Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

The Long-Awaited Guests: The Visit

We were lucky to have some long-awaited guests last week. I wrote before about our plans and thought I'll share with you some of the things we ended up doing.

When you see good friends after a long time, you don't want to fill their visit with millions things to do. But even though we spent a lot of time just enjoying each others company, there was still many things on our agenda.

1. shopping, shopping, shopping - you can find some lovely picture from my friend's blog *here* and *here*

+20°C and sunshine - not bad for late October!

2. sightseeing with Thermine

3. feeding animals in Fasanerie

and my favorite part:
4. drinks and dinner 'ohne Kinder' - see a picture *here*

It was sad, when we had to wave them goodbye, but we have plenty of guests arriving from Finland during the following weeks, so they will keep us busy!

*****
Kauanodotetut vieraamme ovat jo palanneet kotiinsa, mutta tässä vielä pieni tiivistelmä, mitä kaikkea teimme heidän reissunsa aikana:
1. paljon shoppailua - piipahda kurkistamassa kuvia ystäväni blogista *täältä*
2. nähtävyyksien katselua kaupunkijunasta käsin
3. eläinten ruokkimista Fasanerie-eläinpuistossa
4. äitien vapaailta sushin ja drinkkien parissa!

Windy Day

It has been storming around Europe and it is very windy here in Wiesbaden, too. 

I took Baby out to the balcony for her morning nap, and all of the sudden it was very windy. The wind became dangerously strong in just a couple of minutes. I had to take Baby back inside and decided to record the view from our balcony.

But as Blogger hasn't been very cooperative today, I had to upload the video to my Facebook page. You can find it *here*.

And while you are there, you can click the 'like' button on the Frau Welle site as well ;)

*****

Tuulista. Voit käydä kurkkaamassa parvekemaisemaamme *täältä*

The Long-Awaited Guests: Planning Their Visit

This week, we will get some long-awaited guests: my good friend and her family.

This friend of mine was my bridesmaid at our wedding and she and her husband are the godparents of Fräulein. After three years of us living in Germany, they are finally coming over to visit us!

For many people Wiesbaden is quite unfamiliar, but everybody knows Frankfurt. So, it is not a surprise that they are very interested in visiting Frankfurt.

However, I see Frankfurt as a city of business and finance, with a lot of offices. Naturally, we will take them for a visit, but I have also listed things that they could find interesting around Wiesbaden.


The Nerobergbahn  - a funicular railway that goes all the way to Neroberg. You can see a picture of the Bahn in all the postcards of Wiesbaden, so it is a bit of a landmark. Even though it is very close to our home, we have never ridden with it. Having guests could be a good excuse to visit it and I think the children would like it.

The Nerobergbahn railway, but no carriage at sight

Thermine: the little city train - a good way to see all the local sights could be to take the city train. And this could also be nice for the children.

Schloss Johannisberg - You cannot travel to Rheingau area without visiting a vinery! You can drive to Schloss Johannisberg following the Rhein and eat lunch (and drink wine) at their Restaurant enjoying the lovely view.

The view from Schloss Johannisberg

Fasanerie - There is a great zoo in Frankfurt, but with the limited time we have, I would recommend the local park with less exotic animals. But you are allowed to feed the animals there!

In Fasanerie, the sell food, which you are allowed to feed to the animals

Main-Taunus Zentrum - for shopping. Do I need to say more? ;)

Lalaland Café - Fräulein's 3rd birthday is this week, and I thought we could celebrate it with our guests is this lovely, child-friendly crêpes cafe.

Okinii - The guys will probably go to see some football (can a man visit Germany without seeing a football match?), so me and my friend also deserve a night out. And I have been craving for some tasty sushi since I was pregnant with Baby...


A lot of things to do for the few days there are here... Let's see what they think and I'll report our experiences!

*****
Saamme vihdoin hyvän ystäväni perheineen meille kylään. Jee! Piipahdamme varmasti Frankfurtissa, mutta listasin myös asioita, joita voisimme tehdä Wiesbadenissa ja täällä lähistöllä. 

Home Hunting - What I Have Learned So Far

OK, maybe I do have a 'blogger's block', but there is one thing I thought I could share with you.

