Frohe Weihnachten!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I thought I would post some pictures of our tree as evidence of me waiting until Christmas to open our gifts. Don't worry, Cameron has been good about removing the customs labels before I get to the packages, so I have no idea what's inside the majority of them!

We cut down our tree (and by we I mean Cameron cut while I gave directions) at a Christmas tree farm that seemed more like part of someone's property that wanted to make a couple extra bucks off their forest. It took us a while to find a tree worthy of our ornaments, and even so, this one has a large bare area thats tucked away in the corner. A lot of the trees looked like the ones Daddy used to cut down- authentic I guess.

Here are our stockings- can you guess whose is whose?

And last but not least, my first needlepoint project, done with only 2 sentences of instructions. Its not a close up because she's not very good, and of course the same day she was framed, Mum sent me beautiful and perfect needlepoint ornaments she made. Some day I'll be that good...

We are going to spend Christmas with a group of friends- it will be sad being our first Christmas away from family, but luckily our friends are in the same boat and we can commiserate together.

Merry Christmas!

Brrrrrlin

Berlin is cold. The temperature is cold, the landscape is flat and full of windmill farms, and the buildings are grey and dreary- everything appropriately matches the weather.

We spent a weekend wandering around the city and taking in the highlights- the wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, and of course the new American embassy (first time I've been to an embassy, unfortunately it was closed).

Below is a picture of the remaining sections of the wall, and Cameron and I on opposing sides.

Classic "good" versus "evil"- I am on the Western side of the wall :)

My favorite part of the trip was Checkpoint Charlie and its museum. It was interesting to read about the wall during different decades, and to see all the creative ways people would escape to the western side. People would, for example, hide in cars, impersonate American officers with homemade uniforms, swim with a hand held submarine, and even hid between two hollowed out surfboards. 

This is the Brandenburg Gate, built in 1788 and used as a gate into Berlin since then. The gate was a symbol of the Nazi regime, and subsequently part of the Berlin Wall. Now, several embassies (the new American one is just to the right of this photo) and a Dunkin' Donuts (haven't seen one of those since Sept!) are located within the Gate's square. I wonder if the American ambassador requested that a Dunkin' Donuts be built there... he's got a tough job... do I go to Starbucks or Dunks today??

Nuremberg Christkindlemarkt

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I figured I would post a shot of my Thanksgiving dinner to prove that we did not starve. Everything was not as delicious as Mummy's always is, but the turkey was good and everything was ready at the same time. We had turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potato, gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmellow, carrots, salad, and rolls. Oh, and not only did I make everything ON the table, I put the table TOGETHER (from ikea).

Friday we went to the opening of the Christkindlemarkt in Nuremberg. This Christmas market is one of the largest in Germany, and I cannot imagine shopping at a larger one. There were hundreds of stalls selling tasty treats, ornaments, nativity scenes, nutcrackers, smokers, toys, and anything else that comes to mind when thinking of a traditional Christmas. There are strict rules about what stalls can sell, and many vendors are denied access if their goods are not up to standard.  That being said, there is a small international section, and the booth from the USA was peddling Obama t-shirts and pins, Coca-Cola paraphernalia, another un-Christmas-y, non-handmade things (probably made in China, not even the US). What a disappointment.

The decorations put all around the city for the market are amazing. There were life size nutcrackers everywhere and angels strung between buildings. In every city/town I've been in recently there are garlands with lights and huge Christmas trees. Even the biggest Scrooge can't help getting into the holiday spirit around here!

Along with all the shopping there was to do at the Christkindlemarkt, there was a lot of food to eat as well. While Jessie and I shopped our way through the isles of booths, Cameron ate his way through the market. He had a bratwurst sandwich, a waffle with nutella and whipped cream (seen below), a crepe with nutella and banana, gluchwine (Germany's version of mulled wine), some sort of mystery meat hamburger, and a couple of my candied walnuts- all within 4 hours. The Germans sure know how to make good food come out of portable carts!

We happened to still be shopping when it was time for the opening ceremony of the market. During this, a woman dressed as an angel appears on a ledge of the church across the marktplatz, reads a poem, and Christmas song or two is sung. For this, hundreds of people pack into the marktplatz- wall to wall people, we could not see the church from where we were standing (sorry, we couldn't get a picture), but we could not move backwards or sideways to exit. It was rather frightening, as all of the lights are turned out while the angel "appears". I guess the Germans are trustworthy people, as I suppose that would never happen in America without incident.

