opera singers on the move

Hey all! Ok enough chit-chat, let's get down to business. This is a busy week for us: Brenda is in her final week of rehearsals for the Tales of Hoffman, I started German classes yesterday and we are moving into a new apartment. Usually I have quite a bit of free time on my hands here in good old Deutschland but this week everything is happening at the same time.

We love our new apartment. Brenda was kind enough to take a few pictures of the new place but, since we're still sleeping at the old place, our internet connection isn't fast enough for me to post them to the blog. I will post some pics later this week.

On Saturday we had a great time picking out some new furniture at Ikea. At the top of our list was a bed, a couch and a kitchen table (with chairs). We succeeded in picking out all of the above and were able to buy the bed and table but the couch is on back order. The bed and table arrived at our new place today. I was in class when the items arrived but Brenda and Florian were at the apartment to receive our new purchases. Somehow Brenda suckered Florian into putting together the kitchen table and all 4 chairs as well as wiring in three ceiling lights throughout the apartment. When I got to the apartment after class we tackled the bed. If you've ever bought anything from Ikea then you know, putting their products together involves a little more than 15 minutes and a screwdriver. Florian, Marlar, Brenda and I spent somewhere around 2 hours putting the bed together. Of course, pizza and beer may have slowed the process down but at least morale was high.

My German class is pretty intense. I'm there for 3 and 1/2 hours, 5 days a week. My impression after the first two days of class is that my German is far worse than I thought it was. However, it seems to be better than many of my classmates' German but that is little consolation. I'm committed to the class for the next 3 weeks. I'm not sure if I'll continue beyond that point.

Brenda's opera premieres on Sunday. I'm super excited to see it and it seems like Brenda is just as excited to perform it. I'll tell you all about it in next week's entry. Until then, I hope you have a great week!

and finally, the pictures

Hey All! Here are a few photos taken in recent weeks. Enjoy!

Grüne Soße - a Frankfurt original.

Florian's first attempt at making this traditional Frankfurt dish turned out to be a big success. Once Brenda and I are in our new apartment we will have to try to make it ourselves.

Scrabble auf Deutsch

Brenda even won the 2nd game!

A snapshot taken in Dresden. I think it speaks for itself.

Marlar and Brenda enjoying a beautiful day at an apple orchard.

Have a great week!

Fall is in the air

Hey All! I had better just come out and say it, there will not be any pictures posted this week. Well, at least there won't be any pictures posted today (maybe I'll put some up before the next post). The thing is, our connection to the internet hasn't been very strong since we got back in August. Our friends, (and, I'm sad to say, former neighbors) Barb and Michael, were kind enough to loan us an internet stick so that we might stay connected to the internet while we're in between apartments. Brenda and I, downloaders that we are, have used up the downloading limit that the internet stick allows and are only able to access the internet at a very slow speed. (Think dial-up modem speeds.) Therefore, if I were to try to upload a picture, I could very likely see you in person before the picture ever makes it on to the interwebs. If I get a chance, though, I'll run to Starbucks and use their free internet to post some pics.

Brenda's work schedule has been rather full lately. Her show goes up in just a couple of weeks and, it seems to me, she is ready to go. We were both struggling with colds last week but we're finally on the mend and the show can go on. Brenda's rehearsals have been happening almost daily and, from what I hear, things are coming together nicely. I'm rather excited to see Brenda in her costume. Don't worry, I will take pictures.

Last week, Brenda and I had a first - we played German Scrabble. Florian and Marlar had us over for a nice evening of curry and, after dinner, we busted out Scrabble. I have a picture to post of Brenda and the board but I'm afraid that will have to wait until a later date. I think that, all things considered, Brenda and I did a good job with German Scrabble. We weren't amazing but we held our own and we came up with several words that surprised me.

On Saturday, Brenda and I ordered in delicious Indian food with Barb and Michael. We always enjoy spending time with them and we particularly enjoyed seeing the old neighborhood. We're excited to move to Sachsenhausen but we will definitely miss our cosy street (and great neighbors) in Nordend.

