Rhodes5 in Deutschland: First Impressions...

After sorting through what seemed to be 5000 boxes, we have finally created some sense of normalcy with regard to living. After several weeks of not really knowing where to find the most basic of necessities, most things now have a place where they belong and we can function much easier. At least we know where the coffee and coffee maker is located and we have a refrigerator to store the cream -that is a plus!!! I feel like we have been in a situation that resembled camping for quite a few weeks now....

Anyway, yes we are some what settled and we have a few first impressions of our new city....

1. It is almost half the size of our old city
2. We aren't quite sure, but we think we live in the "time square" of our new city (it seems to be bustling in this vicinity - not quite sure what to make of it yet though)
3. Even though Bamberg is in Bavaria, it seems that people here are more "Bavarian" - where as in Bamberg, they are more "Franconian"
4. There doesn't seem to be as much diversity (predominantly blond, blue eyed kids in Mia's class).
5. The festivals are fun (we happened to move in the week of one of the citiy's biggest festivals, so we have visited it quite a few times already)
6. They speak a different dialect of German here. Mia laughs at the differences of a few words they use in school.
7. Bryan has a 30 minute commute to work and is often stuck behind a tractor within those 30 minutes... That says something about the area outside of the city.

8. The biking situation is A LOT different than Bamberg. Everything is so orderly and makes sense in Bamberg. Here, the bikers share the side walks with pedestrians, but there is no special lane and it makes it not only confusing to bike, but you also have to be careful driving so that you don't hit someone crossing the street.
9. So far, we like our house. It is bright and centrally located, which should make for enjoyable everyday life.
10. It will become "Home" as soon as Bailey and Camden come back. We can't wait!!!

At the top of a huge hill (small mountain) right beside the city...

is a beautiful Pilgrimage Church called - Maria Hilfe

This is the view of our Amberg from the church....

This was the view up at the church this week (they had a huge Church festival)

This is Mia being silly, but I had to mention one of the other differences here...They have liter beers (in Bamberg, it is only half liter beers - it is a big difference!)

People enjoying the fest...

Lots of Brawtwurst, cheeses, ribs, breads, and even fish...

and of course a big candy/treat section too!

On the way back down the hill, we saw this cute couple - not too many people wear lederhosen and dirndls in Bamberg - there were many more people in traditional garb here....