Pictures of Samuel and around Frankfurt.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Weary travelers
We are now back in Paris. I hesitate to call it home as this apartment just does not feel like a home.
Above is a picture of Samuel and I atop the main tower in Frankfurt.
Long day on Wednesday. Can someone who is familiar with european airlines explain to me why both of our air france flights did not de-plane at the terminal. Are terminal fees too high or are their too many flights and not enough gates? This is especially frustrating at Charles de Gaulle as the bus ride from where the plane eventually parked was over 10 minutes to the terminal. This on top of the plane taxiing for almost 10 minutes to its designated parking space. Overall, it was 35 minutes from the time that we landed until we stepped foot inside the terminal.
Enjoyed Frankfurt, it was a pleasure to visit after being in Paris for a month. The people are friendly and courteous. The beer is, well, the beer speaks for itself. Cold and large steins, filled to the rim.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Paris apartment news
There is no easy way to explain this but I will try.
We will be changing apartments in Paris. We moved into the Madrid apartment on the 13th of August. There are many issues in the apartment that the management company/owner are reluctant to address. The one issue that is a deal breaker for us is the condition of the hardwood floors. The floors in the living/dining/guest rooms are a very nice parquet design. When we visited the apartment for the first time, they were still working on the floors and Julia asked the agent what they were going to do with the floors. She was told that they would finish and repair the floor. Well, unfortunately, the floors in the hallway, Samuel's room and our room, have many cracks and gaps. Some of the cracks are more than 20 cm long and 2 cm wide. One of them is over 4 cm deep. If just Julia and I were living in the apartment we could cover most of the floor with rugs and we would be happy. However, with Samuel we cannot(and will not) take the risk that Samuel will start crawling and get his fingers, toes, knees caught on one of these cracks. For us it is a safety issue. The owners do not see it that way.
The other issue is noise. Double glazed windows were placed in our room. However, the windows do not fit tightly within the frame. The bedroom with double glazed windows is noisier than the living room with single glazed windows.
I will not detail all the issues we have. I will note that the workers that were in the apartment were not properly supervised. As an example, the radiators in Samuel's room and the guest room are behind screen doors. The workers painted the doors shut and took the handle off the doors. So we are unable to turn on the radiators in those two rooms.
Many of the window shades also do not work. This also adds to the noise issues.
We will keep you all updated with our new search. As strange as it seems. The first apartment that we bid on in July appears to be on the market again. Unfortunately we have tried to verify this through our agent but she is incompetent and she has not returned e-mails/phonecalls for 3 days.
We will be changing apartments in Paris. We moved into the Madrid apartment on the 13th of August. There are many issues in the apartment that the management company/owner are reluctant to address. The one issue that is a deal breaker for us is the condition of the hardwood floors. The floors in the living/dining/guest rooms are a very nice parquet design. When we visited the apartment for the first time, they were still working on the floors and Julia asked the agent what they were going to do with the floors. She was told that they would finish and repair the floor. Well, unfortunately, the floors in the hallway, Samuel's room and our room, have many cracks and gaps. Some of the cracks are more than 20 cm long and 2 cm wide. One of them is over 4 cm deep. If just Julia and I were living in the apartment we could cover most of the floor with rugs and we would be happy. However, with Samuel we cannot(and will not) take the risk that Samuel will start crawling and get his fingers, toes, knees caught on one of these cracks. For us it is a safety issue. The owners do not see it that way.
The other issue is noise. Double glazed windows were placed in our room. However, the windows do not fit tightly within the frame. The bedroom with double glazed windows is noisier than the living room with single glazed windows.
I will not detail all the issues we have. I will note that the workers that were in the apartment were not properly supervised. As an example, the radiators in Samuel's room and the guest room are behind screen doors. The workers painted the doors shut and took the handle off the doors. So we are unable to turn on the radiators in those two rooms.
Many of the window shades also do not work. This also adds to the noise issues.
We will keep you all updated with our new search. As strange as it seems. The first apartment that we bid on in July appears to be on the market again. Unfortunately we have tried to verify this through our agent but she is incompetent and she has not returned e-mails/phonecalls for 3 days.
Greetings from Frankfurt(edited-to amend ignorant American comment about tower
It has been a long day. Our flight was delayed due to weather. We were scheduled to leave Paris @ 9:50 and we did not leave until after 11:00. Samuel was pretty good on the plane. It was warm until they finally turned the air on. After the air was turned on, Samuel did calm down. He slept for part of the flight. The air crew was very good and gave us a couple of toys and a bib for Samuel
Julia attended meetings from 2 until 6:30 and then she returned to the hotel and pumped before attending a "business" dinner. Samuel and I had a good time reconnoitering around Frankfurt today. We found a nice park for Samuel to eat his lunch. Samuel had his first exposure to live opera as we walked past the opera and we could hear a rehearsal through the open windows.
Not sure if I should share this story as it does not portray me as a good parent. I was carrying Samuel facing away from me in his baby bjorn as we were walking around the Romer area of Frankfurt. A woman approached us and said how cute Samuel was and pinched his cheek(He will have to get use to this as he is an exceptionally cute baby) then, before I was able to stop her, the woman leaned over and kissed Samuel on the cheek. Samuel's first kiss was from a stranger on the streets of Frankfurt.
Have busy days scheduled for the next 2 days, as we do not depart for Paris until 1800 on Wednesday. Tuesday, Samuel and I will go to the top of the main tower(they could have thought of a better name(Edit-I should have known this, but I am stil sometimes an ignorant American. The tower is named for the river that runs through Frankfurt, the Main)), the tallest building in Frankfurt with an observation deck. We then may head to the woods outside of town for the view of the city or we may go to the zoo. On Wednesday we will spend the day in Museums. There is a film museum that I am looking forward to seeing. We will also plan on going to a modern and ancient art museum. If we have time we will go the home of Goethe.
Julia attended meetings from 2 until 6:30 and then she returned to the hotel and pumped before attending a "business" dinner. Samuel and I had a good time reconnoitering around Frankfurt today. We found a nice park for Samuel to eat his lunch. Samuel had his first exposure to live opera as we walked past the opera and we could hear a rehearsal through the open windows.
Not sure if I should share this story as it does not portray me as a good parent. I was carrying Samuel facing away from me in his baby bjorn as we were walking around the Romer area of Frankfurt. A woman approached us and said how cute Samuel was and pinched his cheek(He will have to get use to this as he is an exceptionally cute baby) then, before I was able to stop her, the woman leaned over and kissed Samuel on the cheek. Samuel's first kiss was from a stranger on the streets of Frankfurt.
Have busy days scheduled for the next 2 days, as we do not depart for Paris until 1800 on Wednesday. Tuesday, Samuel and I will go to the top of the main tower(they could have thought of a better name(Edit-I should have known this, but I am stil sometimes an ignorant American. The tower is named for the river that runs through Frankfurt, the Main)), the tallest building in Frankfurt with an observation deck. We then may head to the woods outside of town for the view of the city or we may go to the zoo. On Wednesday we will spend the day in Museums. There is a film museum that I am looking forward to seeing. We will also plan on going to a modern and ancient art museum. If we have time we will go the home of Goethe.
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