Vlog: Nuremberg Christmas Market

 

Vlog: Gourmet Cookies in Nuremberg

 

Vlog: Exploring Nuremberg

 

Vlog: Reusable Coffee Cups in Germany

German Art Supplies

 

German Art Supplies

There were many reasons I was excited to move to Europe. But one of those reasons was art supplies. Most of my favorite art supplies are European, and several are German. Hahnemüle paper is amazing for fine art prints.

Schmincke soft pastels are my second favorite pastels in the world, after the French brand Girault.

My first full set of colored pencils was the German made Lyra.

And back when we were in Laos, I worked on a second colored pencil portrait of my horse Scarlett. When I was having difficulty getting the layers I wanted, Faber-Castell’s Polychromos colored pencils were the answer. 

As luck would have it, we now live just two Ubahn stops away from the Faber-Castell castle. The castle tour doesn’t accommodate a wheelchair so we’re saving the tour for when my mobility improves. 

But I can get to the shop now. So, last week we visited the Faber-Castell shop and I was like a kid in a candy store! Color is what most often pulls me in and makes me want to paint something so the store itself was such a treat!

Because we wanted to travel light, I only brought a few art supplies with me to Germany. Plus we knew I would definitely want to buy things! While we were living in central Nuremberg, I purchased a few supplies at a book store and a student arts and craft store. But as soon as I found a large art supply store, I couldn’t wait to go there.

While the Faber-Castell shop is quite near to our apartment, at least by train, the big art supply store, that carries every supply imaginable, is much further, and more complicated to get to. In addition to needing the Ubahn, going out to Boesner Art Supply also requires using the SBahn.  

The SBahn is similar to the tram in that both have varying wheelchair accessibility. Of course, I really wanted to go to my first German art supply store so we both geared up for whatever challenges we might face getting off and on trains at the different stops with a wheelchair.

Because the platforms vary at every station for the S-Bahn, at the main station Stephen could just roll me on. But at the stop closest to the store, I had to get out of the wheelchair and pull myself up and out of the train. The difference between the platform and train floor was about a foot. And while I was climbing out of the train, Stephen lifted the wheelchair out. We both had to move as quickly as we could. For most stops, there are just about 30 seconds before the doors close and the train is off again. Once we exited the train, Stephen pushed me to the entrance. It’s a 14-minute walk for the average person but it likely took us a little longer. Once inside, I propelled myself around. I joke that I’m keeping Stephen healthy and young with all this extra effort pushing me in a wheelchair. Just a little humor to lighten the moment.

We spent nearly 2 hours in the store, right up until closing, as I rolled myself up and down the aisles, dreaming of the compositions I could make with all the different supplies. Like these canvases sealed with clear gesso (pronounces jess-o).

Normally canvas is painted with multiple coats of white gesso. But these natural canvases immediately set my brain on fire with all the different paintings I might make with them. I didn’t bring my acrylic paints with me on this trip, which is what I use on stretched canvas. So, for now, it’s just dreaming.

This German art supply store is the biggest warehouse of supplies I’ve ever been in. I could go there every week. My kind of entertainment!

For the time being, I’m only working in watercolor. Which turns out to have deep roots is Germany. When we first arrived in Nuremberg, I had only seen the name Albrecht Dürer, especially on Faber-Castell products. The Nuremberg airport is the Albrecht Dürer airport. Then when Stephen pushed me almost up to the Imperial Castle that one day, we saw the Albrecht Dürer Haus.

I decided I wanted to know more about this German artist so I purchased a book about him. In English of course. Remember when the bookshop keeper complimented my German? That is what I asked him about.

Albrecht Dürer is a very interesting artist. At first, I was fascinated by his woodcut prints. I follow modern day woodcut artists on Instagram. They use linoleum blocks instead of wood, but the method is similar and the purpose is the same: to make prints and earn more from a single piece of artwork. Albrecht Dürer’s most famous woodcut was of a rhinoceros.

