Ger-sey Girl

Cruise on the Western Mediterranean: The MSC Fantasia

2011-10-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay....there was a Cruise, Moving, Pneumonia, Taking the Eldest to College, Starting High School....

Before we left Europe, I thought it would be good to check out a few countries that we had missed....well I had missed, anyway! Our furniture was on its way back to New Jersey, so why not spend some time on vacation.

We chose the MSC Cruise line because they had an itinerary we wanted but also kids cruised free!
We were on the MSC Fantasia which entered service in 2008 and can hold up to 3959 passengers. She is 1093 feet in length, 125 feet wide and has 18 Decks. It is a European cruise so almost all of the announcements were made in English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Pool on the rear deck.

Some lounges...

The crystal staircase.

At night...

The upper deck...

Next: Our first Stop...Tunisia!

Auf Wiedersehen, Erlangen!

2011-07-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Things I will miss...

2011-06-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

Vanilla sauce

Tassimo Latte Machiatto

Süsstoff (sweetener)

Cheap Beer (sometimes cheaper than a Coke!)

No speed limits on the autobahn

Good drivers

Hikes in the Frankische Schweiz

Skiing in the Alps

Not having to pay when people text you

Apple Strudel

Good Public Transportation

Bike Paths

Glühwein

Dogs in the mall

Lederhosen

Bavarian Countryside

Easy access to many other countries

New friends

I can't wait for:

2011-06-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

Cold Stone Creamery
Library with the drop off box
Garbage Disposals
Ice Makers
Big Freezers
Free Water at Restaurants
Big Parking spaces
Cheap Gas
Diet Snapple Ice Tea
Shopping on Sundays
Shopping after 8:00 at night
Mexican Food
More than one choice of movies in English at the theater
Netflix
Panera Bread
Target
Waiters who bring you the check
Chocolate Chips
Proper Brown Sugar
Pumpkin Pie
Seeing family
Old Friends

Silk Painting: Erlangen

2011-06-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

One of my friends here in Germany, Jeanette, likes to teach Silk Painting. I had painted a scarf depicting Nuremberg last time and this time I wanted one that depicted the town we live in, Erlangen. I did a preliminary sketch of the layout and she came up with a final design. It depicts scenes from Erlangen with flowers from the botanical gardens in the background.

Closeup of the Schlossgarten. The Schloss (Castle)was built in 1700 and is now used by the local University.

For the 1000th year anniversary of Erlangen, Artist Isolde Kunath created giant "pins" to commemorate notable historical places and monuments in the city.

The World War I Memorial:

The Headquarters of Siemens in Erlangen, known as the Himbeer Palast (Raspberry Palace) due to the color of the bricks.The Siemens AG central was moved after World War II from Berlin in the undestroyed city of Erlangen. Erlangen was also easily reachable by canal and highway.

Neustädter Universitätskirche in Erlangen.

Every June Erlangen hosts the Bergkirchweih, and annual fair and beer festival in Erlangen, Germany. The Bergkirchweih starts on the Thursday before Pentecost at 5PM. The opening ceremony called "Anstich", which is carried out by the town's mayor, takes place in a different beer cellar every year. Thousands gather to watch the opening spectacle hoping to get one of the free beers from the first barrel. Twelve days later the last beer barrel is buried in the cellar where the next Anstich will take place. The Bergkirchweih area is located in the northern extremities of the town of Erlangen and is roughly a kilometer long (0.6 mi). It contains beer cellars, booths and rides - a huge Ferris wheel is the Berch's traditional landmark.

With its wooden benches under elms, chestnuts and oaks it is the biggest Open-Air-Biergarten of Europe with more than 11,000 seats.

The Bergkirchweih has taken place since 1755. . Roughly a million people - about ten times the town's population - visit the event, making the Bergkirchweih the third biggest fair in Bavaria after the Oktoberfestin Munich and the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing.

Depiction of beer at the "Berg":

Flowers from the Erlangen Botanical Garden:

A view from Erlangen looking toward Buchenbach across the meadow. Sometimes sheep graze there! Our house is sort of behind the trees on the left.

Pin commemorating the "Knight's Academy", an educational institution for the sons of the nobility.

Bonus: This is one I did of Nuremberg:

Fun with Textify.it

2011-06-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what these pictures are?
Note that each picture is created out of the letters in the title of the photo.

German Nationalism

2011-06-05T07:14:00.001-07:00

This cartoon is kinda true...

Normally you only see German flag during the Soccer World Cup or maybe on German Reunification Days.

Field Guide to German English Speakers

2011-05-31T06:36:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Germany, I wanted to learn some German of course, so I took 3 classes of German. However, often I don’t know enough German to communicate what I need, and since I live in a University town many people speak English. However, it is important to know what level of English they know so you can know how to talk to the person. To determine what type of English Speaker you have spotted, ask them the following question:

“Sprechen Sie Englisch?”

(Do you speak English)

Depending on the answer, you will know what you are dealing with. If the answer is:

1. Nein!

Name: “bureaucratius nonhelpfulus”.
Description: They can’t or won’t speak English. Get out your phrase book. They will look askance at your German.
Environment: Large Instutions, such as the Post Office or the Bank.

2. Nein, schlect.

Name: “deutschius speakerus”.
Description: They haven’t learned English. Try your German, they will try very hard to understand you.
Environment: The Doctor’s office personnel, aside from the Doctors.

3. Ein Bisschen

Name: “unconfidentius speakerus”
Description: They know a little English, but more than they think. If you stick to talking about what they sell, you may be okay.
Subtype: “colleagueius fetchicus” If you overwhelm them, they will fetch a colleague who they think speaks better English.
Environment: Large Stores, such as Saturn or Staples.

4. A Little

Name: “prettygoodius speakerus”
Description: They actually speak English fairly well but won’t admit it. You can speak about what they sell/do with no problem.
Environment: Large Stores, such as OBI.

5. Yes

Name: “confidentius speakerus”.
Description: They can speak English very well.
Environment: Owner-owned stores, Doctors, people who work for large companies.

6. Of Course!

Name: “overconfidentius speakerus”.
Description: Why wouldn’t I speak English? I can’t believe you even asked.
Environment: High End stores, such as Tommy Hilfiger.

7. Bonus Type of speaker

Name: “Sneakius speakerus”.
Description: Recognize that you speak English from your conversation with the people with you or your terrible German Accent, even though you ask for “Zwei Hamburgers” answer you in English. Seem to be happy that their English has come in handy even though they are working retail.
Environment: Fast Food places, Grocery Store.

Beware of Frogs!

2011-03-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Evidently it is "Toad Migration Season" here in Germany...They put up signs so you will be aware of possible Toads crossing the road.

Toad Sign

Around 250 toad fences are registered across Germany – along the sides of roads which cross the migratory routes the amphibians take to reach their breeding ponds. These save at least half a million toads, frogs and newts each year.

Toad Fence

Each ten or 15 metres along the fences, which themselves are only a few inches high but run up to 800 metres alongside the road – a bucket is planted in the ground to catch the animals intent on crossing the road.

These buckets are attended at least once a day by the volunteers, who carefully take the amphibians across the road so they can continue their journeys.

Actual Frog and/or Toad:

Actual Frog/Toad

Info courtesy:
http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20090413-18609.html

A concert in Germany

2011-03-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

(Continuing to post blog entries that I started but never finished. This was from March 2010).

I went to my first German concert last night. I am a fan of Kevin Costner (the actor) so I thought I would go to see his band, "Kevin Costner and Modern West" since they would be in nearby Nuremberg.

Kevin Costner sings? Yes...

"MODERN WEST GOT ITS START when my wife (Christine) encouraged me to reconnect musically with John Coinman. I wasn’t really sure after all these years how it might work. I wasn’t really sure what to say. But if life has taught me anything it was not be stopped by the question or the unknown. F… it, what do I have to lose but maybe some of the best times of my life? I made the call to Tucson. “John what do you think?” He never hesitated, willing to explore the idea. But it was always more than just an idea for me. It was a feeling that I had been unable to articulate. For a long time now I have felt the need to connect with people in a more meaningful way than just the autograph. I have found myself here and around the world in different situations where the only exchange has been just that…a quick signature on the run usually followed by a “gee, he’s taller than I thought.” I always thought that music could build a stronger, more personal moment for me. It would create the opportunity for a genuine exchange much greater than the movie, TV interview or magazine. It would be real, full of mistakes and without apology. But most of all there would be the chance to have some fun. The question was, would it work? I thought it could but I wasn’t really sure. I had been out on creative limbs before, and this felt familiar. "

A friend of mine and I went to the Meistersingerhalle in Nuremberg for the concert. We got there just at 8:00pm (start time on the tickets) and started to find our seats (no ushers). We were walking up the aisle when the lights went off and the warm up act started. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that German concerts start exactly on time! This of course is not the case in the USA.

Kevin Costner entered from the back of the hall and walked up to the stage down the main aisle.

The crowd was on the older side and German...most of them politely sat in their seats the entire concert.

We decided "heck with that" and went up front to the stage!

Alles in Ordnung?

2011-02-22T05:40:00.000-08:00

Alles in Ordnung is a very common phrase you might hear in Germany. It means "All in Order?" or "All Right?". Ordnung is very important to Germans! The stereotype of Germans is that they are orderly and efficient...and in general this is very true.

1) Shopping Carts
When I first arrived in Germany I went to the "Rewe" grocery store and I saw the following. If you can't make it out, it is black accented shopping carts on the left and pink accented carts on the right.

You must realize that by definition all shopping carts in Germany are the kind that you have to put a Euro (or Euro-sized Chip) in to unlock the cart and to get your Euro back you have to return the cart. In the USA you may remember Costco doing something like this for a while. So that is efficient right there.

My First thought: Black Carts for boys and Pink Carts for girls?

My Second thought: No way can Germans be that organized to put back the carts by color voluntarily!

My Third thought: Let's be contrary and try to put a pink cart on the black cart side.

My Fourth thought: That didn't work!

My conclusion: Germans are that organized, but in a different way than I thought. The carts are designed so that only the black can go with black, pink with pink, blue with blue (when you get out farther in the parking lot there are other colors), etc. because that way you can have no more than 20 carts per cart slot. Also, if you have to put your cart back with its color mates, then if you got a cart close to the shop you have to return a cart close to the shop. If you get a cart in the far reaches of the parking lot, you have to return it there too. You never end up with too many carts near the store, for example and you don't have to pay someone to move the carts around or round them up.

2) Package Delivery
Package delivery can be like in the USA where somebody knocks on your door and sees if you are home. If not they may give have the neighbor sign for the package. If it is mailed you might have to pick it up from the Post Office if you are not home. But there is another way as well.

You get a postcard in your mailbox.

Then you go down to the nearby Packstation which is just a couple of blocks away from us next to the OBI (Like Home Depot).

You scan in your Postcard and then one of the doors pops open and there is your package!

3) Rathaus (Town Hall)
When I got my German Driver's License I had to give my NJ driver's license to the town hall for them to hold on to. I guess they would prefer that you only have one license at a time so that you can't get traffic tickets on both of them. So one time when traveling back to the USA I thought I would swap my German DL for my NJ DL (why I have to pay 10 Euros for that, I don't know!) Anyway, I think how it worked is you would go to a computery thing that you would indicate what type of service you want and then you would get a number to know when it is your turn. You sit and you see this:

When your number (Nummer) is called, it shows you what desk (Platz) to go to. Very efficient!

