2023

This year was no walk in the park. In fact, some parts were outright nightmarish. Our daughter, Lily, had a couple fevers and infections that got pretty dangerous. And she gave us a real scare with an accident that left her lying in the hospital for a whole month - the recovery is ongoing but at least she's healthy! Anyway, you've gotta take the good with the bad. It was also a year full of great experiences. We spent a lot of time with friends and family, got a KiTa (kindergarten) spot for Lily, and went on trips to Norway, Holland and, of course, the USA.

If you're lucky enough to get one, a KiTa spot is supported by the city. To be fair, not every city in Germany offers this support but, considering that people in Switzerland pay thousands a month for basic childcare, the situation here is extremely advantageous regardless of your city. This is one of many things that makes raising a family in Germany so great. Right from the beginning we were also getting regular visits from a Hebamme (midwife), who advised us on pretty much everything that you can imagine, and even a representative from the city came to make sure we had all the information we needed on relevant services. Then, of course, there's the help we've gotten from friends and family. Almost all of Lily's clothing came from friends. And in times when we've needed it, many have also cooked and babysitted for us.

It seems that every year we spend more and more time with friends and family. This year we went to lots of family events, including a big Familientreff (family reunion) near Dortmund. Even some relatives from the US were supposed to be there but, unfortunately, something came up. Maybe we'll see them at the next one in 2025, though. 

During the holidays we spent a lot of time eating cake and Raclette. Thankfully this year Lily didn't have a heart attack when the fireworks started going off and even slept through it. Last year we were with friends and didn't realize how scary it is for babies... it certainly didn't help that someone threw a firework directly at us! Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. For the last couple years now, a big problem here has been people throwing fireworks at the emergency services. So, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that they're also targeting babies. Annnd that's why fireworks are slowly being banned here.

We've also been getting a bit closer with our neighbors. A couple of neighbors come over regularly for Spieleabend (game night) after Lily goes to sleep, and with others we've started working together on gardening projects. As they have a yard, and I grow lots of stuff, we've really been able to help each other out. Anything that doesn't fit on my balcony, goes directly into their garden. I then theoretically have access to the harvest. Although, they get a lot less light, so this may not necessarily work out. Still fun, though!

Finally, we still really enjoy travel as well - I even published the first part of my series this year! This time we did have to figure it out with a baby, though. Turns out it's doable! First we had to get her a German and a US passport as she has both nationalities. One is needed in order to enter the US and the other to return to Germany. Crazy, huh?

We cut it pretty close having bought the tickets before even applying for the passports, but it worked out pretty well. In April we flew to the US without too much difficulty. This was largely thanks to the fact that we requested a bassinet in advance - basically a bed on the wall so that you don't have to hold your baby the whole time. At six months, she was already reaching the size limit, though. So, next year we'll probably have to hold her on our laps.

We had a pretty relaxed visit to the US. Lily went swimming for the first time at my mom's, we walked around in the Theler wetlands and paddled around on the lake at my dad's, and visited some friends. 

A couple months later we took another flight - this time to Oslo, Norway! We got a great deal on an AirBnB just out of town (had to book a few months in advance) and used two all-inclusive tickets for public transportation for the week using the "Ruter" app. The first few days were pretty simple - we went for a walk around a nice lake in Sognsvann, had brown-cheese waffles at a flea market, visited the Royal Palace and ate in town using the Toogoodtogo app. This was actually essential as the prices in Norway are several times that of Germany... even a regular hamburger was over 20 bucks! But the app, which we also use quite a bit at home, gets you food from places that would otherwise have to throw it away. Still good, as the name suggests, just too much for them to sell. 

Around halfway through our trip, we visited the Folkemuseum (The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History). This is probably the coolest museum I've ever been to. I mean, I was a bit skeptical at first as it was just basically rooms full of nice wooden chests (a major item in the traditional Norwegian home), but soon we were outside looking at different structures imported from regions all over Norway! Seriously, just look at the pictures (at the end of the post).

