Mainz, Germany
I'm home. We're pretty much moved into the new apartments, and the pile of boxes in the dining room is shrinking daily. And the place is lovely. It's easily the nicest apartment that I've ever moved into.
It's been a busy week. Monday was spent shuttling carloads of stuff from the old place to the new one. Tuesday started early when two burley, tattooed movers with no hair showed up to move the heavy things. It's a bit different moving here, compared to the US. We moved Everything! Light fixtures, countertops, appliances even the kitchen sink. It all came with us from the old place to the new one. It's fairly common here in Germany, but I found it a bit surprising. I spent most of my time keeping out of the movers' way, as they spoke no German, so I wasn't much of a help.
The past two days have been spent unpacking and figuring out the layout of our new place. We've got most of the kitchen set up, and it looks great. A few cabinets still need to be hung and the stove isn't working yet, but we're nearly there.
Eva's bought all of our bedroom furniture on ebay, and we're still waiting to get most of it, which I believe takes place tomorrow. We've got the bed, just not the box spring yet, so the mattress is still on the floor. Our bedroom is actually two rooms, the front one will be our sitting room, with our closet space as well as a desk and comfortable chair for studying and reading. The back one is simply for the bed, which will be Eva's dream bed, the one she's wanted for years.
The one weird part of the place is that the only shower is off our bedroom which means Julia, Eva's best friend, and our roommate must pass through every time she needs to take a shower. Apart from that though, the place is wonderful. 20' ceilings, large windows so that the entire place feels light during the day, tons of floor space.
Our final roommate, Jolie the cat, is having a ball. She hid in Julia's closet on the first day, overwhelmed by all the people andt he new surroundings. The next day, she grew adventurous, and slowly made her way through the entire apartment, nosing her way into every box, over, under and into everything she could find. She's also found the window ledge which provides her with never ending entertainment with people strolling along our street, as well as the craftsment placing the new cobblestones. The old place had no such view, so we feel she's going to love this place, that and enough room for her to get up to a full sprint.
The apartment is right in the heart of the old part of Mainz. The cathedral is a block away, and it's bells are clearly heard in the apartment. Our street is in the process of being recobbled, and when it's finished, it should look amazing. We're on the second floor of our building, the first has a restaurant in it, a traditional German place, with a decent menu. We've trooped downstairs for dinner our first night.
Mainz itself is simply a pretty town. It reminds me of Avignon with its city walls and being on a river. The Rhine instead of the Rhone, but pretty close, I mean one vowel's difference. Gutenberg was from here, and so, I would imagine is the first printing press. I've come to the heart of the Reformation. There's also a church in town whose windows were done by Marc Chagall.
So, I'm happy. Content. Each day is an adventure. The week has flown by. Eva's just gone to work, so Julia and I are off to the Sandbox to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. The Sandbox is called the Beach here in Mainz, but if there's not water on one side, I'd call it a sandbox, for adults. It is on the edge of the Rhine, at least.
It's been a busy week. Monday was spent shuttling carloads of stuff from the old place to the new one. Tuesday started early when two burley, tattooed movers with no hair showed up to move the heavy things. It's a bit different moving here, compared to the US. We moved Everything! Light fixtures, countertops, appliances even the kitchen sink. It all came with us from the old place to the new one. It's fairly common here in Germany, but I found it a bit surprising. I spent most of my time keeping out of the movers' way, as they spoke no German, so I wasn't much of a help.
The past two days have been spent unpacking and figuring out the layout of our new place. We've got most of the kitchen set up, and it looks great. A few cabinets still need to be hung and the stove isn't working yet, but we're nearly there.
Eva's bought all of our bedroom furniture on ebay, and we're still waiting to get most of it, which I believe takes place tomorrow. We've got the bed, just not the box spring yet, so the mattress is still on the floor. Our bedroom is actually two rooms, the front one will be our sitting room, with our closet space as well as a desk and comfortable chair for studying and reading. The back one is simply for the bed, which will be Eva's dream bed, the one she's wanted for years.
The one weird part of the place is that the only shower is off our bedroom which means Julia, Eva's best friend, and our roommate must pass through every time she needs to take a shower. Apart from that though, the place is wonderful. 20' ceilings, large windows so that the entire place feels light during the day, tons of floor space.
Our final roommate, Jolie the cat, is having a ball. She hid in Julia's closet on the first day, overwhelmed by all the people andt he new surroundings. The next day, she grew adventurous, and slowly made her way through the entire apartment, nosing her way into every box, over, under and into everything she could find. She's also found the window ledge which provides her with never ending entertainment with people strolling along our street, as well as the craftsment placing the new cobblestones. The old place had no such view, so we feel she's going to love this place, that and enough room for her to get up to a full sprint.
The apartment is right in the heart of the old part of Mainz. The cathedral is a block away, and it's bells are clearly heard in the apartment. Our street is in the process of being recobbled, and when it's finished, it should look amazing. We're on the second floor of our building, the first has a restaurant in it, a traditional German place, with a decent menu. We've trooped downstairs for dinner our first night.
Mainz itself is simply a pretty town. It reminds me of Avignon with its city walls and being on a river. The Rhine instead of the Rhone, but pretty close, I mean one vowel's difference. Gutenberg was from here, and so, I would imagine is the first printing press. I've come to the heart of the Reformation. There's also a church in town whose windows were done by Marc Chagall.
So, I'm happy. Content. Each day is an adventure. The week has flown by. Eva's just gone to work, so Julia and I are off to the Sandbox to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. The Sandbox is called the Beach here in Mainz, but if there's not water on one side, I'd call it a sandbox, for adults. It is on the edge of the Rhine, at least.
posted by Bob Stein at 7:35 AM
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