The final headache in my goal of reaching higher education is complete. Yes, the final paper was finished yesterday, along with the last of this class' commitments so I just have to wait for Monday as that marks the end for me and the MBA that has consumed my life for two and a half years. So what did I do to reward myself? Well, I started by cleaning my house top to bottom, took the dry cleaning in, went to the store, and made my favorite meal (spaghetti...I could eat it everday). After that, I relaxed and shared a bottle of pink champagne with my husband and made him watch a chick flick with me. All in all it was a very productive Thursday, but for me the best was this morning when I woke up and leisurely went to the gym and spent a long time working out...it was delightful!
I still have a busy day ahead as I need to get us packed and ready to leave for Austria again this afternoon. It should be really fun as we are going with Germans...something we haven't done yet. I am sure we will get the authentic Apres Ski experience which I will capture for you all to see! The sad part is that little Tut Anthony doesn't get to go this time as our accomodations wouldn't accomodate him (boo-hiss)...so he gets to go to camp. Speaking of our accomodations, I am a little worried as TJ came home with 2 sleeping bags to take with and we are staying in a room with eight others. For a girl who won't camp this might be very interesting!
Oh well, hopefully the mountain will have a ton of fresh powder and a bright blue and sunny sky. We shall see!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Strike a Pose
So yesterday, aside from homework, I caught up on the Oscars. Of course the red carpet is almost always better than the actual show and there were some gorgeous designs out there. My favorite was Natalie Portman, but there was another beauty out there...all hail to Heidi!
The lady can pull off anything, and although it maybe a little fashion too forward for my taste she was glamorous! And since she is the inspiration for this blog we can honor her.
With that being said I thought most of the Oscars were a bore...apart from the fashion. I wish there would have been more comedy...can we have John Stewart back please? I also wanted to drop kick Guiliana Rancic for acting like a big freak over Brad and Angelina. Granted, I did like Angelina's dress...and coming from me that is a compliment because I do not care for anything else about her and never have...but can we just get over these two?
Something I forgot to mention (while we are the subject of glamour and fashion) was the overpriced but amazing discovery I found this weekend. After TJ and I had dinner in Mannheim at San Remo (one of my favs) we walked down to the main train station to catch a drink at one of the bars there. It never happened because we were side tracked by one of the stores inside the station...its called Presse. And it had American magazines in it!!!!! I was in love as this is one thing I do miss about the States...my magazines. I didn't go for the People or In Touch like usual as I now catch all my celeb gossip from TMZ and Tyler Durden (who is a HUGE ass) online, but I found many others. I picked up 6 or so mags when I realized the price tag on each of them. Mine were all 9-13 EUR! Translation with exchange rate = unGodly expensive. So I settled for two and TJ got one too. For Vogue, In Style, and a Time we spent almost 25 EUR. Do you want to know what I say to that...worth every penny! We both skipped the drink and headed home where I spent two and a half hours doing my magazine ritual of first run throughs. It was a fantastic Friday night well spent, and all the fashion got me excited for the Oscars. The only bad thing is now I have to find a place for these beauties in my budget!
Auf Wiedersehen
The lady can pull off anything, and although it maybe a little fashion too forward for my taste she was glamorous! And since she is the inspiration for this blog we can honor her.With that being said I thought most of the Oscars were a bore...apart from the fashion. I wish there would have been more comedy...can we have John Stewart back please? I also wanted to drop kick Guiliana Rancic for acting like a big freak over Brad and Angelina. Granted, I did like Angelina's dress...and coming from me that is a compliment because I do not care for anything else about her and never have...but can we just get over these two?
Something I forgot to mention (while we are the subject of glamour and fashion) was the overpriced but amazing discovery I found this weekend. After TJ and I had dinner in Mannheim at San Remo (one of my favs) we walked down to the main train station to catch a drink at one of the bars there. It never happened because we were side tracked by one of the stores inside the station...its called Presse. And it had American magazines in it!!!!! I was in love as this is one thing I do miss about the States...my magazines. I didn't go for the People or In Touch like usual as I now catch all my celeb gossip from TMZ and Tyler Durden (who is a HUGE ass) online, but I found many others. I picked up 6 or so mags when I realized the price tag on each of them. Mine were all 9-13 EUR! Translation with exchange rate = unGodly expensive. So I settled for two and TJ got one too. For Vogue, In Style, and a Time we spent almost 25 EUR. Do you want to know what I say to that...worth every penny! We both skipped the drink and headed home where I spent two and a half hours doing my magazine ritual of first run throughs. It was a fantastic Friday night well spent, and all the fashion got me excited for the Oscars. The only bad thing is now I have to find a place for these beauties in my budget!
Auf Wiedersehen
Monday, February 23, 2009
Mannheim Fasching 2009
TJ and I went to the Fasching Parade in Mannheim yesterday, even though the weather was wet and miserable as we heard it is quite something. Well, we heard the the German Fasching is unlike most events in Germany for the simple fact that the Germans finally let their hair down and get drunk and crazy. We simply cannot miss this as they seem so organized and orderly normally. Fasching is the equivalent to Karnival or Mardi Gras celebrations as it marks the celebration preceding the Christian season of Lent. Most of Germany is catholic so it is easy to see why it attracts the masses.