After seeing a couple dozen variations over the course of about an hour or so walking around the expansive grounds of the museum, we finally arrived at a "town" with traditional residences and businesses that were presumably also imported from actual sites. And, just like in the previous areas, they also had period-appropriate actors that even sold goods in old-timey shops. A real living museum.

On another day we went to Hovedøya Island where we saw the monastery and went swimming... at the wrong beach. It turned out there was a much more appropriate swimming spot down the way, but then again our spot was more private.

Our last stops during our visit to Oslo were the opera house and Drøbak. As you can see, the Oslo Opera House can be climbed for a really cool view over the bay. It's also just around the corner from the port where the boats for island hopping dock, so it was a good add-on. 

Drøbak, on the other hand, is a day trip in itself. The bus also leaves from the port area but takes about an hour each way. Drøbak is a cool little town with a nice spot for jumping into the Fjord and a beautiful coastal walk. 

The last couple weeks of September, we took our final trip of the year to Holland. Indra's parents found a nice family resort in a town called America. There we rode bikes to Venray and other local towns, used our private infrared sauna, and played around in the little water park they had there in the resort. All in all, a really great way to spend time with family!

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2022

2022 was another big year for our family. I finished my nursing apprenticeship and started working as a home care nurse, we moved into our new apartment and, most notably, our daughter was born. We also managed a trip up to England and a family holiday on the German countryside.

The new job and apartment pretty much happend at exactly the same time - the start of April. Before it had even sunk in that my last year of toil was finally over, we found ourselves in the middle of a move. That's just the way it goes.

The new apartment is really nice, though. I've always wanted a place to do some gardening, so the balcony is awesome. We've also got a beautiful park right out the door. The most important improvement, though, is the increased space. We have a room for our bikes, a room for washing and another for drying, a much bigger cellar and, of course, a kid's room.

Lily Ruth Clark was born on the 17th of October, 2022. It didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked, but mother and child came out healthy. Lily had gotten her cord wrapped around her neck a couple times and a C-section became necessary. It was a bit dramatic after that but, upon seeing my newborn daughter for the first time, all doubts were replaced with what I can only describe as a surreal sense of wonderful purpose. I had become the father of a perfect little miracle.

I really couldn't be happier with my family here in Germany. I love that Lily is going to get to grow up going on family trips with us to places like Meschede where we went this year. This last May we stayed at a campground on a lake called Hennesee from where we rode the Sauerland Nordstreife and stopped at Möhnesee for cake at an old thatched-roof inn called Torhaus. We also hiked K1 in Willingen and rode the Sommerrodelbahn (a toboggan ride).

We also get together regularly for family breakfasts and visits to art exhibits, museums and little countryside towns like Conenburg. And then there's our friends. We meet for BBQs and dinners, and go to events like Japan Tag (Japan Day), church conferences (this year for Pentacost in Frankfurt), and Kräuter sammeln (collecting herbs with my tutor from my apprenticeship who also happens to be a sort of herbologist/guide); we got a Stadtführung (city tour) from our friend Irina in Cologne and again the same in England from our friend Steve who we also visited shortly last year.

England is always a good destination. Under normal circumstances, getting there's not only cheap but easy. This year was a bit tough, though, as we were traveling during the summer holidays which, in Europe, can be a bit tricky! Having decided to use the amazing, yet limited, 9-euro ticket on offer at the time, we had our work cut out for us right from the beginning. With the 9-euro ticket, which allowed unlimited travel on local public transport, we were able to go all the way to Cologne on the cheap. Only problem being that local transport doesn't go directly to Cologne. We arrived only an hour before our flight to find that the line for security was two hours long! The flight was boarding on schedule and, as if still being in the line for security wasn't bad enough, they closed the security gates due to limited security staff. Not only that, but the airports were flooded with three times the expected foot traffic! Nevertheless, we waited on pins and needles until they opened the gates again and started allowing people through. Amazingly, the flight had waited on us and even continued to wait for a further 11 passengers. 

By the time we arrived in Gatwick, it was quite late. We had planned on that, though. We had even planned on the lack of public transport due to strikes. What we hadn't planned on was that even the Ubers were on strike! Thankfully we had booked somewhat within walking distance of our hotel. It was no picnic, Indra being pregnant and all, but we managed to hike the four or so kilometers without any trouble.

