Black Friday backlash: Early openings a mixed blessing – Nov. 15, 2011 November 20, 2011

Black Friday backlash: Early openings a mixed blessing – Nov. 15, 2011.

Now I’m a gal who likes to shop, but when I read the above article a couple of days ago, I have to say it made me a little concerned. Yes, I understand businesses want to make money, and I suppose one could argue that the employees who work on a holiday earn higher wages (which during these hard times they perhaps need)…still, one has to wonder: if these shops didn’t open at 11pm on Thursday, would they really make less money in the long run over the holiday season? Will the people who go shopping at 11pm on Thanksgiving simply not go shopping at all if the stores don’t open then? It might be that the shops do come out slightly ahead with this early Black Friday strategy, but my guess is that the same people who get up at 4am on Black Friday to wait in line are the same ones who will go at 11pm on Thanksgiving Day. And now that the store is opening at that time, they’ll have no choice but to go on Thanksgiving Day if they want to catch the best deals. I understand people want to save money and get good deals, but I have to wonder, what are we as a country really paying for all this cheap stuff when one considers the ramifications of what this means not only for the Thanksgiving holiday, but possibly other American holidays, too?

The lack of vacation time for workers in the US and the fact that there are only a  handful of days (at best) left in the year when  almost all shops are closed for public holidays means Americans are already dreadfully lagging behind their European counterparts in terms of quality relaxation time with their families. After having lived and worked in the UK for a number of years, I came to really appreciate what it means to have actual vacation time. My British colleagues where shocked and appalled when I told them that I had to work an entire year before I earned any real vacation time, and that allotment was pretty measly once I did receive it (and that that was 100% normal). And now, living in (at least this part of) Germany, every shop is closed every Sunday, every week. In case you didn’t catch that, EVERY SUNDAY, EVERY WEEK.  While I find it a little extreme to have ALL the shops closed for an entire day every week (no less the weekend, when one might actually have the time and energy to get some shopping down!), I do appreciate that it guarantees at least one day out of the week when most families can spend time together. Yes, doctors and nurses and firemen (and servers and cooks, too, as restaurants and cafes are open) still have to work, but most families have a day together without working or running errands.  And I also appreciate that the major holidays in Germany are taken pretty seriously, too…I don’t think there’s any chance stores here are going to open at 11pm on Christmas Day just so shoppers can get started early on the after-Christmas sales!

So I just have to wonder…are we Americans digging our own “holiday/vacation” grave by allowing shops to open on Thanksgiving Day? Are we making an already bad situation worse by eroding yet another holiday (that I always thought was supposed to be a day about family and rest and being thankful for what you already have) into just another day to spend money? I fear once the floodgates are open, it won’t be long before the next American holiday is under attack and open for business as usual.

What do you think? Would you ever or will you go shopping on Thanksgiving Day? Does it concern you that shops are starting to open on a public holiday?

Back in the Saddle October 31, 2011

Wuerzburg in Autumn

Hurray, I did it! I managed to sneak a post into October before the month is over. (I’m sorry September…I really am.) I sort of feel like I’m cheating, writing this right now, as I’m technically home sick and not in my language class where I am supposed to be. You see, I got up this morning feeling not so great with a stomach ache, got ready, ate some breakfast, continued to feel not so great but was determined to go to class. I walked up to the bus stop (feeling not so great), waited for the bus (still feeling not so great), got on and decided when we got into town that it was silly for me to go to class when I felt so poorly and it wouldn’t be the end of the world for me to miss. So I just stayed on the bus and went back home again. The funny thing is that within an hour or so, I actually started to feel pretty good and normal again. And to make matters worse, we don’t even have class tomorrow as it is a holiday. What holiday, you ask? Why, All Saints Day, of course! (I love it. The Germans aren’t even really into Halloween like the Americans are, but we still get a day off. And check this out: We live in the German state abbreviated “BY,” and apparently we get the most public holidays of anyone – sweet!) Anyway, I blame my stomach ache on the bad dream I had about zombies last night that must have caused  some serious indigestion. (And I blame you, NPR, for causing me to have that dream to begin with after I read this article!) Anyway, at least I’m getting to write an October entry.  Maybe I should make it a spoooooky entry? Eh, maybe not. The zombie nightmare was enough spookiness for me in one day.

