The Verdict

Our dream apartment went to somebody else. At least we were prepared for that after hearing stories from Alfredo's office mates about how hard it is for foreigners to get apartments here. Even the German girl in the office complained that her Russian husband's last name made their search difficult. It's annoying, but let's not pretend there aren't cookies that crumble like this in the US too (usually under more politically-correct pretenses, of course). So now it's back to the drawing board. Our search has become somewhat frantic because we the guy we're subleasing from returns from his vacation in one week. And in a twist of irony, we just turned down an offer to rent an apartment that is newly-remodeled, completely furnished, a good price, and 1/4 mile from the lab. It sounds like a dream, right? Actually, Alfredo and I decided that living in Wixhausen is more like a nightmare. Our friends from Poland (Alfredo's office mate and his wife) think we're crazy for having turned it down. It would have been a safe and comfortable option, but Alfredo likes flying by the seat of his pants, living freely and dangerously. And somehow he's convinced me to want to do the same. So we don't know where we'll be living in a week. No big deal :)

In other news:

- On Saturday we went to Bamberg (a city in Bavaria, 2 hours East of here) to meet up with our friends Christine and Sebastian, a German couple who recently returned to the Land of Beer and Sauerkraut after finishing their PhDs at MSU and Yale, respectively. They've been long-time members of our 'Opera Gang' (bi-annual opera outings organized by Alfredo's former roommate Giuseppe) and the running club (foot-racing excursions across Michigan and Europe, organized by Christine herself - including Alfredo's trip to the Berlin Marathon). Bamberg has a unique and fascinating history [wikipedia synopsis] and fabulous architecture that was not destroyed during the war because of the town's juxtaposition to an artillery factory. We had a good time catching up with Christine and Sebastian, and they even brought a friend with them who was born and raised in Bamberg - she showed us some really sweet stuff around town [photos] like a palace, a cathedral (containing the tomb of the only pope not buried in Rome), and a great restaurant serving regional specialties like smoked beer.

- On Sunday, I gave Alfredo a wedding ring for Valentine's Day. It was a great surprise because we don't even get each other Christmas and birthday presents, let alone gifts on other obscure holidays. Why a wedding ring? Well, several weeks after we were married, Alfredo's ring "mysteriously disappeared right off his hand" while he was pacing the halls of the Cyclotron, deep in thought at 4 in the morning. It was never found. So we ordered another one, which arrived the day before Thanksgiving. Lucky for him, the story of the lost ring didn't even have to come out to the whole extended family. Fast forward six weeks to the day of his dissertation defense, also known as the day before we handed in the keys to our apartment and flew to Germany. Alfredo got out of the shower and realized he had no ring on. We looked in the garbage, the sink, the toilet, the cabinets, the floor...nothing. It was never found. He was really sad, and on top of that he was insulted that I didn't even seem upset over either of the lost rings. My advice in general is not to marry someone unless you are prepared to deal rationally and constructively with situations you know are highly probable given the other's track record. I explained that I'm not mad, but I'm also not financially irresponsible. No more wedding rings for you. That was not said without empathy though, since I lost a beautiful birthstone ring my mom gave me for my 16th birthday and I still feel bad about it 10 years later. So in Darmstadt the other day I found the perfect compromise - something that looks very much like his original ring(s) but with a price tag an order of magnitude lower. Even though it's a different metal and not engraved on the inside, it's a win-win situation: Alfredo is happy to have a ring again, and next month when it mysteriously vanishes nobody will have to feel bad...