"Yes, sure thing!"
(Passion fruit!)
(Erla: If a Peppa Pig umbrella inside the house is wrong, I don't want to be right.)
Ladies' work pants
As it happened, Erla crawled into my bed at approximately 5:45 am. I highly doubted that Ellert, who requested the early wake-up, would wish to be up at such a time of day, though I'll admit the thought crossed my mind to jump into the room playing Reville turned all the way up on my iPhone.
Erla's Mom and Dad got home very late last night from their vacation in Venice and must have been fast asleep. It appeared that she had decided to resort to plan B, with plan B being Yours Truly. Thankfully, I was able to keep her from waking up anyone else, since she sat quietly in bed with me reading books (in German, of course.)
At around seven, Erla and I walked down to the bathroom, thinking we were still the only ones up. But as we walked around the corner, there was George, swatting at a moth with his phone, of all things. Erla was so happy to have her Pabbi back, that's for sure.
"So, y'all survived, huh?"
"Yup, we make a good team."
Shortly thereafter, he had to go shave and then trim his hair back into the military style required of his office, and so Erla and I went about our business. As it turned out, Embla didn't have to leave until 8 instead of 7:15 today, so we didn't have to rush quite as much on our way out the door.
As has become traditional, she and I discussed many subjects on the way to school, ranging from the not so important to the moderately profound. Discussion topics included the never-ending saga of certain problematic school friends and cliques, as well as our brilliant business idea of a Chauffeur-service "Pilot car" for people (namely, men) to follow who don't like to have to follow a GPS or directions.
We also discussed Burquas, of all things, as we see several ladies wearing the full Burqua every morning on our way to school. Explaining such a complex subject in a few minutes in terms understandable by a twelve year old gal was a challenge, but nevertheless, it was a good discussion.
When I came back home, Rachel and Arnheidur were sitting around the table, set with the new colorful placemats we had purchased earlier in the week. She said was glad to have had a little break and also an orderly house to return to. It made me happy to hear that she was able to relax and unwind from fhe everyday chaos somewhat.
With all the kids in their respective schools, the three of us sat together around the breakfast table and chatted and enjoyed one another's company for a little while. While we talked, we shared a few farm-fresh figs drizzled with homemade caramel along with some tea.
Arnheidur had collected ten squares of Swiss chocolate from the airline for me to take home along with two single serve packets of Italian strawberry jam.
We also sampled an Italian pastry which had been smuggled along in their backpack. It was a chocolate creation similar to a brownie with bits of biscotti and nuts.
It was soon determined that a trip to Panzer was in order, and so Arnheidur drove us to the base via the scenic route, which runs the villages of both Steinenbronn and Vaihlingen. It was a lovely drive, and the perfect example of how here in Germany, you can go from village to farmland in mere few minutes.
Bike paths are everywhere here and you can travel from most any village to another via these lovely paths. This is George's method of transport to work each day, and his bike path goes all the way to the base he works on.
En route to Panzer, we stopped by the cutest little produce stand I've ever seen. They sold breakfast foods like muesli, milk and eggs; meats and veggies, fruit and honey, even some locally produced raw apple juice.
And if you happen to be in need of something outside their operating hours, they actually have a refrigerated vending machine from which you can purchase eggs, strawberries, cheese, apple juice, etc.
After the post office errand was through, we decided to meet George for lunch, and we amused ourselves with people watching while we waited for him to arrive.
We spotted the good ol' NC flag amidst the lineup of the state flags next to the main field, Husky, where group of Army fellas were playing ultimate frisbee.
The four of us-Rachel, George, Arnheidur, and yours truly-all had a very nice lunch together at the Patch Garden Restaurant, the on base buffet/cafeteria.
#Merica
They have a themed cuisine each day and today's theme for the buffet was: German food. Well, imagine that! They had schnitzel, salad, German tomaten suppe, bread, another dish made of ground meat that I can't remember the name of, roast potatoes, and Maultasche. I haven't told you about Maultasche yet. It's a truly regional speciality, as it is the Swabian's take on Ravioli- little pinwheels or purses of pasta that can be filled with spinach, cheese, meat, veggies- you name it. It's really tasty, and coming from me, that's saying a lot, as I don't really even care for pasta all that much.
