Life lately

I thought I'd share some updates on what I've been up to since March.

St. Patrick's day

I knew I had to celebrate in some way even if only for a few hours! Some friends and I decided to go to one of the Irish pubs in town. Even though a few of them were going to bring their kids along I decided to leave Mini at home as I knew the pub would be crowded and sometimes she just gets overwhelmed in loud and busy places. My husband was happy to stay with her and I enjoyed getting to catch up with the girls over a Guinness or two. I actually rarely drink Guinness! I tend to prefer sweeter drinks like wine spritzer but it was Paddy's day after all so I ordered a pint with some cheese and onion crisps.

It was a fun afternoon. Everyone was in really good spirits. There were a mixture of all nationalities in the pub and I enjoyed mingling. For some reason this only seems to happen at Irish pubs in Germany I find. At the German pubs people tend to stay with the groups of friends they arrived with. Of course I had Mini dressed in a cute green outfit for the day. Hopefully next year she'll be old enough to enjoy the celebrations a bit more.

Daycare adjustment

In March Mini started going to KITA (daycare /creche). In Germany they do a very gradual settling in process called "Eingewöhnung" which typically lasts 4 to 6 weeks. It started off well, the first week there we went for around an hour each day and I even left her a few times. She was happy to explore the new place new but soon it clicked that Mummy was leaving her there and then she started crying at drop off. The very worst day was when she was upset for almost half an hour after I left. It was very hard on both of us. I burst into tears myself and one of the minders gave me a really big hug!

I felt a lot of guilt around sending her there, wondering whether I was doing the right thing. I reminded myself that I knew she was in good hands. The childminders there are lovely and I knew they would be comforting her and distracting her. Thankfully that one day was the worst and it got better from then on. The following day she was upset for around ten minutes after I left and subsequent days only a few minutes max. On some days I handed her over to the minder and she got upset but then I would wait outside the door for a moment and I could hear she had already stopped crying. I was also able to peak into the window and see her playing which helped with the guilt. She is now settled and happy there which is a huge relief! I've been working more hours now and that's been going well too.

Time outdoors

The weather has finally started improving here and we've been able to spend more time outdoors lately. The German winter lasted a long time this past year but now all of a sudden we've started getting warm Summer like days. Hubby and I got a yearly pass to the zoo and have already been there a few times. There are lots of playgrounds and a nice park area so it's a lovely place to walk around even if you don't go to look at the animals.

As Mini gets older she is able to partake more at playgrounds. I can put her into the baby swing or let her play in the sand with a bucket and spade for instance. Of course she still tries to put things like sand and stones in her mouth so I have to keep a close eye on her! One of my friends and I also went to the park for a picnic recently and Mini was happy to sit on the blanket and snack. The weather lately has been a bit like an Irish Summer actually which is pleasant. Once it gets to August/September here then you get this extreme heat which makes being outside during peak times less tolerable.

Watching / reading

Like most people, we are following and enjoying the final season of Game of Thrones! It will be strange once it's all over. I'm currently reading "Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty and we've also been watching the TV series. I like the casting, the actors they've picked mainly match my idea of the characters. My book club met recently to discuss out last book which was "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman.

We've a few trips planned this Summer which I'm looking forward to. Anyway, enough about me. What's new with you?

Run for your life

To be honest I don't particularly enjoy jogging like some people seem to. Once the weather started to improve here recently I decided I would take it up again but I knew I needed some kind of extra incentive to motivate me. The GerMann and I follow the zombie TV series The Walking Dead and when I heard about a zombie jogging themed app I decided to give it a try!

The full app for your smartphone costs about four euro but I went for the smaller version that is focused on training you for a 5k marathon and costs half that. The idea is that you listen to it while you jog and using GPS it can determine your route and speed. There are different chapters or levels and as your running improves the story progresses. You are known as "Runner 5" during a zombie apocalypse world and you are sent out on mini missions to help the base camp, such as to find medical kits or bring back supplies.

