Family Dinner

After church we got a quick bite to eat and then rested for a while.  David’s family came over for dinner and we BBQ’d.  We really enjoyed visiting with all of their family.  The weather was beautiful and kids played outside in the back yard while we chatted for hours.  As we lay in bed we wondered what the neighbors must have thought with all of the English talking they had heard. (I will blog later about the funny conversations about the Turks and Hispanics. 

His sister made a dessert called Quark.  It’s most similar to yogurt, but not really.  She whipped heavy cream and then mixed it together with the Quark with a little sugar.  Just before serving you mix it in fresh fruit (we had raspberries) and meringue dollops.  I couldn’t figure out the sweet crunchy things were until they told me.  It was very refreshing and the perfect end to the meal.

After cleaning up and more visiting we put the kiddos to bed and then sat out on the back porch and ate sampled several different kinds of German Chocolate that Eva had purchased for us.  It was delicious!  It’s hard to pick a favorite.  I was gazing when Eva asked me what I was thinking about….being honest I told her I was pondering how to fit as much chocolate in my suitcases as possible. 

We retired to bed and finished packing for Berlin.  We decided to go in backpacks to make it easier.  After everything was ready to go it didn’t take long to fall asleep.  The sky was clear tonight so it was the first time we could see all the stars as we laid in bed.  I think I need to add an addition to my house so I can have a window like this over my bed!  It’s awesome.  

Going To Church

On Sunday morning we were getting ready and I asked Eva what I could do to help.  They always say “nothing, you are our guests”.  (BTW I just keep doing the dishes anyway…..even though they tell me no).  They are the amazing hosts.  After asking again, I suggested maybe I could help do the girls hair.  Mia was excited when I told her I could put in a braid.  So after doing a cute little up-do and finding a flower I thought we were ready to go.  But then I realized Janna was upset.  I asked about what….she wanted her hair done too!  NO PROBLEMO!  I quickly found something for Janna’s hair and we were ready to go.  We walked to the car and headed to church.  We were running a little late and poor Eva was stressed because she said we wouldn't be able to find parking.  OK…..she wasn't kidding!  I said, no worries, I’m here, just drop us off, we’ll go in and you can find a place to park and then join us.  We got there just in time.  David was speaking and so my David went early with him to save seats.  This particular ward met in the chapel just adjacent to the temple.  It was a lovely sacrament meeting.  I didn’t understand much, but really loved hearing them sing the hymns.  Because I knew what the words should be, I could pick out a few words.  I learned how to pronounce a few more words while we sang and then just hummed along when I couldn’t figure it out.  An area seventy also spoke during the meeting and chatted with David afterwards.  He asked him why he didn’t speak any German.  David’s reply was “habla espanol?”  He just paused, said ok and then decided to speak to him in English.  

We met the two sets of elders for the ward and had a good time chatting and asking questions.  Elder Emery is the “famous” elder from Lone Peak BB team!  He had only been there 3 days.  When I realized who he was, I knew why he looked familiar to me.  He was happiest out of the bunch to have an English conversation with someone. 

After sacrament meeting, they divided the chapel into three sections for the other meetings.  The kids were all settled downstairs for primary and Sunday school started.  I followed along in my manual and scriptures whenever they quoted or read something, and David interpreted some of the comments so I could follow along. 

Relief society had a wonderful feeling to it, and it just felt like home, even in such different surroundings.  One of the brethren brought in a tiny table that they carefully arranged a little lace tablecloth on and placed a small vase of fresh flowers in the center.  How amazing is it that the sisters in the gospel do things so beautiful wherever they are, with whatever they have.  It wasn't grand or glorious but a genuine gesture of making something special and beautiful for a Relief Society meeting.  They sung As Sisters In Zion and I couldn't keep the tears from flowing down my cheeks.  It was beautiful!  The sister who taught the lesson glowed with the spirit and I could have stood up and testified that what she said was true even though I didn't have a clue what she had said.  I was surprised more than once that I was feeling teary, but then realized I was feeling the spirit, but didn't know what they were talking about.  I guess it speaks in any language.  It was just strange to not know what I was actually crying for?  Maybe others who have been in different countries have experienced this before......but it was a first for me. 

After church we walked the temple grounds with the kids and took some pictures.  On the way home we took an unplanned tour after getting slightly lost.  It was actually quite fun!

