12 December: Our Dog of Deutschland & More Moving Chores

I had to get up ridiculously early to eat breakfast with John and then drive him to work. We had already put Cody’s crate in the back of the car (it barely fit, lying on its side), so I just had to come back to the hotel to pick up Cody and then headed off to the Tierhotel. We arrived around 10:15 and of course everyone was as happy to see Cody as he was to see them. Little does he know that this will be his last romp in the moat at Schloss Unterriexingen! A nice young woman came out with a cart to help me bring in the dog crate and I also donated Scotty’s scratching post to their cat room. I had a nice chat with Herr Ratibor, reviewed all of the instructions for Cody’s delivery to the shippers, and suggested to him that they build a satellite dog castle in Michigan. He wished us well on our journey back to the States. I gave Cody a big hug and a kiss; this would be the last time I’d see my dog of Deutschland. Next time I see him, we will be in Michigan, meeting Cody at the Detroit airport.

On my way back to Stuttgart I decided to stop and do something I’ve been meaning to do for ages: have a look around the town of Markgröningen, not far from the Tierhotel. I had heard it had a nice main square and some lovely half-timbered houses, and indeed it does, including a rather impressive Rathaus. I parked the car outside the town walls and took a short stroll around; the town was quiet and some people gave me odd looks as I took a few pictures.

Next I stopped at Shannon’s in Feuerbach to give her Beth’s almost-complete memory book. Shannon will have to put the finishing touches on it and give it to Beth later. We chatted for a bit and then I set out for Beth’s; she called me en route and was just leaving the doctor’s office, so I actually got to her apartment before she did. I showed her my latest ultrasound photo, which actually looks vaguely humanoid – all 19 mm of it! We made brownies for John’s last day at work (or rather I watched while Beth made brownies), drank pink grapefruit tea, and I showed her how to make perl stitches and bind off her knitting, then got her started on her first scarf. The brownies came out of the oven and we rewarded our hard work with a couple, still gooey and warm.

Sometime during my travels today I received a message on my cell phone from the lady whose car I had hit over the weekend. I called her back while I was at Beth’s (just in case I needed a back-up German speaker) and tried to explain to her what had happened. She just wanted my insurance information, which I didn’t have handy since the car was five flights of stairs away. I told her the car was insured through Daimler and that I would call her back later with the information.

I had to leave at 5:30 to get back to Botnang because I was now supposed to meet the rug buyer at the house at 6:00. Dorota F. (the woman who bought my smart wheels) had called while I was at Beth’s to say that her mother had been in a car accident and she wouldn’t be able to come this evening to pick up her things (she was buying a lamp and a small crate); we arranged for her to come tomorrow at noon during our apartment handover instead. The carpet buyer never showed up and I never heard another word from them, which left me feeling rather peeved! I also left two messages for the girl who was buying my large dresser, telling her that this was her last chance to pick it up, and I never heard from her either. Suffice it to say that I was getting really frustrated trying to get rid of these last few items!

John had gone go-karting this evening with some guys from work and was supposed to get a ride home with Jürgen; when he finished he called and I was still at the house, doing some last-minute cleaning. I was in a bit of a panic about the dresser and the rug, so I went next door because Frau Dörr had mentioned something about her painter taking an interest in a few of our things. I interrupted the Dörrs having a traditional dinner of cold meats, cheese, and bread in their cramped little kitchen with the tinkle of classical music coming from an antiquated radio sitting on a shelf. I explained the whole situation and Frau Dörr agreed to call the painter for me. I offered him the rug, dresser, and our two ceiling fans for 50 Euro. He took them of course (who could say no to a deal like that?), to my infinite relief. Frau Dörr offered me a couple of her freshly-baked Christmas cookies and Herr Dörr fixed me a slice of bread and ham, and they insisted that I sit down with them until John arrived. We returned to SI-Suites and had a late dinner at the Irish pub there, which has a pretty darn good hamburger by European standards.