Schnitzel Stories

Ciao Roma!

2011-06-02T15:43:00.004-04:00

Our first trip back was a 4 day jaunt to Rome. We've both been there before, but not together, so we decided to revisit. The weather was fabulous the entire time and we would wake up around 9, eat breakfast and sight see until 3 ish, nap, shower, and change for dinner, then wander around the city from around 5 until eating at 8 or 9. Throw in gelato and cannoli breaks, and it was a lot of fun, but very tiring trying to stay up so late!

As you may have noticed, very rarely do we go somewhere and not rent bikes. This time we rented bikes and rode along the Appian Way. This road was built (starting in 312 B.C.) to connect ancient Rome with the populations she conquered. Also, the slave rebels were crucified along it according to the old movie Sparticus... Along the way are ruins of inns, houses of rich merchants, and some chapels. Some of the original stones are still there (and really brutal to ride your bike on). It was beautiful landscape, and since we went on a Sunday there were lots of Romans cycling or out strolling and not many cars.

This is one of the remaining ruins that was on top of a hill. I believe it was called the Tumulus of the Curiazi (I'm guessing it represents cats who were killed by curiosity?).

Below is the remainder of the Forum, where the business of Rome was conducted. It is so incredible to think of how old these structures are, and what life must have been like in their heyday.

This is the area leading to Palatine Hill, where the palaces were located. It was interesting to read about the construction of the buildings then. Apparently (according to our good friend Rick Steves) there were holes left in the brick for scaffolding to be erected later if needed. We also learned that most of the buildings were constructed in brick, then a marble facade was erected. Sneaky! The road was also paved in stones similar to the Appian Way- we walked on the same stones as Julius Caesar!

Below the Palatine Hill is the Colosseum, another amazing piece of architecture. The brochure said that some of the marble had been stolen later by other maurarders after the fall of Rome, so it is not as in tact. I sure am glad there is tv and sports these days, because I don't think I would like the Roman's entertainment. The Colosseum's opening ceremonies lasted 100 days, and reportedly 2,000 slaves and Gladiators and 9,000 exotic animals were killed during the festivities. The men fighting would not know in advance who or what they were up against- elevators would bring lions, tigers, bears, crocodiles, elephants, etc. into the ring! Yikes.

We made sure to watch Angels and Demons before leaving for Rome, so we were able to recognize all the churches and cathedrals. The photo above is me among the columns, and below is Cameron at the doors. The scale of the building is huge. Unfortunately, we got there after it closed for the night. (The major flaw in the Angels and Demons plot- all churches were closed before nighttime, and they certainly weren't giving tours!)

Below is the Trevi Fountain. Lore goes that if you toss a coin into the fountain you will return to Rome. Well, back in 2002 when I was first in Rome, I tossed a coin over my shoulder and sure enough I found myself there again. I forgot to repeat this, but I hope that I will return again!

Last but not least, it is my duty as a traveler to find the best dessert and report back to all of you. This was what Rick Steves called "Death by Chocolate"- chocolate ice cream rolled in chocolate chunks and topped with whipped cream. And an extra surprise- a cherry hidden in the bottom of the frozen treat. MmmMmMmmm!

Welcome Back!

2011-06-02T14:58:00.006-04:00

Welcome back Cameron!! After a loooong 11 months I got the call- "Your soldier will be on the next flight". Wohoo! The Welcome Home ceremonies were really exciting places to be. The excitement was palpable and friends and families were all practically hovering with anticipation. The other wives came even if their soldiers were on different flights to partake in the excitement, offer support, and to be photographers. First, everyone arrives early to get a good spot (after working "strategy" with friends we had a spot picked out I emailed to Cameron), then talk about how excited they are for about 30 minutes. The basketball shot clock counted down 20 seconds, and when the buzzer went off the soldiers came marching into the gym to "The Boys are Back in Town". There was also a smoke machine, which was cool but wasn't- my eyesight is bad and the smoke mixed with everyone wearing the same uniform, it was hard to pick out Cameron. The National Anthem was then played, and a little speech was given before the soldiers got the command that they were released. Cameron is in the back of this photo. My friend (and paparazzo) Andrea actually spotted him marching in, and Cameron spotted us. Andrea pointed him out during the formation, and I could see his head poking out to the side of the rows looking at us, then a big smile cross his face when I waved. This is me trying really hard to find Cameron in the sea of camouflage. I should have brought binoculars!

After the formation broke up I lost my visual- good thing Andrea was more composed (her husband came back two days before) because she saw where Cameron went and captured our "moment".

Cameron is enjoying being back and spends a lot of time inhaling deeply the fresh air, and saying things like, "Germany/beer/(fill in the blank) is so awesome". We hope to see you all soon, post with pictures from our weekend in Rome coming next!

Vail 2011

2011-03-07T21:07:00.003-05:00

I titled this post "Vail 2011" because hopefully there will be another "Vail" post next year, and the year after that, and the year after that...

Mid photo, where the break in the trees is, is Vail Village. Our hotel was a short walk from the gondola and there are some shops and restaurants in the village. Its a loooong way down!

This post is pretty much just pictures of me skiing, so I apologize for lack of diversity. There is some beautiful scenery- it would be better if it stopped snowing more than 10 minutes total in 4 days. Remind us next year to bring the camera on our apres ski adventures!

Check out our form! Okay, Chandler's is a little better than mine...

Unfortunately the last day was the best day of skiing for me. I was warmed up and comfortable on my skis, then it was time to go :(

We are post card ready!

Stingray City

2011-02-21T20:02:00.003-05:00

Hello again- I have some pictures from the Caribbean to warm everyone up! As you know, Cameron and I went down to Grand Cayman after a few days in Vail. We forgot to transfer the pictures onto my computer before Cameron went back to that place so you'll have to remain in a state of anticipation for any pictures taken from land.

Per usual I brought the cold weather with me to the Caymans, but fortunately that just means they had an abnormally windy few days and the temperature remained in the 80's. One of the "must do" things in the Caymans is to visit Stingray City. Stingray City is a sandbar where stingrays congregate to sun themselves in the shallow water and probably gossip about which fish from the reef have gotten fat. Story has it that many years ago the sandbar was where fishermen would stop to clean their fish before heading back to land, so the stingrays would hang out around the boats and eat their scraps. One very smart (and now filthy rich I assume) entrepreneur decided to make some money off of it. Fast forward a few years, the sandbar is now regulated by the government and the rays are totally domesticated and dependent on the fish the tourists feed them.

These are some pictures of us snorkeling off to the side of the reef. It was just like "Finding Nemo"- colorful fish everywhere; you could almost touch them. I couldn't find Nemo though...

This is Cookie. She hangs out on the reef more than the sandbar I guess, but she's very friendly. She lost her stinger and tail at some point so she is totally harmless as well. I liked her. The guide said that the big rays are female and the smaller ones are males.

The good part about bringing the "cold front" (as the locals called the breeze) was that the government closes the sandbar when the waves were too big because it was dangerous for boats to be bouncing around silly tourists. (also cool- we saw dolphins swimming when we were jet skiing back to shore, which I guess is rare unless the seas are angry. No pictures though- they were swimming fast and I was driving somewhat erratically...) The bar was closed for a few days and our first trip was canceled, but we were able to squeeze in a Jet Ski tour the morning we left the Caymans. There was only one other boat on the sandbar, and since the rays are dependent on the fish from tourists, they were VERY happy to see us. As soon as the guide stopped his jet ski you could see huge black saucers coming at him from all angles. Very cool but also a little scary.

They come right up to you and nuzzle with their sides looking for food and just saying hello. Because of the waves I was afraid of stepping on one or having it pushed into me and getting angry, but I guess they are used to it. I still refused to hand feed them or hold one like Cameron did (give me some credit, I got into the water and touched them after a harrowing jet ski ride!).

Cameron is holding/kissing this ray. The guide knows the rays so he waited for one he knows is super friendly and picked it up. They are very slimy and sort of rough and its very startling when they come up from behind and rub on your legs!

I'm not sure what is going on below, I guess Cameron is getting a hug from him or something. They can sort of launch themselves up a little bit to get closer to you if they want. The guide got this stingray to pose like that.

Totally unrelated- after Grand Cayman we stopped in Miami for a couple nights with college friends. We rented kayaks and went around islands off South Beach. It was a work out but it was really fun to look at all the mansions and get out on the water. There was a little island with a beach we stopped at for a break, and this photo has South Beach in the background. I feel Statue of Liberty-esque.

Daniel's Snow Day

2011-01-12T19:57:00.004-05:00

These are pictures from the snow day! I stayed at Rach and Phil's Tuesday night so I could enjoy Rachel and Daniel's no- school day. We played outside in the snow, had a good nap, made cookies, and went back into the snow for round two.

Daniel tried out Nana and Grampy's sled- he loved getting pulled around the cul de sac (the plows came early and we haven't seen them since). He also wore Rachel's ski goggles to protect him from the blowing wind. The camera batteries ran out as soon as he put them on though.

