How much for that stove?

Hey All! Week 2 back in Frankfurt has begun and it feels like we're headed right into fall. Things have been cool (highs in the mid 60s) and we've been seeing a lot of clouds but that's typical for Frankfurt. The temperature has been perfect for me but I would guess that Brenda doesn't share my enthusiasm for the cool temps.

Our search for a new home continues. We looked at a very nice two-room apartment in Sachsenhausen (a neighborhood in the southern part of town) a few days ago and are waiting to hear back. The location is great (it's close to the opera house) and the price is right. Keep your fingers crossed for us, or as the Germans say, press your thumbs.

Renting an apartment in Germany is different from renting a place in the US in one major way; your apartment might not come with a kitchen. It is very common, more often than not it seems, that people moving into apartments have to buy their own kitchens and have them installed. When it comes time to move out people take their kitchens with them or sell them to the next tenant, which would be the case if we moved into this place in Sachsenhausen. Just to give you an idea, a new kitchen can run you anywhere from a few thousand to more than 10 thousand euro depending on how nice it is. Brenda and I would prefer not to buy a kitchen if at all possible but, in the case of this apartment, we think it's worth it.

People looking for apartments in Frankfurt often have to go through a realtor. A realtor in Frankfurt charges almost 2.5 times a months rent as a finders fee which would, most likely, be over 2000 euro if we used one. We're trying to avoid that at all costs which is one of the reasons we are so interested in getting this apartment; it isn't being rented through a realtor.

Other than apartment hunting, things are moving along as usual. We've started watching the TV series Lost and I'm not completely sold on it yet. Also, I just finished reading a book that I loved called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I highly recommend it to anyone that eats.

And one last thing, you're probably wondering what's happening to Brenda's lovely face in the pictures above. Well, Brenda had to have a mold of her face made by the opera house so they can clone her. Strange but true. On a side note, if anyone wants to go as Brenda for halloween we're going to be selling masks of her likeness in order to pay for our new kitchen.

That's about all I've got for this week. I hope you are all well and I'll talk to you next week!

new season, new digs

Hey all! As you know we are back in Frankfurt am Main and we have a new place to live. We decided we wanted a change of scenery and so we are on the lookout for a new apartment. Until we find the flat of our dreams, however, we are staying in this very nice short-term rental apartment. Please enjoy the pics below.

We went to the foreigners office (Ausländerbehörde) today to get our visas all sorted out. Wouldn't you know it, someone at their office made a mistake and so we have to go back again sometime in the coming weeks. We are hoping that Brenda gets documentation saying we can stay in Frankfurt for the next three years. That way, at least, she wont have to go back every year for new papers. As I'm sure you know, I have to go to the foreigners office every time I get a job. The very sweet lady we met with today said she is going to try to get me some sort of special visa that wont make me come back in so frequently. I'm not holding my breath. The funny thing is, the woman that helped us at the foreigner's office is marrying an American in the next few weeks and will be moving to North Carolina in 2 months. That means she is going through the exact same thing we are going through just with the US instead of with Germany. She'll get to be the foreigner jumping through the various governmental hoops for a change.

Brenda has started rehearsals for the Tales of Hoffman and, so far, everything is going splendidly. She will be doing a lot of dancing during her aria which is heavily inspired by Beyonce's Single Ladies. It should be a lot of fun.

Well, there's not too much else going on. I hope you all are great and I'll talk to you next week!

Check back tomorrow

Hey all! We've been busy with jet-lag and other stuff the past couple of days so I haven't had time to write a proper blog. Check back tomorrow, though, and I'll try to have something for you then. Until then, have a great night!

and we're back

Hey All! Just a quick note to let you know that we made it back to Frankfurt and are now fighting to stay awake until 10 pm tonight. We will conquer jet lag one of these days. Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you next week!

git along, little doggies

Hey All! It's Tuesday (aka back-up blog day) and I'm happy to report that we've really been enjoying our time in Iowa. Last Tuesday we went to Iowa City and had lunch with my undergraduate voice teacher, Stephen Swanson. We had a great time catching up with him and I did my best to talk him into visiting us in Frankfurt. After lunch we went and saw my cousin Lacey and her family. We enjoyed taking a tour of their new house and seeing how big their boys are getting.