He never actually saw the animal himself but made his wood block composition based on drawings made by a book printer who them sent them home with German merchants. Dürer added his own flair to it, making it almost fantastical, and it sold more than 1200 copies!

As a junior high student, I made a linoleum design for art class. It was terrible! 🤣 You’d never know from that lino block design that one day I would create art that people want to buy. Ha! I imagine I would make something a little more successful now.

What I relate to most from Albrecht Dürer’s extensive body of work are his watercolor and gouache paintings. 

He apparently loved to painting landscapes in watercolor as he traveled. The first urban sketcher. Ha!

Most of my watercolor pieces have been flowers and fruit.

I usually paint landscapes in acrylic. 

But since watercolor is what I have and I want to paint the scenes from our travels, I’ve been working at painting landscapes in watercolor and gouache. 

(paint brushes in the photo to discourage theft)

I plan to find a German print-maker and have this made into prints on Hahnemüle paper. They will be available through my website once they are printed. My homage to Albrecht Dürer.

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Germany chapter 5: An Emergency Room Visit

 

We got to experience a German emergency room this week. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Or as bad as it looks in this photo.

 

The only other time I can recall being in an emergency room was in Bozeman, MT after my car accident. But that time really was an emergency. I remember they had to cut my ring off my hand with a saw. It was my favorite turtle ring. The cutting took some time because they had to be so careful. My hand was torn up, it had been flung out my window as the car rolled and needed to be sewn back together. That was 25 years ago. Wow.

 

But back to present day. Going to the emergency room was a last resort for getting my pain med prescription refilled. We had tried several online video calls with doctors, and put in several requests for in-person doctor visits. We even went to a neurologist's office. To no avail. An appointment with the neurologist was no sooner than February 2026. I had been told to try the emergency room, if all else failed.

 

So, we went to the closer north branch hospital even though the further one did have a neurology department. It was quite difficult to get to the hospital with a neurology department, so I suggested we try the closer one first to see if maybe they could help us. In hindsight, it probably would have been worth the hassle to get to the south branch.

 

We had to use the Ubahn to get to the north hospital. Once we got to the hospital campus, we started to examine the map to try to find the emergency room. A grounds keeper drove up and stopped his utility truck and asked if he could help us, in German of course. Stephen replied to him in English and he got out of his truck and walked over to the map. He started to show us how to get to the emergency room but then stopped, looked over at me, smiled and said, “Sorry for my English.” I replied, “no worries!” In very limited English, he showed us on the map and pointed to the building in front of us and we got the gist of where we needed to go. I thanked him in German, “Danke, vielen danke” Thank you, thank you very much! And he smiled at my German.

 

We found the emergency room straight away and I went to the counter to request that I see someone.

 

It wasn’t long before a nurse called my name and we went to an exam room. I explained my situation and then he took my vitals. My blood pressure was 175/105! I was pretty clearly in distress...too much pain. And I had even taken my blood pressure medicine that morning. He took some notes, entered information into the computer, and then sent us to wait to see “administration”.

 

Our number was called and we went into the office. Evidently, they were going to help me out because I was asked to sign that I agreed to “treatment” and we paid a fee. A pretty steep fee, it seemed to me, but then we don’t have German insurance. We were asked to wait again.

 

I thought things were going pretty well when a nurse called my name and then told me she wanted to draw blood. This is almost always a challenge so right away I was nervous. There wasn’t a room or a station, like I’m used to in the states. I looked at my arms and I could actually see some veins, quite often they are just hidden. I commented that at least we could see the veins today but the nurse said, “Yes, but they are so tiny.” She did the usual thing of squishing around on my arm trying to find something that might work. But no. It was then to my right hand. That’s been a successful place in the past.