This is a view of the town from the Nuremberg Castle's tower, which we climbed to warm up, take a break from shopping, and burn some calories so we could eat more treats.

P.S. Why is it that the chocolate in advent calendars is never as good as regular chocolate? We opened ours (bought from a delish German chocolatier) and the candy tasted like it was left over from 1998. Maybe I'll make my own next year.

Next up- cutting down our Christmas tree....

Kurfurstenbad

Amberg has an awesome kurfurstenbad, aka public pool. I'm not even sure I would call call it a pool, because it is more of a complex with several pools, some hot tubs, and many, many other fun surprises. Cameron and I went on friday night, and still cannot get over impossible it would be to have this sort of fun in America.

First let me describe the complex. Indoors there is a lap pool, a deep pool where people were scuba diving, a pool for water aerobics, a kiddie pool, and a very large pool with various waterfalls, alcoves with jets, and other fun surprises. 

The pool continues outside (yes, even in the winter) where there are more jets, waterfalls, and a very strong lazy river that pulls you around in large circles.

This pool has to be the coolest thing ever open to the public. Buuuut it could never be this fun in America, because someone would sue the city and ruin it for everyone. For example- there aren't lifeguards everywhere; there are a couple of people sitting in a glass room playing with their cell phones and surfing the web. In the middle of the very strong lazy river there is a huuuuge rock that could do some serious damage. There is nobody monitoring the water slide- just a red light that turns green when it is safe to go down. I did not see a single "no diving" sign, warning sign about the dangers of hot tubs, or even the depth of the pool posted anywhere. We kept pointing different things out and saying "you could never do that in America"...

What's the deal? What is it about Americans that they can't take responsibility for their own actions, so that maybe we could have a totally awesome public pool?

Check out more pictures on the Kurfustenbad website.

Oh yeah, and there is a cafe poolside- in America they would need to post a warning about waiting 2 hours before swimming after eating.

"Czech" it out!! (part 2)

The puns I can make with "Czech" are endless and not very creative. Along with all the historical sightseeing Cameron and I did, we also went to two museums- the Communism museum and the Chocolate museum. Both were interesting, but only one had free samples. Yumm. The Communism museum was educational, but it would have held my attention more had it had more propaganda and visual aspects, instead of the verbose history lessons accompanying pictures of important communists. As an extra jab in the ribs to communism, the museum is located in a building whose other two inhabitants are a McDonalds and a casino. Ha-Ha!

The chocolate museum held my attention quite well. There was a section on the history of chocolate, a movie on the harvesting of coco beans and the procedure for making them into chocolate (and bark to munch on while watching) , and an exhibit with chocolate wrappers throughout the years. My favorite (besides the samples) were the posters discrediting some myths about chocolate...

And the chocolate chapstick Cameron got me... not very good for moisturizing the lips, but a delicious snack!

We also went on a guided pup crawl to some of Prague's oldest breweries. There is a pub in the house an executioner lived in (eating meat was not advised) and is said to haunt every night at midnight. We also tasted the original Budweiser, which was never exported until recently and has had problems with a beer of similar name but poorer taste, and had a beer at U Fleku, a beer hall dating back to 1499. The picture below is of Cameron holding a glass of the "original" Budweiser.

On our way home, we stopped at the famous "spa town" of Carlsbad on the Czech/German border. I was hoping for hot springs to rest my sore legs in, but much to my disappointment the hot springs I had read all about are just bad tasting water fountains. Scattered around the town are twelve wells flowing with mineral water formed by geological fault lines. The water is supposed to have healing powers, and people sit around

 them sipping the warm, sometimes hot, spring water from little porcelain cups. To me it tasted like warm sea water and the mineral build up on the faucets and catch basins was a turn off, but Cameron was braver and tried several of the different springs.

Here I am sipping from my cup in front of a very steamy mineral water fountain. The whole atrium was warmed by the shooting water, making it quite cozy.

These large wafers are a popular accompanist to the mineral water. We tried a lemon one, and it was a lot better tasting than it looks!

We will "Czech" ya later!

Prague? Czech!

