LP: A good idea in theory

We had a gorgeous April as it was sunny and warm almost every day so I had this bright idea to combine my two favorite summer pass times that I have rarely had time in the past to participate in...laying in the sun and reading fun books. Since the weather was good and I have an extraordinary amount of time on my hands these days I thought it would be great to start this summer thing now in May to get a base tan for our cruise. I even had the perfect place in mind...Luisenpark (though I call it the "LP"). I have blogged about it before, but it is a private park that is huge and very well maintained. It has another fantastic selling point...permanent lawn chairs to lay in! Perfect right? I thought so...so I went there at the end of last week to buy my season pass for 35 EUR and participate in my first day of sun training. Here is the spot I chose...
It is a very popular place and probably should be marked for mature audiences only. Why...because there is a lot of flesh out there. I had originally wore a tube top and shorts to avoid disasterous tan lines...no need...everyone there was in a bathing suit or less. Oh, and by everyone I mean the Geri's...the geriatrics. I think there may have been one other person under 65 there and she was wearing more clothes than most. Nakedness and age aside, I still liked it. It was quiet and sunny and basically wonderful. That was last Thursday...and since then it has been crappy out so I haven't been able to go...figures! But when I do go I will sport the bikini without a problem...if the 70 year old woman with a big gut can sport only the bottoms, then I really shouldn't be embarrassed about my decent exposure.
Auf Wiedersehen!

The Race

Saturday I had the pleasure of running in my very first marathon, and to make it better TJ ran with me and it was conveniently located in our town. It as a little strange as most of the races I have participated in have been in the morning, but this one started at 6 pm in the midst of a big party...and I have to say that I thought it was very cool! Like most of the big events in Mannheim, the race(s) and celebration were centered around the water tower in the city center and it was very busy. Here is a photo of the start and finishline about an hour before the race...

And another look at the festivities on the other side from the water tower...which got very busy after the races...

Side note, I have never seen so much of the male anatomy in one day...it was almost exhausting. Let me explain. First we have the issue of spandex...and a lot of the shorts were not black so it was a little scary on that front, but there were other reasons as well. Like during the race where men just started peeing and didn't really have any discretion at all, and of course there were the men pre and post race that were sporting there teeny tiny underwear when they were changing out in the open. And FYI those leave little to the imagination! But perhaps the worst and most shocking was the all too public urinal. I can't explain it, but you can see for yourself (and please excuse my goofy look on my face)...

It appears like you can't see anything...oh but you can...like before they get up there and when they are done. I was sorta mortified, but now I am over it. We had some time to kill if you can't tell so we wandered around and took photos. I like this one the best!

I keep mentioning the races...like more than one...because there were many different ones happening. There was a mini-marathon for kids, a handcycle marathon, in-line skating marathon, and the they half and full runners marathon. It was a busy night in Mannheim! The runners were the last to start so we got a few pictures of the other races. Here are the kids...

And the bikes...

We have a video of the skaters, but I promise all they do is zip by in a flash. In-line skating is huge here for some reason and they take it kind of seriously. After we checked it all out and warmed up we got in our starting spot, and we were ready!

This girl gave two thumbs up and said "lets do this"...(although I was really very nervous inside)!

And then next to her was a more calm and seasoned runner despite his bum ankle from that snowboarding accident last season.

It took us about four minutes to get up to the start line, so at 6:34 pm this is what we saw...

TJ stuck with me for about a kilometer or two and then sped away. I was left with my IPod to enjoy the rest on my own, and thank God for BODYSTEP music, The Killers, and a few oldies because they got me through! The race took us out of Mannheim and through our little village of Seckenheim where we looped around and headed back. That was the best part because our little town just rallied for the event! 
It was pretty lively and dark when we finished...here is a look at the water tower fountain!

