Up and At Em

Tell me your town is this serious about asparagus!
(And, no, I am not sure why it has a whistle tied to the stalks)

The Black Forest Phoenix

RIP Spellbound, Long Live Black Forest Games!  Today David and about 20-30 of his co-workers went in to their old place of employment and were hired by a brand new company.  I can only imagine the logistical organization that must have been involved in managing all of this so quickly.  There were huge stacks of contracts, The Friendly Lawyer was on hand, and everyone did lunch at a rather bemused Burger King nearby.  The only significant change in our new contract is that David will get the German Standard 28 days of yearly vacation instead of his previous 24.  I think we can live with that.  He starts officially on the 1st, so we have a couple weeks of partially-paid vacation to play with right off the bat, too.  David says that he plans to use it much as a teenager uses those final years at home- convincing me that I will be Really Glad when he is Out Of the House and Back at Work ;-)   Mostly, right now, I think he will spend his time playing Diablo III and driving kids to and from school while I write. 

A couple of days ago all those who were to be hired by the new company went in to be seen and interviewed by the local publisher who will be hiring them for their biggest project.  That went quite well.  So, at the end of the day they all had a meeting and voted on the new name for the company.  David's suggestion of Angry Hamster made it far into the voting and had passionate support, but lost out when a few folks with different aesthetics dinged it.  Black Forest had the nice local feel and the advantage of not offending anyone's sensibilities. So, Black Forest it is.  Interestingly, the German version of the same name, Schwarzwald, did not garner much support.  The gaming industry is apparently anglo-centric!  We actually knew this, though since one of the recruiters David talked to when things were up in the air mentioned that almost all the European Gaming Houses spoke English internally.

Errata- Thanks to Florian for letting us know: Your employer must give you 4 weeks notice when you lose your job in Germany, so our 3 month Visa clock would not have started running until a month after David's lay off notice.  And, there are other agencies and back-up unemployment claims you can make to acquire more money to support your family should you need it.  Also, Spellbound in its last incarnation was not yet the number two game maker in Germany, it was working on attaining this title.


Other Random Stuff

Both kids have a 4-day weekend for Ascension (AKA Flying Jesus Day).  We don't currently have plans, but I really suppose we ought to make some!

The Berry Lady's New Booth.  She is on lunch break here-
she just moves the berries out of the sun and leaves all the other
merchandise sitting on the counter.  No one bothers it.
I do love that aspect of this area!

Durmstrong seems to be undergoing a rash of practical jokes lately.  Earlier this week the entire senior class showed up to school in jammies and conducted a sleep-in-flash-mob.  Then, today we discovered this car in the parking lot.

"La Voiture Capturé"  The Captured Car-- in French, oddly enough!

The best translation I can find indicates this says
"So to speak, Well-wrapped"

The school is also having roofing work done.  I rather wonder what the
pranksters might do with the scaffolding over the 4 day weekend!

Next week we meet with Durmstrong Staff to discuss DS's progress.  DD has a performance coming up next month.  And, we REALLY ought to get out and about at some point while David is home- but I have a couple more books due over the next few weeks, so we will see what we can see!

Sound Evidence
I have been meaning to get a sample of this for ages.  Here is a (bad) recording of the school bell at Hogwarts.  Am I wrong?  That is the Westminster bells followed by the theme to The Exorcist, isn't it?  (warning, the video clip is for listening not viewing, but I don't have a good film editor right now, so the best I could do was white and wavy for effects)

Bashing and Flashing

I told them to "pose like Americans" ;-)

Festivities for All

Well, after all the stress of last week, it was about time to break loose and have some fun!  Granted, Fun is not always stress-free.  But, it does have the advantage of being... er... FUN!  So, without further ado, here are

Three Point Five Fun Things that Happened This Week!

First Up- DS's 12 Birthday!

In Germany, the tradition is for the birthday celebrant
to provide small candies for his class.  So, DS here
is all ready to celebrate with a bag full of gummies!

DS receiving his presents in the morning

Dinner Guest!  