In May, I wrote about my new hobby: apartment hunting. Our landlord had decided to sell our apartment. That does necessarily mean that we need to move, but if the new owner wants to move in, he or she can end our lease. Fortunately for us, it is relatively difficult to get rid of tenants in Germany. So, if we ever come to the point that we are told to leave, we would still have six months to do that.

I have now been actively looking for a new home for five months. And here are some points I have learned so far:

1. Be fast

Do not leave town/country for two months. And do not be without connection to the internet for more than a few hours.

We spend one week at a summer cabin in Finland and thus noticed a new, nice apartment only three days after it was published in Immobilienscout. After sorting out the timetables, when some of Herr Welle's colleagues could go and see the apartment, it was already gone.

It is probably difficult to be fast enough anywhere, but it does not make things and easier, that the U.S. Army Europe headquarters is moving to Wiesbaden and there are thousands of people looking for a place to live.


2. Do not have children

On our wish list, there the two main points are 2-3 bedrooms and an own garden. In almost half of those kind apartments, it is mentioned that "meant for a single or a couple without children". What? Why?


3. Remember that the broker knows better

I think that our two girls, who are relatively close in age, could share a room for quite many years to come. So, two bedrooms would be enough for us. And if we could find a place with three bedrooms, the girls would still share a room and the extra one would be used as a office / guest room.

But the local brokers seem to think that this is impossible. If I am interested in an apartment with 'only' two bedrooms, the first thing the broker asks is that how many kids do we have. And after hearing the answer, uses all his/her excuses to make me think that the apartment is too small for us. Well, who am I to know...


4. If you are trying to save in the broker provision, prepare yourself for the loss of hair and mental health

In Finland, the owner much pay the provision for the broker. But here, it is paid by the tenant. The provision is usually 2.38 net rent incl. VAT, so quite a lot of money.

If you find an apartment, which is rented directly be the owner, it is certainly a plus. We found one, which we were very interested in and provided the owner with all sort of personal information. When I hadn't heard from him after a few days, I tried to call him several times and send him a couple of emails. But nothing. We heard nothing. It has now been a month and the apartment is no longer in the Immobilienscout, so he has rented it to someone else. But this left me a very unpleasant feeling. It wouldn't have taken him much effort to let us know. Argh.

Wherever we are going to move to, this is what I will miss the most:
all this green (and orange) over the rooftops!

So, what is the current situation? We have applied for one apartment, but haven't yet heard anything back. It has been only a couple of days and there is a broker involved, so even if we do not get this apartment, I hope it won't turn like point #4. I am also in a process of making appointments for a couple of other apartments. Cross your fingers!

*****
Kuten aiemmin kerroin, nykyinen asuntomme on myynnissä ja saatamme joutua muuttamaan. Olen siis nyt muutaman kuukauden ajan etsinyt meille uutta asuntoa. Mikään ei ole vielä tärpännyt, mutta pari asiaa olen oppinut:
1. Ole nopea - uusiin asuntoilmoituksiin pitää tarttua heti. Wiesbadeniin on muuttamassa tuhansia uusia jenkkejä, joten asuntomarkkinat käyvät kuumina.
2. Ole lapseton - tosi moni asunto, jossa on kolme makkaria ja oma piha, on ilmoituksen mukaan tarkoitettu sinkulle tai lapsettomalle parille. Käsittämätöntä.
3. Muista, että välittäjä on aina oikeassa - luulitko, että kaksi pientä tyttöä voisivat jakaa yhteisen huoneen? Paikallisten välittäjien mukaan se on mahdotonta!
4. Välittäjäpalkkiossa säästäminen vie mielenterveyden - täällä vuokralainen maksaa asunnon välityspalkkion. Jos asunnon omistaja hoitaa vuokraamisen itse, säästät toki palkkiossa, mutta saattaa olla, ettet saa kuukauteen tietoa asunnon tilanteesta.
Pitäkää peukkuja, että pian tärppää! :)

Silent Sunday

Little Lady at the Hair Salon

Fräulein has never had a hair cut, and it was about the time to do something about that.

I didn't even consider cutting her hair myself, so the only option was to go to a hair salon.

Fräulein has never seen anyone having their hair cut. She can be a very strong-minded person, so I was dreading the moment I was taking her to see a hair dresser. As the situation would be completely new to her, I was sure that she would decide that she wasn't going to step into the salon / sit in the chair / stay still / stop crying.