The story began with an exciting start when my helicopter crash-landed into an area surrounded by zombies who I had to then escape to reach the base camp. Through my earphone I had the voice actors telling me whenever any were close and when that happened, they would shout "move!" and I had to run faster. It was really quite realistic - I could hear zombie groaning in my ear if I wasn't running fast enough!

At one point I was getting really into it and nearly jumped out of skin when a cyclist whizzed past me from behind just as I could hear zombie groaning in my earphones. And I found myself scanning my terrain for possible weapons to defend myself from a zombie attack..such as big sticks or rocks.

I've only done a few missions so far and the first was the most exciting. The ones after that so far have just been more or less training drills with a mixture of walking then running in short bursts back at the base camp.

What's good though is that you can choose your playlist from music on your phone and the songs will be interspersed throughout the story. However, it made me laugh at one point as just after escaping a zombie, the Sugababes Get sexy song blasted into my ear which somehow just didn't seem appropriate during a zombie apocalypse!

I've signed up for a 6km marathon in less than six weeks so I'm going to have to try to aim to get out running twice a week if possible. Once I've completed more "missions" in the app I'll let you know how I found it!

Spring fever

"Frühjahrsmüdigkeit" is roughly translated as "spring fever" in English. However confusingly it has the opposite meaning! The English term implies increased energy at the start of spring whereas Germans talk about feeling tired for no reason apart from the fact that the season has changed. The weather has been strange these days. Still cold in the mornings, a mere 10 degrees but then it heats up in the afternoons when the sun comes out to a sunny 23 degrees.

I'm delighted winter is over but now spring is here I have had my hay fever to deal with. Luckily after just a few a difficult days I managed to get it under control- taking a tablet every night. It should be gone in a few more weeks.

There's a 6km marathon the end of May which I've signed up for. This way I have the motivation to take jogging up again. And I felt great after completing the 5km run last year. People who regularly take part in proper marathons will probably be laughing reading this as very fit people don't have to train at all to do a 5km run. But over winter I haven't been doing much exercise so I'll have to build up my fitness level again slowly. I like the couch to 5k running plan.

I've never been one of those people who is obsessed with running unfortunately. They seem to love it and get a real high and miss it if they don't do it. I find it a struggle and feel happy once it's over! Once you decide to start jogging, the first few times you go are really difficult and you just feel like giving up and wonder what crazy thing gave you the idea to go running. But after a few times, it suddenly starts to get better and you find you can jog for longer and get into a stride. From then on it's possible to go for a little longer each time.

So I'm planning to go jogging, ideally one or two evenings after work and at the weekend. I use an app on my phone, called "Endomondo" to track my distance. There are also some lovely routes not too far from where I live so I don't have to jog beside a busy road but can enjoy some nature. Maybe if I do more exercise my "Frühujahrsmüdigkeit" will turn into "spring fever" and I'll be jumping out of bed in the mornings! Here's hoping.

Colourful eggs hanging from the trees, it must be Easter!

Germans get really into celebrating Easter. They buy all these colourful painted eggs and hang them up in their garden. They also buy bunny pictures and statues and put them up around the house. And everywhere you go, people are wishing you a "Frohes Ostern" -happy Easter. It is normally a time for families to get together and enjoy a big meal, typically lamb. And they even buy each other presents. It is a little like a lower key Christmas!

Disappointingly though in my eyes anyway, they don't have Easter eggs! I'm talking about the big Cadbury's chocolate ones. What they have instead are chocolate covered rabbits. They also have some little chocolate eggs with cream inside, a little bit like Cadbury's cream eggs, though not as tasty!



I am delighted that Spring is here. It's a time for new beginnings and without going into too much detail, my job situation has recently improved a lot. I am still working in IT but I have had a career change in the industry into web development, which I am loving. Career wise, I also realise that I am enjoying more opportunities than I would be if I was still living in Dublin, where unfortunately the job situation is still pretty bad, from what I hear. It is times like this that I am glad to have emigrated to Germany.