I'm not sure Germany is ready for our clan, but we do have a street named after us - it can't be all bad. After our driver loaded all of our bags into the mini van....we were immediately struck by German engineering at its best. One of the seats just 'morphed' before our eyes into one of the most modern- looking boosters for Caleb....now I could have used one of those in the states! We were off for the 14 Kilometer (gotta love the metric system) to Kronberg and our new home. Our sea crate had arrived about 8 that morning and we got through customs in Frankfurt about 2:00pm that same day....so our boxes were there....but we weren't! I received a beautiful necklace from a dear friend before I left Connecticut and inscribed on the back is "it will be ok" - that's my new mantra. It was snowing a bit as we cruised down the audobon at a mere 160 KPH! Wow...there are no left lane laggers in this country - move it or lose it! As our alley approached I could see the truck......blocking the alley nonetheless....but we had arrived! We unloaded our luggage and left it outside as the kids raced to the front door. Greeting us were Hans and Helga ( you can't make this stuff up) - and they greeted us with smiles! We walked in to boxes....but amongst all the chaos was a lovely Christmas tree decorated and glowing in the family room. My eyes just filled with tears....I wasn't able to pull off the Christmas decorating as usual in Connecticut, but looking at my new surroundings with Tim and the kids at my side....."it will be ok". When I turned around there were three German men in uniform....now what movers do you know arrive in uniform....they didn't speak much english, but were able to read the labels on the boxes and make their best guess as to where it was to go......and it was all good!
About 4:00pm that day....jet-lagged, overwhelmed and a bit relieved we were experiencing our 'new normal' - there weren't many words, there was just a lot of running up and down the 4 levels.....unpacking boxes with touches of home - it is something I won't forget. We spent the first night at the hotel down the alley and slept like babies.
I woke up about 4am German time.....walked down the alley and opened the door to our quiet new house on Freseniusweg. It was so silent.....and dark - there are very large blinds that come down over the outside of the windows that we close each night - they are somewhat similar to storm shutters. I opened them one by one, took a deep breath and started unpacking. What an adventure it will be.....
