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March 2005: 31 22 21 16 14 5 4 3
January February April May June July August September October November December
31 March 2005
So many things to talk about, so I'll keep it relatively short...
Last Friday was a holiday so I went with my host Rich to Münstertal to a wood carver's home (holzschnitzerei)
and also visited a monastery(Sankt Trudpert).
Sunday I attended BFCF for Easter Service and then joined friends for brunch. I brought the Speck (bacon).
Monday I visited Frank & Ursula with Klaus. It was our first big road trip in my Guacamole Mobile ...
my green minivan... Frank has been a pen-pal since 1987 when I first met him through my missionary friends
Kim & Jenny. Klaus was well-behaved and rewarded with a nice hard-boiled Easter Egg.
Today I signed the papers for an apartment in Bad Krozingen... Tomorrow we do a walk-through to look for
any current damages, however minimal, so that I don't have to fix anything I didn't break to receive my Kaution
(security deposit) back if I ever move out...
Being I can't currently post anything on my web page I found an outlet in a fun little site called dogster.com.
Klaus now has his own page so click on the Dogster logo below... Feel free to leave him a bone...
Container Update: New Arrival Date of April 14 in Bremen... Looks like I'm borrowing a few things for a while...
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22 March 2005
Today I went to Freiburg to take a placement test for German language school. To my surprise I didn't have to
take a test, but can move up to a higher level if the first level is too easy. I filled out all the paperwork and received
the bill and was on my way…
On the way back on the train I was accompanied by a group of kindergarteners coming back from a field trip to
Freiburg . They were quite noisy and full of energy, so that kept me alert. After they got off the train I soon fell
fast asleep! The next thing I knew I heard the announcement that the next stop was Auggen… the next stop was
Schlingen… I was soon wide awake, realizing I had missed my stop in Müllheim and was two towns south of
Müllheim! I got off in Schlingen and headed back north on the next train… My first extra adventure on the
German train system(Deutsche Bahn) !
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21 March 2005
Another week of working on getting my car with no results. The French paperwork is only a copy and the
German Govt. wants the original... We'll see what happens this week...
I also haven't found an available apartment yet... If I could wait until May/June/July there'd be lots available...
But as for my host... Y'know the old Ben Franklin proverb... Fish & visitors smell in three days... There is
a nice place in Oberweiler that will be available on April 15th and I may just wait until it is ready... They have
offered to store my furniture if it arrives before my apartment is ready...
Saturday Rich and I went back to France to check out the local Salvation Army for inexpensive used furniture.
There was a good selection and I may go back if I need an armour for cabinet space in my apartment. I also
had a new cultural experience in Freiburg , Germany . I went to Ikea! Looks like a great place for housewares
and whatever else I may need to get settled in...
Saturday afternoon Elfriede stopped by and took me to a local church in Betberg. It has some murals dating
back to the 1500's in the entry. My web site software has expired on my laptop, so I will have to wait to post
any more photos on my web page until my container arrives... My desktop computer has web page software
that has no expiration on it... I may also start blogging on my site so my e-mails will be shorter...
Sunday I went with Elfriede, our local interpreter, to a German-speaking church in Neuenburg. The pastor
spoke on the need to be a servant from I Peter 4:10. From the time we are a baby we want things given to us.
God meant for us to serve... It was fun as he brought up people from his church to act out a few things. He
also mentioned how the disciples of Christ even fought over who would be greatest, not who would serve...
Imagine Peter saying "I was the only one to step out of the boat and walk on the water to Jesus, so I should
be greatest" and other disciples saying "If Jesus weren't out there you would have drowned when you sank"...
We are all equally important to each other... We all need to serve each other and not wait for someone else
to do the work, or serve us... He also gave the great example of Christ washing the disciples' feet... The Master
of all was servant to all...
Tonight I'm going alone to a home-group from the church to check things out further... They are also looking
for a keyboard player for their worship band... :^) We'll see what happens... I do want to check out some
other local German churches...
