The Merleys in Germany

Caution: you may have a strong opinion about these topics!

2011-03-10T09:55:00.003+01:00

Amsterdam is full of contrasts. It is has 214 rainy days per year but has the highest bicycle commuting rate in the world. It is home to some of the world's great works of art and to display windows featuring prostitutes. You find Anne Frank's powerful story of the Holocaust housed down the street from shops where marijuana can be purchased from a menu, alongside coffee, juice and sandwiches. Amsterdam will make you react, and if you let it, it can also make you think.

Pragmatism appears to be a hallmark of the Dutch people. They seem to recognize that morality cannot be legislated, and their laws deal with reality. Prostitution exists in every country and every culture in the world; according to history, it always has. We may not like it but it is a fact. And it is a reality that does not seem to be diminished by legality. If the alternative doesn't curb the problem, could it be better to legitimize prostitution as an industry, regulate it for the safety of all who are involved and collect taxes to support such regulations?

Another reality: people use drugs. Some of us use them to wake up in the morning, or to relax in the evening, or to take the edge off a stressful day. Coffee, alcohol, and tobacco are legal drugs in much of the world. Marijuana is also on that list in the Netherlands. It is hard to describe how normal and low-key the coffee shops are in Amsterdam. They are in tourist areas, shopping districts, residential neighborhoods. They look and feel like cafes. Unlike bars, they are quiet. Many are well-lit and cheerful. Some close early (like 7 PM) out of courtesy for their neighbors. The people inside look no different than the people outside. They give no evidence of being low-life addicts. By all appearances, it seems that people are just as capable of using marijuana responsibly as they are of using alcohol or caffeine responsibly. And there is no need for drug trafficking, organized crime, gangs, black market. As I watch the death toll rise daily in Mexico as a result of drug wars, I have to wonder if prohibition causes us to lose more than we gain. Over 3,000 lives lost in Juarez alone in 2010.

These are big, big issues and can be deeply divisive. They are rooted in our cultural, religious and political beliefs. But I think it is worthwhile to acknowledge that there is more than one way to handle them and that some issues might not be as simple as right or wrong. If we cannot change the nature of human beings, then we have to choose if we want to live in a society whose laws are based on realism or idealism. And would we still feel that way if our beliefs were in the minority?

The practical Dutch and the talkative Italians

2011-03-01T07:28:00.005+01:00

While staying in an Amsterdam B&B, we met two women from Venice. Over breakfast, we mentioned that we had been there recently and had experienced the flooding of the city. One woman said that, while it is a beautiful place to live, many residents are leaving Venice because of the high cost of living, lack of jobs outside of tourism and the constant water problems. At this point, our host jumped into the conversation and enthusiastically offered that the Dutch could build dykes and dams to control the water and save the city; after all, they're the only reason the Netherlands isn't under water. To this offer, the other woman replied that the Italian government has been discussing many possible solutions over the last several years but still has not made any decisions. Our host worried that when they finally finished talking things over, Venice would already be sunk. "But at least we'll have had a good discussion," countered the Italian woman.

After breakfast we really laughed about this exchange. Then we wondered- what character traits are Americans known for? Good ones? Bad ones? Quirky ones?

Anne Frank

2011-02-28T15:05:00.002+01:00

Everyone knows the name and some of the story. She was a Jewish girl whose family left Nazi Germany for the Netherlands in 1933. Along with her older sister, parents and four others, she hid for more than two years in rooms above an office building. All eight were betrayed into the hands of the Nazis several months before the end of the war. Anne died of typhus in Bergen Belsen concentration camp just weeks before the liberation; she was fifteen years old. She kept a diary of her life in hiding and that is why we know her story.

I have had the privilege of visiting the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam twice within the last year. It is a moving experience and was no less so the second time. The story became a reality as I walked through the offices where business was conducted as usual while eight people remained silent through each day, fearing for their lives. And as I stood in Anne's room with pictures of movie stars and cute babies pasted to the walls, I could not help but see the author of this famous book for what she was- just a girl. A girl with a profound gift for writing and an amazing belief in the goodness of humanity, but just a girl all the same. She was growing up, she had hopes and dreams about her life, and she loved to write. Anne wanted to be an author and hoped she possessed the talent to write a great book that would live on after she died.

I have tremendous admiration for the courage and devotion of her father Otto Frank, who made Anne's dream a reality. He was the only one of the eight people in the house to survive the concentration camps. He spent months searching for his daughters, only to find out that they had died within a few days of one another. He read Anne's diaries for the first time after he knew she would not come home and was amazed by how little he knew the daughter with whom he had been so close. Her wishes to be a writer helped convince him to publish her story. Otto opened the hidden rooms to the public and established a foundation to help the story live on. But he was adament that it was not just about Anne. He wanted to foster communication and awareness to overcome hatred, religious intolerance and racial prejudice in the world. Sadly, over 60 years after the end of the Holocaust, it is a lesson that we still have not learned.

Rush hour traffic jam

2011-02-23T17:23:00.003+01:00

Don't you hate it when a local farmer chooses 5:00 PM to herd his goats and sheep right through the center of town?! Village traffic was at least ten or fifteen cars deep! Aaron and I ran three blocks to catch up so we could take these pictures and marvel at the scene. We were laughing so hard. No one sitting in their cars looked very amused...

By the way, have you ever seen shepard dogs in action? They're really amazing!

Aaaah, the country life- how I will miss it!

Why change is good

2011-02-16T08:18:00.003+01:00

I have been feeling bad about not writing as often as I used to and wondering why it seems that I have nothing to say. When I first arrived in Germany, I could hardly take it all in. Things were so strange and new and I noticed everything- big things like people walking to the grocery store regardless of the weather and little things like the weird adoption of English words into the German language. Shoppen in der City? Really?

Now it's been nearly three years and I have gradually grown accustomed to all the aspects of my life here. I don't even notice the thatched roofs on the houses that seemed so quaint and so "German" at first. I don't think twice, though I do still complain, about heading out with an umbrella if we need milk on a rainy day. Basically, this strange new world has become familiar.

It seems that making a big change in my life woke me up in many ways. I saw things differently, even the things that didn't change. I questioned routines and beliefs that I had always taken for granted. I changed. But human nature trumps all, and over time I found a routine, formed habits. I began to do things by rote, without having to think about them. Somewhere along the way I began to pay less attention to all the interesting things around me. And I believe that it is mostly a matter of paying attention, of choosing how we view the world that determines whether we find joy and humor and discovery in each day. It's not what we see but how we look at it. So let's see what today brings...

A few of your favorite things?

2011-02-07T15:14:00.002+01:00

What foods would you miss if you lived outside of the U.S.? It's hard to really answer that until you know what your options are in another country. It is endlessly amusing for me to see what you can get here and what is generally not available. For instance, if you love Doritos you are in luck. M&Ms? Snickers bars? Mars bars? No problem. Pringles? Got 'em. Even Snyder's pretzels are here. Cola-cola appears to be universal so no worries there. But if you are a Pepsi drinker, you've got trouble. Root beer? No way! Butterfinger candy bars? Three Musketeers bars? Nope.

I love to bake and I have been frustrated by the differences in baking supplies. I can't find brown sugar (though I have found it in all neighboring countries), baking soda, vanilla extract (they use a powder/flavored sugar instead) or vegetable shortening.

The big supermarket nearby just revamped their International Foods aisle and I was tickled to see an American section. American food is international? Well of course it is in Germany. The nearby sections for Italian, French and Greek foods looked so exotic and sophisticated with their fancy pastas, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and stuffed peppers. The American section looked like an accumulation of products advertised during Saturday morning cartoons. The delicacies available, and presumably in demand, include marshmallows, Swiss Miss cocoa mix, Pop-Tarts, Aunt Jemima syrup, real Canadian maple syrup (that's funny, huh), microwave popcorn, peanut butter and Lucky Charms cereal. They also had Crisco and baking soda. Maybe one of these days I'll stake out the store and watch who buys all this stuff. Maybe I could make an American friend!

Death of a Power Converter

2011-01-31T07:43:00.002+01:00

Tragedy struck our household last week. My 750-watt step-down transformer, absolutely central to my life as a Hausfrau, gave up the ghost. It has powered my coffee maker, my mixer, my blender, my vacuum. Clearly, I cannot go on without coffee, baked goods and clean floors.

What is it, you ask? I had never even considered such a device until we planned our move to Europe. We came here with all our household belongings, including appliances that were designed for 110 volts of power, what comes out of the walls in American homes. Here, however, the wall provides 220 volts! All that power would just fry anything that we plugged in. It turns out that it's not as simple as getting a plug that fits the big round shape of the outlets. We had to buy a device to decrease the voltage to 110. But it's not only about voltage; there's also wattage to consider. Bottom line- appliances that mix, heat up or suck dust draw a lot of watts and a converter has a limit to how much it can handle. That means of course, that it's hard to find one that will meet the requirements of our appliances. We've only ever found them from U.S. companies. So, here we are just months from the end of our European experience- close enough that it seems like a waste to buy a new one and have it shipped overseas, far enough that I can't really get away with not vacuuming again.

Aaron and I had numerous discussions about the replacement of the the power converter and ultimately decided to buy another one. And that was the big happening of the week. Isn't it strange the things that can occupy so much of our time and energy? Things that are so essential to day-to-day life but really so mundane and trivial. I suppose that's just part of the business of living.

Life without a passport

2011-01-24T13:20:00.002+01:00

When you don't have a passport, you can't leave the country. This is hardly a newsflash and hardly matters to any of you. But when you are living in a foreign country, being without your passport is a distinctly uncomfortable feeling. A week and a half ago, I sent off my passport to the U.S. Embassy. It's still valid for another five years but I ran out of pages. The government was happy to tape in about 20 additional pages for just $84, and was anxious to get it taken care of since I have no immediate travel plans.

Nevertheless, I experienced a moment of panic as I handed the envelope over at the post office and began thinking of all the scenarios that would require me to immediately travel back to the U.S. I even imagined situations that might require me to spontaneously present my passport to the authorities. Which authorities? I couldn't really say. Aside from my annual trip to renew my residency permit, I have never been stopped or asked to show my passport by any authority anywhere in Europe. BUT, it could happen. Then Aaron had an unexpected day off work, giving us a 3-day weekend. I thought it would have been great to go to Amsterdam or Copenhagen but remembered that I probably shouldn't go traipsing about without any identification. I don't actually know what the rules are about this but it does seem unwise to cross international borders, even in these days of the open borders of the EU. We stayed home quite contentedly and I probably only felt like going somewhere because I couldn't.

Happily, the taping in of new pages only required my passport to go to Berlin and not all the way to the U.S., as passport renewals have to do. I was relieved when the doorbell rang and the postman handed me my self-addressed stamped envelope with my newly amended passport inside. I still have no plans to travel, but there is something comforting and freeing in knowing that I can!

God bless Deutsche Post!

2011-01-14T07:49:00.002+01:00

I haven't sent a lot of mail since moving to Germany, which has been sad because I have more time to write letters and remember everyone's birthdays. Maybe I'm stingy but paying 1.70 Euro (about $2.20) to mail a card seemed exorbitant to me. But however outrageous the price, sometimes I just need to get something to the U.S. So, I went to the post office last week with a stack of things to mail and the total price already calculated in my head. The woman at the counter said there were new prices this year and I thought, "Great- even more money!" So when the total was 2.50 Euro LESS than I expected I thought she must have made a mistake (a highly unlikely scenario). I paid, asked for a price list and got out of there before someone figured out that I'd paid too little. Sure enough, DP streamlined their rates with the result that mail going out of Europe is now cheaper than it was two weeks ago. Sending a normal sized card or letter now costs just 0.75 Euro, a 0.95 Euro savings! Wow! The news just made my day! It's just the little things in life, isn't it?

Slow down!

2011-01-10T08:53:00.002+01:00

Whoa! Time is moving too quickly for me. I've barely had time to reflect on the experiences I've just had before new ones come along. I didn't even finish writing about the trip to Italy and now the holidays, along with our visit to the States, has come and gone and we're already into the second week of a new year! It seems impossible to summarize so where do I pick up?

2010 was undoubtedly a banner year. It will be hard to top in terms of new experiences and new places. As Ol' Blue Eyes sang, "It was a very good year," and ended with the best of all- celebrating Christmas with our families back home.

And now begins this year of transition, bringing with it a multitude of feelings. Both glad and sorry that this season of life in Germany will be ending. Excited and anxious about the new opportunities and possibilities of life in America. Overwhelmed by the arduous process of packing and preparing for an international move. Nervous about my ability to write a convincing resume, interview successfully and jump back into a career that I've been away from for nearly three years. And yet I am enthusiastic to return to my job, the feeling of doing what I love to do, what I'm trained for. Looking forward to being part of a professional team and making a positive difference in peoples' healthcare experience.

With so many great memories of our recent experiences and so much to anticipate about the life that lies ahead, I am finding it difficult to stay grounded in the moment and continue with the activities that make up day-to-day life here. And yet one lesson that has been repeated again and again for me is the importance of living each day, enjoying each moment to its fullest. I heard it put this way once- you have traded a day of your life for this day and it will never be again. Make the most of it!

Sunny day hike

2010-12-01T08:37:00.004+01:00

As I thaw out from an hour spent shoveling four inches (and counting) of snow, it seems like a good time to further reflect on our recent Italian holiday.

Our last day in Vernazza dawned sunny with a promise of warmth. We were so delighted because we wanted to hike a section of the Cinque Terre National Park trail, which connects all five towns in the area. Monterosso al Mare, the next town, was quite close as the crow flies or as the boat sails. To walk there we had to climb up and over and out and around the mountains through olive groves, vineyards and even homes tucked in the steep cliffs. It was breathtaking- the vast sea stretching out in so many shades of blue under the sun, the surf crashing against the rocks far below us.

When we arrived in Monterosso, we visited the weekly farmer's market and bought picnic supplies, then ate on a bench where we could watch both the bustle of townspeople and the waves rolling onto the beach. Later we rolled up our pants and walked in the sand, dipped our toes in the water, collected sea glass and reveled in the feeling of having nothing better to do with our day. At a beachfront cafe, we joined other tourists at the outdoor tables for a glass of wine before starting our trek back to Vernazza. We got back in time to sit on the terrace above our hotel and catch a lovely sunset. It was a perfect day!

But it's still snowing here...

A quiet village on the coast

2010-11-25T12:12:00.003+01:00

Village of Vernazza- population 500 (+ tourists)

View from our hotel room balcony!

From Venice on the northeast coast, we drove to Vernazza on the northwest coast, near Genoa. We had no idea how mountainous and wild it would be. We felt like we were a long ways from everything. The road into town was steep, narrow and winding. Heavy rain had caused landslides so we had to detour on even tinier and more spine-tingling roads. There are no cars allowed into town so we parked and walked nearly half a mile (tough to find a flat spot for a parking lot) to the seaside fishing village. It was quaint and picturesque, just as you would imagine it to be.

In summer, Vernazza and the other towns that make up the Cinque Terre- Five Lands- are packed with tourists who flock there for the sun, sea and atmosphere. As we strolled into town on a rainy Tuesday in November, we wondered if we had made a mistake. The three ice cream shops were all closed and we came to find out that only a handful of businesses had regular hours.

But we slowed down and just enjoyed climbing up to the cliff tops for great views, lingering over a morning espresso, exploring all the narrow alleys tucked back in neighborhoods and watching the sun sink into the Mediterranean each afternoon. We pondered how they could possibly plant vineyards on seemingly impossible inclines and how they planned to harvest olives from trees barely clinging to the mountainside. We saw old fishermen repairing nets on the docks and watched women talking animatedly outside the market. Dinner was our evening entertainment. The restaurant owners took such pride in their food and wine. It was a delight to try the local specialties: just-caught seafood, homemade pasta, fresh pesto, and the best tiramisu I've ever tasted. The quiet simplicity of this town in the off-season seemed like it could cast a spell on you and make you never want to leave!

Venice- the floating (or sinking?) city

2010-11-23T08:06:00.002+01:00

The main square- flooded by rain and tide!
It really looks like this!

View from our hotel room

We're home, plugged back into the real world, already reiminiscing about the wonderful places we saw in Italy and trying to work off a few pounds of pasta and pizza! Our first stop was Venice. It's the craziest city I have ever been in! We took a water bus (i.e., boat) from the airport to the city, which exists completely on an island intersected by countless canals. There are absolutely no cars- imagine every road in your town turned into a winding river, every vehicle turned into a boat and every crosswalk turned into a bridge. The city is a labryinth and it is impossible not to get lost. Many times we turned a corner only to find that our path was a dead-end at the water. So-called streets are as wide as sidewalks; in some we had to turn sideways to allow another person to pass. We often had to collapse our umbrella to avoid scraping buildings on each side. Everything seems mysterious and hidden away.

Apparently, Venice really is sinking. The city floods an average of 100 times each year, mostly in winter. We were lucky enough to witness the city on a "flood alarm" day. Boats full of sandbags roared past our hotel window early. Over the course of the morning, the water literally just rose up over the seawalls into the city. All over town there were wooden platforms at the ready, to be unfolded and stretched along the sidewalks when the water came up. Most first floor buildings had little flood gates across the lower half of their doors. The main square-normally a hub of tourist activity with cafes, cathedral and palace- became a vast wading pool, deep enough in some places to make even rubber boots useless. So all the tourists shuffled along on the narrow walkways, bumping into each others' umbrellas and trying to avoid falling off the side into the knee-deep water. It was a fascinating spectacle and fortunately it did not affect our sight-seeing plans too much. The following morning the flood alarm sounded again but we were already packed up and getting on a water bus to the train station. One day in a flooded city was enough!

