Monday morning was a trip to the bike store to drop off of Eric's bike. Lucky for me the man at the counter spoke a little English so I was able to drop Eric's bike off with no problem. Initially, he informed me they could not take his bike till next week since I did not have an appointment. I told him it was outside, and he mentioned it could be done by the end of the week. However, my bike cannot go in until end of next week to get a tune-up and have the brakes realigned as they are very busy since it is the start of summer and everyone here owns a bike. So it has been a week of walking for me.
My next stop was the grocery store. In one weekend, it has become full of African (Afrikan) inspired or soccer (Fussball) inspired food combinations as this upcoming weekend begins FIFA World Cup. In the picture you see African edition yogurt and the Fussball pudding has little soccerball pieces to mix in the vanilla pudding. There is also soccer mustard jars, gift boxes with African flavored sauces and marinades, drinks, etc.. the list goes on and on. M&M's even made a special package of German team colored m&ms (black, red, yellow) for the FIFA games. The girls found soup with the theme packaging --Safari Soup with African animal shaped noodles & Fussball Soup with soccer ball, soccer player and goal shaped noodles.
Throughout this week, the town store fronts and merchandise has also been inspired by FIFA. The marketing and advertising is just overwhelming. I thought Christmas was bad in the US, but between soccer, Africa and the German colors, it is unbelievable. Tuesday, Tchibo, a neat coffee and retail store, was carrying clothing made with African cotton and in African colors. The ladies were buying it up!
Wednesday was a beautiful day here which made my birthday even more enjoyable. We spent the morning at the market, the afternoon at the park, and the evening relaxing on the terrace. The girls had fun picking out different treats for us to eat all day long. We started with croissants filled with nutella (chocolate), then rhubarb and cherry crumble cake, and to top it off, black forest cake and a raspberry torte. Melanie and her girls also stopped by for evening treats. Surprise to me, Melanie brought a set of matches as I was mentioning to her I did not have anything to light a candle with. Melanie also surprised me with a little birthday cake and a Dr. Oetaker (famous German chef) baking book in English on how to make all of the various German desserts and treats we see in the bakeries and restaurants. I was delighted and am so thankful for her friendship. I am very excited to start baking. I just need to get back home to get more of my baking pans I left behind.
This week, we also had a playdate with a nice family who we were put in contact through an acquaintance. Teresa, their 5 year old daughter, and Adeline were playing great together throughout the playground even though they could not speak to each other. Teresa was in awe as this was the 1st time she had heard her mom speak English.
Call me Mrs. Fix-it as I was able to go to the Baumarkt (Home Depot) on Thursday morning and get the various nuts and bolts that were missing from the bikes and wagons. The girls helped me put the pieces on their equipment, so they can use them now. We are just waiting for Eric to come home and tighten them with his super strength.
Emmie is starting to pick up little German phrases and is asking for pretzels now when we see them in the bakery, which means she is adapting quite well. Adeline is hesitant about speaking German, but will do it to get a treat or correct Emmie on her pronunciation.
As mentioned before, this weekend begins FIFA World Cup games. There are numerous ads about associated activities going on throughout the weekend and large viewing areas like in Stuttgart. We will keep you posted on how the 1st weekend went.
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