The next day we had lunch in Horley near Gatwick, which was surprisingly nice little town, and took the train to Brighton. We then hired a couple hourly bikes and rode to Rottingdean and back along the white cliffs. Then, after dropping our stuff off at our beachfront Airbnb in Lancing (best deal ever!), we had Indian for dinner at one of the many restaurants lining the main street there. The next day Steve picked us up and we went to do some archery.

We then had lunch at Beachy Head followed by clotted cream scones with jam and cream tea at Birling Gap. After a walk along the beach we drove to a cool little town called Alfriston, had drinks at old English pub and finished with a burger back in Lancing. Finally, on our last day, we had an English breakfast fry up at Perch on Lancing beach and then spent the rest of the day making our way back home.

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2021

2021 was an intense year full of stressful, exciting, and sad experiences. I started a German Ausbildung (apprenticeship), we a had a death in the family, Indra also found more work teaching German and doing painting workshops, we tried to buy a house at an auction but ended up getting a new apartment instead, we went on several family trips, and we made new friends.

The Ausbildung was indeed stressful... working, studying, and teaching all at the same time. Just studying in German is a challenge, but this was a nursing program - lots of medical language. I had many things to adjust to: up at 430am (sometimes after working till 9pm the night before), bad smells, washing and generally dealing with strange patients, and things like skin problems from sweating in gloves - didn't think I would make it to the end just because of that alone. And then there's the tests, regulations and Bürokratie, visa problems and Anerkennung (recognition of educational background). Thankfully, I didn't even need to get my degree recognized, just my high school transcripts... but even this was unbelievably overcomplicated. It should have taken just two months in Düsseldorf, but after six months they rejected my application due to a lack of English language courses. Yes, you read that right - they require that a native speaker take classes to learn their own language. So, I then had to reapply in another city for recognition based on lesser criteria (Germany has three high school systems based on academic ability) in order to get proof that I graduated from high school. Oh, and the fact that I graduated from college doesn't help because, even though it normally would, they require that the transcripts say that I attended one school for four years. I transferred credits from one college to another, so my transcripts only show three years at the school named on my degree.

And my visa? Well, I'm married to a German, so that would have been rather simple had they not constantly changed their minds about the requirements. My first visa interview was nice and early, but the representative decided that technically my wife should be present. I was then given a new appointment for eight months later - several months after the prospective begin of my Ausbildung. Over the next couple months, I managed to get the appointment moved up... at which point they decided that, because of COVID restrictions (now over a year since it started), my wife shouldn't come. And that was just the beginning. A year later I would have to renew this very same visa with even more absurd requirements, such as the completion of an integration course (I'm married to a German, speak fluent German and work in a profession that is essential to the future of German society...) and a language certificate proving that I can speak basic German. That such things, and the associated costs, are at this point completely unnecessary can be underlined further by the fact that, at my following visa appointment, they didn't even want to see these things!

Oh well, a couple months later I was finally in my nursing program taking vitals, measuring urine and washing, feeding and repositioning my patients for minimum wages. Although, on this point I'm actually not complaining - in America we would have to pay for the privilege of learning such things. But, then again, I don't know if the pressure would be quite the same. Here you have to get through the year (CNA) or, three years (RN), without interruption... or start over. One colleague of mine was actually almost finished with her third year when she got pregnant and had to leave with nothing. This is naturally the reason why she then found herself in my program years later as she realized that anything can happen with the result of three years of hard work being completely flushed down the drain!

On the upside, a German Ausbildung is classified as a normal job. This means that by German law we are entitled to 5-6 weeks of holiday per year. That's a lot of family trips! In February we rode around Unterbacher See ("lake" in English). In March we visited friends in Bielefeld where we were just a short walk from a really cool castle. In April we rode bikes to Zons - a beautiful Dorf or "village" that I'd been meaning to visit for years. In May we hiked part of the Neandertal for the second time. In July we did a big bike trip along the Sauerland Radring and got interviewed by a team of German youtubers excited to meet an American on their "international" bicycle route. 

