Driving, Voting, Bakeries and another Festival

Guess who arrived here last week? Our car! Yea! We picked it up Friday in Mannheim. How exciting. It took exactly a month from the day we dropped it off to the day it arrived here.

For the most part, everything went well. We got some insider tips from my co-worker Jason on how to get through the registration process quicker, so that worked out pretty well. We did have a little bit of an issue with a guy who couldn't understand that a female can be the sponsor and the male the dependent. So, there was a big hassle, and yes, I got crabby with him a little bit, but the good thing is that we got it all worked out after a while.

We did our walk-around inspection to check for damages. We were a little concerned about that since the car was completely new -- if there were any damages, the loss of value would have been much more than the compensation value. The only thing we found was a small spot where the clear coat is missing. Unfortunately, we can't claim it as a shipping damage, even though the Vehicle Processing Center manager even came out and agreed it was not a manufacturer's defect and that it did indeed happen sometime in transit. Now we just have to decide if we should accept it or try to visit the claims office and put in a claim for it through them instead of the shipping company. We haven't decided yet.

Well, in picking up our vehicle, that means one big thing had to happen as well -- my first time driving in Germany. And, to top it off, not just driving in Germany, but driving on the Autobahn as well! I only eeeked a couple times and got passed by one moped, so I wasn't going that slow. Just kidding! It was just fine! Carl was in the lead in our loaner car and I drove the Caliber. I wasn't too nervous. Honestly, driving here is not that much different than in the States. The Autobahn also is not all that crazy (sorry to disappoint). It's actually nicer than interstates in that trucks are only allowed to drive in the right lane, and the only time you can be in the left lane is to pass. So, that went very well and I can now say I am on my way to eventually being able to drive myself around here (we will only have one car until we can get another one here for Carl, so for the time being we will still be sharing.)

Friday, we also exercised our great American Right to Vote. Go us! Here are pictures of us after we have completed filling out our absentee ballots for President, VP and a few local South Carolina elections. If you look closely please even notice our "I Voted!" stickers we are wearing. :)

This morning being Saturday we woke up around 8-ish. Well, I was awakened earlier by Noel-kisses on my face and Scout trying to wake me up as well by nuzzling me. So around 8 I let the doggies hop up on the bed and have cuddle time, and then we all got up and headed out to the bakery up the street. We figured since this is our last weekend here in this little community we ought to go to the bakery one last time.

Below you will see the doggies parked in their little doggy parking spot. We got zwei apfelstruedels (2 apple struedels) and zwei other thingies that I am not sure what they were, but they were yummy. The doggies enjoyed the brisk morning walk and then ate their breakfast back at the house with us.

Today was, surprise, another festival!! I am not even sure what festival it was, but I think it was Heidelberg's fall fest. It is a one-day fest that occurs on the Hauptstrasse. We met up with Danelli, Jen and their friends Sonia and Bryce. Then, Dan's German co-worker Johanna and her husband Jan arrived. We had a lot of fun and it was very nice to get to know some more people. I am sure we'll be spending lots more time with them. We've already got a ski trip in the works in January for all of us!

Anyway, it was a neat festival with booths up and down the entire Hauptstrasse (which is a verrrrry long way). It was so disgustingly crowded though! We got there around 3:30 and walked around for about an hour before meeting up with everyone else. At one point, Carl and I were fighting our way through the crowd and there was a huge traffic jam. I mean I have never seen pedestrian traffic like this. We were stuck. No one could move forward, backward, sideways, anything, but everyone sure was trying to push their way somehow. We felt so violated!! Seriously! Everyone was literally pressing their bodies into everyone else just trying to push-push-push their way through. That part stunk pretty bad. But, other than that, there were lots of bands and stages and, of course, the food! Mmm! My favorite today was a banana-chocolate crepe. Yummm! Carl enjoyed some German beer and brats.

I also have to give a special shout out to Jen for saving me by running up to her apartment and grabbing a sweatshirt for me. The weather today was gorgeous, much warmer than it has been lately, and I somehow forgot to bring a warmer layer (I never leave home without at least a hoodie draped over my arm for later. I am not sure what I was thinking today). So Jen saved me and let me borrow one of hers. That is the beauty of her living downtown -- how convenient!

The above picture is me, Sonia, Jen and Kelli.

Two empty beer glasses in front of Carl -- both his! Yes, he kept both of them as souvenirs too.

So, overall, we've had a great past few days. The best news came on Friday in that my advance of pay came through finally to pay for the deposit on our house. We were really beginning to worry. See, when you make one of these overseas moves, you can request a special advance of salary for a certain amount to help offset the move-in costs. Here, when you move into a rental house, you have to pay two months rent as a deposit, plus the first month's rent. For us, that equals out to almost 5,000Euro -- that's around $7,300. Plus, we owe another $2,600 on Tuesday for this temporary house. I was totally going to Eeeek out on Tuesday if the money hadn't come through yet, but, thank the Lord, it came through Friday. We also will be getting our loaner furniture on Tuesday now instead of Wednesday, so we get to move in one day sooner. Yay!

Tomorrow we are going to Danelli's church and then owe the red babies a trip to the dog park. Guten Abend!