we made it to germany! it is gorgeous...actually breathtaking - especially coming from las vegas. :) the hills are definitely alive and i've never seen happier grass-eating cows roaming free on bright green pastures. our house is beautiful and this is the view from our patio:
here's a photo of our surrounding area:
i feel as though we live in a children's storybook. it actually reminds me of the photos that they'd show of germany in your social studies book in middle school and you would think....man, like it's really like that...they need to update their textbooks. well, it's really like that. at least in rural germany... :) living here makes me understand the older residents of frankenmuth (my hometown) much more. in fact, i feel like i am living in a much smaller version of frankenmuth. orenhofen has two bakeries (i, of course, have been to both already), a meat store, and a pub that sometimes serves food. the bakeries are adorable and brant and i befriended one of the ladies when we stopped in for an anniversary morning pastry. she was tickled that we tried to speak german to her. the chocolate filled fluffy pasty is our new fave and we'll definitely be seeing her often.
we got our shipment of stuff from korea and unpacked for about a week. it was tiring, hot, and overwhelming. i've been sweating constantly for two weeks. it's actually just cooling off a bit this week and i'm fine, but being hot while unpacking, sorting, and setting up is not fun. especially since our house is three levels!
we visited a craft fair in the oldest city in germany, trier, over the 4th of july. it was super hot walking around, but we cooled off in a beer tent with some bratwurst, fries with mayo, and drinks. trier is really close and has a lot going on...not to mention they have an h&m. :) here's a pic of the town square:
we spent our fifth anniversary by taking a tour of the hospital where we'll deliver....st. elizabeth krankenhaus wittlich. it was scary walking in at first because it looked like a mental hospital - drab, dilapidated, freaky people milling around.... but when we met our "patient liaison" and ventured up to the ob/labor and delivery/postpartum area everything changed. the whole ob experience is "mother-centered". their goal is to make your experience as much like a home birth as possible. they ask you what you want and make sure they do whatever they can to help you. for appointments, you always see the head doctor (who speaks perfect english) for the appointment. midwives will deliver your baby unless problems arise. the labor and delivery area is so serene. the beds are huge fan shapes and are set up so that your partner or spouse can sit behind you. they have all sorts of apparatuses for you to use to make yourself more comfortable and encourage movement and delivery in whatever way you feel most comfortable. they have birthing balls, a birthing tub, squat bars, and the list goes on.... the postpartum area is where you can stay for as long as you want post-birth. i asked her how long you can stay there, and she said, "oh you leave when you are comfortable...if you want to stay 7 days because you don't feel ready yet, no problem...you choose." i was thinking...wait, is that okay with tricare (our insurance) and she said yes, no problem. not like i'd ever want to stay that long, but it's nice to know that they want you to make all these decisions. brant and i left feeling content with everything and so relieved that this fear of the unknown is now known. we're actually really, really excited now. i couldn't imagine a more perfect place for us to experience the birth of our first baby.
anyway....from there we went to brugge, belgium to celebrate our fifth anniversary. it was amazing. what a beautifully historic and charming belgian city. the cactus fest, their largest music fest, was there at the time. david gray, regina spektor, macy grey, and other hot bands were there. we tried to get last minute tickets, but ran out of time and went to another free outdoor concert instead. it was a hot weekend, but we just loved touring the city. we stayed at a bed and breakfast just north of the market center. the b&b only had three rooms (the most they can have in brugge) so we got quite personalized attention. the owner, paulie, and his partner run the place and it was in a brownstone on a cobblestone street. another couple from scotland was staying there as was a couple from london. we all at breakfast together both mornings in paulie's home which was on the bottom floor. sounds weird, but that was such a highlight. we loved talking to these people and paulie told us all the secrets of what to do and see in brugge. his place was charming, yet modern and he served us the freshest locally-made foods every morning. his b&b is the first in the city to earn the city's "eco-friendly" distinction. that was cool. we came home with belgian chocolates - oh yum - and a trunk full of different belgian beers. here are some photos of us in brugge:
we are now working on a nursery for the wild chinchilla (still constantly moving and large, strong movements that sometimes shake my whole body). we painted and bought some baby furniture from an ikea we found near the french border. on our way to belgium, we found another ikea and stopped and got the crib mattress. so slowly this room is coming together...when it looks more like a bedroom and less like a disaster zone, i'll post photos.
we started a birthing class with an english-speaking midwife at the hospital. it is sort of touchy-feely, but will definitely help us. she's really knowledgeable in pain management techniques and ways to ready yourself now for an easier labor. we have other friends in the class which makes it fun so we all look stupid together.
ok, this is getting insanely long.
love and miss you all,
sara
