So, how did our big move go, you ask? We all arrived in one piece! The poor cats were trembling in the cargo hold while the humans enjoyed a luxurious first class flight. We stayed in the Hilton for our first three nights until our apartment was ready on August 1. Moving day was incredibly hectic: transporting the cats and luggage from hotel to apartment, receiving our rental furniture delivery (until our sea shipment arrives), getting my work permit and visa at the town hall, opening a German bank account, etc. Needless to say, it was an exhausting day. To top it all off, we arrived home from all of our errands to only find one cat in the apartment. We searched every nook and cranny in the house until we finally concluded that Marley either (a) somehow turned into Spider-Cat and escaped through a crack in a window about 10 feet off the ground, or (b) escaped out the front door when we weren't looking. Thus, our cat-hunt turned outdoors and we started walking the neighborhood and yelling "Marley!" I am pretty sure our neighbors are still holding this against us.
Around 10 PM, realizing we hadn't eaten dinner yet and still hadn't found her after over three hours of searching, we took a break and went to dinner. Turns out, no restaurants serve food after 10 PM, even on a Friday night (I thought Europeans ate late?!), which led us to our first good old fashioned McDonald's meal while living abroad. We returned home after midnight, after enjoying some people watching and beers on a main drag in Munich.
Quick side note: bachelor and bachelorette parties are hilarious over here. Everyone dresses the same and carries around their own bottle of alcohol on the streets (public drinking = A-OK). The bride/groom is forced to sling a giant box full of adult goodies and attempt to sell the stuff to unsuspecting strangers on the street. No, we did not buy anything.
Upon returning home, we did one more round of walking the streets and calling for our poor kitty. We gave up around 1 AM and decided to go to bed. Surprise surprise, neither of us could sleep, so around 3 AM, we got back out of bed and were staring out the window in the living room. We were essentially coming to terms with the fact that Marley was lost to us, possibly dead out there from a four story fall, and saying our goodbyes. I turn around, and through my tears, what do I see? Marley saunters into the living room, totally casual and slinky like the bitch that she is. Our jaws dropped, as we half laughed/half cried. We couldn't even feel real joy in finding her. We were so upset, thrilled, surprised, embarrassed, perplexed... We still can't believe that damn cat hid from us all day and showed up at her own funeral. The next day, when she disappeared once again, we knew she had to be hiding somewhere. We eventually found her underneath the dishwasher, behind a wood panel.
All in all, we are extremely thankful that we didn't sacrifice a cat for this global move. I have no photos from that emotionally trying day, but we did manage to salvage the weekend with a nice day in the Englischer Garten and a fun little paddle boat ride around the local see (lake, in German).
Until the next post!
xoxo
L & R