Although, Daniel was just as happy to tube inside!

"I want to go outside NOOOOW!"

All bundled up!

It was tough work getting him dressed for the blizzard

We all had a great snow day, Angus had a blast chasing snow balls too.

Afghanistan Pictures

2010-09-27T13:49:00.005-04:00

Cameron sent me a CD of pictures recently to give me a better idea of what he's working with over in Afghanistan, so I thought I'd share a few of them here. I don't know much about the pictures since he didn't send much in the way of captions, but at least you will have a better idea of what the landscape is like.

The camouflage works pretty well!

I'm guessing this is Powder, a dog that adopted Cameron when he got to FOB Lane. Unfortunately Powder was killed- I think he got run over by a convoy of trucks. RIP Powder.

Surprisingly pretty!

Cameron Update

2010-08-29T19:01:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,

Its been a while but here's a quick update on Cameron. He has moved from FOB (forward operating base) Lane to FOB Apache. Apache is a larger base so he will have better internet connection and access, and his quality of living will be better. His new job starts tomorrow, and involves working with contractors. He's got his own (plywood) room and has been catching up with friends over meals. So far he sounds like he is enjoying the move, but we will see how he likes the new job in a week or two! If you are interested in sending him something, you can email me or check facebook for a current address.

Ideally Cameron will be able to post some pictures and do some blog updates, but that will depend on how busy he ends up being and how strong his internet connection is. As he sends me pictures I will do some posts for everyone to get a better idea of what the area is like.

On a totally unrelated note, Rachel and I took Daniel to Popham Beach last weekend... he had a great time crawling through the sand and splashing in the water!

Bye Bye!

2010-06-22T07:13:00.002-04:00

Well, Cameron has left on his year-long business trip and I've started packing up the apartment to move back to the good ole US of A. LT Cam took a bus from Vilseck to Ramstein AFB, where he then took a chartered Delta flight to Kyrzgstan (he said they had in flight meals and everything!). Apparently there's a pretty nice base in K where they hang out until taking an Army flight to Kandahar and from there a helicopter to his outpost. I will keep everyone updated on his whereabouts and any package requests he has. We have been told not to mail anything until our guys take over the mail service down there on July 7th, so I will send out his address when we get it.

I am going to stop receiving mail on July 2nd, after that it will be forwarded to my parents house. The first round of movers come on July 1st (I am NOT turning 25 this year, I've decided to put it off for another year until I'm ready) and the final round come on the 2nd. I'm looking forward to being home, closer to the ocean, Daniel, and English speaking people in general, but it is sad to think that Cameron and I won't be returning to our first "love nest" and that our European adventure is, for the most part, over.

See you all soon, stay tuned for updates on Cameron's whereabouts and address.

Heaven on Earth

2010-06-02T11:06:00.004-04:00

My favorite of the cruise stops were Santorini and Mykonos. They were both very touristy, but that didn't take away from their charm. The area of Santorini that was formed by a volcano and the towns rest on the lip of the volcano. To get up to the towns you have three options- cable car, donkey (no guide so they walk wherever they want) or walking up the same path as the donkeys (potential to be squished by aforementioned uncontrolled donkeys and sidestepping their abundant droppings). We chose to the take the donkey route. It was fun, but an adventure for sure!

Here is one of the old Greek donkey- herder. They spoke no English, he yanked me off when the ride was over!

Beautiful Fira; we took a taxi to another town, Oia, to walk around and have a delicious Greek dinner. We also got authentic baklava to have for a late night snack. Mmmm!

Next stop, Mykonos! We rented some ATVs and drove them around the island eventually stopping at a beach to spend the rest of our time there. It was so fun to drive around the island and look down at the water and different little villages.

Here is the beach we stopped at. The water was a little warmer than Croatia and we rented a couple of beach chairs under thatched umbrellas. It was blissful!

This is the town of Mykonos that we wandered around before catching the last boat back to the ship. Every building was white with brightly colored shutters and doors in shades of blue.

One night on the ship they talked up a "Chocoholic Bar", so we got in line early and I ate a light dinner to save room. Between Cameron and I we tried everything, and I can't say they had anything spectacular. We all left feeling disappointed, unfortunately. Luckily, I had gotten more baklava in port that day so it wasn't a totally rotten day!

And... the chocolate Eiffel Tower.

This was Crete, we took a bus to the Palace of Knosos, and ancient Roman settlement and walked around. Crete was a lot more industrialized than the other places we had visited.

Towel Dog, he's such a stud!!

Split & Corfu

2010-06-02T09:18:00.003-04:00

Here she is! Our floating resort, the Norwegian Gem. You can't tell from this angle but she had super tacky "gems" painted along the sides near the bow- so American. Our cabin was long the port side around the middle.

Our first stop was Split, Croatia. The ship uses their lifeboats as ferries to bring people back and forth from the docks, which I thought was pretty creative. Diocletian's Palace is the main attraction in Split, besides the beach. We walked into the old city and randomly found a tour guide that was about to begin, so we hopped into her walking tour to see the Palace and hear about its history. After the tour, we made our way over to a beach where we cooled off before heading back to the ship. Beaches in Croatia are supposed to be fabulous, and while the one we went to was nice, clean, and family friendly (other than an anorexic looking woman doing topless pushups...) , we would have liked to have enough time to venture to some out of the way beaches.

This is the view of Split from our cabin balcony. The main dock area of the port is off to the right, while the Palace area is behind the more modern looking buildings.

The next stop on our itinerary was Corfu. This was the one place that we chose to do an excursion through the cruise. We took a bus about 45 minutes to a farm to horseback ride through the countryside. It was great to get away from the main tourist areas and see what the more rural parts looked like. We rode through olive groves, along a rocky beach, and through more olive groves.

After sufficiently bruising our bums, we returned the horses and took the bus to a beach for some relaxing before returning to the ship. Above is Cameron swimming- the water was still pretty chilly and it was a windy afternoon so he was on his own.

Here is a jetty that formed a cove for some fishing/leisure boats, and below are the boats and the shore (the beach was on the other side of the jetty to the right).

Every single night we had a sunset better than the night before!

Verona and Venice

2010-05-31T07:03:00.003-04:00

We've driven in a lot of countries, but Italians are by far THE CRAZIEST drivers I have ever encountered. Driving into Verona was not really a good idea, but we didn't realize that until too late. The old, narrow streets mixed with construction and inability to read the road signs was bad, but their traffic patterns were out of control. Picture a 4 way intersection without stop signs and all lights green at once, throw in some extra roads and hot blooded Italians and thats what driving in Italy is like. Whew... it was stressful but we came out only mentally scarred.

Verona was a very pretty city with a small town feel. The third largest colosseum in Italy is located in the center of town, and still functions as a stage/arena (they were setting up for Madame Butterfly while we were there).

Verona is, of course, the hometown of Romeo and Juliet. While there is no proof that this is Juliet's house and balcony, there is no proof that it is not - according to our good friend Rick Steeves. Apparently there was a fueling family the play was based off in Verona, and the above house is located on a street which was occupied by hat makers- hat = cap = Capulet. Thousands of tourists have left graffiti and notes along the walls leading to the balcony, and for a small fortune you can walk up and stand on the balcony. Personally, I would rather have a couple who didn't off themselves as role models.

This is the river that runs through Verona

A Roman settlement was built along the river that has been uncovered and preserved. In the photo above you can see they put up scaffolding for concerts in the area of the old stage. There is a museum with Roman artifacts recovered from the area as well as statues preserved from the early years of the town.

After two nights in Verona we went to the Army post in nearby Vincenza; we spent a night there and left our car in a lot on post before taking the train to Venice (about an hour).

The picture above is of all the gondolas at night. I heard some statistic that each gondola is worth like 40,000 Euro!!

A similar view as the picture above, but this one was taken from the top of St. Mark's cathederal- LOTS of tourists!

Cameron on one of the many bridges crossing the canals. We had to lug our luggage up and down stairs like these multiple times as we got a little lost. (P.S- GPS don't work so well along all the canals/narrow streets/tall buildings!)

This is the view from our hotel's "dock". Historically the docks would paint the poles different colors as their family seal. In the right of this picture you can see the red and white striped pole.

I leave you with this gem of maturity from Cameron... one of his meals in Venice had octopus so of course, he wanted to confirm if the tentacles would really stick to a glass...

Italian Road Trip

2010-05-31T06:32:00.002-04:00

I have to start off by saying it snowed during our road trip. In May.

The weather in Germany has been crappy for weeks, and as we drove towards Italy it continued to be crappy. We were somewhere in the Austrian Alps when it started snowing, but as soon as we passed through a tunnel and crossed into Italy it stopped. The sun came out, and the temperature gradually rose about 30 degrees in an hour- so yeah, we knew we were going to like Italy!

Our first stop was Sirmione on Lake Garda. It is a skinny peninsula that sticks out into the lake and historically was a vacation spot for rich citizens of Verona and Roma. Below is Cameron on a path that outlines the peninsula with the Alps in the distance.