We knew something was coming as the stores had a huge amount of costumes for children and adults and TJ mentioned that the Germans at work were getting very excited for it. Apparently people go back to their own villages for their hometown Fashing Parades and then take work off through Ash Wednesday and celebrate the whole time. It was an interesting experience from the start of the days adventures. We took the tram into the city because we were warned of the crowd and parking challenges. On our second stop a crowd of people got on and it immediatley stunk of hard liquor and cigarettes. This is not normal...and a group of them were very loud...also not normal. Also in this group were old women with ridiculous and colorful wigs on. It seems as though everyone gets in the spirit! The tram dropped us quite a ways from the parade and downtown and we walked in toward the crowds and techno music. Here is the start of the parade...
The police actually come first...why I don't know as the only thing that is orderly is the parade itself and even that is questionable. But about a half dozen on horseback came trotting in.
Then various groups came through...I liked these giant heads. When the procession stopped they danced around.
There were people everywhere as the parade went on...most of them dressed up like it was Halloween. You can see the water tower and the ferris wheel in the back ground where TJ and I ventured to a little later.
I thought this float was funny. It was a bunch of bankers counting Euro and throwing candy. The sign reads "Our Money on the Ass".
There were also a lot of Deere tractors pulling floats which we loved, of course. Here is a really old one from when Deere bought the German Tractor Company Lanz (I think). We had to respresent!
After I got a little tired of the people and getting pummeled with candy, TJ and I made our way to the ferris wheel. I actually hate them, but my curiosity of what Mannheim looked like from above took over. In this picture I am posing...most of the rest of the time I was holding on for dear life!
And this is what it looked like from above. It is not that representative of what we actually saw...this only looking down the main shopping street and the parade route goes most of the way around the water tower and weaves through out the Quadrat. There were obscene amounts of people in the city celebrating!
We braved the main shopping street to find drinks and continue watching the parade. We found a small side street that was a party in and of itself. There was a mix of techno-ified German and American music playing with people singing, drinking, and dancing very freely around this make shift bar. My favorite was the techno rendition of "Raining Men". In the picture belwo TJ is in front of the bar and has identified a curly and very greasy mullet...although it is not the best photo.
It was fun, but I have to admit I was a little shocked at the out of character behavior displayed throughout the city...and it would have been a little better if it wasn't cold an rainy. Hopefully we have better luck on Fat Tuesday when Heidelberg has their celebration. Stay tuned...
We knew something was coming as the stores had a huge amount of costumes for children and adults and TJ mentioned that the Germans at work were getting very excited for it. Apparently people go back to their own villages for their hometown Fashing Parades and then take work off through Ash Wednesday and celebrate the whole time. It was an interesting experience from the start of the days adventures. We took the tram into the city because we were warned of the crowd and parking challenges. On our second stop a crowd of people got on and it immediatley stunk of hard liquor and cigarettes. This is not normal...and a group of them were very loud...also not normal. Also in this group were old women with ridiculous and colorful wigs on. It seems as though everyone gets in the spirit! The tram dropped us quite a ways from the parade and downtown and we walked in toward the crowds and techno music. Here is the start of the parade...
The police actually come first...why I don't know as the only thing that is orderly is the parade itself and even that is questionable. But about a half dozen on horseback came trotting in.
Then various groups came through...I liked these giant heads. When the procession stopped they danced around.
There were people everywhere as the parade went on...most of them dressed up like it was Halloween. You can see the water tower and the ferris wheel in the back ground where TJ and I ventured to a little later.
I thought this float was funny. It was a bunch of bankers counting Euro and throwing candy. The sign reads "Our Money on the Ass".
There were also a lot of Deere tractors pulling floats which we loved, of course. Here is a really old one from when Deere bought the German Tractor Company Lanz (I think). We had to respresent!
After I got a little tired of the people and getting pummeled with candy, TJ and I made our way to the ferris wheel. I actually hate them, but my curiosity of what Mannheim looked like from above took over. In this picture I am posing...most of the rest of the time I was holding on for dear life!
And this is what it looked like from above. It is not that representative of what we actually saw...this only looking down the main shopping street and the parade route goes most of the way around the water tower and weaves through out the Quadrat. There were obscene amounts of people in the city celebrating!
We braved the main shopping street to find drinks and continue watching the parade. We found a small side street that was a party in and of itself. There was a mix of techno-ified German and American music playing with people singing, drinking, and dancing very freely around this make shift bar. My favorite was the techno rendition of "Raining Men". In the picture belwo TJ is in front of the bar and has identified a curly and very greasy mullet...although it is not the best photo.
It was fun, but I have to admit I was a little shocked at the out of character behavior displayed throughout the city...and it would have been a little better if it wasn't cold an rainy. Hopefully we have better luck on Fat Tuesday when Heidelberg has their celebration. Stay tuned...Auf Weidersehen!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Exotic Vacations
TJ and I were ranking the places in Europe that we want to go last night as we never know when the company will send us elsewhere, when he mentioned that day was a German friend of ours last day before she and her boyfriend went on a three week vacation. I was kind of disappointed because I thought it would be fun to do the German Karnival thing with them this weekend...but I was definintely a little surprised when he told me where they were going. They are going to Vietnam. Cambodia, and Malaysia...and yes this is a vacation. I remember them talking to us about it before and I was nearly shocked...now I am a little more open-minded...but I don't know if I am that open-minded! They had said that they prefer exotic vacations of places that most people would not think of going, and to myself I was thinking, "and you certainly have accomplished that"! I can't wait for them to return so we can have them over and listen to their experiences and look at pictures.
