Es herbstelt schon! Autumn in Germany and Austria

[LinzerTorte]

A thread for all those living in Germany or Austria or anyone who just wants to chat/ask a question about living in or visiting this part of the world - all welcome.

Previous thread here.

[AntiqueMuppet]

Thanks for the new thread, Linzer!
I'll pop back later to catch up.

[AmblingAlong]

Thanks Linzer
Shame about your birthday afternoon but good that dd's toe was Ok. Hope you still had time to celebrate after the hospital visit.

Did anyone hear the weather forcast - they have the first snow somewhere in Bavaria! Do you all have the heating on already? Ours has been on for ages, it's going to be a mega Abrechnung when we get the end of year bill.
One of the girls who slept over with dd the other night was surprised that we had the heating on and said they hadn't had it on once yet.

Also, I saw the first Glühwein in the supermarket today! All the Christmas stuff is in the shops too. What happened to Halloween then? Used to be full of Halloween stuff first then the Christmas stuff came out.

[itsMYNutella]

Thanks for the new thread Linzer
Just checking in.

[AntiqueMuppet]

Our heating is on already, ambling. I've had it on in the evenings sporadically over the past few weeks, but our house is quite cold in general. If I don't put it on for a few hours in the evening DS wakes up on the night as it is too cold in his room. His final few teeth are on their way this week so he's not feeling great anyway and slept for a grand total of one and a half hours last night, in 20 minute bursts.

I read recently that (in the UK at least) October temperatures are about the same as last year, but that gas usage is a third higher or something, as people are feeling the colder after such a hot summer and putting the heating on earlier.

What are you reading on your Kindle? I love mine, but it does eat money if I'm not really careful. (Obviously the Kindle is at fault, not me....)

Happy belated birthday, Linzer! I did read on the other thread ha what you did but I've totally forgotten! Did you at least have a glass of wine after your hospital adventure? How was your DD's toe today?

Hello Nutella!

I've been meaning to post for ages but have been so busy lately with registering DS with a load of Kigas for next year, the home study course I'm doing, DS slowly dropping his nap and on top I've started up a second playgroup as demand for the first was so great, so that has taken up all my time. My caffeine intake is through the roof, after my unsuccessful attempt to give it up! (I'll also have just completely outed myself to anyone who knows me, but I've been meaning to name change for a while anyway.)

Hope everyone is well and that the Bavarians on the thread aren't suffering too much in the October snow!

[AntiqueMuppet]

Sorry for all the typos - I think it is a combination of a lack of sleep and a strange, renegade autocorrect.

[AmblingAlong]

Antique you can say that agian about the kindle being expensive! It's so easy to buy new books as soon as you've finished one. I put a stop to that for a while since I got all the old classics (am reading Utopia now) but since Linzer mentioned downloading lots of sample chapters after going through the gripping reads thread - I made the mistake of going over to the thread and have also got loads of samples to read. Up to now the 3 I have read are on my wish list!!
Hope you get a place at the kiga, do you have a favourite one? What's your course about?
Just had a lazy Sunday, reading and watching videos with dd and shopping online with her while she spends her birthday money. She just made a deal on a lovely scarf that was 37€ reduced to 11€.

[MrTumblesBavarianFanbase]

Hello Everyone, happy autumn :)

We're in Bavaria and haven't had the heating on yet - it snowed early in the morning and settled where DH works but didn't here. The house hasn't felt cold really though, guess its well constructed. We have had the wood fire in the living room lit a few nights though, and yesterday DH and DS1 put the snow tyres on the cars - DS1 can almost do the entire job by himself now, DH just has to tighten the nuts (proud :) ) Pity we can't send him to drive the car to the garage and fill up the air in the tyres, given he's only just 6 :o He'll be able to charge people to change their tyres for them in a few years I reckon - I'm sure he'll have the strength to tighten the nuts properly by the time he's 10, going by the size he is already :)

Linzer I hope your birthday wasn't ruined and your DD is OK.