Unplugging

2010-11-06T09:01:00.002+01:00

Today Aaron and I are leaving for a two-week holiday. Though it seems we are always on the go, this is the first time that Aaron has ever taken two consecutive weeks off strictly for the fun of it. He's quite excited and I am delighted to have him to myself. We'll be taking a road trip through Italy so I will have lots to report when I return.

In total defiance of this 21st century world, we are not taking our laptop and we do not even own cell phones so we will be totally disconnected from the greater world. It's an uneasy feeling in this day and age but I think that it is important to slow down. It was not long ago that we never expected everyone and everything to be accessible 24 hours a day. Our vacation will be a good exercise in "being present in the moment," something I need to learn again and again. We'll see what la dolce vita is really like!

Where have I been?

2010-11-01T08:13:00.003+01:00

I don't have much of an excuse for missing an entire month. I'm not sure exactly where the time went.

We did travel to the United States for the first time this year, spending a few days in Dallas (skyline behind me) and in Nevada (Aaron standing on red rocks at Red Rocks Canyon). It was strictly business, as I had a 4-day genetics conference in Texas and then Aaron had a 2-day conference in Las Vegas. We delighted in the Southern hospitality that met us in the Lone Star State. The welcome was big, the trucks were big and the meal portions were big! But we ate as much BBQ and Mexican food as we could and it tasted as delicious as we had been imagining all these months! Yum! There are lots of great things in Europe but there are just some things you miss from home.

Though I have been in Las Vegas before, this time it completely overwhelmed me. It is the epicenter of excess and I just couldn't reconcile myself to needing a map to navigate our hotel, paying over $40 for breakfast and seeing flashing lights 24 hours a day, both inside and outside. But strangely, the LV Strip is a relatively quiet and peaceful place to run at about 7 o'clock in the morning and I enjoyed the cool sunny mornings. We also enjoyed our last day, when we drove just 20 minutes out of the city into breathtaking desert and mountain wilderness. What a contrast from the lights and sounds of the city!

We had a very smooth and uneventful trip until we arrived back in Hamburg at 9:15 PM and our driver from Aaron's company was nowhere to be found. After traveling for nearly 24 hours and spending the night sitthing on a plane, this was a little more than frustrating. We waited for an hour, alternating between worry that he'd had an accident, being annoyed that someone at the company messed up the schedule and debating on who we could call and what they could do for us. Finally, at nearly 11:00 PM we rented a car and left the airport terminal. We ended up with a Smart car and barely fit our two small suitcases and ourselves into it! I could still see the humor in our situation despite the late hour and frustration so I snapped a picture of Aaron loading up our tiny auto. He was not amused but after a night's rest he could laugh about it. And it turned out that the driver had arrived to pick us up at 9:15 in the morning and no one at the company could sort out the mistake in the twelve hours in between. Hmm?
Oh well! If that's the worst that happened, we are lucky!

A 26.2 mile-long day!

2010-09-29T10:49:00.002+02:00

Confession: It was NA beer

and he didn't drink much of it!

I really felt this happy but you should
have seen me try to walk. Ouch!

We did it! Sunday we ran the Berlin marathon, for which we had been training for over four months. It was all worth it. What an amazing experience!

There were nearly 41,000 registered runners from all over the world- Japan, Korea, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, US, Canada and of course every European country. The race course was elbow to elbow the whole time. There must have been a million people lining the route- cheering, waving flags and signs, clapping, dancing. It was wonderful to see all the families and friends, standing out in the pouring rain in enthusiastic support of their runners. There were dozens of bands playing every kind of music. Thousands of volunteers gave out water, sports drinks and fruit, flagged the course route and generally helped make sure everything ran smoothly.

I can say so much about the day but I can't yet find the words to describe how it felt to cross the finish line after running 26 miles, training for 18 weeks and accomplishing a lifetime goal. It was a moment I'll never forget.

Looking for rainbows

2010-09-20T15:36:00.003+02:00

We've been having the strangest weather lately. It has been windy and raining nearly nonstop for the last two weeks. I'm super-duper sick of it. I start to feel claustrophic; I get crabby and hard to live with, even for myself! Gray skies, damp air, harsh wind- even Pollyanna might have her spirits dampened after a while. But the really strange part of this weather is that five or six times a day, the wind blows enough of the clouds away to reveal a snippet of brilliant blue sky or a bit of sunshine. It fools you into thinking the storm is over and you can go out for a walk or hang laundry on the line. Then ten minutes later, sometimes with sunshine and blue sky lingering, it begins to rain again. It's almost worse than never seeing the clear sky at all. However, I have seen more rainbows in the last several days than I have ever seen in my life. They're so vivid and beautiful and I can't help but smile. A rainbow is so fleeting that to catch sight of one feels like being in on a secret, sneaking an extra helping of delight when everyone's back is turned. So while part of me is chanting, "Rain, rain, go away..." another part is remembering the saying "Without rain, there are no rainbows."

The meaning of dreams

2010-09-10T10:25:00.002+02:00

Since moving here, my dreams have been haunted by ghosts of the past. It sounds a little dramatic but for some reason, people from different times and places in my life have been showing up pretty frequently at night. I'm tempted to psychoanalyze and figure out why this is happening and why certain people who I haven't thought of for years are suddenly showing up to help me bake cookies for my dog's birthday or competing against me in a surfing contest during a hurricane. By the way, I don't have a dog, know how to surf or have any deep fear of natural disasters. Man, dreams are weird!

Rather than delve into the innermost recesses of my psyche, I have been reflecting on the fact that my life has crossed paths with an awful lot of people in thirty-three years. These dreams make me realize that every friend, every classmate, every acquaintance, every neighbor has made a kind of indelible imprint on my life. And likewise, I have made some impression on every person I've known.

Imagine if we could really see these impressions, like stamps or tattoos on our bodies. We'd all be covered in the unique signatures of those we've known. Some might be tiny little stamps, like a nice (or mean) old neighbor lady who lived down the street. Some would be big John Hancock-like scrawls from the important figures of our lives- parents and siblings, childhood best friends, first loves, college roommates.

Looking back, I can only wonder what kind of mark I have made in people's lives but going forward I'm determined to be more aware that everything I do is part of the impression I leave in someone's life. The little things do matter because they are what make up the big things. Every smile and kind word but also every snub and snide remark make up my signature. Thirty years from now when someone runs their fingers over that mark, I want the memories to bring a smile to their face.

Finding Uncle Sam in Denmark

2010-09-06T17:48:00.002+02:00

Denmark's second city, Aarhus, is just two hours north of us. We'd heard good things about it and decided it was a perfect location for a weekend get-away to celebrate Aaron's birthday. It was a festival weekend so downtown was hopping and we had a delicious dinner at a local brewery on Friday night. Aaron indulged in some bbq ribs, something not often found around here, and they tasted gooood!

On Saturday, we wandered the city and found this little place called The Cockney Pub. It was packed with locals before noon and as we entered we saw that they were celebrating American Beer Week. What a surprise! In Germany, you're hard pressed to find anything other than German beer but apparently in Denmark they embrace the whole wide world of brewing. Of course I chose something Danish and Aaron tried an English ale but this poster of Uncle Sam, whose face I have seen with alarming frequency since living in Europe, really made us laugh!

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning on Aaron's birthday and had a lazy breakfast before heading back. When we arrived, Aaron set out to run 33 kilometers to mark his 33rd birthday. Then we ate tacos and chocolate cake, also part of the training plan! Ha!

Come one, come all, to see world-famous Rocks!

2010-08-25T12:03:00.002+02:00

The realm of tourism is full of kitsch, replicas and false history. Real mummies, wax museums, medieval torture dungeons, etc. We’ve all seen them. Apparently, we humans can’t resist good fanciful fiction if it’s better than the facts. But I believe the greatest marketing coup of all time has to be selling rocks. I can almost see some shamster concocting a whopper of a tale about rare and ancient stones, charging people admission to see them and laughing all the way to the bank.

But rocks are serious business all over the world. Just think of Plymouth Rock, the Blarney Stone and the mother of them all, Stonehenge. It turns out that when we blindly chose to run a race in Salisbury, England, we were placing ourselves within ten miles of this mysterious ancient ring o’ rocks. We figured we better go see it and when we found out that a bus would pick us up in town and haul us out to the middle of the fields where said stones lay, we knew it wouldn’t get any easier. Away we went on a classic red double-decker bus, with tour narration entertaining and educating us all the way.

We queued up to get into the big grassy field, grabbed audio guides and circled the circle. You can’t get very close (unless you pay extra for an after-hours tour) so you walk slowly around the fence perimeter while listening to a lot of archaeological information that basically amounts to this: These rocks are really, really old and no one knows what they were for. Granted, it’s pretty amazing that primitive folks could haul these multi-ton rocks to their present location, especially when modern humans tried to recreate the river journey with a rock of similar size and their raft promptly sank. Plus, they schlepped them over land for miles before standing them upright in a very specific orientation. So, I say kudos to the Neolithic people.

Let’s face it though- rocks are rocks. I can’t say I was disappointed because my expectations weren’t too high. Stonehenge was exactly as I thought it would be and looked just like every photo I’ve ever seen of it. It’s just nothing much to write home about (except that I sort of just did).

Icons of London

2010-08-20T07:28:00.002+02:00

Tower Bridge (not London Bridge, as I thought)

Big Ben- one landmark that lives up to its name!
(though Big Ben is only the name of the bell inside the clock tower)

This one did not go to

the Ministry of Magic- too bad!

Buckingham Palace- big but not beautiful.

The flag was flying so we knew

Her Majesty was in residence.

How many books have I read that take place in London? In how many movies have I seen images of the city? And when I finally arrived there, it was just as I expected and even better.

We spent nearly three days hopping around the city- from Pimlico to Piccadily Circus, Westminster to West End, Soho to Southwark, Hyde Park to Holborn, Buckingham Palace to the Borough Market. We saw great landmarks, wandered in neighborhoods and sampled English ales in many dark, wood-paneled taverns including one that was a favorite of Charles Dickens.

I love being in cities that seem to equally embrace their history and their future. One of the most visited attractions is the Tower of London- a fortress, garrison, palace and prison that dates back nearly a thousand years- and it is right in the middle of the city, adjacent to the Wall Street-like business district. And there is not just one London. It seems that each neighborhood has its own unique flair and certainly a few days doesn't do justice to the many personalities of the city. I can't wait to go back... but there are just so many places to go!

30 Long Kilometers

2010-08-11T08:33:00.002+02:00

As part of our marathon training, we decided to run a 30k (that's nearly 19 miles) race. There aren't many of that distance but we found one in Salisbury, England. It was the local firefighters' charity event. So off we went last week for our first visit to the UK.

I didn't know that southwest England was so very hilly! This event was a trail run so it was literally through fields, forests and pastures- the cows were surprisingly calm as they watched me run through the herd, dogding pies and hoping they didn't stampede.

It was beautifully scenic with all those rolling hills through the countryside. One minute I saw a quaint thatched cottage at the edge of the woods that looked straight out of a Grimm Brothers storybook. Ten minutes later I was running past a bonafide castle, looking for a troupe of Jane Austen characters to step out of the garden.

This photo is after the race, which did eventually come to an end. We're standing in front of Salisbury Cathedral, which is really quite breathtaking behind the scaffolding. (When you ask a stranger to take a picture, you never know what you're going to get!) Anyway, the cathedral is 900 years old so I guess it's entitled to a face lift. Shortly after this, we were happily situated in a 18th century tavern replenishing fluids and calories with a celebratory ale and traditional English pub food. Aaah- life is good!

Those crazy Dutchmen!

2010-08-02T12:58:00.002+02:00

For those of you who missed it, the soccer World Cup tournament ran from the second week of June through the second week of July. It happens only once every four years and is a VERY big deal in Europe.

This year the United States was in the tournament and won their group in the first round of games. Germany also played well, losing in the semi-finals to Spain, but winning third place. We were in Berlin for both of their last games and the town was painted black, red and gold! TVs were set up outside at cafes and pubs all over and there were crowds around all of them.

The Netherlands made it to the final game, which happened to take place the evening that Susan and I arrived in Amsterdam. We thought it would be fun to be there for the excitement. After we'd spent seven hours on 100-degree trains, packed in like sardines and dealt with two hours of delays, we were less enthusiastic about Dutch soccer. Due to the train delays, we got into the central station just one hour before game time and the city was in absolute chaos. Although the their flag is red, white and blue, the team color is orange in tribute to the royal family, whose last name is Oranje. So everyone and everything was citrus-colored and it was deafeningly loud with the South African vuvzela horns.

We waited over an hour for a tram to get to our hotel. We were tired, we were hungry and thirsty and we were in no mood for frenzied celebration. After we checked into our B&B, we found a tiny Surinamese restaurant where we had a great dinner and watched the rest of the game with the family who owned the place. Sadly, the Netherlands lost to Spain and we were glad that we were no longer in the city center, where many fans did not take the loss well. In our neighborhood, a deathly hush fell over the crowds at the nearby pubs and restaurants. But the Dutch spirits were not down for long; when the team arrived home on Tuesday and made a parade through the city on the canals, the 200, 000+ fans once again turned the town orange and shut down the city's transportation system! Second place is not too shabby!

Berlin Birthday

2010-07-26T16:57:00.003+02:00

This year it felt like I had a two-week celebration while on holiday with Susan so the actual day didn't stand out too much from the rest of the fun.

But it was a hot sunny day in Berlin and I started by taking a run along the river and through the park. I got to spend time talking with Adrienne, my friend who hosted us for a couple nights. Then Susan and I spent the whole day walking around and exploring the city. We saw landmarks and monuments and went to a museum. We had to have cake of course, and this is me at Fassbender & Rausch, apparently Europe's biggest chocolate store. We lingered over dinner and talked until the long summer day gave way to twilight around 10:30. Finally, to round out the day we ate ice cream sundaes before jumping on the train to go home. Definitely a good day!

Training

2010-07-24T12:53:00.002+02:00

This is my beautiful wife, right after she finished an 18 mile training run this morning. I know this life in Germany hasn't always been easy, but I am SO proud of her. Jackie has made the most of her time here. She cooks delicious and healthy meals, plans adventurous vacations, takes care of the household chores, teaches English at Atec and is training for the Berlin Marathon! Great job Jackie! I love you!

Hot summer days in Prague

2010-07-22T14:23:00.003+02:00

Prague was fantastic! It had a historical feel different from anywhere else I've been. Though the city was heavily bombed by the Allies in WWII, the damage to the city was much less than that seen in Vienna, Berlin and other German cities. So maybe the different feel was authenticity. The streets were narrow and winding- a nightmare for navigation but a delight for sight-seeing and discovery. There was adventure around every corner.

It's hard to capture the feel of a place in words; I guess that is why people travel. We saw all the typical sights- the castle, the cathedral, the synagogues, the main market square, the pedestrian shopping district. But the mood on a hot summer afternoon in a shaded beer garden, the character of the people, the excitement of the tourists, the frenzied World Cup fans everywhere.

I finally found out who good King Wenceslas was. I tasted real Czech gulasch and dumplings. I drank the original Budweiser (Budvar) beer. I stood in a thousand-year-old castle great hall. I walked through a Jewish cematery with graves dating from the 15th century. I strolled through cobbled streets where centuries of people have carried on their daily lives. I felt the world grow yet smaller and at the same time felt that my presence in it is fleeting and insignificant. I am just blessed to be part of it.

Susan and Jackie's Big Adventure

2010-07-19T13:36:00.004+02:00

A lot of things in my life lately seem like "once-in-a-lifetime" experiences and I'm pretty sure I've just had another one. My friend Susan met me in Prague and we spent two weeks traveling together, sight-seeing in the Czech Republic, Berlin and finally, Amsterdam. We were on the go the whole time and saw so much that I can hardly put it into words.

But even better than all the new places we visited was the time with an old friend. We hadn't seen each other in three years but it hardly mattered. We just picked up where we left off and gabbed until my throat was sore! We were amazingly compatible for traveling together- no small miracle since I'm an early bird and she's a night owl who was fighting a nine-hour jet lag. She tolerated my stinky running clothes and I tolerated her clothes all over the room, and even after two weeks of morning, noon and night side by side, we still like each other!

After two years as a "stranger in a strange land," relationships are all the more precious to me. It's not always easy to make new friends and there's no substitute for family. My head is still spinning from the last few months but I am so grateful for the visits from friends and my parents. It is truly a breath of life to Aaron and me.

As soon as I recover from my adventure, I'll share some of the highlights...

Fun with Bureaucracy!

2010-06-29T08:37:00.003+02:00

Well, it's that time again- another year has gone by and yesterday we found ourselves back at the "Foreigners' Bureau" to renew our residency permits and pay Germany a bit more money to allow us to stay in the country. Last summer, we were in and out within 15 minutes so we figured it would be the same routine. But of course it wasn't or I wouldn't have the story to tell.

