My legs ache mom!

Is it considered child abuse to make my kids walk for hours on end, limping from shin splints and blistered toes? After our first two days of A LOT of walking I have definitely tried to accommodate our days better, making sure that we never go more than a few hours without food and play breaks. Again my efficiency genes are on trial here, but I do love my kids and don’t want them to resent me too much for having dragged them all the way across the ocean for this torture.

We have spent our first 5 days walking, literally, around Bonn, and looking for a home. We have seen only 4 apartments, one twice, and are still undecided. It is, needless to say, a slow process.

A funny thing about apartments in Germany is that they are stripped bare. This means that there are no light fixtures in the ceilings, no built in closets and no kitchen. The kitchens are just a space, completely empty. This means no sink, stove, refrigerator, no counter tops, and no cupboards. It is funny to see, when looking at these apartments, the kitchen as just a blank slate. But this in just another thing to factor in when we are making our list of what we need and want in our new home.

So far my first choice of living places is an amazing old apartment built in 1895 with 12 foot high ceilings and more than enough living space. And a garden. This may not seem unusual at home in Davis, but in this city, finding an apartment with a garden is a jewel – the kids can run outside instead of into the street, and we can sit in the sun (if it ever comes out here) and contemplate life in a private backyard. Tomorrow we will see yet another place and perhaps be closer to a decision.

The biggest event for today – Saturday – was finally getting connected to the internet. Starbucks is my savior here and it just took figuring out how to subscribe for the day. It was a relief to send out a few emails and post up on this blog! My hour flew by.

We have been promised that on Tuesday we will be hooked up from our present apartment so I won’t have to wander about with my laptop anymore. Yipee! I am looking forward to a more regular contact with home, one that I had counted on, and have missed dearly this week.