It is beautiful here. It looks and feels a lot like Pennsylvania, but older and with unintelligible street signs. The air is cool and clear. Lawns are filled with spirea bushes, roses, hostas, and geraniums, all the usual from home. All the roads have walkers or bikers. The sidewalks are cobblestone. Crosswalks aren't painted like they are in the States, they are marble stripes in the road. Crosswalks are sacrosanct, by the way. The concept that pedestrians have the right of is firmly in place.
And oo la la, can we talk cars... I love the Audi we've been zipping around in. And we're surrounded by vehicles just as cool in every direction. The minivans here are Fiat. It's going to be hard to go back to my Mazda, grateful as I am to have it.
Our big outing today was to walk to the Marktplatz and to go by the kids' school. We walked along Klostersee park (web sites listed below or you can google the park); a creek with various parks and walking trails along the length of it.
Downtown Sindelfingen looks like everything you would expect of a moderate-sized village. On the outskirts near Stuttgart it has a shopping mall and an Ikea. The center is all small shops, gardens and squares. People are remarkably friendly and kind. We have bought school shoes and looked for trinkenflaschen (we think that's the word for water bottles, but we're not sure). I can hear Tess practicing next to me, whispering "Sprechen Sie English?" when we walk down the street.
She is having the hardest time of all of us. She says she loves Germany but misses her friends very much. Very sad tonight. I'm glad that we'll be in church in the morning and that school starts Monday.
(www.sindelfingen.kdrs.de/servlet/PB/show/1222119_l1/P1010219
www.sindelfingen.kdrs.de/servlet/PB/menu/1206278_l1/index.html?pbanker=Sommerhofenpark)
1 comment:
Hi there! Kat and I are both excited for you! The park looks gorgeous. We are enjoying your first impressions and praying we get to have some of our own too!
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