 

Thankfully this nurse didn’t mess around. It wasn’t comfortable but then she said, “Gluck. I don’t know what that means in English.” “Happy?” I said. That is one translation. I looked it up later and maybe she meant something like “We’re in luck.” One poke and she got several vials filled. I had to support my hand and I tensed up my whole body to get through what is, as a general rule, an ordeal for me. In less than a minute, she had filled 4 vials and was done. I relaxed. All the tension in my body dissipated and it wasn’t until that moment that I realized just how anxious I had been. But then there was a plot twist. She had a syringe in her hand and she said to me, “This is just water.” She meant “saline” and even at the time I knew that’s probably what she meant but my lizard brain heard “water” and I was like, “What is this??? What is this strange thing she’s going to do???” All my past experiences in hospitals rushed into my psyche all at once and suddenly I was dizzy and faint. Stephen was standing behind me and I said, “I might pass out.” He came close and supported my shoulders. I was sitting in my wheelchair. Then I said, “I have to get my head down or I’m going to pass out.” And I tried to lean forward but I had my purse in my lap and it was hard to get my head down enough. I was fighting to stay conscious. I heard Stephen talking to me and I tried to speak but my mouth felt like it was full of taffy and I struggled to form words. I kind of just made garbled noises until finally I was able to ask the nurse for water. She was eager to get something, do anything to help me.

 

I looked over and there was a hospital bed beside me. How did that get there? When did that get there? Turns out I had passed-out. And Stephen told me a little later that I was out for about 2 minutes! That’s a super long time to be unconscious. I’ve passed out a lot in my life, but never for such a long time. Now, I really did need to be in the emergency room! The nurse kept asking me, “Does this happen to you a lot?” It was really hard to come out of the fog. My body had shut down quite a lot. But finally I was able to tell her, “Yes, I pass out when I have my blood drawn. Or sometimes when I get a shot.”

 

It's not unusual, but honestly I’ve spent quite a lot of energy and effort trying to effectively deal with my needle phobia. It’s been a long time since I’ve passed out.  I’ve been in a lot of hospitals and clinics and seen a lot of phlebotomists in the last 15 years, since being diagnosed with Lupus. Most of the time I manage quite well.

 

What I thought was going to be just a talking appointment with a doctor where she would evaluate my records and then give me the prescription I needed, turned into hours of tests from a hospital bed behind a curtain in an emergency room bay.

 

After about 4 hours of tests and waiting, a doctor came to talk to me. But when I confirmed my name to her in English, she turned right around. A med-student then returned and said she was there because she could speak English. More questions, a pretty extensive interview, and then she left. She couldn’t make decisions about things, only gather information.

 

Finally, the doctor who could make decisions came to my bed. “I’m afraid I can’t really do anything for you. I can't fill your prescription. That's not what we do.”

 

WHAT? I was instantly angry. I had endured all of this and I WASN’T going get my prescription. I only passed out because the nurse drew blood. And for what? It’s very unpleasant to pass out. “Why didn’t anyone say this at the beginning???” I did not hide my anger. None of this was necessary. The nurses caused me to go through a pretty terrible afternoon. And I wasn’t even going to get what I needed!

 

At first the med student and the doctor repeated some lines that were frankly lame and infuriating. But after hearing more of my story, my situation, in the end they did their best and gave me a couple of days worth of my prescription and a letter to take to any general practitioner near our apartment.

 

Stephen and I thought moving to a first-world country would mean everything was easier compared to the developing-world countries we’ve lived in. But that’s not exactly been the case. No matter where we go, every country has its challenges to navigate. And healthcare is particularly tricky.

 

When we finally left the hospital after 6pm, we decided to go to one of my favorite little cafés and get dinner. It’s really a breakfast place and I had eggs benedict and a cappuccino.

 

It’s funny how perspective changes my mood. After going through the ordeal at the hospital, dinner out felt especially great. There was a lightness to my mood. And it occurred to me that really the German people are so eager and willing to help me. In the restaurant for example, when I rolled me wheelchair to the restroom door, the man sitting next to it offered to help. I glanced at him then I put the brakes on my wheelchair, stood up and, using the wall for support, walked through the door. Just as I was about the close the door, I looked back at him and said, “Danke,” and smiled. I showed him, proudly, that I could do it myself. Still he had jumped right up when I rolled to the door and jumped up again when I exited the restroom. No hesitation. And this is one example of many. Every time we go anywhere, people offer to help.