Cameron finally got a 4 day weekend, so we hopped in our Opel and headed for Prague (thank God for GPS!).  We were both looking forward to getting a new stamp in our passports, buuuut there was no check point, not even a sign saying "Welcome to the Czech Republic!"; we were rather disappointed.  Prague was very tourist oriented and there were crowds of people everywhere. All the menus and museum exhibits were translated into several different languages, and we didn't meet a single person who didn't speak English. Our hotel concierge spoke at least 3 languages that I over heard- Czech, English, and Italian. McDonalds and KFC were also all over the city and along the highways. The Czech currency, koruna, is a pain. A beer is about 45, a meal in the 200 range, etc. Thus, holding a 2,000 note is not as exciting to the Czech as it is to us.

This is the Astronomical Clock Tower in the center of Prague. I'm not sure how to read the face, but there are skeleton figurines on both sides of the tower. Every hour those figurines pull ropes that open the two little doors above the large face, and disciples parade around in a circle. Every time we were there around an hour mark, there was a crowd of people craning their necks to get a glimpse. 

These are views from the top of the Clock Tower. Unfortunately, it was raining and cloudy for the majority of our trip. Off in the distance is the Prague Castle and surrounding buildings. There is even an imitation Eiffel Tower, but it was too foggy to see. The fog gave an even more creepy atmosphere to the historic city.

On Sunday we walked up to the Prague Castle with St. George's Basilica and the surrounding Palaces. The Castle had historic rooms open to visitors with information about the Castle's historic past and the kings that inhabited it. The Castle is guarded by soldiers much like London's beefeaters, only without the funny hats. These guards have to fight through the tourists to change positions hourly, and we saw one woman get whacked by a guards' arm when she didn't get out of the way fast enough. The guard cracked a smile but quickly resumed his stone-faced expression.

And this is why Europeans are not obese. We walked up a steep street to get to the Castle complex, but took these stairs down. I was pooped!

The famous Golden Lane is also located within the Castle complex. This mini street and the houses (shops now, of course) date back to the 15 century. The houses are very small, and Cameron had to watch his head in several of them. Walking down the Golden Lane presented a good image of how neighborhoods must have looked centuries ago (just not the goods being sold!).

This is a view from the Charles Bridge at night. The bridge was built in 1357 and over the years has had thirty six Baroque saints added to its architecture. This foot bridge is obviously very popular with tourists and is undergoing some renovations, so we couldn't get a picture good enough to grace this fantastic blog.

Sunday Brunch

Last Sunday Cameron and I hiked to the Mariahilfbergkirche Cathedral. It is on the top of a large hill, and its spire can be seen from anywhere in Amberg, including our apartment. We had heard that there was a good beirgarten next to the church, so we decided to check out it out before the end of the foliage (and just in time too, the leaves have all fallen from most of the trees around here). It was a good thing we walked up the steep hill rather than drive, because the beirgarten was awesome!!

The picture above of Amberg was taken on our way down. It gives you an idea of how high up the church is.

The goofy looking picture below was taken at the summit, and also has Amberg in the background

This is the church itself; the spire is not on the church itself but a connected building on the side. The building on the left is another smaller sanctuary. There seemed to be several smaller prayer sites scattered around and numbered- even a large crucifix on the path we took. The inside of the church had murals painted on the ceilings and walls, and gold gild everywhere (there was a service in progress so no pictures of that).

Another picture of Amberg, this one taken from the cathedral stairs. That little person trying to decipher the German bulletin board is me! The building below is the beirgarten, so I think I was actually spying on the food below...

SO GOOD! This dessert is their speciality, and almost every table had at least one. Cameron and I split this, and it was delicious. The whipped topping was lighter than I had expected, and the crust wasn't too heavy either. There was an older couple who sat at our table who spoke very little English (it was really crowded), but we determined that this beirgarten was famous for this dessert- they each had one! I doubt parents have a hard time getting their kids to go to this church...

I promise to take all my visitors here, a good incentive!

This Sunday Cameron and I went to the circus. The posters around Amberg were in German, but the name of the circus was in English (The Color of Life), there was also a tiger on the poster, so we had to go. Unfortunately, the only animals were a couple of dogs, 6 horses that had black spots like cows, and a trio of llamas that weren't that cool. While we were disappointed about the lack of wild beasts, there were some pretty cool aspects.

There was a woman who did acrobatics with a hanging rope- circ de sole style, and a trapeze couple- the man balanced on his head on a swinging trapeze while holding the woman who was also swinging. I mean, I have trouble balancing on one foot, never mind on my head like that!