I like this photo because you can see the rain shower off in the distance. The town had a lot of olive groves (not ripe though) and is also known for its thermal spas.

Sirmione has an old castle that was used to protect a fleet of Naval vessels built in the 13th century, if you climb a lot of narrow stairs there is a great view of the town and lake.

Sirmione's rooftops

This photo shows how long and skinny the peninsula is

These are the docks during the day, and the docks during sunset

Next stop, Verona!

Take Your In-Laws to Work Day

2010-05-02T14:56:00.003-04:00

While my parents were visiting Cameron had "take your in-laws to work day". He was the only one who participated...

Here is Daddy standing out of the back "sun roof" of the Stryker

I sat in the gunner's seat- they have a video screen so that they don't need to be in the open air to aim the gun. Unfortunately we were low on ammo (it didn't actually have a gun attached, bummer).

Here is Mum struggling with her helmet... I forgot to tell Cameron we have big heads in our family! Mum also got to wear the headset so she could overhear Cameron directing the driver and pick up some tips on backseat driving.

Another one of Daddy suited up and ready for his ride

And of course, after a hard day's work Daddy relaxing in one of Amberg's beer gardens! Cameron took us on a little beer garden crawl of a few of the breweries here in town. The weather was great for most of their visit here with only a few crummy days the first weekend. And yes, Daddy did get to go to the BMW AND Porsche museums, so we know his trip was excellent!

Me Gusta Madrid

2010-04-19T08:46:00.005-04:00

Our latest and greatest adventure so far was a long weekend in Madrid. We had some great suggestions from friends (how many trips do I need to take Rick Steeves on before he's considered a friend?) on things to do, places to eat, and places to siesta. We took in a bullfight, a traditional flamenco dance, did a tapas bar crawl (were we repeatedly ran into two other groups... also friends of Rick Steeves) and spent some quality time siesta-ing.

The matador below is in a typical outfit- very masculine! They all wear pink socks and ballet flats, but the suit itself varies.

I will spare the weaker readers of my wonderful blog the more gruesome photos of the bullfight- you couldn't help but feel bad for the bulls. They looked confused, and only charged when taunted with the pink and red capes. The matador's assistant would stab things into their backs, and then a man on a horse would come out and shove a spear into the backs of their necks, which in turn would make the bull head-butt the poor horses which you also end up feeling bad for. We saw a horse get knocked down by the bull and land on the rider, but all the assistant matadors came rushing out to distract the bull and get the horse and rider up. The bulls weren't nearly as aggressive as I had thought they would be, and it seems inhumane. At least the meat does get sold to market, so I guess some spectators would say its just playing with your food.

This is outside the Plaza de Toros

This is a nice little lake in the middle of the main park in Madrid, Retirio Park where we rented row boats and rowed around. There is lots of people watching and just sitting around, which is nice and relaxing when on vacation!

This is the Spanish Royal Palace. It is supposedly in the top three along with Schonbrunn in Vienna and Versailles- having been to all three I would chose to live at one of the others (as long as I could go somewhere else to live in the winter)! It is still used today for the Royals to hold dinners and events, but they live somewhere else.

This is one section of the Plaza Mayor. It is a very old square that has long buildings such as this on all four sides.

... just a pretty balcony with potted plants

A Spanish street

This is in the Plaza de Sol- the zero kilometer point/ exact center of Spain.

Another view of the Plaza Mayor

This is the view of the Plaza de Sol from our hotel balcony. It was great to be able to take a rest in our hotel while still experiencing Madrid's culture. There were tons of people hanging around the plaza, and there was a large mariachi band that played in the afternoons.

I'm not sure the significance of this statue, but its a symbol of Madrid and was in the Plaza de Sol.

And a final picture of us at the lake to prove we were there and didn't just steal someone else's photos off the internet and pass them off as our own :)

Keukenhof

2010-04-06T05:05:00.004-04:00

The Kuekenhof is a huge tulip and flower show/display that takes place every year in Holland. We stopped on our way to Amsterdam, but unfortunately all the famous tulips haven't bloomed yet. There were a lot of other flowers that were in bloom and several indoor expos. There was a woman showing how to arrange flowers, a man carving wooden clogs, and a petting zoo.

Someone's got big feet!!

Ignore my face and focus on the pretty tulips... it was a long drive and raining out!

One of the green houses with hundreds of different varieties of flowers and tulips

Muttnick! This was a cool sculpture, but where the wood was held together there were exposed spikes- you can't pet this dog!

Typical wooden windmill. You can climb stairs to the observation deck and see thousands of tulips in the field... when they are in season...

More flowers and walking paths outside.

Cameron wouldn't let me pet the baby cow at the petting zoo, but he looked a lot furrier and softer than I would expect of a cow. They also had chickens, roosters, rabbits, sheep and lambs.

This was my favorite sculpture, two bears dancing together

Funny sign, with all the tourists you'd think they'd have someone check their grammar.

We spent the rest of the day in Amsterdam, but there were really long lines for Anne Frank's museum and the Van Gogh museum, so we didn't have enough time to wait in line to see those. It was a great weekend despite the cold, rainy weather!

Luxembourg and Brussels

2010-04-06T03:39:00.003-04:00

March was a long, boring month with Cameron gone for most of it, but we are back to sightseeing and traveling for the next two months. Over the long Easter weekend we took a road trip with another couple through Luxembourg, Brussels, and Amsterdam. The weather wasn't great but it was fun to get a taste of each city (taste... we ate a lot!)

First was Luxembourg- here we walked through the city center and to the outer wall. Like Amberg and most European cities, the city was fortified with a wall. This wall was interesting because it has a system of tunnels still intact that can be toured deep into the wall.

This is a street in the city center- all cobblestones and row houses. Below is a picture of a section of the wall. You can see the holes for weaponry and tunnel entrances. In the World Wars Luxembourgians used the tunnels as bomb shelters. And yes, Luxembourgians speak Luxembourgish.

Beautiful view of the town from atop the wall ramparts. The water is part of a canal system.

After spending the day in Luxembourg, we went on to Brussels for two nights. The food in Brussels was amazing; french fries are actually Belgian, and their signature dish is french fries and mussels. The first night I had the best salmon of my life and a delicious waffle to wash it down. Cameron had rabbit, and surprise surprise, the Easter bunny didn't come on Sunday morning.

There were gourmet chocolate shops on every street, this one had a wall/waterfall of chocolate (like some places have a waterfall wall) as well as this chocolate baby filled with coco powder. Another thing that we saw frequently in Brussels were these chocolate tipped spoons. You melt the chocolate in hot milk for a delicious hot chocolate. Mmmm!

Brussel's "mascot" is this little boy peeing- Mannekin Piss they call him. There are several different legends telling his significance, but nobody really knows why he is there. He also has hundreds of costumes that different countries donate, and on special occasions the city officials dress him up. Its not impressive for the crowd that gathers to take pictures of him.

These are Cameron's mussels he had on Saturday night. They were tasty, but I had fried Haddock that was tastier. Our stay in these two cities was nice and short- there is not that much to do in either of them that we would need more than a two days in each.

Budapest

2010-02-20T04:17:00.005-05:00

Over Valentine' Day weekend Cameron surprised me with a long weekend in Budapest with some of our friends. It was a fun city and Hungarian food is really good (once you get past the all the liver). I would compare it to a combination of Berlin and Prague. Berlin because of the communism- style gray boring buildings, and Prague because of the historical castles. Everyone there speaks English, and they don't seem to hold anything against Americans.

This is the inside of St. Stephen's Basilica. It was very large and ornate inside, but I don't have any good pictures because it was dark inside. It is a relatively new building; the building was not completed until 1905. Housed in the Basilica is the right hand of Stephen, the first King of Hungry. The hand is kept in a dark box and you have to pay 2 Euro for a light to turn on so that you can view it. Needless to say, we didn't get a good look.

This is a shot of the outside of the Basilica. It looks more modern than a lot of the Cathedrals I've seen in Europe.

This is a photo of part of the Pest Castle taken from the Buda side of the Danube. The banks of the Danube are covered in old buildings on both sides. Because it was rather chilly, we did a hop-on hop-off bus tour that gave us a lot of information, that I then forgot.

Jessica hanging out with a Death Eater.

This is the entrance to the Buda Castle- much smaller than the Pest Castle. You can see some resemblance to Cinderella's Castle here. It was very cool looking from the outside, but the inside had been heavily damaged during wars, and just housed a collection of exhibits. The Buda Castle was surrounded by parks that probably would have been very nice in the summer, but snow and ice covered while we were there. There was also an amusement park and zoo nearby.

Me and Cameron on the Buda side with the Pest Castle in the background.

Yup, we have another flat visitor! This time Cameron's cousin Julia sent us her Flat Julia to visit. Here, she is in front of Hero's Square in the arts district of Budapest. They also have tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the base of the tower, but no guards. The surrounding buildings are various museums, including the National Art Museum, which had a VERY long line in the morning!

