Welcome to Ingolstadt

I'm grouping together a bunch of shots I have taken over that past almost two weeks.  I'll just narrate as I go along.  This is Makenna standing in our doorway.  If you go out the door to your right, you will see the many stone steps going down.  It really echoes in there.  We try to be quiet.  The first week was hot and humid and we all wore flip flops and it's hard to be quiet on stairs in flip flops.  But overnight the weather changed and shoes aren't so much the problem as happy, noisy kids.

This is the girls' domain.  Jessica's bad almost fits perfectly. (It has a slight slant at the top where it's wedged down.)  We did buy new mattresses for all the kids.  The apartment was only furnished with one bed that Matt and I share.  They picked their own sheets and summer deckes, but have their own pillows from home.  Of course George is with us.  He is joined with Shawn the Sheep that Matt found in Dubai.  

 Here is the hallway and Isaac trying to break his record of ping pong ball bounces (226 is current record).  Matt is in the background.  We bought a set of paddles and a couple balls to use at various parks.  Many have permanent tables set up to use.

The kids are in front of one of the city's castles.  This one is along the river and has big grassy ares and pretty flower bads.  There is also a small canal running through the grounds that kids like to splash in and adults like to soak their feet in on hot days as it runs down to the river.

By a pretty flower bed. 

JEss jumping around on a fountain, still by that same castle.

Matt didn't bring any shorts to Dubai except ones for exercise because he couldn't wear them to work.  Of course it was hot in Dubai. Very hot and very humid.  But everywhere also provided ample AC. So there were flashes of extreme heat as you went from building to car, and back.  Or if you were planning on hanging out at the beach, you just drip sweat. But in Germany, AC doesn't seem to exist in the vast majority of buildings.  Their cars have it, houses don't.  Nor does church.  The first Sunday was uncomfortably warm and sticky.  The open windows and several standing fans didn't even take the edge off.  We knew cool was coming.  We knew that by the next Sunday we would have a 30 degree drop. Sure enough, Friday as we were driving to Ramstein the car said it was 39.5 C which is well over 100 F.  But a storm blew in, it rained like crazy and the next morning it was 13 C as we left the Gasthous!  We left sweating and came back shivering. 

Isaac collapsed between sections of an old canon.  Ingolstadt has a big arms museum with artifacts from the last several hundred years housed in another old castle.  There is a huge moat going around it that is now grassy with many apple trees.  We haven't gone in yet.  We shoed up too close to closing time, so we just walked around outside.  

This is Sunday afternoon.  We had to get out of our hot attic home, so we went walking around the mostly empty Fußgängerzone.  The kids liked the spinning bench outside a favorite store.  Too bad we are trying NOT to buy anything.  There are cute kids clothes in the windows.  

Crossing the Danube.

This is how we start most days.  There are three bakeries within walking distance, but one is really close.  This is a picture of the walk back from our daily trip.  We pick up brötchen for lunch and often yummy things for breakfast as well, but that sweetie part is going to be cut down to a couple times a week.  Amerikaners, Schokohörnchen, and Berliners are not the healthiest way to start each day.  It's just a really tasty way to start it.

After a single Bäckerei visit, Jess was convinced that her day could not possibly be complete without a pretzel.  So usually we get a few of those as well, for snacks.

That's our rental car behind Matt.  It's easy to spy because it's not an Audi.  Ingolstadt is Audi's home and there are so so many.  The girls started counting them on the way home from buying their mattress our first day and stopped after they hit 60 in less than 5 minutes.  Our only question is, if they are so prevalent  why can't Hertz give us one?  

Trying another Eis Cafe.  We are all convinced that Gelatto ought to be part of each day.  I need to take a picture of our favorite spot.  It's a simple stand to pick up a few cones or cups and go walking.  umm, umm, good. 

This place made ice cream art.  Isaac had Kiwi Spaghetti. Makenna had a death by chocolate.  I had melon adorned with melon slices.  Jess had a kid creation topped with a kinder egg.  And Matt showed the kids what traditional Spaghetti Eis looked like. 

Isaac in front of his bed. 

Isaac showing the scale of the living room which shares space with the dining room and his bed. 

The girls room in action.  I am amazed and thrilled that they are able to create games and play with so few toys.  Thank goodness for great imaginations!

Makenna in the kitchen.  I never knew how much I used a microwave until now when I want to use one everyday and can't.  We have a the basics.  One pot, one frying pan, one sauce pan, one baking sheet that doubles as a lid when I need one, enough silverware to eat a meal at a time, same with bowls and plates.  There is a funny assortment of random sizes and colors of glasses and teacups, but I just double them as measuring cups and ladles.  We haven't cooked too much.  Pasta and sauce (from a Knorr package, with cream added) was the most involved. Oh, draining pasta is funny.  The sink has a draining section that I make sure is clean and then use as a strainer.  The girls aren't the only creative ones.  I did make fish in the oven and veggies on the stove last night   Isaac made bacon and eggs one morning, we did try oatmeal this morning and are planning on French Toast tomorrow, one small piece at a time, sprinkled with brown sugar granules or jam.  I'm grateful for the German small quantities at stores.  The opposite of Costco shopping.  I look at 200g of sugar and think, yes, we can use that up in two months.  You can see our food storage to either side of Makenna.  It also holds our laundry supplies and second semester school books, now.  Lunch is the easiest.  We almost always have brötchen with cheese and meat and some fresh fruit or veggies.  Good, right?  And while I'm talking food, the kids have rediscovered fun yogurt flavors like pineapple, orange, hazelnut, and some funny fruits that I don't know the name of, but can recognize by picture.  I'll have to look them up.  Jess and is actually remembering some things that surprise us.  She was only 3 when we left.  She remembers "Mousy Meat" from Aldi and the Pingui chocolate milk treats.  Kinder Eggs are the biggest incentive.  She will do a LOT of school for a Kinder Egg a day.  I think even more than the chocolate, they like having the possibility of a new little toy or puzzle to put together and play.  

Bathroom.  Pretty basic.  It didn't have a shower curtain at first, but Matt bought one before we got here. You have to hold the shower head, which is lame, but the water pressure is great.  

Another hallway picture?  Our room is to the left, bathroom right.  The next door down on the left is the living room which connects to the dining room directly behind Makenna.  The girls room is accessible from behind that back door.  At the end of hall on the right is the door to the stairwell to exit.  You can see a hint of the hall table which has become the dumping/catchall spot.  Under the table is a big pile of shoes.  

This is the Jess sized door to a yard down the street.  We pass it on the way to the close bakery.  I had to take a picture before she grows anymore.