The Events of Saturday, July 9, 2011

                The trip from outside Salzburg, Austria, to just outside Munich, Germany, only takes two and a half hours. So today was going to be one of our shorter travel days. Although we were supposed to sleep in, our bodies didn't get the message. Jim was up at 6, I was up at 6:30 and Lindsey and Caitlin were in the shower shortly after 7. Our host showed up around 8:30 to say Auf Wiedersehen. Today is the beginning of a week-long holiday in Austria and Germany and he was getting an early start. In no time at all we too were packed up and on our way.

                Driving down "our mountain", the scenery was breath-taking. Jim wondered aloud if the Austrians who live here every day ever stop saying "Wow" as they drive around their country. The kids waited until we were out of the curvy mountain roads and onto the autobahn before beginning their quiet times. Jim and I searched for a convenient gas station before we left Austria to take advantage of better gas prices. That taken care of, we began listening to a Rick Steves podcast as we drove into Germany.

                We were headed for Chiemsee, a large fresh water lake in Bavaria. Pulling into its very popular rest stop, Lindsey and Abby raced for the water, eager to have another entry in their "Waters We Waded" blog on our website. Stopped momentarily by the green gunk at the waters edge, they plunged in and posed for pictures. As they dried their feet, Jim nabbed us a picnic table in the shade for lunch. Perfect. However, as we headed back to the car, Abby realized she was missing her sunglasses. Retracing her steps to the stone wall where she put back on her shoes, she found they were gone. So sad.

                Back in the car, we plugged our destination (near Munich) into both of the GPSes. The car's internal GPS said there was a 141 minute traffic jam ahead. Our handheld GPS from Costco said it was only 16 minutes. We decided to risk it and follow the directions from olur handheld. As we drove on we completed the podcast which shared traveler faux pas in Germany. Our speed remained fairly constant, but we did notice heavy, slow traffic headed in the other direction. Once again, we were headed opposite the crowds. Outside of Munich we did run into a bit of traffic and there was construction traffic as we skirted Munich on our way to Kaufering. Nonetheless, it was only 2:30 when we pulled into our apartment.

                This below-ground apartment is modern, clean and very cool. The apartment comes with a computer and internet access so we were excited to get back on line. Jim put a fresh fuse in our converter and began to re-power our laptop batteries. We were back in business....but only for a few minutes. Just as Jim and Ben were about to leave to do some shopping, I realized the laptop was not recharging. Closer inspection showed that the fuse was blown, again. Perhaps the problem was not with faulty wiring as we had thought in Austria. Perhaps our trusty converter had finally given up the ghost. 

                So Jim added "purchase a new converter" to the shopping list and headed out with Ben. They were planning to get the car's oil changed as we have driven over 20,000 km, and pick up some groceries. A trip to an electronics store would just be an added adventure. 

                After the boys left, the girls and I quickly moved in and I started a load of wash. The washing machine was identical to the one we used in Vienna, so I was quite confident in its operation. However, a few minutes later, I passed the machine and noticed a red light blinking and nothing else happening. I went upstairs to our landlord's door and knocked. The son, who had shown Jim and Ben around the place and explained everything, is probably in his late 20s. As we descended into our apartment he confessed that he has actually never used a washing machine. However, he can read German and realized that the blinking light indicated no water supply to the machine. He had forgotten to tell us that they turn the water off between loads. That fixed, he retired upstairs. 

                The girls and I finished our move-in tasks and spent the rest of the afternoon resting, reading and working on the computer. We decided to try emailing our blogs to ourselves and seeing if we can then upload them to the website. We'll see how that goes.

                Soon the boys were home with the groceries, but they had no luck purchasing a new converter or getting the oil changed. The oil changing place closed at 1:00. Tomorrow is Sunday and the next week is a holiday, so we are not sure when we will be able to change the oil. Guess we'll keep trying.

                While I prepared our pizza and broccoli dinner, Jim set to work on the two remotes that control our big screen T.V. We have become avid Woman's World Cup Football Fans and France was playing England in the quarter finals. After pushing a few buttons and realizing we have over 2000 channels at our disposal, he finally found the World Cup, even though it was in broadcast in German. We turned off the TV during dinner. However, when it came time for dessert we realized there was a slight problem. Jim and Ben had purchased what they thought were frozen desserts. However, after using Google translate, we realized that one dessert was to be thawed at room temperature for 5 hours before baking and the other needed to cook for 35 minutes. No problem. We just watched the Women's World Cup while waiting for our dessert. 

                I was the only one rooting for France. The game went into overtime. In the middle of this, the sound of thunder filled the air. Soon flashes of lightning were in the windows and the skies opened up and let loose. What a thunderstorm! Then – oh, horror of horrors! – we lost our satellite signal. Argh!! Finally, Jim managed to get the game back on. It was still in overtime and then it came down to the penalty kicks. It was fun to see the kids so into the suspense. Caitlin grasped the arms of her chair and exclaimed, "This is SO nerve-wracking!!!" France's goalie missed the first kick. England's goalie stopped the first kick. The next two on each side scored. Then England missed and France scored. They were even. It came down to the final kick. France scored and England missed. France WON!! I enjoyed reveling in the victory of MY team. 

                As the kids readied for bed, the quarter finals between Germany and Japan began. I watched while Jim worked on the computer. He decided to order a new converter. We will be here until Saturday and could get it delivered before we left. Then it was my time on the computer, but I kept the game on in the background. Japan's ball control and passing was amazing. Next to the Japanese, the Germans look like giants, but the Japanese are tenacious. This game too went into overtime, and finally Japan scored. I cheered their victory silently, as everyone else by now was in bed. And now that my blog is finished, I will head to bed as well, so I am well-rested for the jousting tournament tomorrow.