Another view of the Pest side of the Danube. Budapest is known for having the largest collection of natural thermal springs. According to Wikipedia, the Romans first settled in the area to take advantage of the healing powers of the baths. On Sunday we had a day of relaxation and spent the morning at the Gellert Spa hanging out in the baths. My cold wasn't miraculously healed, but it still felt nice. They offered chocolate massages too. Some day I'm going to have one of those! After relaxing, shopping, (non chocolate) massages and playing Bananagrams, we went to dinner at the Gundel Restaurant- said to be one of the best restaurants in Eastern Europe. It was yummy, but unfortunately because of my cold my taste buds were muted.

Me hanging out (haha) with one of my new friends.

View of the Parliament from Pest. Look familiar? (cough London cough)

And last but not least, a picture of the Pest Castle. It is much bigger and intricate than the Buda Castle- what I would expect from a castle!

Biggest Snowman EVER!

2010-02-09T09:25:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago on my way to post I noticed a gigantic snowman on the side of the road. It was the biggest snowman I had ever seen, and thought it was super cool. Last week, someone built an even BIGGER one next to it! Today I finally had to pull over and take pictures of these monstrosities. I have no idea how they got there, I am guessing it must have been done by some guys with plows and/or dump trucks full of snow, and some other cool equipment. Its crazy because I never saw either one in any stages of building, so they must have been done in one day!

The first, smaller one is to the left. He's a bit older so he is looking a little dowdy due to the warmer weather last weekend. His bottom alone is probably about 5 ft tall.

He is sad he melted a little this weekend. The noses are orange felt wrapped around something, and the buttons are plastic flower pots.

This is the one that was built more recently. This guy's bottom is over 6 ft tall! I have no idea how they get the snow up to the top two snow balls and shape it! The builders must have a crane or something. Even the Germans have been out showing their kids and taking pictures of the snowmen. Super cool. I wonder how many months they will survive??

Thanksgiving in France

2009-12-02T14:36:00.004-05:00

This year for Thanksgiving 11 of us drove to France where we had rented Chateau Canaples for the long weekend. Wednesday night we drove to Ramstein (major air force base) and lived the life of American luxury. Ramstein is like a mini America- in fact, the town it is located in has the largest population of Americans living outside of America. Needless to say, it was amazing to have street lights, American style hotel, and the largest PX (kinda like a Target) I've been to. Oh yeah, and the PX was open on Thursday so we got to shop around and marvel in the American-ness.... and eat at Cinnabon....

After leaving Ramstein, we stopped in Reims, France for a look around at the Cathedral there and for some lunch. Fun fact- champagne is not actually champagne unless it is made from grapes in the Champagne region of France (I'm guessing $4 Andre isn't really champagne). Unfortunately it was raining and didn't get any good pictures.

After leaving Reims we finished the road trip to a sleep French town called Canaples and pulled up to our cottage.

Actually we couldn't really "pull up" as it was gated and had to be buzzed in. This is the back of the house and the "grounds" which included a hen house and barn area (deserted, but authentic to the chateau) and these lovely statues of deer.

This is the buck standing guard, and the doe on the other side. I think the doe was once a buck but her antlers have fallen off at some point. The boys used this backyard area to have a game of not-so-touch football on Thanksgiving, while the ladies of the house cooked and sat by the fireplaces.

This is a side view, our room was at the very top right. The windows on the ground level are a garden room that would have been very nice if it were warmer! There was also a large dining room, office, living area, billiards room, kitchen, and HUGE foyer on the ground level, five bedrooms on the second, and four bedrooms and a large playroom on the third level. The basement had a laundry room, bathroom, table tennis room, and storage rooms.

After having Thanksgiving a day late, we went to Amiens, a nearby city with an amazing Cathedral. It is sometimes called Little Venice because it has a canal system running though the city with cottages perched on the banks. Sunday we packed up and made the trek back to Amberg- stopping at Ramstein for a little bit more Americana-eating at Macaroni Grill.

And of course, our friend's son Cian- I'm perfecting my Auntie duties on this little guy!

Craft Corner

2009-11-12T15:51:00.002-05:00

Just call me Martha (without the jail time).

I've been looking for things for our front door, but most of the German decorations just don't appeal to me. So I decided that I should make a wreath out of ball ornaments. I've seen these around in stores, but being unemployed, it seemed like a good idea to use my time to make one (only cost 15 Euro to make, including glue gun and glue sticks).

I purchased a straw wreath form (online sources used styrafoam, but we've got a lot of hay here) and wrapped it in a pretty ribbon. Then I gathered different size and color balls into groups of 3 and tied together with florist wire, then glued the wire to the wreath, filling in open spots with the sparkly ornaments. I used shatter-proof ornaments, whereas Martha probably used glass ones, but I read that the glue may shrink when it gets cold, causing the balls to fall off and shatter if you hang it outside (and I'm clumsy).

The pictures are a little shabby because a) its dark and b) its too early to take down our fall wreath!

Flat Stanley Does London

2009-11-12T11:39:00.005-05:00

London may now be at the top of my favorite cities. Cameron and I had both been before, so on this trip we were able to skip a few of the tourist attractions and do some things off the beaten path. Friday we took a bike tour (we got free t shirts for doing one in each city Fat Tire operates!) and got a refresher overview of the layout of the city. We quickly realized that London has a lot of traditional quirks. One being their "guards"...

These men are the Royal Horse Guards. They are a group of prestigious cavalry Soldiers whose duty, it appears, is to appear in parades/ royal events, and occasionally trot around the city streets in ridiculous hats.

Introducing... Flat Stanley! (or Stanrietta as we decided her long, luscious red hair makes her a she) My cousin Alex's class mailed these cutouts to friends and family to see where they could take Stan/Stanrietta on vacation. Stanrietta visited Buckingham Palace and several other London landmarks while we looked silly taking photos of a paper doll.

Me, mid-bike tour with a view of the London Eye over my shoulder.

This is another example of London's traditional quirks- the walk request signal for pedestrians... and the walk request signal for equestrians. I've never seen so much horse poop in the middle of a metropolitan city before.

Cameron was feeling regal after spending some time on the look- out for the Queen, so we treated ourselves to a delicious traditional tea and quiet reading time with his pet sheep. Our ritzy hotel had this sheep in our room, and we never figured out what was the point/ story behind it. The housekeepers even repositioned him when they cleaned the room, so it was like he moved... a nice little pet to make it feel like home...

It just so happened that we were in London on their "Remembrance Day", like our Veteran's Day. As you may have seen on CNN or BBC, there was a very long parade of veterans and soldiers, and then each member of the royal family laid a wreath of poppies at a monument. We happened to be walking down a street near Buckingham Palace, wondering why the roads were blocked and people waiting, when brown Bentleys with police escorts began driving past (the Queen always rides in a brown Bentley apparently). So, we waited and watched as various members of the royal family drove past us.. hard to say who it is in the picture above... I like to think it was the Princes.

If you really zoom in on the picture below, and get some good clarifying software, you will see that its THE QUEEN! This was when she was on her way to the wreath laying while we were standing at a different location. She really does wave to her public like Miss America (more likely Miss America really does wave like her). It was an exciting day for me, I never expected to see the Queen and her family on our trip!

Another picture of a Royal Horse Guard... not really sure what he's carrying to protect the building with under that robe! The sign says "Caution- Horses will bite". Maybe thats his secret weapon?

Stanrietta and Big Ben

And I leave you with a final picture of London's deep seeded traditionalism- this is a band that just marched along the road while we were waiting for the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace... in the road, playing their music for no apparent reason, while holding up traffic. You gotta love their determination.

Neuschwanstein

2009-10-21T07:58:00.004-04:00

When Katy came to visit we took an overnight trip down to Fussen to see Neuschwanstein, then spent her last night/day in Germany seeing Munich. Quick recap from earlier posts- Neuschwanstein is the castle built by the crazy King Ludwig and is supposedly the basis for Walt Disney's Cinderella castle.

So this picture isn't from Neuschwanstein, but I liked how the Munich Glockenspiel (town hall clock with figurines that dance around at certain times) looked in the chilly weather with the red flowers.

As we drove south it started snowing flurries, and then even farther south the snow had been collecting on the ground in places, especially the mountains. It was such a surprise to see all the snow since it hadn't snowed in Amberg yet, and it was only early October! The cloudy mountains and the green fields made a beautiful contrast as we drove the back roads.

This is the view out of one of the castle windows- so cool to be up in the snow and look across a green valley to more snow!

This is one of the towers of Neuschwanstein- the part that I think looks the most like Cinderella's castle.

And here are me and Katy, all bundled up and not really prepared for the snow!! I had a great visit with Katy, and I hope she had fun too!

Amberg in the Fall

2009-10-18T06:49:00.005-04:00

Here are some new pictures of Amberg in the fall I took while showing Katy around. Since then, the weather has turned frigid, it has snowed for two days, and the sun hasn't come out for more than 30 minutes at a time. I think it is officially winter here, and I'm not too excited about that!