Saturday

Today we headed off early to the temple.  We dropped the kids off at David’s sisters on the way.  The streets by the temple we very windy and VERY narrow!  There was no parking at the temple so David dropped us off and we went inside to figure out where to rent clothing.  They told us we need to pay at the distribution center that was just across the front walk way.  After returning we checked out our clothing and got dressed.  The session was full to capacity, all 40 seats!  We were given headsets to listen in English.  It was delightful to listen to the German backing the English words.  I actually learned a lot because there is so much repetition.  The workers don’t all speak English but I just waited for the appropriate pause and did just fine.  We spent some time in the celestial room with David and Eva which was nice.  We are so often in a hurry!  Not having a deadline or somewhere to be was a welcomed change.  

We went back to David’s sisters to pick up the kids and they gave us a tour of their home.  They are building a new home so it was fun to see German construction that is modern.  About half way through I finally started to get a few things.  There is NO WOOD!!!!!  Wait????  What?  NO WALL BOARD?  So here is how they do it.

A foundation is poured from concrete, and then stones are set for all of the walls and structure on the first floor.  Then a cement slab is poured for the second floor etc.  This makes all of their walls very thick….about 8-9 inches thick.  She didn’t want the typical German stairs that wrap (spiral staircase) so they designed their home to have a straight stair case like we have in America.  It was funny to hear her tell me how difficult it was to design and have built this way.  She also loved seeing the laundry room on the main floor in America, so she had done this as well.  I should mention here that her washer and dryer would be considered the “big ones” here and they are VERY SMALL!!!!  

To finish the walls inside they coat them with a very thin coat of plaster, and sometimes use a version of what we would call wall paper, but is really like a plaster product.  I’m amazed after knowing that none of what I have seen is wall board, just how smooth they can get something.

 

Their bathrooms (except for 1) were still under construction so we got the see the inside of the German toilet.  The parts are all inside the wall, nothing is free standing like in America.  The bathrooms are all so small that if you put a toilet in like ours you wouldn’t be able to put in anything else.  Just the seat comes out of the wall, and then inset in the wall is a button to push to flush.  Because they are so “resource conscious” they are very careful with their water usage and have two buttons, one for “big” stuff and one for the little. 

It is not common here to have children share a room, but they use their space wisely and fit three lovely kids’ rooms into the upstairs in addition to their master.  I think we figured out that each level of this home was less than 650 Sq. feet, but it was so nicely organized that you didn’t feel like it was really that small.  I guess when you put smaller furniture, appliances etc. it makes a difference.

The land is very expensive here and in short supply so the “lots” are very tiny.  The yards (if they have one at all) are only as wide as the home.  There are very few single homes.  Eva drove us around town to look at a few of them.  Most are row houses or town houses with a few twin homes here and there.  David’s sisters were building together and their twin homes shared the boiler and other “guts” to save money.  They don’t have any forced air heated.  In the basements newer homes have radiant heat in the floors and the upstairs have radiators on the walls.  The windows all open wide which I have never seen before.  I really like them.  Not just slide open, OPEN OPEN!  The outsides have metal shades which are shut from the inside.  They not only protect from theft, block out light and make their homes complete dark, but also can be closed with any bad weather and protect their homes.

Because of the size of the walls (8-9 inches thick) the doors are all different.  They have a cut out flange on them that has a rubber gasket around it that completely seals every door in the home when closed.  I’ve only seen this in America on our outside doors.  This in addition with everything else, makes their homes extremely energy efficient.  It is pretty much un-heard of to have air conditioning.  But because the windows open so large, the air can flow freely in the morning and evening to cool off the home.  The flooring is tile or laminate.  Eva’s home has cork floors which are very nice to walk on.  They are softer under your feet than our hard wood and they are warm.  Wood is not commonly used.  Carpet is a big luxury here, and in this new home it was only put in the children’s bedrooms.  It’s not like American carpet; I don’t think there was a pad?  And it was more like a very tight industrial carpet.  They use lots of throw rugs and bamboo mats. With all of these hard wood floors through, they don’t really use brooms.  They vacuum them. 

Monochromatic décor is popular here.  And they use a lot of white.  White walls, cabinets, even floors with just a little splash of color.  I quite like it.  It’s a very clean look, but with small children would be difficult to keep clean.  They don’t use typical base boards and door casings because of the way they construct the home.