 

The day ended on an upbeat. Even though, objectively, I should have been upset. Things hadn’t gone at all to plan. My pain is bad and I need pain meds to manage it. This “flare” is lasting so much longer than my first Lupus flare. But I’m determined to recover. My MS type is that kind where I can go into “remission”. It doesn’t have to get worse. But it depends on me. Boy! That’s both hopeful and a burden. It’s sometimes a really bumpy ride.

 

But I guess that means I’m alive.

 

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Germany Chapter 4: A German Apartment

 

A German apartment

Happy October!

 

It’s my favorite month of the year, so of course I have to start it off with a post.

 

We moved into a new apartment.  

 

It’s in a quiet little neighborhood just outside the city center of Nürnberg. Our landlord is the nicest guy; having good landlords makes such a difference. 😊

 

Before moving to Germany, we looked at apartments online. From that search, we thought, to get something nice, we would have to pay a lot more. But Stephen found this sweet place once we’d been here awhile and we are so pleased.

 

The initial selling point for me was the deck. I guess I’m always looking for a way to get in the open air. And expansive views are a bonus. As the top floor apartment in this building, our new apartment fits the bill.

 

Online pictures are nice, but nothing replaces an in-person tour. A washer and dryer was listed as part of the apartment but seeing them stacked in the kitchen was so reassuring. 

It was a nice surprise to see the pod coffee machine and a really workable kitchen. Large windows in every room made the place feel light.

 

The kitchen has turned out to be even better than I initially thought and I’ve been cooking for us more than ever. 

I especially love the sink, which makes washing dishes a dream! The material is “soft” to the touch and the drying section is sloped, allowing the water to drip and drain right into the sink. German engineering baby!

 

Speaking of…the dryer is wild. There is no vent to the outside like I’m used to in the US. Instead, this machine takes the moisture of the wet clothes and collects it in a reservoir.

Stephen has to dump the water out after each load. Crazy!

 

The windows open two ways. Turn the handle halfway and the window opens completely.

Turn the handle all the way up and the window tilts in slightly. I use the second position all the time…very convenient.

We both have our work spaces. And in different rooms! 

Stephen has his office in a section of the living room and I have my studio in a little corner of the bedroom.

 

There are several really great grocery stores just a few minutes away. Netto is similar to a small-town grocery store like an IGA or Harvest Foods in the US. Edeka is like a Whole Foods. We’ve found that the fresh produce has to be used in a day or two or it goes bad. So Stephen shops for us almost every day.

 

Germany has a robust recycling system. They recycle almost everything. Those pods for the coffee machine ~ into the yellow bin. Paper ~ blue bin. Plastic bottles ~ take those to the grocery stores and get instant credit for your groceries!!

It's a delight to be in such a nice apartment. Especially after living in a studio in the apartment-hotel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love coffee

 

  

If you enjoy reading this blog, consider buying me a coffee. The QR code is to the right of this post. You can also click on the Buy Me A Coffee icon. It's a link to the website for secure payment. Thanks so much!!!

 

Germany: Chapter 3.5 Signs of improvement

 It’s been 10 days since my last post, and I wanted to share a quick update. Though progress is turtle slow, I am definitely feeling improvements.

A heart-felt thanks to all of you who have made such sweet comments, here on the blog and other places too. It means so much to me to know people around the world are rooting for my healing! 💜

Today, I took my second jaunt with my walker on the streets of Nüremberg. Monday afternoon was my first venture out of the hotel with my walker instead of the wheelchair since we arrived. I walked through the parking garage, and out across the street to the Thai restaurant behind our hotel. 

Then today I took a much further walk to the Way of Human Rights. If you recall, this is where Jasmin, Loris, Daniel and Laurence prayed for me. Stephen took a photo of me with my walker to mark the milestone. Thanks for your continued good vibes, prayers and support. 💞 Happy Sunday!