The flowers are somehow still going strong despite the chilly weather and frost...

This picture shows how cloudy it usually is here, with the church on the hill in the background. A lot of the stores have their Christmas decorations out... I guess I should get my Halloween decorations ready!

Autumnal Fest

2009-09-27T08:58:00.005-04:00

Today some friends and I went to Nuremberg for the Autumnal Fest, which I suppose is to celebrate the beginning of Autumn. The Germans don't really need reasons for festivals, there is always one going on somewhere. This one was being held in the marktplatz (market place) where the Christkindlemarkt is held in the winter. There were vendors selling everything from lamb's wool booties and rugs to what I think were dentist tools, handmade wooden toys to kitchen supplies (dishes, pots & pans, cookie cutters, you name it). And of course, fest food! I got some chocolate covered strawberries, and there were the staples of German food- pretzels and bratwurst sandwiches.

This is my friend Cian, little boy with a biiiig pretzel!

These fruit and vegetable vendors aren't exclusive to the festivals, there are two every morning in Amberg's marktplatz. They have some stuff that I don't know what it is, so I stick to the basics when I shop at them. You know its fresh because the lettuce is always super dirty!

This is just a pretty building on the river in Nuremberg...

This is the bridge from the other direction. The striped awnings are all vendors selling fruits, veggies, flowers, spices, etc.

This is the main marktplatz where the Autumnal Fest is, you may recognize it from my post about the Christkindlemarkt. I'd guess it is about 5 or 6 rows of 10 vendors.

There is also a fest going on in Amberg this week, but it's more of a carnival with lots of rides, beer tents, and more food. We went Friday evening to watch some fireworks and eat the food-yum! The rides are obviously American made, with American flags, the Statue of Liberty, and cars painted like American Jeeps, police cars, and ambulances. Needless to say, I stay away from the rides; I can't imagine that beer tents and carnival rides mix well.

Canyoning

2009-08-27T07:01:00.003-04:00

While in Switzerland this past weekend, one of the activities that Cameron and I did was canyoning in a glacier. It was a couple hours of wandering through canyons dug out by years of glacial streams. We rappelled into the canyon from a mountain road and climbed, hiked, swam, and jumped our way down to the end of the gorge.

Cam had a blast rappelling, but he had done it before. It's a long way down!

I, on the other hand, was not so enthusiastic- it was the scariest thing I've ever done. The photographer and guide kept telling me to jump and let go of the harness to wave to the camera. A 30 second one-handed wave was all I could manage!

The best part was where the water had smoothed the rocks and created natural slides, although on most of the slides, the rock dropped off and became a free fall.

On this jump you could choose if you wanted to jump from a higher rock or lower. I obviously chose the lower, and Cameron obviously chose the higher. In this picture you can see Cameron jumping, and me below getting a pep talk from the guide (something along the lines of me being a scaredy-cat...) while gripping the rope.

...us at the bottom of one of the jumps

On the route they had two zip lines set up- one went down and was stopped by a guide, the other went halfway down and you had to let go of the rope holding your harness and fall into the water. This photo was taken as I was gathering up the courage to let go of the rope... below is after I finally did it.

Yes, I am holding my nose. Glacier water up the nose from a 50 ft. height is not pleasant. We wore long wetsuits with shorty long sleeve wetsuits on top and socks and booties, so the water didn't seem much colder than Birch Point.

We made it out alive!! AND I got to have delicious chocolate fondue for dessert as a reward for my bravery :)

Berlin, take two

2009-08-11T08:17:00.003-04:00

If you remember, last time we went to Berlin it was freezing cold, and that put a damper on all the sightseeing and fun the city has to offer. We decided to give it a second chance and went to check it out last weekend. The weather was a million times better, but Berlin still ranks pretty low on my list.

We did a bike tour of the city- my favorite way to see the sights. Its a great way to get an overview of the city without getting tired, bored, grumpy, etc. The picture above is of a building near Checkpoint Charlie (the gate between East and West Germany). The window in the building was bricked up during the cold war because East Germans would try to escape by jumping out of windows or off of buildings near the border onto West German soil. Residents were relocated to apartments farther from the border to further prevent escaping. One family created a home made zip line to go from a window across the border, and successfully escaped.

This photo is of a long piece of the Berlin Wall that was not torn down. A fence was constructed AFTER the borders were opened, to prevent people from chipping pieces off and damaging the structure. To the right of the sidewalk you can see a line of bricks- that was where the other wall stood. There was not just one Berlin Wall, in many places there were two, with a no man's land in between.

This is the last standing sniper tower out of several around the wall. The tour guide said that typically young soldiers would be assigned to the towers- in theory they would have less connection with outsiders and be less hesitant to shoot escapees and their helpers.

Going back a bit further in history, this parking lot/ apartment complex is standing on top of where Hitler's bunker complex is/was. The bunker was completely sealed and covered shortly after WW2 to prevent it from becoming a shrine for extremists. The apartment buildings were built so that the West Berliners would have a good vantage point to see how nice they were, and be lured back to the East. I don't think it worked.

Lastly, we went to the Berlin Zoo on Sunday. This seal was posing for us... we also saw the famous polar bear Knut and a lot of other cool animals. The polar bears were very sleepy though, I think it is far too hot for them here.

Giddy Up Cavalry!

2009-08-09T16:21:00.004-04:00

Giddy Up Cavalry!!

As Cameron's regiment is historically a cavalry unit, the soldiers have a tradition in which they go on a "Spur Ride" to "earn their spurs", which are then worn over their boots on certain days and at events. In typical Army fashion they dumb it down to get families involved at the "Spouse's Spur Ride". This Spur Ride was a test of physical and mental endurance in which the spouses proved they were worthy of being spur-holders through a series of grueling, near impossible tasks (just kidding, everyone who showed up got their spurs).

Here I am after completing the first task- camouflage. We had to paint our faces in the same technique the soldiers are instructed, with only one mirror between 8 of us on our team. Some got more carried away than others- I didn't do my neck or ears, knowing if I did I would be walking around Berlin with camo paint in crevices all weekend (more on that in later post).

The other events were a jog in a chemical suit/mask (NOT comfortable, very sweaty), a physical fitness test, medical litter carry/triage, and a low crawl obstacle course/grenade throw. The low crawl was the worst, I took the push ups as punishment because they were easier than crawling and getting grass stained. After the low crawl we had to cover each other to move our positions forward, which is what I am doing in this picture- running between sand bag "cover".

Don't worry, the gun is fake.

This after I got a "go" on grenade tossing (also fake) and successfully completed all the physical tasks and sweat off most of my camo paint.

The final task was going before the "Spur Board"- we were asked questions pertaining to the Regiment and Squadron. After answering all correctly we completed the arduous Spur Ride.

Our team earned the most points and won the Golden Spur, which will be displayed in the Squadron headquarters with a plaque with all of our names. Wohoo, I will be a part of SQDN history! As Cameron said, "well, at least one of us has made it into the display case". My certificate is hanging in a place of honor next to Cameron's Ranger School diploma.

I Built A Bench!!

2009-07-30T16:02:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the delay in my updates, but I've been busy building this fantastic bench (not really, I just haven't done exciting things). I've been yearning for the Pottery Barn "Samantha" style bench for our apartment's entry way, but its out of my unemployment price range and, of course, it can't be shipped to APOs. Instead, I channeled Bill Bowen and decided to build one myself.

I copied down PB's measurements, converted them into centimeters, and drew a detailed diagram in case no one at the hardware store spoke English. Fortunately I found someone who spoke enough English to cut the wood to specifications without any problems. I got a top, a slightly shorter bottom board, two sides, and two smaller pieces to make cubbies with.

Here's the standard bench... it was sturdy enough to hold me sitting at this point.

I learned how to use the drill- they should make smaller versions, it was hard to use it to get into the corners, and I ended up just using a screwdriver for most of those. The picture below has the cubbies spaced out...

And here is the (almost) final product!! It needs some stain, and I am going to make/purchase some cushions for the seat and some baskets for the cubbies to store hats, gloves, etc.

Cameron providing proof that its sturdy enough. He was hesitant to sit on it, but it held. Daddy should be proud, I only had to email him twice with questions!

I will update with pictures of the final product after it gets stained and has cushions and baskets!

J'aime Paris!!

2009-05-26T09:41:00.007-04:00

Last weekend Cameron and I took the new car out for its first long haul to Paris. The car loved driving on the autobahn as much as we do, and refuses to return to America and drive 65 mph!!

We got in late thursday night, and started friday morning off with the breakfast of champions- Nutella crepes from a stand outside our hotel. YUM! On friday we climbed the Eiffel Tower to the second platform, but I couldn't bring myself to go up to the very top- the second platform was high enough for me!

This is the view of the Champs de Mar from the second platform of the tower. The building at the end is the French military academy that Napoleon graduated from at the age of 15 (still has bullet holes from WW2 occupation) and the park was originally used as a training ground for the cadets, but was totally packed with picnics and frisbees while we were visiting.

