is where the 'Chalet School' school stories were based initially (yes, I am a sad person who has never outgrown reading childrens' books!) In my defence it looks lovely, and we would all like it. Trouble is it seems so expensive this year as we would pay in sterling, I've been eyeing up the Kinderhotel but don't know if it is worth the cash. Equally I don't want to share a room with DS, and Kinderhotel have family suites (I do adore DS, but husband will have come back from 5 months in Iraq!)

But as I have not been yet, I cannot help Morgymoo!

I am not at all homesick for Scotland Admylin btw(not that you asked me but...). I suppose it helps that we know we are not here for ever. I am making the most of it!

The Kinderhotels are supposed to be great, a friend of mine has been a few times.

I have just booked a mobile home in a campsite about 50km from here, for DH and the DC the first weekend in May. My friends from Germany are visiting, about 8 women and DH is scarpering for the weekend. Just got to figure out what to do with the doggy.

Yes, welcome morgymoo and pickledhan and welcome back trockodile. Pleased to hear you got over the first hrdles of settling in and learning the language! Well done!

I was wondering, when you first came to Germany what surprised you most? What were you not expecting if you had any expectations at all of the place? When I first came, I had no idea about Germany so no ecpectations and I didn't speak a word of German. That'S why I came initially to learn the language.

The thing that surprised me most was the Abendbrot! And how they all drank fizzy water Sprudel. I never got used to Abendbrot, we like a hot meal in the evening but we all pine for fizzy mineral water when we go away!

Also the word Enschuldigung - took me ages to learn to pronounce it and then funny words like 'lust' compared to the English use of it!

BY the way Mmelindt, I love the idea with the caravan! Must remember that one.

What surprised me most? Yes, Abendbrot. Kaffee und Kuchen being expected at 3pm precicely.

I was told that I could not eat ice cream after drinking wine.

And the bread was so different. I still pine for squischy bread rolls. Must try to make them sometime.

I was not expecting it to be so warm in the summer and so bitterbitter cold in winter.

Talking of summer, the sun is shining today adn the DC have just come down with their swimming costumes on and asked me to put up the big paddling pool.

I have put them in the bath and am MNetting from my bed, with view of the mountains.

Also was the first time I met so many people with Kreislaufprobleme. Treatment for this ailment being Sekt, I quickly adopted this form of any-excuse-for-a-drink illness!

Oh, yes. The mysterious Kreislauf. Strange that noone in other countries suffer from that.

And the whole "es zieht" conversations and "gut durchluften" which are linked. So PIL opens the windows to exchange the air. All is well for 2 mins then MIL comes in, shivers and shuts the windows saying, "Es zieht!"

It's funny because when I lived in France I wasn't surprised by half as many things as here. Infact one of the few things that surprised me in France was the breakfast, a big bowl of milk coffee and buttered rusks dipped into it!

Hi all and thanks for the 'wilkommen'!

I'm afraid it is a confession - just think how different life would have been eh?! Have friends in the Stuggart area and yes, their southern accent makes for interesting german conversation!!

Also have to confess to having german food in the fridge (at least something, most of the time - this week its meat and wine!)

So, thanks for welcoming me into my little piece of germany - I will d my best to keep up with interest!

We used to live near Stuttgart when the dc were really small and I was so use dto the accent. Now whenever I hear a Swabian on TV it make sme cringe! I much preferred the Berlin accent when we moved except for them saying icke instead of ich!

I've just read that Germany will make big packs of paracetamol rezeptpflichtig. That's another thing that is so German. When I first came here I would always take a couple of paracetamol for headaches and the Germans were all really shocked that I took so much. I was almost classed as a drug addict by some.

The report said we will only be able to buy up to 20 tablets so no big packs. Doesn't really bother me as I get them flown in from home but it's another typical German thing. It's bad enough that you have to go to an Apotheke to get them, I always have to send them back for a different make too as they tend to bring you the most expensive brand named ones - then I send them back for a cheaper brand.

well tbh with you I really didn't know anything much about modern Germany when I arrived. I suppose I had vague ideas about jolly people romping about in Lederhosen, lots of good natured beer drinking and somehow not matching that at all a scarily gutteral sounding language.

Actually I was surprised to find German sounds nice and not at all gutteral. I actually liked everything since I really went prepared to enjoy myself. Kind of wore off a bit with time.

What surprised me at first was that people didn't cross at red lights but waited at empty street corners for a green light. I'm so used to that now though that I no longer understand how it amazed me so much in the beginning.

The other thing was chips with mayonnaise although I like that now and prefer it to ketchup.

The German obsession with draughts and fresh air is really amusing. I remember once at dd´s baby group it was stifling hot and someone opened a window and a few minutes later everyone was demanding it be closed because "es zieht" and I was thinking " You´re all mad - it´s a lovely breeze."

I´d never heard of Frühlingsmüdikeit until I moved here, but now I seem to suffer from it every Spring, just like all the locals.

I don´t remember being too surprised by things when I moved here. It was only when I had children that I realised they had to wear hats all year because it was too cold, windy, hot etc. That babies should drink copious amounts of fennel tea, that children shouldn´t drink water that is too cold etc. etc.

ZZZen - I always feel really stupid now when I´m back in England as I stand there waiting for the green man and realise everyone else has already crossed.

LOL at ML's hardy half-Scottish dc wanting to swim outdoors in March! It all sounds very idyllic there ML.

Gosh 5 months in Iraq, that must be worrying for you trockodile. Think you two definitely deserve a room of your own for getting through that! I have never been to a Kinderhotel so couldn't comment on them but I did like what I have seen of Austria - Kärnten.

Wonder where you'll be posted next.

Oh the hats

I had a friend who was advised by her midwife that shw should put a hat on her baby, inside or out, all day for the first year

I told her not to be silly, it was 30°C outside. Would she want a hat on all day?

I know hupa, I know

I also wear Birkenstocks around the house nowadays. When I first saw them I thought how can anyone want those on their feet?!

Do you think Frühjahrsmudigkeit is a hoax or is it a real phenomenon? I'm wondering if you get it in Germany because of the more drastic climate and the sharper change from winter (much colder) to summer (much hotter) than in the UK.

Have you seen this? www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5886656.ece

Ten people killed near Stuttgart