Today we hit 50 days of being in self-isolation together…Woohoo! Today, as I type this, I am supposed to be roaming around the Tulip Gardens in Amsterdam. Likely exhausted because I would have just gotten back from a 10 day trip to Spain with Cody. But instead, I’m in my ugly cozy pink robe, sipping lemon water, and writing this post.
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I’m grateful, things could be a lot worse. But it’s only normal to be upset and disappointed about the things we are missing out in. Especially because a huge reason for me wanting to move abroad in the first place was the opportunity for us to travel Europe quicker and cheaper.
What We’ve Been Up To
Our quarantine has looked pretty similar to the quarantine of our friends and family back home.
Cody is working on mastering the art of baking sourdough bread. His starter is his new pride and joy that he tenderly checks each morning and spends more time than I probably even know taking care of it.
I have spent a lot of time reading. I had all these grand ideas of things I could work on while in quarantine (finally getting our wedding album made, cleaning out my closet, and reviewing past establishments we have eaten at or traveled to) but really, at the end of the day, all my brain seems to be able to do is read. A few good books I’ve read:
- Evvie Drake Starts Over (5 out 5…read)
- The Martian (5 out 5…read)
- Artemis (ehhh…3 out of 4)
- Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia) (unfortunately, 1 out of 5)
- Open Book (4 out 5…read)
- On the Bright Side (4 out 5…read)
Other than more reading time, quarantine hasn’t really changed much for me. Seeing as the past sixteen months I have been working from home and have become less and less inclined to leave the house.
Really, stay at home life is my best life. Minus the no travel part.
And I guess the part where I can see only Cody for 50 days.
And maybe the part about not being able to go out to eat- which is my favorite pastime.
But I digress. Work for me has stayed the same. In fact, my teaching blog has actually grown in the last few months and I am really excited about that.
Cody’s work, on the other hand, has been a rollercoaster ride. Despite that, I am really grateful that we are here in Germany as all this goes down (for more than one reason ;)) because the German government has taken care of their workers.
Initially, Cody spent two weeks working from home. Nothing changed other than where his desk was. Then, his whole company took a two week “vacation.” He had one week of overtime hours saved up + one week of vacation days he had to use.
I was pretty upset about this, again…the travel thing. But Cody gets double the amount of vacation he did back in the U.S. so it’s not too bad.
Then, it moved to “Kurzarbeit” which translates to “short work,” and will be that way for the next couple of months. Kurzarbeit is essentially working 60% of the time for 80% of the pay. (I think?) The German government subsidizes 60% of employee pay and companies, or at least his, has to make up the remaining 20%. (I think?)
So his weeks now look like working Monday-Wednesday, sometimes Thursday, and always Friday off…sometimes Thursday if it’s a real kurz Kurzarbeit.
His coworkers did do a couple of “Frühstücks” together. The first was Weisswurst Frühstücks, which we will happily serve you if you ever get to come visit us.
The second was Leberkäse- which is basically just the Bavarian’s version of SPAM, only you buy it “fresh” from the butcher.
The eating together part is fun. The listening to the Germans speak Bavarian at a rate of speed that seems impossible for even a German to understand, not so much.
Day to Day Happenings
Luckily the weather here has been beautiful. Lots of sun shining, flowers blooming, birds chirping.
Well, except for today. It’s been raining since 8:00 last night and I’m not one bit upset about it! Rain has its own kind of beauty.
We celebrated Cody’s thirtieth birthday, not in Spain like we planned, but on a 20 mile bike ride to a monument outside of the city. No one is more upset about spending five hours on a bike than me, mainly because it was my idea in the first place.
I’ve been taking advantage of the beautiful Farmers Market here. It was pretty dead in the winter so I am really happy that it has opened back up. I have become a “regular” at a couple stands and I am really glad that I think the girl recognizes me when I come each week cause she always speaks English back to me even though I speak German to her each time.
I also administered my first ever haircut and it’s not too shabby if I do say so myself!
Cody and I finally put our pasta making skillz we learned in Italy last Spring to good use and had an at-home date night with pasta, ragu, and focaccia bread- all homemade!
The previous weekend we had watched the documentary Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat on Netflix (go watch it now!). Cody has the cookbook written by the lady who hosted the show. Each episode was focusing on one of those four elements, in the country where it is most used.
Fat was Italy and she made homemade pasta, ragu, and focaccia bread, with loooots of Olive Oil. So naturally, it felt like what we needed to do.
Once we figured out how easy the pasta making process was (and how much better it tastes) we have become homemade pasta evangelists. (Which is why I am dedicating a whole five paragraphs to telling you about our Italian date night and the show that inspired it all.)
Of course, I’ve done my fair share of baking.
- Banana, Apple, and Coconut Bread
- Panacotta (this isn’t baking, but it’s literally the easiest dessert ever and so delicious)
- Rosemary Lemon Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (FYI, this recipe is for 5 dozen cookies…maybe that would be helpful to read before you make them…)
- Brownies
- The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
It wouldn’t be a true quarantine if I didn’t home make some cleaner that the Internet has told me will “surely kill the virus” or take a trip to the grocery store to find there is no toilet paper on the shelves.
But really, I think the pups are the happiest out of all of us. Sometimes they get two walks a day! Plus, they can hang out with their dad and get belly rubs all day.
Until next time,