First we waited in the hall for 15 minutes. Then we went into the office and talked with the same woman we've worked with for two years. But she passed us off to a colleague who gave Aaron a 4-page form to fill out and sent us out in the hall. The form is the same one we filled out when we first arrived in the country (at which time we had someone translate it for us). This time, alone and without a dictionary, we were stumped on a few questions. It took us another 15 minutes for the form.

Then we were back in the office working with someone new. Since Aaron's passport expires next April, Herr Foreign-Office-Worker cannot issue a residency permit beyond that time. Since my residency is dependent on Aaron's employment and residency, I am in the same boat. But the issue made sense and we were okay with it. We'd just have to come back in the spring with Aaron's new passport and get new stickers. So Herr FOW printed out the stickers that go into our passports, only to discover, horror of horrors, that Aaron's book is full! Well, not really full. There are still pages left but apparently they are not the right kind of pages for a residency permit. Of course, Aaron was thinking, "Just put the stickers on a blank page and I'll deal with the U.S. if they don't like the placement. Besides, I'm getting a new passport in less than a year." Our new government friend just kept muttering, "Your passport is almost full. It's full." He went into another office and came back, confirming with other staff members that the book was indeed full.

We were sent to the basement to pay for the privilege of this experience, while he mulled over how to handle the situation. When we came back, suddenly I had to fill out a form, similar to the one Aaron had just filled out. I think he was stalling for time. By this point, we'd been there an hour. Finally, FOW came out to the hallway with our passports and a separate piece of paper for each of us. Since Aaron's passport expires in April and since there is no appropriate place to put his residency sticker in the current passport, we have a temporary three-month permit, in which time Aaron has to get a new passport and we have to report back to the Foreigner's Bureau for an extension.

Now we have to deal with the U.S. Embassy Consular Office to get Aaron's new passport. He'll have to go in person since he cannot give up his passport for 4-6 weeks (we're traveling to England and Puerto Rico in August). The office is open for a total of 16 hours a week, you can't make an appointment and it's a three-hour drive from here. Round Two, let the fun begin!

Sisi- still the queen of Austria

2010-06-24T07:59:00.002+02:00

The royal legacy left in Austria is impressive- over 600 years of rule within one grand family, the Habsburgs. I've often thought I'd like to study European royalty but every time I get a glimpse of the complex and frighteningly intertwining family trees, I give up. But in Vienna there is no avoiding the presence of this royal family, even nearly a century after their empire fell at the end of WWI.

There are several "larger than life" figures among the rulers but none who image is as pervasive as Empress Elizabeth, known as "Sisi." The young emperor Franz Josef bailed out on his arranged marriage to Sisi's sister when he fell in love with her at first sight. She was married at age 16 and was known for her great beauty. She had a 20-inch waist, even after bearing several children, and obsessed about dieting and exercise. She was way ahead of her time in her daily regimen of exercise, keeping fitness equipment in her private suite. Her other great feature was her hair, which she kept at ankle-length. Washing it was an ordeal, requiring multiple servants and nearly a whole day. Her vanity was such that she refused to be painted or photographed after she turned 30.

But she was reclusive and moody from the beginning, avoiding royal court life and spending as little time in Vienna as possible. She was a poet and a romantic. Her husband was utterly devoted to her and indulged her wishes, though they were not popular with his family. Her first daughter died at the age of 2 and the Crown Prince died in a scandalous apparent suicide at the age of 30. She became even more reclusive. Sisi also met a tragic end, assassinated by an anarchist while traveling. After her death, she became more popular than she had been in life and now the legends and myths surrounding the beautiful empress are hard to separate from the truth.

You can read more about her and see her beauty for yourself here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Bavaria

Judging a city by its dessert!

2010-06-11T16:16:00.004+02:00

I should probably be ashamed of how many photos exist of me with ice cream, cake and chocolate- but I'm not! You have to have some decandence in life and well, as vices go, I guess this isn't so bad.

We were told that an absolute must in Vienna is the cafe experience. The city is known for its cafe culture- people meet and linger at all hours of the day and night. Of course I was anxious to try Viennese coffee and the city's signature cake- Sacher torte. We found a fancy little place known for all their dizzying array of cakes and their fancy confections. As you can see, Mom and I took advantage! The cake was delicious and the atmosphere made it a great experience. It was an old building in the center of the city. As we entered, we could see the massive Hofburg Palace just a block away. The ceilings inside were tall, there was an old cafe counter, little marble-topped tables and lots of old ladies enjoying coffee and gossip.

So Vienna gets high marks for its cake and chocolate- maybe not quite as good as Belgium but way ahead of Korea where dessert is practically non-existent.

Day along the Danube

2010-06-10T08:33:00.003+02:00

On our first full day in Vienna, we left the city for the country. We had good weather so we took the opportunity for a train ride into the Danube River valley and a scenic river cruise. Our destination was Melk, a small town that has a huge golden Benedictine abbey perched above it. The abbey was beautiful- impressive library, amazing ceiling frescoes and breath-taking Baroque church in which almost everything was gilded. The village was quaint and we sat outside and ate a traditional Austrian lunch. In the afternoon we boarded a boat that took us downriver. We sipped local white wine as we floated past castle ruins, picturesque churchs, lovely forests and more quaint villages tucked between the river and steep vineyard-covered hills. We landed in Krems, where we happened upon a local festival that included music, food, beer and wine, and lots of traditional costumes. It was an unexpected delight. We wandered the narrow winding streets, noting homes built in the 1500s, and found a place to eat dinner al fresco. By the time we boarded the train back to Vienna at 9:00 PM we were exhausted but happy. A very good first day!

And hooray for family!

2010-06-10T08:06:00.003+02:00

Time is FLYING by and I feel like I'm barely keeping up! Obviously, I'm not keeping up with everything since it's been over three weeks since I last wrote. But I've been busy making memories with my parents. They came at the end of May and stayed two weeks. We spent several days here at home and fit a six-day trip to Vienna in the middle. In the picture above, we are sitting facing the Danube River waiting to board a boat cruise. It's one of the few pics we got of all four of us but not very scenic. Maybe I can use Photoshop to at least get rid of the car in the background...

During our time in Sörup we celebrated my mom's birthday with a dinner cooked by Aaron and topped it off with chocolate cake! Yum! Another night we had dinner overlooking the sea. Mom and I spent an afternoon shopping in Flensburg while Dad and Aaron took a 20-mile bike ride to the beach and back. But mostly our days were pretty low-key- reading, bike-riding, taking walks, playing games, talking. That allowed us to rest up for and recover from our days packed full of sight-seeing in Austria. More to come on our adventures there.

I feel so fortunate to have parents who are able and willing to make such a big trip to visit us in Germany. Our experiences here have made a big impact on Aaron and me and not all of the them can be conveyed with words. It is so nice to be able to share some of it with family and feel like we all know each other better for the time spent together. This was their third visit and most likely the last since the calendar for the next year is already filling up and we'll be planning our move back to the States next summer. Time really does fly by but I guess that's okay as long as you spend your time really living.

Hooray for friends!

2010-05-17T13:22:00.003+02:00

This time the adventure came to us, with the arrival of our good friends from Kalamazoo a few weeks ago. We've known them since their son, now eleven, was a baby and before their daughter was born. We were part of each other's day-to-day lives for several years and we have missed them dearly. So we were delighted when Uncle Sam provided them a nice tax refund and they bought tickets to Germany.

We played hours and hours of games, we laughed until we cried, we walked all over until the kids started complaining (and then a little further), we ate dozens of sandwiches and generally enjoyed every moment of our week together. We showed them our little town, took them into our nearby city on the train, toured the local castle (complete with dungeon) and walked along the Baltic seashore.

Though the whole time was great, I think all six of us would agree that the highlight was our outing to the original Legoland amusement park in Denmark, where the Lego bricks originated. We spent our first hour in the park just looking at the Lego Miniland, which had amazingly accurate and realistic replicas of European cities, castles and landmarks throughout the world. There were even rivers with working locks and dams and real landscaping with miniature plants and trees. Among the American replicas were a Hollywood film set, the Kennedy Space Center, the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore! And of course all the replicas of famous landmarks had tiny replicas of tourists too. We spent the rest of the day walking around the themed areas of the park- Pirateland, Indiana Jones-style Adventure Land, Western Legoredo town and Knights' Kingdom. We rode rides, watched a 4-D movie, toured the aquarium and admired more Lego creations at every turn. The day was capped off with a visit to the Lego Shop where the kids picked out some cool souvenirs.

As it always does when you are having fun, time flew by and it was time for them to head home again. I had plenty of laundry and cleaning to do after they were gone but the house seemed way too quiet and lonely!

Into the DMZ

2010-05-05T07:41:00.002+02:00

I think this experience will remain vivid in my memory for many many years. To be honest, I didn't know civilians could enter the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, nor did I imagine that I would want to take a tour to do so. But several people highly recommended it so we called on Saturday from our hotel and found ourselves on a coach bus headed north on Tuesday morning at 8:00.

Korea fought a civil war starting in 1950 when Soviet-controlled Communist North Korea invaded U.S.-supported democratic South Korea. An armistice agreement officially ended the conflict in 1953 but Korea has been divided ever since and conflict has flared many times over the last 57 years.

Our morning looked at the Past, Present and Future of Korea. But first we had to get in. Our bus was boarded by a Korean soldier for a passport check allowing us into the 20-kilometer Civilian Control Zone. We were stopped again as we entered the 2-km DMZ that stretches to the border. At that point we were officially out of South Korea and in a United Nations-governed area. Then we started our tour with the 3rd Tunnel, discovered in 1978 at 240 feet below ground and reaching well into South Korea. It is large enough to move thousands of North Korean soldiers in just one hour and points directly toward Seoul. North Korea denies responsibility for the tunnel. Three other presumed infiltration tunnels have been found and many more are suspected.

Next we looked at the Present by going to the northernmost observatory into North Korea. It was terribly foggy but we could see the outline of Propaganda Village, a prosperous-looking little town at first glance until you look through the telescope and discover that there is no glass in the windows and no cars and no people. We could also see the huge North Korean flag flying on a skyscraping flagpole that dwarfs the South Korean flag just across the border.

In 2002, the ever hopeful and peace-loving South Koreans completed construction on a beautiful new train station less than 1 kilometer from the DMZ boundary line. Relations between the North and South were going well and reunification seemed within reach. A sign inside reads, Not the last station from the South but the first station toward the North." Relations between the two sides have since deteriorated and the station has remained mostly empty for eight years, a sad reminder.

Our afternoon tour (following another traditional Korean lunch with metal chopsticks) was the most intense part of the day. We entered Camp Bonifas, the UN military base that sits at the border between the two countries. There we had our passports checked again and had our clothing and shoes inspected. Torn jeans, t-shirts, sleeveless tops, shorts, sandals and skirts are not allowed. The North Korean government uses photos of sloppily or "scantily" dressed tourists as propaganda, proclaiming the poverty and loose morals of Western culture. We then transferred to a military bus and remained under military escort throughout our visit. We signed a waiver acknowledging that we were about to enter the hostile Joint Security Area (face-to-face with North Korea) and that we could be harmed or killed by enemy action. Okay, not your average tourist attraction.

We drove then to Panmunjeom, the small village on the border that is the only place where North and South Koreans can come into contact with each other and where all talks take place. At that time we were under strict instructions not to take photos, not to point, look at or gesture toward North Korea or NK soldiers. As we exited a building and crossed the path to the blue building above, we noticed a NK soldier standing on the steps of the large gray building opposite with binoculars trained on our group. Yikes! The tension in the air was palpable. Inside the blue building, we saw the conference table that actually straddles the border and could step across the room into NK territory. In the photo above you can see a small raised concrete barrier halfway down the building- that is the border. We didn't spend much time there and we were happy to leave. It felt hostile.

On the drive back to Seoul, our tour guide told us about her family whose home was in North Korea. Her aunts and uncles are still there and for sixty years they have had absolutely no contact- no letters, no visits, no phone calls, no e-mails. Many North Korean people defect every year and bring reports of a harsh dictatorship, poverty and famine among the people. The South Koreans want reunification mostly because they know their countrymen across the border need help.

A Korean wedding or two

2010-04-28T09:37:00.002+02:00

There were huge flower displays in front of the church.

They were all unique and had writing on the ribbons;

I think they were gifts to the bride and groom.

Pretty standard-looking Christian church

and pretty typical "Western" wedding ceremony.

Just to the right of the bride and her father, note the

mother and grandmother in traditional Korean gowns.

Aaron and I sometimes marvel at the interesting situations we find ourselves in, not the least of which was sitting through two weddings in one day on our vacation in Seoul. It all began with Mr. Bahng, the Korean representative for Aaron's company. He's a very kind and conscientious man who I think felt some responsibility to make sure we were taken care of during our stay. When Aaron invited him to come to dinner with us one evening, he made a counter-offer inviting us to join his family for a wedding and lunch reception at their church. They're Presbyterian (he later informed me that there are about 10 million Protestant and 3 million Catholic Christians in Korea, and while most of the rest of the country claims Buddism as their religion, only about 10 million practice faithfully). Of course we worried about being "wedding crashers" but apparently it is very normal for people from the community to attend weddings even when they don't know the families. A large number of guests indicates an important event so the bride and groom are happy; and the guests are happy about a free lunch.

He picked us up at our hotel and we went directly to the wedding lunch, which we ate before the ceremony. Their church has outgrown their banquet hall space so the reception happens in two shifts. We stood out as the only white people in the room and felt a little uncomfortable not knowing the customs and traditions. More stainless steel chopsticks here- oh bother! There was an unbelievable amount and variety of dishes, including a fish as big as a table (I'm not exaggerating this) that they were cutting up and serving sushi style (raw) in the buffet line. Wow!

The ceremony seemed pretty standard- father walks the bride down the aisle to the groom; we pray; the pastor talks a lot; the bride and groom say their vows; there is some nice music; the pastor talks more and then there's the recessional- dah dah da dum dum dum dum...

I gotta say that it loses a little something when you can't understand a single word that's being said.

After that wedding, we took a break at Mr. Bahng's apartment nearby, watched some golf on TV (he even showed us how he practices his swing in the living room) and then took a short driving tour of downtown Seoul. Then we were back to pick up his wife and her friend at church and we drove for what felt like hours to get to another wedding across the city. By this point Aaron and I had had more than enough for the day but didn't really know how to get out of it. At the second wedding we didn't get to eat anything and we just stood in the back of the room during the ceremony. It felt a bit like being at prom, officially the action was inside the banquet room but everyone was hanging out and talking just outside. We didn't stay long; apparently it's enough to show your face and give them some money.

You'd think that the day would finally be over then but we still hadn't been to the tailor shop to order the custom-made suit that Aaron wasn't sure he quite wanted or met Mr. Bahng's son and wife (with their dog in tow) out for another traditional Korean dinner! More to come...

Stainless steel chopsticks...

2010-04-27T07:56:00.010+02:00

...are ridiculously slippery! I should have been practicing weeks, if not months, ago. Of course I've used chopsticks before and thought I was reasonably adept with them. But it had been a while and I had never encountered stainless steel. Of course Aaron, who has spent several weeks in Korea in the last year, seemed to have no problems, while I struggled and dropped things and just failed to get anything into my mouth.

Korean dinners involve about a thousand different little dishes covering the entire table. Everyone just reaches across for what they want. That means that whatever you've grabbed has to hover in midair while traveling across other dishes, other people's drinks and bowls before it ever reaches your own territory. It's intimidating! The first dinner I had was with Aaron's colleagues- five Korean men, one German, Aaron and me, the only female. Of course I wanted to make a good impression and seem cultured and worldly. But alas my neighbor at the table saw me fighting the dreaded chopstick cross-over and asked the waitress to bring forks. So discouraging! But then it was a matter of pride so I refused the fork and continued my efforts. Eventually I got full. Or maybe I just got tired of trying, I can't really remember which came first.

The food was good but I couldn't tell you what most of it was. There were so many different things, literally dozens of bowls. I saw some tentacles with little suckers all along one side so I'm pretty sure it was a squid or octopus. I ate it because it was easy to pick up and it tasted fine, just a little chewy. We had a bowl of little crunchy dried fishes. They tasted fishy. A lot of the food was spicy, I mean really spicy, and it was mostly seafood, vegetables and noodles. Every Korean meal I ate contained kim chi, which must qualify it as the national dish. Kim chi is fermented vegetables flavored with red pepper paste and fermented fish paste (or something like that). There are many variations but it was absolutely essential, so much so that the Air France meals of chicken and noodles were accompanied by kim chi. The Koreans have to have it.

As much as we enjoyed our meals of traditional Korean food, we could not eat it for every meal. But big cities have good food of all kinds so we tried a great Thai restaurant and had some delicious Chinese food. We even went to Kraze Burger, which was a pretty good representation of an American burger joint. We went to an Italian place for lunch one day and a French bakery another day. So we ate well, which in my mind is one of the best aspects of traveling.

I'll sign off for now but I have lots more to tell about my Asian adventure. Meanwhile, I'm going to practice eating oatmeal with chopsticks- next time I will be ready!