Germany: Chaper 3 Healing

One of the reasons we came to Germany was so that I could heal. All through the winter, my life narrowed to little more than daily pain management. By May, I had increased my “10” on the pain scale three times. For those who don’t know, the pain scale is a subjective measure of a person’s pain from their own perspective. “10” is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced. At my routine neurology appointment, I described my pain and my neurologist prescribed some pain medicine. In addition to the pain meds, I modified everything I had control over: diet, movement, stress management. I started a “Happiness project” which mostly involved paintings the things I love in my sketchbook, 

but also watching my potted spring flowers bloom, 

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2019. Before that I had been diagnosed with Lupus. In 2019, my rheumatologist said I didn’t have Lupus and referred me to a neurologist. It wasn’t until December 2024 that I started infusions for my MS. My new neurologist has over 50 patients on this infusion drug and he’s seen real improvements after a couple of years. So, I have some time to go still before I can expect to see those kind of improvements. 

But of course, there are things I can do to improve the quality of my life in the meantime. Remember that “Happiness Project” I mentioned before. Well, I have been looking forward to a European adventure for awhile now. There were several times in India, where it looked like we would move from Delhi to Geneva, WHO headquarters. It didn’t happen then but after Stephen resigned from his position, but before we had even moved from India, he had several WHO contract opportunities. Back in the US, he worked full-time almost from the time we arrived, with contracts renewing.  Meetings were a challenge for his team though, with a 9hr time difference. So when the lease was up on our cottage on the Puget Sound, we decided to finally make our European adventure happen. We are now in the same time-zone as Geneva. 😊 

So I came to Germany with no small amount of expectations. Which brings me to the W-Curve and why I slide down to the first valley so early in the journey.

The first dip in the W happened for me only a few days after we arrived in Germany. Before coming here we did some research and from what we could ascertain, Germany has quite a bit of wheelchair access. Since I’m using a walker and not a wheelchair, we thought that was a good measure of how easy or difficult it would be for me to get around. While we were still in the states, I thought one way to make our explorations more enjoyable at first, while I’m still doing PT for my balance and general function, was to rent a wheelchair. With Stephen pushing me and my having a built in seat when I needed to rest, we thought we’d be able to explore Germany similar to the way we explored Singapore and Japan in the past, when I could walk miles in a day. 

It seemed like a great plan.

But we hadn’t anticipated the cobblestone streets.

Nürenberg was originally a castle town built in the 11th century. Very likely some of the cobblestones we traverse over today are from those times. 

Different part of the city have better bricks, that are smoother to ride over. 

Some of the streets are paved with asphalt, 

but almost nowhere are there concrete sidewalks so common in the US.

In addition to the cobblestones, there are often only steps up to a shop or restaurant.  And hills! One day Stephen wanted to take me to the Imperial Castle. It ended up being steep hills where I had to have my hands at the ready near the tires to grab them should Stephen slip or fall. (We bought gloves with grip the very first day we tried out the wheelchair.) Then once we got all the way to the castle, it was just too steep, so I had to admire just the outside from below.

So the wheelchair hasn’t been the great solution to my lack of mobility that I thought it might be. But at this point, when I can’t walk very far at all with my walker, it does give us more opportunities to see the sights and enjoy life in Nürenberg more than not having it at all.

Still all the obstacles do highlight how the world is designed for the abled bodied. From my perspective, as someone newly disabled (hopefully only temporarily disabled!) it’s frustrating and maddening when steps bar my entrance, or once inside, displays are so close together I can’t wheel through. 

It’s quite interesting that we are in Nürenberg. The first thing many Americans think of when they hear Nuremberg are the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. Which then makes one think about Hitler, the Nazis and concentration camps. But students of history know that Hitler didn’t start with the Jews. One of first groups of people targeted for extermination were the disabled. To Hitler, such people were, of course, deemed a drain on society and providing no value. Had I live here in the 1930’s, Hitler’s men would have rounded me up and eliminated me. 