On Sunday, Brenda went with two of our friends, Marlar and Elza, to an apple orchard. They had a wonderful time walking through the fields and buying fresh apples, strawberries and apple wine. It seems as though fall has arrived in Frankfurt.

One week from today Brenda and I will be moving into our new apartment. We can't wait. Our current apartment has been great but we're looking forward to making this new place our own. We're even planning on putting pictures on the wall if you can imagine that. We'll post pictures of the new place as soon as we can.

That's all I've got for now. I hope you have a great week!

Dresden

Hey all! I hope you all had a great weekend. We certainly did because we went to Dresden! On Saturday, after Brenda and Florian finished their rehearsal, we hopped in Florian's car and headed east. After around four and a half hours we arrived at our destination with enough time to eat something before the show. "What show?" you ask. Well, we went to Dresden to see our friend Christoph perform the role of the Count in the Marriage of Figaro.

The beautiful Semperoper in Dresden.

If you care to learn more about it you can do so here.

The musical part of the performance was outstanding and Christoph was easily one of the best singers in the cast. Music aside, it was really a pleasure to sit in such a beautiful opera house and enjoy the incredible craftsmanship that went into making such an impressive building.

Mehrnaz and Christoph

After the performance we returned to Christoph and Mehrnaz' place, where we stayed for the night. Mehrnaz is Christoph's wife and Brenda and I met her for the first time that day at the opera house. We had a wonderful (wonnevoll) evening getting to know Mehrnaz and we had plenty of opportunity to use our German skills.

The next morning, Christoph and Mehrnaz invited over two other friends and made breakfast for all of us. The two other friends, Aaron and Annie, happen to be Americans. Aaron is a tenor who works at the Semperopera and he and Annie are starting their 2nd season in Germany this year.

Annie and Brenda

the boys

(in case you hadn't figured it out, that's Aaron on the right)

Sunday afternoon we did a bit of sightseeing and discovered how beautiful Dresden really is. I have been wanting to visit Dresden ever since I read Slaughterhouse-Five and am very glad we had the opportunity to go this weekend. Unfortunately, our time in Dresden was limited to 24 hours since Brenda and Florian actually have jobs. We look forward to returning sometime soon.

In other news, it looks as though the apartment in Sachsenhausen is going to work out. I'll feel more confident about it once we sign a contract but, until then, Brenda and I are both happy that we don't have to worry about apartment hunting anymore.

I hope you all are doing great and I will talk to you next week!

Blogging in the rain

Our new coffee maker. YAY!

Hey all! It's your favorite Iowan-living-in-Germany blogger (I'm counting on limited competition) coming at you once again with the news of the week. We are, at this point, still without a long-term apartment. The good news is, however, we have an appointment to meet with the owner of the apartment in Sachsenhausen on Friday. If that doesn't work out then we'll get back to scouring apartment websites.

We went to our first opera of the season on Saturday night. Florian, our good friend and avid blog reader, performed the title role in the Marriage of Figaro at Oper Frankfurt. The production was a revival from a past season which, by the way, Brenda and I had both seen on previous occasions. It was, nonetheless, an exceptional evening of opera with superb performances by everyone in the cast.

I am currently searching for an affordable language school in order to improve my German language skills. It seems that I'm at a somewhat awkward stage in terms of my proficiency. In general, I know enough to figure out what people are saying and can respond in relatively coherent sentences. I'm far from perfect, however, and I'd like to continue to improve. From what I've discovered so far, German classes are quite expensive. I may have found one option that is affordable but we'll have to see if it pans out. I'll keep you posted.

Brenda is at rehearsal right now for the Tales of Hoffman. She's still a few weeks out from the premiere but it sounds like rehearsals are going smashingly. Many of our good friends are in the show so I think Brenda is having a great time at work. By the way, there is a chance that we'll be going to Dresden this weekend and, if we do, I'll tell you all about it in the next post. Until then, have a great week!

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!