Christmas 2002
Another year, another house move. This year has been just as stressful as last, since, along with the house move come all the associated paraphernalia: Kindergarten change for Sabrina, movers to deal with, telephone and utilities to switch, advertisements for our old place, visits and telephone calls to deal with, the landlords to sort out, contracts to sign, not to say the umpteen visits to Ikea and hours spent constructing some semblance of order from flat-pack chaos. To use an old expression, we’re ”jiggered”.
We now live on the outskirts of Munich in a NW direction, in a small quiet town called Karlsfeld. The town is on the S-bahn line and 20 minutes journey from the city centre – only 30 minutes from work for Phil (however he still doesn’t get home any earlier!!!). Three months after the move, we’re still settling in, fixing up lights and finding places to put things. Although the house is smaller, we have a guest room (and await visits, plug: daily flights Nottingham-Munich from 50 pounds return, end of plug!).
Katie is accepting German life a little better. She is taking a German course for beginners along with Turks, a Bosnian and several Polish for a twice weekly gathering (well, when she can get there) of ”wie heisst du?”. Her biggest handicap, as for Phil, is the little madam who refuses to sleep. And so to Eve, a curious mix of joy and worry. Her antics keep us constantly both amused and living in fear. Hurtling out of the pram is passé, throwing the (on) mobile phone into the bath was fun at the time, the constant cooker alarms were OK for a day or so (every minute and then 29 minutes, in case you were wondering). To say the least, she is a little demanding. Although strong-willed, she can easily be knocked sideways healthwise. Bumps on the head, infections, not eating and dehydration, have resulted in more than enough visits to hospital, whether to A+E or a weekend stay to recover. She is still battling with a slight ear infection at the moment. Otherwise she is a bright and happy soul but extremely stubborn.
Sabrina keeps on growing, approaching the 125 cms mark. She remains a Barbie fan, with constant requests for the latest model and accessories. She loves her ballet class, but hates the cold (like her mother) and walking. She has done us proud by the way she has picked up the language, often, if we want the proper pronunciation of a word, we listen to her saying it and then we know just how it should sound! She has begun to be more like the happy, settled child she always was, apart from the odd Hollywood-style tantrum.
Phil’s work remains challenging if uncertain. The company are now part of Telefonica (Spanish version of BT) and it’s unsure how the merger will develop long term. It’s still a slog through the week, with complex technical problems and language struggles, but that was part of the challenge in coming here. There are occasional visits away but it is largely office-based, which is a big plus.
We’ve had a three close escapes with the railways so far. The first happened when we were rushing for a train down a country lane to save time and to our horror, realised that the lane came to an end with our train due in ten minutes, and with no time to retrace our steps, since the lane was over a mile long. We had to climb down a banking, make a dash for it over the main line and jump over a wall at the other side; all of course with child, baby and pram in tow. Our hearts were racing for about an hour afterwards, mainly worried that someone had spotted us! Another time on the wrong platform at Bologna station, with no lifts and only stairs to negotiate with an overloaded buggy and associated bags, Phil took the easy option and simply pushed the buggy across the two tracks using the railworkers ramp, only to get a few choice words in Italian from the stationmaster. Still we made the train again! The last time happened only last week. Sabrina’s hat fell between the train and platform edge and onto the rails, when a commuter brushed past to get out of the train. Sabrina started crying (it would have been the second hat we’d lost), so they both got out of the train although it wasn’t the right stop. Phil jumped down from platform to the rails when the train left, retrieved the hat to the relief/astonishment of a few onlookers and then waited for the next train in 20 minutes. We don’t want anymore episodes like these!
For an Easter break, we visited Regensburg, just 2 hours drive away. The place looks as if it should be in Italy, a reminder of its Roman past. We had some lovely meals out (not including Jock McSporrans, a themed Scottish pub which fortunately didn’t allow children). We took a boat trip and on another day just lazed around at the swimming pool, easily done since it was actually about four pools in all (just counting indoors). In typically german fashion, the main pool is absolutely freezing so we stayed around the children’s pools which are at the other temperature extreme. Both girls are water babies.
In the summer, we decided to make the best of our location and go to Italy. We took an overnight train to Bologna and were very impressed by the unspoiled nature, the wonderful food and the beautiful central Piazza, not to mention the old markets on the side streets and the general relaxed atmosphere. After the culture of Bologna, we drove to the Adriatic coast for a traditional family beach holiday so that the children didn’t miss out altogether. They absolutely loved playing in the sand and sea. We stayed near Pesaro in a place called San Nicola, which used to be a monastery. The hotel was surrounded by beautiful countryside and we made sure to go walking most mornings and then to the beach in the afternoon. The hotel had a lovely courtyard where we had two beautiful dinners; it’s amazing how the Italians can make spaghetti into something quite exotic just by adding parmesan and a sprig of parsley.
Christmas in Germany is certainly different, freezing temperatures down to –18ºC, the town centres look quite picturesque and old-fashioned with the Christkindlmarkts, wooden stalls, gluhwein and snow.
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