Home Sweet Home, I think...

So it is true, not only have TJ and I moved into our new home for the next two to three years, we also have internet! It is a very exciting day when I don't have to take the tram into Mannheim to finish school work or catch up on US happenings!
This post comes with some disclaimers, mostly for those of you who know me well, and then those who know nothing about Germany. We live in a neighborhood outside of Mannheim that the people here call a village. We would call it a suburb with great transportation options that people of all social status use. It is also different because normally there are people everywhere! The pictures might also seem odd because everthing here is very white, clean, and sterile from the bathrooms to the bedrooms to the balcony tiling...it is very white! Those of you who know me well know that I am the opposite. Although we have just moved in, I assure you we are not done decorating as we need rugs and wall hangings that have color and lots of it! Maybe we can look back in a year to see how much our home has changed, or not! So wilkommen to the Lucero Haus...please enjoy the tour! There are two floors with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and office on the main floor and three bedrooms and a bath on the second. There is also a third floor that is open and we use as an attic for storage.

The pictures uploaded backwards so we will start with the master. Notice the shade is half way down and it is on the outside of the window and operated electronically. TJ and I love this as there is never any light that breaks through!

Next is the upstairs bathroom with lots of amenities. Usually bathrooms are not his big and rarely have a tub.


Across from the bathroom is the third bedroom or to us a closet. There are no closets in Germany, only wardrobe chests. So we had them put two huge ones in this room along with an ironing board and the rest of our stuff (my shoes)!
The guest bedroom is so WHITE! We must get very colorful things in here immediately! Tut loves this room as the afternoon sun shines right on him (and my mom slept with this duvet last and Tut loves his grandma so much...I think he goes in there to smell her)!
This is the downstairs bathroom and laundry. We will get into the laundry in the next post as I have a lot to say about laundry! Stay tuned!

The next two pictures are of the living room. Hmmm whats missing? Oh yeah a TV! TJ and I have to make sure we can drill a satellite in the roof before we get one, but I can't wait until we do!

Here is the kitchen. It is huge to German standards...and there is little to no cupbord space. Within the cupboards are a fridge, dishwasher, and vent. I have three cupboards and three drawers, we will see how this goes! Normally there are no cupboards, appliances, or fixtures in apartments here as you need to bring all of that in and then take it with you when you leave. We were very lucky in that we only had to put in the lights.
This is the office, it is missing a futon and our US TV as this is where TJ and his rock band reside.


Our apartment is the top two floors to the left of the entrance and there are two others that live here as well. There are no screens, no air conditioning, and radiant heat. It is like this everywhere in Germany. And no that is not our beamer out front...TJ just ordered ours and it is much smaller!

And this is my sweet little street on the Klumbengarten, we are on the left.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour. I hope to take you on a photo tour of the village later this week. Also to come...I have my first ex-pat coffee with the wives tomorrow, and we must not forget the Bad Durkheim Weinfest this weekend. And tomorrow we talk laundry. Until then...

Auf Wiedersehen