I had fun, but was really happy to have a shower and hit the sheets when it was all said and done! The knees are on the mend, so I have decided to do it again...but probably not for a while :). The only downside was looking up my time...it was listed under Annie Lugero. Yep, they spelled my new name wrong! Figures! We spent the next day resting and hit the new Star Trek movie...let me rephrase...I went with TJ to Star Trek because he wanted to see it and I wanted to die. Not my kinda movie, but since it was the start of TJ's birthday week I thought I would take one for the team!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Frankfurt am Main

Last Saturday TJ and I went to check out Frankfurt. It is only a 40 minute drive away, and although we have flown from there often we have not been outside of the Flughafen. We just went for the day and planned to see everything on an organized tour, but unfortunately it was all booked. They did give us a map so T and I walked the city for the afternoon and checked most things out. There are a couple of Frankfurts in Germany, so the proper name for this one is Frankfurt am Main (pronounced "mine"), which means Frankfurt on the main to distinguish it from the smaller towns of the same name. Frankfurt is the financial capital in Germany so there are many, many bank buildings all throughout downtown....as you can see...

Outside, there is a long and very large park that borders a lot of the banks and is home to our currency...the Euro. Here TJ is with a statue that marked the beginning of the Euro in the 90's.

We saw many things in this very park...like an Asian tourist on a bench with his pants off. He was hanging out in his boxers and picking at something on the pants he should have been wearing...weird. And then I saw another couple and he was wearing a Georgia ballcap...to which I said, "GO DAWGS"! There are some sites, but it is nothing like some of the other cities as Frankfurt was heavily bombed during WWII, but an old part of the city still stands with a gothic church, rathaus, and even Roman bath house ruins. Also, the famous German writer and poet Wolfgang Goethe's home is here and is preserved as a museum. Of course this is interesting to me as I spent two months of my life in language school at the Goethe Institute. Frankfurt also has a bit of charm as well with a gorgeous river walk that is very busy and well maintained. Here is a peak at that...

We crossed the river and got a great shot of the Dom in the old city. The old city is very small as there isn't much left of it.

In the old city, right outside of the Dom are the remains of an ancient Roman bath house. They apparently didn't find the ruins until the clean up effort post war. It appears that someone over time had built ove rthe top of them...

The old city is just a little bit larger than a square. You can tell which buildings are old and/or reconstructed from the German looking architecture.

Frankfurt is also known for its operas and has a very beautiful and very old Opera House. Many events take place there as well as the operas themselves. You can't see it, but the house has a very old copper roof as well.

On our way to the Opera House we found a place to lookout over the city from all directions. It was really beautiful and seemed so small from up there...and it was very breezy too!

Our experience at the top was good although we did encounter a funny. TJ overheard a Southern American woman discussing Dutch and Deutsch with another American couple...she thought it was the same thing and proceeded to tell those she was with that they were the same thing. Of course everyone else in the entire world knows that Dutch is in fact Dutch and Deutsch is the German word for German. I hoped no one else heard, because she sounded ridiculous.

Frankfurt is a nice city, but is definitely a city. You don't feel like you are in "Germany" when you are there like you do in Munich or other places (most likely due to the devastation), but it is very clean and the people are very nice as well and we enjoyed ourselves!

This weekend TJ and I are sticking around Mannheim as we have a marathon to run and TJ wants to catch the new Star Trek movie hitting the theatres. It is only two weeks until we leave for Barcelona and the Mediterranean and I CAN"T WAIT!!!!

Auf Wiedersehen!

MaiMarkt

I mentioned that TJ and I went to MaiMarkt last weekend, and it was quite interesting. It wasn't at all like we were expecting as we were told that it would be like a state fair minus the carnival aspect of it...yet it was still different. It is a huge gated area with large- almost permanent tents where vendors would be set up...sometime a bunch of vendors in one place and then at other times it was just a large business that occupied an entire tent. Some other structures were there too, like a finished house center where different builders made model homes for people to tour and either get ideas or have built (but that is kind of rare). Most of the tents were home or garden expos inside, but others were filled with clothes, nick-nacks, and also a petting zoo. We were out to find a grill, but unfortunately most were ridiculous in price. One of our favorite stops was at a kiosk that had traditional Bavarian-wear. TJ and I wanted to get a good look at what we would be wearing at Oktoberfest this year. Other than that we came upon a fashion show in the Italian clothing tent...