My favorite act was a woman and her poodle. The dog could walk around and jump through hoops on its hind legs! It did a lot of cool things, but the best was when the woman trainer had the dog sit on her head like a person (hind legs only). It was cool, but I think we will avoid traveling German circuses from now on.

Regensburg

Our adventure this weekend was to Regensburg, about 40 minutes away. It is one of the most well preserved medieval towns in Europe, claiming landmarks that go back over 2000 years due to being skipped over during WW2. It is also home to the "domspatzen" (church sparrows): the world renowned choir of the Dom St. Peter.  We spent the day wandering around the city and sampling the delicious street vender cuisine (ice cream for a euro!!!).

This is a mural of David and Goliath we came across on a side street. Notice how Goliath's arm is resting on the window frame. Not surprisingly, the hotel across the street from this mural was named "The Goliath Hotel".

This is the Dom St. Peter, built in the 13th century, although the spires were added in the 19th. Either way, the architecture is incredible; it is said by many to be the crowning gothic achievement in all of Europe.

Another view of the Dom. Inside there were many stained glass windows and paintings, as well as signs prohibiting photography. There were other tourists taking pictures, but I figured God was probably watching.

Cameron outside Johannes Keppler's house. Apparently he did something scientific...

The Steinerke Bruke (stone bridge) was once the only fortified crossing of the Danube river.  It was built in the 12oo's, and I can't imagine how big the worker's muscles must have been when it was completed. 

Rumor has it that it was such a feat to build that the townsfolk thought it could only have been the work of the devil, and the first thing to cross the bridge would die. So they had a goat complete the maiden crossing and offered it as a sacrifice.  

And these are my new sparkly turquoise earrings I got at an antique store, for only 3 Euro. I guess good taste never goes out of style!

London

This past weekend I took my first trip on a budget European airline and went to visit my BC senior year roommate Jessie. She studied at Oxford for a year and is now working in London and living with her English boyfriend. I haven't seen her since graduation, so it was fantastic to be able to spend my four day weekend with her, as well as visit London for the first time. Unfortunately Cameron had to work so I made the trek solo (but we were able to spend more time shopping since he wasn't there). 

It was great to be around people speaking English, although I have to admit I had a hard time understanding some people if they spoke quickly. I was most flattered when people stopped me to ask for directions- in Germany they look at me and assume (correctly) that I don't speak the language (still learning, its slow going). I did not notice too many changes going on for the 2012 Olympics, mainly just updates/beautifying of the underground/tube stations, which were already very efficient. Boston needs to take notes- the T is brutal. 

This is a picture taken from outside the walls of the Tower of London (where I got a student discount, yay!). I took this picture because there was what looked like laundry hung on a line fluttering inside one of the walls. I guess the Beefeaters need to wash their undergarments too?

Another view of the Tower of London complex. There were also catapults set up on the surrounding lawn. 

This is the "traitors gate". Supposedly traitors would be brought through this gate from their cells in the towers on their way to be beheaded. 

I am convinced he was asleep standing up. You can't see their eyes under the furry hats, I wonder how well he could see me. He also had freakishly large feet- part of the uniform or just a coincidence?

A friendly reminder to not get run over by a crazy London driver!

This is how we are going to display our 

future gun/bayonet collection. There was another section that was a wall holding over 1,000 rifles layered on top of one another for easy access!

Tower of London bridge from the London Bridge. The London Bridge is very plain looking, I actually crossed it by accident when I got a little lost...

What are humped pelicans?

Crossing the Tower of London Bridge. It is amazing to think how difficult it must have been to build this with the limited equipment they had back in the day.

Parliament

Big Ben... When I stepped out of the tube station I was looking around for Big Ben and didn't see it, until I realized how far up you have to look to see it. Fun fact courtesy of Jessie- Big Ben is actually the name of the main bell inside the clock, not the actual clock.

The London Eye. I did not go on it, but it might be on the list for my next visit. I haven't decided yet if 40 minutes 440 ft in the sky will be too much for me.

The Eye at night. We had a cocktail hour on a docked boat with great views of this and Parliament light up at night. 

Big Ben at night. Its not a great picture, but notice the statue of a golden eagle in the foreground. Look familiar Boston College fans?

Last but definitely not least, did you think I would go to London and not visit Platform 9 and 3/4?? I'm actually updating my blog from the Hogwarts Express, not Amberg (and staying away from the Every Flavor Beans). 

Cheers!