Final Pre-Interview To Do

Medical Monday & Tuesday:

• DONE: Get a final vaccination from the far-away doctors' office (varicella: medicine costs €56; previous vaccine medications cost €65 total. Doctor costs €50. In cash. Damn you health insurance.)
• Have proof of vaccinations sent to Dr. Erbenich's office at the Krankenhaus Waldfriede. Only then can they process and fax my results to the Frankfurt US Consulate. This can be a copy of the Impfpass (cost - yes, there's a cost - €3) faxed to their office with my case number etc. [Need to phone to check this.]

Rest of week re-organising:

• Pay for the interview online (cost €86,09) and get an electronic receipt (wichtig)
• Get copies of the NOA2 and fiancee letter of intent
• Copy police reports, passport ID page and check whether other copies are needed.
• Check all interview documents and ensure they're marked and copied sufficiently.
• Get info on Frankfurt (getting to/from places etc.)

Meanwhile feign interest in work and try to do these things whilst working 9 - 6.

Another random photo

The yard in springtime

Updatables

Despite wondering at the hundreds of Euros the last few stages of the process cost, I nearly, almost, tasteably have a K-1 fiancé immigrant visa!

Last steps:
A medical at the hospital in Berlin-Zehlendorf at 10.30 am on Tuesday 20th May (1 morning off work!)

• For this I need 1, or 3, passport photos (depending on the source), my passport, my case number and my vaccine records.
• When I leave the venerable Dr. Lothar Erbenich, I need to take with me a DS-3025 form (vaccine follow-up on adjusting status) and my chest X-ray (which goes on the plane with me
  

The Visa Interview at the Frankfurt US Consulate at 9.30 am on Tuesday June 3rd (2 days off work! But lots of train time and a hopefully cheap place to stay.) Details for that coming soon.

Approximately a week later I will finally, actually, tangibly have a K-1 visa delivered to my very door. Or at least to my postbox.

Random photos

New apartment!

Cracked out video from the McDonald's drive-thru.



A tour of our new house!

Wedding Plans getting off the ground

Now that the Visa seems to be out of our hands for the moment, we've begun talking turkey about the wedding. We spent much of today and yesterday hashing out our basic preferences for format and timing.

Tentative Decisions:

• Pending the approval of a few very important guests, we're looking at a Christmastime wedding (for the ease of our traveling guests who need to book time off, as well as for the bride herself, who can't easily get time off during the fall semester and would be hard pressed to find time to plan in the summer).
• We're looking at having an early ceremony (noontime) and champagne and cake reception directly following, then a very intimate dinner later on.
• As for the ceremony, we want to work within the basic "traditional" structure of the wedding, but to really personalize the readings and music to reflect our interests and beliefs.
• We want to try to incorporate some Irish elements (maybe some traditional Irish vows or readings - I already have an Irish hanky to carry down the aisle with me) into the ceremony.
• We're looking for a reading in German, to be read by a German, in addition to another literary passage in English.
• Trying to start thinking about music to incorporate: I've got very definite ideas of the kind of music I'd like to involve - Bach for processing, maybe some Beethoven (Pathetique) or Chopin (a Nocture), and, for Dan (and because I like it), "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence."

Domestic Fantasies: Plants

I bought these succulents...
To plant with this one in this bowl.
Pretty pansies.

Pink Petunia.

Cool lupines with water drops.


Lucy hanging out under the herb table.

Progress!

I-134s have been sent off. Dan's just waiting on one more bit of paperwork (medical records) and I have to send the NOA2, which I forgot to include and we'll be all set and waiting for the Interview date!