Aloha!

Christening this little blog/diary as I sit on a Cardiff-London coach journey.
I envisage that it will be a series of postcard sized snippets enabling me to share the small but pertinent anecdotes with those of you whom wish to be updated on this Bavarian adventure!

Now that my hoard of belongings are safely in Germany, I am left with a few days to steel myself for the imminent immersion into Bavarian life

Village living is not so alien to me, having grown up on the island* but after nearly 12 years of the Big Smoke, there are already elements I’m looking forward to and dreading!
The neighbours have already expressed interest in meeting us and ‘breaking the ice’. Before the internet, this could have been a fabulous opportunity to concoct ludicrous rituals and pass them off as English eccentricities. I suppose there may still be a little room for Island-isms; your suggestions on a postcard, please!

To R’s amusement, two (small) boxes amidst the van-load were filled with food. I’ve no doubt that all these products are possible to source in Germany or that adequate versions exist. Nonetheless, the list of those that I didn’t wish to spend any time seeking out in my first few weeks include:
Self-raising flour
No-peel marmalade
Bisto gravy granules – chicken/beef/onion
Ambrosia custard (cravings are cravings!)
Non-bio washing powder (more on that another time)

Some of you may be surprised to know I rely on granules, what with my staple diet being meat and potatoes, but I plan to continue to resist developing the skill of making my own gravy and sauces. One grown-up step at a time, eh?

I am quite looking forward to the familiarity of neighbours/local grocers/bakers etc and I love passing the time of day with people you recognise – something that’s also possible in a massive city but certainly a rarer occurence.

*CLAXON*

All of these situations will require German..and so, a flash of insight into the thought processes of recent weeks.

There are many, many things I am excited about BUT my fear of moving to a country where I am not even nearly fluent in the language, terrifies me.

I am going to spend the rest of this coach journey researching the language courses available in the nearby towns/cities. I hope to be on one ASAP!

Tschüss