DS's German tutor, Kerstin, happens to be an American from the Bay Area!  Too cool!  We had been meaning to have her to dinner for-evah, but one thing or another kept getting in the way.  We finally got all the pieces to fall in place this week.  Since she misses Mexican food, we did our best to accommodate her with Do It Yourself Burrito Bar dinner.

Festive Table- It was as Mexican as I could
manage given the circumstances....

Kerstin and DS

There was much silliness, dancing and loud laughing. 

We decided the entire event was decidedly Un-German in its conspicuous exuberance. 
Definitely nice to let loose a little from time to time!

Birthday Resumed....

Our Birthday tradition is that the Birthday Boy or Girl gets to pick the meals for the entire day.  Since DS had school on his actual birthday, we agreed to postpone his meal-picking until the weekend.  So, when Saturday came around he got us to take a trip to Strasbourg for sandwiches and croissants for lunch, then for dinner we tried out the American Tex-Mex restaurant in town called Coyote Cafe.  We had been warned that their Mexican fare may be a little less than authentic (thus the burrito bar at home!).  But, we figured the Texas BBQ was worth a shot.  And, it wasn't bad!  It is certainly not going to be convincing any true Southerners that the chef has made a trip to the States.  But, it was passably pleasantly edible.

DS in the Coyote Cafe

Mexican decorations?  Interestingly, most of the
place seemed to festooned with black and white
photos of French people!

I was amused to note that this water is "naturally mild".... As opposed to
all that spicy water you usually get in these parts!!

BBQ Spare ribs... with lots and lots of parsley... And a butter knife.
The fries were excellent!

Job Recruitment ad on the
bathroom door.

FRENCH FLASHMOB

Quick Anecdote- DS's school was going to participate in a Flash Mob to celebrate Europe Day- sort of a European Union togetherness sort of deal.  Makes sense since Hogwarts is a European school dedicated to the ideology that Europeans ought to respect each other and get along. 
But, lets face it, when it comes right down to it, our particular branch of Hogwarts is run by French People.  And French People, as we have learned through experience, have some interesting concepts about organization.  One of them was that for this entire school field-trip, each student must individually procure his or her own Tram Pass for the day ('NO MONEY!' read the email).  Additionally, after the flash mob, they must somehow find their way home... on their own.... from the center of the Big City...  Boggle!

Thus, Tuesday morning, David and DD set off to France to locate and acquire the pass that would be needed.  After some effort, they successfully purchased it and headed back around lunch time.  As it happens, Tuesday is the day for the Kehl outdoor market.  So, they stopped to grab some food and revisit our old town center.  While there, they noticed the lady running one of the food trucks had stepped out to get something from her car.  As she returned to the truck with a bundle in her arms she was loudly startled by a swarm of pigeons that had sneaked into her booth while she had been gone!  She screamed, the pigeons flaps and feathers flew. 

Eventually she calmed down and settled back in to work and the pigeons scatters.  David and DD got their food further in the market and headed back.  On their return trip, David snapped this photo.

Prepping for another sneak attack!

Locals wondered why DD and DH were cackling gleefully as they walked....


Flash Mob Day

Alright, so, since this Flashmob sounded like fun and since DD needed to get home somehow anyways, we decided to go check it out.  DS was feeling a bit under the weather, too, so we went ahead and kept him home and decided to make a Family Event of the whole thing.  Unfortunately, we had never been to the Place Kléber, but we knew it was the main town square for the city of Strasbourg.  How tough to find could it be?  Right?

Wellll.... You can probably guess where this is going. 

Now, David is a control freak who hates it when other people drive.  But, he hates driving in France even more.  So, we agreed that I would take the wheel on this journey.  But, we got off to a bad start.  We couldn't figure out how to tell Garmin where we wanted to go, and I accidentally left the map in the house.  After several minutes of struggle, I finally gave up on the electronic navigator and dashed back into the house to grab the map- and an umbrella.  Yes.  Springtime in this area means rain!

