the Saarbrücken commute

There's something to be said for a city big enough to have a bustling market 3 times a week on my corner, but small enough to bike anywhere in 15 minutes.

I usually walk to HTW, about 25 minutes through St. Johanner Markt

over the Saar ...

on the Alte Brücke ...

I'm wondering if this is the start of another camino.

Construction Zone

Today our apartment is a flurry of activity. A friend of my room-mate is installing our new kitchen - the sawdust is flying as he cuts the butcher-block counter to fit. And in my room, the paper is flying, as I am about to build my new furniture. (click on pics for larger view)

1. The bedframe.

2. The comfy chair with footstool.
3. The desk.
So now I have living areas:
The comfy bedroom:
The decadent den:








The opulent office:












At long last, sleeping off the floor! All that's left is my dressing room - but I have to get hooks first.

The kitchen is starting to coalesce - Stay tuned!

Sunday morning

This morning I woke up in a grey fog. Literally - we are finally having a taste of "normal" November Saarland weather. It's not so bad - not raining anymore, and the sun usually peaks out a few times every day - and warmer than it was a couple weeks ago!
Perfect day for planting my windowboxes. It only took a couple hours, and now my room is a bit of a mess, but I'm surrounded by green ... and red and yellow. I refuse to decorate for Christmas before Advent (Dec. 2 this year), but I have a few more ideas up my sleeve to dress it up a bit. If only I had a match, I could light the lantern - a here we go!

Happy Winter Gardening Day! Anyone for coleslaw?

Further adventures in Ikea

Today, my co-worker Wolfgang and his family took me to Ikea to order my furniture. On the short drive to Lisdorf, I had fun tutoring their son in English (he is already learning French from his mother and Italian in school). In spite of pre-selecting the major items, it took several hours to navigate through the tempting aisles. In the end, we managed to cram all the accessories like plants and bedding in the car, and the furniture will be delivered Tuesday!

Building a bedroom is like the process of Evolution.
I'm thrilled just to be sleeping on actual sheets tonight!
(Today's menu: stir-fried cabbage.)

A chair, by any other name

I just put a new spin on "lightweight construction." Today, after churning through all my Ikea notes on beds and comparing them in a spreadsheet, I finally had a eureka moment. What about inflatible furniture? Dad told me he found his air mattress very comfortable - so I hit the camping section at Galerie-Kaufhof ... and picked up an extra-thick double flocked mattress with chambered construction. It even fit in my bike basket!

After test-driving all the wheeled chairs at Ikea the other day, I still wasn't inspired by office furniture ... but I've heard that sitting on one of those inflatable exercise balls helps develop your abs. What are they called now? And in German?? Anwendung- Aufgabe- ... Sitz Ball? Gymnastik Ball? I finally managed to explain it to the sports sales guy - and then I saw it! A Fit-Chair - an exercise ball on wheels! And it FITS ON MY BIKE!

With pump in hand, I grow my new furniture. One hundred ... two hundred ... 250 pumps and I have a nice firm bed. 60-80-100 pumps ... but this chair is never going to make it. The ball doesn't even inflate big enough to fill the frame! Back to the store ... nothing like an electric air compressor to really sttrreeeeettch it out!
Ikea is good, but ...

Do engineers dream of Ikea?

Today was a shopping day off work. (Hey, they have snow days in St. John's!)

25-km by bike along the Saar.

Tires flattened under the weight on the way back.

Need I say more.

I am overwhelmed. This was definitely worth it.

I made it as far as the bedroom section just as they announced 30 minutes to closing. Guess I'll be back...

Ok, I admit I biked to up to Saarlouis and took a humiliatingly-short 7-minute train ride home. I'll be dreaming of bedframes dancing in my head.

es schneit

Word of the day: der Schnee (snow).
There is a flourish of flakes on the rooftops,

A smattering of snow on the flowers below -
Yes, I am in Saarbrücken, where winter was described as "mild" during my interview.
Perhaps there is a subtlety to the word mild that was lost in translation. The forecast looks a lot more like cold to me.

I hope the spot of blue sky in my office window expands a bit.