I am starting to get braver as well. I am not doing anything crazy-like camping, but I have agreed to stay in a communal room with ten other people (we know them) on our ski trip next weekend...and believe me that is a big deal. But I decided that when we travel with Germans we should "do as the Germans do". I have also made the concious decision to go to India or Russia with TJ, if he goes on business again. There was a time when I would have been to scared to go to Moscow or too emotionally sheltered to experience India, but like I said I am getting braver and a tad more curious.
With that being said...none of the places we have decided to go this year are at all exotic- at least not in the terms our friends think is exotic. Besides the Dusseldorf and Spain-French Riviera-Sardinia-Sicily trip, nothing has even been booked yet....but I will keep you posted!
Auf Wiedersehen
I am starting to get braver as well. I am not doing anything crazy-like camping, but I have agreed to stay in a communal room with ten other people (we know them) on our ski trip next weekend...and believe me that is a big deal. But I decided that when we travel with Germans we should "do as the Germans do". I have also made the concious decision to go to India or Russia with TJ, if he goes on business again. There was a time when I would have been to scared to go to Moscow or too emotionally sheltered to experience India, but like I said I am getting braver and a tad more curious.
With that being said...none of the places we have decided to go this year are at all exotic- at least not in the terms our friends think is exotic. Besides the Dusseldorf and Spain-French Riviera-Sardinia-Sicily trip, nothing has even been booked yet....but I will keep you posted!
Auf Wiedersehen
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Re-Run Rant
I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, or even go out in the world to find some interesting "German" stuff to get ideas to blog about because the weather has been lowsy and then there is school. Of course, as all of you know I have been consumed with the final days of my masters (other wise known as constant paper writing). In the midst of all this paper writing, I love to be able to take a couple breaks during the day to catch up on things that I have DVRed ...it actually happens to be very important down time for me. Well, normally it is. For the last week and a half I have been stuck with re-runs of some of my most favorite TV pleasures! It is getting very old as of course I saw them all the first time. We have a sling box in the US that records our shows and then we can watch them via the internet. We don't have German TV because we don't speak German and all of my shows are a year behind anyway due to translation. Any how I can only be thankful for the TNT shows (Closer, Leverage) and the HBO/Showtime shows (US of Tara and Flight of the Conchords). That would be 4 shows a week and only 3 hours of time. FYI, that is not a long time for someone trying to write a million page paper on the detailed HR systems in the for and non-profit sector...analyzing firm after firm...I need mindless TV!!!! This re-run crap had better be done next week or I actually might lose it! I miss Gossip Girl and How I Met Your Mother to name just a couple. I am not like most people as I can't just surf channels...it is between 1 am and 12pm Iowa time whenever I want to watch something. Uuughhh! What is a girl to do?
Auf Wiedersehen
Auf Wiedersehen
Monday, February 16, 2009
A Weekend in Fieberbrunn, Austria
We had a lot of fun with our friends Darren and Kristi in the Alps this weekend, so I thought I would share some of the good times...and one unfortunate one. It took us a long time to get there as traffic was horrible and we had a little trouble in Bavaria with the weather...but after 6-6.5 hours we made it to Fieberbrunn. It was really cute. The hotel we stayed in was awesome, it was a castle from the 1100's that had been turned into a hotel some time ago. It was huge and very charming. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the hotel, but it was pretty. So we immediately went to dinner at the mexican restuarant that only had italian food adjacent to the hotel to meet Darren and Kristi...here is a good picture of them and their pup.
After dinner we went back to their room for a night cap and so that Tut could meet their dog, Daisy. This next photo about somes it up...she was interested in him, but also hid behind her mom a lot. I can't blame her...Tut is nearly seven times larger than her.
It was snowing when we got there and didn't stop the whole time. Here is a picture from our room of the blanket of snow we woke up to the day we went snowboarding. We got extremely excited! Snowboarding in this much powder is the best!
I especially loved the trees. They were so pretty weighted down in the white stuff!
We went really early...before most Europeans as they stay up partying most of the night. We got there at 8:30 just in time to step on the lift without waiting. The first run was wide open with at least a foot of uncut powder..it was awesome! Here is the token picture of Annie in TJ that we take on all of our snowboarding trips. You can see that it was still snowing and the sun didn't come out all day because of it.
The altitude was getting to all of us so we took a drink break to find...chili. So Kristi and I got a bowl to share with our hubbies it was delicious!
While we were there we found some people dressed up like cows that were starting their shots at 12:30. They were just leaving when I got back at 3:30. That was right after I witnessed grown adults skiing dressed up like lady bugs. Strange happenings.
What I don't have a picture of is TJ getting injured. This happened right before lunch when he suffered a fall and hurt his foot trying to stop the tumble. No biggy for a tough guy like TJ...he snowboarded for 3.5 hours afterwards. After our long and super fun day, we took our showers and headed back to the mexican-italian restaurant to consume gross amounts of food and drinks. Too bad we couldn't keep our eyes open...it could have turned into a late night, although I am glad it didn't as TJ's foot was blowing up like a balloon and he had to hop everywhere in complete pain. He was okay at dinner though, here is a photo of our post-slope dinner.