For many of us, it’s easy to think of ways disabled people contribute great value to society. Not to mention the obvious human rights aspect! Stephen Hawking, Hellen Keller, Beethoven, Chuck Close, Temple Grandin are just a few famous names of people who were not able-bodied but whose contributions to society are difficult to quantify. 

I like to think I add value to the world. And that being disabled doesn’t change that. I can still paint from a chair, and write. I can still smile and laugh and listen when I talk to someone in person. 

But I have to admit, I do feel invisible to able-bodied people. One example happened just the other day. We were waiting in line to pay at the self checkout at the bookstore and this guy walked right in front of me, paid, and left without ever giving me a second glance. 

But many people do see me. They are more than happy to make space for me to pass them on the sidewalk. Or they will hold a door for me. And then a few days ago, we had the most astonishing example I’ve experienced yet. 

We were sitting at The Way of Human Rights near one of the water features that kids discover and play at, when a couple of German guys came up to us and struck up a conversation. Turns out the wheelchair is what caught their attention. They wanted to pray for me. In the US, I would have politely declined and moved away. But since we are in a foreign country, I thought, “Why not? What can it hurt?” We talked with them a bit, the sort of get-to-know-you types of conversations you might exchange with anyone you’ve just met. Daniel works in a coffee shop near our hotel and Laurence builds kitchens. They were impressed that Stephen had worked for the World Health Organization and now consults for the WHO. Being German, they were much more comfortable with German than English. After they asked some details about my condition, they said they would pray for me in German, would that be okay? Fine by me. They each prayed in turn and after “Amen” they wanted to know if I could get out of the wheelchair and walk. I obliged them by standing up, still holding onto the wheelchair, and said maybe I felt a little different. So they would not feel badly, and because I believe it, I said, “God’s timing.” They nodded heartily to this. They were pleasant to talk to and I’m glad they took the time to stop and show me kindness.

After they walked away, Stephen and I meandered towards the hotel. I was enjoying they cool summer evening and rolling on the smooth tiles, so we were in no rush.

We made it halfway across the block when a young woman came up to me and asked, “Deutsch oder English?” I replied “English.” To which she sighed with relief and said, “Oh good, I’m from Hungary, so English is easier for me.” I then saw she was with a young guy and both were smiling at me. It seemed like one of the first things she said was, “We love Jesus…” to which I immediately piped up and said, “Oh! then maybe you know Daniel and Laurence…” I looked around to see if I could still see them. “They just prayed for me.”

 “That’s what we want to do to,” she said.  “We want to pray for you too. Would that be alright?” I smiled back at them and said, “I’ll take all the prayer I can get!” This made them both smile. Jazmin asked about the details of why I was in a chair. In simple terms, I explained that my spine is crooked, using my hand to draw in the air a kind of S shape. Loris asked if I had any pain. I was surprised he asked and explained that yes, I have a lot of pain and I take three different pain medicines. Jazmin then put her hand on my arm and prayed for me. After she finished. Loris turned to Stephen and asked him if there was anything he’d like them to pray for him about. I was so pleased by this. Immediately, I thought of things I would pray for Stephen, not least of which being a care-giver to me. But I kept my thoughts to myself (with some restraint mind you! 🙃) and let Stephen think about the question. And then Loris prayed for him.

After Loris finished praying for Stephen, the most touching thing happened. Jazmin said to me, “I don’t know if this is right, but I feel like God is telling me that you feel like people don’t see you.” Oh my God! Literally. She went on to say, “But I want you to know God sees you.” I had been trying hard to hold my tears back, but that just made them gush out. I was frantically wiping tears off my face, turned to Stephen and said in a small voice, “That’s true.” Jazmin then asked if she could hug me. I nodded my head. 

We said good bye and Stephen pushed me back to the hotel. Back in our room, I could not help but feel awash with gratitude and joy. And that evening, I took a few steps around the hotel room without the aid of my walker!!!

You don’t have to believe in God, but there’s no denying that human kindness has power. I believe God works through people. 

It would seem that Germany just might be the place for me to heal after all. Here’s hoping!