The Cabbage that Ate Saarland

Last night, I wanted to make Caribbean Shrimp Soup à la James Barber for my room-mate. I don't cook much, but it is a sure-fire hit. The only trick is finding the ingredients in my new hometown. Ginger - der Ingwer - is not exactly common here, but I found it with a lemon in the random vegetables at Aldi on the way home. But no coconut milk, onions or cabbage. On to the next store - the Plus Markt near the bridge. They have onions and garlic, but no coconut milk and no cabbage. hmm. Next stop a produce market over the bridge - and I learn to pronounce Kokosnußmilch without spitting. But still no cabbage! In Germany? What about sauerkraut? Even their president was named Kohl!
So I truck up to the Saargallerie mall by the Bahnhof. There in the Rewe, I strike Kohl. Giant Kohl - the smallest cabbage they have is 3 kilograms!. And no, you can't buy a quarter. This thing is big enough to frighten small children.

After huffing up 8 flights of stairs, I have provisioned my temporary kitchen, and the soup is a winner! Now what to do with the rest of the Cabbage That Ate My Fridge ...

Displaced Urban Peasant

Today, I am cooking Caribbean Shrimp Soup à la James Barber for my room-mate in my temporary kitchen. James Barber taught me to cook from the heart - no recipe, just use what is available and what you like - and if you love it, just use more! Let's hope I can find cilantro at the local grocer!


James Barber has "retired" to Duncan on Vancouver Island, where I hope he will make cameo appearances at some local restaurants so my parents can enjoy him first-hand. At least he keeps some of his recipes on line!

The Bionic Engineer!

I've finally started work at InPEO, which is part of the Spin-off Centre at the University of Applied Sciences and Economics (Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft) in Saarbrücken, Germany. I've been tasked with finding a suitable bionic solution for an industrial application. The new focus for InPEO is "Bionischer Leichtbau" or bionic lightweight structures.

To see some examples of bionics, or designs inspired by Nature, check out the impressive Bionic Expo2005 in Japan.

Tomorrow I will be attending "Empower Deutschland" a local exhibition at the Saarbrücken Congress Hall. There is even a section on Space Innovation!

Lots of pictures to follow!

Besucht: Raumgestalterin

Next project: bedroom a.k.a. das Schlafzimmer
Wanted: interior designer with flair for making a futon look fashionable.
Best design using found objects wins a weekend's accommodation ... in the room of their own design :-)

WC

Next project: Bathroom a.k.a. der WC

Step 1: Get shower an adjustable curtain rod.

Step 2: Figure out how to work a spring-loaded shower curtain rod without injuring self.

Step 3: Figure out how to disassemble and modify shower curtain rod to make a towel rack.


(Note clever use of Badteppich ... as a bath mat.)

Step 4: Find a shower curtain.

Step 5: Install-install-install!

Eureka!

I have it! I have an actual residency permit for Germany!

It only took 2 hours after following my roomie out to the university for der Mietvertrag (the rental contract) to get eine Anmeldebestätigung (registration at City Hall) and finally, after waiting in the scary line-up at der Ausländerbehörde (aliens office) I was back at the desk of Frau Nedermyer who printed a pretty work visa and glued it into my new passport. (photo tomorrow)

And now, I have to wait another whole day because my new boss is at a conference this afternoon ...

I have to wait how long???

The Accidental Techie

Well, still waiting for the rental contract ... so I register my address ... so I can get my residency permit ... so I can start work here. Everything in Germany is a regulated process. In the meantime, having measured my new rooms, I am tentatively trying to build a new home.

Let's imagine a temporary kitchen while we're waiting for new built-in kitchen to arrive in 3 weeks.Step 1: Stop at bike shop, get low tire filled and ask where I can buy a ... wait-a-minute, have to look this one up - Durchvorhangrohr (shower-curtain-rod). Easy - Bauhaus, the local home hardware store, is just a few blocks away.

Step 2A: Get new keys cut.
Step 2B: Go home and check new keys work. Check.

Argh. Flat tire - and my pump has rusted together.

Step 3A: go to local bike shop and get a new pump. And a new tube, while I'm at it. Check.

Step 3B: Replace tube. Child's play for a mechanical engineer! Whups! Did you know buying a bike tool from a $1 store can be hazardous to your health?

Step 3C: Repair thumb.