4) Parking

When you are driving around town and want to park in a parking garage, it is nice to know if a parking lot has free spaces even before you enter. Even for the Siemens location it will let you know if there are spots available. This is also at our local Mall... on a busy day it will say "0" and you know that either you should find parking elsewhere or you will have to wait to get in. It also shows you once you get inside if a given level of the parking garage still has spots.

At indoor airport parking they often have lights above the parking spaces that show green if the spot is empty so you don't even have to drive down a row to see if there is a free spot. I did learn early on that "Parking Frei" means that there are some free spaces available in the garage, not that you don't have to pay! :-)

5) Garbage/Recycling Pick-up

At least in our neighborhood they are very efficient about garbage pick up. They have to be because they pick up Bio-waste once a week, Paper once a month, Garbage every two weeks, and Recylable packaging every two weeks. The sanitation workers come by and take your can (blue in this case, Paper) and wheel it to the curb. Then the truck comes by and loads it. THEN THE WORKERS PUT YOUR CAN BACK!

Of course efficiency can be a double-edged sword....This past Christmas we had our mail held while we were in the US. Usually when we hold our mail the day we get back we get a giant envelope full of mail. This time we didn't...we just got mail starting from the day we got back. I asked at the post office and called the mail people about our mail...they just couldn't fathom how the system could not work properly. I asked the postman but he said that his colleague had delivered it...but this was not the case. We kept calling and I think it turns out that one of the postmen said he tried to deliver it but we weren't home (of course not, we were on vacation) so he sent it back. I still don't exactly believe that story but we did eventually get it!

Neunhof

2011-02-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

(Continuing to catch up on old posts!)

In September my friend L and I went on a close-by adventure in the town of Neunhof.

First we went to the Schloss (Castle) Neunhof. Here are the surrounding gardens.

The Schloss.

The silent guards...

The moat.

Then we walked into town to find the Krafthof (fortified church).

Inside the walls.

Inside the church.

Then we searched for the remains of a nearby Labyrinth. After wandering about and asking for directions, we found it. "Irrhain" (crazy grove) circa 1676.

This is a sign that shows you the current paths (red) and the ruins of the old labyrinth garden.

On the way back we took a short cut through the farms. This is some kind of house in a greenhouse!

Mmmm...cabbage.

Carrots imprisoned.

Dahlias we saw on our walk through town.

Ski Trip to Austria - 2011

2011-01-29T07:48:00.001-08:00

Our children's school's PTO organizes a ski trip every year in mid-January. They have off for
"report card preparation" on the Friday. The ski trip is to Filzmoos, Austria where there are many ski resorts to choose from. We stayed at the Hotel Unterhof.

View of the pool...

Collecting the kids and bringing them to ski lessons in the "Schikinder Express" (Ski Kids Express).

View from the bottom of the ski slope across from the hotel.

View from atop the mountain.

The girls looking on.

Everyone is taking a break!

Bunny "mascot" that hangs around the lodge on top of the mountain.

One evening there was an outing where you would eat dinner at the lodge at the top of the mountain and then sled down after. Unfortunately we had to hike up half of the mountain and then a wagon picked us up for the rest of the trip. You ride these sleds down a winding "road" that is covered in snow. It is up to you not to fall off the side or bump into anyone. Not the US fear of lawsuits here.

When you get to the bottom, no more sledding!

At the bottom of the hill there was a cemetary...Evidently this is the tradition of Austria....Wrought iron grave markers.

Cemetary at night...

While walking in the town of Filzmoos...

The weekend we go there is a balloon festival as well.

The peak of "Bischofmutze" (Bishops hat).

Seasonal Foods

2011-01-17T03:07:00.000-08:00

In Germany I notice more seasonal foods...or maybe I notice them because they are novel to me. There is Spargel (Asparagus) season, Cherry Season, Plum Season, etc.

However, one must be very careful: There is a big difference between

KARPFEN Time

and

KRAPFEN Time.

I much prefer Krapfen time. Krapfen are like jelly donuts, but they can have various fillings such as Baileys Liquor, Eier Liquor (Eggnog Liquor), Nougat (like Nutella) and various jellies as well.

In Bavaria, Krapfen are mainly prepared and eaten during the days and weeks before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian season of Lent. This period of time is called Mardi Gras or Carnival, and in German, it's known as Fasching.

There are many explanations as to why Krapfen are eaten primarily during this time of year, but most accounts attribute it to diet. As early as the middle ages, these sweet, fat-laden treats were eaten by the faithful in order to bulk up before 40 days of fasting during Lent.

Mmmmm....Donuts!

You know you have been driving too long on Germany when....

2011-01-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

1) You forget about Right turns on Red
2) You think people drive too slowly on the NJ Turnpike (80 mph? Is that all?)
3) You keep looking to the right for cars (in Germany, unless posted , cars coming from the right have right of way)
4) You think the gas station attendents are too slow

Our trip to the USA

2011-01-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

What was supposed to happen:

The girls didn't get out of school until Dec 23 so we decided not to try to get to the USA for the holidays until Dec 26 so we could spend a quiet Christmas at home without worrying about missing it. Also there were activities we wanted to do the first week of January in the USA so we were going to return Jan 6th. We were supposed to fly from Munich to Newark, NJ on Dec 26, rent a car at the airport, and then drive to our destination.

What really happened:

On the morning of Dec 26, Snowmageddon hit the East Coast of the USA. We had heard whispers of a Nor'Easter so before we left for Munich we checked the status of the flight.
There was a CANCELLED next to our flight to Newark. $#&@. It says contact your carrier.
We contact Lufthansa but they really cannot help us on the phone. Really? In 2010?
We have to go to the airport. But who wants to drive 1.5 hours to Munich in the snow to maybe not be able to do anything? So we decided to drive to the Nuremberg Airport (only 20 minutes away) and see if they can help. We took all our luggage with us in case we could get on some kind of flight somewhere. We were trying to get a flight to an alternate destination on Dec 26 and the lady thought she had gotten us a flight to Boston, but when she printed out the reservations it said Dec 27th. No, that isn't what we wanted. Start over. Eventually we got a flight from Munich to Zurich to Washington DC (Dulles) on Dec 27th. We thought Dulles might end up being south of the storm and we could take the Amtrak train up to New Jersey and if we couldn't, we booked a hotel in Washington just in case. This flight leaves at 9:00am so we decide to drive down to Munich that afternoon directly from the Nuremberg Airport and stay at a hotel at the airport so we wouldn't have to get up at 4:00am.

After a snowy drive we get to the airport and eat at our favorite Airport Thai restaurant. Of course European hotel rooms usually only have one double bed and don't allow 4 people so we have to get two rooms. ($$$) We get up early and get on our flight to Zurich which is less than an hour flight. We have about an hour between flights so we hustle to the next flight and get on with no problem. Then we sit and wait to take off. And wait. Annnnnd wait. It was a 11:15 flight so after 3 hours we are getting bored and hungry. Sorry, the video system only works above 10,000 feet. But they ordered some sandwiches for us. The issue is that there is some de-icing part that isn't working. They are trying to fix it. The hubby reports later (he was upgraded to first class) that the Pilot talked to the first class passengers and said that the airline (United) wanted to wait until the part came (hours later) but the pilot said that he wasn't going to do that to the passengers so he postponed the flight until the next morning. As it was a airline issue they were going to put us up in a hotel and give us food vouchers. We sat and munched on our sandwiches and the economy passengers started to realize that hey, we can get off the plane if we want! So we asked if we can, and then we started deplaning. We picked up our luggage and then made our way to the hotel shuttle vans....There were a few, but each only held 14 passengers and had a little trailer to hold the luggage. We told the girls to get on and save us seats while we put the luggage in the trailer. The girls valiently defended our seats and we squeezed on. We got to the Movenpick hotel and played cards and ate and relaxed. Other people went into Zurich but we just kind of hit the "pause" button on our trip and spent family time together. 6:00 am we were up and at the bus to the airport (fortunately a large bus)...too bad our free breakfast started at 6:00am also! (although there were some coffee and croissants out).

So now it is Dec 28th and we really don't even want to go to Washington anymore! The storm is over. But that is not the airlines problem. We change our Amtrak reservation to the next day, cancel the Wash. hotel, and change our rental car reservation. We fly to Washington....too bad the little one's video screen didn't work and we had no idea what movies were playing as they did not match up with what was in the airline magazine...but we found a couple and shared the video screen. As we land we notice that Washington got no snow at all (there is 30 inches at our destination!). We take the super shuttle ($) to Union Station and catch the Amtrak Acela ($$$). We get a nice four person table and play cards and use the wi-fi. We take the Amtrak to Newark, and get off and then take the NJ Transit train back one stop to the Newark Airport Stop. Then we take the airport monorail to the rental car area. Firnally (around 8:00pm on Dec 28th) we drive down to our destination.

Whew!

Dormitz Kurbisfest (Pumpkin Festival)

2010-09-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

The little one and I went to a Pumpkin Festival in a nearby village, Dormitz. The big one was working on college applications and the hubby was working.

They had yummy pumpkin items like Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Marmalade, Pumpkin Chutney, etc.

Also there was a horse (pony?)-drawn wagon ride.

and more gourds...

A display of antique motor-cycles...

...and tractors.

We bought a bunch of little gourds and one big pumpkin. Lucky for us a guy volunteered out of the blue to carry it the car where we had parked around the corner!

Did not buy the Pumpkritter.

Die Lillach: Ein Kalktuffbach

2010-09-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

We took a hike (about 5km round trip) along a creek with some interesting properties. It is a "Kalktuffback" which means a Limestone "Tuff" Brook..."Tuff" being a term meaning "porous rock formed as deposits in underground streams or springs." So the lime in the water builds up on the bottom of the stream and makes for interesting little stepped waterfalls.

Here is an example of the stepped falls:

This is another example but it is covered by a lot of foliage:

We also looked at (but didn't pick!) mushrooms and funghi along the way:

and also found lots of pretty little flowers:

We walked until we got to the sources, the Lillachquelle (Lillach spring)

On the way back we walked through Weißenohe where we saw the following painting on a barn wall:

We stopped for lunch at the Klosterbrauerei (Cloister Brewery) Weißenohe:

and had some of the beer brewed there.

Würzburg

2010-09-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today the In-laws were in town and we took a day trip to Würzburg which is about an hour away from Erlangen. We started with the Würzburg Residenz which is a Baroque palace built in about 1740.

Behind the Residenz are the Court Gardens. Access to all the gardens was cut off because they are filming.

We asked what they were filming and were told "The Three Musketeers" but Orlando Bloom is not on set today. Orlando Bloom? Sounds like a real movie!

There were extras waiting for their big moment.

Next we headed over the Alte Mainbrücke (Old Main Bridge) with its statues of Saints.

Lucky us it was "Stadtfest" (city fest) that day and fish were available for purchase.

NOT!

How about crepes instead?

Then we climbed up Up UP to the Marienberg Fortress.

View of Würzburg from the fortress.