Antique hope the teeth come through asap and sleep returns to your house, sleep deprivation is the absolute hardest part of parenting (so far anyway, 8 years in but still doing the sleep deprivation with the youngest). Good luck with the KiGas too - is it a lottery where you are? Well done on the sucessful playgroups though! :)

Waves at Ambling and Nutella

[BoffinMum]

Hello folks. Missing Bavaria so much work are sending me over for a few days on marketing duty! Luffs my employers.

[LinzerTorte]

Hello BoffinMum, what a nice employer you must have, enjoy Munich!

MrTumbles We've just put the heating on but it hasn't been on much so far (it comes on automatically whenever the house falls below a certain temperature); it seems to take a good few weeks before we notice the change in temperature outside indoors.

Ambling I don't find having a Kindle too expensive as I mainly buy books that are on offer; I still prefer the look and feel of proper books so unless there's a big difference in price would go for the non e-book. I do spend too much money on books overall, though! I sometimes download sample chapters on my Kindle and then end up buying the "proper" book.

Antique I went one better than a glass of wine; we opened a bottle of Sekt. (I did only have a glass, though. Or maybe two.)
Hope DS's teeth are through soon and that you can get a bit more sleep. I don't blame you for resorting to caffeine; it's my downfall too (plus I've failed to give up having milk in it so am not doing very well on the vegan front).

outnumbered How did your DH get on in Vienna?

Hi to Nutella, platanos and anyone else around.

We're enjoying some beautiful autumn weather here at the moment; I'd have liked to go for a walk after dropping the DC off at school (I'm trying to do more walking since I haven't been running for ages), but I have to work. Talking of which, must make the most of the only morning that DS has five hours at school and get on with it.

[dreamingbohemian]

Hi all,

Is it really okay if I pop my head in and intrude? Am moving to Berlin in December (very excited about it!) and just wanted to introduce myself. Have already got a lot of good advice on my kindergarten thread and hoping everything will go smoothly.

Everyone keeps telling me how brutal the Berlin winters are, I'm a bit scared! Will be stocking up on fleeces.

Anyway good luck staying warm everyone. Oh I can suggest one free classic on Kindle -- recently read The Age of Innocence and it was quite good

[outnumberedbymen]

Good morning, and thank you for the new thread linzer

We've returned from our trip up north, and it was lovely. I got very emotional during the church service. Because I could see how much my dad and his new wife love each other. And because I was thinking about my mum and how much my dad loved her too. What I really like s that my mum always gets a mention. In my dad's wedding speech, he spoke about his first big love, my mum, and how lucky he s to have found a second big love. I think it takes a very strong and confident lady to be my dad's new wife, as my mum was a very strong lady and spent 40 years with my dad thus is still mentioned a lot. The way she accepts this really speaks for her! Her children were clearly very happy for them two and even shed quite a few (happy) tears.

linzer dh didn't see anything Vienna, sadly. He spent all day in a meeting, they didn't even have a lunch break! He did buy some Mozartkugeln as a souvenir for the boys though

Hello and welcome dreaming :) I still remember a trip to Berlin one winter when I was a teenager, and it was -24 degrees!! I doubt that tat s the norm though.

ambling we turned the heating on this morning. This house really doesn't have the best insulation. Hot in summer, cold in winter. I always think the cold floor is the worst. If everything goes to plan with the house opposite, we will have underfloor heating by next winter. That would be so nice!!

mrtumble well done to your ds1. You can send him on to ours how, as tyres need changing

antique which course will you be doing?

Right, must get ready to pick up the dog again. Hopefully I'll be a bit more present on the autumn thread

[dreamingbohemian]

Thanks outnumbered

-24 degrees! I reckon I will be learning how to swear in German quite quickly in that case.

[AmblingAlong]

Hi dreamingbohemian. I used to live in Berlin-Mitte and my 2 dc went to primary school up to year 4 then we moved to Hannover. Do you know wher eyou will be living yet?
It does get very cold and -5 to -10 is just an average winter. I remember having freezing cold feet so I bought special thermal insoles for all our shoes and good thermal socks helped too.
Thanks for the kindle tip by the way, another to add to the list!