Us at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower while waiting in line

On the Champs de Mar- you can see the three different platforms you can visit

This is outside the Louvre (just like the DaVinci Code...). This used to be the Palace for the royal family, and each king added a new wing, until Versailles was built and the royal family relocated. At that point it was empty except for squatters and starving artists. Eventually it was turned into a museum during the French Revolution. Not only is it a museum, but it also houses some good shops and the best bathrooms in Paris (in my professional opinion).

The Mona Lisa is surprisingly small for all the attention she receives- she is displayed behind bullet proof glass and no other piece in the building had a fraction of the attention.

This is a photo of the gardens at Versailles...

... and the building from the gardens (I'll keep Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna as my residence)

Our last night in Paris we took a romantic dinner cruise on the Seine River. It was fantastic to see Paris at night and get a glimpse of all the things we didn't have time to do in our short visit. Paris is beautiful at night, truly the "ville lumiere" or the "city of lights".

Below is a video of the Eiffel Tower during a light show!

Operation Cowboy

2009-05-20T06:20:00.006-04:00

In late April 1945, a group of soldiers from the Second Cavalry marched into Czechoslovakia on "Operation Cowboy". The objective of this operation was to free POWs and the famed Lipizzan horses of the Spanish Riding School being held by German troops. The Second Cav. was recently re-stationed in Germany (Cameron's regiment) and the Czech people haven't forgotten about "Operation Cowboy". For the 64th anniversary, people in three Czech towns held ceremonies celebrating the event for the return of the Second Cav.

My favorite part of the day was driving through the beautiful Czech countryside in a WWII jeep. We were supposed to ride in a bus (boring), but Cameron managed to get us a ride someone's jeep! Pictures don't really do the scenery justice, it was so beautiful and such a perfect day.

To give you an idea of how many re-enactors there were, the picture below shows the road curving along the left, with jeeps as far as you can see. As much as Americans tend to have a bad rap, it was really cool to see how many people dress as American soldiers and participate in these events.

There were at least a hundred WWII jeeps and owners dressed in American uniforms that turned out to participate in the parade through towns, and citizens were outside their homes watching and waving.

This is the jeep we rode in, not exactly luxurious, but sturdy!

I think this photo says it all... you really have to love America to wear an American flag t-shirt!

The Romantic Road

2009-05-20T05:17:00.006-04:00

The other overnight trip that we took with my parents was down the Romantic Road. We started in Wurzburg and toured the Residence and its gardens, built between 1720 and 1744 for the Prince Bishop of Wurzburg Johan Philipp Franz von Schonbron, and had lunch in a wine garden- a treat for my mom after all the time we spent in beer gardens!

Next we went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber to tour the historic city and visit the Christmas shops. Like most medieval German cities, it is surrounded by a wall, a portion of which is enclosed and Mum is walking through below.

After spending the night in Rothenburg, we drove to Nordlingen, the site of a crater formed by a meteorite thousands of years ago. In hopes of seeing a huge crater, Cameron and I climbed to the top of a 90 meter steeple- great views but no crater. Turns out, the town in set into the crater, with the surrounding hills actually being the lip of the crater. Intrigued by stories of NASA training in the crater, I was disappointed to find I wouldn't have noticed it was there if I didn't read about it. Wikipedia brought to my attention that the town the glass elevator floats over in the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is actually Nordlingen. Being able to tell my kids I've been there will be pretty cool someday (although, they will probably be watching the Johnny Depp version and I don't know if its the same in the end...).

From Nordlingen we took the scenic route to Fussen, our jumping off point for the famous castles, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. They are so cool, you have to read the Wikipedia article for all the info. The gist of it is, crazy Prince Ludwig II of Bavaria built this lavish castle as a retreat, and used influences of Richard Wagner's music to design rooms. The whole place has a swan theme, and there is even a fake cave built into his sitting room. Only a few rooms are completed and open to the public because soon after he moved into the castle he was deemed insane and taken out of power (and shortly after that mysteriously drowned).

We took a bus up to the castle, but took a horse drawn carriage down. Mum had to sit in the back with some chatty Americans while the rest of us rode with the driver.

This shot overlooks the Alps, while the one below is of Fussen and the surrounding area, including an alpine lake that looked pretty dry.

Inside (and out) it is easy to see how Ludwig nearly bankrupt Bavaria with his lavish spending- and the castle hadn't yet been completed! Ludwig did not allow visitors to his castle, but shortly after his death it was opened to the public by the German government (probably to pay off some of Ludwig's debts!), and 1.3 million people visit it annually.

The entire trip was fantastic, and I had a great time with my parents. I would never be able to fit everything we saw and did into my blog, but I hope this gives everyone an idea, and makes you want to come visit us too!!

Massachusetts to Munich

2009-05-20T04:13:00.005-04:00

I apologize to my schnitzel readers for the delay in posting, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of traveling and entertaining my parents. The list of towns we visited and sights we saw could fill a whole page- Weiden, Regensburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Munich, Dachau, Ingolstadt, Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Fussen, Austria for a hot minute.... even IKEA. I will let my mother fill in the details as I've been told she can recite everything about the trip. Here are some highlights from our 3 day stop in Munich, but again I have to apologize, I got carried away with what Mum was taking pictures of and forgot to take many of my own....

Of course, no trip to Munich would be complete without a beer at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. This famous beer hall is as historic as any monument or museum, and is much more fun to visit! Hitler started the National Socialist German Work's Party here in 1920, and was a meeting spot for the Nazi Youth. Rumor has it that the ceiling had a gigantic swastika on it, but has now been painted over with scenes of jolly Bavarians swigging steins of Hofbrau beer.

Daddy especially liked this tourist stop for the drink, but their lack of brautwurst sandwiches was a major disappointment to him.

We also walked through the Englischer Gartens our first day in Munich, and stopped at the Chinesischer Turm for a beer and pretzel. Despite being overcast, the park was beautiful and a lot nicer than the last time we were there in the snow. Poor Mummy doesn't like beer but still had to suffer through our frequent beer stops!

This is the one building that Mummy is not sure exactly what it is, so make sure you ask her about it! The tour we eves-dropped on said it was heavily bombed during WWII and when it was rebuilt, the wings on either side were made of glass "so that the people could see government happening". You can't see the sides of the building in this photo, but I took this picture because I love the 3 gold paintings in the arch ways. The Bavarian Lion in the middle is my favorite.

A short walk from there is the Residenceplatz, including the Temple Diana, pictured above. Musicians petition and audition to play under the domed roof (great acoustics), and it is considered a huge honor to be allowed to play here.

The Residence itself was impressive, although it was almost completely destroyed in the 40's and the furniture and apartments are reproductions based on what the trustees assume to be accurate (the residence in Wurzburg is a better representation- everything that was moveable was removed and hidden in bomb shelters and farms to protect it from bombing, then replaced afterwards with the help of meticulous photographs). The Treasury, also located in the Residence, was fascinating. There were so many exquisite pieces of jewelry, crowns, swords, nicknacks, alters, etc. It was interesting that some of the pieces had colored glass in place of gemstones- some of the families had sold the original stones and replaced with faux pieces!

Also in the Englisher Garden there is a man-made surfing wave. How it works I have no idea, but it was really funny to see people walking around in wetsuits with surf boards in the middle of a city.

Munich was a great time, and we only went the wrong way on the subway once (!). We also took a day trip to Dachau, visited the toy museum, the Marienplatz, fulfilled Mum's desire to visit a German department store, and ate gelato every day. The question on everyone's mind- did Daddy get to go to BMW world? Yes- we went immediately after I picked them up at the airport and took a tour of the factory. Unfortunately that was why my father visited Germany, and the rest of the sightseeing was no match...

Sara's Easter Visit

2009-04-17T07:22:00.012-04:00

Sara has been our first visitor from the states! We spent a day wandering around Munich, then went to Prague for a night. Unfortunately, someone else named "Sara B" beat her to branding their name onto the astronomical clock's observation bridge.

This is Sara and I on the Astronomical Clock's observation bridge. We had much better weather than when we were in Prague in the fall!

The picture below is of the Astronomical Clock, as well as the crowd of people waiting to get a glimpse of the show.

Sara and I after the long climb to the Prague Castle and surrounding areas. The rest of the city is below us in the background.

We took a guided tour of the city, which included St. George's Basilica. The picture below is of the length of the Church. Above is a painting etched into the side of the Cathedral. Each summer and winter crews coat the image in chemicals designed to protect against the upcoming season's harsh elements.

We pretty much ate our way though Prague. There were Easter markets set up with vendors selling delicious "Trudniks" (or as we called them, turtlenecks). These tasty treats were rolled around a metal stick, rubbed in sugar, and lightly roasted. They tasted sort of like half-baked sugar cookies, and I ate about 5. The best meal I had was beef golash in cream sauce with cranberries... mmm no wonder our tour guide claims that Czechs have the least healthy diet!