A week in South Korea

2010-04-26T18:16:00.004+02:00

Whenever I travel, I think I will write blogs along the way but never seem to fit it in. I'm sorry about that. I'm just back from my first visit to Asia! Aaron was in Korea on business for the fourth time, and probably last time for this project. He has found it very interesting there, so different from Western culture. I don't know when I'll ever have another opportunity so I decided I would meet him there at the end of the work week and we would spend several days exploring. We started in Incheon, where Aaron's customer was and then stayed five days in the center of Seoul.

This is what I always imagined an Asian city would look like (probably from too many movies)-rows and rows of brightly colored signs along narrow streets. It's even more overwhelming at night when all the signs are lit. After nearly two years of rural life, cities can cause sensory overload for me. There are so many things to look at, so much noise, so many people moving fast in all directions, traffic zipping by, the stink of exhaust and city sewers, etc. Seoul might even make the heads of some European city dwellers spin a bit. It's the eighth largest metropolis in the world, with about 20 million people in the city and surrounding area. And it's dense. It seems that everyone lives in a highrise apartment complex. I guess when you live on a peninsula, you just start stacking up.

They are coming up with another solution to the lack of space, though. They're filling in the Yellow Sea. It's called "land reclamation" and they basically drain the water out and fill in the space with dirt. Can you imagine where they get that much dirt? The whole area where Aaron was working sits on reclaimed land, which was underwater just over five years ago. Now it's a planned city that is half filled with sleek silver skyscrapers and corporate buildings while the other half holds vast fields of dirt, weeds and trash. All the municipal infrastructure is there- nice brick sidewalks, pretty parks, six lane roads with stoplights- but no people! It's a very strange place at the moment.

But in Seoul there are plenty of people! They have a great subway system and we read that over five and a half million people ride it every day. I believe it. The only time we had a place to sit down was when we rode to the airport at 5:45 AM. But it's fast and cheap and goes everywhere so we took it all over the city. Normally we prefer to walk around a new city to really get a feel for it but Seoul is just too big to see on foot. Thanks to the subway, a tour bus and Aaron's business colleauge we were able to pack a lot into our week. I'll tell you all about it...

Now that's a church!

2010-04-10T16:18:00.002+02:00

It's so tall you can't get it all in one photo.

Here you can get a better idea of
the scale. Look at the tiny van!

A few weeks ago Aaron and I spent the weekend in Köln (that's what the Germans call Cologne and since it's their city I figure we should use their name). The absolute centerpiece of the city is the Cathedral. It is the 3rd tallest church in the world (516 feet) and in the top 10 largest churches in the world (over 85,000 square feet).

I arrived in town by train and as I stepped out of the station, the cathedral towered over me and the entire city center. The exterior is a quite ornate Gothic style but I couldn't help feeling sad about how dirty it was. If you don't believe in air pollution take a look at the second photo above. All the way on the left you can see a column that looks like it was recently scrubbed- that's the real color of the building!

Like most churches we've seen in Europe, it has been under construction for most of its life. It was started in 1248 but wasn't completed until 1880. Amazingly it survived WWII bombings fairly well, unlike the rest of the city which was 95% destroyed.

We even took the dizzying, crowded and claustrophobia-inducing walk up a 509-step spiral staircase to the spire. We had great views of the city and the Rhine River. Near the top we saw the church bells, the biggest of which weighs 24 tons and is called Fat Peter. I can't imagine how they got it up there.

Inside, the church is cold, damp and vast but in spite of all that, I still felt reverent. The sheer size is meant to humble you and reminds you of how small you are compared to God's greatness. There was some really lovely art but we missed some of the best pieces. We learned that Lent is not the best time to tour a Catholic church -the thousand-year-old crucifx was draped and the altars were all closed.

We also went to a chocolate museum in Köln! Maybe I'll tell you about that next time! You know how I am about chocolate...

Red Light therapy

2010-04-08T15:12:00.002+02:00

It's not what you think! Though the red light district in nearby Hamburg is legendary, I'm talking about something completely different. I was sick last week with an awful cold- sneezing, runny nose, aches, etc. Our friends were insistent that I use their red lamp and that it would cure me within a day or two. The idea is to sit in front of this hot red light for 10-15 minutes every hour or so and it will take care of all your sniffles. I tried it out at their house because they basically sat it right in front of my face and I couldn't exactly say that I thought it was a bunch of hocus pocus.

I had to close my eyes because the lamp was so bright and I felt pretty silly trying to participate in conversation while blind and spotlighted in red. It didn't help that Aaron was singing The Police song, "Roxanne." You know the words, right? All the while I was wondering what possible difference it could make that the light was red versus any other color? Does the nose know?

After ten minutes I was very sleepy, my face was very warm and my nose was very drippy but I felt just as crappy as I had before. They sent the lamp home with me and- shhh, don't tell- I didn't use it again! But you know what? Two days later I felt better anyway.

So, I'm trying not to be disparaging of their attempt to help me and I am sure there are some home remedies of dubious efficacy that I've tried before. I guess I'm just a skeptic- there's not much I believe in without a double-blind, controlled study. Must be the scientist in me!

Someone wants to be my pet!

2010-04-06T08:44:00.003+02:00

I know how lonely it can be, being the new kid on the block. And apparently this little guy feels it too. We recently got some new neighbors on our street and their cat, who seems to be strictly an "outside" pet, has been hanging around our house more and more.

It's really friendly and vocal, sitting by the door meowing to get our attention. And since many of our windows are full length it follows us around the house from the outside, watching us eat dinner in the kitchen and then looking at us sitting on the couch in the living room. Really funny!

My days at home can be long and we've missed our cat since moving here. This cute kitty seems to be begging to be ours. It's really tempting to open a can of tuna and leave the kitchen door ajar...

German Super-Babies!

2010-03-24T18:04:00.002+01:00

My friend was telling me that she hopes to have her daughter out of diapers by the time she starts daycare in August. She's still got plenty of time to work on it of course but I'm still skeptical.

Why, you ask? Because her daughter will just turn one in June!!! I thought she was joking when she told me this but she showed me the tiny potty that actually fits Emma's little nine-month-old Po. And then I got to witness Emma actually using the potty. Sure enough, we sat her down, gave her a book to "read" and a few minutes later- ta da!

My friend does things a little differently so I still wasn't sure if this was a mainstream approach until we were talking to a neighbor whose nine-month-old son is also using the potty. What the heck?! Why aren't we onto this in the States? Are we the only ones that don't know about this? Are the Germans the only ones who do? I don't know anyone who misses the diaper days when they're gone. Maybe my million-dollar idea will be to import the tiny toilets to the States and hold "Potty Training by Age One" seminars. On second thought, I guess I should wait and see how things go for Emma over the next few months!

St. Paddy's Day 2010!

2010-03-18T09:09:00.003+01:00

I can't believe I forgot to take my camera last night! The official mission was to entertain business customers- one American, seven Italians- but Aaron and I were determined to continue our St. Patrick's Day tradition from last year of going to the English pub in Flensburg. We picked up one of Aaron's colleagues and the American customer and headed to McMelson's for a pint of Guinness before meeting the rest of the crew for dinner. I just love how they can make a shamrock in the foam on the top of a glass! We even got scratch cards and I won- a top hat that looks a bit like a glass of beer but has a brim shaped like a shamrock. Wow! Cheap junk of course, but doesn't winning something just make your day anyway?

Afterwards we headed down the street to meet up with Aaron's boss, more colleagues and the Italians for a big traditional German meal: mountains of meat, sauerkraut and potatoes. All the guests were delighted, which was of course all that mattered. After dinner, we sang. We were treated to a surprisingly good rendition of "O Sole Mio" from the Italians and several German folk song solos from Aaron's boss. We Americans realized that we didn't know many folk songs but we did manage "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." The Italians wanted us to sing Bruce Springsteen or Elvis or Frank Sinatra. Ha! There is plenty of good American music but maybe not so many true traditional folk songs. We rounded out the evening with "Silent Night," sung simultaneously in three languages. You can imagine how lovely it sounded!

My new sport- AquaLauf

2010-03-10T07:14:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago while Aaron was in Korea, my neighbor (whom I've only spoken to a handful of times) came to the door and invited me to join her women-only fitness class. Yea! Something to do, and maybe a friend! I understood that it was some kind of water aerobics but otherwise I really had no idea of what I was getting myself into. This seems to be the story of my life lately- always an adventure!

We got to the fitness center, changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool. I first noticed that Nicole and I were bringing the average age down quite a bit- like decades. I assumed I would be able to handle the intensity without a problem; no offense to grandmas who can outswim me! Anyway, the pool is pretty small, just made for aerobic activities I think. So about 10-15 women make two concentric circles and, led by our slim male instructor who stands at the edge of the pool, we start to AquaLauf.

Everyone wears a flotation belt and floats around their ankles. Then, in the deep end, you move in circles while doing various exercises with your arms. Lauf translates to either run or walk. I think it means run for most of the women in the class but pretty much means trying to achieve forward motion for me. It seems roughly like treading water, which I can do indefinitely but apparently I'm missing the part where you propel yourself. Those instructions must have come in the first few weeks of the class that I missed.

So, I'm doing my best but somehow my efforts to GO seem to be plunging me under water. I'm sinking and sputtering while trying to act cool, stay in the circle, follow the instructor's directions and smile at him to let him know that everything is fine (which it is a total lie). Meanwhile, the German grannies are passing me by and I eventually move out to the "slow circle, " where I still cause traffic problems. I can't believe it but I'm actually breathing hard and looking at the clock to see when this hour will be over. Ugh- still twenty minutes and we haven't even used the arm weights yet!

At the end, I admit to my friend that it's "a little harder than I expected." In my head, I am trying to console myself and maintain belief that I really am fit. I mean I just ran a half-marathon last weekend; I do yoga, strength training and I walk or bicycle everywhere I go. Not to mention that I love swimming and spent half my childhood splashing around in water. It really seems like this AquaLauf business should present no challenge to me. It must just be a difficult technique to master. Yeah, I'm sure that's it.

We did it!

2010-03-01T08:00:00.002+01:00

The snow melted off the streets and the rain stopped just before the race started. These were good omens for the Kiel Half-Marathon that Aaron and I ran on Saturday. The sun even peeked out a few times. And it was a great day!

Aaron is fast and I'm- well- not fast, but we both met our time goals and felt great after we finished. The race was along the Kiel Fjord so it was nice to look out over the water as we ran. We even went past a Marine Life Institute and all the seals in the outdoor pool were poking their heads out of the water to see what all the commotion was about!

It was a big accomplishment for us both. I had never run such a long distance and as I've mentioned, our training conditions have not been great over the last two months. But it is amazing what our bodies are capable of when we don't let our minds get in the way!

America's greatest export?

2010-02-17T14:34:00.003+01:00

Since we don't have cable or satellite the weekly TV guide usually goes straight to the recycling bin. This week I was thinking about inviting myself over to a friend's house to watch the Olympics so I fished it out of the bin to see what kind of coverage they have here in Germany. As I browsed, many English words caught my eye and I was astounded to see how much of the programming comes directly from the U.S.A. (well, via a dubbing studio, which also means that nothing is from the current season).

At primetime, Germany has the pleasure of viewing such hits as Law and Order, House, Monk, CSI, Desperate Housewives, The Simpsons, 24, Stargate, Big Brother, Crossing Jordan and Heroes. Imagine if all you knew of America were based on these shows- scary!

On daytime and late night TV they can watch such American treasures as Golden Girls, Who's The Boss, Columbo, The Nanny, King of Queens, Two and a Half Men, Gilmore Girls, Malcolm in the Middle, Star Trek and even good ol' Perry Mason. Imagine basing your opinions of our country on these shows- even scarier!

But I am sure that everyone here knows, just as we do in America, that TV life is nothing like real life. Everyone does know that, right? ;)

Bread and life

2010-02-08T15:31:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I made some whole wheat bread from scratch with flour from the mill pictured here, which is about 2 miles from my house. I like the feeling of knowing where my food comes from in a very concrete way and knowing exactly what is in it because I made it myself.

It is interesting, and sometimes fun, to be living this simple rural life but it doesn't seem like it's really mine. In some ways I feel that when I quit my job and moved to Germany I stepped out of my own life and into someone else's; like trying on new clothes and walking around the store in them to see how they feel. Maybe the pants fit but they're too long or the shirt pulls across the shoulders or the fit is just perfect, except it's just not you. I understand that it is a privilege and a luxury that I do not have to work right now. I certainly have gotten used to some of the perks like- no one is the boss of me, I don't have to be somewhere at 7:30 every morning and I don't have to wear panty hose.

But somehow I cannot reconcile this German Hausfrau with my idea of who I am as a person. This troubles me. I'm not sure if it is a shortcoming on my part or just a result of a life circumstance that just doesn't quite fit me. Much easier to say it is the latter of course. Meanwhile, I cook and I bake and I knit and I hang clothes out to dry and I continue to work at being at peace with where I am and who I am right now. Some days it is easy to find the joy in all the little ups and downs that are the substance of life; some days it's harder.

In another year and a half when I change back into my "old clothes"- reentering my career and life in the States, I have a suspicion that I'll find that they don't quite feel comfortable anymore either. I'm thinking that life is a continual process of changes and adjustments, and maybe there is no "perfect fit."

What can I say to this?

2010-01-29T17:38:00.003+01:00

Nine inches and counting, layered

over a half inch of solid ice.

Worst winter in 15 years.

How lucky we are.

My deep dark secret

2010-01-27T10:46:00.002+01:00

Deep dark chocolate secret, that is. The first part of the confession is that over the weekend we bought a kilo (that's 2.2 pounds) of handmade truffles. That's quite a bit of chocolate, even by my standards. But you can't get them around here and we really savor each one- spending time contemplating our choice, never knowing what delight hides inside. They should last a long time. It was a completely justifiable purchase. Seriously.

But Aaron is leaving for a ten-day business trip soon and I'll be left here at home alone- with the chocolates. Part two of the confession is that I am pretty sure that I won't be able to resist eating them while he is away. Belgian chocolate makes me happy and I will be by myself all day every day in the midst of this rotten winter. I'll need it.

The problem is that we get a little childish over these. As as kid, I remember having a friend over and pouring us each some Kool-Aid. I'd get down at eye level with the glasses to make sure they were exactly even. It's like that. Normally we are very generous with each other but not when it comes to truffles. If Aaron eats two, I get two. It has to be fair and equal. In retrospect I'm not sure why we didn't each get our own box but it's too late for that. Yesterday I mentioned to Aaron, "I'm a little worried..." And that's all I got out before he broke in and replied, "I'm taking mine with me!" I guess that settles that!

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy!

2010-01-25T16:27:00.003+01:00

John Denver was right. Do you see that reflecting off of our glasses and our pale Northern European faces? It really is SUNSHINE! We had to drive six hours to find it but it was well worth the trip.

We spent a weekend in Antwerp, Belgium- a city that captivated Aaron when he visited on a business trip almost three years ago. It lived up to his memories and his description. The old city is dominated by a huge cathedral, which looks completely out of scale with all the surrounding buildings. Quite a sight, with really amazing art and architecture inside too. The most famous local artist is Peter Paul Rubens and we saw a lot of his paintings in the churches and at his home/museum.

The Belgians seem to love socializing and there were cafes and pubs on every block, all packed with smiling people. So refreshing to see! We had some great seafood, great beer, great chocolate- and in addition to our Friday afternoon in the sun it was the perfect formula for a mid-winter getaway!

Unfortunately, the snow didn't melt while we were gone. Just in case you were wondering.

Hey- Michigan winter! Who invited you?

2010-01-19T15:05:00.006+01:00

This is the view from my front door, which is actually on the side of the house, but whatever. That's my neighbor's shed and compost bin. The point is -SNOW! Lots of snow for a sustained period of time! And I am not amused.

I'll admit that I was feeling pretty smug about the mild winters here in northern Germany. We didn't even bring our snow shovel, leaving it instead for the sorry sucker who bought our house on the steepest hill in Kalamazoo with the steepest driveway on the street. Last winter was quite obliging. We had a few dustings of snow but no more than an inch at a time and it always melted away in a couple days. The wickedly wintry white Christmas of the upper Midwest was tolerable knowing that I would return to a dark, dreary, damp but snowless winter at home.

But then...we had a "big snowstorm" on January 2 and it never melted. It has been below freezing for the whole month (so far) and it just keeps snowing. I didn't like winter in Michigan but I expected nothing less than relentless snow and cold from November through March. Here I feel as though I've been duped. I asked my neighbor if this was normal (just for confirmation that I was justified in feeling put out) and she said it had been many many years since there was this much snow. See?

I know I shouldn't complain because I'm not likely to get sympathy from you who live in the Midwest, and my friend who is experiencing Life in the Artic Circle will most certainly call me a big cry-baby! Everyone tells me that I would miss the seasons if I lived somewhere warm but I would be willing to try it and experience at least one green Christmas!

Nothing says "Have a great day" like lox!

2010-01-11T15:01:00.002+01:00

At the grocery store on Friday, upon checking out the cashier handed me a packet of smoked salmon as a small token of good fortune in the new year. What an... interesting... customer appreciation gift! We enjoyed it, though I could not find any bagels to go with our lox and cream cheese.

After a year and a half I am pretty well accustomed to my day-to-day environment. But I still have many moments like these that surprise me and I think, "Wow, I live in a foreign country!"

