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Year 2025

2025, another full year in Germany and we're loving it! What have we been up to this year?

Some things happen throughout the year:

- we celebrate a number of Jewish holidays and commemorative days, sometimes at home and sometimes at the synagogue. After the summer, Sylvia also attends the online shiurim (lessons) of Rabbi Levi Israel Ufferfilge. Ernst attends the Leo Trepp lectures in Oldenburg and represents the Jewish community in the Action group Religions of the Prevention Council of the City of Oldenburg.

- we spend time on hobbies. Ernst is a radio amateur. He regularly makes QSOs with other radio amateurs around the world. He also attends the meetings of the VFDB and the DARC in Leer. As a result, he participates in an emergency radio drill. We visit two weekends that combine camping and amateur radio, more about which later. Sylvia is a member of a knitting group. The meetings are in a shop just around the corner. Unfortunately, after the renovation of the shop, this is no longer possible and the group falls apart. Through Bookcrossing, breakfast meetings are occasionally organised, where books are also exchanged. And we participate in a number of regional Mensa dinners.

- and finally, there are the necessary medical issues that require attention. Especially in the orthopaedic field: Ernst has chronic neck problems and Sylvia has shoulder problems. The effects of the shingles in 2019 also remain. Furthermore, there is the regular adjustment of hearing aids, pacemaker checks and treatment of cataracts for Ernst. Nothing life-threatening, but we are noticing that we are slowly getting older...

 Against this backdrop, here are some monthly highlights, illustrated with a few photos.

 
January starts with some light snow.

At the end of last year, we decided to replace our 9-year-old Outlander PHEV with something newer. Because we are very satisfied with the quality of Mitsubishi, this time we opted for an Eclipse Cross, again a PHEV.

It is delivered in mid-January. With summer tyres, so we quickly add a set of winter tyres.

And, of course, a tow bar is also a necessity.

In February, Ernst has an appointment with a cardiologist in Aurich for an annual pacemaker check. It has been determined in advance that they have everything they need to check the specific make and type of pacemaker that was implanted in the Netherlands, four years ago. Upon arrival, it turns out that a) we cannot enter the hospital parking lot because our Dutch Maestro bank card is not accepted and b) the cardiologist cannot read this pacemaker after all. To be continued...

We had been looking for new sofas for a while. The set we found in Oldenburg is delivered.

We remove a small alder tree in the garden that is in an awkward place and is also plagued by insects (alder beetles). Afterwards, Sylvia's shoulder is hurting. This will last for months.

At the end of the month, we are shocked by the news of the sudden death of Simon, a friend of Ernst's since their grammar school days, some 60 years ago.

At the beginning of March, we attend Simon's funeral in Ede, where we naturally meet many old acquaintances.

A few days later, we go for a pacemaker check-up to the Ommelanden Hospital in Scheemda. It later transpires that Ernst's type of pacemaker is not used here either. Ernst is the only customer for the associated software and is referred to Groningen for his annual check-up in 2026.

The German authorities have reintroduced mandatory gas inspections (for cooking, hot water and heating in motorhomes). Our van passes the inspection.

After a visit to Driebergen for our granddaughter Suze's birthday, we make our friendly hearing care professional happy with a few cans of Texelse Skuumkoppe, of which he is a big fan. He is also a fan of the island of Texel, by the way.

We have our first Zoom call with Kristen and Brent in Canada to discuss a possible house swap for the summer.

Our small PV installation is expanded with a fourth panel and a second battery.

On the last day of the month, we have an intake interview with a very enthusiastic doctor at the pain clinic of the Red Cross Hospital in Bremen. She sees possibilities for treatment of the post-zoster neuropathy, but Ernst must agree to a 14-day hospitalisation.

 
In April, we are invited to celebrate the Seder in Emden. A dinner date in Leer during Passover is quite a challenge. In addition to a few small jobs, we prepare for a short motorhome holiday at the end of the month, which takes us through Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.
A report can be found here. 

After 12 days, it is now May, we are back home. There we receive a visit from the chimney sweep (mandatory in Germany) who informs us that our open fireplace no longer complies with environmental regulations. He can take another measurement and install a filter, but that will cost a lot of money and approval is not guaranteed.

In the end, we decide to have the chimney sealed off and install an electric fake fireplace in the mantelpiece. It also saves on vacuuming...

From 19 May, Ernst is in hospital in Bremen, where his forehead is treated with capsaicin. He also receives physiotherapy and psychological guidance. After 11 days, he manages to arrange his discharge. The treatment has helped his scalp, but unfortunately the itching and pain around his eye remain.

It is slowly time to prepare the house for the Canadian guests. June is all about tidying up and cleaning.

The swimming pool in particular requires a lot of attention due to dead leaves and algae. Fortunately, the weather is nice. All in all, we may have underestimated the preparations for a house exchange.

Although we are quite satisfied with our Starlink, we decide to accept EWE's offer. In mid-June, we order a fibre optic connection through a representative in Moormerland.