So, we were already feeling a bit keyed-up when we headed out of the driveway- which was partially blocked by a little green car.  Still, I was convinced I could pass safely.  And, I was almost right.... Only, my side mirror barely clipped their side mirror on the way by.  Since ours is designed to fold down and it was still in place, I had a pretty good sense that no harm had been done, but I glance at the other car just to make sure.  Seeing no damage and no other humans immediately around and wishing to avoid an unnecessary scene, I made an executive decision.  I kept going.

David was not pleased.  Stress in the car was high.  And, to make things worse, we still couldn't figure out where we were headed.  Eventually, David managed to punch in what he thought was the right location on the Garmin and it started giving directions.  Once in Strasbourg, the directions got familiarly fuzzy.  The satellites do not like parts of the city.  French drivers were predictably French drivers.  And one truck in particular thought that my brake lights were illuminating an alternate roadway for his personal use.  On one turn, trying to avoid the truck's dangerous pressure, while simultaneously dodging another car that seemed determined to turn from their lane into ours, I managed to catch one wheel on the 1 inch tall center island separating the narrow street from the tramway.  David looked like he would happily have leaped in my lap and driven from there if the design for the car had permitted it.

Perhaps this would be a good place to mention that ordinarily I really *am* a pretty good driver,  Knock wood!  I have never gotten a moving violation, nor have I been involved in a crash (though some guy did lightly rear-end me at a stop light once).  But, I will fully admit that this was Not My Best Driving Day.

Further complications arose. Unmarked one-way roads suddenly became unmarked two-way streets.  Other hazards, like trams and pedestrians and cyclists, started appearing at a dizzying pace.  Then, without warning, our directions stopped.  Actually, it is good that they did because at the time they were telling us to turn the wrong way down a one-way street!  DOH

So, here we were in the middle of Strasbourg, late for the performance, and having no clue whatsoever how to get to DD's location.  I concentrated on driving and David took another whack at the Garmin.  This time we were able to compare the directions it gave with a sanity check on the map I had printed.  It looked good.  So, I Drove!  Feeling a bit looser, I even pulled out the camera to record a couple highlights of the city....
 

David nearly exploded when I pulled out my camera at a
long stop light to take a photo of the church under renovation.

Getting close to where I was pretty sure the square was located, we spotted a regulation Mall with its own parking structure.  Being unsure where else we might park, I went for it.  Yes indeedy, there were plenty of open spaces.  But... well, let us just say they were... narrow.  After three flubbed attempts, I finally managed to maneuver safely into a tiny spot against a pillar that David was sure I would hit.  I was sure I would not, so I was pleased to be proven right for once today!

From there we hoofed it.  Luckily, my direction-sense is usually pretty good and I had a fairly decent idea where the Square must be hidden given the layout of the surrounding buildings.  Relying on a couple vague street signs and my maternal-homing instincts, we maneuvered the correct three blocks to emerge at the Place Kléber- only about 45 minutes later than we had intended to arrive!  The rain had let up and we didn't have too much trouble finding DD- even though she was now dressed in the identical T-shirt as all her classmates from the school!  That is not what she was wearing when she left this morning!

Apparently, we had missed the first run through of the Flash Mob- the one where they all pretended to just be hanging out in the square and just happened to get the urge to stand up and dance when this Hip-hop version of the EU Anthem just happened to play over a loudspeaker on a day that just happened to have EU information booths lining the square.  Ah well.  We *were*, though, in time for the encore performance, in which the students dropped the pretense and grimaced their way through 83 verses of some hipster singing about how we are all part of one big European Family to the tune of Ode to Joy.  I really wished someone had mentioned to the kids (who were being filmed by every parent and local TV station in town) that perhaps smiling would be a more convincing way to project European Unity.  But, maybe the message is more clear this way- "yeah, we just grit our teeth and bear it, but we each move our own way and hug at the end- and no one gets hurt.  We are all in it together, for better or worse!'' 

Caught DD mid-jump!

Perhaps synchronicity wasn't their strongest feature, but
they DID all show up and the DID dance!

So, all in all, I think it was a memorable event!  We stopped for ham and cheese sandwiches at a patisserie on the way out (French folks put butter on these, which makes all the difference as far as the kids are concerned!)  Then, letting David take the wheel this time, we headed home.  