Photos from New Year's Eve

2010-01-07T08:59:00.003+01:00

This is how we looked two hours into the new year.

Welcome 2010!

The metal figures with the melting spoon.

Still a bit concerned about the meaning of my

resulting metal lump.

Okay, you can't really tell that this is

fireworks against clear sky and full moon

but it was really cool.

I fell victim to a nasty flu this week (I always blame it on the foul air on planes- ick!) so I'm taking the easy way and just posting some pictures instead of a real blog. My week has consisted of sleeping my way through the original Star Wars trilogy- not much to say about that.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T15:33:00.002+01:00

Gutes Neues Jahr! It was our first New Year celebration in Germany- last year we were in the States with family- and we enjoyed learning about more traditions and customs.

We noticed that the wishes for the new year included, "Good luck," and many lucky images are associated with the holiday. Clover, mushrooms, chimney sweeps (chim chim chiroo), pigs, hedgehogs! I don't know why they're considered lucky but then again, I don't know why we think horseshoes and rabbits' feet (yuck) are lucky.

Part of the tradition is to take small metal figures of these lucky objects, melt them on a spoon over a candle flame and then dump it in cold water to see what shape forms. Based on the resemblance, you look up your fortune for the coming year. Our friends introduced this to us and we had some laughs trying it. Unfortunately, all the objects came out as unrecognizable blobs and 2010 remains murky. Guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Trick-or-treating is also popular on New Year's Eve (but not on Halloween). Kids and adults dress up and come to houses singing songs and asking for "sweets." The kids want cookies and candy of course and the adults want alcohol. They all sing pretty long songs, some of which are made up just for the evening. How can you say "no" to such creativity?

At midnight, everyone goes outside to light off fireworks. It seems uncharacteristic of the safety-conscious Germans but at nearly every house people stand in the street with their drinks in one hand lighting off, sometimes quite large and impressive, fireworks. It's quite festive to look around the sky and see it lit up in all directions. I don't think anyone in our town could have sleep through the new year!

So here we are, in a new year and a new decade looking forward with excited anticipation to what adventures the year will bring. I hope you enjoyed a festive celebration and that this new year will bring many good things your way too.

Bah Humbug!

2009-12-11T17:16:00.002+01:00

Well, here we are enjoying a lovely dinner before I totally ruined my own evening. Aaron and I, along with our friend, Jan, had tickets to see A Christmas Carol last night. I was so excited- it's one of my favorite stories and I'd never seen it performed on stage.

We ran into terrible traffic on our way into downtown Cincinnati, then proceeded to get lost looking for the restaurant where we had reservations. I absolutely hate being late so I was a little jumpy by the time we finally arrived 20 minutes late. The restaurant was really gracious and we proceeded with a nice dinner.

We were cutting it close to get to the theatre on time so we made a beeline as soon as we paid our bill. I had to parallel park (got it on the second try) and Aaron shouted, "Go, go, go!" We all jumped out of the car and ran toward the doors but I screeched to an abrupt stop as I realized... I had just locked the keys in the car, WITH THE CAR STILL RUNNING! Who does that??? I was horrified. I had never locked my keys in the car, let alone while it was still on. Of course, with the fancy electronic features on most cars these days you probably can't do something so stupid but this is a totally stripped down rental car with manual windows and doors. Great.

I insisted that the guys go into the show while I tried to extricate myself from the mess I created in just two seconds of complete brain malfunction. The police officer sitting outside the theatre couldn't help me so I got a phone book from the ticket office and picked a towing company with a nice big ad- how else do you do it in a strange city? The dispatcher said, "Well, in that area it's going to cost you $60." I was in no mood to shop around so I soon had help on the way.

It was about that time when I realized that I had lost one of my favorite bracelets, one my mom had brought from Mexico. Not my day.

I was imagining someone seeing an empty running vehicle on the dark city street and taking the opportunity to break a window and drive away. SO, I decided I better go stand by the car. God bless the Cincy police officer who offered to sit in her squad car and watch for the tow truck driver so I could go in and see some of the show.

I felt awful being one of "those people" who come in late to a show and make everyone stand up so they can get to a seat. I had to sit in the back row to minimize the disruption. About twenty minutes later, I felt my phone vibrate and had to apologize yet again to the poor people whose toes I was trying not to stomp on my way out. The phone call was from the tow truck driver who had driven twenty miles to get there, was not familiar with the area and couldn't find the theatre. Oy! When I got to the car, it wasn't running anymore- not a good sign.

The driver eventually made it, unlocked the car in just a few minutes, restarted it and advised me to keep it running for at least 20 minutes to recharge the battery. So, I sat in the car trying not to cry and trying find the lesson in the experience, knowing that Scrooge was taking his trip down memory lane with the Ghost of Christmas Past as I sat there.

It was not Dickens who said it, but "All's well that ends well." I saw the whole second half of the show sitting in my seat between my two dates. And afterwards they insisted on going back to the restaurant in search of my bracelet. Miraculously, it was sitting in the middle of the parking lot and hadn't been crushed by tires. Although by that point I felt like having a good stiff drink, I cut my losses and went to bed as soon as we got back to the hotel. My pride still feels the sting today but I'm trying to get over it. After all, it could happen to anyone. Right?

Another new city- Philadelphia

2009-12-04T18:22:00.003+01:00

Who's your favorite founding father?

One of these things doesn't belong... the guy without a pony tail!

Yesterday was our first day here and the weather was sunny and unseasonably warm. We sqeezed in lots of exploring and I learned so many great bits of American history trivia. Did you know that George Washington was really tall? He was around 6 feet 4 inches! He towered over most other men of his time, when the average height was 5 feet 7 inches. They speculate that he was asked to lead the troops in the Revolutionary War partly because he had such a commanding presence. Good thing he turned out to be a good leader too.

Did you know that Ben Franklin was 81 when he signed the Constitution? He was the oldest signer and far exceeded his life expectancy, dying a few years later at the age of 84.

As I was signing a credit card receipt at the national park gift shop, the sales clerk noticed I was left-handed. He told me that since 1981, all but one of our Presidents have been left-handed. Hmm? It seems more than coincidence but I wonder what the common link could be. Can you guess who was the odd one out?.... George W. Bush.

We saw the Liberty Bell and toured Independence Hall. It's been an educational visit so far and beyond that, Philly seems like a really neat city. We haven't eaten a Philly Cheesesteak yet but there is still time. It's been a great first stop back in the States to finally see the city where our nation was born.

To each his own...meat

2009-11-25T08:11:00.002+01:00

Our friends went out of town and gave us all the leftover food from their fridge. The usual stuff- lettuce, eggs, cheese and some meat products. Normal German breakfast food strikes us as a bit funny; it's what we would eat for lunch- deli meats, cheese and bread. But there are also some more interesting meat-based foods and we have now had the chance to try some of them.

Fleischsalat is one of those (and yes, that does translate as meat salad). It looks like small strips of bologna in a mayonnaise and herb bath and it pretty much tastes like that too. It wasn't as terrible as I imagined but I couldn't help thinking about how much fat and cholesterol I was ingesting and not enjoying it. It was just too thick and the rest of that container went in the trash. Leberwurst (liver sausage) was also in our basket, a "treat" that I first experienced with Aaron's grandma years ago. He grew up eating it so a little bit was tasty for him but I can't quite reconcile myself to organ meats. We didn't finish that one either.

There is a kind of meat gelatin that is common around here. They take pieces of meat, veggies, herbs and make a vinegary jello with it. It looks quite strange and I'm not sure that there is anything in typical American cuisine to which I can compare it. Maybe back in the 70s when there was a Jell-O craze people made this kind of thing?? Anyway, this was the last leftover food we tried. Again, it wasn't disgusting but the rubbery texture was a bit disconcerting when trying to make a sandwich with it. It's quite low-calorie though since most of the volume is made up of gelatin. Maybe a good diet food?

All of this stuff is available at the same little markets where I shop but I never paid attention to it. So next time you go to the grocery store, look around at all the things you don't buy- you might find some interesting things. I dare you to try some of them!

A thousand steps up!

2009-11-16T13:40:00.004+01:00

This is Palamidi Fortress, supposedly the best-preserved Venetian castle in Greece. It was built in just three years in the early 1700s, then captured by the Ottomans less than a year later. I guess looks aren't everything. Nafplio was a battleground for centuries and there are three different fortresses in this little town dating all the way back to 300 B.C. This is also where the hero of Greek independence defeated the Ottomans for good in 1822.

This massive structure sits atop the mountain just behind town and gives a rather striking impression. Even more impressive and literally breath-taking are the steps leading up to the fortress. There are somewhere around a thousand of them- no one seems to know for sure. Aaron wanted to run up them for exercise one morning and I (reluctantly) agreed to go. We found that just walking 1,000 stairs was quite an aerobic workout! The next day we climbed them again but spent some time exploring the vast ruins and taking in the fabulous views. There are 650-foot cliffs facing the sea and you can see mountains and islands in the distance. The climb was definitely worth the views!

Have we learned anything new in the last 2,500 years?

2009-11-11T13:59:00.005+01:00

I know the answer is a resounding, "Yes," but last week, standing among the ruins and shards of civilizations that existed at least two millenia ago, I marveled at the knowledge that these ancient people already possessed. Mathematics, architecture, metal-working, physics, medicine, etc. All of this would have been important for the survival and comfort of the people but what really struck me was the value and appreciation of artistry. They weren't just surviving, they were thriving and enjoying the "finer things."

Sure, they needed bowls and pots for cooking and carrying water, but they were not only aesthetically pleasing in form; they were decorated with elaborate designs and depictions of gods, humans and animals. And how do you explain jewelry? It serves no functional purpose- it is simply for adornment. They had gold, silver and bronze, amber, amethyst, ivory and glass.

There was theater and music. They were playwrights and actors. They built stadiums with such amazing acoustics that 17,000 spectators could hear the actors' voices without microphones. They knew comedy and tragedy, sarcasm, irony and parody.

And for me maybe the most amazing of all were the sculptures. They were perfectly proportioned and lifelike. Some even seemed to be in motion. The faces were expressive, showing joy, fear, annoyance. The sculptors must have had tremendous knowledge of the human form. Imagine the skill it took to carve stone to look like flowing fabric and to see the subtle outline of a leg beneath the gown.

It was truly remarkable and I am so grateful for the experience of seeing it.

Fish- it's what's for dinner!

2009-11-10T11:00:00.004+01:00

Since Nafplio is a coastal town seafood was the specialty. There were lots of little fishing boats in the harbor so you could believe that it would all be fresh. The local dishes include octopus (see far left corner of display case and fish roe (that is, eggs) salad, but since we knew it would be a splurge we wanted to make sure we got something we liked. So we asked for fish, and this is what we saw!

The owner of the place greeted us at the door and took us to the kitchen, where another man started opening drawers filled with the above delicacies! Now that's fresh! He asked us if we wanted something fried or grilled, whether we wanted the same thing or two separate dishes. Based on our answer he slapped a nice big red snapper on the scale (you pay by the kilogram)and said, "Okay. Go sit down and I'll come take your drink order in a moment."

We sipped our white wine, ate a yummy Greek salad and bread and before long our fishy was served up on a platter. We paid for the whole thing so of course we were served the whole thing. I have a little bit of an issue with meat that is still attached to the animal it comes from but Mr. Snapper was so tasty that I was able to ignore his little tail that was just hours earlier still happily swimming in the sea.

After our meal the waiter brought us dessert "on the house"- fresh pears and candied fruit drizzled with honey. Light and delicious! It was a very nice gesture but totally made us think we must have bought the most expensive fish in the drawer! Ha!

Moped adventures in Greece

2009-11-08T15:31:00.009+01:00

We packed so much into our week that it is hard to know how to hit the highlights. Leaving Athens, we took a bus to Nafplio, a little town on the Aegean Sea. We stayed there partly because it was relatively close to two ancient sites we wanted to see- the best-preserved ancient theater at Epidavros and the ruins of Mycenae, a citadel dating from 15th century B.C.

Somehow I got the idea in my head that it would be fun to rent a moped to do our sight-seeing. I’d never even ridden a moped. The only places renting them gave us a moment’s pause; they didn’t exactly look like places where honest and forthright business took place. But we paid 25 Euros, left Aaron’s passport as collateral (yikes!) and got a bright yellow Navigator Tiger, along with two stylish helmets and the all-important map. Off we went!

Aaron quickly saw that for our bargain price we had gotten a vehicle without working gauges- no speedometer, no gas gauge. Super! We had no idea how far we could go on one little tank so we started checking it every time we stopped.

I didn’t realize just how windy it would seem going 40 or 50 miles an hour without a windshield. As we got up to cruising speed, I was nearly strangled by my helmet as it lifted up and blew back. It was too big for my little pin head. As much as we tightened the strap, it didn’t seem to make much difference. I momentarily considered stuffing my bikini into the helmet to fill up the extra space- just momentarily though.

The first leg of our trip went great. The theater at Epidavros was completely worth the 18 mile trip there. Unfortunately, the other site was 20 miles in the opposite direction from Nafplio. We got a bit turned around but ate a picnic lunch and eventually got headed toward Mycenae. By then the road seemed rather long. The seats were clearly not designed for long-distance comfort for two riders. The sky started to look a bit ominous and I began to worry that if it rained the site might close early. Since we'd taken a wrong turn, we were a bit behind schedule.

Just as we made our final turn and began the final stretch the moped engine died. Yup, you guessed it- we ran out of gas. It turns out that in a 5-liter tank, even when it looks like there is “plenty” of gas left it can go pretty quick. There we were in rural Greece, where all you see for miles on end are olive groves and orange groves. We had come through a town but couldn’t really remember how far back that had been. Aaron pushed the Tiger to the side of the road and we rode on fumes down a hill for maybe 500 yards. Then we walked. Luckily, it was less than two miles to the nearest station and it didn’t rain. The whole thing was extra funny because Aaron and I barely said a thing. The engine died; I asked, “Are we out of gas?” Aaron answered, “I think so,”and we turned around and started walking. Neither of us got mad; I think we both expected it to happen.

All’s well that ends well. Mycenae was still open, we had plenty of time to look around and nearly had the place to ourselves. After another twenty miles back to Nafplio it was nearly dark and we were cold and saddle sore. We traded the moped for Aaron's passport and when the owner asked if we’d had any problems, we said, “None at all!”

Hello from Athens!

2009-11-04T17:05:00.002+01:00

It’s midweek and we are having a great time! We arrived on Saturday evening and came out of the metro station into rain. Luckily, our hotel was nearby and we easily got settled. We sought out a typical taverna for our first meal. The waiter brought us right up to the kitchen window to show us what was available at that moment. People who came in as we finished our meal had a different selection. A bit intimidating at first but much easier than trying to read a Greek menu!

On our first day we climbed the Acropolis Hill and saw the Parthenon. It really is amazing! Sad to think of how much has been destroyed or damaged through war and looting. Even so, it is magnificent. We could not believe how it was crawling with tourists, and this is the off-season! The line to get into the brand-new Acropolis Museum was so long that we abandoned that plan. Instead, we walked all over, exploring other hilltops, ancient ruins and quiet neighborhoods. We had a delicious lunch at the “oldest taverna in Athens.” The saganaki, dolomati, bread and zucchini balls were the best we’ve tasted- or at least it seemed that way!

Monday we set out in a different direction, first checking out the Central Market, where you can buy a dizzying array of fresh-picked fruits and veggies, a dozen or more types of olives, a whole goat or octopus, or a huge bag of pitas for $1.00. We climbed to the tallest point in Athens, where there is a café, a small Greek Orthodox church and spectacular city views with the Aegean Sea beyond. Our walk took us through many neighborhoods, some quite urban and gritty, others near the embassies quite lovely. This city definitely has a unique feel. We toured two museums and took in more ancient artifacts than we’ll probably ever see again. Pottery, sculptures, tools, jewelry- all from 2000-4000 years ago. Wow.

On Tuesday we got to the Acropolis Museum and it was definitely worth the wait. Most of the remaining sculptures, statues and architectural pieces from the Acropolis have been removed due to ongoing pollution damage and are now housed here. The museum itself sits above an archeological site and the floors are glass so you can see the excavation. Our last ancient site to see was the Agora. We got there in a drizzle so decided to check out the small museum first. By the time we finished, it was a total downpour- unusual for Athens! So, we didn’t get to fully appreciate the ancient marketplace but got soaked anyway just getting back to the hotel.

We’ve eaten gyros, kebaps, sesame bread rings, spinach pies in phyllo dough, Greek salad, baklava and so much feta cheese! The people have been very nice and it seems like there is an “anything goes“ attitude here. We feel very lucky that so many people speak English but I have learned to say “Thank you” in Greek and that always makes people smile. A little effort goes a long way. Next we are off to Nafplio, along the Aegean coast. We’ll send another update from there.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-10-28T17:02:00.003+01:00

Halloween witches in Germany

Halloween is not a major holiday here but it seems to be catching on a bit, imported from America along with a lot of other great and not-so-great aspects of our culture. In stores, there is a smattering of merchandise- "spooky" gummis, pumpkin-shaped cookies, a few costumes and some decorations.

