Arrived.

Arrived. Arrived in Germany. In Schwabia. In the “Laendle”, how the Germans call it. Well, physically arrived. Not mentally yet. And all we see: Porsche & Daimler cars. Welcome to Stuttgart!

We arrived and summer has started – sunshine, 32C degrees and blue sky. All of that in repeat mode for the last 8 days. It’s wonderful! I don’t remember seeing so much blue and green in the last 3 years. It’s a feast for our eyes.

8 years abroad… quite a long time. We are experts for USA and China, not so much in Germany. We had and have to search a lot of things online… No surprise we found a few odd things in our first few days back in Germany:

⁃ you have to pay (1€) to use a baggage trolley in the airport. At least EC card payment is accepted. Where’s our driver Mr Xu, greeting us with a big smile and carrying all our suitcases? Missing him already.

⁃ The traffic lights are set up in a funny way: too close to see.

⁃ You need 50cent or 1€ to pull a grocery trolley in a supermarket… alternatively you try to not shop too much or keep groceries balanced on 2 arms.

⁃ We enter a Café or restaurant and we wait. And wait. Waiting to be seated… Until we notice that in Germany you find yourself a seat… and then we waited again: for the waiter to bring the bill… no screaming for the waiter like in China…

⁃ we have to drive again. And try to follow German rules… Well, hubby got already flashed… No calling Mr Xu to be picked up. Mr Xu, where are you? We miss you…

⁃ Recycling: it’s very complicated. In the last 8 years we had one! bin. Now we find 4: blue, brown, black & green. And have no glue what goes in which bin… WTF! We need a training (after a friendly reminder for “wrong” recycling from the airbnb landlord).

⁃ Bed duvets: 1 bed, 2 people, 2 separate duvets. One for hubby. One for me. We haven’t had that in 8 years.

⁃ A Chinese restaurant. So far nothing wrong. The name: Mr Xü. The funny part: Germany spelling Xu with “ü” for correct pronunciation. And it’s our drivers name. PS: we did not go inside, we are afraid of “germanized” Chinese food.

⁃ The airplane is about to land in Budapest and nobody is getting up to open baggage racks to be the first out – no Chinese guys on board.

But don’t worry there’s a lot of things we love 🙂

⁃ our first grocery shopping experience: we can read again (it’s all in German). We understand what’s inside the products. We find local products. We are impressed by the huge choice and affordable price for veggies and cheese… loving it.

⁃ The potatoes and I have the same name 😉

⁃ First dinner (and many more in the last few days): white asparagus with a local beef steak (happy cows from in and around Stuttgart).

⁃ Sitting in a beautiful garden, breathing fresh air and all we can see: green everywhere. What a panorama.

The street definitely deserves its name:

⁃ My favorite lettuce is already available: Feldsalat

⁃ showering with good quality water

⁃ Spontaneous BBQing with family & friends:

⁃ The dog loves to be outdoors (she tried already twice to run away…).

We were quite busy in the first days: we successfully registered ourselves, our dog has a new vet, a dog sitter and an European passport (ready for France). We finally purchased a car (more difficult than expected, emission control in Stuttgart…) and a motorbike. And our future town where we’ll life has a beautiful old castle.

We arrived in another new part of the world. It will take a while. It feels like another assignment abroad. And we have to figure out things first: where to buy, where to eat, etc. but we have time. And it’s fun. And thanks to the internet the integration goes fine.

Beside all the organizational things, it feels like being on holiday. We visited already quite a few beer gardens. And met already some family members, friends from around Stuttgart and around the world: Mexico. Stuttgart – der Nabel der Welt.

I also finished my handover to my Chinese successor with a trip to beautiful Budapest.

My laptop went back to China and I flew back to Stuttgart. 3 weeks vacation, the best time between the end of one assignment and the start of a new one.

Thanks to our amazing airbnb the first few days were not as shocking as expected 🙂 We are very much looking forward to move into our farmhouse.

We are off to the South of France: with the new car, the new motorbike and our dog Charlie – a Road Trip 🙂

Bon voyage!