A few Strasbourg sites that I didn't include above:

Blurry, but apparently this is
"The Library of the Entire World"
ROCK ON Strasbourg!!!

This guy adorns one of the bridges- along with 3
similar statues

His other side- I think he is throwing a net

One of his friends....  Don't these guys
just seem like they ought to be in Moscow?

If you are REALLY curious about the flash mob, I have included a couple of brief video clips.  The first one shows part of their second run through of the dance- this time with their T-Shirts.

The finale- Big Hug!

Happy New Year!

We hope 2012 brings times of prosperity, fulfillment, healing and joy to everyone!  I think our whole family will have to agree that 2011 was one of the most memorable years we have ever had.


Obviously, this is our first New Year celebration in our New Country.  As such, we weren't really sure what to expect.  Earlier this week we went to the local Home Supply Store and discovered a startlingly large supply of fireworks.  First- fireworks at the home supply store?  Apparently so, in Germany!  Second... given the sorts of celebrations I had seen in the States, these are the sorts of snarky thoughts I was having:
 

"Care for some fireworks with that drunken celebration?

How about a "pyro joker" pack?"

"Or would a Shreck Party Pack be more your speed?  Nothing bespeaks 'Safe and Sane Fireworks' like knockoff merchandise aimed at children!"

 

David took one look at the amassed pile of offerings and walked the other way.  He quickly decided that he had no clue what the rules for such things might be in these parts.  In France earlier in the day we saw folks just out on the streets throwing around firecrackers.  But, he suspected the orderly Germans might have guidelines for use that we would simply be beyond our feeble language skillz and cultural ken.  "Well, everyone knows you can use sparklers on balconies but not on the lawn- DUH!"  As a Californian, I had a rather a horrified fascination with the sheer number of available black-powder delivery devices... though the meter long bottle rocket thing with the metal launcher did sort of look like fun!  As it turns out, neither he nor I needed to worry.  But, that part of the story comes later.

A Mild Adventure

Today I was feeling a bit claustrophobic and stuck.  Too many days in a row sitting at a computer for work and play.  So, we did some research and found an English Language movie showing at a reasonable time in Strasbourg.  This is somewhat unusual because for unknown reasons many of the English Language child-friendly films tend to play at completely non-child-friendly times.... like 10 PM or Midnight!  But, this one was on at 1:45 PM.  Completely within our abilities to attend.  We piled in the car and headed out to the Star Saint Exupéry Cinema.  Which is located on Rue du 22-Novembre.  As you might guess, that means,  22nd of November Street.  I checked the web and was unable to find anything French that trumps Kennedy's assassination (though on this side of the border, Angela Merkel was apparently elected on that day in 2005), so I guess it is just a nice gesture on the part of the city of Strasbourg.  

In any case, returning to the story, we hopped in the car and drove to France.  Garmin got us there OK.  And, we even found nearby parking in a narrow, many-story pay lot with only one ramp for going both up and down.  We dodged the usual Scary French Drivers (TM)- including the one impatient guy who wanted to whip around us as we stopped to allow a driver from the opposite direction to pass on the single-width ramp in the parking structure.  Yeesh!  We then took the elevator down 6 stories to the ground- where there was a fancy hair salon.... in the middle of the parking lot... Hmmm.  Ok!  France can be a bit odd.

Quick trip around the corner to the line at the theater where the nice lady hand wrote out tickets for us.  Their computer was broken, so scratch paper and a human scrawl worked fine.  This was a small, art-house operation. The concession stand consisted of vending machines.  One with sodas.  Another with candy.  And, a third small box proclaiming 2 flavors of popcorn- sweet and salty.  The salty one was empty.  The sweet looked decidedly stale.  We passed on all of the above and went to the theater.  Where, as soon as we sat down- the movie started!  No previews!  No ads at all!  Just a lovely film.