The beauty of the vineyards

Instead, I think I’ll share with you some photos and a little information about a walk we did here in Wuerzburg last Saturday through the vineyards to Randesacker. I was a little surprised to find it already so cold when I arrived back in Germany last week, as Indiana was enjoying a lovely Indian summer when I left. Still, the chill snap in the air and bit of hazy fog makes for some lovely autumn photos.

The walk began the way we usually do it, which is to start off in the vineyards near Wuerzburg University’s campus, and then make our way down into the neighboring town of Randesacker. The two weekends he was here on his own, the Mr. did 18-mile hikes on each of the Saturdays going in a similar direction to how we walked, but he then continued on to a further-away neighboring town before making his way back on foot. I’m not sure I can manage 18 miles going up and down hills in one day, so we only did a slightly longer version of the walk we usually do, which meant that instead of walking down the hill into Randesacker and then making our way back home along the Main River, we instead walked down into the village and then back up again on the other side of the valley into a natural preserve area, and then back into more vineyards. We went back down the hill from there into Randesacker, and then took a bus home.

Plucked fresh off the vine

One of the things I love most about doing this walk is that from early spring all the way until late autumn, you can forage fruit from all of the old orchard trees. We plucked a couple of apples fresh off a tree and enjoyed them as part of our lunch, and also pinched a few grapes from the vines (though we tried not to be too greedy…we know those, of course, actually are owned by someone and harvested!)

We stopped at the church just above Randesacker that you come to before walking down into town and had a bite to eat for lunch. It was a great place to enjoy the view.

Walking up to the church

This walk to Randesacker has become one of our favorites as it’s always beautiful, no matter what season, and it’s never too crowded.  Next to the church is where the huge, old mulberry tree grows that is totally ignored by passers-by, and offers some of the most delicious fruit available to forage in summer.

Off on our way after lunch

After lunch, we took the path from the church shown in the picture here next to the tree .

There were some beautiful things to see along the way:

Fall foliage

Stone marker in the vineyards

Randesacker

I promise I won’t be away so long now that I’m back in good ‘ol Germany. I have lots of entries I’m planning to write about all of our adventures in September and October. Until then, hope you have a fun and safe Halloween wherever you are!

So Oui Meet Again…. August 20, 2011

Strasbourg, France

Last weekend was a long weekend here in Würzburg with the Monday being a holiday. I think it was technically a religious holiday of some sort, but as with many of the “religious” holidays here in Germany nowadays, that connection is mostly in name only. So the Mr. and I decided it was time for a short mini-break somewhere.

We decided to take the train to Strasbourg, France. Strasbourg is just over the border from Germany into northeastern France, in the Alsace region. It was historically a German-speaking city and area, so you find signs in both French and the historic version of the German language that was once spoken there. It makes for an interesting mix as it “feels” like a German city to me in many ways; the architecture looks German, they offer flammkuechen in many of the restaurants (which apparently originated in this region, but I know it only from Germany) and it’s full of German tourists. In terms of language, however, it’s most definitely French these days. Many of the shopkeepers and restaurant staff did seem to know a bit (or maybe even more than a bit) of German, but French is the primary language today. Still, knowing some German came in handy. I had a moment of triumph when I went into a Nespresso shop and wanted to ask whether they had a limited edition coffee I had ordered off of the website a few months ago. I asked the woman if she spoke English, and she said no. Before I had taken my intensive language course, I would have probably left the shop defeated. Instead I asked if she spoke German….bingo! I then proceeded to ask her in my (albeit rather crappy) German if they had this coffee I was searching for, and she understood – double bingo! Understanding her was a little tricky, but finally I got the gist of what she was saying. I felt pretty darned good at that moment, like maybe the intensive language course isn’t such a bad idea!

In "Petite-France," in Strasbourg

According to Wikipedia, Strasbourg’s city center, known as the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, apparently the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. Walking around, it’s not hard to see why it was the first city to be awarded this status; it’s a bit like stepping back in time. Today, Strasbourg is also the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights, its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Audiovisual Observatory) and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union.

Apart from just taking in the atmosphere of the city, what I loved most about Strasbourg was how it really catered to its tourists with live performances of all sorts taking place from the morning until late at night, giving the city a festive feel. One of the best was a light and sound show that happened every night on the facade of the cathedral. It was dramatic and beautiful, and it didn’t hurt that there was a gelato shop right there that served up the best ice cream the Mr. and I have ever tasted.

