Meanwhile in Germany...

Frohe Weinachten und einen guten Rutsch!   I really should change the title of the post that says the adventure is over. It's not really over, but the end is in sight. Looks like we'll be here for 3 more months, as it would be impossible to return to Alaska where they've had record snows before then. I also need to get some of my money's worth at the Sprachschule (language school), as well.  So, it's nearly 50 degrees F today. Yesterday was nearly as warm when I went with Fr. Gregory and Fr. Samuel on a personally-guided church tour. Regensburg, in fact all of Germany, has these breath-takingly beautiful churches. The one pictured above is in Baroque style. It's the Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady, and is one of the most important churches in Germany. The elaborate decoration is a later addition, added in the 18th century.  About half the churches we wanted to visit were closed for the holidays, so there might be a part two of tour, if everyone has time.  ...

  Christus ist geboren! Verherrlichtet ihn! The temperature neared 50 today under mostly cloudy skies. It's been warm like this for a few days, now. Yesterday morning we had our Nativity Liturgy, then went over to the monastery for a celebratory dinner. Pictured here is the end of the dinner, when Fr. Gregory, who is originally from the UK, brought out the homemade, traditional English Christmas pudding, all aflame. In the photo, one of the guests is checking to see if it was still burning when they put the lights back on. Fr. Gregory and Fr. Samuel invited all of us stragglers who didn't have families to celebrate with them. At the table England, the US, Russia, and Germany were represented. The menu also reflected the diversity. England was represented by the Christmas pudding, the US by my cranberry sauce, Russia by their version of tiramisu, and Germany by Sauerbraten, a traditional Christmas dish. There was so much other food from UK and German cuisine. I noticed as we wer...

  Frohe Weinachten aus Deutschland! Our landlord brought us this sort of Christmas tree, for which we are very grateful. I had a handful of decorations I brought from home to decorate it with. I found some good yarn to make Christmas stars with a few months ago. It's our version of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. There will be no presents under it this year, as we will already be overweight with luggage unless we shed a few items coming back. But, with no presents, we gain a new perspective on the feast of Christ's Nativity, a valuable lesson. We had Vespers and Compline every evening this week, with Vigil tonight, and Liturgy in the morning, followed by a gathering at the Monastery. Living so close to the church enabled me to get there every evening. My heart is full of hymns. Now that the decision has been made for us by circumstances, I am more at peace as I contemplate retirement life in Alaska. Things I will miss about Germany: the architecture, proximity to church and...

  Greetings from Regensburg! One thing has become clear, and that is our health insurance won't be accepted by the government here. When we asked them about international coverage, they told us (at least 3 different times) that we are covered. Fine and good, but they didn't tell us that no matter what the event, we have to pay up front and apply for reimbursement. That doesn't function here. It takes over 2 months for the reimbursement to reach us. I went to the doctor in late October, and I'm still waiting for the check to reach our mailbox. It has to be mailed to the address on record, which is then forwarded to our daughter in Colorado, who then mails it to us. The latest misadventure cost 5000 Euros, which is cheap, cheap, cheap by US standards, but what if there had been surgery or long term care? They won't let us stay when we could run into problems paying our medical bills quickly.  Also, the US banking system, Social Security, state pension plan, etc. don...

  Hallo von Regensburg! First of all, I want to let everyone know that Pat is home and doing better. He came home today and is weak, but mobile. He was still in the hospital yesterday, and insisted that I make the planned trip. So I got to accompany our two hieromonks to a Russian Orthodox parish that's on the old calendar for a St. Nicholas Day liturgy, and afterwards to the world-famous Nürnberg Christmas market. We didn't have a lot of time before we had to catch our train to go back to Regensburg, but I did have enough time to drink some Glühwein and buy one Christmas decoration from the market. We also looked at two old churches.  This one looks like all the other ornate ones, but it's a Lutheran church. It was partly destroyed by allied bombing in WWII, and later restored. In fact, Nürnberg isn't as charming as Regensburg, but that's also because of the bombing that destroyed lot of their Medieval buildings.  The train rides to and from were comfortable, and ...

Guten Abend! This has been one of the worst days of my life. Pat is in the hospital here in Germany. They've got him in the stroke unit. It doesn't appear to be severe, but they want to observe him for at least 3 days. More than that, I don't know. If you read up on culture shock, they say there are 4 or 5 stages. The first stage is the honeymoon stage. Everything is new and fun and exciting. Then comes the frustration stage, followed by the adjustment stage, and so on. I'm currently in the frustration stage, and today only served to accent it. They took him to one hospital, and they determined it was neurological, so they sent him to specialists at another hospital. At the first hospital they gave me a map with a rectangle on it that said the name of the hospital. It was within walking distance, so I set out. Only the one rectangle turned out to be a whole complex of buildings, with not very good signage (which I could have read, even in German). When they took him awa...

  Guten Morgen! It's 46 degrees Fahrenheit and the clouds are beginning to break up. The sun comes out every chance it gets, and when it does, it's glorious.  On one of my town walks, I stopped in at one of the Weinachtsmarkts and enjoyed a mug of Glühwein at one of the stand-up (vs. sitting down) tables nearby. I didn't keep this mug, but returned it for my Pfand of 2 Euros. I really am trying to keep clutter out of my life. The warm drink was really welcome as it was below freezing that day.  I think there are 4 or 5 different Weinachtsmarkts in Regensburg. Next week I am hoping to go to Nürnberg to a St. Nicholas (on the Old Calendar) Liturgy and then to the Weinachtsmarkt there. It is said that the first one was in Nürnberg, which is just one hour north on the regional train.  We have a subscription to the Deutschland Ticket, which for 49 Euros a month, we have unlimited rides on anything in the country, except the express train. The pass is on the phone, so no ...

Schöner Tag! I took this photo from our kitchen window a few days ago after we got a record 6 inches of snow. It has since melted out of the tree, and all that's left is where it was piled up when streets and walkways were cleared. The sun is out today, and when I go out later, I will need to wear my lighter jacket.  Unfortunately, I left my phone behind when we went to the Weinachtsmarkt  (Christmas Market) last evening with members of our parish. I had others take photos, but they haven't sent them to me yet. It seems going to the Weinachtsmarkt in the evening is often done as a group outing. I heard a boss or manager will pay for the food and drinks for the staff. Of course, one can go as a family, or even alone, and the markets are open during the day as well. I plan on stopping by one today before going to help clean the chapel in preparation for the Nativity.  I had my first Glühwein last night, also known as mulled wine. It was delicious, and unlike in the US, it...

  Guten Morgen! Now it's winter. They say it's early to have snow here, but they're prepared. There's barely 2 inches and the plows are out, and they even clear and sand the sidewalks and bike paths. The photo is a view from our balcony. Our big event of the week was going early this morning to the Foreigner Affairs Office and submitting our paperwork to stay for the language course. It went off very smoothly, even though we had to show up over an hour before opening to get in line. Seems a lot of foreigners want to stay in Germany. We had our friend Christopher with us as an interpreter, and he was also invaluable as a guide to the whole process. We have our official permit, and even an appointment to come back if we want to extend our residency. It is a huge relief! Now we can get a regular bank account here, which they don't let you do until you have a residence permit.  And not only a bank account, but I can also get a library card now!! And they have English la...