Living in Duisburg

Here are a few things we are learning and doing 
as we are getting used to living in Duisburg

It rains a lot!  We now see why Dusseldorf is called "Drizzledorf".  But, the sun peaks out too and we have seen many beautiful rainbows.  We thought we would look for a pot of gold in the grocery store!

The slugs come out after it rains.  Slugs look like a combination of a worm and a snail.  We think this is what might have made Charlie sick.  He loves worms at home, so he probably thought he could handle a slug!

But we are happy Charlie is feeling better!  He is back to chasing bunnies and butterflies.

Jack is making use of our bidet.  He figured it was a great way to wash his feet!

We felt a little more at home this week-end when our cousins came to visit.  I actually forgot I was in Germany for a little while.

Thanks to Mark shipping his gigantic supply of Diet Mountain Dew, Alex was able to enjoy one!

Vivian and Hope had fun slug hunting!

 We had an awesome time with family! (Scott, Beth, Kris, & Mark)

 Jack had fun playing video games with Alex.  

We went to an American brunch with another
JCI family at a fitness center right around the corner.  

We went bowling while we were there too.

Our first days in Germany

Highlights from the first five days in Germany.

1. Kris figured out how to drive to the store, use the shopping cart, pay with debit card, and get yelled at by German grocery store clerk for not following the rules.  Oh well, I couldn't understand her so it wasn't a big deal.

2. Vivian made friends with the German neighbor girl named Kay whose family has been super nice and helpful.  They brought over a welcome gift basket full of food, juice, and goodies!

3. There are awesome biking and walking trails by our house, a playground in our neighborhood, and a field right behind our house that we take Charlie to run free chasing butterflies.

4. We visited Legoland in Duisburg on Saturday and shopped at IKEA for some more home goods.

5. We went boating in Dusseldorf on Sunday afternoon.  OK, not the swimsuit boating that we are used to in July.  But, we went with another JCI family out for lunch at an outdoor restaurant along the Rhine River.  Then we took a river cruise on the Rhine and visited the Imperial Castle in Kaiserswerth.

Vivian and Meghan on Rhine riverboat cruise

Wakeboarder on the Rhine! 

Mark and Kris on the cruise

 Imperial Castle in Kaiserswerth.  It was destroyed, but ruins were preserved and

many of the stones in the rubble were used to build the city of Kaiserswerth.

Jack and Jacob on one of the castle walls.

But I have to admit, there were some down times too.  The biggest ones being that neither of our shipments have arrived, Charlie has been sick for a couple days, and the whole adjustment with living here is tough.  All in all, we are doing good.  Hopefully it will feel more like home soon.  We are looking forward to my cousin Beth and her family coming to visit next weekend.

We made it!

We were blessed with safe travels and we made it to Dusseldorf as scheduled.  The kids made it this time without throwing up in the car or plane.  Yea!  It took two rental cars to get all of us and our bags home.  It was my first time driving in Germany and it has been a while since I have driven a stick shift.  I still need to learn what all the traffic signs mean!!!  Good thing for navigation and the fact that we only live about 10 minutes from the airport.  We found Charlie at the airport after making some wrong turns and asking about five people how to find our dog.  He did fine and was excited to see us.  He likes our house with many windows and a nice yard.  So far, the people here have been friendly and helpful.  The neighbor offered  to let Mark use his drill to hang some window treatment in our bedrooms.  Good thing - because Jack is still sleeping after 13 hours!  I hope to get a cell phone soon.  It feels quite weird without a cell phone and our home phone doesn't seem to be working right.  Mark already headed to work today, so I feel kind of lost without a phone.  Thank goodness that the internet is up and running so I feel somewhat connected!  Please keep in touch, Kris