... Step 3D: Back to the bike shop to have the wheel tightened.

Step 4: Scope out cheapest hot plate and wash basin - wow, there's even an automatic tea kettle on sale!

Step 5: Build temporary kitchen and impress the heck out of new room-mate.

Next project: Dinner!

Zu endlich zu Hause

Home is where I hang my hat - tonight I am not sleeping in a dorm room, I will not be woken by shrieking kids down the hall and I will definitely not have a continental breakfast. And my new roomie even gave me a mattress!

The hunt is over - no more sifting through endless papers and calling up strangers to find out another new phrase for "it's already rented."

My new home is a loft apartment with a terrace (and my own washroom!) over a cool restaurant.It's a bit sparse to start with, but it has a lot of possibilities. The bathroom doesn't have a shower stall (or even a curtain rod!), the kitchen is just a hole in the wall, and the bedroom is just a giant odd-shaped room.

Opfer der blinder Anhänger

I am currently listening to Yannick Noah and typing with mitts - on a German keyboard and not too bad,. That's becauxe I have found a solution to the interminhably smokey internet cafews here in Saarbrücken. Untiöl thje newq ban comews into effect Jan. 1 2008, zhe best spot is the back room at Tele-Med Internet Cafe, which should refer to the possibility of quick resuscitation, but more likely explains wqhy the keyboard switches to Orımjğ, er Turkish through some as yet unidentified set of keystrokes. At least the window opens...

Anyway - you werew looking for the apartmewnt update: Yesterday I was trying to choosew betwwen apples and oranges... and I finally found a peach. A ground-level, fully-renovated 2- room apartmwent with hardwood floors, gorgeous bathtub and butcherblock countewr in supewr quiert street a couple blocks from St. Johannesmarkt. So I told the guy I'd like to remnt it ... and he gfave me the run-around. Apparently he doesn't like renting to Auslanders, but instead of just telling me he didn't want to rent it, I wasted a day playing phone tag. Guess everyone should know what it feels like to be subjected to prejudice.

On the bright side, the lovely shared apartment in St Johannesmarkt is still free, so that's where I'm heading tonight with my new Badteppich (some sort of spongy bath mat thing) and my sleeping bag.
Boy, will I be happy to starrt work! And cook my own food!

Next mission: bed shopping.

Apples and oranges

I have read 3 papers, searched 4 online sites and gone through the list from the Hochschule, called about 40 places, seen 5, and narrowed it down to 2. How hard can that be? Well you try to figure a weighting scale for these:

1. small 2-room loft very close to work
+ cheap EUR210/mo + ~90 heiz + uzw => ~350EUR inkl.
+ my own place
+ all white, very bright with 3 big double-paned opening windows (parallel to roof)
+ can do anything I want to the place because he is renting it unrenovated
+ laundry room in basement
+ don't think there is any problem with having a dog - all linoleum floors
+ across street from playground/park with trees
+ near kino, burgerpark, ethnic grocers, kebab shop (yum)
but
- not a stick of furniture, no appliances, not even a kitchen sink
- 8 narrow flights of stairs to 4th floor
- car-oriented area - near busy intersection, probably too noisy to have window open all the time

2. big shared loft in St. Johannermarkt
+ fantastic area, all pedestrian, very lively, but in quite corner away from main plaza
+ had fun over glass of wine with roomie, liked her at first meeting
+ huge room, east facing window (+ west-facing window across hall if door open)
+ new washmachine, about to have complete new kitchen, only need to furnish my own room
+ own washroom/shower, very long hall to entry, then living room/kitchen, other bedroom at far end => private
+ west-facing terrace in back of buildings, very private
- roomie is paying for all upgrades to her new apartment, and considers she is more entitled to space generally
- bit expensive maybe - 400EUR inkl. (but less than half lease, because she has better accommodation with sauna
- not my own place, would feel like I'm renting a room in someone else's home, her furniture in main room, etc
- roomie is young professional 25 (but not a party animal apparently)

The criteria:

1. solitude
2. light
3. quiet
4. ownership

hmmmm...
Still tough - really wish I could find a single apartment in St. Johannesmarkt, or at least quieter street than #1. Need to use genetic manipulation to combine #1 and #2. Solution: call another one ... ah, Nauwieserviertel! That's near St. Johannesmarkt!

