Have I mentioned the water? For a country that's known for its engineering and efficiency, Germany has not found a way to do good water. The tap water is completely undrinkable, uncookable, and horrendous at cleaning everything. I'm not sure exactly what its problem is besides oh, the hardness. I wish I had taken a picture of my little disposable blue Gillette razor, which rested on a ledge in the shower for two weeks and ended up literallly calcified. I mean, rock-hard white deposits on it in thick lumps. Lovely conversation here, isn't it? I boiled some of the tap water in a pan when we first arrived, and when I poured the water out, a thick, hard layer of whiteness remained. Seriously, the Germans don't even let their dogs drink the water here. My beautiful new (since the wedding) white WalMart towels are varying shades of gray and yellow, even with bleach and good old-fashioned 20-Mule-Team borax. The dishwasher requires detergent, rinse agent, and something called Somat Salt which is poured by the boxful once a month into a cavity at the bottom of the machine. My hair....we won't even talk about how bad the water is to your skin and hair. If I knew how to make a lizard noise, I would insert it here.
So, we are very thankful for our Culligan Man, Eric! He comes every two weeks, bearing a 5-gallon jug of delicious water on each shoulder. Sir got his trusty crock dispenser out of storage (he's lived in Germany before) and we are able to use our Culligan for cooking and drinking.
Additionally, we couldn't have survived the hot summer without our discovery of Smart Water! So so refreshing - we still keep it in the fridge and love it for special treats.
Lest I give you the impression that German water is good for nothing, please observe that it does make some wonderful things grow: Behold our beautiful Christmas tree, waiting for my Girl to come and decorate it in just five more days!!!!!
The firs are different here - the needles are the brightest green and very long, flat and soft. I couldn't be more delighted with this gorgeous thing.
Now that I look at the pictures, I realize that our poor tree shares something in common with me - he's not very photogenic. Trust me, though, HE looks better in person. Matter of fact, don't trust me - just come on over and see for yourself!
Do they have Brita's in Germany? That is a good water filter that we keep in our fridge here in Australia that turns tap water into the "stuff" we're used to!! (Like Smartwater...) I'll mail you one if you want.
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