I leave you with a picture of a sweet treat- a crepe shaped like a rose, with a powdered sugar swan stenciled on for decoration. Don't visit us while on a diet!

Barcelonaaa

2009-04-06T14:07:00.004-04:00

Cameron and I just returned from a quick, 4 day jaunt to Barcelona. We were hoping for hot weather, and although the weather was beautiful, this weekend the weather in Germany was just as nice as Spain! We were both excited to break out our Spanish, but as it turned out, German phrases kept coming out of my mouth. I guess my mind just reverts to which ever language it thinks of faster when English doesn't cut it.

Barcelona was gorgeous, and it was great to see the Mediterranean for the first time. Unfortunately, a lot of the city was covered in scaffolding, so we didn't get the full effect of the architecture.

Above is a picture of the fountains in the Parc de la Ciutadella- it was really cool how the gargoyles spit out water! There were tons of people picnicking in the park and lounging on the grass with dogs and children. There is also a zoo in the park (we didn't go) that once had an albino gorilla, but he got skin cancer and died. Apparently he didn't like wearing sunscreen!

I did not realize that Barcelonians don't speak Castilian spanish, they speak Catalan, which is an entirely different language (but are all bilingual with castilian spanish, and many in english as well). They do not like to be compared to the rest of Spain- a culture within a culture.

We did a Fat Tire Bike Tour, and it was a great way to see the city. We would ride to each site and get a brief history of the major locations. Our tour guide was very funny as well, which kept us interested. The archway above is the Arc de Triomf- the northern entrance to the city park. Either side of the wide walkway is lined with benches, palm trees, and more people lounging in the grass. From this vantage point, you can see right to the water.

Cameron and I at the Mediterranean for the first time! The beach was actually man-made to attract tourism, so the sand is all imported and not as nice as a natural beach. After take-off from the airport on Monday, I could clearly see whales swimming in the sea from the sky- it was really cool!

This is the Sagrada Familia- a church whose construction began in 1882 and is predicted to be finished in 20-40 years... It was designed by Antonio Gaudi, who, it seems, designed most of the architecture in Barcelona. Read about it on Wikipedia, the history and design is pretty interesting.

Each night there is a show where this fountain and coordinating lights are set to music. Interestingly, each song that played was in English (Whitney Houston was one). It was amazing how many different way the fountain could be adjusted. There is a short video link below (the volume is pretty loud).

I miss my Dunkin Donuts, and am always happy to see it abroad!

Cameron with a statue of Christopher Columbus in the background- pointing west. We sat on the stairs Ferdinand and Isabella welcomed him back from "discovering" America on. The only street performer who's tin can Cameron put money in was a guy pretending to be a statue of Columbus. Thanks for realizing the world wasn't flat!!

Not sure what this is- didn't taste nearly as good as lobster. There was some good seafood though!

Since it was Palm Sunday, the citizens of Barcelona came out to perform their traditional Catalan dance- they stood in a circle holding hands, and moved their feet a little. It seemed subdued, but all the participants were having a great time. All around the city there were street vendors selling Palm strips folded into intricate designs.

On La Rambla (wide pedestrian street known for tourists and pick pockets) there were many of these vendors, as well as street performers, people pretending to be statues (not very convincing for the most part) and vendors who sold pets- bunnies, hamsters, tweety birds, roosters, turtles, etc. It was sad to hear the birds chirping a night, locked up in the vendors' kiosks!

Milan and Florence

2009-03-03T08:07:00.004-05:00

After our time in Venice, we took a train down to Milan and spent the day touring that city. Milan is a much newer European city than most I've been to so far, and therefore it was not nearly as exciting as others (in my opinion). Walking the 1.5 mile main strip of shopping was cool, but almost everything was out of my budget range! Our tour guide had some interesting historical anecdotes, but most of the architecture pointed out was built since the 1950's.

The photos above and below were taken in the main Milanese square. I am not sure what the historical significance of the building above is, but I liked it because it was pink stone.

The photo below is of the Milan Duomo.

Suzie and I on a bridge over the Arno River in Florence

Padlocks placed around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini on the Ponte Vecchio. It is superstition that if you place a padlock on the fence and throw away the key your love is locked together forever. Cameron and I will need to find another romantic superstition, as a 50 Euro fine has been implemented if you are caught putting a padlock on the fence.

The above is a picture of the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River. The Ponte Vecchio was originally where butchers sold their goods, now all the on- bridge vendors are goldsmiths. I suppose tourists are more likely to buy gold than something from a butcher...

These are pictures of the Duomo in Florence from different angles.

It is so large, it is nearly impossible to get a picture of the whole thing. The detail and beauty of the Cathedral amazes me every time I see it!

My New Favorite City

2009-02-27T08:40:00.004-05:00

Venice has become my new favorite city. I only spent a day there, but it was so much fun. We arrived in time for the last day of Carnivale, so there were a lot of people dressed up in costumes ranging from weird masks, period dresses, and outfits you would see in America on Halloween. The outer islands were pretty shut down due to the winter, but the water taxis were running and we got a tour around just by riding one to and from our hotel.

This is the far end of the main canal in Venice- you can see the crowds of people towards the busier end. All the canals are lined with sidewalks that are the "roads" and are lined with shops selling Murano glass, jewelry made out of glass beads, Carnivale masks, and leather goods.

There are narrow alley ways in between the canals, and they were all packed with people celebrating the holiday- it took us 10 minutes to get through a crowd and over a bridge in the afternoon!

Some of the many gondolas- the owners really do wear striped shirts!

Some of the people in costumes took themselves very seriously, walking slowly around and stopping to pause for pictures with tourists. This man clearly did not, as he was using his cell phone. The couple below took themselves extremely seriously, while dressed in a different type of costume. This type of mask is very common for Carnivale.

Suzie with one of the Carnivale masks. My favorites were the ones that just covered the eyes and had big feathers.

One of the quieter canals without shops

Bridges over the canals usually look like this one on the left- the sides of the bridges are all steps. Venice is not a handicap friendly city!

This photo is of the main canal in Venice taken while I was waiting for my train. It was so beautiful, I can't wait to go back when it is warmer out!!

Munich in the Winter

2009-02-17T08:07:00.005-05:00

We took advantage of Cameron's long weekend and spent a couple days exploring Munich. The trip was long overdue as we haven't been back since Oktoberfest and hadn't seen more than the inside of a beer tent! We wandered through the English Garden, saw the American Consulate building, and ate lots of non-German food (except pastries and pretzels...). It snowed flurries the entire time we were there, but it will be great to see the difference between winter and summer in the city!

Snowy scenes from the English Gardens- in the summer they will be full of sunbathers, beer drinkers, and kids running around. There were a few people strolling about, but no beer gardens were open. The majority of people we saw were sledding down a little hill in the middle. I had wished I brought a sled, they looked like they were having a lot of fun!

We went to the Hofbrauhaus for a beer (one beer is a liter, it takes a long time to drink!) and a pretzel (also gigantic), reminisced about Oktoberfest, and day dreamt of warm months and outdoor beer gardens...

This is a photo of the inside of the Theaterinkirche Cathedral in Munich. I just finished reading The Pillars of the Earth, and it really made me appreciate the architecture of these old churches more. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Rothenburg

2009-02-17T07:36:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Cameron and I took a day trip to Rothenburg, a city dating back to medieval times. Rothenburg is well preserved from the 17th century. In fact, when Nazi soldiers were occupying the town during World War II, bombs were dropped over the city destroying several buildings. When the U.S. Assistant Secretary of War heard the news, he ordered the town taken without the use of artillery to protect the historic nature of the town, and the German commander surrendered the town to prevent further damage. Donations to repair the bomb damage was received from all around the world, and donations are commemorated in the bricks forming the repaired city wall.

Rothenburg is also said to be the inspiration for the town in Pinnochio and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as several international novels and comic books. Check it out on Wikipedia.

This is a picture of our new time-out chair for naughty boys and girls. It is one of the less painful artifacts at the torture museum in Rothenburg. I felt pain just thinking about sitting down on all those spikes!

Cameron walking along the city wall built in the 13th century.

I hope everyone is taking notes on which places they would like to visit during their trips!

There are no kangaroos in Austria

2009-01-25T15:49:00.001-05:00

Hello again! Cameron and I took our longest vacation thus far, and spent it driving around Austria. We went skiing in Zell am See, toured around Salzburg, then spent the rest of the weekend eating pastries in Vienna. The following pictures are in reverse order of what we did- Vienna to Zell am See.

Below is us in the backyard of our future home....

This is the "backyard" of the Schonnbrunn Palace in Vienna. The palace was used as the summer palace of the Austrian emperors, but Cameron and I didn't understand why they would have a summer residence less than 30 minutes from their winter residence. The grounds are perfectly groomed, and cover more area than we could see in just one visit. There are over 300 statues, multiple gardens in different styles, and there is even a zoo! We did not have enough time to tour the interior, so we wandered the gardens and peeked at the animals in the zoo.

I will definitely be returning to the Schonbrunn Palace in the spring or summer when the gardens are in bloom!!