I guess this is where the moat would be.

More views from above.

Looking toward the vinyards.

Then we headed toward the "Dom" (Cathedral)

Inside the Dom.

Outside on the street...

Dinkelsbühl

2010-07-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

My German teacher had told us about a medieval town called Dinkelsbühl that is supposed to like Rothenberg ob der Tauber but less touristy. If I haven't blogged about Rothenberg ob der Tauber (one of the cutest German towns ever) I will have to remedy that.

Dinkelsbühl is still surrounded by the old medieval walls and towers and is very typical for a German town of the 15th to early 17th century.

The walls have many towers.

We had ice cream here...

The Deutsches Haus (third house from the left) , the ancestral home of the counts of Drechsel-Deufstetten, is a fine specimen of the German renaissance style of wooden architecture.

St. George's church tower that we climbed allllll the way up.

Inside St. George's...

Door inside the church...

Closeup of the hinges...

View from the tower.

Another tower.

Roses!

Dinky Dinkelsbühl

Woernitz gate.

I would agree that it is less touristy...it seems a town that people actually live in and there are less "Schneeball" shops and "Knight" shop and trinkets and the like. There were some Potteries and a shop with wood carving and nativity figures that were of interest.

Huckepack Pick-Your-Own Farm

2010-07-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

The International Women's Group had an outing to the Huckepack Pick-Your-Own farm, or as they call it, "experience harvests". We are surrounded by farmlands, but never knew I could get such access to fresh fruits and veggies. There is also a little "nature playground" where they seem to have an area for BBQ, a petting zoo, hay bales to climb on and the like.

Right now you can pick lettuce, strawberries, currants, raspberries, kohlrabi, fennel, cucumbers, bell peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, cabbage and beans.
We are going to go back for raspberries, blackberries and blueberries soon.

Cucumbers growing Vertically:

Cuke Close-up:

Tomatoes aren't ripe yet:

Lots of Lettuce!

A whole bunch of...some vegetable of some sort.

Now we get to the good part...Strawberries!

Also you can get fresh eggs:

You go into a little house and there are little bins that you can lift up the lids and see if there are any eggs there. Here is a blurry picture with the lid up and you can see where the eggs come out and chickens peeking at you!

Evidently there is milk available too. Even the cows are getting into the World Cup spirit! :-)

What we got:

Beans, cucumbers, a kohlrabi, and eggplant and:

You can just speak English if you want to....

2010-06-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

I was at the local Edeka (grocery store) and there was a guy giving out samples of wine.
I tried some and wanted to say that it was "too dry".

So I said "Zu draussen?"...which really means
"Too Outdoors?"...
He said "You can just speak English" an I then said "too dry for me".

I should have said "zu trocken".

World Cup Fever- Bonus Picture!

2010-06-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

As seen in the my neighborhood....

Who knew Santa (and Rudolf!) was such a DeutscheFußballfan!

World Cup Fever!

2010-06-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

Germans are usually pretty cautious about outward displays of Nationalism since the end of the Second World War. On Reunification Day (the day West and East Germany were united), the closest thing to a holiday celebrating the German Nation, you will not see German Flags waving all about like you would on the 4th of July in the USA.

But when it comes to supporting their soccer team, it is a whole 'nother story!
The FIFA World Cup (of soccer) Tournament started on Friday and for weeks we have been seeing German/soccer themed merchandise for sale (and being worn):

You might expect bags and hats:

but you can also get flip-flops:

and I could decide if I should get the False Eyelashes or the Bunny Ears?

Many companies also allude to the World cup in their markenting.
One would expect beer companies to market (complete with Vuvuzela, the ubiquitous, obnoxious South African noise-making horn) with soccer.

but you can also get your German Soccer apples:

and giant Chocolate Soccer balls:

You can pick your favorite teams' Granola Bar:

and then have some Soccer Yogurt:

and have some soccer ketchup:

While watching the game you can munch on some some Black/Red/Gold Gummi Bears:

and after you could plant some nice Soccer Herbs??

and finally, you could end your day in the bathroom with your shower gel:

and then

For more info on the World Cup see:

World Cup for Dummies

Official FIFA page

Thanks to 50% of My DNA for the blog idea.

What we have here...

2010-05-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

...is a failure to communicate! This is what happens when you take two people who's native language is not German and have them communicate in German.

Today I went to the new Thai Take-out place down the street for lunch. One of their specials was "Nudeln Box To Go" and you can get that in Klein (small) or Groß (large).
So I said to the lady at the counter "Klein Noodle Box To Go"....and she said "blah blah blah Groß Nudeln Box To Go?" and I said "Klein". So they start cooking noodles/veggies/chicken and then they said 'Ein Bisschen mehr" as they start to cook a little more noodles...that is when I notice that they think I ordered 3 Noodle boxes to go! Argh! I would tell them, no, I only want one, but I did that the last time when they thought I ordered 2 of the special! I don't want them to hate me so I decide why not have noodles for dinner too!

Nuremberg Tiergarten

2010-05-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

Another cloudy/drizzly day, but the start of a 4 day weekend so once again I felt the need to go outside. Hubby was working (in Johannesburg South Africa) so me and the girls compromised on going to the Zoo. Nearby in Nuremberg is the "Nuremberg Tiergarten" (Animal Garden).

Seepferdchen (Seahorse)

Delfin (Dolphin)

Hirsch (deer)

When Otter's attack!

Zebra

The face made after the other one peed on it.

Look, ma, I have horns too!

Tiger

Löwe

Löffler (Spoonbill)

Wolf

Schneeeule (Snow owl)

Schildkröten (Turtles)

Tapir

weißköpfiger Seeadler (Bald Eagle)

Affe (Monkey)

Giraffe

Pinguin (Penguin)

Eisbär (Polar Bear)

Seehund (Seel)

Hiking near Egloffstein

2010-05-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

My friend "L" and I went for a hike on Friday in a town called Egloffstein. The hike near here claimed to have a "Rock Window" and also walk along the Cherry Trees.

We started down in the village but had to make to to the "Burg" (Castle) waaaay up there on the top.

Up up up the stairs!

Huff...puff...we made it!

At the top there is a little church:

Not too far is the Felsentor:

View from high above:

Then we started walking by the Cherry Blossoms:

...and the dandelion fields...

We veered into the woods...

The Snails are out...

and so are the flowers!

Finally back down the hill!

Austria - 2010

2010-03-21T02:11:00.000-07:00

Note: I never finished this post back in 2010 but am trying to go back and finish up unpublished posts. See also the trip in 2011.
http://ger-seygirl.blogspot.com/2011/01/ski-trip-to-austria-2011.html

In 2010 we also stayed at the Hotel Unterhof.

Field next to the hotel.

One of the activities aside from skiing was a horse-drawn sleigh ride into the mountains and then dinner. It was too dark for pictures but these are the types of sleighs used. Notice that they have wheels for the roads, and runners that can be dropped into place when we get to the snow.

View from the top of the slopes.

On Sunday on our way back home, we stopped in Salzburg.

According to wikipedia:
Salzburg (literally: "Salt Castle") is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the city of the federal state of Salzburg.
Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting.
Salzburg was the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the mid-20th century, the city was the setting for parts of the American musical and film The Sound of Music, which features famous landmarks in Austria. The musical was a partnership between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

In a tourist shop (the only thing open on Sundays!)

Wandering around Salzburg:

Fancy McDonald's sign...

Hohensalzburg Castle high atop a hill in Salzburg:

Support our School the easy way

2010-03-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

Would you like to support our school? There are two ways to support without doing much more than you are already doing.

1) http://www.onecause.com/ - Go through this site to reach your favorite online retailers (for example, go through onecause.com to access amazon.com and then order what you want to order). A percentage of the purchase is donated to the school you choose to support. It costs you no more than usual. Choose "The Franconian International School" as the supported school.

Shop Now to Support
The Franconian International School

2)http://www.plus3network.com

Choose "Franconian International School + Laurrey Wellness" as the Cause.
For any amount of exercise that you do (or are already doing), you can get money donated. For example, if you are walking your dog you get .15 per mile. If you go skiing you get .50 per hour. The sponsoring company, "Laurrey Wellness" (owned by parents of FIS kids) put up money that people can "earn" for the school by exercising. The money goes to support a trip for the 11th graders to work at a Romanian Orphanage as their yearly class trip/service trip.

Bamberg

2010-02-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Since the oldest was at a Model UN conference in Stuttgart and the hubby is working in Munich for the 15th straight day in a row, the little one and I (well mostly I) thought it was time to get out of the house and go see something. We decided to go to Bamberg which is about a half an hour away from us.

Wikipedia tells us:

Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg. Bamberg is home to nearly 7,000 foreign nationals, including over 4,100 members of the United States Army and their dependents. The name Bamberg is supposed to have its origin in the House of Babenberg.

We parked near the canal/river and made our way to the older part of the city with the pedestrian zone. We headed toward the "Altes Rathaus" (Old City Hall).

Of the bridges connecting the sections of the lower town, a very interesting one is the Obere Brücke, completed in 1455. Halfway across this, on an island, is the Rathaus or City Hall (rebuilt 1744-1756).

From the other side of the Rathaus:

Johann Jakob Michael Kuchel, designed the City Hall in the years 1744 to 1756 in the Baroque and Rococo style . John Anwander painted murals in 1755 on both sides of the building which are complete with allegorical scenes and architectural details, the typical illusion painting in this period. Small, indeed figurative elements designed to reinforce the eastern side of the spatial impression.

3D Detail!

Bamberg Dom (Cathedral)

Some building details...

Another view from one of the many bridges...

We did a little shopping among the many pedestrian streets...

A modern sculpture...

There is supposed to be an interesting kind of beer called "Rauchbier" (smoked beer) that Bamberg is famous for...I didn't get to try it. Maybe the hubby will return there with me some day.

Skiing, Take 2

2010-02-21T04:36:00.000-08:00

We had gone on a school PTA sponsored ski trip to Austria back in January (blogpost to follow, waiting for the younger daughter to upload pictures), so we thought we would try something closer to home in February. So I googled "skiing near Erlangen" and got a hit for Fichtelsberg. Where's that? So I googlemapped Fichtelsberg and it said that it was an hour and 20 minutes from us. Great! It wasn't a big mountain, but that was okay. It had a variety of slopes.

So off we went....but as we started out the GPS said it would take 3 hours. Huh?

Well, it turns out that there is Fichtelsberg the town (which may have some sort of snow related activities) and Fichtelsberg the ski area and they are two different places.

We did make it there eventually. It was the grayest gray day that ever grayed.

If you didn't see the people you would think this was a black and white picture.

But lucky for us, it was "Skifasching". Fasching is what the German's call Mardi Gras or Carneval. It is a time for people to dress up in costume. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera but we captured a few things on my blackberry phone.

Are these ballerina mice?

A little ladybug ?

There was a parade through town and a marching band that ended up at the ski lodge. They also did demonstrations like one guy skiied down as a house on fire and others skiied as firemen carrying a ladder.

Glückskeks

2010-02-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

I was at a Thai restaurant today and got a Glückskeks, aka Fortune Cookie. These are the first Fortune Cookie I have encountered in Germany, I think. We have only gone to one Chinese Restaurant and it was so bad it scared us off trying others. Thai restaurants seem to be very good, though, and we have been to a number of them. Mexican food is in the middle. Kind of blah.