Of course kids seem to be especially excited about this foreign holiday. I brought a pair of jack-o-lantern socks back for my 10-year-old friend who visits every week and she was delighted. The other day there was a little boy behind me at the store who had his Dracula jewelry set carefully placed on the conveyor belt with the dividers on each side so no one would mistake his purchase for someone else's. He was so excited he couldn't stand still and kept shouting his status in line to his mom who was still shopping across the store. I couldn't help wondering what he was going to do with that plastic gold necklace. There is no trick-or-treating and I'm not even sure there are classroom parties.

Today when my friend came over, I thought we should do something to celebrate. Along with practicing English I think it's fun for her to get a glimpse of some aspects of American life. I couldn't find any pumpkins to carve (not to mention my poor history with sharp objects) so I decided it would be fun to create our own Halloween masks. You can see the results above, and we had a great time making these witches, complete with warts, nasty teeth and natty hair!

What's with "winter tires?"

2009-10-21T07:51:00.002+02:00

We’re entering our second winter in Germany so we have been through this transition before but honestly, everything was so strange last year that I didn’t really stop to think about it until now. Here I am in a climate that is milder than any of my previous addresses throughout the upper Midwest. Average temperatures probably range from around 30 in winter to 75 in summer, and virtually no snow. But as soon as we arrived back from our month in the States my friend asked, “Are the winter tires on your car? Once it gets below 50 degrees you should switch them.” Seriously? 50 degrees calls for winter tires?

Okay, I haven’t actually looked into this so there could be a very good reason, and knowing the safety-conscious and practical Germans there probably is. For all I know there is a law about having the appropriate tires on your car. But really, I lived in Madison, WI, and drove in the same tires year-round. When it was zero degrees with a minus 15 wind chill and when it was 90 with a heat index of 100 the same tires carried me safely wherever I went. And in Michigan with snow drifts up to my hip, I scooted around town in my all-season tires. So it seems like a bit of a scam, getting tires switched twice a year and paying the dealer to store the off-season set.

But even with all this I probably wouldn’t have batted an eye, except that this time around Aaron asked me to call and set up the appointment. Yeah, just casually asked me for a favor, like it was no different from washing his lucky socks for the big meeting or something. You’d think that after living here for over a year, we’d finally be good with all the language stuff but you’d be wrong. We have learned a lot. Aaron has his vocabulary that allows him to comfortably navigate his work world and I have mine, with which I can small-talk and get to the post office, grocery store and bakery. But talking on the phone is a completely different level of comfort. For one thing, you can’t use hand gestures, which turns out to be a large part of my vocabulary. For another thing,…, well, I can’t think of anything else but I panicked anyway!

Well, you know how the story turns out. I made the call, spoke to the nice lady at the Ford dealership, even told her about a warranty recall letter we’d received and set up the tire swapping date. And I’m a better person for the experience. But I still think the tire thing is dumb.

The Everyday Days

2009-10-13T11:52:00.003+02:00

When I was little, I never understood why adults said, “Boy, time flies! It seems like just yesterday that you were born.” Time never seemed to fly for me. Instead it often seemed to drag. “Am I old enough to go to school now?” Then, “Why, oh, why aren’t I ten yet?” Next it was, “Will I ever be able to drive?” And then finally, “I can’t wait to get to college.”

And guess what I think now? Boy, time flies! I say it to my nieces and nephews, knowing that they roll their eyes and think I am old. I don’t know when or why it changed. Aaron has a theory that our perspective shifts as each day we live becomes a smaller percentage of our total life. I wonder if, as adults, we just spend so much time in the past and the future that we miss all the everyday moments. I've heard that life will teach us the same lessons over and over again until we learn them. I seem to be in the midst of a long lesson about the importance of keeping my mind in the same time and place as my body.

Being unemployed has me always looking to the next adventure we can take. Sometimes I feel like I’m just living from vacation to vacation. Budgeting, planning, researching, watching ticket prices… And knowing that we are living in Germany for a specific and finite length of time has my mind always racing ahead to the next chapter. Where do we want to live in the States? Will I be able to find another job I like? Will Aaron keep working for this company? You know, you can really drive yourself crazy with this stuff. And meanwhile I realize that we’ve lived here for nearly a year and a half! And I’ve been unwittingly waiting for it to be over. I miss my career, I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss friendly American strangers, blah blah blah- you’ve heard it all before.

The reality is that I traded three years of my life for this experience. That’s too precious an investment to just wish away. I mean, of course I love all the tourist stuff but I also have an everyday life over here that is far less exciting than a weekend in Stockholm and a road trip to Brussels. But everyday is the stuff that our lives are really made of. So here’s to this quirky little German village and all my stoic neighbors. Here’s to slowly and painfully learning another language. Here’s to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with my spouse seven days a week. And (gulp) here’s to unemployment, which has given me the opportunity to dig up a long-buried creative part of myself that likes to write, knit and cook. Here’s to everyday. Hope you enjoy yours too.

Oops- there went September!

2009-10-08T14:15:00.004+02:00

So much for my grand plans to keep blogging while back in the States. I underestimated how busy things would get. And I completely immersed myself in time with family and friends. It was wonderful! I'm not sure how to sum it all up so here are a few highlights:

My mom, party planner extraordinaire,

threw a tea party in honor of Aaron's birthday.

We also belatedly celebrated my sister's birthday.

I got to play some football and soccer with my nephews,

one of whom is about to be taller then me! I watched him

run in his middle school cross-country meet- he's fast!

Aaron's parents threw a wonderful

backyard BBQ on our first night back in IL.

It was so much fun to have the whole family together.

One of the main events of the trip was my friend's wedding.

We've been pals since 6th grade and it was an honor to stand

as her bridesmaid and see her so happy.

I couldn't believe our luck: my friend who lives in Norway

was also back visiting at the same time so I got to see her family

for the second time this year, including this beautiful new addition!

I also spent an afternoon shopping with a dear friend from Michigan, spent time with my grandparents and my great-aunt, saw my dad come through his second knee replacement with flying colors, helped my sis with a garage sale and had some great fun hanging out with my mom.

All the while, Aaron was hard at work in Ohio. He was with one of his colleagues and I think they managed to make the best of it. At least they got to go to an American Oktoberfest , which was quite a laugh for our German friend! Now we are home again, recovering from jet lag and trying to get back into our routine.

Our week in Puerto Rico

2009-09-11T12:59:00.003+02:00

We've been here since last Saturday, staying near the beaches in San Juan. It has been a complete change of scenery and climate. It's funny how you forget what tropical heat really feels like. I love it but have to admit that our northern German climate is better for outdoor activities like running and biking. This weather is only good for going to the beach or pool. Luckily, that's what I have been doing. Poor Aaron has been hard at work, fitting five days' worth of meetings into three.

So far, the absolute highlight of the trip was our rainforest adventure. On Sunday morning, we were picked up at 7:00 AM and driven halfway across the island up to the highest mountain. We spent the morning walking up a mountain river and climbing waterfalls. The biggest was probably 30 feet tall and we had to wear climbing harnesses and helmets. The afternoon was spent ziplining through the rainforest treetops. It was so much fun!

Our two guides were fantastic- so knowledgeable, friendly and encouraging. They pointed out all kinds of things on the trail, including the abundance of food sources. The area was an old coffee plantation so we saw coffee trees, as well as banana, passionfruit, mango, orange and plantain trees. We saw pineapples growing and saw yam vines. Aaron and I probably ate a dozen passionfruits throughout the day- they were everywhere along the forest floor. We also ate termites! I can't really believe I did that but it wasn't that bad. Well, except that I might not have chewed enough and for the rest of the day I felt like there was a termite hanging on at the back of my throat. Other than that though, delicious!

Our lunch really was a delicious treat. It was prepared by locals and delivered to the picnic shelter at our trailhead. It was very traditional Puerto Rican fare, which is not at all like Mexican food. We ate pork and chicken, yuca root, rice and red beans, fried plantains and avocado. Our guide prepared fresh coffee for us after lunch. Fresh meant that he had picked the beans off the trees within the last two days and roasted them earlier that morning. It was quite possibly the best coffee I have ever tasted!

I am continually amazed by the diversity in our world and the people in it. It is such a joy and privilege to see so many wonderful places. Next stop, one of my favorite wonderful places- home!

32 Days, 2 Suitcases

2009-09-03T16:14:00.002+02:00

Oh, what to pack? We are off on another adventure tomorrow, combining a mini beach vacation, work, family visits and bridesmaid duty! So many occasions, so many shoes! We need swimsuits and flip-flops for the beach in San Juan, sport sandals for a rainforest adventure and summer clothes for the 90- degree weather in Puerto Rico.

Everyone has been complaining about the cool weather in the Midwest and September is a wild card anyway. So we need pants and shorts, tees and sweaters! Aaron will be working again in Cincinnati for three weeks while I help with a garage sale at my sister's house, visit friends and get ready for my dear friend's wedding!

I'll try to keep you posted with updates and photos!

Even sirens have to be translated!

2009-08-28T07:49:00.003+02:00

We were awakened last night at 2:00 by the community siren. I immediately sprang to the window, thinking "Tornado!" But everything was perfectly calm and still and as I came fully awake I remembered that they don't have tornadoes here. You can take the girl out of the Midwest but...! About 30 seconds later we smelled smoke. Apparently, the volunteer fire fighters are alerted (along with the rest of the town) by the siren. Seemed kind of old school and we wondered if maybe we were all supposed to respond by grabbing a pail and forming a bucket brigade from the lake to the burning building! The smoke was very strong so I think the fire couldn't have been far away. I hope everyone is okay. I'm sure it is the talk of the town this morning. We'll see what I can find out today. Maybe I'll have to go loiter by the bakery...

My two cents...

2009-08-20T14:22:00.003+02:00

It's hard to avoid the news from the U.S. covering the town hall meetings and the heated debates over the future of our healthcare coverage. I'm saddened by the terror and fury and distrust that are broadcast by the media and I don't know whether the people shown represent a loud minority or an exaggeration of the viewpoint held by many Americans. I don't know all the details of the proposals- and it seems no one does- and I'm not prone to political rants. But I do have a few personal observations.

I worked in healthcare for almost a decade, primarily in a population of pregnant women but also with other adults and children. There is a clear lack of equality in the availability and coverage in our current healthcare system. It is just a fact. I've been thinking for years that things would have to change. I know that no plan can be perfect or please every single one of us, but there is clearly room for improvement.

My other observation comes from currently living in a country that has a socialized healthcare system. In a nutshell, it's okay. People aren't suffering and dying due to lack of healthcare. There do not appear to be widespread problems of access to medical care. When we applied for residency, we had to accept the public healthcare system or demonstrate coverage by a private insurer- they have both. In the year we've been here, we have known someone who had a baby, another person who had a complicated bone fracture, an elderly man who had a heart attack, a kid who broke a wrist playing soccer. All these people got timely and appropriate medical care. They are all alive and well. No one is killing Grandma. In fact, I've seen more active and healthy people in their 80s and 90s here than I ever saw at home.

We are right to keep a watch on our government and make sure that decisions made and laws enacted reflect the best interest of Americans. That's the great foundation of our country. But I think that no matter what comes of the healthcare reform, we'll be alright.

Historic Harbor Days

2009-08-18T08:03:00.003+02:00

They might be authentic sailors!

The ubiquitous Wurst

A little "Pirates of the Caribbean" flavor

Wow- that last post was so long, and not even any pictures! I'll keep this brief.

Last Saturday we attended this festival, which was part of Flensburg's 725th birthday celebration. Isn't that crazy? In the U.S., a 100-year-old building is historic! I still can't get over how really, really old things are here.

The festival itself was fun- all along the water with lots of food and drink stands, crafts and entertainment. Typical festival foods are fish sandwiches, wursts of all kinds, crepes, breads of all kinds, Danish (i.e. soft-serve) ice cream and candy. Beer and wine, of course!

What was funny, in an eccentric kind of way, were all the people dressed in costumes. Some of the costumes were in keeping with the theme- pirates, sailors- but others were just downright odd. We saw an "Arab" selling pottery, several British military officers circa 1915, jesters, a man wearing a suit, spats and a monocle and many folks who seemed to just want an excuse to wear something strange! It reminded me a bit of the Renaissance fairs I've been to where you see princesses, fairies and dark Gothic figures that are not at all in the right historical context.

After filling our bellies, watching a hatchet thrower, a juggler, some musicians and seeing a ship sail away, we headed back to the car. We had one last jarring moment when we heard country western music as we left. Ah, the modern world!

Reflections on the first year

2009-08-14T13:44:00.003+02:00

June marked our one-year anniversary of life in Germany. We say it all the time, don't we- time really flies when you're busy living! But it's true. It is amazing to realize how far we've come, both literally and figuratively, in this last year.

If you know Aaron and me (which you probably do if you are reading this), you know that we are not great ones for spontaneity or rash decision-making. We entered into this adventure after much thought, prayer, discussion and wise counsel. I thank God for our parents, who I know must have been screaming "Don't go so far away from us!" inside, even while they talked us through logistics, encouraged us and truly wanted what was best for us. Even after all of it, we were in for some big surprises and shocks once we got here.

Most of you have lived with us through this last year and can name our greatest challenges. The biggest has been the language: I had no idea of how slow and steep the learning curve would be. Learning a language for five years in a classroom is nothing like landing in a foreign country and actually trying to live life while learning. We knew next to NO German when we moved here. On our first trip to IKEA last summer, Aaron and I actually practiced counting to 100 together. It was that bad. Now, Aaron interacts with his colleagues primarily in German and I had someone compliment my language skills when he found out we had only been here one year. We are far from fluent but it is SO much better.

Even aside from the language barriers we have been challenged by the culture here. It's always a slow process to make friends in a new town but we were unprepared for the reticence that is the norm in northern Germany. We are eternally grateful for the exceptions to this norm. We have one friendly next-door neighbor, our friends Jan and Maren and a few of Aaron's colleagues who have been warm and welcoming. I think we would have been completely desolate without them.

But even new friends can't replace old friends and family. We have felt lonelier than we imagined. I hate to say it, but there is something different about knowing you can't just pop in to see a friend or drive to Mom and Dad's house for the weekend. All the modern technology can't compare to chatting at someone's kitchen table. Missing Thanksgiving and Easter and the 4th of July felt sad for us. But in some ways we have grown closer to our loved ones. Such a big change prompted all of us to say things we should probably say more often and to really cherish our time together. I have grown quite sentimental about the importance of family and friends (and at this point my family is saying, "Uh-oh, she was already the sappy one!").

When things look a little tough, we keep refocusing on why we came. We wanted to experience life outside the United States, to see that "different" is not always better or worse. Many of the differences fit well with how we want to live our lives. I had no idea how much I would enjoy doing all my grocery shopping on foot or by bicycle. I love that since I can't carry a lot and our refrigerator is small I have to go two or three times a week. We always have very fresh food in the house. I like that there is less emphasis on bigger, better, more. Perhaps especially so in this rural area things move a little slower and the simple things are valued. People take walks, pushing grandmas in wheelchairs and babies in buggies. People work in their gardens. People spend their vacations at home or at the nearby beaches, just relaxing with family and friends. It's a good reminder for us, having both been so immersed in a fast-track, corporate-style career world.

Maybe most of all, we wanted to travel. I can't believe all the places I've been and things I've seen and we have barely scratched the surface in Europe! We've toured castles and palaces, been in the hearts of cities like Stockholm, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin and Copenhagen. We visited the wine country near the Rhein valley and saw the Black Forest. We stood at the remains of the Berlin Wall. We watched sunrise over the Baltic Sea and waded in the mud flats of the North Sea. I saw reindeer in Norway and a stork here in Germany. It already feels like a lifetime of memories and there is more to come! The gift of travel has far exceeded what I could have dreamt.

The challenges of life here are more than I anticipated but so are the rewards and gifts. If I had it all to do over again, I would do it the same way. Well, maybe I'd bring more chocolate chips!

Heat Wave

2009-08-07T10:14:00.003+02:00

Aaron and I have made a lot of adjustments over the last year, including redefining "summer." I knew we had achieved it when, on Tuesday, we saw the temperature climb to the mid-70s and decided we had to take advantage of such great weather by going to the beach. Yesterday we saw 80 degrees and went back! Alas, I saw the online forecast predict that the "tropical" weather won't last. I wonder if the weather reporter has ever actually experienced such climates. I'm no meteorologist but I would say that calling a breezy, 80-degree day with low humidity tropical is going a bit far! Nevertheless, we have enjoyed this summer week. Just another reminder to seize the unique opportunities of each day because you never know what kind of weather tomorrow will bring!

Home again, home again

2009-07-29T09:57:00.003+02:00

After two weeks in the U.S., we are back in Germany. Aaron's work in Cincinnati went well and when he was finished, we drove 5 hours to South Haven, Michigan. We were happy to have a few days to spend at the Loft and relax on the beach. For us, there is something special about that place and we have missed it. Aaron has yet to have a full week of real vacation since he started work at Atec and most of his time off has been busy with family visits or travel adventures in Europe so it was nice to have a few days of down time. Everyone was complaining about the cool summer but it still felt warm to us compared to here, where we are still barely topping 70 degrees in the "heat" of the day.