This lioness was eyeing us as we walked the perimeter of the zoo. We also saw a rhino, panda, and some deer without paying admission- just by walking around the walls.

This is a view of Vienna from the top of St. Stephen's Cathedral (aka Stephensdom), a church originally built in the 12th century- but destroyed multiple times and rebuilt. We climbed the narrow, winding staircase 445 feet up for the view- and were disappointed when we reached the top and there was a gift shop!! As if I climbed hundreds of stairs and battled vertigo to buy a keychain...

And, of course, as Vienna is famous for its coffee and pastries, we overindulged as often as possible. The coffee was delicious, but I had mixed feelings about the pastries. Cameron was sporting a froth mustache, like the one above, most of the weekend. The fruit/mousse cake combinations and frosting were delicious, but I thought the cake itself had a tendency to be dry. I personally prefer Mummy's chocolate cake to Vienna's!

We spent our time in Salzburg tasting pastries and coffee, and singing songs from The Sound of Music. We also checked out the Festung Hohensalzburg (translated to High Fortress Salzburg). It was a long walk up the hill to reach the mountain, and left Cameron thankful for the invention of tanks and strykers- any attacking foot soldiers would be too tired to fight after the hike up!

We took a guided tour around the inside of the fortress, where we went up to the top and took this photo of the town, Alps, and river Salz. My favorite part of the fortress was an exhibit showing the Archbishops and the gradual changes they made to the castle over the years- increased fortifications as technology developed.

In Zell am See we stayed in a gorgeous hotel situated on the side of a mountain. It was somewhat treacherous driving up winding, narrow roads in the dark, but the view from the hotel (and heated bathroom floor) was worth it. The photo above was taken from the balcony of our room- the white area is a lake at the base of the Alps. It must be fantastic to live somewhere so beautiful all year round!

Garmisch

2009-01-11T09:46:00.004-05:00

Happy 2009 from Germany!

This weekend Cameron and I went skiing in the German Alps in the resort town of Garmisch (about 3 hours from our apartment). Garmisch is a popular vacation destination with Americans- the military has one of their resorts located there, and there is an American ski lodge at the base of the mountain (we went authentic and stayed in a little German inn where the owners wore leiderhosen and gave very good advice).

We spent friday afternoon skiing on the base of the mountain, which was still harder than anything I had done before. The Alpine mountains are a little bigger than Wa-wa-wachussett. I managed to only fall a couple times- the most painful one happening when I was practically standing still...

Saturday morning we woke up early and took the Eibsee train up to the Zugspitze- the highest point in Germany at 2,962 meters. There we spent most of Saturday skiing the glacier and marveling at the altitude and views. Later, we took a cable car to the very top peak where there is a lodge with fantastic views (and a sun deck with a bar).

The view from the slopes on the lower part of the mountain

And from the top overlooking the Alps

Me napping on the glacier- between skiing and the bright sun it was comfortably warm. There is a church on the peak, as well as an igloo hotel.

Views from waaay above the tree line... On one side of the lodge were all these mountains, and on the other side was totally flat Germany.

Cameron at the top of the Zugspitze after enjoying a beer- I wonder how many countries we could see from there?

If you look closely, you can see a tiny gondola about to pass the third cliff from the top. The car climbs over 2,000 meters in 15 minutes (and holds about 25 people). This picture was taken from the parking lot after we disembarked.

We had the best weather we could ask for, a change from the gray clouds we are used to!

Don't you want to come visit us now?!

Frohe Weihnachten!!

2008-12-22T07:24:00.003-05:00

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

2008-12-15T07:29:00.003-05:00

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

2008-12-02T07:30:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-23T07:41:00.002-05:00

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)

2008-11-11T11:36:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-11-11T08:39:00.006-05:00

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

2008-10-27T17:09:00.004-04:00

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

2008-10-19T16:05:00.005-04:00

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

2008-10-14T06:16:00.005-04:00

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!

Oktoberfest 2008

2008-10-01T13:26:00.004-04:00

A rite of passage for anyone living in Germany is Oktoberfest. This past weekend we took the train down to Munich on Saturday morning and dove right into the crowds. It took us a while to get our bearings- the park that Oktoberfest is built on, Theresienweisse, is transformed from a meadow to a huuuuge fairground for 16 days a year. The main strip has 12 beer tents, and there are beer gardens smattered in between with venders selling 400,00 sausages, 600,000 chickens, and various cakes, nuts, and pretzels. I read that there are 6 million visitors who consume 5 million liters of beer (I find it hard to believe that there are more visitors than liters of beer consumed). To get a beer, you have to either make reservations for a tent months in advance, get to a tent before 9 am, or push and shove into one of the beer gardens. After we figured this out, we pushed and shoved into a beer garden, planted our feet, and waited for a waitress slugging 5+ liters of beer at a time.

My first Burger King meal in Europe, and it was fantastic. Sometimes pretzels just don't cut it.

You don't need to know German to eat at Oktoberfest, this sign sums it up- you are going to eat meat on a bun.

This is a mound of empty beer steins. These carts were positioned around the fairgrounds, but as you can imagine, it is difficult to get drunkards to put their steins away in the right place.

This picture is of the beer garden we were drinking in. The main street was just as crowded, and we risked getting knocked over if we stopped to take a picture. Here, everyone was just standing around drinking

I'm practicing for my back-up job- beer wench. I'm not very good, as I could barely hold 2 in each hand. They carry 4-5 in a hand with one balanced on top, very impressive.

When Germans heard us talking, they would want to practice their English. This group really liked us, and we talked to them for awhile (tried to at least). And yes, my hands got tired of holding my stein of beer.

Oktoberfest would not be compete without getting into a tent. To do this you need to either make reservations months in advance, get to a tent and wait in line before 8 am, or sneak in. The bouncer at the particular tent door we were eyeing left to break up a fight, so Cameron and I walked in and found a table of people who did not speak English but liked Americans. There was a large brass band playing, and people standing on the picnic tables singing. I'm not sure what they were singing about, but it was awesome.

ps- don't worry, my next post will not be pictures of my appendectomy...

My 'hood

2008-09-24T08:42:00.006-04:00

Here are some pictures of my immediate neighborhood. As I had said earlier, our apartment is across the street from "the ring" (Kaiser Wilhelm Ring is the name of the surrounding circular road) which started as a moat, and is now a walking path/park surrounding the old part of Amberg. These are pictures of that area. More pictures to come of the old section of Amberg later.

This is one of the fountains in the parks between the street and the moat/walking path. There are flowers everywhere, even though it is in the 50's every day now.

Little old ladies walk and ride their bikes all over the place. Most people carry bags or baskets with them, a lot of the stores will charge extra for bags. This is the path on the outside of the moat closest to the street. The trees are mostly still green, not many reds and oranges yet.

This is the bridge over the moat that I cross to get into the old town- there are sets of stone stairs periodically to get in and out of the moat. Mostly all of the roofs here are made out of that red stucco (but I think ours is actually brown).

This is a picture of the walking path in the moat taken from the bridge in the previous picture. It is about 2 miles around and good for running, very popular with dogs. It is hard to imagine it filled with water and sharks and piranas or whatever they used for protection.

This is a park inside the moat that you walk through to old Amberg. To the left is an open area and a fountain, and to the right is this:

I think in warmer weather there might be a biergarten, but now it is just a pretty garden that I like to walk through when going to the farmers market or shopping.

And this is the path heading away from the old part of town and back to our apartment. Sorry the pictures are somewhat dull, it has been overcast most of the week. Thankfully, showers come in the form of black clouds and you can always seem them moving in!

Welcome!

2008-09-22T06:20:00.007-04:00

Hi everyone-

I thought it would be easier to keep my pictures and stories all in one place. This way, I'm not sending emails all over the place, and if you are interested you can keep coming back, if you aren't, then don't!

Things are going well, Cameron and I are moved into our new apartment (pictures to come later, when its organized better!) and we are working on making it our home. Right now, we have army issue furniture, so we are working on buying things that fit our style better, and most importantly match. Its a slow process because we are learning our way around and the stores here aren't open on Sundays.

Amberg is set up so that everything is situated along a ring, and inside that ring is cobblestone streets with shops, beer gardens, and cafes. Our apartment is across the street from the ring, so there are parks and gardens to walk through to get to the center with the shops, cafes, and bars. I think my favorite thing about Germany is their attitude towards dogs. People bring their K-9 friends everywhere with them- bars, restaurants, shopping, hotels. Its great, they are so well behaved I can pet a dog while in a bar. I can't wait to get one, but I also do not want it to impinge on our travels. I guess I will have to wait.

Speaking of traveling, we have plans to go to London in October, and hopefully Oktoberfest this weekend (I watched the Oktoberfest parade on tv, you wouldn't believe how many people own leiderhosen and can carry 4+ beer steins in one hand. Of course, I have no idea what they were saying about them...).

Stay tuned for pictures of these trips, as well as pictures of Amberg and the apartment!