Arnheidur went to pick up Erla from Kindergarten whilst George, Rachel and I walked through the base together to the commissary. We hadn't seen him in his on-base Commander fatigues, and he looked very impressive.
Most every military individual will salute another when they walk past, but walking with Mr. Commander George was kinda like walking with a celebrity or something. Without exception, all the other military men would salute him as he walked past.
The highlight of the day for me was that we ended up getting a short tour of the base as we walked to the commissary together. With George as our guide. We saw where he works and most major command centers, including the three start General's command post building. The guys on the base jokingly refer to the house where the General resides as "The White House." The real top-gun general in charge of the entire Euro command resides in Belgium.
(The "White House")
Most of the buildings on-base are old German military housing and there are even a few Nazi Era buildings still standing here and there.
My favorite building (one with a great story to go along with it!) was this one, currently a building used for Army Admins. It used to be an old German mess hall and barracks, with the original WWII-era mural still visible at the front.
At the end of the war, when the U.S. took the building over for its own military use, as any good Nazi mural would have, it featured not only a large swastika, but the likeness of Hitler himself. The swastika, which was located on the left hand side of the mural, was simply patched and painted over, with the faint outline of the patch is still visible.
As for Hitler? Well, his likeness had a far more amusing fate.
He was painted in as a seamstress.
No kidding. You can see it clearly in this photo- yes, he's the one with that mustache. Gosh, these Americans and their sense of humor! Sheesh. Talk about dis-ree-spectful!
(.....and hilarious)
We had a good shopping trip to the commissary and ended up staying for quite a while, as we waited on Armheidur to get back from picking up Erla. Then again, Rachel and I joke that grocery shopping is a hobby for us here. It's just so much fun to see what you can find.
(such as: cooking sprays you'd be hard pressed to find in the U.S.)
Both of us got a reusable tote bag featuring the logo to carry our undying love of the Comissary with us back home. Cause you know, I'm all about those practical souvenirs. And I also kinda feel like I'm turning into a groupie or something.
Ellert went to soccer practice with Rachel accompanied him this time around. Embla went to Horse riding with her Mom and I stayed home with Erla.
I started dinner. When Rachel got home, we divided and conquered and once done, those that were home enjoyed the finished product. Those that weren't home? Well, they missed out big time.
This is somewhat random, but I am happy to report that I solved a mystery of sorts today. Soon after I arrived in Germany, I noticed that most laborers and workers such as Farmers, Road workers, Construction workers-even the lady the worked at the Altdorf Mühle storehouse we went to last week- all wore these certain work pants or overalls, with multiple color-coordinated pockets.They just looked comfy, practical and stylish to me, even though they were "just" work clothes. It intrigued me, and I couldn't get a picture of someone wearing them without looking undeniably creepy. Until today, that is.
Two German repair guys walked into the commissary to repair a busted fridge. I saw them come in and had time to get out my camera to take a few pictures unbeknownst to them.
Thus, thanks to google and these two men that unknowingly assisted me in my quest (thanks guys!) I discovered that the most popular brand of this kind of pants ( Werkhosen ) comes from Urech Lyss, a Swiss company.
Guys' pants
(Overall version that I saw today)
After dinner, the kitchen needed to be cleaned. It was a wreck, I tell you. This was one of those situations where no one wanted to clean it, but still, it needed to be done. I was supposed to have a certain young man help me with the job but he ended up in bed, because "....I need to get up early for school."
Uh huh. Heard that one before, sonny.
I had great hopes of to going to bed early tonight, as I have had to go to bed at 11 PM almost every night of late, regardless of my level of tiredness. That was due to the necessity of taking a half-asleep Erla to the bathroom so that she wouldn't wet the bed.
But tonight, the only thing that stood in my way of sleep was a filthy kitchen. I could also say that a certain little boy that wouldn't help was standing in the way, but I didn't have time to fool with that. Now that they are home I see it as up to the parents to enforce such rules unless I am put in charge.
To describe how messy the kitchen was, let's just put it this way: I am VERY MUCH a clean-as-you-go person. No one else here is. The End. ;)
But it's done now. And once I press publish on this post I am C-R-A-S-H-I-N-G. Well, at least until the school alarm in the morning.
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