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16 March 2005
Today I went with Vic & Fran to Freiburg to visit ABC Deutsch Language School . I stayed for the first
session until the break from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. It was fun, but I felt like I wanted to raise my hand and
answer every question! There was one Asian student who was so afraid to answer I felt as if the teacher was
“pulling teeth” every time she tried to have him answer… After I left the school I went to the nearby Herz-Jesu
Kirche and took some photos as the cleaning ladies were hard at work inside. I missed the 11:00 AM train
back to Muellheim, so I walked into town for lunch and took the 12:16 PM train back to Muellheim.
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14 March 2005
It's been a great first week here in Germany !
I've been busy this first week trying to get things settled with getting my mini-van with no success yet. Also I am
continuing to look for an apartment in Müllheim. There's an apartment at the edge of town that looks really
good, but I haven't been able to get an appointment to see the inside. I do have my own bank account now
with Volksbank and received my bank card yesterday.
Klaus has been the main attraction so far. I've heard many a German call him a bear. It's fun telling them auf
Deutsch that he is a Japanese dog with a German name. Everyone wants to feed him, too. I get to walk him
several times a day...
Saturday I went to France with my host Rich Yates. We first went to Carrefour, a French version of Costco
and got groceries for the next week. We also did some window shopping at an Antique shop and I realized
I will need to purchase some free-standing closets for my apartment. There's no such thing as a built-in closet
in most every home and apartment here. We also went looking for a Salvation Army store near the old town
of Cernay . We never found the store, but I enjoyed walking through the old town.
Sunday Rich and I took a local interpreter named Alfrieda with us to Freiburg . We attended a Lutheran church
that was celebrating the Knighthood of the Order of St. John . I was pleasantly surprised how much German
I understood in the message! The Order of St John helps out at hospitals and EMT work, also being heavily
involved in local churches. The message was on Abraham following through with the sacrifice of his only son
Isaac to the point where God provided a ram for sacrifice instead of his son. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and a Jewish
holocaust victim were brought into the message as to how God is there even in the darkest most hopeless hours
in life to provide a way of salvation, sometimes in ways we do not readily understand. Even when a spouse
is sick or a child dies, God is there. Bombing in Madrid , aids in Africa, war in Chechnya , Iran ... God's hand
is there, we may not understand how he is working in those situations until long after the incidents happen.
The afternoon was spent walking around Freiburg and also having lunch. Klaus became the main attraction
at the outdoor restaurant in the town square. Some young Italian students wanted my to have Klaus give me
high fives over and over again! The waitress wondered if Klaus was a rock star because he was getting so
much attention! There were also tables with German locals watching his every move and some small children
kept coming over and throwing pieces of bread to him.
We also went back up to what the locals call Blauen. It's a hilltop where on a clear day you can see the
Swiss Alps. Klaus joined us in the restaurant and I had some older couples feeding him chunks of meat.
He's getting spoiled!
Hope I haven't written too much... Zzzzz...
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5 March 2005
Today I was shown around the local area by my host Rich. It's continued to snow all day long!! We went to many
markets looking for a leash for Klaus and then I decided to stop by Gästehaus Krauß, a guesthouse I had stayed
at back in the summer of '03 when we moved the EuroTeam offices.
Karl answered the door and I was surprised he remembered me! He even spoke more English than I thought!
Between English and German we conversed enough to get directions to the "Zoo Shop" in central Müllheim where
I found a harness and leash for Klaus. ( I had left all this at home in Portland )
Later I went back to the guesthouse and met up with the whole Krauss family with Klaus on his new leash.
(Incidentally there is a big fine in town if you walk a dog without a leash(Hunde Leine)) Karla brought their dog Fritz
and we had a nice walk to the town of Niederweiler and back to Müllheim with Rich.
After saying goodbye to Karla and Fritz we spent time in Müllheim's town center, where we had some Bratwurst
mit Zwiebeln und Senf und ein Fanta Orange. Klaus was somewhat of an attraction and I had him do a few
High Fives for some Brat scraps...
I also had to go back to the Zoo Shop to show the owner my dog and visit. In German he suggested I give Klaus
chicken eggs for the health of his coat. In German I was able to tell him that every Saturday Klaus has eggs.
Good practice for my language skills and getting to know the community.
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4 March 2005
Ach so! Ich kann das nicht glauben! Ich bin hier in Deutschland mit Klaus!!