Anyway, this was no ordinary Fortune ...this one was bilingual.

which of course means....

????

Valentinstag

2010-02-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me if Valentine's Day was a big thing in Germany. I would say, no, not really...kind of like Halloween is here. The big holiday right now is "Fasching" (kind of like Carneval or Mardi Gras). Many stores had some displays of heart shaped gifty items or chocolates. I had to go to 5 stores to find Valentine's Day cards...there really aren't any "Card Stores" here...you can get cards at the Drug Store or Supermarket or Bookstore.

But we did see a some unique German Gift Ideas for Valentine's Day:

Clockwise from Lower left:

Käseteller (Cheese Plate) with heart shaped cheese slices
Landliebe gift pack - assorted Puddings in heart shaped container
Heiße Herz - Breaded something with berries
Coeur du Valierie - some other kind of cheese

Only Germany would have Valentine's Cheese.

The little one made some Valentine's cards for the relatives... she used the standard method of taking 8 1/2 x 11" card stock and folding it in half and decorating them. We have envelopes that fit said cards. Evidently this puts the cards into the XXL size for the Post Office...they went from 1.70 Euros to 6.00 Euros to send to the USA! Ack!

Thanksgiving in Germany

2009-11-25T03:40:00.001-08:00

Unlike Halloween, Thanksgiving is not really on the German radar at all. So when hubby went back to the U.S. last month, we had him bring the necessary items for an American Thanksgiving feast. Turkeys they have here...I was surprised that it was already all trussed up and even had the little "pop-up it's done" thingy on it. I had brought our Turkey Roasting pan from America, so we were all set with that.

Hubby was assigned to bring back Libby's Pumpkin, Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce, Arnold's Corn Bread Stuffing Bread cubes, and Karo Corn Syrup (for Pecan Pie).

Germans do not have frozen pie crusts at their grocer's freezer and do not sell pie pans! We had one with us and used a tart pan for the other pie.

We ended up having:

Turkey
Giblet gravy
Cornbread Stuffing
Baby Peas
Broccoli
Crescent Rolls
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Fruit Salad
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie

I discovered at the last minute that the stuffing pan would not fit in the oven with the Turkey...so we asked our Landlord/Neighbor if we could use her oven. As we were eating earlier it was not a problem.

The only nod to Germany was that we used Nuremberger sausages in the stuffing instead of Jimmy Dean!

(unfortunately picture was taken after turkey was carved)

Ruine Neideck

2009-11-22T04:29:00.000-08:00

It was getting to be fall time here in Franconia and I was itching to get out and enjoy the autumnal splendor. I wanted to go on a hike but god-forbid I make my girls go on a hike...so I said How about we go on a "Photography Expedition". Our goal was "Ruine Neideck", an old castle ruin set picturesquely atop a hill...sort of the symbol of Franconian Switzerland. Don't tell them it was a hike.

http://www.burgenstrasse.de/ tells us:

The name „Neideck“ was first mentioned in 1219. It became the private property of King Konrad II of Schlüsselberg in 1312. After his death in 1347 the castle was in the possession of the bishops from 1348-1553. In 1553, after a voluntary handover of the castle, it was destroyed and
burnt down.

Here are some of the results of our photography.

Approaching the ruin...you can see it on top of the hill in the center.

Which way???

Watch out for falling rocks!

Approaching the ruin from below.

View from the castle wall

Approaching the ruin...

I think this used to be one of those cross-shaped cut outs for them to shoot arrows through.

Fall leaves...

20th Anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down

2009-11-08T13:16:00.001-08:00

November 9, 2009 is the 20th Anniversay of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Wikipedia tells us: The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a concrete barrier erected by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany) that completely encircled the city of West Berlin, separating it from East Germany, including East Berlin. The Wall included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses.

There will be many activities and celebrations including U2 singing a free concert at the famous Brandenburg Gate. Ironically the concert organizers are building a wall 20ft high barrier around the free concert so only people who have (the free) tickets can see!

From our trip to Berlin in May 2008: In Berlin they mark where the wall was using bricks and metal markers that show where the wall used to be.

They have pieces of the wall on display in Potsdammer Platz.

The wall used to be in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

Near the Check Point Charlie museum is a replica of the Checkpoint. This is how you would get from the American/British/French sectors to the Russian Sector.

BonusHasselhoff: David Hasselhoff did not bring the Berlin wall down, but he was there to sing over the ruins.

Halloween

2009-11-06T04:25:00.001-08:00

I wasn't sure how much Halloween there would be in Germany. In the supermarket, they sold some pumpkins. There was a Halloween display with some decorations, but sort of in the back.

I asked on my "German Way" ex-pat mailing list what the chances of Trick-or-Treaters were and they said:

"Depends on how many kids you have in your neighbourhood and whether they know that you "do" Halloween. When my boys were in elementary school, a few kids, mostly Turkish and Russian, would come to our house trick or treating, but in the past few years we've had no one show up despite the jack o' lantern outside the door.

"As others have said, not very likely. Although Halloween is more common in Germany these days, trick-or-treating is not."

So we got some pumpkins (they have many varieties, see above) from our local OBI (think Home Depot German Style) and carved them so we could show we "do" Halloween. I bought a couple of bags of candy "just in case". They don't have giant bags of candy for sale like in the U.S., but we could find some "fun" size candy bars.

As soon as it was dark and I lit the pumpkins and put them outside we had our first trick or treaters! In Germany they don't say "Trick or Treat", they say "Süßes sonst gibt's Saures" , that is, Sweets or we give Sours. I even saw some little boys prompting other little boys to say "danke"!

After a bit I had to drop the little one to go trick or treating with her friends...she said they would go up to small apartment buildings and push all the intercom buttons and when someone answered they would go up and who ever opened the doors would give them candy. Not everyone was really doing trick or treating so they got this one older lady who was sorry that she didn't have anything for them, but you know how all old ladies are required to have a dish of hard candies? She gave them "schwarz krauter" flavored hard candies...that means Black Herb and tasted like menthol to me.

When I got back we quickly had given away the last of the candy, so I went on a candy run. There was not much left at the store! Of course when I got back we only had one more group of kids come to the door...but hey! leftover candy!

I had also tried to see if there were any other Halloween activities...like pumpkin picking or Haunted Houses. The only thing I could find was a haunted house as the real Castle Frankenstein but you needed tickets for that and it was sold out. We did end up going to the Theme Park "Europa Park" over fall break and they had Haunted Houses and themed rides, but that is for another post.

Ireland, Day 4: Glendalough, Powerscourt, St. Stephen's Green

2009-10-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair
Day 2- Walking Tour of Dublin

Day 3 - Newgrange, Tara and River Dance

Day 4: Glendalough, Powerscourt, St. Stephen's Green

We continued on our bus day trip on this day. Glendalough, which means Glen of the Two Lakes, is one of the most important sites of monastic ruins in Ireland. St. Kevin built a retreat there in the 600's. For 500 years it was one of Irelands great ecclesiastical foundations and schools of learning. The establishment was attacked, burned and plundered by the Danes, who were based in the stronghold of Dublin, a shortish distance away, and making it an easy target..
Glendalough, despite extensive fire damage in 1163 A.D. prospered until the early 13th century. In 1163, Laurence O'Toole, Abbot of Glendalough, who later became Irelands first canonised saint, was appointed Archbishop of Dublin.
The arrival of the Normans in Ireland sealed the fate of Glendalough, as in 1214 the monastery was destroyed by the invaders and the Diocese of Glendalough was united with the Sea of Dublin. After that, Glendalough declined as a monastic establishment and gradually it became deserted.

Entering into the cemetery:

Next we walked around the two lakes.

The first lake...

The second lake.

After our hike out to the lakes, we were off to Powerscourt Gardens.

Powerscourt Garden is a 45 acre blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes together with secret hollows, rambling walks, walled gardens and over 200 variations of trees and shrubs.

A view of the main estate building from the pond below:

The Italian Garden...

Close up of the lily-pads...

Entrance to the Japanese Gardens...

Pet Cemetery...

The Walled Garden...

Rose Garden...

Finally we drove back to Dublin and took a short walk in St. Stephen's Green.

St Stephen's green is a peaceful oasis in the heart of Dublin.Within the stone walls of this public park you will discover nine hectares of gardens/ponds/trees/lawns.

O.M.G.

2009-10-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

O.M.G....I think the German's really do love David Hasselhof!
Spotted at the Kirwa (church fair) in Fürth today....

Wikipedia says:
"While his star rose, fell and rose again in the US, Hasselhoff's popularity remained a little longer in Europe during the end of the 80s. Hasselhoff had one number-one hit in the German pop charts in 1989 ("Looking for Freedom"), which very much resonated with the fall of the Berlin Wall at that time, and two more top-ten hits in 1989 and 1993."

or maybe they just love the 80's...this image was found on the same ride at the fair. Alf. In lights. Why? And there was the A-team too, and Kindergarten cop.

Greetings from the Kirchweih!

Also, the German's really like recycling. When you buy a ticket for a ride, you get a token instead of a paper ticket.

The Fürth Maypole.

A statue.

Seems like we go to alot of these fairs...but I was determined to get the kids outside today and this is what they would agree to! Also, German's love any excuse to go outside and drink beer, hence all of the fairs. Besides, today is German Reunification Day and nothing else was open.

Strange "health" things

2009-09-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

Germany has some health-related things that are new to me!

You can find Sauerkraut juice at the supermarket...evidently it can be used for "cleansing" or a hangover cure.

or while hiking along the other day we ran into a "Kneip". I thought it was a kiddy pool, and I was told that is was not. It's a pool with cold water (I think this one is fed from a stream) where you march around, holding onto the railing in the middle. It is supposed to be good for circulation, which Germans are very concerned about.

Things I saw at the Supermarket

2009-09-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

Unlike America where California or Chile is constantly churning out fruit/vegetables, Germany is much more "seasonal produce" oriented. Strawberries are pretty much gone and now it is plum season. I have also seen some other strange things:

Conical Cabbage:

Not sure what this is but I call it the "Fractal Vegetable":

and even Pumpkins! I hear that Halloween is getting bigger over her in Germany.

Things I saw on a bicycle ride

2009-09-26T04:23:00.000-07:00

I got a bicycle path map from the Erlangen Tourist office (yes we have a tourist office) and I decided to go on one of the paths. Erlangen is extremely bicycle friendly. As I was riding along the path all of a sudden we need to go up!

This is basically stairs for a bike!

Am I in Germany or the Carribean?

Germany is having an election in a couple of days.

In the U.S., a typical election sign might look like this:

The goals seems to put the names in the largest letters possible so you will see the name and remember it.

In Germany a typical election sign looks like this:

The picture is the biggest thing, and then their name is at the bottom.

They also have their parties on the sign, in the case below, "CSU". I still think that looks like a logo for an energy company or something!

Oktoberfest: Part 2

2009-09-22T04:11:00.000-07:00

Oktoberfest Part 1: In which we are in the beer tent

Oktoberfest Part 2: In which we are out of the beer tent

So after some beer and some sausages and another beer and some traditional music, it is time to venture forth and experience the rest of Oktoberfest.

