Der Alltag - The Everyday Life

Routines...

Now that we are truly fully settled in, our routines are set but never mundane. After lunch on Fridays, we walk around the corner to the San Remo Eis Cafe. The menu has over a hundred kinds of ice cream concoctions to try.

This is just the menu for the ice creams. There is another menu if you actually want food.

The boys always get two Kugeln (scoops) in a Waffel (cone) and then eat it with a spoon!

Every week Russell and I try something new. We have never ordered anything twice, even so we will never be able to try the whole menu before we return to the States. We are waiting for visitors to come (hint hint) so we can try the party sundae. I think it would take about 6 people to eat the whole thing (it includes fruit, sauces, nuts, and  about 20 scoops of various ice creams).

This week, our selection was a Mango Becher. It had Mango, Vanilla and Raspberry ice cream, mango chunks and slices, whipped cream and mango sauce.

Still discovering new things...

Last weekend the boys went to a birthday party in a nearby town. It took us about 20 minutes to bike there. Russell mentioned that he overheard someone mention a huge grocery store was out there. On Saturday, the weather was relatively warm and dry, so we biked over to see what the store had to offer.

The store is called Marktkauf. Imagine a Wal-mart (but not dirty or unorganized and with a staff that is pleasant) mixed with a Home Depot, and you get the idea.

One thing that has been nearly impossible to find here is liquid Vanilla. Here is a bottle with 30 Milliliters of Vanilla for 2.29 Euros. Look at your pinky, that is how big the bottle is. I decided I am going to try my hand at making some myself.

Our older son really wanted us to buy these hotdogs.  This is the only way I have seen Hot Dogs sold over here - bun included. He left disappointed since I didn't indulge him. Don't feel too bad for him - he ended up with plenty of treats.

The boys have been seeing commercials for mini winis (pronounced meenie weenies) since September, but we have never seen them in the grocery stores we usually visit. Well, guess what we found at the enormous market?

After biking to the store and back, we had lunch and then it was time for the boys to take care of their cleaning responsibilities. Each Saturday, one cleans the bathrooms and the other cleans the living room thoroughly. This is not something they are paid to do - it is part of their responsibilities. The grown ups took this opportunity to go for a walk to get some quiet time. 

We decided to take a walk around the Schloss (castle) that is down the street from our apartment. On the way there I noticed this painted electrical box. We commonly see these normally unattractive boxes decorated with charming pictures.

We walked along a path that follows the moat encircling most of the Schloss. The weather is certainly warming up, but is still cold enough that the ducks can still walk on ice in the moat. 

As we walked around the Schloss, we noticed the first flowers peeking out. 

As we made our way around to the front of the Schloss, we noticed a group of people gathered and chanting. As we walked closer we could make out their signs. They were protesting ACTA - it is the anti-counterfiting treaty sponsored by the U.S. 

Taking Care of Business

We don't want our boys to be too far behind when they return to their lives in Norfolk. We have extra homework to make sure they stay up to snuff in regards to reading and writing in English. We are also trying to make sure they don't get too far behind in their scout troops. We have been fairly diligent in fulfilling requirements. Today our youngest fulfilled a Bear requirement making oatmeal cookies.  I must say, the provided recipe is a little dull, so we took a little artistic license.

If you feel like trying them out, this is how I, I mean my son, made them. He really did, I only back seat baked.

Ingredients

3/4 cup shortening *   **see notes below

2 table spoons butter (softened)

1 cup brown sugar *

1/2 cup granulated sugar *

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla - or one packet vanilla sugar if you are in Deutschland

1/2 cup cocoa powder - or more if you like it more chocolatey

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda - or half a packet of Backpulver 

Directions - preheat the oven to 375 F
1. Combine the shortening, butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, water and salt. Mix these until they look fluffy and the color lightens.
2. Add cocoa powder and mix well.
3. Mix in baking soda, flour and oatmeal. I find it is easier to do this with a spoon.
4. Use a table spoon to drop the cookies onto a prepared cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

*Please note that I am using European sugar and vegetable shortening which are a little different than what you get in the States. You may have to play around with adding a little more sugar and shortening to get the cookie consistency you love.

** I let my son pick between using shortening and butter. He chose shortening while I would normally have used butter. If you want to use butter, you can substitute the same amount of butter for the shortening.

If you are feeling adventurous, add a dash of cayenne or cinnamon or both!

Enjoy!

This blog entry is already pretty long, so I will wait till next week to write about the promised visit to the Münster Picasso Museum we made on Sunday.

Bis nächste Woche!