In September we to the Heideblüte or "moor flowers" for a walk on our way to Dülmen in Münsterland. There we spent a whole week riding bikes, sitting in the sauna, and eating cake at cafes and restaurants. We even made a new friend, Rohrbert (a play on words combining the German word "Rohr", which means pipe, with the name "Robert"). He's the mascot of the waterworks. 

But, as I mentioned, 2021 was a stressful year and a sad one as well. On June 23, my stepmother, Judy, passed away. We were able to book a trip to the US a couple months later to go comfort my dad and attend the funeral. While the experience was difficult, it was nice to see family and friends. 

We spent the first week with dad and traveled down to Oregon for the funeral. We then went to see my brother's new place in Yakima before heading to Puyallup to visit mom. After a few days of painting and visiting with old friends, we caught a plane to London. There we met up with my friend Steve for lunch in Chinatown and then flew back to Düsseldorf.

2021 was also a year of house hunting. Competition has gotten so fierce, though. We even tried handing out fliers to see if we might be able to get someone to make a deal with us. Our original target was Bad Wildungen, a "Kurort" or basically a town known as a healthy getaway. Even the auctions or "Zwangsversteigerungen" here were way out of our price range. So, we continued looking further out until, a few months later, we found something affordable. 

We drove out to a countryside courthouse and were the only ones there... at first. Then some random people showed up and started a bidding war with us. We gave up pretty quick as the house was actually not worth much and the other people had no idea because they hadn't gone to see it or even had a proper read through the item description! After that experience, we kind of gave up and, instead, started looking at new apartments. 

Only a couple months later, after a few "Besichtigungen" (apartment showings), we found our dream apartment.

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USA Family

One really sad thing about the pandemic for us personally was that my family didn't get to come to our wedding. We just weren't prepared to put that aspect of our lives on hold as many have done. Love is, afterall, the main idea. So, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, we took a trip to the US so that my wife could meet the family.

On Sunday, the 15th of December, my dad picked us up in Seattle and took us over to his neck of the woods. There we went for a walk and then promptly passed out from the jetlag.

Over the next few days, we visited our investment properties, played games, cooked, and went out on the water. Even though Indra got to drive the big boat, I think she more enjoyed going out on the paddle boat and exploring the back areas of the end of the lake. Although, she also really liked sitting in the rowboat while I did all the work!

Now, despite Corona, or perhaps rather out of spite for the rules, we spent a lot of time with a lot of people. For us coming out of Europe, particularly Germany, this was a bit of a change of pace. But that's America! Everyone just does what they want. So, after going to a family Christmas party in my dad's area, we made our way over to Eastern Washington for a Christmas party at my brothers... where just about all of us got Corona. A friend of my sister-in-law wasn't feeling well, but came anyway - there were some feelings about that later on!

Our next stop was "hotel mama" - Indra's new favorite holiday resort! After a short stop to show Indra the farm where I grew up, we went to Puyallup for a few days of painting, riding motorcycles, sitting in the hot tub, and visiting with old friends.

And finally, on the way back to my dad's, we stopped by at my sister's for a visit and a massive, very yummy roast!

Back at my dad's it was our last evening in the states, so we went for a walk in Belfair State Park at what turned out to be the most beautiful time of day to do so!

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Honeymoon Life

It's been said that a honeymoon doesn't have to end. I can't say I disagree. A friend once told me that the key is to "be slow to criticize and quick to forgive". This is definitely a good start. I think it's also pretty important to count your blessings or, as I do here, keep record of them.

Getting married was a wonderful experience, but it was also just the beginning. Since then we've been busy. We've moved into our apartment around the corner from where we got engaged, started new jobs, taken every opportunity to travel, and spent lots of time with friends and family.

On Sunday, July 26th, we got dressed up and went out with family for Pfannekuchen - a German pancake with lots of filling. Then, after a weekend in Gut Elim swimming in Siglansee, grilling and fighting with a little invader (see video), we joined the in-laws for a few days in a small dorf (town) called Oberkirchen.