Many people are wearing "tracht", that is, traditional Bavarian costumes. Lederhosen for the men and Dirndl's for the women...but some women wear lederhosen too, and also there are various combinations of things.

I would say half of the crowd was wearing tracht...

I loved the little kids in their lederhosen!

I suspect these horses were in the parade...

On to the rides!

Standard swings...

Same swings...but really high up!

After being a little dizzy from the swings...I skipped this one...

The hubby had gotten an iPhone application that was all about Oktoberfest...what beer tents were open, what the ratings were about, and also what rides there were. We came across a "ride" called "Teufelsrad" (Devil's Ride) that has been around for 100 years, but was rated a "not to be missed." We had to check it out!

There is a spinning circle that people sit on, and the object is to stay on as long as possible. The announcer will call out a group people (Men:18 and older, or girls: 9-13, or little kids) and then people matching the description will run out on to the wheel. The wheel starts spinning and then some people on the outside of the group go flying off into the padded wall. Faster and faster the wheel spins until there is a small group left. Then the giant padded ball on a rope comes and tries to knock people over (or just knock into them, it is hilarious). If that doesn't work, then there are two guys with lassos that try to get the rope under people to try to catch them and pull them off. The audience can stand and watch for as long as they want. It never got old!

Oh no, here comes the ball!

Usually it would end up with one person at the end who the guys were trying to get off the wheel. It is amazing how people can get those ropes off them, duck the ball and still not fly off the wheel. One kid even got on the ball, the guy raised him up, and then put him back on the wheel!

You want to be in the middle of a pack like this, or you will fly off immediately!

We bribed the girls into doing it...unfortunately they didn't move fast and got on the outside of the group and fell off fairly early. I told them I would go on if they did...I was also on the outside of my group but at least made it to the part where the ball started swinging...but managed to avoid getting smacked in the head.

I thought they were pretty cruel to the little kids...They had them wave bye bye with their left hand, then wave bye bye with their right hand, and then they started the wheel up fast and half of them went flying off! And they would still bop the little kids with the giant ball!

The adolescent boys were quite funny...all other groups were sort of every person for themselves...if you can stay on, great! With the boys it became all about pushing the other guys off!

We had a 5:15pm train back and it didn't seem like we had enough time! We didn't go on very many rides (which is good in a sense because they cost 4-6 Euros per person per ride).

Until next year!

Ode to Bavaria

2009-09-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Oktoberfest: Part 1

2009-09-21T02:39:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia tells us:

"Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September (and running to early October.) It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an important part of Bavarian culture.

The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 18, 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a great horse race.
In the year 1812, the Oktoberfest was cancelled since Bavaria was involved in the Napoleonic war. In 1816, carnival booths appeared. The main prizes were silver, porcelain, and jewellery. In 1819, the founding citizens of Munich assumed responsibility over festival management. It was agreed that the Oktoberfest would be celebrated each and every year without exception. Later, it was lengthened and the date pushed forward, the reason being that the end of September in Bavaria often has very good weather. The high temperature in the first week of Oktoberfest nears 19°C which stimulates the thirst of the visitors. However, today the last week of Oktoberfest is still in October.

To honour the marriage of King Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria, a parade took place for the first time in 1835. Since 1850, this has become a yearly event and an important component of the Oktoberfest. 8,000 people — mostly from Bavaria — in traditional costumes walk from Maximilian Street, through the centre of Munich, to the Oktoberfest. The march is led by the Münchner Kindl."

Oktoberfest has continued every year with the exceptions of war years. I guess next year will be the 200th anniversary! Wow, we better get train tickets early.

In planning our excursion, we decided Sunday would be a good day...not as many people as a Saturday and there is a parade. We were thinking about going to the parade but the weather forecast at the time shows 30% chance of rain. We decided to skip the parade but try to get into a beer tent instead...while everyone else is watching the parade! To get there early, we decided to take the 8:02am train to Munich (about an hour on the ICE (InterCity Express Train) which goes up to 250km/h (at least on the Nuremberg-Munich run).

Oktoberfest seems to have two parts: Inside the beer tents and Outside the Beer tents. One wants to get inside the beer tents as some point as that is an integral part of the experience. However, many tables are reserved, so one has to strategize to get one of the non-reserve tables. There are 14 beer tents (as permanent as they look, they are only up for Oktoberfest).

The largest "tents" hold up to 8500 inside and 3600 outside. The tent below holds almost 6000 people inside.

This tent holds almost 7,000 inside.

We however went into the Hippodrome, which holds about 3200 inside. Wikipedia says: "One of the smaller tents, it's the first tent that many visitors see at the fest. As well as serving normal Wiesn beer, it has a Sekt (sparkling wine) bar and Maß of Weißbier. Considered one of the trendiest tents, and attracts the occasional celebrity. Traditionally in the evening the Oktoberfest band the Münchner Zwietracht plays all the Oktoberfestclassics."

We got to the "Weisn" (the Oktoberfest area) about 9:30am, and the Hippodrom didn't open until about 10:10am. The hubby got in line while I took the girls around looking at Souveniers and such.

Naturally they have beer steins for sale...

and many beer related hats...

...even teddy bears!..

...And of course the ubiquitous Lebkuchen Hearts...decorated gingerbread hearts attached to a string...You might buy these for your sweetheart.

(

The Hippodrom workers were diligently trying to get people to sit in the beer garden outside (where they could start buying beers) instead of standing in line (where you can't), but we held firm. So we finally get in and it is about 10:30am or so...a bit early for beer!

We decided to try a "Auszog'ne" pastry as well as a tried and true Apple Strudel.

"Auszog'ne" are "Round fried pastries with an edge and a thin skin. They are round, have a diameter of between 12 and 15 cm and an edge about 3 cm high and wide and are wafer-thin in the middle. The colour of the Auszogne ranges from golden brown at the edge to light in the middle. With their soft edge and their crispy middle, Auszogne have a delicate sweet and greasy flavour.Auszogne are often eaten spread with jam or sprinkled with sugar to accompany coffee. The tradition of baking Auszogne for festivals has been maintained in rural Bavarian regions to this day. "

I think there must be a difference between "crispy middle" and "seems like really stale bread"...but a little vanilla sauce stolen from the apple strudel makes anything edible!

After a while we decided it was late enough for beer and we had some while the band started to play. Here are the beer mugs waiting to be filled:

The Münchner Zwietracht band playing traditional songs...

The Table next to us looks on at the band...

Prost! (Cheers!)

Sweet Sixteen

2009-08-27T01:48:00.001-07:00

The oldest just turned 16! Instead of having a "sweet sixteen" party, she wanted to take a couple of friends to an outdoor festival/concert to see William Fitzsimmons at Bob's Sound of the Forest Festival. Yay me I get to take them because the hubby will be travelling to Qatar. The little one got out of going by arranging for a sleepover.

Back in NJ the oldest would usually want the "Seven Layer Caramel Cake" from Caroline's Cakes...she discovered this when my brother (who used to live in Maryland) sent us one time.

For my birthday she had made a German Chocolate Cake (made from a mix bought from the Air Force base PX as evidently German Chocolate Cake doesn't really exist in Germany)...she said that would count as her cake too...but I said you need to also have something on your birthday so she said she would like Brownies (Betty Crocker from our local Rewe supermarket w/ the little American section). They came out a little flat (okay alot flat) so she used some icing to make little brownie sandwiches.

Bonus Picture:

Neat sunset viewed from our back patio.

Why I avoid the drive-through

2009-08-21T04:52:00.001-07:00

We were at Burger King in Erlangen today and my little one said why don't we go through the drive-through.

Me: I would like a Kids Meal with Cheeseburger, Apple Pommes and a Sprite.

Drive-Through Dude : Funf Cheeseburgers?

Display: Nothing

Me: I would also like a Whopper menu (like a value meal), no mayo, with a Coke Zero.

Display: 5 Cheeseburgers, Whopper Menu

Me: No, I don't want Cheeseburgers I want Kids Meal with Cheeseburger, Apple Pommes and a Sprite.

Display: 5 Cheeseburgers, Whopper Menu, 2 Kid's Meals

Me: No, only one Kid's menu

Drive-Through Dude: Drive up to the window please

We worked it out, but those speakers are bad at best and even though I use the terms they use on the menu, its always a roll of the dice on what I will get.

Bonus Picture: We saw this one person, three-wheeled vehicle on the way home. So cute!

Ireland, Day 3: Newgrange, Tara and River Dance

2009-08-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Returning to our Ireland trip from this summer:

Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair
Day 2- Walking Tour of Dublin
Day 3 - Newgrange, Tara and River Dance

So after we had our historical overview of Dublin/Ireland, I think we started our next day going to the beginning of that Irish History. The idea was to take our bus day trips the first couple of days before my nephew's family and my hubby joined us later in the week.

Newgrange:

Newgrange is a Megalithic Passage Tomb built around 3200BC. This makes it more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years more ancient than Stonehenge. Megalithic means "big rocks" and a Passage Tomb is, obviously, a tomb in which there is a long passage way to get into the tomb area. At the base of the mound there are "kerbstones" (big rectangular carved rocks) that go all the way around.

Two interesting things about Newgrange

1) the "megalithic" carvings in the rocks

2) The passage and chamber of Newgrange are illuminated by the winter solstice sunrise. A shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box over the entrance and penetrates the passage to light up the chamber. The dramatic event lasts for 17 minutes at dawn on the Winter Solstice and for a few mornings either side of the Winter Solstice. (think Indiana Jones when the light comes in the tomb and lights up the jewel on the staff that opens the secret chamber...only here there is no secret chamber....that we found.). On the tour they demonstrate this with a flashlight.

As we approach:

When of Professor Michael J. O'Kelly excavated and restored the mound, he decided that the quartz rocks would have been like a retaining wall. This is a controversial decision.

Close up of the wall:

The entrance to the burial site. The square thing in the middle is where the light goes in at winter solstie.

Close up of the detail on the "kerbstone":

View from the Hill:

Next on our Bus Tour was "The Hills of Tara".

The Hill of Tara was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland – 142 kings are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and historic times. In ancient Irish religion and mythology Tara was the sacred place of dwelling for the gods, and was the entrance to the otherworld. Saint Patrick is said to have come to Tara to confront the ancient religion of the pagans at its most powerful site.

As you enter the area at the base of the hill:

When you go up to the Hill of Tara, the key word is Hill. This is the High Cross. There are some ancient rings that are still seen in the hill...I think we climbed up and down them but I was too worried about sheep "offerings."

The Sheep of Tara:

When we got back we saw Riverdance which is still playing in Dublin.

We heard an older lady ask "I wonder if Michael Flatley will be performing." Alas, no dear, he left the show in 1995. Did you know that Micheal Flatley was actually born in the USA?

Signs of confusion

2009-08-05T02:17:00.000-07:00

Those Pictogram signs are supposed to be understood by people of all nations because they use pictures, not words, right?

This sign was outside a church in Munich.

No Smoking, check. No Ice Cream (food), natch. Keep those cell phones off and out of respect don't wear hats. No problem.

But what about that fourth picture?

1) No pants?

2) Keep your hands out of your pockets?

