Just getting family up to date...

Adventure of the day (day 2-ish): We walked down this lovely pedestrian walk along shops and restaurants looking for a little cafe to have lunch in today. We found a bakerei (bakery) and each selected a sandwich or the like on freshly baked bread, etc. I got a nice spinach quiche, C orders an egg sandwich to which Josh and I both ask him "are you sure that is what you want??? It's hard boiled eggs on bread." He responds casually "yeah, sure, that's good". We are under a little pressure with a few German patrons waiting for us to decide and order and a nice German lady quickly grabbing what we choose and looking impatiently on for us to choose the next item. We sit to eat with three apple schorlies (apple spritzers), a tea, my quiche, H's salami sandwich, Josh's cheese and veggie sandwich on a soft pretzel roll and C's sandwich which is a HARD roll with mayo, lettuce and sliced hard boiled egg-yes, that's all. C takes a bite and get's this look on his face like "What??!!!" We look at him and say something uber sympathetic like "you said that was what you wanted. We asked you 5 times to be sure." He is cracking up saying he thought it had salami and egg...Josh says " well that's good. I thought it had eggs and olive spread! That would be even more disgusting." Here is the irony, though...at dinner, Josh thought he ordered beef tips. His plate comes out with three white eyeball looking-thing and a mangled hot dog (but a "good" one like Nathan's all beef) on top of a pile of shredded red things. I am sticking with red wine and steak. I may gain 50 pounds but at least I know what I am eating! Photos tomorrow...cord in the car :)

Day 3 (Tues 10/18-our all but forgotten wedding anniversary). The day started with all of us oversleeping and getting off to a crazy start. We woke at about 10:40 which left about 20 minutes of breakfast left. This is the largest meal of the day here for the most part and our hotel had a great one. We all jumped out of bed, threw on clothes, took the dog for a speed walk (or quick relief) and hurried to breakfast. We ate quickly only to have to rush up to the room to pack up, shower all of us, and vacate the room. We were scheduled with the "Schulamt" in Dusseldorf at 2 but were told to leave Cologne by 12:30 in order to meet with our translator at 1:30 for introductions and a 10 minute walk to the meeting. The "Schulamt" is the office that will make the decision about where the boys will go to school. We feel like this is the most important of all of our meetings so being rushed and crazy (did I add that it was raining and going to be a really bad hair day anyway???) was not ideal. It dawned on us as we were leaving with a hotel cart full of bags that not only would not all of the bags fit in the car with us, but that we would also have to drop the dog off at our temporary rental home before heading off to the meeting. We wound up leaving two bags with the bellman and took off for the rental home-decorated in what we would sum up as 70's garage sale. We dropped the dog in his quickly assembled crate and left for Dusseldorf, the next major city north. Our GPS vectored us through an industrial town full of traffic lights rather than on the highway, so once we got to the autobaun (highway) we were relieved. That lasted all of about 3 minutes. We wound up being about 8 car lengths back from a nasty wreck that had the autobaun at a standstill. I called our translator in a panic, only to find out that the school office had changed the meeting (3rd time) to Friday so we were ok to arrive whenever. Just as we started to relax in our completely stopped car, Josh noticed that the very nice coach bus (like a rock star tour bus) behind us had four mean looking guards up front and a cage behind them for the prisoners!!! Yes, we had a prison transportation bus directly behind us. We are still looking for the candid cameras...evidently they came to Germany with us! Tschuss.

(10/20) I am not even sure where to start summing up today's antics.  Today was our "official" day.  We were to show up at a government building "near the main train station in Cologne" to register, then would go by cab with the law firm hired to help us with the work visas and residency cards (biometric identification card-picture credit card), after which we needed to be in Dusseldorf (approx 30 miles north) about two hours after the estimated completion.  We decided to take the very reliable German trains for all of this as the traffic jams/construction zones are somewhat unpredictable and frequent and have snagged us a few times already this week.  We left our temporary home, got to the train station and the first Amazing Race challenge began.  The only ticket machine at the station this morning was spitting out all of our euro coins and wouldn't take any euro bills.  Because you can only use special credit cards here that have a chip in them (only issued after you complete the aforementioned registration and open an account), we had no way of buying a ticket.  Fortunately, everyone else who appeared to know what they were doing was also having issues with the ticket machine.  What irony it would be to wind up in train jail on the way to register after 5 days in country, we thought...We got to the main station, departed as directed and only walked past the nondescript building a few times before asking the 4th person and being pointed in the right direction.  We met our legal rep, a very cute, young blond, with legs to my shoulders, but little btwn the ears.  She got us set up for registration with a woman which was fun and easy, then off in cabs with 4 other Fedex parties to the ID/work visa office.  After waiting about 45 minutes, we were told that three of the four of us needed to have our passport-like photos redone because we were smiling in them.  NO SMILING in German registration photos.  You must look serious! OK, down to the photo kiosk in the lobby, 18 photos later, back upstairs and after some more waiting our turn to get finger printed and processed.  Oh wait, again a candid camera moment-our paperwork was not here (though we emailed the legal company no less than 5 times to confirm that they had the docs since we hadn't seen them).  It is now after 12.  The German government workers do not work past 12 on Friday and we needed to be on a train to Dusseldorf at this point.  We spoke with Long Legs who kept saying "wait, let me see what I can do"  (this after she took us to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and finally 4th floor to find the office in the first place!).  We finally just left after another Fedex friend said they would get anything she might magically produce for us, like another appointment next week!  Run to the crowded train station and wait while listening to PA messages saying something about the main train station.  Eventually we ask what they are saying and are told there is a problem at the main station and no trains are going there.  Yes, that is where we needed to go to get the train to Dusseldorf.  We ask again and are told to walk a block or so to the U-baun and take it to Deutz, then catch a train there to DUS.  You know where I am going with this don't you?  Got on the U-baun going the wrong direction with a loud "TICK TICK TICK" going in my head.  Off at the second station, run over to the other side of the tracks, back past our loading station and to another...we eventually made it, albeit late to the school meeting.  We are told the boys will not go to school until we find a house in DUS-I think they are excited about this.  We, however,  can not get a house until registered.  Nothing here is easy. Fortunately, the schools are out for the next two weeks so rushing House Hunters Intn'l and trying to pick up the pace on the house hunting.  Once we have a house, C and H will go to a German Intensive class for 6 months to become completely fluent, then will go to regular school.  In the mean time, Josh and I will be found in the nearest brauhaus!  They have a show here called Hidden Camera...they must be partners with Candid Camera, who must have passed our names and photos along...still laughing and wondering what we have gotten ourselves into (did I mention our ATM card stopped working yesterday-joi de vive!).  Prost!