Prinzipalmarkt and the Store.

On Friday Pete had to teach for the first time, and his students didn't know that their recitation class would be in English and that their teacher spoke NO German. Pete's adviser went to class with Pete to break the news to them and then left. Apparently there were a few intakes of breath but no one said anything. Pete said the students were chattier during class than American students but they didn't complain or act as unprepared as American students, one guy even said that if Pete wanted them to come to the board to show the rest of the class how to do a problem they were used to it-American students don't like doing this because it makes them feel uncomfortable.

Then we decided to take the bus to the Prinzipalmarkt. Now this is a big deal for many reasons. 1. We don't speak German  2. I don't like public transportation due to the stress factor( finding your route, what is proper etiquette, paying attention to your stop, do you have to switch, if you do what happens then, and etc.) something I will have to adjust to while in Europe. 3. In Germany you do things right, quick, and the way they are supposed to be done. There is none of this taking up people's time because you don't know how to do it. There is a strict order and script and it must be followed. Pete went over and over the bus route and over and over what he needed to say and we made sure we had money and we told the kids to get on the bus, be still, and get off quickly (but safely). The bus ride went well, but I am not sure we will do it often because it is very expensive to just take a quick trip on the bus. When we move Pete will probably have to take the bus every week so he will have to buy a monthly bus pass, but at least then he won't have to worry about talking to anyone, he can just flash his pass. Also, I don't think I will ever have the courage to do it alone or alone with kids. I would rather not go. On our way back from the Prinzipalmarkt we bought our tickets at a booth near the bus stop and not knowing what to do I did what the person in front of me did, which was flash the tickets at the bus driver and try to walk back but this was wrong. I had back up step off the bus then step back on in order to put the tickets in some automated machine that stamped them. See, so much stress riding the bus. I would rather have my car, turn my music up, drive where I want, basically how I want, and when I want. 

We got off in front of St. Lamberti Church. It is a Catholic Church and is known for the Anabaptist cages. There are three cages where they put the bodies (after they had been tortured and executed) of the three Anabaptist leaders who took control of the town in 1533-1535. Once the town had been recaptured, the bodies were displayed as a warning to others. We did not go inside any of the churches we saw downtown, and I am not sure when we will, unless we decide to attend Mass at one of them-- they are all still active parishes. The boys have, on numerous occasions, shown us they aren't quite ready to handle themselves in public. While breaking down while in restaurants, shopping, or just walking down the street is one thing, throwing a huge fit or fighting in the middle of a church tour is not something I want to experience. I know they will say to themselves-oh those Americans with their loud voices and even louder kids. 

just above the clock you can see the cages

The stores down there are very expensive, most we won't be able to afford-ever, but we found H&M and it was more our speed. The Prinzipalmarkt is so crowded,there are nice restaurants up and down the street,flower vendors dot the market,and dogs are everywhere and they are allowed in the stores, by the ice cream bars,and in the restaurants. We always get excited and a little sad when we see a Golden Retriever.

Stadtweinhaus- town wine house that is now just used for meetings

St. Ludgeri- one of the oldest Catholic buildings in town. Dates back to 1173

Tradition says that if you are a single 30-year-old male you go to the Rathaus to sweep up bottle caps while family and friends taunt you

Today we went to the grocery store. Pete has been the one going since we moved, but today we made it a family outing. We decided to walk to Lidl. Pete has been going by himself to REWE but Lidl was closer so off we went. We walked down the Promenade past Lake Aa and saw a wedding party-a limo decked out in yellow and white flowers and yellow and white ribbon with about 5 cars behind it also decked out in yellow and white ribbons all honking the whole way down the road. The weather was nice, the walk was fine, but we weren't quite getting where we needed to be. After quite a while we realized we missed the road we needed to go down, so we had to turn around and go back to where we needed to be. Once in Lidl I sort of took a step back because this is not what I thought. It is like Aldi's in America (there's an Aldi's in Munster too but it isn't close to us), you put your Euro in the cart and head through the turnstile and off shopping you go. Now there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to the lay out. The products are not displayed nicely, there are a few shelves but all the items are sort of piled up and in boxes. When you first go in there are jelly and fruit spreads on one side and chocolates and chips on the other side. It didn't quite make sense. It was very compact and crowded feeling and there weren't a lot of options. Pete said that REWE was much much more like an American grocery store and there were more options and more products, but it is the expensive grocery store. Checking out is a fast process and you have to be ready to be fast. You put your groceries on the belt then you start bagging, and you have to be fast because if you aren't the cashier tells you you need to be faster. We are very American in our shopping habits, we had two carts(the carts are super small) and lots of groceries. Almost everyone had just a few things, but we had a week's worth of groceries- we did get weird looks. I tried to bag as fast as I could while Pete put our stuff on the belt,but we still weren't fast enough. Once Pete finished he didn't start helping me bag so the cashier basically told him to help me because we weren't going fast enough. Of course this was in German but it was pretty easy to figure out. Pete ended up just grabbing a handful of groceries and throwing them back into the cart figuring we could bag them outside. I began thinking about why Americans buy so many groceries at once and I figure it has to do with convenience and options. When I am at home maybe I plan on eating burgers but what if by the end of the day we want pasta or what if the kids want grilled cheese? We need all those foods on site just in case. I like to eat cereal everyday but what if I run out, do I really want to go to the store just to get cereal? If I just buy a couple large boxes every couple times I go then I don't have to mess with it. We bought Quark at the store today-it is a spreadable cheese that is high in protein but by itself pretty tasteless. We had vanilla yogurt, fruit spread, fresh strawberries, and Quark all mixed together-- it is so so so delicious. I mean great. The Quark makes it thicker and creamier. So good. Also, the fruit spread was great- raspberries with vanilla.