Ernst has been suffering from neck pain for two months now. So before we leave for Canada at the beginning of July, we decide to visit the GP. He suggests we have a MRI scan done. Because Germany does not have any pacemaker technicians, we would need to arrange for a cardiologist to be present at the MRI, which would involve a long waiting time, so it became a CT scan instead.

The scan shows some degenerative joints, but anyway, we are going on holiday first.

Our Canadian guests arrive on July 7th. We collect their house and car keys and set off in the camper van to Bremen airport. The report of our trip can be found here. 

After returning from our holiday in August, Ernst still has neck problems. The GP refers him to a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon confirms the wear and tear, but there is nothing he can do about it. So Ernst is prescribed six physiotherapy sessions. Fortunately, he can go to a practice that has just opened in a village nearby. A very nice lady, but the treatments don't help much. She recommends an osteopath, but they all are all fully booked until next year.

So we decide to do something enjoyable: a very nice field day/summer party/camping weekend at the radio club in Papenburg.

Less enjoyable is the follow-up treatment in Bremen, which fortunately only lasts two days this time. Meanwhile, our friend José, who is visiting Bremen, has broken her ankle, so on the way back Ernst takes her Old-German shepherd dog Blitzen with him from Bremen. For the next ten weeks, we will be “dog foster parents”. 

We had already planned to go to the DNAT in Bad Bentheim, which is also a combination of camping and amateur radio, so Blitzen can come along in the camper van, which she - fortunately - enjoys very much. 

On the last day of August, we have an appointment in Appingedam for a tour of Jewish houses and a visit to the Jewish cemetery and synagogue.

Sylvia takes part, while Ernst and Blitzen explore the town and the music festival taking place there on their own.

 
The highlight in September is the wedding of Judith and Marcel. Blitzen gets to spend the night at the dog kennel in Vriezenveen and we pick up some medicine for her from the vet in Almelo. Of course, there was also Sylvia's birthday and the start of the High Holidays. We notice the advantages and disadvantages of having a dog: lots of healthy walks, lots of fun with her crazy behaviour, but also a loss of freedom. Fortunately, she likes to come along on outings, for example to the September party in Hesel and the classic car festival in Winschoten. The hedge on the street side is trimmed and we make arrangements to have the whole garden trimmed later this year.

In October, we start with a new muffler under the camper van, which is now 10 years old.

The day after Yom Kippur, there is a festive circumcision in the synagogue, which Sylvia attends.

 
The retractable step is also 10 years old. Cleaning and re-lubricating it does not remove the significant wear and tear. So a new step was needed. Good for another 10 years...?

We visit a radio market near Winschoten and our previous neighbours in Großenkneten. Furthermore, there are many chores and appointments that are not worth mentioning.

At the beginning of November, it is time for Blitzen to return to her owner, who is now reasonably well again. We can combine this with an excursion to Apeldoornsche Bosch, organised by the regional JEI working group of Jewish Welfare.

When did we order the fibre optic cable again? Oh yes, that was in June. In November, the physical connection to the house is completed in two stages. The first team speaks Polish, the second comes from a subcontractor in Spain. Does that mean we now have fibre optic cable? No, not yet...

 
Ernst buys a new (second hand) display that is more compatible with his Mac. The image is stunning. However, because he still feels that his vision is not entirely clear, we also make an appointment with the optician in Leek where he purchased his glasses. The eye test results in the recommendation to first visit an ophthalmologist. We suspect secondary cataract.

And so, on the 5th of December, we find ourselves at Oog en Welzijn in Grou (Dutch Frisia). Fortunately, we have been able to make an appointment for a check-up quickly. Because it is Sinterklaas and we have come from far away, the ophthalmologist is kind enough to perform laser treatment at the end of the day. Problem solved, and after two more visits to the optician, Ernst has new glasses and razor-sharp vision again.

At the checkout of the supermarket in Hesel, there is a young lady who occasionally works there and likes to speak Dutch with us. It turns out that she is studying at the University of Oldenburg to be a History and Dutch language teacher. We agree that she can come and visit us to practise her conversation skills. The first visit was already very enjoyable.

And Ernst is still suffering from neck pain. Chiropractic treatment is only covered by insurance if it is performed by a medical doctor. Ernst gets a first treatment in mid-December. His next appointment is in five weeks, so in 2026.

Sylvia slips on the kitchen floor and lands badly. Nothing is broken, but the shoulder pain that had slowly healed has unfortunately returned. Knitting is out of the question for now.

 
Our dark red high-gloss kitchen fronts look chic, but... they make the whole kitchen quite dark.
We order new fronts, in white, which will be delivered in January 2026.

We still don't have fibre optic broadband. The associated Fritzbox will be sent six days before the commissioning, but no one can say when that will be.

The year ends with some family visits, including the (belated) combined birthday celebration of Yetta and Ernst, and the writing of this message. For 2026, we expect continuity in some areas and progress in others.

On rereading the above text, the negative aspects seem to predominate. But that is certainly not how we experience our life in East Frisia; we enjoy ourselves very much in our place of residence - and when travelling!