Some News

Some good news - we're on the verge of buying health insurance. Turns out that even though B and I aren't married, I can get insurance through B's employer, Max Planck Institut für Mathematik. The plan we're getting seems to be a great deal by German standards - it would be an absolute steal by US standards - and it pays for alternative medicine! Yes! That's one hurdle (almost) down.

Some more good news: I've been concerned that I might be unable to get a residence permit to stay the year, given that B and I aren't married and B's the one with the job here. (An ordinary tourist visa for an American citizen allows a three month stay out of any six months.) Today B asked MPI if we should expect trouble at the alien office, and the very competent administrator who is arranging our health insurance was almost brusque in saying that we'd have no trouble at all and that our situation is routine. Hoo! Nothing like having the paper in hand, of course, but major reassurance in the meanwhile.

Here's something kinda neat: last week we went to a city office to register our new address. As new residents of Bonn, we received two fat booklets filled with free tickets to all of Bonn's many museums, Beethoven concerts, ferry rides up the Rhein, walking and bike tours of the city.... So nice! Must have missed getting my free booklet when I moved to Chicago in 2001.