During the trip, Aaron's parents met us in Cincy for the weekend. We had such a great time with them, exploring the city and eating well- including some good ol' American barbeque ribs (seen in photo)! Yum! We went to the zoo, which we can highly recommend. It lived up to its great reputation! Mostly it was just nice to be with them- there's no substitute for family and our last visit at Christmas seemed like a long time ago.

We also had the delight of attending the wedding of our friends, Nick and Andi. It was a lovely ceremony and a fun reception, held at a museum. It was also a reunion of our friends from Aaron's old workplace in Kalamazoo. We laughed so much and danced the night away, between rides on the museum's carousel.

Now we are back to the routine for the month of August with more American adventures to come in September!

The adventure continues- in Cincinnati!

2009-07-17T13:47:00.002+02:00

This time I'm writing from an extended-stay hotel smack dab in the middle of suburbia. Aaron has been working here since Wednesday supervising the installation of equipment on his first project at Atec. I've been taking advantage of the exercise facilities, swimming pool and cable TV here at the hotel. I can't complain but this really doesn't seem like my life. Accompanying my husband on business trips? I'm nuch more comfortable being the one going on business trips.

Anyway, we've been struck by how ridicuoulsy friendly Americans are! It started with our Delta flight crew on the 9 hour flight from Paris. They were all so happy, like they really enjoyed their jobs (imagine that). One guy even gave us extra cookies because we really liked them! As soon as we got here we went to Best Buy to get cheap cell phones and the manager who helped us even set up and activated the phones for us before we left. Then we were off to dinner, where our server sent us home with "To Go"cups of our free refills (a completely American phenomenon) of lemonade! We didn't even ask for it. Who does that? I went to the grocery store early Wednesday morning and the cashier struck up a conversation with me and had all kinds of questions about living in Germany. We talked for ten minutes! As I was leaving she asked how long we're staying in town and said she hoped she'd see me again. Last night we were swimming in the pool at the hotel and a woman came over and asked if we'd like some cupcakes- it was her daughter's birthday and they had plenty.

As I've said before, it's not that Germans are mean or rude. It's just that people seem much more private and reserved. Strangers are strangers. Neighbors are neighbors. People don't extend such overt friendliness. We didn't realize how different it was until we came back and felt so grateful for someone just being extra nice. It's always the little things that make a big difference.

Flying on the cheap

2009-07-08T11:12:00.002+02:00

There are a couple of super-discount airlines in Europe so we decided to try one out for our short trip to Sweden. Two round trip tickets on RyanAir cost around $40! Can you believe it?

We figured that it had to at least be safe since they have to meet all the same regulations as other airlines, but beyond that we weren't expecting a lot. We had to check in online or pay extra to check in at the terminal. We opted not to check bags, as that would have also cost extra and we only had a short trip. The dimensions of the allowed carry-on luggage seemed unreasonably small but we did our best to comply, worrying that they would measure and weigh everything. They didn't, and we saw other people with roll-alongs!

We had to drive an extra half hour to a different airport but for the savings we thought it was worth it. We happened to be traveling on one of the hottest days I've yet experienced in northern Europe- it was well over 80 degrees. I know it doesn't sound impressive but it was enough to keep us sweating through our 2 hour un-airconditioned drive and the quarter mile hike from the parking lot to the terminal. As we stepped inside, the expected rush of cool air failed to greet us. No A/C in the discount airport! The building itself was nothing more than a huge enclosed tent, with no fans or air circulation of any kind! But, more importantly the drinks were cold so we kicked off our vacation with a refreshing adult beverage!

RyanAir does not assign seats on its flights. As they announced boarding people started jockeying for position in line to get on the plane. I feared the worst but it was actually pretty civilized. And wouldn't you know- everyone got a seat and people traveling together even got to sit together. AND the plane had A/C! Yippee! No free half a can of soda or one ounce of pretzels (which you're lucky to get anymore even on the regular airlines) but that was okay with us. Because of the timing of our flight we decided to buy sandwiches on the plane so we could hit the ground running in Stockholm. I can only recommend the food as an alternative to starvation, though they did also have packaged snacks. Next time I'll go with the M&M's.

The flight attendants were courteous and professional, the cabin was comparable to all others I've been in and the flights were on time, even early! We determined that it was a successful experiment and that we should fly everywhere that RyanAir goes! What's next- Dublin, Milan, Mallorca?

Short vacation in Stockholm

2009-07-06T12:16:00.003+02:00

A basement cafe in the old town, Gamla Stan

Standing on the waterfront, Strandvagen, with
the city behind me

Aaron and I had a great trip to Stockholm. We left last Wednesday, July 1 and arrived home last night. As in Copenhagen, everyone speaks English. Even the cab driver struck up a conversation and recommended some sights to us. Our rented room was in a pretty good location and had the advantage of having a small fridge, microwave, coffee maker and toaster. We picked up groceries at a nearby market and enjoyed breakfast in our room each morning before venturing out.

We saw so many great sights and loved the waterfront feel everywhere since the city is situated on several islands. It was very crowded with tourists- even several cruise ships! The weather was fantastic- it got up to 84 degrees in Stockholm- dare I say it was almost too hot?!

On two mornings,we ran on a great trail around an island that is almost exclusively given over to museums and recreation (after the king gave it up as his hunting grounds). It had parks and trails and even an amusement park. And we walked and walked and walked all over the city! It is very pedestrian and bicycle friendly, at least in the summer!

We ate a real Scandinavian smorgasbord! Once is probably enough though! They do love their herring in all the Baltic countries and prepare it in about a dozen ways. The first two courses of the meal were fish! I had great Swedish meatballs with lignonberries at two different places and Aaron got to try a reindeer steak. The coffee break specialty is a cinnamon bun and we sampled that just before we left town- yum!

On Saturday we took a ferry boat out through the archipelago- there are about 30, 000 islands on the east coast of Sweden. Some are no bigger than a good-sized American yard but still have a cottage on them! It is rocky and heavily forested- really beautiful but also heavily populated. Most islands can only be reached by boat- no bridges! So they have an extensive scheduled ferry service and there are water taxis as well. We ended up on an island that was about one mile from end to end. There is a hotel and three restaurants/cafes, a youth hostel, a small goat farm and campground. We walked trails until it looked like rain and then found a dry spot to sit and have a drink while we looked out over the sea. We were really on the go a lot so it was a nice quiet moment to realize where we were sitting- on a remote island in the Baltic sea off the coast of Sweden! Wow!

Our return trip was fairly uneventful except for terrible traffic on the Autobahn. It took us an extra hour to get home and we discovered that the air conditioning in our car doesn’t work. We felt hot and parched by the time we made it home but it was definitely worth it. Another great adventure!

For more pictures of our trip, visit Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37438151@N00/

No place like home

2009-06-30T10:51:00.003+02:00

I'm sorry for the long gap in postings. I had a personal "emergency"- I needed to go home and see my family! I found a reasonable ticket price and hopped on a plane the following day. Such spontaneity is very unlike me but I am so glad I went.

In the absence of a job and social network, and in a culture that is more reserved than American culture, I have gotten quite lonely and homesick. Instead of sinking into a pity party (because my life isn't really anything to complain about) I decided to step away, get a fresh perspective and surround myself with loved ones for a week. I spent time with my parents, sister, nephews and grandparents. I even saw a few uncles and cousins. It was wonderful!!! Of course my family isn't perfect, but being away from them helps me appreciate their best qualities and happily accept everything that comes along with them.

It was a surprise to me to realize that I feel much the same way about the good ol' USA. It's not that I haven't always loved my country but I always see the things that need to be better. We are capable of so much so I expect a lot out of us. Now that I live in another country, I still think there are things we Americans need to work on, but I also see more clearly some of the best things about our country, from silly little things to major issues. I appreciate the friendliness of restaurant servers and store cashiers. I am grateful for our wonderful sytem of national parks. I'm glad that we play lots of sports and not just soccer. I like that we are a nation made up of immigrants- some recent and some long ago but almost none of our ancestors can claim to be natives. Maybe it sounds a little sappy, but long hours in airports give you a lot of time to think.

So, I guess there's no place like home and no country like your own homeland!

Emma is here!

2009-06-15T15:38:00.003+02:00

Well, our circle of friends in Germany expanded by one last Wednesday when Maren and Jan's daughter was born. She arrived 10 days early but weighed in just over eight pounds. Everyone is healthy and happy!

Maren told us she was pregnant at 6 weeks so we've all been waiting a long time. She had wanted desperately to know via ultrasound whether this baby was a boy or girl but Emma proved stubborn on two occasions so it was an extra surprise!

She is pretty darn cute- cheeky with a full head of dark hair. And you can see that she likes the blanket I knitted for her- I don't think she can sleep without it!

I have been around a lot of newborns but each time I am amazed anew at the miracle of such tiny human perfection. It feels like a privilege and honor to be part of such a special time in the lives of our friends. We will love to watch Emma thrive and grow for the next few years while we are here. And maybe one day she will stay with us as an exchange student in the U.S.! You just never know!

Eight years and counting!

2009-06-12T13:30:00.002+02:00

Aaron and I celebrated our anniversary this year by actually being in the same country, something we couldn't manage last year. We spent time over breakfast looking at the photo album of our wedding and honeymoon. At lunchtime, we received a care package in the mail- the great timing for which we have to thank the USPS, Deutsche Post and my mom! To top off the day we had a spectacular dinner out, including a dessert called "Strawberry Dream!" Delightful!

I think celebrations are good to remind us of what is important and to prevent us from becoming complacent about all the blessings we have. I, for one, need these perspective refreshers. Over this last year, Aaron and I have been tested in ways we never imagined. Each of us has struggled and grown, and that's not always pretty. Our relationship has also had to struggle and grow as we both adapt and change in this new life. We are right in the midst of this process so it's good to remember that we're in it together through thick and thin!

Eight years ago we could never have dreamed that we would be living in northern Germany. I dare not guess where life might take us in another eight years! What an adventure!

Wedding traditions

2009-06-04T11:43:00.005+02:00

Living in another country isn't like a vacation (sometimes I wish it were) but it does allow us to peek into another culture in a way that a three-week European tour never could. A few weeks ago we attended a pre-wedding party, Polterabend, of one of Aaron's colleagues. This translates to noisy evening and also gave me insight into another word I've known since I accidentally saw the movie as a small child and was totally traumatized- Poltergeist means noisy ghost!

But back to the Polterabend. The tradition is that making noise the night before a wedding scares away the evil spirits. So the bride and groom host a party where all their friends bring old dishes/pottery and smash them on the driveway or patio. They have a saying that the shards bring luck. Once all the pottery has been smashed, the couple must work together to sweep it all up. Then the guests go and dump it out and scatter it around again. This is supposed to occur may times over the course of the evening. I'm not sure what the significance of this is except perhaps to help the couple develop their teamwork skills and get used to sharing the chore of cleaning up.

Another part of the tradition for the evening is to create some elaborate task or game that the couple must complete in order to receive their gifts. This seems to be the job of the colleagues. The week before the party several people from Atec got together and cut a giant wooden puzzle out in the shape of a heart, painted it and mounted it on another wooden board with several candle holders in it. On the night of the party, the couple had to do a task to earn the pieces of the puzzle, then assemble it to receive their present. She had to shave a man's leg, he had to paint a woman's fingernails, they had to bob for slices of fruit from a tub of water, etc. Interesting!

It seemed like there was a lot of responsibility in being a guest but for our efforts we were rewarded with a great cook-out, far too much alcohol and a fun evening! As far as I can tell, they do not have bridal showers here. Bachelor/bachelorette parties seem to be a concept imported from elsewhere so they are not all that common either. Another interesting thing about marriage is that there is complete separation of religious and legal ceremonies. Everyone must have a legal union in the town hall. If people want a church wedding they may of course do so but priests and ministers do not have the power to legally marry people. Different, huh?

A post from Aaron

2009-05-30T17:00:00.010+02:00

The project team in front of the equipment

Documentation- thousands of pages!

Jackie and I moved to Germany to experience life in here and to travel Europe, but we also came because of my career. I have been working at Atec for one year now and last week came a milestone with a project I started last June. We completed a successful Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for one of the projects I manage.
Atec manufactures equipment for pharmaceutical companies all over the world. Specifically, we build machines used to wash and sterilize stoppers for medicine bottles. Constructing these machines requires a team that includes engineers, computer programmers, documentation specialists, architects, welders, pipe fitters and electricians- and that is just from Atec! For the FAT last week, seven people from the United States came to inspect the equipment before shipment to Ohio.
My role in this is as project manager. It is my job to make sure the equipment we build meets the specifications of the customer. Every Tuesday for the last year, I have had telephone conferences with the customers in California and Ohio to monitor the progress of the project. Also, at Atec I coordinate the work of all specialties needed to make the machines. In reality, my job includes everything from writing documents to turning wrenches. I haven't had to do any welding yet!
You may wonder how a microbiologist at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals ended up in a job like this. Three years ago I came to Atec as a Pfizer employee to perform the same type of acceptance testing that was completed last week. My experience having been the customer brings a unique perspective to the service Atec provides.
The Factory Acceptance Testing last week included twelve consecutive days of working long hours, but was a success! The customer left happy and the machines will be delivered to Ohio soon. I am exhausted and relieved to have the past two weeks behind me.

Strangest holiday yet

2009-05-22T15:28:00.003+02:00

Yesterday was Ascension Day, a holy day 40 days after Easter that celebrates Christ's return to heaven. I was never aware of this day, though I understand that it is observed in the Roman Catholic church. It is a German national holiday. This is interesting for a few reasons- Catholicism is predominant only in certain parts of southern Germany, most Germans do not seem to be overtly devout or religious and Germany generally has strict rules about the separation of religion and government. But none of this is what seems strange.

This is where it starts to get weird. Father's Day in Germany is always celebrated on Ascension Day. Why would this be? Jesus returning to his Father makes us want to honor fathers? But in our area the day is just called Männertag, or Men's Day. And the celebration seems much more about manhood than fatherhood. I finally went to Wikipedia to get a handle on this because I just couldn't quite understand it. Click here to read what others have to say and to see a photo : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day#Germany

I read about it being a day for "men only" to go out and get drunk together but I figured this would be only in cities or at the beach or something. Yesterday morning at 9:45 I hopped on my bike to ride to the home of friends and what did I see? A group of four young men, walking down the sidewalk, pulling a child's wagon (yeah, like Radio Flyer) filled with beer and a portable music system of some sort. And I couldn't imagine where they were going, walking away from town and out into the countryside! As I came to my friends' house, I saw another group of men. These guys were in their 30s and 40s and were pulling a wagon shaped like an airplane! Just walking around drinking beer at ten in the morning.

When I arrived, I wished my friend a Happy Father's Day and asked him about this tradition. I explained that in the U.S., fathers usually spend time with their children on Father's Day, that it is really a family day. He laughed and replied, "Oh no, not here. Every man in Germany is trying to get rid of his family today." Does this seem weird to anyone else?

Diversity

2009-05-18T19:59:00.003+02:00

I may be totally out of my league in my German course, but I love my classroom! It is such a unique place, filled with people who may have nothing in common but being foreigners in this country. I am the only American, and the only native English speaker. There are several people from the Ukraine, a few from Poland and a couple from Turkey. We have someone from Thailand, Peru and Syria. We have people who lived under Communist rule in the former Soviet Union. We are Muslims and Buddhists and Eastern Orthodox Christians and atheists.

Every day it feels like I have as much to learn from them as from our teacher. Their opinions and their experiences and their stories are so different from mine. We debated the importance of individual freedoms versus the good of the collective public. Two people who lived in the same Communist country had quite opposite feelings! A Muslim woman talked about what it's like to wear a head scarf and what she thinks about her own freedom and equality. We discussed international relations and the influence (not always for good) of the U.S. and the European Union. We heard a presentation from a classmate on her country from a tourism perspective.

Because I am the only one, I have an opportunity to represent "Americans." It feels like a big responsibility but exciting too! I didn't realize how little some people know about our country- they only know Hollywood and New York. Most people don't even know Chicago! I was asked specifically whether I would give a presentation on my country. Of course I'm nervous but it is exciting to think about telling people about my home- a country I love and miss and probably never would have appreciated so much if I hadn't left it. Funny how your perspective changes, isn't it?

The prettiest crop I've seen

2009-05-15T07:13:00.002+02:00

Canola is an important agricultural crop around here. People have been talking about the "Raps" fields and it was worth the wait! It really is beautiful to look out across a field of swaying yellow blossoms. The bright sunshine in a clear blue sky is nice too!

Back in the classroom

2009-05-11T13:26:00.001+02:00

Last Thursday was my first day in German class at the community education center in Flensburg. I take the train from our town, which takes just 15 minutes. I am loving good public transportation! Then I have a 15-minute walk to get to the school. Class meets on Thursdays and Fridays, begininning at 8:15 and and ending at 12:15, with a 20-30 minute break.

I took a placement test to determine which course I should take, and the woman who gave the test just wasn't sure what to do with me. She ended up placing me in the higher of two levels that she was considering- that made me nervous! On Thursday, I nearly had a panic attack because it soon became clear that my classmates have far more knowledge than I do- both with vocabulary and grammar. I could just barely follow what was going on. I looked around and everyone else seemed to be doing just fine. That is SUCH a terrifying feeling! I left after that first session with a sick feeling in my stomach, thinking "Why does everything have to be so hard?"

