Aloha

We finally made it to Hawaii after over 17 hours in the air and 25 hours of complete traveling. You would think that we would be exhausted...but not us we are in full force! In fact we woke up at 4:45 this morning and have been awake ever since...mostly working out and laying on the beach. I promise it has been awesome! We were very fortunate to catch the sunrise this morning over Mauna Kea outside of our room at J.D. and Jess's condo (see above photo). And the best part...we saw two celebrities today and I couldn't be more excited! My fave...Christian Bale in a swimming pool! And this is only our first day. More later...

Aloha!

Mannheimer Christmas Market

Some people go to the Mannheimer Market to shop for Christmas gifts or listen to live Christmas music...but not us. I save the Mannheimer Market specifically for the food, the friends, and the drink. It took us about 5 seconds to get some food and our first cup of gluhwein. It was just as I remembered it! There are two sections, the PG section near the water tower where I am here...



And the super fun eating and drinking area by the Engelhorn shops...and across the street from where T used to live for our first month. This is where friends meet up for happy hour and then some each night after work from the 25th of November to the 23rd of December. Here I am with Meredith, Kristina, and Karen three cups in...

Last night also had a first. Usually we drink the gluhwein, but now I have a new favorite called Obstweinpunsch (fruit wine punch). Its even better than gluhwein, in my opinion! It was fun and it makes me excited to get back after Hawaii as we have decided to hit the Heidelberg one next.

Tonight we will attend the annual ex-pat Thanksgiving and then tomorrow we begin our long journey to Hawaii for Jess and J.D.'s wedding so the next time I blog it may be from the Aloha State! Say your prayers for a safe trip for us.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Amsterdam, Take Two

TJ and I went to Amsterdam in April with another couple visiting from the States, but this time we took my BF, Rebecca and had another super fun time! Last time we did the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum, and a canal tour...but this time instead of going to the Van Gogh Museum we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum to hang with some of our favorite waxy celebrities! Here are the highlights...

Bec and JT...we like to pretend she is his date to an event in this one!


Me and my longtime boyfriend (since 1987), Mr. Bon Jovi - excuse us while we smooch!



TJ hung out with a British DJ and spun some records for a bit while Bec and I said hello to some others...

And then before leaving he had to say hey to J-Lo and her big booty!

Bec and I did visit the Anne Frank Museum and take a canal ride...but the rest of the time was mostly spent in bars and restaurants. This is Bec at our first night:

It was where we met Bob and Loraday, a couple from the US about your parent's age. They loved us though- especially Bec and myself with our funny catholic stories. We continued on there for most of our night, had dinner, and christened the hotel bar later on.

The next night we went to the movies before dinner...and that was an experience! We decided to see New Moon as I am a fan of the books and we could get it in English there. We could get it here in D-Land as well, but we would have to wait until the 26th (which is the opening night of the Mannheim ChristmasMarkt). We also couldn't go on the 27th (ex-pat Thanksgiving), or after that as we leave for Hawaii...so that left Amsterdam. So the movie theatre was huge and mass chaos. There were tweens everywhere! And once we got in the theatre there were only like a dozen seats left with the rest filled with much younger people screaming and freaking out. It was hysterical! We couldn't stop laughing- but were thrilled when a couple of people in the neighborhood of our age came in! So the movie begins and it is another screamfest! I am telling you I have never seen a movie that had an experience like this, and it continued through the credits. The girl sitting next to TJ recited every word and then clapped if she got a sentence right...crazy. Any way it was a good movie and far better than Twilight. Clearly, after that we need food and drinks...but not necessarily in that order. Here we are in the Mexican Restaurant- with me after my 2nd margarita in 15 minutes.

It continued throught the rest of the night- complete with a stroll down the RLD so Bec could experience it for the first time. One time is enough for us! Amsterdam does not disappoint- with fun around every corner and in the least expected places!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Basel, Switzerland

Yesterday Bec and I took off for Switzerland to the border town of Basel on a beautiful blue-skyed day. It was a pleasant surprise...I have been through there several times and have never thought anything was there. Once again I was wrong. The city isn't inundated with a bunch of sights, but it does have its share and is incredibly cute and extremely clean! Here are a few sights...

The first photo is the front of the Rathaus (City Hall)...the lines in the photo are from the tram line.


The next two photos are of the inside courtyard of the Rathaus, and their Christmas tree is already up!

Outside of the Rathaus is the Marktplatz, where incidently there was a sort of Farmer's Market. Its not uncommon in a lot of European cities to have a regular daily market as many people here shop daily.

