First off, thank you all for the outstanding hospitality you put forth during our visits before we left our homeland. There is nothing else we would have rather done than spend that time with you all. If you would like to see pictures from our road trip in the States before we flew over the Atlantic, please check Facebook. Sorry for such a delay in getting a blog published detailing our much-anticipated move to Europe. There is a lot to say.
Where we live.
-We live in Parsberg, Germany, about 40 minutes from Regensberg, to the Southeast, and 40 minutes from Nuernburg, to the Northwest.
-At the chapel on the US Military base where I work, Monsignor Ratzinger, the pope's brother, concelebrated at the mass for the kids getting their first communion. Monsignor Ratzinger lives in Regensberg, and directed the world-famous boys choir there for 30 years.
-Our house is a 5-bedroom house that is brand new. We are the first to live in it. It is a few steps away from mountain bike paths and paved jogging paths. It is in a neighborhood with a community playground and lots of little kids Philip's age, most German but some American. Taking the aforementioned paths, it is half a mile away to the grocery store, the train station, to some caves in the hills, and some cliffs for rock climbing (the cliffs already have the anchors bolted into the rock for safety). The house overlooks waving fields of wheat, and bright valleys of yellow canola.
-The house has a two car garage, a patio, a nice back yard (which still needs grass), a big attic, hardwood and tile floors, a large basement. The heat runs off of the burning of wooden pellets, the heat from the fire heats water, the water is then pumped through tubes that were woven through the concrete floors while the concrete was settling, thus keeping the floors warm. It is the most efficient way to heat a house. Hopefully it will save us some money.
I will also mention that most Army families have to wait 30-60 days before moving into a house when moving to Germany, during which they stay in a hotel. The Lord blessed us and got us the best house in very little time. While I got here two weeks before the best of the family, Amanda and the kids only had to spend ONE night in a hotel.
We have done a little bit of travelling, one afternoon to Regensberg, and two short days to Munich, which is where we are now. Regensberg has plenty to see, with a stone bridge from the 12th century that spans the Danube, and many beautiful churches. Amanda, the kids and I had dinner and beers at a 'WurstKueche' (sausage kitchen) whose structure was built in the 1300s. We then walked to an Irish Pub and drank some Strongbows (a type of cider and our favorite drink from Savannah). It was nice that both of us could drink, since we were only walking and taking the train. We found plenty of Gelatto shops, and heard lots of Italians speaking. It is noteworthy that Regensberg is considered the northernmost Italian City. While we were in one of the city squares, some German youths broke out some amplified accoustic guitars, and did an excellent, all-accoustic cover performance of 'Johnny Be Good'; i could hardly notice their accents. As we walked back to the train station, I heard them transition to Michael Jackson's 'Black or White', which was also all accoustic.
Here in Munich, we haven't done that much yet, so I'll blog about that later. We drove half a mile from our house to the train station, and it was a 2 hour train ride from Parsberg to Munich, all relaxing with beautiful views. We didn't have a car seat for Philip, so when he got antsy and tried running up and down the train, and took off my belt...and I used it as a seat belt to keep him in his seat. Upon arrival in Munich, we walked ten minutes to a very affordable hotel, and then started using the trolleys and underground. We'll post more later.
We would love to have visitors as well, so be sure to make some plans. Just within the area surrounding our house, there is plenty to do. On the weekends, you get can a Bavarian train pass, which would allow you unlimited access to Bavaria for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, for 5 people, for just 8.50 Euros, that's about 11 bucks. We are 3 hours from the Alps, 2 hours from Prague, etc.
Die Wurstkueche
Our new house
That is the old stone bridge behind us on the Danube River
