Auf Wiedersehen, Temporary Housing

I've been a bit remiss in keeping up with my blog, although I feel justified in that I have been busy traveling across the Earth, suffering from the worst case of jet lag I've ever had, and moving during what has been heat wave of biblical intensity.

The big news? I'm out of temporary housing! No more Ingelheim! No more boredom! No more bed-which-was-clearly-inspired-by-12th-century-Carthusian-monks. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am now safely ensconced in my lovely apartment in the West End of Frankfurt... and I have my American bed back!!!

The movers from the relocation company came on Friday, and it took them about 3 hours to bring everything in and get it unboxed and set up. I then spent the weekend unpacking and getting organized. I have 8 bags of clothing and other assorted things to go to the German version of the Goodwill - assuming I can find it. (Apparently there are big bins around the city that say "Alt-Kleidercontainer" where people drop off used clothing for charity)

This is where the used clothes go

As of right now, my bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are set up. My couch and guest bed should arrive sometime mid-August (I think), the first part of my furniture delivery should come this week or early next week, and the rest will be delivered the second week of August. So by mid-August, I should have an apartment that looks like a place someone actually lives, as opposed to right now, where one would be hard pressed to tell if I was moving in or moving out.

Despite my lack of furniture, I love, love, love my new apartment. I'll put photos up once it is all decorated. This is probably the nicest place I've ever lived in my whole life. The ceilings are so high  and the light is amazing. The building is extremely well built and I don't hear my neighbors. At all. I know one of them has a small baby (I saw him outside) but I don't hear a peep. It's AMAZING - especially after the paper-thin walls in my old place in the U.S.

This morning, I had my refrigerator (Kuehlschrank - literally cooling cabinet) and washing machine (Waschmaschine - I'll let you figure that one out for yourself) delivered. Apparently everything here is delivered by a company called Hermes. My Hermes delivery men were two very cute guys in their mid-20s, who despite looking like cyclists or runners, were very very stark (strong - also, side note: wonder if this is where George RR Martin got the name for House of Stark?). We had a funny moment where one of the guys was trying to tell me not to plug the refrigerator in for "acht uhr" (8 hours) - but I thought he meant to plug it in and wait 8 hours for it to get cool. I was in the process of putting the plugger in the socket when the other delivery guy came running in, shouting "Nein! Nein!" and something about gas. Turns out that because the refrigerator was moved around alot in the delivery, it needs time for the gas (I think they meant freon) to settle before using. I'm sure glad we got that cleared up because if a blockage had occurred it could ruin the refrigerator and that would not be covered under my warranty.

This is my waschmaschine. Super efficient and very clever sizing. And yes, it goes in the bathroom.

As I haven't had a refrigerator all weekend, I've been exploring the local eateries. Last night I walked towards the Palmengarten and found a nice (if slightly expensive) Spanish restaurant. The best part of it was that the waiter insisted on speaking to me in constantly rotating stream of French, Italian, Spanish and German. Seriously. A sentence would start out in German, meander over to French, pick up a bit of Italian and end in Spanish. It was amusing to say the least. And while I appreciated his effort at keeping me on my linguistic toes, the English translation of the menu left me wondering if they wouldn't benefit from a bit more practice in English.

So many questions. What are Exotic Fruits? What variation of mousse? What is Licor 43? and WTF is Pyjama?!!

The restaurant also was so very German in that it was incredibly well-appointed, with bow-tied waiters and excellent service... and yet it boasted a cigarette machine and a guy who looked like an extra from the original Joe Dirt.

This guy. Classy all day. And check out the flip flops. And no, that's not my wine :(

Because what goes better with a delicious meal than cigarettes?!

 

I didn't get a photo, but there is also a cigarette machine down the street from my house, attached to a fence. Right next to what appears to be a gumball machine. I kid you not. Keep in mind that I'm in what is known as a fairly nice neighborhood, too. I just find the random cigarette machines everywhere so weird - especially since Germans seem to be very active and health-conscious. People walk or bike everywhere, and regularly take long hiking or walking holidays. And yet... people smoke up in here with an enthusiasm seldom seen outside Eastern Europe. If anyone reading this has any insight on this, I'd love to hear it.

I'm off traveling again for work this week - hitting London just in time for the tube strike. I love Europe but enough already with the striking! Or at least balance out the striking with free deodorant for all taxi drivers.