Our crazy Monday

Monday was an unusually adventurous day for us. My mother sent a care package but for some reason it didn't clear customs. We spent about an hour translating the letter from the customs people and walked about a mile and a half (with the boys) to pick up the package. When we got there at about 10:15, we discovered that the entire building was closed for a meeting until 11:30. We learned some German that day: geschlossen bis elf Uhr dreißig (closed until 11:30). This phrase was repeated to each and every person who came to the customs office. If the cursing that came from the receiver of this message had been consistent (or even consistently in German), I probably would have learned some other phrases, as well. After all this trouble, we were half hoping it would be complicated to get the package. However, at 11:30, the doors opened, we went in and they handed us our package after a brief conversation:

Who is this from?

My mother.

Is this gifts for the baby?

Yes.

Sign here.

Then, we began our mile and a half commute back home. We were carrying the boys this time because we were using the stroller to carry the package and it was nap time.

This is not intended to sound like a complaint - believe me, we were thrilled to get gifts from my mom. If anything, my goal is to illustrate an oddity in Germany. This "closed for a meeting" situation has happened to me once before and it was as baffling then as it was on Monday. We hadn't called ahead but some of the people waiting with us had and they weren't aware that the place was going to be closed, either.

After our trip to the customs building (and after naps for the boys), I took the boys on what was supposed to be a short trip to Munich to pick up a second hand bike for James. I'm not sure if it's over-confidence or stupidity but I've been using google maps at home to figure out where I'm going and then setting out without a map (or even written directions most of the time). In this case, I thought our destination was just a few streets from the train station but it turned out to be .8 miles from the station. Not a long walk, exactly, just not what I was expecting and, of course, I had no way to figure out how much further we had to go, which made the whole trip seem even longer than it was.

In the end, James got a bike and he loves it. Bikes are very common here and kids ride them absolutely everywhere. The seat was initially too high so James walked his bike nearly the whole way back to the train station. I finally checked my watch and realized we were going to be pushing William's good nature if we continued walking at James' pace so he rode in the stroller while I carried his bike (another common sight here: toddlers in the stroller while parents carry small bikes or scooters).

Needless to say, I'm getting lots of exercise here. We walk to the grocery store every couple of days, we walk up two flights of steps to get to our apartment (and our apartment has two levels), we walk into town almost daily, we walk to the park, etc. This has been a great way to lose the weight from my pregnancy.