After my last blog post we got some new information that I am hoping we can overcome. Internet. It is unclear if internet is available in the home, and if it is, what speed is available. Ugh. This. This is on the MUST have list. I will be working from home 5 days/week. Jay will be working at home ~2 days/week. Our TV will be streamed via internet. And the kids NEED it. Lily said, “Mom, I can survive 2 days without internet, but not 2 years.” So the #1 mission today was to get confirmation on the internet availability.

Jay met Uli and I first at the modern home so that he could see the neighborhood. While we could not go inside for a second showing, we could show him what I meant by the area around the home. It’s fine, everything’s fine….. I’m other words, it is an acceptable backup plan.

And then, we drove to Königstein. Driving into the village is kind of like driving into the foothills of a mountain town. No, it is nothing like Wyoming mountains, but there are tree-covered hills surrounding the town. Cobblestone streets. Tudor style buildings. Flowers in window boxes. Ice cream shoppe on one end of the Haupßtrause (Main Street), which is critical for Ty since he will no longer be able to raid Memaw’s ice cream supply. Cake (Kuchen) shop on the other end of the Haupßtrause. Italian restaurants, German restaurants, clothing shops, barber shop, nail salon…. Did I mention the castle that was built in 900 AD? You get the idea.

We first walked Jay around the outside of the home, so he could start to understand the “special factor”. He quickly understood. Then we met the realtor and she let us indoors. Jay walked through, and then the owners showed up. We were able to ask them questions, get answers, get to know them. They showed us where the telephone internet was wired into the home, and where the fiber optics high speed internet was recently installed into the electrical room that supports 3 homes. We could clearly see that unit 25 has high speed internet. And 25B did not. Well shoooooooot.

So we CAN get a landline, just much slower. I THINK it would be sufficient, but we all know the first time the internet is too slow for anyone in the home, I will catch all sorts of complaints. I am not ready to give up yet. I am trying to get the fiber company to go see if it is possible to wire the home with the high speed. And then need to decide if we say yes anyway. If any of my readers are network experts and want to comment on how much upload/download speed we absolutely need to live without Jay and the kids in a state of panic, feel free to comment. Landline is 125 mb/s, should be unlimited data. Will that be enough???

But, despite this minor bump in the road, Jay understood why I fell in love with the Königstein home. And he was on board with my choice – as long as we can get the internet confirmed. This is a big deal, because remember – the home does not have air conditioning. And is a farther drive for Jay. But he could picture our life there. And he saw how happy I was. Ladies, he’s all mine. So, it is not confirmed yet, there is a process for acceptance anyway, but I am hopeful!

Something I have to mention that is quite different than life in the US is constantly walking into a cloud of cigarette smoke. Driving down the road with the windows down. Car in front is smoking. Take the outdoor seating at a restaurant on a beautiful day. Breathe in the fresh ai…..cough cough….smoke. Walk out of a shop. Smoke in the face. This will take some getting used to.

Table Knocking. Another thing I learned is that in a professional setting, clapping after a presentation is not normal. Clapping after a theater performance – go for it! Bravo!! But in a professional setting, don’t do it. So how do you express a job well done? By knocking on the table. I found this out because on Thursday I did not have any home viewings scheduled, so I planned on working in the hotel room all day. Jay suggested that I go to the office and have lunch with him. I didn’t realize that I would also stick around for the next hour or so of his team’s meetings. I was so glad that I decided to go meet his team, put some faces to names that I have only interacted with over email, introduce myself and let them hear first hand that I want to get involved in the local unit however possible, and learn how to clap.

Weiner Schnitzel. Most of you probably know that Weiner Schnitzel is a very popular (and delicious) German food. I have had it a couple times this week. When I don’t know what else to order (thank goodness for Google Translate), the safe bet is Weiner Schnitzel. Weiner Schnitzel is NOT to be confused with the American nickname for the German dog – Dachshund (Badger Dog), aka Weiner Dog. I had mentioned to Uli earlier in the week that someday I would like to get a Dachshund. Uli is more of a German Shepherd sort of guy, so he said he would need to see a Dachshund to know what I was talking about. Today we were trying to find a parking spot and I saw someone walking a Weiner Dog on the sidewalk. I shouted, “Uli look!! There is a Weiner Schnitzel!!!“. I immediately realized my mistake and we both busted out in laughter. I mean Weiner Hund! Dachs Hund!!!!

Yellow stop lights. In the US, stoplights go from Green to Yellow to Red. Then from Red to Green. In Germany, stoplights go from green to yellow to red (same). And from red to yellow to green (different). Most vehicles have engine stop/start technology, which takes a second or two to go from stopped (engine off) to start (engine on). The yellow light before green is a way to be ready to roll as soon as the light turns green.

After a pretty successful week, Jay and I have transitioned into weekend mode, and are sneaking in a couple kid free “vacation” days in Frankfurt before we fly back to the US. We can relax a bit after feeling like we accomplished quite a lot in a short period of time. We arrived a week ago with a million questions. We don’t quite have a million answers, but feel like we know how to find answers to what remains.

Auf Wiedersehen!