But of course I went back again on Friday and, lo and behold, it went better! I spent some time talking with the teacher and she was very reassuring. When I was called on in class and struggled with the answer, both my classmates and the teacher helped me through it. And as far as I could tell, no one shot me dirty looks for being so remedial! I have to remember that this is not academia- I will not be graded and there is no final exam. This is just for me. I started to relax and learn. And I think this just might be fun!

The power of one

2009-05-10T18:21:00.006+02:00

On the heels of my post about the reticence of people in northern Germany, I have to point out again that the stereotype does not fit everyone. We have received much help and many kind gestures in our time here. And I am so incredibly grateful for my friend Maren.

I met Maren the day after I arrived in Germany, as part of a group who went to a festival. She and her husband (Aaron's colleague) came over the next week with a bottle of champagne as a house-warming gift. Both were really friendly. Jan speaks perfect English but Maren speaks almost none. She offered to take me shopping to look for lights and curtains and mirrors for our house. I was miserable and so stressed the whole time because she was speaking to me and I could not understand one word of it. She persisted in befriending me and we shopped almost every week last summer. In the process I learned my way around the area. I had my birthday after just two weeks of living here and met the day with mixed feelings. Maren and Jan showed up that evening, with gift in hand, to celebrate with me.

Maren invited us over for dinner many times and she was patient when Jan, Aaron and I talked rapidly in English though she could not follow the conversation. They included us in weekend outings and pointed out fun things for us to do on our own. Through all these difficult months when I have been so homesick for my friends she has stopped by to check on me, offered all kinds of practical help and always been quick to smile and laugh. As I cobble together terrible German in hopes of communicating, she helps me with words and listens closely. She speaks slowly, uses easy words and watches my face for understanding. In all this time when I had so little to offer and needed so much, she has been a friend. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make all the difference in the world. And even though I don't have the words to tell her how much that means, I hope she knows.

"They won't throw a party for you..."

2009-04-30T12:01:00.005+02:00

..."but they're honest." This was the response of a (non-northern) German when I confessed that I was still trying to understand the norms of the people around here. I 'm not sure whether to find the statement comforting or further perplexing.

Apparently, the folks here in northern Germany are known even among Germans to be quite reserved and quiet. They are not ones to initiate conversation with strangers and they don't tend to "chat." Obviously, there are many people and situations where this stereotype does not fit. But even taken as a generalization it doesn't sound too bad. Let me illustrate with a few examples that I found to be--- awkward.

I went for a bike ride with my friend Maren (not from northern Germany and very outgoing) and we stopped by the house of her former neighbor and friend. We stood in the driveway for ten to fifteen minutes and the friend never acknowledged my presence- not a "Hallo!" or a handshake or a wave. Weird!

Aaron and I showed up last week to help with a sawing/sanding/painting project as a wedding gift for one of his colleagues. We walked up to the group of about seven other co-workers and no one really said anything. For about two hours, the group worked on the project with almost no talking and no laughing. And there was even beer!

The daughter of Aaron's boss comes over to my house every week and we spend about an hour together so she can be exposed to English- we play a game, bake cookies, do a craft project, etc. Her parents never e-mail or call me and even when I see them at various events or around town they never talk to me or ask how things are going. Don't all parents love to talk about their kids?!

Just to keep things in perspective let me say that in most ways, the culture I am experiencing here is the same as what I have been used to in the U.S. It is modern and Western. Body language seems to be similar- people make eye contact with each other as a sign of attention and courtesy, waving means "Hello" and shaking hands is a normal introductory greeting. I realize that these are not things to take for granted everywhere in this world.

So I am not complaining! But I am struggling to be myself while respecting and integrating with the local culture. I know it could be a language barrier but most of the people I interact with speak very good English and also know that I am trying hard to learn German. When I initiate conversation I always speak in German but obviously I can't carry it very far alone.

I don't expect anyone to throw me a party (or even speak English to me) but I'm also not sure what good their honesty does when they don't talk to me anyway! Ha!

I am learning so much.

A walk in "den Wald"

2009-04-28T14:30:00.003+02:00

A great place to sit and feel the sun on your back!

A little perspective...

A fluorescent world!

We miss the proximity to great hiking and backpacking but recently
discovered this preserve just a 15-minute drive from home.

Much better than yardwork anyway! Maybe the rules that
limit our "work" are a good thing for our souls!

No mowing on Sunday!

2009-04-27T08:02:00.002+02:00

Whew- that was a close one! Aaron decided to cut the grass on Sunday around 10:30 AM. I was outside pulling some weeds and had noticed through the shrubs that some neighbors were enjoying a late breakfast in their garden. This observation combined with several other previous clues about peculiar German rules and "quiet hours" led me to run inside and log on the Internet with a search of "lawn mowing Sunday Germany." Result: Forbidden! Why? Noise pollution. Sunday is Ruhetag- rest day. I ran back outside, flagged Aaron down and gave him the news. He wheeled the mower back into the shed, neither the police or neighbors complained and we decided to go for a hike in a nearby forest instead of doing yard work. Alles gut!

Sometimes we are surprised by the kinds of things that are regulated here in Germany. A couple others we have broken unknowingly- you can't trim your bushes after March 15 to protect the nesting birds. You can't wash your own car due to the soap run-off into the ground water. Of course Aaron and I have made some jokes about all of these rules, but when it's all said and done most of them aren't bad. I love baby birds as much as anyone and I think we all deserve clean water. And who hasn't been irritated by a neighbor who decides to fire up their mower or power tools at just the time you've sat down to relax in the sun? And when the population is as dense as it is in most of Europe it is even more important to have some rules to keep the peace and keep things courteous and neighborly.

But it does beg the question of how we ignorant foreigners would ever know these things! No one would think to tell us because it is so normal for them and we would never think to ask because we are not used to these types of rules. But as our neighbor pointed out to us, "Ignorance is no excuse!" Thank goodness for the Internet. Now I'm on the search for any other unique German laws we need to abide by!

Springtime in rural Germany

2009-04-23T13:52:00.001+02:00

These hairy cows with horns really make

me laugh but their babies are super cute!

The fields are plowed and ready for planting.

A date with myself

2009-04-22T08:05:00.003+02:00

When I imagined living just nine miles from the sea, I pictured myself frequently sitting on the beach reading and writing and feeling so at peace. But it rained for the first month after I came, then life just sort of crept in with all its daily demands and the next thing I knew it was winter.

Spring is here and yesterday I took myself to the beach for the first time! I packed up my blanket, snack, camera and journal and set off with my bike. There was not a cloud in the sky, just a light breeze and I had the place mostly to myself. It was such a gift.

I realized that it's hard for me to give myself a gift like this. Even without a job (or maybe even more so without a job) my days seem to be filled with, "I should..." statements. I feel like I need to have the house spotless, master every recipe in my cookbooks, grow a beautiful garden, speak German fluently, become a guitar virtuoso and the list goes on endlessly. What I really need to do is lighten up! That kind of thinking steals the joy out of everything and I am determined not to let it dominate my days. It could take a while to change my way of thinking but my day at the beach was a good start.

German 101: Prerequisite- knowing German

2009-04-17T14:35:00.002+02:00

I am finding that just living in a country does not make you learn the language by osmosis. You have to work at it. I need to work harder to learn German. I have progressed to the point that I am functional in survival situations- grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, pleasantries with the post man and the neighbors- but I cannot carry on conversations of any length or depth. Not surprisingly, this is necessary for the more meaningful human interactions in life! I like meaningful interactions.

So, I checked out the website for the community education center in Flensburg. I got really frustrated because of course, I couldn't read it very well. I figured out that there are several German classes offered but I didn't know which level I should take. I found the contact page and wrote a short (hopefully coherent) e-mail requesting guidance. Someone wrote back the same day giving me a phone number to call and make an appointment for a placement test.

Whoa! Phone call??? Excuse me? I'm supposed to pick up the phone and actually dial a number that requires me to then speak German to someone who answers it? Okay, okay, I get it. This is part of the test. Alright.

After I panicked and hemmed and hawed for two days (yes, it took me two days to work up the nerve) I wrote down some key words for my conversation and picked up the phone. The woman was very kind and patient with me. And she understood what I said. I think I understood what she said. I have a placement test on April 30th. Unfortunately, classes begin April 20. I'm not sure how that will work out but at least I passed the first part of my placement test!

I can't help but laugh at the irony of having to read, write and speak German to get into the class to learn German. This would not have been possible for me when I first arrived. I wonder how other people manage. It makes me more sympathetic to immigrants everywhere. How does someone know what is available? How do you access the services when you can't communicate?

This photo has nothing to do with learning German. I just like the image of these people and their horses who appear to be riding into the sea.

Freetown Christiania

2009-04-14T14:40:00.003+02:00

In Copenhagen tourism, there is a lot of hype about Freetown Christiania. I had never heard of it until I started to plan our trip. In 1971 people began to squat on the land of an abandoned military base, perhaps in a form of rebellion against authorities. There was apparently a lack of affordable housing in the city at the time. The movement was "encouraged" by a provocative journalist who was a sort of pre-hippie.

The idea was to build a society from scratch while taking advantage of existing land and buildings. The original mission statement from 1971 goes like this: The objective of Christiania is to create a self-governing society whereby each and every individual holds themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the entire community. Our society is to be economically self-sustaining and, as such, our aspiration is to be steadfast in our conviction that psychological and physical destitution can be averted. I think it was meant to be a haven for all lifestyles. That said, they abide by their own set of rules including no tolerance of "hard" drugs, guns, knives, stealing or violence. Community decisions are made in common meetings with all residents invited.
For many reasons, the Danish authorities have looked the other way or been indecisive about what to do, so the community still exists today with about 800 residents. There are threats that the government will forcibly disband the community and throw the residents out. For the last fifteen years, they have paid taxes and utilities. Until 2004, a thriving and open drug trade was tolerated but this has largely gone underground due to fears of giving authorities another reason to shut down the community.

Visiting Christiania felt much like walking through the parking lot at a Grateful Dead concert, albeit a much larger and greener one. There was definitely a creative and artistic spirit in the place- there were brightly painted murals on the buildings and unconventional uses of old junk for both practical and artistic purposes. People were sprawled everywhere, enjoying a sunny warm Saturday afternoon. There was music everywhere and the occasional whiff of cannabis in the air. But there was an entrepreunerial spirit as well- Christiania residents give guided tours from the front entrance (for free); there are numerous cafes, restaurants and businesses, as well as tourist stands selling t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. It was interesting to be sure but I still don't really know what sets it apart from any other community. Residents want peace, equality and tolerance. There is a set of rules that people generally agreed to abide by. There is space for quiet personal lives and space for commercial endeavors. It seemed in many ways like a small town, with a particularly relaxed and laid-back atmosphere. I'm still thinking about what is really different there.

On our way out, we walked under the sign above that informed us we were re-entering the European Union. I didn't know we had even left!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T10:01:00.004+02:00

The rising sun and the Risen Son! We awoke at dawn this morning, bundled up and got settled on the beach in time to watch the Easter sun rise over the Baltic Sea. We sipped hot coffee and ate pastries while listening to the waves and watching this spectacular sight! It is easy to believe in miracles on a morning like this.

Things are different when you have a queen!

2009-04-09T12:21:00.002+02:00

Every day, just before 11:30 AM the Danish Royal Guard gathers in front of the Rosenborg Castle to begin their march through Copenhagen to Amalienborg Palace, where Queen Margrethe II lives. They look just like the tin soldiers of storybooks with tall black fur hats, pressed black jackets, blue pants, white gloves and fancy tassels on their swords. The procession is accompanied by music- at least flutes and drums, but an outright marching band on weekends- and is guarded by the city police. Apparently, it's hard to draw your ceremonial sword when you're playing the piccolo.

Once they arrive in the palace square at noon, there is an elaborate changing-of-the-guard ceremony to provide replacement guards for the royal residence for the next 24 hours. The now-retired group marches back to the palace by 1:00 to go off-duty. The whole process seems very quaint, bordering on silly, and straight out of history. But it is tradition and it was neat to see an age-old ceremony still being honored.

The one part of the Royal Guard's accoutrements that is not quaint is the automatic rifle they carry as they walk back and forth in front of the palace. They are all young men but they are very stone-faced and serious about their duties, even when crazy tourists stand beside them for photos (not us, of course). I'm not sure who would be out to harm Denmark's 70-year-old figurehead monarch but they are not taking any chances!

How time flies!

2009-04-07T16:43:00.003+02:00

It seems like they just arrived and they're already gone! We packed a lot into our time together - two countries, three castle tours, lots of great food and many laughs! We almost saw the Danish queen and the prime minister (maybe)! We even planted flowers, put up a clothesline weeded my gardens and had our first grill-out of the season! I was so grateful to have help and company at home for a few days.

I am sorry for neglecting to write but I was soaking up my family time while I had it. Now that I'm back to my routine, I'll be able to catch up on all the fun things that have happened in the last few weeks. Stay tuned...

Mom and Dad are here!

2009-03-31T16:15:00.002+02:00

They arrived last Thursday and it was so great to see them! And so fun to have them here with us again in Germany! I feel like we have really grown and changed since their visit last September. We are much more comfortable here and have better language skills. The overall life stress is MUCH less. I think they have noticed the difference!

Since their arrival, we have done some short explorations. We went to Husum to see the four million crocuses blooming in the park. We toured the castle in Glucksburg. Tomorrow we will leave for Copenhagen and stay for five days. Already their visit is going too fast and I know they will be gone before I know it. So I am trying hard to stay right here in the moment and enjoy every minute! I am really grateful to have parents who are also friends-we're having a great time!

St. Patrick's Day in northern Germany

2009-03-26T13:52:00.002+01:00

Well, it's pretty much non-existent. None of our friends or Aaron's colleagues were even aware of this all-important Irish holiday. But what's March 17 without a little something green? We decided to head into Flensburg and make our own party. We dragged Jan along because he's always up for a good time and a glass of beer.

We walked into McMelson's English Pub and immediately spotted a guy in a tall green top hat. We knew we were in the right place. The bartender served up Guiness stout, complete with a clover in the foam. Perfect! It was a relaxed yet festive atmosphere. But we really had to move on down the road to Shamrock Irish Pub, which was advertising their St. Paddy's Day festivities. Unfortunately, it was a total dive- a college bar with absolutely nothing nice or comfortable inside it. And we were the only ones there at 8:30 PM! But in true college bar style, things got cranked up just as we were leaving at 10:30. I did snag a shamrock temporary tattoo- never know when you might need one!

So, no corned beef and cabbage and only a few people sharing the celebration but we still had a good time. It's the little things, you know! And sometimes in life, the most fun is the kind you make for yourself!

Getting braver!

2009-03-23T07:37:00.003+01:00

The plan was for Aaron and I to head back home from Belgium on Sunday afternoon so he could be at work on Monday morning. But I was having a good time, didn't have anything to get back for and had the possibility of another two and half days with Maggie and John. So, I took a deep breath, said "I'm sure I can figure out how to get home on the train" and watched Aaron drive away. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but I am so Type-A that it really threw me off balance. I like to know what to expect and to have a plan well in advance of when I might need it. I had never taken the trains in Europe and I was banking on buying a ticket and making the trip solo!

On the other hand, I feel like I have been more scared in this last year than any other time of my life and it is exhausting! I'm tired of being afraid and I don't want to miss experiences and opportunities just because I couldn't be sure how they would turn out. Once I made the decision and got settled into a new hotel I felt really empowered. I had a great time, spent lots of hours talking with Maggie and deepening our friendship and saw more amazing things in Belgium! I sat alone at breakfast in my hotel one morning and was completely comfortable being there. A great feeling!

And on Wednesday morning, I hopped the tram that took me to the train station. I got on the train in Ghent that took me to Brussels. I found the train that went to Cologne. I switched to the train to Hamburg, and finally I got on the train to take me to Flensburg! One tram, four trains and they were all completely on time. It was about 12 hours of traveling and I arrived in Flensburg to find Aaron right there waiting with the car. Piece of cake!

For the love of chocolate

2009-03-13T12:12:00.002+01:00

I'm pretty sure that Belgium is heaven on earth for chocolate lovers. Of course Belgian chocolate is world-famous but, like many things, I wondered if it could possibly be worth all the hype. For me, it was worth all of it and more!

We woke up on Saturday morning in Brussels with a single mission- to hit the chocolatiers with force. There are four top makers- Leonidas, Neuhaus, Galler and Godiva, not to mention countless small but equally delightful shops. It felt like Starbucks in any American city- you can't go more than a couple blocks without finding another chocolate shop.

The experience begins at the shop window where, at this time of year, there are elaborate Easter displays- giant chocolate eggs, fanciful bunnies, little chicks. They have made it an art form and each shop has a little different approach- some with a modern edge, some with very traditional motifs, some geared to children and whimsy, some very sophisticated. And when you walk in the door you could almost drown in the scent of chocolate as you gaze at mounds of truffles and pralines and confections stretching for several feet of counter space. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate-ahhhhhhhh! And everything with some divine filling inside- raspberry creme, mocha, coconut, ganache- it just went on and on.

Over the course of five days in Belgium I must have been in a dozen or more chocolate shops and never got tired of the whole sensory experience- a feast for the eyes, the nose and most importantly, the mouth!