Linzer I agree about real books though. When I finished the free samples and put them on my wish-list I seriously thought that I'd prefer them as a real book! Then I thought how easy it is to throw my kindle in my handbag when I have to sit waiting to collect dc etc and have a choice to read. I'm also always losing my space so great that the Kindle just automatically saves where you left off.

Outnumbered glad you enjoyed the wedding even though it was a roller-coaster of emotions for you.
Under floor heating would be great. I'm just looking online to buy us all warm Hausschuhe for the winter as our floors are freezing!

MrTumbles well done to your ds and dh for the tyres. I'm meant to be getting an appointment for ours to be done at the same time as they change the brakes. Going to cost us just under 400€ for the 2 front brakes. Seems alot to me (quote from the garage where we bought it) and if I was good on the phone I might phone round and try to get a better deal but doubt that I would get far trying to explain what I want.

Better go and start lunch as we're off to the orthodontist this afternoon and then have to re-fill the fridge and cupboards. Big shop due - €€€€!

[dreamingbohemian]

Ambling yes actually, we will be in Mitte! We found a great long-term sublet near Rosa Luxemburg Platz. Am very excited, other than the kita issue (going mid-year, ouch) everything proceeding well. If you have time to share any tips though, would be much appreciated I have been hearing bad things about Berlin supermarkets, for example, but never know how much to believe these stereotypes before I get there.

-10 is bad enough! I am so stocking up on everything warm. Brrrr. Thanks for the warning

[AntiqueMuppet]

We even had the heating on during the day on Saturday, but it was really cold. The house isn't well insulated at all, and the white, tiled floors seem to make things a lot colder too. Of course, it may be that I am just a big wimp, but even hardy DH has been turning the heating on in the evenings recently.

I saw a play at the English Theatre in Frankfurt with some friends last night and spent an hour or so ambling around the English bookshop beforehand, which was really nice. I had a whole stack of books in my hands but had a sudden burst of guilt willpower and put them all back as we're trying to save money at the moment. I still have a few books on my bookshelves which I haven't read yet so I should probably work through those first.

The course I'm doing is 'Wirtschaftsübersetzen' for those who were asking. It's only a short, part-time course but it's been quite difficult so far. I'm just trying to keep my CV up to date while I'm at home with DS.

Well done to your DD for getting such a good deal on her scarf, Ambling!

The nights of no sleep seem to have reduced again here, MrTumbles. He is still waking once a night and calling for us, but as soon as he is in our bed he generally falls asleep again straight away, so I don't mind that. He does sleep though about 50% of the time too so it's really not too bad. How is your DS2 sleeping at the moment? I think I saw on Facebook that you were having problems again.

Boffin Yay for your trip to Bavaria!

Linzer I never got around to my vegan week in the end - neither of us are doing very well, are we!

Hello outnumbered!

I read The Age of Innocence recently and really enjoyed it too, dreaming.

Hope everyone is well! I'm waiting for a parcel to be delivered today, from..... Wait for it.... Tesco clothes! I needed some new jeans and they were the cheapest Half-decent looking ones I found online. I ordered a few jumpers and a few bits for DS too. He will be so pleased when he sees his new Postman Pat pyjamas, bless him.

[LinzerTorte]

Antique Hope your parcel arrived OK; you've just reminded me that I want to place another Tesco order. Possibly. I ordered some pyjamas for DD1 a couple of weeks ago and found myself ordering a dress at the same time, which I really like so am now wondering about ordering it in the other two colours. (It's not expensive, I hasten to add.)
What kind of texts are you translating for your Wirtschaftsübersetzen course? I really didn't enjoy the financial translation part of my MA and have avoided anything financial ever since, but do translate general business correspondence which is OK.

dreaming I remember it being very cold the first winter I was in Berlin - I put on about a stone while I was there and blame the cold weather! - but not unbearably so (unlike in Schwerin, where I went for a weekend and was the coldest I've been in my life). Lined boots definitely help, especially when it snows. I have to confess I don't have particularly happy memories of the supermarkets in Berlin, but it's 12 years since I lived there so things may well have changed since then; I know the opening hours have improved, at any rate.