When we got back to the room TJ layed in agony with his foot propped all night long. It was kind of sad :( and there went a romantic Valentine's Day! Here he is in pain...
Yeah so TJ layed in agony and our dog found himself intriguing in the mirror and continued to stare at himself for most of the evening. We thought it was really funny so here is a picture of that...you can see his eyes in the mirror glowing. Funny dog.
TJ's injury was worse the next day and lucky for me that meant I had to load the car (4 trips back and forth from the room) and drive back to Mannheim...a five hour drive. Love it! Poor TJ then had another bad incident when he tripped and fell on his way down to the car and skinned his hand pretty good. I think Kristi described him well when she said, "Wow TJ, you are walking accident"! Darren and I couldn' stop laughing as it is so true. TJ had to work from home today as he is still out of commission and swears he will be fine tomorrow. We will see...and I will keep you posted.
After dinner we went back to their room for a night cap and so that Tut could meet their dog, Daisy. This next photo about somes it up...she was interested in him, but also hid behind her mom a lot. I can't blame her...Tut is nearly seven times larger than her.
It was snowing when we got there and didn't stop the whole time. Here is a picture from our room of the blanket of snow we woke up to the day we went snowboarding. We got extremely excited! Snowboarding in this much powder is the best!
I especially loved the trees. They were so pretty weighted down in the white stuff!
We went really early...before most Europeans as they stay up partying most of the night. We got there at 8:30 just in time to step on the lift without waiting. The first run was wide open with at least a foot of uncut powder..it was awesome! Here is the token picture of Annie in TJ that we take on all of our snowboarding trips. You can see that it was still snowing and the sun didn't come out all day because of it.
The altitude was getting to all of us so we took a drink break to find...chili. So Kristi and I got a bowl to share with our hubbies it was delicious!
While we were there we found some people dressed up like cows that were starting their shots at 12:30. They were just leaving when I got back at 3:30. That was right after I witnessed grown adults skiing dressed up like lady bugs. Strange happenings.
What I don't have a picture of is TJ getting injured. This happened right before lunch when he suffered a fall and hurt his foot trying to stop the tumble. No biggy for a tough guy like TJ...he snowboarded for 3.5 hours afterwards. After our long and super fun day, we took our showers and headed back to the mexican-italian restaurant to consume gross amounts of food and drinks. Too bad we couldn't keep our eyes open...it could have turned into a late night, although I am glad it didn't as TJ's foot was blowing up like a balloon and he had to hop everywhere in complete pain. He was okay at dinner though, here is a photo of our post-slope dinner.
When we got back to the room TJ layed in agony with his foot propped all night long. It was kind of sad :( and there went a romantic Valentine's Day! Here he is in pain...
Yeah so TJ layed in agony and our dog found himself intriguing in the mirror and continued to stare at himself for most of the evening. We thought it was really funny so here is a picture of that...you can see his eyes in the mirror glowing. Funny dog.
TJ's injury was worse the next day and lucky for me that meant I had to load the car (4 trips back and forth from the room) and drive back to Mannheim...a five hour drive. Love it! Poor TJ then had another bad incident when he tripped and fell on his way down to the car and skinned his hand pretty good. I think Kristi described him well when she said, "Wow TJ, you are walking accident"! Darren and I couldn' stop laughing as it is so true. TJ had to work from home today as he is still out of commission and swears he will be fine tomorrow. We will see...and I will keep you posted.Auf Wiedersehen!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Austria Bound
It was such a production to organize, but we are headed to Austria for the weekend with some American friends. I was literally losing my mind for four days! This is the sequence of events...I booked two rooms at the Cordial Hotel in Wilden am Going, Austria in the Kitzbuhel Alps last Friday. Great location next to the lift, we can take our dog, blah blah...then Monday someone calls from the hotel and says they have overbooked for Saturday and will put us at a neighboring hotel that night. This does not work for us because we have a dog and there is a 3 hour lapsed time between check out and check in and basically we are not going all the way to Austria to snowboard and take a three hour break. After going back and forth with this damn hotel about 5 times I start to get pissed (if you can imagine) and decide that I am going to let booking.com take care of this whole situation. I called the American number as that is what I am and she gets on it...and the situation appears to be cleared up with the Cordial putting us up for both nights at the other place. So she goes to get confirmation from both hotels on Wednesday and the Cordial doesn't confirm and says that if we don't stay there then they aren't paying for any of it as the other hotel is much more expensive. Do you know why they kept going on like this? Because after Wednesday I can't cancel with out paying for the entire weekend. They wouldn't confirm anything until yesterday...wanting to stick me with the bill. And to make it worse she had a German colleague out of Amsterdam get involved and the hotel started lying to him!!!! What a mess. So yesterday we said screw it and my good friend at booking.com got me a new place in a different ski area at a lower price. I hate the Cordial Familien Hotel! They drove me nuts for four days and stuck me with a bill. The good news is that booking.com called me last night and let me know that they got more people involved and the hotel will not be charging me. Thank God, although I already had TJ call the credit card company to refuse charges as I wouldn't put it past them!
