Hallo.

Hi everyone. We did arrive safely to Germany on January 3 (in a snowstorm) and we are just now getting close to feeling as though we are settling in. We were in temporary housing until 1/22, when our sea shipment finally arrived and we were able move into our permanent apartment. We got our phone and personal internet service hooked-up within the last week, so I am just now trying to reconnect with the rest of the world.

Given the weather (worst temps and snow in over 30 years for here) and circumstances, I have spent many more hours at the local IKEA, Saturn (electronics), and Obi (Germany's version of Home Depot) than I have on a bike. Since German apartments/houses come with absolutely no lights (just dangling wires from the ceiling), no closets, no cabinets, no kitchens, no curtain rods, etc., most of my free time has been spent shopping and making our place livable. As well, pretty much every electronic item we use (except for our laptop) needed to be purchased given Satellite Converter box, Washer, Dryer, Coffee Maker, Microwave, Iron, and an assortment of lights that I will have no use for when we move back. (Andreas - are you listening? Maybe we can arrange a futures swap contract whereby I'll give you all these appliances for your TT bike :-)

In short we are adjusting quickly and overall enjoying ourselves. However, living here is quite different than just coming here for short business trips. There are a number of little things that pose the biggest day-to-day challenges. The girls have been in school since 1/5 and enjoy it most of the time. They have their moments when they get homesick, but overall they are liking their new surroundings and making new friends. Ellen is keeping busy, as well, and is starting to meet and hang out with a group of other ex-patriot wives who are mostly from England, Belgium, and the U.S. In addition, a couple of work colleagues/friends from Germany and the U.S. have really helped us out with day-to-day matters and have included us in their social activities. So we are keeping busy to say the least.

In future postings, I hope to focus more on riding related updates, but the picture I included pretty much summarizes the weather around here and why I don't yet have many riding adventures to speak of. This was taken last Saturday while driving on the Authobahn. That said, I did take the cross-bike out for spin on the Rhein just a day after this storm. I will give you these details in a later posting.

Bis später