Oh, sorry,
I'm here in Badenweiler near Muellheim with Klaus getting ready to settle down for the evening... A long day with
several hours at customs getting Klaus and paying more little fees... Many commented at Luftansa Cargo what a
well behaved dog he was and how well he did on the flight over... The customs experience was over by 2 PM after
arriving in Frankfurt at 10:30 AM... Needless to say, he was overjoyed to see me...
The afternoon was fun driving with Kim Garrity south to this area looking at the snow along the Autobahn. We even
stopped at a Burger King along the way for a late lunch and Klaus experienced his first restaurant where he was
welcome inside! I will be staying with Rich Yates until I find my own place...
Klaus is enjoying stretching out on the spacious floor here...
Click on the photo of the castle ruins above to visit my first days photo album...
A few more details on the day...
The flight over was relaxing with some sleep and many conversations about Germany with the gentleman seated next
to me. Once I arrived and got my baggage I was waved through security and out into Frankfurt 's airport lobby. I looked
outside and saw very little snow, but it was cold!
I wandered around a bit as we landed at about 10:30 AM and Kim timed his trip from Kandern so he would arrive
around 11:30 AM. First on the agenda was to find a Kiosk and buy a phone card. Then I called my dad, even though it
was around 2:45 AM PST and told him I had arrived safely.
Then the fun began with finding Lufthansa Cargo in Frankfurt and getting Klaus through Customs. Kim called the Frankfurt
Airport information line with no success. I then went to the over-sized baggage claim area and talked to a representative.
She found Klaus' information on the computer and gave us directions to the cargo pick-up area.
First Kim and I went to a security booth and I parted with my passport to get through to the pick-up area. We went to
building 25 and waited for the next available clerk. After filling out some paperwork as I was watching I saw the first charge
of 13 Euro for processing. When he was done he said they knocked down the price to 8 Euro so Klaus would bite them.
Then it was off to another building to show all the paperwork to the Customs Veterinarian. Then it was back to the main
office to another area to have more paperwork done. We went to another building to pay a tax on Klaus' value. I bought him
for $400, so I paid 41 Euro in taxes. Then it was off to the holding area to pick up Klaus. He had his own private pen with a
bowl of food, a bowl of water and an area of about 3 meters deep and 1.5 meters wide. He was thrilled to see me and get
out of “jail”. One last trip through security to get my passport back and we were off to Muellheim.
Kim and I had to stop for gas and Klaus guzzled down a bottle of “Stillwasser” while I had some “Mineralwasser mit gas”.
We then stopped at a Burger King for a late lunch and Klaus joined us in the restaurant. This was his first time being allowed
in a restaurant! As we drove further south we began seeing more and more snow on the side of the road.
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3 March 2005
The day started with a good night's rest at the Portland Radisson, courtesy of my good friend Mike. (Hey, my bed was
long-since packed!) First on the agenda was a trip to the city dump with remnants of the last month's work on my house
and a few leftovers from previous renters. Julian and Jeff, long-time friends, helped cover the load and I could hear
the theme music from “Sanford & Son” ringing in my ears as we left for NW Portland's city dump.
The morning was also filled with last minute calls to Lufthansa Cargo because over the prior few months of contact they
had still neglected to schedule Klaus for the trip over to Frankfurt . Finally I was told to get Klaus to PDX ASAP! I was
missing the bolts to Klaus' kennel because someone had packed them accidentally on my container which had left the day
prior. Jeff & Julian made a quick trip over to Ace Hardware and got some bolts and wing-nuts while I finished packing.
Jeff went with me to PDX and at first Klaus was thrilled to get out and explore in the cargo terminal! He even ran into his
kennel when it was put on the scale for a weigh-in. Then when it was time to get in “for real”, I had to drag him in.
Then it was off to the races back to my house for my luggage and back to PDX to catch my flight to Frankfurt . I was so
late there was practically no line for my flight out at the check-in counters. I soon found I was bumped-up from Economy
to Business Class by my friend Rick's daughter. We had a great time of prayer with the Robinson's, Joel, Laurie. and my
dad before I went through the security check. It was a relief to finally be on my way to Germany!