On Saturday, my parents took us to the farmer's market in Des Moines. I hadn't ever been to the farmer's market before in spite of the decades it's been running. A friend of mine who I hadn't seen since high school has a stand there and we enjoyed catching up with her.

Mom, Brenda and I at the farmer's market in Des Moines.

Every time we come back to Ankeny eating breakfast at CJ's Bagels is a must. My grandmother has eaten many a breakfast there and is somewhat of a celebrity among those that frequent CJ's. We've already been there twice this trip and I wouldn't be surprised if we find ourselves there again before we leave. Below is a picture of my mom at CJ's with my adorable nephew, Noah.

On what must have been one of the hottest days of the summer, my parents, Brad, Brenda and I all put on our spikes (some of us figuratively) and went golfing. This was the second round of golf Brenda has ever played and it's safe to say that she's a natural. We played four person best shot (Brad played his own game) and we used quite a few of Brenda's shots. If she ever decides to make a career change I'm going to encourage her to pursue professional golf.

Brenda mid-swing at Toad Valley golf course.

Brenda and I have been talking about going up to Osage and riding horses for a couple of years now and yesterday we finally did it. For those of you who don't know, Osage is the town where my mother grew up and we still have a lot of family there. My uncle Mark was kind enough to let us ride Bonita and Roxy (two of his horses) around his beautiful new acreage. I wish I could tell you that I was a natural at commanding the 1100 pound animal but I'm afraid that, for the most part, Bonita only walked when she felt like it. Mark and my parents kept encouraging me to kick Bonita harder but I was hesitant to do so seeing as I was trying to stay on her good side. Brenda and I rode for around an hour and afterwards both agreed that the soreness was well worth it.

Brenda and I atop our noble steeds.

Our summer vacation is finally winding down. We leave for Frankfurt on Friday which means that my next blog post shall be written in Deutschland. We've had a great vacation and we are very thankful that we got to see those of you that we could. For those of you that we didn't see, you'll just have to come visit us in Germany! Until next time, have a great week.

Rainy Iowa

Hey all! Here we are in thundering Iowa. The past two nights have been alive with thunder, lightning and a whole lot of rain. We even had some power outages. Luckily the electricity is back up and running and it's time to blog.

We are less than two weeks away from returning to Frankfurt and we're enjoying what's left of our vacation. Our time in Minneapolis was wonderful. Too short, of course, but it's always great to be with Laura (and Amadeus) and to see Dan and Whitney. I've included a few pics from Minneapolis below.

Brenda and Ama

The crew heading out on the town.

Our time in Ankeny so far has included quite a bit of singing. Brenda and I sang a duet on Sunday at the church I grew up in. It was "The Prayer", a duet made famous by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. Brenda has also been learning a role in "The Tales of Hoffman" for the start of the season in Frankfurt. It's a new production and rehearsals begin a few days after we return to Germany.

The twins on the road.

Tomorrow we head to Iowa City for a day trip. Other than that we have very few definitive plans for our time in Iowa. We will be headed to Osage next week and I'm sure we'll find ourselves at the state fair at some point. Whatever we end up doing, I'll be sure to tell you about it next Monday. Until then, have a great week!

Number 100

Hey All! We made it to sweltering Minneapolis. Our time in Door County was great. Laura joined us after a couple of days and she camped while Brenda and I enjoyed the comforts of an air conditioned hotel room. We all went to the drive-in together, canoed together (I might have accidentally flipped over the canoe...), went mini-golfing (see below) and happily checked off all of the other things on our to-do list. A real highlight was sitting around the campfire listening to Laura serenade us with her guitar (see below).

On Saturday we went to a beautiful wedding. A couple of Brenda and Laura's friends got married by a picturesque lake in northeastern Wisconsin. It was great to be part of their special day and to partake of their taco bar.

We are now staying with Laura in Minneapolis and it is HOT here. We're having a great time in spite of the heat and have been able to spend a lot of time with our good friends Dan and Whitney. On a side note, Whitney works at an optical store and she offered to test my eyes to see whether or not I need glasses. It turns out that I do. I just hope that they make frames that are big enough to fit my head.

Before I sign off I should mention that this is our hundredth post on the blog. Thanks to all of you who read the blog. We really appreciate it and we look forward to posting the next hundred entries. Until next time, have a great week!