German Ingenuity + Swimming Pool = Fildorado

Everything German is just done with an eye to detail and quality!

We say this over and over -- everything costs more but is done with such attention and care, and the waterpark today drives the point home!

Fildorado had at least five indoor pools: one for babies (with slide, different levels, etc), one with "fun"ctions (wave pool, bubbling up from underground, waterfalls from the ceiling), one super-warm pool that started indoors and progressed outdoors, a lap pool, and then a "current" pool that swirled in a circle with jetstreams. Plus three slides! --one with inner tubes, one regular in-a-tube slide, and then this crazy slide that shot almost straight downward, then sent you flying out the end of a chute onto a rubber slide that basically bounced and shot you downward further. We never made it into the spa and beauty facilities, but presumably they are equally amazing.

Of course, there was also the confusing "how do I do this?" aspect -- for one, we were meeting friends there who arrived ten minutes after us. Unbeknownst to me, there was also a separate outdoor swimpark, with several pools and diving boards and it took us about an hour to figure out that we were both there, but in totally different areas.

Also, instead of actually carrying cash about or paying for your swim time up front, we were each issued a canvas wristband with a magnetic chip inside. You scan it as you go in through a turnstile, scan it to pay for lunch -- because yes, there is a nice cafe inside where you can get anything from pommes (french fries, universally crispy and hot and wonderful) or a cheese pizza, for cheap, to beef stroganoff with noodles and vegetables. In fact, you can even have a glass of wine or a beer! You can only imagine my son's delight when he paid for a snack using his chipband, without using any real money.

The most inventive use for the chip-bands was really for the lockers. It took me about 10 minutes to figure this one out: the lockers were randomly closed or open, with a little marking on the keys turned horizontally or vertically. As it turns out, all the vertical markings on the locks indicate a free locker. Once we put our items inside, I repeatedly looked for the coin deposit (this function was blocked with a piece of plastic), tried to turn the lock, tried to remove the lock, tried a new locker, repeated, etc. Well, you have the hint already: you must hold your wristband chip to the lock, which then flashes green, and lets you turn the lock so that the marking is horizontal. Then it is locked! To unlock, simply hold your chip-band against the lock again and *pop!* it opens. Isn't that brilliant?


When you are ready to leave, you scan this band again at the kasse, a little self-checkout machine that calculates how much you owe. I paid and wondered, "How will they know if they get all the bands back?" Well, there is of course a system: in order to leave, each person much drop his/her band in a little box recessed into the turnstile. When it senses the chip, a cover slides shut over the box, and it drops away to -- well, who knows where, but then the turnstile light turns green -- presumably only if you have paid! -- and you are permitted to exit.

I am definitely earmarking this for the dreary, short, cold winter days when you just want a burst of summertime. It will be just what the doctor ordered!

Village Life

We live in a village in Germany, with only about 6000 official residents -- that's not counting animals, pets, and the non-registered Americans. So what does that mean, exactly, for daily life? It's not that different from an American small town, but the pace of life somehow turns out entirely differently.

To be perfectly honest, I've tried to write this three times now and realized that everything I'm typing turns into a digression. "Off on a tangent!" -- I am berating myself already. In an attempt to keep this short, I'll turn it into a "Top Ten" list of why I love living here:

10. When I buy eggs from the farmers, I can hear the chickens squawking.
9. The beer really is better and fresher.
8. It is perfectly safe (and expected) for children to walk to school and back on their own.
7. My kids actually speak German fluently (go, immersion!).
6. I have learned to speak German semi-fluently, and love how the words have these crazy compound meanings. Example: a turtle is a Schildkröte -- literally a "shielded toad" -- is this how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were invented?!? How is a turtle like a toad, anyways?
5. When you get bored of castles, you can visit Roman and Celtic ruins instead.
4. Sometimes, I don't drive the car for two or three days and hardly notice it.
3. There are so many community events and clubs that there is always something happening, even in our tiny village.
2. No separation of church & state: St. Nicholas visits the kindergartens, religion class happens at the local school, we have Easter break, and the Christian Democratic Union is a major political party.
1. Like all small towns: you bump into people over and over so easily that you start to feel at home before you know it.

Tomorrow: We visit Fildorado, a nearby Erlebnisbad, which loosely translates into "waterpark."