All is well, I hope. We leave today at 3:00 pm and should have a great time with our friends. I am kind of excited about our new hotel as it was a castle built in 1187 and it was converted into a hotel. Seems cool, and the silver lining is that there is a mexican restaurant inside for margaritas post boarding...well we will see as mexican food here is not what you would think. I'll let you know on Monday!
Schones Wochenende, Auf Wiedersehen!
All is well, I hope. We leave today at 3:00 pm and should have a great time with our friends. I am kind of excited about our new hotel as it was a castle built in 1187 and it was converted into a hotel. Seems cool, and the silver lining is that there is a mexican restaurant inside for margaritas post boarding...well we will see as mexican food here is not what you would think. I'll let you know on Monday!
Schones Wochenende, Auf Wiedersehen!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Awesome Blog Promo
I don't have much time to blog today, so I though this would be a fantastic day to tell you about my new favorite blog. Background: I joined Facebook and found an old high school friend who is incidentally married to another high school friend and they have been living abroad since 2004 as international teachers. Well I saw they had a blog and spent most of the day yesterday reading about their amazing experiences. At least I think they are amazing as I am totally interested in reading about ex-patriate life for obvious reasons. Seriously my blog pales in comparison to theirs as they have lived in Egypt, Kazakhstan, and now China. Any way for great reading you can go to http://joemily.blogspot.com, and they are also listed on my blog list to the right. Enjoy!!!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Schizophrenic Weather
I am not really sure how to answer the question of, "what's the weather like in Germany?" as it is always different. Not just in terms of seasons or days, but it can change several times a day. Lets start with seasons. I was here in August house hunting for a week and it was warm, but not hot, and one of the nights we went to a festival and it was cold and raining...I think in most places in the northern hemisphere it is supposed to be summer that time of the year. Fall, again was unpredictable. September was cold, October was really nice, and November varied from day to day. Now we are in Winter...I think, which generally means gloomy and overcast. December was cold (but not near freezing) and dry with some very unseasonably warm days. January was super cold and we had snow on the ground for two weeks which is very rare for the area. And now February is okay as it has been around 40 degrees. But then we had yesterday...it was crazy. It poured rain all day, and then the wind was ridiculous (which is also strange for this area as they consider a breeze windy). It was borderline scary wind too. Now today started out calm and sunny with complete blue skies, then overcast around noon with sprinkles, and now is partly cloudy with light wind. I don't get it. This region must be strange like that as people claim the weather is different every year. Apparently we live in the most temperate area- I don't even want to know what it is like in Berlin or Hamburg if I live in a temperate area!
It would be nice if the weather would just make up its mind. That is what I loved about living in Arizona, you always had a pretty good idea of what the weather was going to be like! It was easy living there when people would ask what the weather was like, there was always an easy answer. Clearly that is not the case here. It would be great if you all could cross your fingers that we have unseasonably warm and consistent weather very soon...maybe that will work!
Auf Wiedersehen!
It would be nice if the weather would just make up its mind. That is what I loved about living in Arizona, you always had a pretty good idea of what the weather was going to be like! It was easy living there when people would ask what the weather was like, there was always an easy answer. Clearly that is not the case here. It would be great if you all could cross your fingers that we have unseasonably warm and consistent weather very soon...maybe that will work!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Brian Williams is killing me...
Not long after I posted about morning routines, TJ refined his. In the morning when T wakes up he goes downstairs and uploads last nights NBC Nightly News to his IPod Touch while he showers. After showering he retrieves it and places it in the IPod docking station that is in our bathroom to listen to Brian Williams discuss the days events while he finishes getting ready. Great morning routine, right? Wrong...for a couple of reasons. First, the wall that my bed is against is also the same wall that has a ledge that holds the IPod. The bigger problem is that TJ turns the news up so he can hear it while he irons in our closet across the all from the bathroom. This has been going on for a while and I do my best to block it out...but Brian Williams has an annoying voice and it is SO loud! I doubt that he will get any easier to listen to, but I will try...it just sucks having to wake up to Brian Williams every morning. I'd rather it be Anderson Cooper as I love his voice. Maybe T can listen to 360 instead...I could easily wake up to Andy every morning!
As for TJ's first intensive German lesson...he claims it was so slow and he understood everything the instructor was saying (whatever). Who knew I was living with a German genius?
Auf Wiedersehen
As for TJ's first intensive German lesson...he claims it was so slow and he understood everything the instructor was saying (whatever). Who knew I was living with a German genius?
Auf Wiedersehen
Monday, February 9, 2009
Weekend Update
I hate to say it, but we were sort of boring this weekend. Friday was low key for me except that I fianlly had to join Facebook as TJ had logged out of his...making it impossible for me to read what everyone was up to...thus I had to create my own. That night TJ got home and wanted to go out so we went to Ladenburg to get some burgers and fries at Fody's. From there we had a pretty low key evening. Saturday started with exercise early as we were supposed to go to a Rugby game in Heidelberg in the early afternoon. That never happened because it was raining and I am simply not a girl who hangs around in the rain watching a sport I have only ever heard about. Although, I am interested and would like to go to a game sometime though! Instead TJ and I went to Mannheim and hung out at Starbucks both studying (he focused on German and I focused on some really bad teen fashion) for a while before roaming the quadrat where to our surprise...we found a poster promoting that Lionel Richie is coming to town! We are sure going to try to go as we would never want to miss Lionel "dancing on the ceiling" :). After hearing that great news, we had a late lunch/early dinner at Maison Creole and it was pretty good. FYI this restaurant makes the strongest caipirina ever! It ended up being a fun afternoon/evening, even though we sort of just hung out. Sunday wasn't any fun until I finished writing yet another paper! To celebrate the paper completion, TJ and sat around and drank wine all night. And to us, that is always fun!