So I was trying to think of any TV program that would show her what it was all about. But the only programs I came to think of were the make-over episodes of America's Next Top Model, and those weren't exactly what I was looking for...

Luckily, I had noticed that here in Wiesbaden is a special hair salon for children, called Ratz Matz. I thought that the setting there would be less intimidating than in a normal 'adult' salon and Fräulein would find it fun there.

The previous evening, I tried to prepare her for the hair cut by showing her some pictures of the place in internet and telling her what was going to happen. She seemed to be excited about going there!

We were there a bit early, and Fräulein was able to explore the play area upstairs - a nice way to get her mind of the hair cut.

But what was even more important, she was able to watch two boys having their hairs cut downstairs. One of the boys was sitting calmly, the other was laughing and having fun. The best preparation we could get!

The hairdresser suggested that Fräulein would sit in a chair by the play area, but she had already set her eyes on the red car. So, downstairs we went.

The hairdresser was clearly experienced with kids. And it is nice that Fräulein understands German and was thus able to communicate with the lady. 

Everything went perfectly. Fräulein sat in her chair car quietly and just stared at her image in the mirror. I guess she was a bit terrified, but she was determined to be as brave as the boys before her.

Afterwards, she was very satisfied with herself and her new hair. To be honest, the change wasn't that drastic, but we got rid of the dry ends.

And the only cry she had was when she wasn't going to get second haircut in the moped shaped chair!

*****
Fräuleinin hiuksia ei olta ennen viime viikkoa leikattu kertaakaan, joten latvat alkoivat jo olla aika takkuuntuvat. Viime viikolla päätimmekin vihdoin mennä kampaajalle. Täällä Wiesbadenissa on erityisesti lapsille tarkoitettu Ratz Matz -kampaamo, mistä löytyy leikkialue ja hauskat kampaamotuolit. 

Ennen hiustenleikkuuta Fräulein katseli, miten kahden pojan hiukset leikattiin, joten kun tuli Fräuleinin vuoro, hän tiesi mitä tulee tapahtumaan. Tyttö istui punaisessa autossaan reippaana, tosin vähän jännittyneen oloisena. Kampaaja hoiti hiustenleikkuun ammattitaitoisesti ja ripeästi. Vaikka olin varautunut siihen, että kampaamokäynti voisi olla aikamoista draamaa, selvisimme yhdellä itkulla: harmi iski, kun Fräulein ei saanutkaan toista hiustenleikkuuta mopotuolissa!

Silent Sunday

Hausfrau's New Hobby: Apartment Hunting

Yesterday evening we received an email from our landlord: he had put our apartment on sale.

This didn't come as a total surprise - he had told us about his plans a couple of months ago. And he has not yet terminated our lease and when he does, we will still have three months to move out.

But anyway, we need to start looking for a new place to live.

I have been following Immobilienscout24.de for a while now, as I have been dreaming of an apartment with garden for the kids to play in and/or with one extra bedroom for our guests. But as the US Army is centralizing it's European operations here, there are a lot of families moving to Wiesbaden. And thus it is almost impossible to find a decent apartment with decent price around here.

But now I really had to swing into action. This morning I have already sent contact requests to six different housing agencies and made the arrangements to see one apartment.

So, I'm sorry if I'm going to be a bit preoccupied in the near future. I'll try to keep you updated.

And if you are looking for an apartment to invest in, I know one in Wiesbaden with extremely nice tenants! ;)

View from Neroberg. You can see our current home in this photo ;)

*****
Saimme eilisiltana sähköpostia vuokranantajaltamme: hän on laittanut asuntomme myyntiin.
Nykyistä sopimustamme ei vielä ole irtisanottu, mutta koska Wiesbadenin asuntomarkkinat ovat tällä hetkellä todella hankalat, täytyy meidän nyt ryhtyä todenteolla uuden asunnon metsästykseen. 

From a German Detective Story

An apartment building in Wiesbaden.

Someone presses the buzzers of all apartments.

Two men enter the building and talk with the lady from the entrance floor apartment.

One of the men: "Guten Tag! Where can we find Frau W*?"
Lady: "From the second floor"

The men take the elevator to the second floor.

A doorbell rings.