We saw Hugo- which here is called Hugo Cabret (perhaps to better distinguish it from Victor?).  The irony of watching a film that ostensibly takes place in Paris acted by an English cast with French translations at the bottom was not entirely lost on me.  But, mostly it was just nice to 1) see a movie in a theater.  And, 2) see the French subtitles, to shake some of the cobwebs off my French.   

Back in Offenburg,

I cooked yet another scheuffele and we settled in to relax and await the New Year.  I didn't really expect it to be much different than in the US.  But, I was delighted to discover I was wrong.  How do the orderly Germans celebrate the New Year?

  Please watch the video with the volume on.

With semi-orderly chaos!  Just after midnight we noticed our neighbors with friends and families in tow making their way outside.  Many were carrying packages of fireworks like the ones we saw at the Bauhaus.  Already, there was some pop pop popping.  And, soon the ubiquitous church bells joined in the tumult. But, that was all about to becomes exponentially louder.  

Within a couple minutes, the entire night sky was alight with hundreds of individual fireworks shows!  Remember those packets I showed up top?  They were only a few EU a piece.  And people apparently bought them in bulk!  I would say that just about 1/3-1/2 of all the houses visible were having their own little fireworks displays.  All simultaneously at Midnight!  And by "little" I mean... well, what you saw in that video!  Think of your crazy neighbor in the states who went down to Mexico to stock up, then came back to put on his own show for the neighborhood.  Only, every house is doing that.  And, unlike on the 4th of July, where displays may linger for hours after dark, and so are somewhat diluted over time, all the fireworks were set off over the course of about one hour.  Rockets and roman candles and sparklers were more popular than firecrackers.  The idea seemed to be to light the German sky as much as possible.  And, judging from the local efforts, I have to say, 2012 ring-in must be considered successful on that front!  Unfortunately, my camera was not entirely up to the task of capturing the array.  But, here are a couple of my better photos that give at least some idea of what it was like.

Looking out our kitchen window at Bühl- you can count about 6 individual houses putting on displays across the dozen or so houses visible

I think this is looking East toward the suburb of Bohlsbach, similar to Bühl.

Every other house looked like this!

Looking directly up from under one of the balconies in our apartment complex

To be accurate...

This did not seem at all to be a drunken wild party.  All the celebrations within our viewing range were being carried out in relatively family-friendly fashion with reasonable precautions.  And, the dampness from recent rain (and even a little drizzle while we were out) added a layer of comfort in keeping things fire-resistant.  Though, being a newb, I didn't realize that a box on the ground was actually a launching pad and almost blundered into a mishap!  And, just as we were walking back into the building, a shower of large live sparks landed on the ground a meter or so behind DD.  There were, of course, some giddy teenagers about, but everything remained pleasant- and very encompassing- for about an hour.  Then things petered off and folks, presumably, wandered off to bed.

Not that there wasn't some bubbly involved!

If the hardware store was well-stocked with fireworks the week before the holiday, the grocers were all very well stocked with sparkling wines!  There were French Champagnes, Prosecco from Italy, Spanish, American, and, of course, German wines, too.  We tried to find our traditional Sparking Apple Cider, but failed.  So, when in Germany.....

We bought selections of what seemed to be the more common and area-centric options.  One bottle of Prosecco, with enticingly rustic string bindings.

And one bottle of Sekt mit Hollunderblüte -which translates to Champagne with Elderberry blossoms!  

 

I really enjoyed the Prosecco we had with Kim et al in Switzerland, but, Sekt mit Hollunderblüte just seemed way too Germanically intriguing, so, we went with that!  Pleasant, light and slightly sweet.  Good choice!  The kids had a couple sips, and got to clang cups together.  David and I kissed.  Then, the outside celebrations erupted, so we all threw on shoes and jackets (over jammies in DS's case) and hustled out to see the show. 

As a side note- we completely failed to find whatever the German equivalent of New Years Rockin' Eve or whatever might be.  I flipped around the channels for a good 10 minutes, but nothing seemed to be doing a countdown or showing international celebrations- or even playing much music (other than the standard music video channels).  I was left wondering whether that sort of thing is just completely unnecessary here.  Everyone seemed to be out and about having their own celebrations.  Maybe television would be considered redundant?