Next weekend should be more exciting as we are going with some friends to Austria for a fun snowboarding weekend. It should be great as I found a hotel that has a bunch of amenities (including a spa/sauna...yikes!) and is right next to the lift. This week I should have stories about TJ learning German. He is going through a couple of weeks of the intensive course that I went through...and today is his first day! I will update you tomorrow!
Auf Wiedersehen
Next weekend should be more exciting as we are going with some friends to Austria for a fun snowboarding weekend. It should be great as I found a hotel that has a bunch of amenities (including a spa/sauna...yikes!) and is right next to the lift. This week I should have stories about TJ learning German. He is going through a couple of weeks of the intensive course that I went through...and today is his first day! I will update you tomorrow!
Auf Wiedersehen
Friday, February 6, 2009
Saunas and Spas
I think it is time that I introduced eveyone to the idea that I cannot get on board with...German Saunas and Spas. Okay, Germans are really into their spa going...and I am not talking about facials and what-not. Inside these "spas" are Saunas that can be co-ed and are always without clothing. Yep...are you shocked? Its not just the sauna area either, at my gym's location in Schwetzingen there is an entire third floor of this happening. Complete with pool, sauna, steam, and sun deck where a towel is permitted, but no clothing. Here are a few photos of my gym advertising this spa area...
In the pool...no clothes...
In the sauna...towels and underneath them, nothing...
Now there is a women's only sauna (I've heard, but they never wear their towels) at this location and also a co-ed one. Now I haven't been (for obvious reasons) but have heard stories. When one of my American friends first got here she unknowingly went into the sauna with a towel over her bathing suit. When she took off the towel the men and women started yelling at her in German. She ran out an realized they were telling her to take her suit off because "kleidung verboten". I would have never gone back...she however decided to become as free as the Germans and bask in the sauna greatness. Another friend told me that it is not a big deal, and theat she goes in from time to time. I just can't...I don't think I have the "I'm okay being naked in front of people gene".
In the pool...no clothes...
In the sauna...towels and underneath them, nothing...
Now there is a women's only sauna (I've heard, but they never wear their towels) at this location and also a co-ed one. Now I haven't been (for obvious reasons) but have heard stories. When one of my American friends first got here she unknowingly went into the sauna with a towel over her bathing suit. When she took off the towel the men and women started yelling at her in German. She ran out an realized they were telling her to take her suit off because "kleidung verboten". I would have never gone back...she however decided to become as free as the Germans and bask in the sauna greatness. Another friend told me that it is not a big deal, and theat she goes in from time to time. I just can't...I don't think I have the "I'm okay being naked in front of people gene".I have some fantastic reasons for why I won't do it...
1. What if I see someone I know?
2. What if someone TJ works with sees me naked and I have to see them as well?
3. If people whisper...how do I know its not about me?
4. Old naked men could easily be frightening.
5. I'm American
I think these are very good reasons. And what I really want to know...Is going into the sauna really that great anyway? And, is it really better to swim naked when there is a pool downstairs that requires a swim suit? I doubt I will find out...
Auf Wiedersehen!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Operation Find a Hotel
It is a total nightmare trying to find a hotel in the Alps for next weekend. First of all, the Europeans act like they have never heard of "a weekend trip". Most of the places want you to book for a week or more...or not at all. To make it worse there are close to 10 million ski resorts in the Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy area making it less easy to just narrow it down to a place to ski. My favorite is once I have found a decent place for what we want, then the best part is not being able to find a place to stay! Can you say...super frustrating? Then I also love that you can't just book a place once you have found one...you know, like online booking. Nope, you have to send an inquiry of what you want and then you have to wait until they get back to you before you can proceed with anything else! Its seems as though some Europeans have all the time in the world!
Auf Wiedersehen.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Retro or Not?
So I was checking my friends blogs as I do every morning over coffee when I ran into a blog I have never read before on dmjuice.com. I was nearly astounded at my findings. The author of this blog is obviously younger than I am, but not that much younger as I am only 30 and she claims that she is working and out of school. The title was something about learning a life lesson about being old (and she is clearly somewhere in her early twenties). So the blog was about how she and her roommate threw a 90's party...has anyone heard of this phenomenon? I sincerely thought it was a typo as I can't think of anyone who has ever had one, I mean 80's parties have been the staple through the 80's and every year since...and here in Germany the teens are going through the 80's phase right now with punk rock type fashion with mullets and rat tail hairstyles. Now we are having 90's parties? She said the best part were the outfits and the music. Hmmm. That is usually the best part about 80's parties...so my question, are the 80's for only those over 30 (or somewhere near this age) to celebrate? Are the 90's the new 80's? If so, I object! I mean the 90's weren't nearly as awful (awesome) for fashion and music as the 80's. She pictures one of her roommate's dresses as a cute geometric sundress...geometric was very "in" last year...and clearly hasn't been since the 80's as I remember the 90's very well (high school and college) and never remember anything geometric. I think this poor girl and her friends are confused. And FYI, if anyone invites me to a 90's party, it better be 2020 or later and the invite better come with a strong definition as to what a 90's party is...because now I am confused!
