The beginning...again.

I have finally remembered the password to this blog. It was a very Zen week where I didn’t yell at the computer and I ran through all the possibilities and eventually stumbled upon it. So, now I will start from the very beginning of this trip, even though we are 6 weeks in because,as we all know the beginning is a very good place to start and my OCD tendencies mean I have to have order.

What do you do when you are all comfortable where you are, great friends, work kicking off again for me and work always good for Herr F, kids happy at school and with amazing friendship groups, ….you take the opportunity presented due to Herr F’s work and pack up 150kgs of luggage between you all which, for the record included one bike and no-where near enough socks, rent your house out and head off to Germany for a year (again)!

 Sounds easy right and mostly it is because before you go you ask friends for help as without them this kind of adventure isn’t possible. You pack the dog off to friends, prepared the house for the renters, share house for a week with the American family renting the house (this was an amazing experience as we all banded in together), ask a friend to pack up a bike, go to one last school working bee and not really work but chat with a broom in your hand, realise the fish need a home and take up the offer of another friend and realise that more goes into moving fish than dogs, have a giant party on a 45 degree Celsius day just to really feel the love we are leaving and say yes to every chance of one last get together when there really isn’t time but of course there is always time for get togethers! Except for that last cuppa on the day we flew out, even I had to let go of that one. Then you take up the offer of fabulous friends at the other end to pick you up from the airport and fill the fridge with pizza, chocolate and Nutella supplies to get us through the first night and day. Then you breathe out and marvel at the fact you actually did it and you all still love one another.

This time we made a conscious choice to return to the smaller city that we have lived in before even though Berlin may have been the more exciting option on paper. Just like in Australia when we moved states we have built a ‘family’ for ourselves with our friends in German and as this will probably be the last time we can drag our poor, but very obliging children from their schooling, we,  the kids and I suggested that archives can be visited but the majority of friends need to be around the corner. Sorry Frau K we will visit promise!

We even managed to get the same furnished apartment. The kids were less than thrilled at the thought of sharing one room with a double bed and a camp stretcher…but we promised them we would sort it out. Though it seems we didn’t sort it out quickly enough for their liking. We are quite slow movers when there is so much going on in terms of registering with the city, getting visas, new schools, getting bikes for everyone and trying to keep enough food in the house. They were kind for the first couple of days then staged a revolt and dragged mattress off one bed and created their own spaces and stressed the temporary nature of this solution to us and that they had, in fact been led to believe we would quite quickly source a better solution involving a bunk bed. I did manage to get them a desk so that they wouldn't miss out on a single moment of homework. Again they were less than impressed at this kind gesture.