One of the men: "Frau W. Please, open the door. Hier ist die Polizei!"

A door opens.

To be continued... (or not)


Oh, I really should be studying for the exam I have later today and not be spying on my neighbors, let alone writing weird blog posts...

*) for the record: Frau W in this story is not short for Frau Welle. Thanks for pointing this out Citymami! 
(added at 14:35)

*****
Tenttiinlukemisen sijaan olen tänään päätynyt salakuuntelemaan naapureitani. 
Mutta lausahdus "Hier ist die Polizei!" loi kyllä jännän dekkaritunnelman! :)

Almost!

The summer arrived quite quickly, but nature has not really been able to keep up with this change.

One year ago, the magnolias were in bloom already in early April.

This year we are now almost there!

*****
Viime vuonna magnoliat olivat kukassa jo huhtikuun alussa, mutta tänä vuonna luonto ei ole ihan pysynyt nopeasti saapuneen kesän mukana. 

Easter Lamb (And Other Animals)

On Easter, you should eat lamb, right?

Well, this year we didn't eat any, instead we fed them. In a couple of occasions, actually.

First we visited Fasanerie here in Wiesabaden.

The map of Fasanerie

Fräulein really looked forward to seeing the wolf.
Fortunately we were able to spot one, but she was a bit disappointed, when it didn't howl.

And later, we visited Tierpark Mainz-Kastel for the first time. It was a lot smaller place than Fasanerie, more like a domestic animal farm. But what was important was that we got to feed the animals again*!

It was actually a bit difficult to feed the sheep here.
The animals had a clear pecking order: the pony was the king,
 then came the big goat, then black goats, goats with other colours,
and the sheep were the last to be access the goodies.

Not willing to leave :)

*) In both of these places they sell 'Futter', which you can feed to the animals

*****
Emme tänä pääsiäisenä syöneet lammasta vaan syötimme niitä. Ensin vierailimme Fasaneriessa ja toisena päivänä Tierpark Maiz-Kastelissa. 

The City of Moominhouses

The Moomins is Fräulein's favorite TV show at the moment. She especially likes Little My and the Groke (she actually thinks that the Groke is funny, not scary...).

As Wiesbaden was spared from bombing during the World War II, the buildings here are relatively old.

Nerotal in autumn

From Fräulein's perspective, these old houses look like the Moominhouse. Whenever we are driving through the city, there is a constant talk on the back seat: "that's Moominhouse, that's Moominhouse, that's Moominhouse". And if we happen to pass one modern building: "that's not Moominhouse".

I think these old buildings create a special atmosphere for the city. Even though they are old, they are well maintained.

Neroberg in autumn

But sometimes I curse the old structure of the city. As there are many narrow one-way streets, you get very often stuck. Many mornings there are the garbage trucks rolling on slowly. And from time to time someone is unloading their truck.

The latter happened yesterday. The truck was parked in the middle of the road and the driver was unloading trollies and pushing them to a nearby hotel. There is nothing you can do. You cannot pass the truck, you cannot turn back, and you cannot reverse either, as there are quickly many cars behind you. So, that's about 15 minutes of waiting, before the driver returns to his truck and drives around the block letting others to move on.

Driver unloading his truck on a narrow street

For a five minute drive, you should book 20 minutes. Just in case.

*****
Fräulein on ihan hulluna muumeihin, erityisesti Pikku Myyhyn ja Mörköön, joka on tytön mielestä hauska, ei pelottava...

Fräuleinin mielestä Wiesbadenin vanhat rakennukset ovat kuin muumitaloja. Ajellessamme kaupungin halki, kuuluu takapenkiltä tasainen mumina: "tuo muumitalo, tuo muumitalo, tuo muumitalo...". Ja modernimpien talojen kohdalla "tuo ei muumitalo". :)

Vaikka rakennukset ovat vanhoja, ne on pidetty tosi hyvässä kunnossa. Siksi kaupunki on mielestäni tosi viihtyisä. 

Valitettavasti vanhan kaupungin huonona puolena ovat kapeat, yksisuuntaiset kadut. Tosi usein saamme madella roska-auton perässä tai pysähtyä odottamaan, kun kuorma-auton lastia puretaan. Tällainen kun osuu kohdalle, ei nimittäin pääse eteen eikä taakse. Vartinkin odotus tuntuu uskomattoman pitkältä kun on kiire jonnekin!