3) Don't be doing anything naughty with your hands in your pockets?

Geburtstag Frühstück

2009-07-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

I was able to have the traditional Brunson Birthday Breakfast despite being abroad!

Public Toilets: Germany vs. US

2009-07-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

Another ExPat blog (Heidelbergerin) has a description of Public Toilets: US vs. Germany . I can't show the picture so click on the link.

Ireland, Day 2: Walking Tour of Dublin

2009-07-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair

Day 2:

To get some of the history of Ireland, we took a Historical Wa lking Tour of Dublin.

Our guide was Lisa.

For a brief history of Ireland, see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A707906

Go ahead, take a look. I'll wait......Really, it's no problem....

First we ran in to Molly Malone...little did we know we would see her on the "Hop on Hop off bus" about 300 more times...Molly is commemorated in a statue designed by Jeanne Rynhart, erected to celebrate the city's first millennium in 1987. Placed at the top of Grafton Street in Dublin, this statue is known colloquially as "The Tart With The Cart," "The Dish With The Fish," and "The Trollop With The Scallops."

The first stop on our tour was the former parliament building (when the Irish were still under British Rule) but is now a bank.

Dublin Tourist tells us:
The prestigious offices of Ireland's national bank began life as the first purpose-built parliament house in Europe. Completed in 1739 it served as Ireland's Parliament until the Act Of Union in 1801 this imposed direct rule on Ireland from London. Today attendants lead tours that point out the coffered ceiling and oak panelling. There are also huge tapestries of the Battle of the Boyne and the siege of Derry, and a splendid 1,233-piece crystal chandelier dating from 1788.

The former room used for upper house of the parliament is still open to the public.

Next stop was City Hall:

Erected between 1769 and 1779, and formerly the Royal Exchange. It is a square building in Corinthian style, with three fronts of Portland stone. Since 1852, however it has been the centre of the municipal government. The interior is designed as a circle within a square, with fluted columns supporting a dome shaped roof over the central hall. The building contains many items of interest, including 102 royal charters and the mace and sword of the city.

View looking up in the lobby:

View looking down:

Next stop was Dublin Castle:

Built between 1208 and 1220, this complex represents some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city, and was the centre of English power in Ireland for over seven centuries until it was taken of by the Irish Free State in 1922. Highlights include the 13th-century record tower, the largest visible fragment of the original Norman castle and the State Apartments, once the residence of English viceroys and now the focal point for government ceremonial functions, including the inauguration of Ireland's presidents. The newest developments for visitors are the Undercroft, and excavates site on the grounds where an early Viking fortress stood, and the treasury, built between 1712 and 1715, believed to be the oldest surviving purpose-built office building in Ireland.

I'll show you the most castley-looking part of Dublin Castle:

After the tour we walked down O'Connell Street in the heart of Dublin:

Wikipedia tells us:

On the site of the Pillar (blown up in 1966), a new monument was erected in January 2003. Officially named the Spire of Dublin, this tall needle-like structure has already received a number of nicknames including The Spike, The Binge Syringe, The Stiletto in the Ghetto, The Nail in the Pale (see the Pale), The Pin in the Bin, The Stiffy at the Liffey, and The Erection in the Intersection.

Close-up!

Trade Union Leader James Larkin:

"The great appear great because we are on our knees: Let us rise."

Éire: Day 1

2009-07-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

In which we go to Ireland...

Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair

You may have heard of Ryanair...they're the one's that supposedly were going to charge for toilet use? Their model is to fly out of minor airports, charge a nominally small fare (but taxes and fees and luggage fees and would you like to get on first fee and how about flight insurance and would you like to buy a soda? are added) but generally be a NO FRILLS low cost airline.

In fact, I can say the flight was just fine. I had low expectations. They are quite firm that your 1 and only 1 carry on can only weigh so much, as can your checked bags. I dutifully weighed mine ahead of time and we were well under the weight limit.

The airport (Memmingen) was 2.5 hours away. It is a relatively new airport ( From 1959 to 2003, it was the home base of German Air Force fighter wing 34 „Allgäu“.) and as such was not in my Navigation system! Oh NOES! After a short delay (reboot the computer back up, find out where it is), we had an uneventful drive since it was a nice day.

Now the Ryanair planes are definitely no frills...there are no pockets in the back of the seats (less to clean out), if you want food you have to buy it (they have a menu), and if you can buy a charity scratch off lotto ticket if you would like! At one point the little one's tray table would not come down and I told her "you have to put a euro in if you want to use it" :-) I think she half believed me.

Anyway, after an uneventful flight we touched down in Dublin. There was a few ways to get to the hotel...taxis, airport bus and city bus. City bus was the cheapest and was easy to find and we were in no hurry so we went with that. I knew which bus stop to get off at and I had a map from there. What I DID NOT KNOW is that unlike every other bus/public transportation I had been on, there was no way to know what stop was next. No map, no announcements. Even the map at the airport just showed like 7 major stops and mentioned that oh, yeah, this could take up to 90 minutes to get to the end. You could barely read the signs at the bus stops to see what stop they were. So I thought I would ask the Bus Driver: "How do I know when we are at Camden Street stop?" "I'll give you a shout."

There was no shout. But thanks to the eagle eyes of the eldest, we saw clues about where we were and got off at the right stop. A short walk to our hotel and we check in.

Now normally the avg. daily temperatures in Dublin are 11-20 degrees Celsius (52-68F) but it was 23 degrees. Not really so hot, but you can tell they are not prepared for heat as our room feels like it is 400 degrees. We ask for and eventually get a fan. A tiny fan.

The first night we do a lot of shopping as the girls love them some shopping and I was not sure how much time was allotted for that. We were near Grafton Street which is a major pedestrian shopping street.

We notice a BOOK Store. As we go in, we notice there are books, lots and lots of Books, in ENGLISH! WOOT! German book stores have a little English section usually but it is limited to best sellers and the classics. The girl's want some teen-type books and there are a bunch. We all get a book or two and are happy as clams (as happy as clams with books can be, I suppose).

After shopping we get a bite to eat at a Thai restaurant. We have now had American Thai, German Thai and Irish Thai. All pretty similar (unlike Mexican!). We sit down and the waiter puts a giant pitcher of ice water in front of us. Did you hear me? A Giant Pitcher of (FREE! FREE!) Ice water (WITH ACTUAL ICE CUBES!!) in front of us. Now maybe to you in the U.S. this is perfectly normal! Not in Germany. In Germany they don't do tap water and the beer and the water are about the same price. Ice? Never heard of it. The girls order their customary coke/sprite but I am revelling in the ice water.

Of course we are in "I am visiting in a Foreign Land" mode but are being careful not to say "Danke!" (German for Thanks!) to all the shop keepers.

We get back to the hotel and it is only 350 degrees in the room...but what is that noise? Is it coming from the hallway or the window? I try the hallway. It seems the people next door are having a party with the door open. They do not mind closing it (I don't think I was too scary in my Piglet pajamas, but it worked). I still hear more party noise. I am pretty sure they would keep it down for at least 5 minutes, so I check out the window. Why there is a night club right out back!(Note to self: as this is the second hotel that I have gone to with an attached night club, always ask before booking. Also the fact that the hotel provides free earplugs in the nightstand drawer should have been a clue).

I try to go to sleep. I put my ear plugs in. Still doesn't work. But remember it is 350 degrees in our room and I face a choice of : AIR or QUIET. If I close the windows, it is quieter, but hotter. At midnight I feel I should not have to make this choice. I feel greedy that both should be possible. I try calling down to the front desk, but the phone isn't working.

OH YES THEY DID MAKE ME GO DOWN IN MY PAJAMAS!

Please sirs, help me. I came to this hotel to sleep as that is what I believe they are there for: Sleeping while away. They offer another room...that is down the street in another building. Sorry, don't really want to wake up the kids at this point. Then they say How about we take this giant floor fan that is keeping the poor dude at the front desk from melting? Oh, no.....

But they say "He's used to it!"

With two fans, earplugs, and some sort of unit outside our window that hums, we go to sleep.

Next: Day 2, a walking tour of Dublin.

Summer plans

2009-07-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

My Sister-in-law (SIL) is a teacher + loves to travel+ has a son who lives in Germany (in the U.S. Air Force) along with us, of course + summers off = A Grand Tour of Europe.

2 girls + no school + no camp + no job = sitting on Facebook all summer.

So as I pondered what the girl's would do this summer, along comes wonderful SIL who invites them on the trip along with her daughter.

They will visit:

Ireland

Trier, Germany where Nephew lives,

Hamburg, Germany (where SIL's former exchange student lives)

Berlin, Germany

Erlangen, Germany

London, England

I joined them in Ireland (with Hubby catching up with us) and we will also join them for part of London.

Of course for the past few days the girls are travleling and the hubby is travelling and I am here holding up the fort by myself. I am trying to teach Hubby that weekends are not for working.

Sneak Preview of Ireland:

Did you know there are about 4 million people in Ireland and about 3.2 million sheep?

Potatoes, anyone?

2009-07-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

So I was working (sans laptop as it decided to die when I came back from vacation) and I hear the doorbell ring. Hmmm, who could that be? A little old lady in a flowered smock talking to me in German. "Ich spreche keine Deutsch!" (My attempt at "I don't speak any German") She looked at me incredulously. She continued on and said something about "kartoffel" (potatoes) and beckoned me to come out. What the heck, I said. I think at first I only caught the "kar" part and I was wondering if had something to do with my or her car? Nope! She was selling potatoes out of the back of her car. Since the girls are in North Germany and the hubby is away at training it is only me (Day 4 and counting) here at home, I do not have a great need for potatoes right now. I did see the neighbor bring out her potato bag and get some, though.

Words that sound funny in German

2009-06-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you are in the grocery store, minding your own business, only to be confronted by:

What is Muffin Hell? For me it would be only Banana Nut Muffins being available.

(I think Muffins Hell means Light Muffins)

Or maybe you are at the Garden Center when you see:

Nutzpumpen has something to do with hoses (literally, utilizable pump). Sure.

You know you have been married 22 years when....

2009-06-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

...You both buy the same Anniversary Card.

Bergkirchweih

2009-06-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

Bergkirchweih roughly translates as "the dedication of the mountain church," referring to a church on the outskirts of Erlangen.

From the Erlangen website:

"When the city councils of the municipalities decided on 21st April 1755, to relocate the traditional Pfingstmarkt (fair on Pentecost) from the old town market up to the Burgberg (castle hill), they could hardly imagine what a significant decision they had made. This decision was the birthday of the Erlanger Bergkirchweih, a beer festival, which has been celebrated for more than 250 years every year for 12 days around Pentecost. When the Lord Mayor of Erlangen taps on the first beer barrel -opens herewith the "fifth season", the Huguenot city will expecct more than one million visitors from near and far. Under the splendid old, chestnut trees decorated with Chinese lanterns, the thirsty festival guests can enjoy cool beer out of steins. Franconian dishes, like fried sausages or the well known Breze (pretzel), will be served as well as many international dishes, as Langos or Döner. Under the symbol of the Erlanger Bergkirchweih, the biggest portable Ferris wheel in Europe, the carnies present more than forty rides and carousels, from traditional to high-tech, and many in lottery booths, shooting galleries and sales booths.
Already more than 250 years ago the cellars of Erlanger Castle Hill were used by the local breweries to store their beer, so that even in the summer months it was always cool and fresh. Until the invention of refrigeration machine by Linde the local breweries benefited of this unique locational advantage explained the fame as the No.1 city of export beer even before Munich and Kulmbach. Not only Karl May praised the excellent quality of Erlanger beer in a book, even today the term "Erlanger" is a quality determination in the United States. "

Needless to say, being the 3rd largest Beer Festival in Bavaria, this is the highlight of the year hear in Erlangen. You can't see it in the pictures, but many people wear traditional lederhosen and dirndls to the "Berg".