Auf Wiedersehen.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Super Bowl Party
We went to our belated Super Bowl party last night and had some good food and watched the game with our reoccurring mini-group within the ex-pat community. First lets talk about the fact that we were watching it on Sky Sports, which is a British Sports Channel. The commentating was the worst...in history. It made for some good laughs though. Surprisingly most people were most like me in that they just wanted to see the game and wanted it to be good...and all but one person didn't really care who won. I am a little sad that Arizona didn't win simply because I LOVE Arizona, but they didn't deserve to as you all know that Pitt played a better game. I think the hi-light of the night was getting to see Kurt Warner's wife. We were all expecting her in her crazy butch state (like she was at his last Super Bowl)... no such luck...apparently Arizona has been good to her and she looks more rested. Personally I think her hair has quite a lot to do with how much better she looked. Or maybe Arizona is really the fountain of youth for some...that would explain why there is a large migration of old people to the valley from mid-October through Easter! I also learned somethings about teenage drinking here. Only one couple in our little group has kids and the oldest daughter is about to turn 16. Anyway, I love hearing about teenage girl issues so when she mentioned drinking I tuned in. The daughter is turning 16 (legal German drinking age) in June, but she wanted to go to a friend's birthday party at a bar this weekend. Well she can't get into the bar because you have to be 16 (if you can believe that). So she told her parents that she was going to need a fake to get in! Love it! I personally loved it as it was not long ago that I needed a fake ID just to get into the Union in Iowa City...I can relate...only I was a little older and not living with my parents. I thought it was cute that she was completely honest with them although she was not granted an ID and won't be going to the party. It is true, teen drinking is a whole different thing here! I hope to see her at the Fasching Parade to hear more about teen life.
The party continued to be productive with fun travel ideas. The host is an avid sports man and runner so we were planning race locations. So far I know I want to run something in April...and he wants to do a half marathon in either Tromso, Norway (inside the Arctic Circle...way North) or the Iceland half at the end of the summer. I would like to go both places before we leave Europe, so stay tuned for a decision. We were also invited by one of our favorite couples, Kristi and Darren, to go to the Alps for Valentine's Day weekend. Traditionally TJ and I haven't been big celebrators of this pseudo holiday since I moved back from Arizona 6 Valentine's Days ago. We usually do dinner, or not depending on who is where on that day. Of course, by now you know us and if it involves a day of snowboarding we are in!
The next get together for our group is the Fasching Parade in February. They do a Mardi-Gras type celebration throughout Germany called one of several things depending on the region...Fasching, FastNacht, or Karnival. They do the dressing up thing with masks...to chase away the winter, of course. And it ties to Lent (called Fastzeit) as a lot of Germans are catholic. The parade is kid friendly, but apparently Mannheim has quite a celebration for one night and it can get out of hand. Again...stay tuned.
Auf Wiedersehen
The party continued to be productive with fun travel ideas. The host is an avid sports man and runner so we were planning race locations. So far I know I want to run something in April...and he wants to do a half marathon in either Tromso, Norway (inside the Arctic Circle...way North) or the Iceland half at the end of the summer. I would like to go both places before we leave Europe, so stay tuned for a decision. We were also invited by one of our favorite couples, Kristi and Darren, to go to the Alps for Valentine's Day weekend. Traditionally TJ and I haven't been big celebrators of this pseudo holiday since I moved back from Arizona 6 Valentine's Days ago. We usually do dinner, or not depending on who is where on that day. Of course, by now you know us and if it involves a day of snowboarding we are in!
The next get together for our group is the Fasching Parade in February. They do a Mardi-Gras type celebration throughout Germany called one of several things depending on the region...Fasching, FastNacht, or Karnival. They do the dressing up thing with masks...to chase away the winter, of course. And it ties to Lent (called Fastzeit) as a lot of Germans are catholic. The parade is kid friendly, but apparently Mannheim has quite a celebration for one night and it can get out of hand. Again...stay tuned.
Auf Wiedersehen
Monday, February 2, 2009
Weekend Update
The theme of this weekend was movie watching. I strained a muscle (some how) in my back while running on Friday, so I waddled around all of Friday and most of Saturday. Due to this we stayed in on Friday night and watched Pride and Glory with Colin Farrell and Edward Norton off of iTunes. It was surprisingly very good. Still waddling on Saturday I did some school stuff until that evening when we had our weekly date. Yes, we have instituted a weekly date while we are not traveling as much. It was fun...we went to a favorite restuarant of mine called the Cave in Ladenburg and then went to the movies for the first time.
