Weekend Update

Friday was quite a day. I have to preface it by saying that we will probably never EVER visit Stuttgart again. Ever. Deaner and I had a 3pm appointment with the bank that is making our house loan for us. I was under the impression that we had to sign some more papers and then the whole process would be done. We were advised that it would take us 2 hours to get to Stuttgart (which I already found a little annoying) and less time to sign whatever papers were waiting. We set out from Wiesbaden at 12:45pm because we know what sticklers for time Germans are. It is not polite to be late and it makes me anxious to be late! I feel like I could save myself a lot of angst in not reliving the day but when we were still in the car at 3:30pm 50 miles from Stuttgart, I was having a nervous breakdown. Traffic was so awful that we didn't even move 5 miles in one hour. Luckily we had the number for the loan officer and I was able to call ahead (twice) and let her know that we were running so late. Thankfully she was very understanding. We didn't arrive until 4:20pm. SO embarrassing. This is where my apologetic feelings ended. It didn't take long to figure out that we were there for NO REASON WHATSOEVER. We were walking out of the bank and back to our car by 4:35pm. 15 MINUTES LATER. Apparently German banks just want to meet you before giving you the loan. WHAT???? I might point out here that anyone can put on a polo shirt and APPEAR as if they are going to pay a bazillion dollar mortgage! Geez! Apparently we passed our 15 minute interview because we were sent on our way with a complimentary BINDER sporting the bank logo on it. To say we were annoyed is an understatement. The bank that is making our loan is a HUGE bank here in Germany and we cannot understand why we couldn't walk the 2 blocks down the street in Wiesbaden and meet the people at the branch in our OWN CITY?? All home buyers beware. I think that this process will pay off but it has certainly been long and drawn out!

Friday evening was full of big beers and a good dinner! Too bad we didn't get home until 8:30pm!! The traffic was just as bad on the way back as it was on the way to Stuttgart! Saturday was a low key day. We headed out to Hattenheim to see the process that the current house owners are making on getting their stuff out. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! The house is almost empty! Deaner called this morning and scheduled our stuff to be delivered next Thursday on August 13th! I can't tell y'all how excited this makes me! I have to go over to housing sometime in the next few days and arrange to have our washer and dryer/refrigerator/closets delivered! I cannot wait. OH yeah, check out my grapes!! They are getting SO big! Also, here is a shot of the winegarten that I have been telling y'all about! Deaner and I had to stop for a glass before heading back to Wiesbaden!So Deaner is going to Manchester tonight and I am staying behind in Wiesbaden. I am not thrilled about this but I think I will live. He leaves later on this afternoon and gets back late on Wednesday night. Tomorrow Steph and I are going to try and buy paint for our kitchen and bedroom and take it out to the new house. I might even get a chance to start painting! It would be very nice to have most of that done before our stuff gets delivered!

Anyways, I am off to spend some time with Deaner before we leave to take him to the airport. I'll be around this week and hopefully I will have some better stories to tell! Happy Monday!