*sniff*

I just got the best birthday card from my parents - too bad I can't find a boat just like that here in Saarbrücken, but at least I think I can get an allotment here by the river and have a canoe (it's a Canadian thing ;-) and a dog.
Last night, I priced out furniture, appliances and other sundries to set up an apartment (a different scale of stuff than a boat!) Today I am going to look at a couple more rooms and then decide where to live for the next year or so. I can't wait to move out of the youth hostel and start work!

btw - has anyone seen my sock?

a lonely striped sock ...

The scale of things

Today I went to see a Dachwohnung (loft apartment), meandered along the Saar River looking at allotments and found the boat harbour (Osthafen).


There are very few private boats here, only a couple big old barges with "interesting" occupants and a motor yacht club with a giant security gate - not very inviting.


I met a nice old woman with a steel Dutch boat - she reminisced about the travels she had with her husband, who died last year. They cruised all over northern Europe. She is selling the boat, but it is too old and too expensive for me.

Around lunchtime, I accidentally ended up in the next village, where I found a great little fresh produce store. I also discovered the end of the line for the Strassenbahn (city train) and hopped on with my bike. It was only 4 stops from Brebach back to the heart of Saarbrücken (compare 13 stops from ISU to Centerville in Strasbourg!). I am disoriented by the small size of this city - I think my map scale is much smaller than it is. Everything is only 10 minutes by bike!

Herzlichen Grüßen von herbstlich Alt Saarbrücken

Tonight, I made it to the top of the city in Alt-Saarbrücken. This is the old city neighbourhood up on the hill with old stone houses, old trees and steep stairs. Autumn is in the air.




People move at a slower pace and there is no traffic.




The view over the city is filled with fall colours ... and the steam from a distant coal power plant.

The Funny Papers

Today was all about house-hunting. I learned a specialized German vocabulary around rooms and renting including:
DLH - Durchlauferhitzer (instantaneous water heater)
EBK - Einbauküche (built-in kitchen)
EG - Etagen über Gründ (how many stories above ground)
K/HM - kalt/heise Miete (un-/heated rent)
Kt - Kaution (security deposit)
möbl. - möbliert (furnished)
Nk - Nachbarkosten (other costs)
WaR - Waschraum (laundry room)
ZKB - Zimmer mit Kuche und Bad (bedroom with kitchen and bath)

Some especially interesting ones:

Hannweiler, Bunker ca. 150m2, zentr. Lage, Stromanschl., viels. verwendbar, zu verm.

Bunker <sic> in Hannweil, ~150m2, centrally-located, electric service, many uses (... if I could only think of one)

Saarbr. Steinstr., helle DG-Whg., 1ZKB, ca.39m2, frei ab sofort
Clean loft apartment in Stein Street, 1-bedroom with kitchen and bath, ~39 sq m, free immediately (I have a 10AM appointment :-)

See if you can manage this one before someone else rents it:

SB-Uninähe 1-ZiKoNiDu, WaR, S-Lage, AR, Terrasse, Garten, teil-möbl., sep. eing., ET-Hzg., PKW Stellpl., 2 KM Kt

(and if you figure it out - tell me!)

I also spent some more time on the campus of the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (University of Applied Science and Economics), when Dr. Weber took me for a tour of the bionics lab, Bibliothek (library) and Mensa (cafeteria - note to self, pack a lunch). And I got my bike brakes fixed so I can stop as well as go now.

Caricamento in corso…

I am in Saarbrücken. I am certain this is Germany. There are ümläuts on my kezboard and the z and y, er I meant y and z are reversed. Even the Ukrainian dixie jazz band plays with a German accent. So why is blogger still in Italian?

Yesterday, I met my new boss and colleague and was given the key to the institute (don't say it). That was so stressful, I had to take a day off :-)

Today, I biked to the top of the hill, discovered St. Johannes Markt, a Belgian waffle shop called "Chez Tin Tin", of course, and a castle. Happy All Saints Day!

me in my native environment: my Bremener bike, my German-English-German dictionary and a map =>

Blog news: I have just updated my trip to Italy via Hook (Oct. 17-30). You're going to have to wait for Russia...