The Protester

I participated my very first demonstration yesterday.

In the state of Hesse, some changes to the kindergarten laws are about to happen. I'm not sure how far the process is at the moment, but I know that it would bring a lot of negative changes to the everyday matters.

For example, in the groups of small children (under 3 years old) there are two teachers and they can currently take care of 10 children. After the change, there could be 16 kids in every group!

Not good, not good at all.

So, yesterday there was a demonstration against this new law held at the Kochbrunnenplatz in Wiesbaden.

There were quite many participants - mostly kindergarten teachers and parents with their children.

Unfortunately the weather was not the best possible ( -1°C and windy), so we didn't stay there for very long time.

But on our way home, we saw the first signs of spring!

*****
Hessenin osavaltiossa suunnitellaan lakimuutosta, joka toisi selviä heikennyksiä päiväkotien toimintaan. Esimerkiksi nykyään alle 3-vuotiaiden ryhmissä voi olla kymmenen lasta kahta "tätiä" kohden. Uudistuksen jälkeen lapsimäärä voitaisiin nostaa kuuteentoista! Eilen täällä Wiesbadenissa järjestettiin mielenosoitus lakia vastaan ja mekin osallistuimme. Ensimmäinen mielenosoitukseni! 

Vaikka keli oli jäätävän kylmä, löysimme jo ensimmäisen lupauksen tulevasta keväästä: kukkivan puun.

Candies, Toys And Freezing Fingers

Wilhelmstraße getting ready for the parade

It is the carnival season here in Germany. And as you might have guessed from the latest Silent Sunday picture, we went to see the carnival parade here in Wiesbaden.

At first I was so excited that I photographed all horses...

... and bands...

... and clowns...

... and wagons....

But after the first twenty or so groups, my fingers were freezing and it got a bit boring.

However, running around and picking up all the candies, popcorns, toys and tissue packets they threw at us, kept us warm despite the -2°C temperature.

I have no idea why we had to pick up every single candy that landed to our feet. I'm certain that those can be found in our kitchen cabinets still one year from now. It was just impossible to leave them laying there...

But for Fräulein this was a great Sunday!

*****
Saksassa vietetään karnevaalikautta ja sunnuntaina olimme seuraamassa Wiesbadenin karnevaaliparaatia. Paraati oli kuin penkkareiden ja vapun sekoitus. Ja saaliimme (karkkeja, leluja ja nenäliinapaketteja) oli mahtava!

It's That Time Of Year Again

They have started to build the Christmas Market. The Sternschnuppenmarkt here in Wiesbaden will open on November 27th and you can enjoy the Glühwein until December 23rd.

*****
Wiesbadenin joulumarkkinoita on jo alettu rakentaa. Markkinat ovat avoinna 27.11.-23.12.

September 16, 2010

4:30 am. Herr Welle and I wake up at his parent's house in Finland.

The previous day, we had said goodbye to our Finnish home and left the movers to pack up all our belongings. We only have one luggage each with us, so that we can survive one week in a hotel.

Our 'garden' in Finland

6:00 am. We are ready to get up into Opa Welle's car, as he will drive us to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. While we are standing outside in the crisp autumn air, my cellphone beeps. The husband of my very good friend has sent me a text message: my friend is in the delivery room of their local hospital and is not really enjoying herself.

All the drive to the airport and before boarding the plane, I squeeze my phone waiting for it to beep again. I can almost forget that we are moving to a foreign country, I'm just so excited for my friend.

The flight is over fast and we land on Frankfurt airport. I open my phone and it beeps: my friend has had a little baby girl!

We take a taxi to Wiesbaden and settle into a hotel. The rest of the day is a bit of blur for me, but at least we got ourselves registered as residents in Wiesbaden.

But today is a day of celebration. We have been living in Wiesbaden for two years now! And what is even more important: the little girl, our goddaughter, is now two years old! Happy birthday little princess!

*****
Syyskuun 16. kaksi vuotta sitten oli erityisen tärkeä päivä meille: silloin muutimme Herr Wellen kanssa Wiesbadeniin. Ja erityisen tärkeäksi päivän tekee se, että ihana kummityttömme syntyi silloin. Paljon onnea prinsessalle!