So, there you have it.  Our first New Year's Celebration in a New Country.  I haven't really had time to process the Greater Issues of this particular New Year.  But, there will be time for that.  Right now it is just sort of a relief to have made it to this Timespace landmark.  How did you spend your celebration?  Any particular plans for the New Year? 

66 meters to glory

Today was Saturday.  Saturdays are a more significant day for us here than in the states.  This is because here, it is really the only weekend day that counts!  Sure, Sunday is a day of rest.  But, really, it is a day of forced rest.  Shops aren't open.  Buses barely run.  Only a few pizzerias and ice cream parlors are even available for emergency food- oh, and McDonald's.  This Saturday we had a long agenda.  First into Strasbourg to see the cathedral & town center, then over to Ikea, then down to Offenburg to check out that electronics store of the difficult directions.


Getting There:  The trip to Strasbourg was a little stressful, but eventually uneventful.  Our directions were filled with turns and street names that never really materialized.  Luckily, though, there were huge signs all over directing us (and the main flow of traffic) into the City Center and toward the great, Gothic, Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre-Dame which had dominated the local skyline for the better part of 1,000 years (the first version of the church on that site was started in 1015- in the place of a Roman temple).  


First Impression:  My first glimpse of the cathedral itself threatened to send a chill down my spine.  Its ornate, dark spire is passingly reminiscent of some vampiric castle from those unsettling tales that predate the fluffy undead so popular with the teens of today.  My next impression (and many of those to follow) was of simple awe.  The structure is immense.  We read later that the spire reaches 142 meters, making it the tallest building in "the modern world" for 4 centuries after its completion in 1399!


Photos:  The rest of this part of the story is probably best told through pictures.  So, without further ado:

[reminder, enlarged photos can be viewed by clicking on them-they will open larger, and if you click on them again you can see more details]

A taste of Alsace on the way to the cathedral

First good look

The main doors

Entrance

Some nice statues

More

DS learning the history of the saints- the other door had virgins being tempted by the devil!

66 meters to the panoramic view just beneath the main spire

First Balcony

View from the first balcony.  Already not too shabby!

This appears to be some OLD graffiti

A neighbor building

View from a bit higher

Dizzying Heights, but not at the top

The top is filled with carvings like these- we think they may have been patrons?

The kids & me in front of the main spire

See, there we are!

The main spire- close up!

Lovely city

Yeah, that is a 15€ view alright!

DS peeping out one of the many windows along the stairwells

This pigeon had built its nest on the stairs down- I suspect she built it during non-peak hours!

 A few interesting features:

Flying buttresses

er...

Even the gutters are ornate

 Once we got down, my legs were actually shaking.  We stopped for lunch at a creperie and splurged on the usual 3.50€ sodas and waters for every parched one of us (that was more per drink than most of us spent per meal).  The fellows below played lively music throughout.  David and I managed to order our food in three languages- all of which the waiter spoke.  Upon pressing, he admitted to speaking a 4th: Greek!

French Mariachi?  They mostly played jazz standards, Dixieland and show tunes.

On our way out, we splurged one more time- on a few special cookies and a lollipop for DS

We didn't go on the carousel, but we did admire it.

Cookie Trove (and a lollipop)

We hit the top of the spires just about at noon and got to enjoy not only the panoramic view, but also the pealing of bells from all around Strasbourg.  I have included a very brief video to give you just a taste of that experience.

Offenburg, briefly:


After the trip up the cathedral, we decided to cut our visit to Strasbourg short and head down to Offenburg instead of continuing on to Ikea.  It made sense at the time, but I am not really sure why.


For the record, the directions to the Media Markt were just a big a headache as we feared they might be!  In fact, things got SO bad, that we actually drove all the way back to Kehl (in the rain), printed out new maps, confirmed our orientation and went AGAIN.  In the end, we did find the store and a couple others that will be useful in the future (a Home Depot clone called Bauhaus with a built in backerei was of particular note).  We also found the correct path to our (looking likely, knock wood) potential new apartment.  So, despite the frustration of the drive, it did prove quite educational.