As you enter you can see the big Riesenrad (Ferris Wheel).

The chinese lanterns seen in the trees...

Lebkuchenherz (A sort of gingerbread heart). You might buy this as a souvenier for somebody.

"Greetings from the Erlanger Bergkirchweih"

Breze (Pretzels) anyone?

The largest outdoor Beer Garden....

The band attired in traditional clothing...

Entrance to a Bier Keller (Beer Cellar)

Mmmm...Weisenbier (wheat beer)!

But lots of candy too!

The "Berg" is laid out in a very long fashion with beer gardens on one side and rides on the other with more beer gardens up the mountain a bit.

Ferris Wheel!

Views from the Ferris Wheel of the Greater Erlangen Metropolitan Area:

To the west:

To the southeast:

We live about here.............V... on the far side of the green patch on the top.

Wolli-Ber! (Wooly bears)

Farewell until next year!

Driver's License Process

2009-05-30T02:04:00.000-07:00

Mike asks:

Is it difficult to get a German drivers license?

German licenses look something like this:

If you are coming from the U.S., the first question is:

1) Does your state have driver's license reciprocity with Germany?

Some states have full reciprocity (no written or practical test needed), some have partial (written only test needed) and some have none. Guess which state NJ falls into?

Right! No reciprocity.

2) The next step is to take a First Aid Course. If someone has an accident, you are required to help out with first aid. I have already taken that course. Before I went to the course, somebody said it will be in German but there will be an english-language pamphlet. Not true! I took the course and thankfully there was a person or two who translated the highlights for us. We also did practical work on Resusci Annie (is that Resusci Heidi in Germany?). So if you get into an accident on your motorcycle I now know how to take off your helmet without breaking your neck further. You get a certificate that said you attended the course.

3) After that you take an eye test at your local optemetrist. I am about ready for a new batch of contacts but I squeaked through. You get a certificate that said you passed.

4) Next is the translation of your exisiting driver's license. It helps if you have your previous expired driver's license to show you have been driving for some period of time (otherwise you need to have a probation period). Currently they have my license and I have a photo copy and a letter stating that it is being translated. Our relocation company is taking care of those details for us. You also give them a picture which will be used..unfortunately we had our pictures taken to be used for various permits, etc. and it says "Don't Smile" for these pictures so my picture looks very depressing.

5) In 3-4 weeks I will take the written exam. We have aquired a packet of sixty 35 question tests from which the actual test questions will come from. This test will be in English. The problem is that I have no book that tells you the rules...you kind of have to reverse-engineer them from the test questions. I would say that 75% of the questions are logical to answer, but the other ones you need to know the law. For example, how many meters do you have to park from a Bus or Tram stop? (15m).

6) Next you take some lessons from a driving school. This is really just for the instructor to see what you are doing and point out things you need to make sure you do for the test. Hubby took three of these lessons before his test.

7) Then you take the practical test. I hear it is about 30 minutes long and you drive in different situations.

8) If you pass, you don't get your license at the TUV (like DMV) where you took your test, you go to town hall and get your license.

9) They may or may not take your U.S. license from you...Hubby got to keep his because "he is going back and forth for business trips". Let's see if that will work for me!

10) Once you have a German driver's license, you have it for life. No renewing every 4 years!

Bonus question: Why don't all states have reciprocity?

Theories on the internet:

1. One theory is that the full-reciprocity criteria had something to do with where most US military personnel historically came from. This doesn't appear to hold much water.

2. Note the big states (CA, NY, NJ) are not on the list, but other little ones are. This is either because of accident statistics or (conspiracy theory) they figure these are big immigrant states with lower standards.

3. German precision was truly applied, and they actually sent people over to obtain drivers licenses in each state and evaluated which were easy and which were tough.

4. People in the U.S. may not be used to driving in all weather conditions (snow, etc.)

Quick Sheep Update

2009-05-29T12:25:00.001-07:00

I hadn't seen the sheep lately and I was wondering if they (literally) had gone off to better pastures. But today I was riding my bicycle into Erlangen (the eldest had our bus pass and the car needs gas and being a true Jersey girl I know that "Real Women Don't Pump Gas" so I am avoiding that as long as possible)...besides it was a beautiful day and it was an excuse to get exercise while I was going to the library (did I mention I got my library card)? Anyway, I was riding along and sniff! sniff! What was that? Sheep!

Here they are:

It looks like they don't have heads! (Photo courtesy of my Blackberry)

Screens (and the lack thereof)

2009-05-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

The Germans have the most technologically advanced windows...they have a three-position handle that when up allows the window to tilt in, when sideways allows the window to open like a door, and when down allows the window to be closed.

But they don't do screens, those Germans. Which is ironic given the amount of time the windows are opened to "let in the fresh air".

I personally do not care for flies. So off we went to OBI (our local hardware store) to remedy the situation.

This kit basically consists of velcro tape that you afix to the borders of the window, and screen "fabric" that you stick onto the velcro. Voila! Instant Screens. Note carefully the screen in the below window.

I have "screened" selected windows in each of the rooms to allow for cross breezes.

Christi Himmelfahrt

2009-05-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

May 21 was "Christi Himmelfahrt"...Literally translated means Christ's Sky Drive, or better known as "The Ascension" (after Jesus was resurrected and then he went up to Heaven). I was determined that me and the girls would Get Outside and do something Outdoorsy. I got an idea from the school Newsletter.

We went to Pottenstein in the "Franconian Switzerland" area and visited two places: Sommerrodelbahn and the Teufelhöhle cave.

On our way out we saw a steam engine which apparently is run on Sundays and Holidays.

Hallo, Leute! (Hello, people!)

Even cooler with the Neideck Castle (I think) ruins in the back ground.

We drive by Tüchersfeld ...

Burg Pottenstein:

And finally arrive at our first destination, Sommerrodelbahn... the Summer Toboggan.

(aside to NJ Natives: remember Action Park? Remember the Alpine Slide (of death)? Same thing, but without the drunk New Yorkers).

There are two rides: one is more like a toboggan on wheels, and the other is more like a roller coaster car. You are in control of the brakes so you go as fast or as slow as you want (or as fast as the person in front of you)

This is the "roller coaster" ride.

The information I had said that the cave was in walking distance, but it took us a while to figure out which direction to go in. We finally found a nice walking path that went past the lake...

and the baby ducks...

and more baby ducks (who can resist!)

But we found Teufelshöhle (Devil's Hole).

(Aside to Mets fans...this means Tim Teufel was really Tim Devil. Who knew?)

The cave entrance:

Inside we took a group tour that was in German. All I could make out was Blah Blah Thousand Year Blah Blah. So evidently this cave is old...and has cool lighting.

All about Stalagmites

FYI: Stalactites go down from the Ceiling, Stalagmites go up from the Ground.

Cave Bears used to make this home...this was reconstructed out of the bones found in the cave.

Drippy-looking Stalactites:

"Curtain" stalactites:

When we emerge from the cave:

On the way back we passed through Gößweinstein and saw another castle on a hill (Burg on a Berg) which typifies Germany: Old Castle with New Technology (Note the cell tower!)

Nuremberg Volksfest

2009-05-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Nüremberg Volksfest...sort of like a Country Fair.

The girls were anxious to go on the rides. It was fun because they were not the standard fair rides we might see in the U.S.

We paid per ride, but they seemed to last a little longer than a typical fair ride.

Nice views from the Ferris Wheel.

Corn anyone?

The stadium looking thing is the Documentation Centre/Nazi Party Rally Grounds.

The girls are on there somewhere!

Fish on a stick?

Daddy, win me a prize!

Time to go!

Balcony

2009-05-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

t's warm enough for the construction to continue on the outside of the house. They started putting up the balcony off the master bedroom.

View from the back of the house:

View from the side of the balcony:

I suppose this will give us a shady area under the balcony...I hope the back patio extends a bit beyond it.

House Update

2009-05-07T02:17:00.000-07:00

Beth asks: "So, how is your house coming along?"

Fairly well!

Living Room:

Note that we had to put the sofa in on a diagonal as it would have blocked traffic otherwise.

The other end of the Living Room:

The younger one's room:

The window on the left is sort of a sky light. We still need to hang up her pictures.

Close up of "wall stickers" on the slanted wall.

The older one's room:

Some "spot" rugs she got:

Close up of art we got last year at her school's Art Auction...the colors go quite nicely with her room!

Master Bedroom:

We are told that the balcony (which would be accessed from the left of the bed) will start construction on Monday the 11th. The rest of the landscaping/yard/driveway is supposed to be done by the end of May.

A couple of Random Erlangen Pictures

2009-05-05T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hugenot church

The Huguenot Church was the first Huguenot place of worship built outside France. It was a gift from Margrave Christian Ernst and was built in 1686 - 93. key. The loggia, pulpit and priceless baroque organ are particularly remarkable.

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Maibaum (May Pole)

2009-04-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Maifeiertag (May Day) in Germany (and much of Europe).

Wikipedia tells us:

May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to any of several public holidays. In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. As a day of celebration the holiday has ancient origins, and it can relate to many customs that have survived into modern times. Many of these customs are due to May Day being a cross-quarter day, meaning that in the Northern Hemisphere it falls approximately halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.

In Bavaria, there is a tradition of a May Pole. Wikipedia tells us:

In the 16th century erecting a white and blue painted maypole became a tradition in Bavaria. Later, in the 18th century, symbols and shields of different worker's guilds were added to the pole. Young people of the village work together to select and cut down the tree, to transport and to decorate it. During the preparation it is necessary to guard the maypole because young people from other villages who would like to steal it. The setting up of the maypole is a big feast for the whole community.

Maypole in Munich:

Close up:

In Hohenschwangau (near Neuschwanstein):

In Nuremberg (in the Handwerkerhof):

After two weeks off for Easter Break, we get another day off!

That's UnAmerican!

2009-04-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

What! McDonald's wanted .19 Euro for a (large) packet of Ketchup! That is positively UnAmerican! How can you have fries with no ketchup!

Oh yeah, I am in Germany.

München and Neuschwanstein (Part 2)

2009-04-23T01:54:00.000-07:00

The next morning we were off to see Castle Neuschwanstein and Castle Hohenschwangau.

Here is a preview:

Castle Neuschwanstein

Castle Hohenschwangau.

Neuschwanstein is pronounced New-shvon-stine. Neuschwanstein means New-Swan-Stone and you can see the evidence of the swan theme all over.

Castle Neuschwanstein was built starting in 1869 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
Wikipedia tells us:

The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. The conception of the palace was outlined by Ludwig II in a letter to Richard Wagner, dated May 13, 1868;

"It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin at Hohenschwangau near the Pollat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles... the location is the most beautiful one could find, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world."”