We hiked up into the hills, cycled around the region, stopped to go "wassertreten" (walking in cold water) and to try the barfuß (barefoot) paths, went swimming in Hennesee, and ate at nice cafes and restaurants along the way. We also visited a really weird pyramid museum with ringtail cats and alien exhibits.

Needless to say, Indra's parents really know how to spoil us! Back in Düsseldorf, they also helped us a lot with getting our apartment set up. They brought lights for us to install (Germans take everything with them when they move out - even the kitchen!) and they helped us assemble various appliances and pieces of furniture.

We've also spent lots of time visiting friends. On Sunday, the 9th of August, we went to Leverkusen for a walk through the countryside with some local friends and ate at a Japanese buffet called Japanhaus. Considering that Düsseldorf is the Japanese capitol of Europe, it was certainly not necessary to go all the way to Leverkusen for Japanese food, especially non-authentic Japanese food, but, nevertheless, I really enjoyed it.

Over the following month we went on more bicycle trips, spent more time in Gut Elim, took a Flixbus to Frankfurt to visit for a couple days, and met friends in Aachen for a hike to the Dreiländereck or "border triangle" (where three countries meet) of Holland, Belgium and France. There I almost got run down by a crazy horse, and one of our party got lost in the woods, but we made it to the end and had dinner at a nice (authentic..?) Chinese buffet.

Finally, for the last week of November, my friend Garret came up from Munich for Thanksgiving and helped me prepare a semi-Thanksgiving feast, including a buckweat pumpkin pie... over about four hours. Not what either of us had in mind, but pretty worth it in the end. The next day we all went to Wuppertal, took a small hike, and rode the Schwebebahn (suspension railway).

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The Big Day

In the final days before the "big day", everything was finally coming together. We got our authorization to get married in Fanø, picked up our rings and, with the help of the in-laws, got moved into our new apartment. Then, on Saturday, the 19th of July, we got up at 5:30 to start our 7+ hour journey up to Fanø, Denmark. But, as we were about to leave, we noticed that the shirt for my suit had changed color! After a minute of panic (the dry cleaners take several days to get anything done), we found another shirt that was actually in really good shape. Seven hours later we took a ferry to the island, checked into our beautiful B&B, and went for a walk through the local farmland.

The next day we had a really nice breakfast at Axel's Kitchen and went into town to check in at the Rathus or "town hall". There we met our photographer, Frederik Baun. Frederik was the best photographer we could have asked for. You could tell he really had a passion and wasn't just doing it for the money. 

After meeting Frederik, we took a drive along the beach, did some land sailing, and ended up at the Altstadt or "old town". The Altstadt was nice but, just as with most places during our stay, totally booked out. Even our breakfast at Axel's over by the B&B had to be reserved. So, we got something simple and went back to town to have dinner in Nordby. That night we also had no "proper" place to stay as the only accommodations not booked out for the next two nights were at a campground.

The next morning got off to a bit of a rough start. Indra had gone to bed with wet hair and had been freezing all night... and it had rained. Maybe that's why most people don't go camping before getting married. Anyway, we had another awesome breakfast at Axel's and went to the beach to get married! It was perfect. The sun was shining, the breeze was warm and the photographer was on his game. The photos really turned out great. 

The next day we did a bit of hiking on the island, took the ferry back to the mainland and, on the way to our Airbnb in Tønder, stopped in another well-known wedding destination, Ribe. 

In Ribe we serendipitously stumbled upon an amazing buffet that was just getting started. They had everything and it was all sooo good. After we ate our fill, we had a look around this beautiful town. Ribe, which is really an ideal wedding location in itself, wouldn't even have been on our radar had we not stayed at the campground (the second night was much better by the way - Indra got to do some stargazing). There we had visited with a couple who had lived in Ribe and they insisted that this town was a must-see. Well, they were right!

We spent the next couple of days in the Tønder Kommune walking, driving and biking around. We particularly enjoyed riding around the island of Rømø and eating at Vadehavscaféen - a cafe over back where we were staying. And just behind the cafe there's a nice walking path through fields with hay bales.

Finally, on the last day, we stopped in Hamburg on the way back to Düsseldorf to join a BBQ with some friends from church.

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