And I really liked this tree too, it made us want to start decorating immediately...

Probably the best and the most hard to find sight was the Cathedral. It was so pretty! And it was huge and sat perfectly on the river offering the best views.

There was even an indoor/open air area with memorials that simply looked like art. This only one of many corridors that displayed these memorials...

And, of course, the gorgeous riverfront view from the back courtyard of the Cathedral.

As we trekked about the city yesterday, we didn't just sightsee. We had lunch, did some shopping, and came upon some very fun and interesting things. Outside Butler's we found the perfect accessory for any Christmas time Swiss adventure. Reindeer ears!

And probably the best find in Basel was the wonderful novelty store called the "Condomeria". Yep, its full of condoms in various forms...they even had condom Christmas ornaments and several kinds of condom pipes! So if you need a great gift idea, please go here...

We had a great time, as per usual!

Today we spent the day in Heidelberg on the Hauptstrasse, at the Castle, and on Heiligenberg. It was another crystal clear, beautiful day and it could not have been better to see the sights. We aren't done there either, so we will head back Monday after our weekend away in Amsterdam! We'll let you know how that went on Monday too.

Auf Weidershen!

Rebecca and Cinderella's Castle

Monday, Rebecca and I made the trip to the Bavaria to visit the inspiration for Cinderella's castle. It is true that I am no stranger to this place as we were just there last week on our way to Garmisch...but this time...for the first time it was not raining! So it was very enjoyable...we even made the trek up to Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge) to capture the beauty from the back of Neuschwanstein. It was also really fun to go with Bec because she had just taken her son to Disney to the fake Cinderella's Castle last summer...and now the fairytale is complete. FYI to you all...it is Cinderella's Castle from the outside, but not really on the inside as it is dark and extremely over the top! It was great and we got some awesome souvenirs.
Yesterday it was a super rainy and crappy day here, so we made our way to Weinheim for a short sites day, and then spent the rest of the day shopping...which is my kind of day. Again, fun had by all! More later...
Auf Wiedersehen

Weekend Update

Apparently I need to apologize for not blogging regularly...but its true that my best friend, Rebecca, has graced Germany with her presence and we have been busy having a delightful time (see picture below).

That picture was taken over the weekend at our favorite sing-a-long bar, O'Reilly's. But that was Saturday night once she got here. Friday night was equally fun and exciting as our friends Yvonne and Tomislav took us to an area in Mannheim that we have never been to before, the Jung-Busch area. We first went to a bar to have a couple drinks and have "German Hour", where we can only speak German...I guess it is only fair being as though they have to speak English with us most of the time. FYI, the more you drink the more difficult it becomes. After that we went to a bar called "Onkel Otto's", which was a super fun bar that was packed and full of 70's music. Tomislav told us that it was a singles bar that was once a strip club in the day...and you could probably tell with the flat screens flashing pictures of naked women every 15 seconds. Aside from that, it was really fun!

Saturday Bec got here and the fun began at O'Reilly's that night along with TJ and our other friend Karen. TJ loves karaoke, and now so does Bec and about 150 people in that little bar! Here some photos...

Just a little dancing...

And a little singing...TJ with "Baby Got Back"!

And the duet of Bec and TJ to "Ignition", it was interesting...

We had a great time and finished the night off with Doners/Kebaps for a snack and made it home by about 3:30 am. All in a days work! And the next day we slept off our hangovers and saw 2012...as per usual after a night of drinking with Bec!

Auf Wiedersehen

Innsbruck, Austria

After Garmisch we headed south through the Alps to Innsbruck, which turned out to be a fantastic town! The city isn't huge and is surrounded by the Alps...it is easy to see why there have been two Olympic Winter Games there. Last season TJ and I went snowboarding near Innsbruck and it was one of our favorite places, so we decided we could easily live in this city. Here is another view with the river from the hotel room.



After settling in and eating lunch, we went to the old city to putz around and see some sights. Clearly the best site there is the Alps, especially because it was such a clear day. We first climbed an old tower to look out to the city. It was quite a climb and very well wrth the views (minus the fencing for safety).

To get out on the balcony there was the tiniest door- perfect for two vertically challenged girls like myself and Melissa.

There are basically two popular sights there...one is the Cathedral of St. Jakob...

...and the other is the Golden Roof which was built and preserved since the 1400's.