Ambling I always have at least two books on the go, as I keep a Kindle in my bag; it's certainly very handy when I'm out and about as nothing annoys me more than having to wait somewhere when I don't have a book with me. (OK, there are probably a few things that do annoy me more but it's still very frustrating!)

outnumbered Glad the wedding went well; it sounded like a lovely occasion. I suppose it's inevitable that it was going to be very emotional, which isn't necessarily a bad thing of course.

My latest complaint about DD1's English teacher: DD1 lost half a point on her last vocab test for translating groß as "large" instead of "big". Not a big deal in itself I'm trying to tell myself, but the annoying thing is that it meant she got a 3 rather than a 2 (as she made two other bona fide mistakes). DD1 wants me to photocopy the test and speak to her teacher about it at the Heurigenabend on Friday evening, but I'm thinking it will look a bit petty. Am wondering whether to write something on the test itself, though.

[LinzerTorte]

Also meant to say that I just saw a van delivering what I thought was wine, but it turned out to be wishful thinking - the website address was glas-wien rather than glas-wein.

[BoffinMum]

I am apparently off to Berlin and Munich at the end of November/beginning of December, which is lovely, as I am thinking Xmas markets and a bit of light shopping, between work engagements.

If anyone fancies a brief Kaffee und Kuchen MN meet up in Munich around that time, let me know. I have developed a bit of a liking for the cafe on the first floor of Dallmayr, now that Kreutzkamm has been ruined in the rebuild, and I daresay I am not alone on MN in appreciating their cakes.

[BoffinMum]

Linzer How utterly Freudian is that?!

[platanos]

Hi all,
hiding away from the madness of homework, showers and dinner making. DC on my phone. DD1 has downloaded some app onto my smartphone - POU - a creature that you have to look after. Problem is, it does a poo (with sound effects) every now and then...great when that happens at work!

Thanks for starting a new threadlinzer. mixing up wien and wein is funny. Will you say something to the teacher?

dreaming hello, and good luck with the move. I lived in Berlin and loved it, it was pre-dc though. I would love to go back. The winter I was there, the lowest temperature was -10C but that was just a few days. All bearable with the right clothing.

Ambling good to hear you are enjoying the kindle. I am also reading a free classic "The way we live now" and enjoying it. The Gutenberg project converted lots of books to digital format and are all free. I also bang on, (sorry Linzer) about the kindle deals of the day on amazon.de. Often in english and sometimes quite good - all for €1.09!

outnumbered glad the wedding was lovely. And can only imagine how emotional it must have been for you. If I have got it right, my dad died around the time your mother died (July 2011) and there are times when grief still knocks me out. Over 40 years together and everything that goes with it, is something very very special, and the new wife sounds very sensible in acknowledging that.

Antique english play and a walk around a bookshop sounds like bliss. Well deserved for you!

mrtumbles I am very impressed by your son. I would not know where to start changing the tyres. In fact, get the child out of kiga and on a trip round the MN thread - after outnumbered's tyres he can do mine. How is the dog?

My time is up. ds is here complaining that the girls are being mean to him. Must go and sort it out.

[BoffinMum]

I am seriously wondering whether winter tyres will become law in England at some stage. Our winters are a lot more snowy.

[doradoo]

Hallo zusammen! Well we're all moved and unpacked after a dramatic and stressful week - thank you very much sparkasse......

Loving the new house though! Had the fire on over the weekend for the first time but not much heating on properly yet - need to work out how the boiler works first.

No winter tyres here yet either as it's a bit warm for that still.....

Can't believe it's almost herbstfereien time already - will by christmas before we know it!

[BoffinMum]

Doradoo do you have a Kaminfeuer? Or Kachelofen?

[doradoo]

an open fire/kaminfeuer - which we love!

[BoffinMum]

That's lovely - we opened our fireplace up 2 years ago, and we have never looked back.