An equestrian competition in the ring....

And many biergartens where we found ourselves having a traditional German lunch- complete with wurst and bier.

The MaiMarkt was so close to our house that we were able to ride our bikes and avoid the mean traffic. It was only about a ten minute ride and it was a nice afternoon as well!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Those aren't canes...

When TJ and I were in the city last weekend we happened to catch something that I have only seen on trails...a Nordic Walker. It is sweeping the nation, but it might be seasonal so maybe not. As soon as it started to get cold last winter I saw all of these people with these weird walking sticks- come to find out they are Nordic Walkers. I don't think it is a sport per say but it is certainly a huge recreational pass time. Normally they are decked out in hiking attire rather than cream pants and orthotics...but you get it, right? I did find it funny in the city though!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Weekend Update

TJ and I had a very busy weekend, and it was a long one as he was off on Friday too. After our date on Thursday, we slept in on Friday...correction...TJ slept in and I tried out my new running shoes. My knees are still a little sore, but I wasn't in pain so I'm going to say the shoes are a success! After we both got ready we were off to Mai Markt (more on this bazaar and expo tomorrow) to spend the afternoon exploring.
Saturday we decided to make a short day trip to Frankfurt as we have been there to fly but not really to see the city. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed ourselves walking the city and having a late lunch in the old city. The rest of the night was spent reading and catching up on stuff that was DVR-ed.
Sunday brought a bike ride into Mannheim to get some essentials before lounging at Luisen Park (LP). Every Sunday and all public holidays, every store and business shuts down so if you need something you are screwed...unless you can get it at the Hauptbahnhof. The train station never closes and there are businesses inside. TJ and I decided to grab some reading stuff to enjoy while we relaxed in the park (Newsweek and BusinessWeek for him and the fourth Twilight book me), and I also need some band-aids so thankfully there was a sort of Walgreens there. We had gotten to LP and just got cozy on our blanket in the grass when it decided to rain! And to this I say boo as I really wanted some sun! We thought it might not last long so we hung out under a gazebo roof and watched this serious man play life size chess. He was a character...complete with special gloves, fanny pack, white linen capris with black bikini cut undies, and to top it off...Chinese chess playing shoes. It made for a good passing of time until the rain stopped and forced us home with the sudden temperature drop. We then spent the night watching "Marley and Me". Bad idea. We have had some trouble with our really bad dog, Tut, lately and we were hoping to love him more after the movie. That didn't happen either...instead I missed our since passed yellow lab named Sunnie. She can assume the title as best dog ever...if only I had a picture here I would post it as a tribute to her. Unfortunately she died before digicams were the norm. Trust me, you would have liked her!
This week I will post about Frankfurt and Mai Markt as well as anything else that comes about.
Auf Wiedersehen!

Wieder im Kino

TJ and I went to the cinema again last night after sushi. It was fun...I much prefer the cinemas here as I have mentioned before because it is so clean and comfortable. TJ made the reservations for us to pick up the tickets before dinner where we got to choose our seats and what not...upon getting the tickets we were told I get a free glass of champagne (sekt) as some promotion upon entering the theatre...my thoughts were "SWEET"! When we got back for the movie we grabbed a couple of snackers and I decided I would also need some sort of soda in addition to the sekt...so I ordered a large Fanta thinking I would get like a McDonald's size large soda. Nope...instead I received a full liter of soda. Here I am in one of the lounge areas outside the theatre with my little glass of sekt and my gigantic Fanta.
That is another thing...you can get to the theatre early and lounge around and have a few beers if you want. I think it is pretty awesome. Needless to say I had almost half a Fanta left after drooling over Hugh Jackman in Wolverine...next time I will go for the Klein or Mittel instead!
Auf Wiedersehen!