We actually thought the roof would be much larger- but no its a tiny roof. It was originally built by an Archduke to be the residence of the Tirolean sovereigns. The city is really pretty and clean (of course, in a German speaking country), and it is also very dog friendly...which is good for us. And the whole city lights up at night! Inside and out as we visited some cafes and local watering holes.

The next day we took the train upto the lifts that take you up the Alps...it was beautiful, albeit hazey. This was the look out from our first stop, where you could still see the city.

Here we go on the second of three legs up...

And it was not a heated journey...we were all cold, but Tut Anthony's feet were freezing on the metal floor. TJ and I had to take turns warming him...what a baby!

And here is what the top looked like...

It was so hazey, and you couldn't see that far out in front. We all enjoyed ourselves and were happy to get back down after a lunch at the top. This trip has invigorated TJ and I for snowboarding season...we can't wait! But we will have to wait until at least December as another friend comes tomorrow, and then we head out to Hawaii for a bit. Our lives suck...just kidding!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

While Melissa and Kenny where here we made a weekend trip out of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and Innsbruck, Austria. It was really fun and absolutely beautiful. On the way to Garmisch, we first stopped at Cinderella's Castle (Neuschwanstein) for Kenny and Melissa so we didn't actually get to Garmisch until dinner time. Luckily TJ had snowboarded there before so we knew exactly where to go. It was a great little pizzeria that just happened to be adjacent to an Irish pub. So we hung there all night and had fun with good beer and good friends. Here are some photos from that night:

This is Melissa and I at the beginning of the evening...

Kenny and TJ were not messing around that night- and ended up being quite a handful later on!

Kenny and Melissa...

And us towards the end of the night...

The next day we had a great breakfast and headed out to walk the town and see some quick sites before heading of to Innsbruck, which is less than an hour south of here.

These are some typical German homes and Guesthouses for this area.

A street in the older part of the town...

Garmish is in the German Alps, so the scenic views are all around!

And the last view is of the Zugspitze, the highest peak in all of Germany.

We had a good time and it was really pretty, but Garmisch didn't hols a candle to Innsbruck in terms of beauty and fun. More on that later on!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Melissa and Kenny in Deutschland

Melissa and Kenny are two of our friends from Augusta, Georgia and they arrived last Wednesday for their first trip to Europe. I haven't had the chance to blog since they have arrived because we have been on the go! Their first night we had dinner and drinks in Mannheim, and then last Thursday we spent the day and most of the night in Heidelberg. We then kept them busy in Garmisch, Germany on Friday and then traveled onto Innsbruck, Austria the rest of the weekend. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful there...not like here as the rain was waiting for us when we got back last night and has continued through the day. It sort of put a damper on our afternoon in Weinheim, but did offer the opportunity to slow down for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow is their last day and, of course, offers rain in the forecast...but nothing will keep us out of France to wrap up their trip! It has been fun and I am sad :( its almost over.
I promise to have more pictures and blogs about our adventures in Garmisch and Innsbruck later in the week. Until then...Auf Wiedersehen!

Weekend Update

Clearly we have been on a US hiatus for the month of October, but we are now back in D-Land ready to swing back into our normal activities. Which for me means planning travels and being a part-time tour guide, and for TJ this means going to work and traveling with me. We spent all last week getting back in our groove, so for you this is boring. Even our weekend wasn't that exciting except for our amazing Friday night date. I love going on dates with TJ...yeah, yeah we have been together forever but I still enjoy getting ready for a big night out and then hanging with T. Last friday night we went to dinner (sushi of course) and then headed onto the main event...the movies. We saw This Is It starring the one and only Michael Jackson. I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen as the music and performances do not disappoint any fan. And if you know me...rather my husband, we are big fans of MJ's music! In fact, we delicately planned "Billie Jean" into the dance portion of our wedding reception. He will be missed by us, but thank God his music lives on! Go see it.
Saturday we worked out during the day and then caught the Hawkeye game that night. We both almost had heart attacks and went through just about every emotion during those four quarters! The end result was fantastic and I can't wait for the next game! We were planning on going out for Scary-oke night at O'Reilly's but decided to stay in to tend to our sore bodies and post-game exhaustion.
Sunday wasn't anything special...just prepping for our guests this week and our trip this weekend. Our good friends, Melissa and Kenny, are coming in on Wednesday from Augusta and we can't wait! They will be here a week and we have planned overnights to both Garmisch, Germany and Innsbruck, Austria. I am excited as I haven't really been to these places before so it will be an adventure for all of us! I will be sure to keep you updated!
Auf Wiedersehen!