The palace was originally called New Hohenschwangau Castle until the king's death, when it was re-named Neuschwanstein, the castle of the Swan Knight Lohengrin, of Wagner's opera of the same name. In origin, the palace has been the Schwanstein, the seat of the knights of Schwangau, whose emblem had been the swan.

The "old" Hohenschwangau Castle is Ludwig's child home and is near by to Neuschwanstein. We visited there too.

As we drove down from Munich, the Alps started to come into view.

As we drive up the road toward the castles:

And soon, we could see the castle!

But first we went to get tickets for the two castles in the village of Hohenschwangau.

The Germans are so efficient...your ticket has the Tour Number (435 in the above ticket) and then you get into line that matches your tour at the appointed time. They also make sure when you buy tickets for both castles you have enough time to get from one to the other.

You can get tickets to English speaking tours for both of the castles. The castles are up on hills, so you can either walk, take a bus, or take a horse drawn carriage. For Hohenschwangau we walked up.

Views from outside Hohenschwangau.

The view from the castle:

Hohenschwangau means High-Swan-District. Here are more swans:

You can see Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau:

Now to walk up to Neuschwanstein it is a 40 minute walk, so we opted for the horse-drawn carriage...plus it is more romantic. We were in a carriage such as this:

As we approach the castle:

This looks super spooky but it wasn't really raining much...

View from the window:

Farewell!

As you may know, Neuschwanstein was an inspiration for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland.

(not my pictures)

München and Neuschwanstein (Part 1)

2009-04-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

The in-laws were here so we thought we would go on a more ambitious excursion. Our plan was to drive to München (Munich), stay over night there, and then drive down to the castle Neuschwanstein. We would then drive up the "Romantic Road" and stop in a town along the way for a meal and then end up in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, known for its well-preserved medieval old town. We didn't end up in Rothenburg, but we managed the rest of the itinerary.

The hubby was working in Munich on Thursday, so I got to do the driving. All the other times I have been to Munich there was some snoozing going on on my part, but not this time! My experience on the Autobahn is this:

There are three lanes on this Autobahn.

The right lane consists of trucks going about 100kmh.

If there is not too much traffic, one stays in the right lane and passes the trucks on occasion.

Unlike the U.S., where you might typically hang out in a lane, in Germany you really are expected to get to the right as much as you can.

Unfortunately there was more traffic.

So I would be in the middle lane, trying to go about 120kmh (~72mph). Then one of the trucks would decide that the truck in front of it is going too slow, so it would jump out and pass. But it is only going 105kmh to go around that 100kmh truck...which means....surprise! A truck in front of you. Then you need to make a decision...what is coming faster? That mercedes in the left lane going 140+kmh or the truck in front of you going 105kmh. Aaauugh! Keep that up for about 2 hours.

But we get to see giant wind turbines and lovely farms where we imagine they are growing hops?

Our first stop in Munich was the Viktualienmarkt (Victual Market, i.e., permanent outdoor farmer market) that was not too far from Marienplatz (Tourist central of Munich). See my post on Marienplatz for more on Marienplatz.

There are some permanent Metzgerei (Butchers) shops as you enter the Viktualienmarkt.

There are Produce stands and Cheese stands and Wine stands of all sorts. We nibbled our way through the market.

Wierd sorts of fruits...

...and of course, seasonal items such as SPARGEL (white asparagus) and strawberries. More on Spargel in another post! (German's love them some spargel).

We also found a great second hand clothing store, Kleidermarkt, where I got a OctoberfestyGermanyish leather jacket and the girls found a few things.

We had dinner at a Thai place called Yum Thai Kitchen and Bar, which the hubby had been to before. Thai food in Germany? Yes, because we have been having alot of German food all week!

Next Post...Neuschwanstein!

Mäh (Baa)

2009-04-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

or "Traffic Jam in Erlangen"

So we were going on a walk and almost got run over!

We stood against a fence until all the traffic went by.

Make sure all the stragglers catch up!

Ostereier (Easter Eggs)

2009-04-13T00:54:00.000-07:00

In Germany you mostly find brown eggs. According to the Egg Nutrition Board:

"White shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. There is no difference in taste or nutrition between white and brown eggs."

All well and good, but how will these do for Easter Egg dying?

It seems that we got lovely jewel tones! I think next year we will try a little harder to find white eggs (i.e., look in more than our local grocery store), but these came out nicely.

Easter flowers!

2009-04-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Lots of activity at the house this morning...the painters are here early and we had a delivery of beautiful easter flowers! (courtesy of C&L)

Osterbaum (Easter Tree)

2009-04-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

One of the traditions of Germany is "Easter Trees"...more like Easter bushes, really!

Journey-to-Germany says:

"These Easter trees are either made of branches cut from pussy willows or other flowering bushes or are small living trees and bushes that are already planted around the house.
In the case of the cut branches, they are usually brought in the house and put in a vase to be decorated with hand painted wooden eggs, hollowed out real eggs and little garlands. In the same way, the living trees and bushes outside the house are also decorated with plastic, wooden or real painted eggs and wreaths. It makes for a splash of colour in otherwise often gray spring days, giving the towns and cities a more festive atmosphere.
Of course little Easter chocolate eggs are also left by the big Easter Bunny (Osterhase) around bushes and trees for kids to find on Easter Sunday. Another tradition introduced in North America by Germans settlers."

An Easter tree in our neighborhood

Even the mini-golf has Easter trees!

Unpacking Chaos

2009-04-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

The movers came bright and early at 7:45am, parking in their designated parking spot.
They were finished unpacking the shipping container by about 2:00pm.

The kitchen:

The Living Room:

The office:

The older one's room:

The younger one's room:

On Tuesday they came and unpacked most of the the rest of the boxes that we didn't get to (like the kitchen and Living room). There are many things we are still trying to find out where they go!

Our shipment is supposed to come tomorrow

2009-04-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

Our shipment (furniture! clothes!) is supposed to come tomorrow. I was wondering where they would put the shipping container as there are perpetually people parked on our street, especially across the street from our house. You can only park on one side of the street as our street is so narrow.

Solution? Temporary no parking zone across the street from our house. Hopefully the neighbors will move their cars on Monday.

The little sign says "Umzug" which means "House Moving" on April 6.

Where have you been all my life?

2009-04-04T03:35:00.000-07:00

Things they need to sell in the U.S., Part 1:

I like cream puffs....
I like Bailey's....
Even better together!

Krokus (Crocus)

2009-04-03T00:25:00.000-07:00

Turns out we have some Croci growing in our back yard too! The landlord is starting work on the outside of the house...yesterday there were painters. I can't wait until we have a patio/backyard/garden!

Another bedroom

2009-04-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

This is the current state of the little one's bedroom. She has an inflatable mattress on the floor and a wardrobe. She has elected not to paint.

We hope her loft bed will fit along the wall where the wardrobe is (on the right)

On the left is a skylight.

Was ist das? (What is that?)

2009-03-31T06:36:00.001-07:00

My little one told me this is quite the popular fruit in the cafeteria at school...

What the heck is it? I thought it looked like a tomatillo. So we bought them to try.

We looked it up and tomatillo is in the physalis family...this is most likely known as a "Cape Gooseberry". It is pleasantly tart.

How to go Grocery Shopping in Germany in 25 Easy Steps

2009-03-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

Gather up all of your bottles that need to be returned. Yes, they still do that!
Make sure you have a 1-Euro coin with you.
Make sure you have your shopping bags with you. You are tired of paying for plastic grocery bags.
Go to the supermarket.
Put your bottles in the automatic bottle returner machine.
Gather any bottles that the machine rejects. Put them back in the car.
Take your 1-Euro coin to get a shopping cart. The carts are connected together and you put in a 1-Euro to free a cart.
Take your bottle return receipt into the store with you.
Go shopping.
Marvel at why half of the "American Section" is Mexican food...but they don't have re-fried beans.
Go to check out.
Hopefully you have cash or your "EC" debit card with you.
Watch the checkout person scan your items at record speed. You have to bag yourself.
Feel proud if you can almost bag as fast as the checkout person.
Ignore stares as you bag the few last items and get your money out.
Put your food in the trunk of your car.
Smack your head when you realize you forgot to turn in your bottle return receipt.
Return your cart to the cart shack and get your Euro back.
Put your Euro in a special place in your purse so you don't spend it.
Stop by the recycling center to get rid of the wine bottle that the bottle return machine rejected.
Look back and forth between the green bottle bin and the brown bottle bin when you realize you have a yellow bottle.
Decide it's a green bottle and who cares because no one's watching.
Go home.
Unpack your groceries.
Try to figure out how to fit the frozen items in the little tiny freezer.

Erlanger Frühling (Erlanger Spring)

2009-03-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

“Erlanger Frühling” is a spring town festival which takes place in Erlangen for the last twelve years. More than 10.000 visitors come to this event every year. Along the main streets (Nürnberger Straße and Hauptstraße ) and the two squares (Hugenottenplatz and Schloß/Marktplatz) there will be all kinds of attractions as well as a big variety of food and drinks. At the Bohlenplatz you can find an interesting flea market. All shops in the centre will be open too. Come and see all the newest fashion trends and enjoy the atmosphere!
When: Sunday, March 22nd, between 1pm and 6pm.

The above was what the Newsletter from our Relocation People said. Sounded like a nice festival...however it turns out that the main draw is that all the shops in the shopping areas and the Arcaden (our local mall) were open! Normally shops are closed on Sunday, so this was a big deal. It was like Christmas shopping crowds in March in the Arcaden. There were also booths along Nürnberger Straße (a semi-pedestrian only street with many shops). Despite the rain, many people were out and about.

We stopped for some Kuchen (cake) at a booth which you notice they served on real plates. You could get paper plates if you wanted too.

One of the department stores had a horse-drawn wagon...my kids are too big for that! :-(

Adorable horses!

When we walked back, we decided to not walk in the crowds and went over a block where we found the Schlossgarten (Castle Garden). The croci are out!

The first French Huguenot refugees arrived in Erlangen in 1686. Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, built a "new town" (Neustadt) for them. This fountain depicts Christian Ernst at the top and his good deeds "flowing" down to the Huguenots on the bottom of the

fountain.

This is the Orangerie, built in 1705 for the over-wintering of tropical plants.

After that we went to the Arcaden for Eis (ice cream) as I was the only smart person who wanted warm coffee and cake on a cold day. The crowds were unbelievable!

I swore this was Vegetable Oil when I bought it

2009-03-27T15:08:00.001-07:00

It is the color of vegetable oil...
In the bottle shape I come to expect...
It seems to be used for salads...

I wondered why the viscosity was so low...
I won't mention how many times I used it when cooking up some chicken...

As you walk in the house

2009-03-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Someone asked what does it look like in our house as you walk in the front door?

If you look to the right:

On the right is an extra bedroom/office. It is empty at the moment, awaiting furniture.

On the left is the downstairs bathroom.

If you look to the left:

The bathroom is on the right, and the stairs to the basement and 2nd floor (known as the 1st floor here in Europe) are on the left. If you go down the hall to the left you can also access the kitchen or the stairs that lead upstairs.