We’ve been enjoying another week of Matt Sr. and Cindy visiting with us! After Cindy’s wrist injury on Sunday, we took it easy on Monday. We all needed the extra rest anyways and it went a long way towards us all feeling better.
Monday night, we decided to stop by the Bootshaus to try our luck again on getting the asparagus soup. We are happy to report that not only were we successful, but it was probably the best asparagus soup I’ve ever had.
It has not rained in several days and the pollen count is like one million and we are all suffering from it. I noticed that by the time we left the Bootshaus, I was feeling extra terrible. I think I must be especially sensitive to the pollen from the trees in their biergarten.
Tuesday was my birthday! I still needed to go to work in the morning and was expecting a quiet day as I had not told anyone what day it was. To my surprise, my co-workers treated me to donuts for breakfast and then a cake buffet (of 3 cakes!) at lunch time. I was really spoiled and felt super special. For me, birthdays are not always easy. I can’t explain it but they always make me emotional; maybe it has to do with being away from home- I don’t know. But, that really put a smile on my face to have such a special day at work.
I did take the afternoon off and got home in time to join Matt, Matt Sr., and Cindy on a trip to the Stuttgart Fernsehturm, aka the TV tower. We rode the elevator up to the observation deck for a good look at Stuttgart from above. Not only is the pollen bad right now, but the Sahara dust has not completely cleared out either. Looking off the viewpoint, we could see the thick, yellowish-brown haze hovering over the horizon. No wonder all of us are dying from allergies!! After our walk around the observation deck, we went inside for a quick lunch in the cafe.
After our late lunch at Fernsehturm, it was just about time for us to head to Holzergelingen for their Maibaumstelle, or ‘May Pole Building.’ Holzgerlingen’s is pretty special because the whole event is put on by the local fire department and the pole is put up the traditional way using long levers with leather straps.
We arrived with about a minute to spare and scored a great viewing location directly across from the square. As soon as the church started chiming the 6 o’clock hour, the town band came marching down the street, preceding the horse drawn carriage towing the maypole.
Once the maypole was positioned, the firemen used levers and leather straps to slowly hoist it up. After about 30 minutes of hard work by about 40 firefighters, the pole was up! The fire department then used their ladder to lift up firemen to hang the decorations.
Once the May Pole was up, it was time for everyone to walk to the firehouse, where food and bier was served and the local band played late into the evening. It was the perfect German birthday!
When we got home, Ryan gave me a book he specially picked out for me at the school book sale: a book on cooking. I am touched by how much he wants me to get better at this skill.
On Wednesday, we returned to the Bootshaus for their May Pole party, which they host on May 1st, Mayday, which is a federal holiday in Germany.
By the time we arrived, the Maypole was already up as they had their ceremony in the morning. But the band was still playing and lots of dancing was still going on. We had spargelsuppe and biers again for dinner. Just like before, the the evening in the Biergarten made me substantially sicker again- I’m definitely allergic to the pollen from those trees. A little research was done and we learned they are chestnut trees, which are apparently close to extinct in the US, which also might explain why I don’t remember being affected by spring allergies in the past. Chestnut trees provide great shade so are the most commonly used trees in biergartens.
Thursday, everyone was exhausted and wonderfully, some extreme thunderstorms moved through the area. It was enough to cause flooding in several towns and thankfully, to wash away so much of the pollen that has been torturing us. We all felt better after the storms had come through. We stayed home, ordered pizza, watched TV, and relaxed.
Friday, we finished up with work and school and then the four adults headed to Leinfelden for a going away dinner for some of our friends; two families who are moving away this summer.
This is the absolute worst part of living here; we meet so many nice people and then we say goodbye. We moved here, with these two particular families, within a few weeks of each other in 2021 and they are going to be sorely, sorely missed. Stuttgart will definitely not be the same without them.
Saturday was our day for baseball and softball! This was Ryan’s only away game of the season and we were playing in Kaiserslautern at 9:30am. We gave a ride to two of Ryan’s friends and got on the road at about 6:30am, arriving by 9.
Unfortunately, the other team didn’t show up! There was a mix up on their end regarding the start time and they were unable to rally enough players to make it there in time to play.
The boys did some practice batting while we were waiting on the final decision and Ryan got some great hits in. I only wish he got to use them during the game.
While we waited, players for the following game started to show up, one of them being Stuttgart’s other team. They graciously allowed our players to split their game and we got a little bit of play time in, with the combined Stuttgart team winning the game.
After the game, we grabbed a late lunch and drove back to Stuttgart. Unfortunately, the later-than-planned start for Ryan meant we did not make it back in time to see any of Brooklyn’s games. They played two home games against the team from Belgium and added two more wins to their record!
When we were finally all home, we had time for a quick nap before heading out again.
Since all of the Stuttgart High School’s sports teams played at home this weekend and had their senior recognition nights, most of the students from the school were going to Frühlingsfest in downtown Stuttgart. Brooklyn took the train to the fest and met up with her friends for the evening. The rest of us headed to Ritterstuble, also known as “The Birthday Restaurant,” thanks to its ever present birthday decorations, loud birthday celebrations, and the birthday dessert platter.
We had an amazing dinner, followed up by the birthday platter, complete with sparklers. There were about six tables celebrating birthdays in the restaurant so it was pretty amusing how long the birthday music had to play while the servers brought the desserts out.
Sunday was another beautiful day. We were all exhausted though from our late night so alternating relaxing outside on the terrace and laying around the living room.
One thing that’s not a highlight, but still important to us, is that I was finally able to see my eye doctor on Thursday this week. Unfortunately, the doctor detected epithelial ingrowth on my left eye, which is why I cannot see clearly. Apparently, this is a random side effect of lasik that happens to less than 1% or patients.
Not only has my vision not improved, it’s gone from -.50 to -1.50. I will have to have another surgery for them to reopen the lens and scrape the cells out. I am hoping that is can be cleared in just one surgery, and multiple are not needed.
I have been praying so hard that the doctor would agree my vision is not what it should be and would do another correction. While this is not the outcome I was expecting, I am at least glad they agree there is a problem. The doctor even said she felt bad that I am the statistic in this case. Once they clear the ingrowth, they even agreed to do a final “no touch laser” correction to get the vision correct, if need be. So, while I’m not looking forward to this longer resolution, I’m at least really hopeful I’ll be able to see clearly again!
Gilcrests Abroad 