I love a parade!

This weekend was the annual Lanternenfest here in Bad Homburg. Although we didn't participate in any of the carnival activities, we still enjoyed the parade that went down our street both Saturday and Sunday nights.

And so you feel like you've experienced a German parade, with Brandon by your side, here you go:



(Sorry it's so dark, but hopefully you can make it out.)

Mainz

We spent the afternoon in the town of Mainz and took a lot of pictures. Here's a sample--it's a beautiful city!

It ain't easy to go to church

In theory, to get to the nearest LDS church from where we live we just hop on the train, get off after two stops, walk a few blocks and you're there. The church building is right next to the Frankfurt Temple, so we figured we'd just see the steeple in the distance and walk toward it. Simple, ja?

Nein.

We got off the train (no steeple in sight) and went down the wrong street, but then found a street that looked like the name of the street that we wanted, so we followed that one for awhile until we figured that wasn't right either.... Forty-five minutes later we knew we were lost. Luckily, two nice German men who spoke enough English to know that we were looking for the "Mormon Temple," kindly showed us the way.

We got to church two hours late--partly because we got lost and partly because we thought it started at the wrong time--but at least we made it! It'll only be easier next week, right?

Frankfurt

We knew our first trip into Frankfurt would be memorable: Our first taste of German sausages from a street vendor and our first German pastries. Oh, it was good!

And the town's cool, too.


Outside of the train station in Bad Homburg...


...and waiting for the train to Frankfurt.

When we exited the subway in downtown Frankfurt, there was a band playing this! We thought we'd taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up back in the States! Yes, Frankfurt seems just like America. If you don't pay any attention to this...



or this...


or this across the river...


...or any of these other pictures.


Seriously cool building and one hot husband.


This was one of the few buildings that was still standing in Frankfurt after WWII.


We're unknowingly sitting in front of ancient Roman baths that have been excavated. That's what happens when you can't read the German signs.

Yeah, Frankfurt is our kind of city.

Explorations

Don't worry. I'm not going to give a daily run-down while we're abroad. I mean, I've got other things to do, you know? But the last couple of days in Bad Hamburg (did I mention that's the suburb where we're living?) we did some further exploring and, well, had a good time doing it. So I thought I'd share.


Here's the previously mentioned Russian Orthodox church built by Czar Nicholas I. Pretty, eh?


All the people in their signs are very well dressed.


Yes, we're here. Creepy...


Buddhist Temple (can you feel the cultural experience?)


But that's the only kind of bike I ride!




It's a church.


Pretty building, nein?

We're Here!

Yes, at last, we arrived in Germany with nary a mishap. How I wish I had taken a picture of the three of us in the airport with our ridiculous pile of luggage--5 checked bags, 1 carry on bag, 1 diaper bag (including 1 child-sized backpack), 1 car seat, 1 pack-n-play, and 1 stroller. We had to do some last-minute rearranging with our luggage (and buy another bag to compensate), but luckily we managed to check it all in without paying any extra fees.

H slept several hours on the flight over [insert angels singing here] and we were able to get through customs and baggage claim without a hitch, as well. [A small word about customs: I was expecting a good Russian-style look over by the official and then many communications back and forth between other officials (giving me ample time to sweat about whether they would let me in the country) before finally getting the ok stamp in my passport. Today, I felt like I was cheating the system when the German official behind the glass barely gave me a look before letting me go. Am I only suspicious-looking to Russians? Or am I especially innocent-looking to Germans?] Our ride was even waiting for us at the airport and, after a short ride to Bad Homburg, we arrived at our apartment.

A few things from our first day that make us anticipate our next few months with increasing relish:

• At the airport, while trying to figure out the car's GPS after arriving in Frankfurt, a German man opened the driver's-side door to chew us out (in German, of course). I'm guessing he wanted our parking spot.


• We found, within short walking distance from our apartment, both a Russian convenience store and a Russian Orthodox church. It's nice to have a few familiar things close by.


• While Brandon was taking our trash out to our apartment building's dumpster, he happened upon a woman peeing on the ground. 

 Welcome to Germany.

We've been busy, and it's only going to get worse....

It's been a crazy couple of weeks: Felicia and Kiddo flew across the country to hang out with family while Brandon studied for and took the Bar. Brandon then flew across the country to meet us and we enjoyed a couple of impromptu family reunions. And now we're back in Arlington with packing to do, a car to sell, and time ticking away until we fly outta here. But aside from all the busy-ness, we're really excited for this new adventure. I'm already practicing my Guten Tag!