Braunschweig, Brunswick, and Ted vs. the Porcupine

Greetings, all!

It’s that time of year again! It has been two weeks to the day since we left our homes and made a new one here in Braunschweig, Germany. I am going to do my best to keep you all up-to-date. I know you all miss us terribly so hopefully these photographs assuage your heartache.

The journey here was cake, Ted says literally…

“More please”

***PSA: First off, in an effort to avoid confusion at home, when you Google the city it might come up “Brunswick,” this is not wrong, people. I can’t get a clear answer as to why it is like this, possibly due to the Americans being here during wartimes. Anyway, you’ve been alerted.

So, once we got to the city, Kenny had a short meeting at the team’s offices with his coach and a few of the administrators. I waited. Now, the people that know me, know that with each arrival to a new city brings bouts of anxiety; superficial anxiety tinged with vanity, but anxiety all the same. Believe it or not, my annual apprehension stems: not from living in a foreign country, with a foreign language and culture, but instead from an appliance… or lack thereof. More specifically: a dishwasher. Is it ridiculous? Definitely. However, the “Dishwasher Disquiet” (just thought of that,) always haunts my Zzzquil induced dreams on the plane ride over. So, needless to say, I waited quite eagerly.

After we picked up our automatic car, we made our way to the apartment. I’m sure the anticipation is killing you, but worry not! Upon entering the kitchen, relief washed over me. The place not only has a dishwasher but a clothes dryer too (score!)

Anyway, here’s a few photos of our place for the folks at home.

“HELLO APPLIANCES, I LOVE YOU”

Random, albeit convenient, window into the kitchen

“Don’t worry about smiling, Kenny… or looking”

Naturally, on our first night in the city we went out for a delicious German beer.

Flammkuchen, a pile of meat, some potatoes and beer, “PROST”

“We walked into a German Folktale, I think…”

The apartment is really quite nice and we are in a good location. Our place is within walking distance to the mall and a lot of great shops and restaurants. I went for a nice, long walk yesterday and will depict it shortly, but first… the zoo!

Kenny and I are big fans of the zoo, zoo-enthusiasts if you will. Last weekend we decided to check out one of the zoos in Braunschweig with Teddy in tow. Ted has shown much improvement as far as barking (shrieking) at dogs so we decided to give him a shot. This was his first zoo experience and we were prepared for a possible disaster.

Luckily, he surprised us. Aside from a couple minor incidents, one involving a zebra, he did quite well.

“So humans, whats up with this horse?”

Also, there was a BABY ZEBRA. It was fantastic.

“Hi, precious baby”

Most of the animals we walked by were of no consequence to Ted. Until we got to this emu… Fortunately, no dog-shrieks were involved but he was extremely interested in it. The feeling was not mutual.

“And what the crap are you?”

The standard buffalo and dog pic

Next we came across some hungry donkeys. We observed that people were grabbing hunks of grass and feeding them. We wanted to join, but feared having Ted three feet from a donkey was not the best idea. Thus, we took turns.

After the donkeys got their fill, we moved on. Next up: porcupines. Ted was not a fan. This time the feeling was mutual.

“What is this?”

“I HATE IT” *shrieking bark*

“RETREAT, HUMANS, RETREAT”

After the appropriate apologies were made to the porcupine and the surrounding people we retreated in a hurry. The next experience of note was the deer walk. Which was really bizarre. I have never experienced anything quite like five little deer running up to me. Of course, once they realized I did not bring them food they were indifferent towards me.

“Oh, no food? K BYE”

Obviously, dogs were not permitted in this gated area…

“Sorry Ted”

Unfortunately, our zoo trip was cut short. My poor baby Ted stepped on a thorn; he was limping and crying; being the overprotective dog-mom that I am, we had to leave immediately and treat it.

“Ouch, mom”

Don’t worry, Ted is fine. That didn’t stop me from buying him some ridiculous protective puppy booties. Kenny captured an excellent video here.

Now, this past weekend when Kenny had quite a long preseason day, I took it upon myself to explore our city a little bit. We have quite a few parks around us; with these and the Oker River encircling the inner city, we are provided with some lovely scenery.

Several beautiful buildings along the river, and quite a few restaurants I am looking forward to trying.

After my walk through the park and the museum plaza, I hit the mall. The Schloss Arkaden mall is quite conveniently located about an eight minute walk from our apartment. This is quite a boring photograph but in the effort of giving you all the full tour…

The reverse side of the building is significantly more aesthetically pleasing, I think you’ll agree…

After passing by the mall, I walked toward the castle near the city center. On my way, I stopped by the Rathaus, or the Town Hall: another beautiful, old building.

Adjacent to the Rathaus is the city castle: Burg Dankwarderode. Although the castle has been reconstructed multiple times, the original structure stood as early as 1160! The Duke of Saxony (also Bavaria… different story,) aka Henry the Lion, resided here for a time. Interestingly enough, when I tried to research the story behind the name, I discovered a fantastical little folktale that I wish were true. According to legend when Henry was on his way back from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land he came across a battle between a lion and a dragon. Now, unless this is some sort or magical lion, (Aslan?) I think it is a safe bet that he is toast, possibly literally. However, Henry decided to come to the mighty cat’s aid. The pair prevailed and became BFF; no jokes here, the lion journeyed back with Henry and they were buddies until death. Thus, the Braunschweiger Lion was and remains to this day, Braunschweig’s symbol of awesomeness.  

After the few obligatory tourist activities, I made a beeline to the shopping streets. I just love walking down old cobblestone paths, the buildings are beautiful and the ambiance is just delightful.

Not to mention the shopping. I cannot say if that’s a good thing or a bad thing;)

I took a different route back and came upon the Happy Rizzi House. There is one in Berlin too. I find them confusing and I would like to get to the bottom of this….

Dear Happy Rizzi House,

State your purpose.

-Me

Happy Rizzi House

“Explain yourself.”

I went a bit out of my way to check out Löwenwall Park. In the center of the square is an obelisk monument that was created in 1812 as a memorial to the dukes of Brunswick after the fall of Napoleon I.

Four cast-iron Braunschweiger Lions surround the monument because lions rule.

‘Twas a lovely day in Braunschweig, Germany. Kenny and I are both very excited about our new city. I can’t wait to see the rest of it and learn it’s history. Also, I am going to go ahead and take this opportunity to welcome any and all visitors… we’ve got a spare bedroom:)

Drinking a Hefeweizen at Leonhard’s on the Oker.

Cheers!