Oh the movies...I always hate going for many reasons, but thought I would give it a shot and was pleasantly surprised. Normally I am not a fan of watching movies with over a hundred people that I don't know, in the freezing cold theatre, with overpriced food, and where I can't get up and pee because I can't pause the movie. But here that is all different. We went to the Cinemaxx Kino (cinema) downtown as it was the only theatre showing a movie in English, and it was a very lively place. They were showing Benjamin Button in German and in its "original version" (English). We ordered our tickets and to our surprise and delight they asked what seats we would like to reserve. Yep, reserved seats. Of course we picked some without anyone in front of us...or behind us. Cost of tickets 19 EUR...Ouch. Then it was off to the snack bar that was more like a cafe that was located in the lobby so anyone could come in and enjoy movie snacks. These movie snacks consisted of everything we have in the US plus a wide selection of coffee and beer, and also red and white wine. Oh yeah, and personal cartons of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. We got our two coffees and some M&Ms and headed up. I say up because the theatres are stacked on top of eachother as the building isn't wide, but has many floors. We found Kino 4 and went in to find our seats. We sat down into these plush and very comfortable chairs...TJ was in love. I was more in love with the temperature, which was not cold but just right! The movie was going along great when all of the sudden it stopped...for a pause/intermission. People got up, got more snacks, went to the WC, etc. and no one had to miss one second of the film. It was lovely! The movie was also fantastic...I am not a fan at all of Brad Pitt, but if you haven't seen it you should. We will certainly go back when there is another movie playing in its original version. All in all, a great date night!
Auf Wiedersehen
Oh the movies...I always hate going for many reasons, but thought I would give it a shot and was pleasantly surprised. Normally I am not a fan of watching movies with over a hundred people that I don't know, in the freezing cold theatre, with overpriced food, and where I can't get up and pee because I can't pause the movie. But here that is all different. We went to the Cinemaxx Kino (cinema) downtown as it was the only theatre showing a movie in English, and it was a very lively place. They were showing Benjamin Button in German and in its "original version" (English). We ordered our tickets and to our surprise and delight they asked what seats we would like to reserve. Yep, reserved seats. Of course we picked some without anyone in front of us...or behind us. Cost of tickets 19 EUR...Ouch. Then it was off to the snack bar that was more like a cafe that was located in the lobby so anyone could come in and enjoy movie snacks. These movie snacks consisted of everything we have in the US plus a wide selection of coffee and beer, and also red and white wine. Oh yeah, and personal cartons of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. We got our two coffees and some M&Ms and headed up. I say up because the theatres are stacked on top of eachother as the building isn't wide, but has many floors. We found Kino 4 and went in to find our seats. We sat down into these plush and very comfortable chairs...TJ was in love. I was more in love with the temperature, which was not cold but just right! The movie was going along great when all of the sudden it stopped...for a pause/intermission. People got up, got more snacks, went to the WC, etc. and no one had to miss one second of the film. It was lovely! The movie was also fantastic...I am not a fan at all of Brad Pitt, but if you haven't seen it you should. We will certainly go back when there is another movie playing in its original version. All in all, a great date night!
Auf Wiedersehen
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Superbowl Sunday
Last night TJ and I went to the movies for the first time here and it was very interesting...more on this tomorrow. But what we did find was a ton of information on the the "American Football Sunday" party they were having for the Superbowl. They are actually having a party and showing the game at 11:30 tonight in one of the theatres. Here is a flyer...
My favorite part is that they don't even know who is playing. There is no mention of the Steelers or the Cardinals anywhere! And the teams on the front of the flyer are local teams...none of which are that of the American football variety. They are showing the game but that is not all, in fact it is quite an evening filled with "American" events. Here they are listed on the back...you can't see it but the titles of the events are in English and the descriptions are in German.
At 7:30 the party starts with a football warm-up...correction...the large football warm-up show. Whatever that means. There is mention of a "Football and Cheerleading Live" segment...that might be in the large warm-up show. At 8:00 the theatre is putting on a couple of different football movies, one of them featuring "The Rock" (bet that is a good one), in two different theatres. And then of course the game at 11:30 for those who want to stay up half the night. I have to say my favorite part is at the bottom where it boasts "American Food and Beverages", where translated it says something to the effect of "Burger, Hot Dogs, BBQ, and everything else belonging to (America)! Original American Food!" Now I want to know exactly how they are going to get original American food when it is nearly impossible to find ground beef anywhere that is 100% beef instead of being partially mixed with pork to make a "real American burger"! I would go to check it out if I didn't have a paper to write today...and didn't enjoy my sleep.
My favorite part is that they don't even know who is playing. There is no mention of the Steelers or the Cardinals anywhere! And the teams on the front of the flyer are local teams...none of which are that of the American football variety. They are showing the game but that is not all, in fact it is quite an evening filled with "American" events. Here they are listed on the back...you can't see it but the titles of the events are in English and the descriptions are in German.
At 7:30 the party starts with a football warm-up...correction...the large football warm-up show. Whatever that means. There is mention of a "Football and Cheerleading Live" segment...that might be in the large warm-up show. At 8:00 the theatre is putting on a couple of different football movies, one of them featuring "The Rock" (bet that is a good one), in two different theatres. And then of course the game at 11:30 for those who want to stay up half the night. I have to say my favorite part is at the bottom where it boasts "American Food and Beverages", where translated it says something to the effect of "Burger, Hot Dogs, BBQ, and everything else belonging to (America)! Original American Food!" Now I want to know exactly how they are going to get original American food when it is nearly impossible to find ground beef anywhere that is 100% beef instead of being partially mixed with pork to make a "real American burger"! I would go to check it out if I didn't have a paper to write today...and didn't enjoy my sleep. Well folks, today you can have all of this for 7 EUR at the downtown Mannheim Cinemaxx.
Auf Wiedersehen!
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