A narrow cobbled street in Strasbourg

What I also loved about Strasbourg was the great shopping. Or, at least I think it would have been great shopping had I actually been able to go shopping. You see, I have class on Fridays until 2.15 pm, so the Mr. and I debated whether we should leave immediately after my class on Friday and come home late Sunday afternoon, or leave on Saturday morning and come home late Monday afternoon. I was in favor of leaving Friday as it would guarantee a whole day that the shops would be open, but the Mr. thought it was better to wait until Saturday morning so that we’d have a little more time altogether in the city. He reasoned that I’d have at least a couple of hours on Saturday evening after we had arrived, and then all of Monday morning. On Saturday, I made a mad rush to try to hit at least a few places (bought some amazing macaroons and chocolate), and was super excited about the all the other places I would check out on Monday morning. Well, come Monday morning, I realized that the small boutique shops I had been eagerly anticipating browsing were still closed. I had a closer look at the signs and discovered that some weren’t going to open at all on a Monday (hello! seriously?!), while most would open at 2pm. Well, better late than never, I figured. Then I started noticing signs for shops that said they should have been open by 9am on a Monday. Uh-oh….suddenly, it became clear to us that it was pretty likely nothing was going to open that day because apparently, it was a holiday there, too. Goody. The Mr. swore up and down he hadn’t planned this all out so I couldn’t go shopping and spend money, but I’m still pretty  suspicious of how it all turned out….If we ever make it back to Strasbourg, I will first of all check that there are no public holidays, and secondly, I’ll make sure we avoid the tail end of a weekend.  On a side note, I have to say that shops being closed on Sundays in Europe is one of my biggest pet peeves living here. I’ve heard the argument that it keeps at least one day when families can spend time together, but that doesn’t entirely hold up because restaurants and cafes are still open which means the staff working there aren’t spending time with their families. And given that much of Europe isn’t terribly religious these days, the argument of “keeping the Sabbath Day holy” also doesn’t really hold up. From my point of view, considering that most people work a 9-5 weekday job, it makes no sense to take away an entire day on the weekend where people can go shopping if they need or want to.  But I doubt the system is going to change just because one cranky American doesn’t like it….

Inside the Cathedral

Anyway, back to Strasbourg, I think we most definitely will go again. We’ve discovered that we have a real advantage with where we live here in Germany in that we’re in the state of Bavaria, but we’re also very close to the border of another state called Baden-Württemberg. That means that we can take advantage of cheap travel tickets in BOTH states, meaning we can go all the way to Munich, for example, for 28 euros one way (with the Bavaria ticket), or all the way to Strasbourg in France (with the Baden-Württemberg ticket) for only 28 euros. Our entire trip to Strasbourg – an almost six-hour journey – cost us only 56 euros both ways. If we had driven a car the petrol alone would have costed more than that. And actually, up to three more people could have travelled with us for that same price. It’s cheap, dependable and far-reaching public transportation that’s pretty darn awesome.  And you’ll never hear me complain about that!

Discovering Arles May 12, 2011

Victor Hugo's birthplace

We spent the next morning wandering a bit more around Besançon, checking out the birthplace of Victor Hugo (you can only view it from the outside), as well as The Museum of Time. It was an interesting museum that we essentially stumbled upon while heading back towards our hotel to leave the city. The timing was perfect as they offered free entry on that day, and I wanted to use a restroom. We spent a half hour or so wandering around the museum and enjoyed fantastic views of the city from the top floor where a Foucault pendulum is housed. After our brief tour, we grabbed some lunch at a nearby cafe (where we learned that you seem to need to pay waiters inside the restaurant and not at your table) and then headed back to the hotel.

We arrived in Arles some hours later, unfortunately at night. Arles isn’t a particularly large city, but still, we had no real directions to our hotel so we did a lot of driving around trying to figure out exactly where and how to get to the river as our hotel was essentially on it. Eventually we did find the right road to get us there, and called the hotel owner to tell him we had arrived (we knew we would be a little later than the 10pm check in time, so we had phoned to tell him.) We went up to our room and discovered what I think must be the smallest hotel room in western Europe (I’m sure they probably have smaller ones in Tokyo, but still…it was impressively small.) We struggled to find enough space for all of our stuff and still be able to walk around the bed accessing the bathroom. It was fine for a night, but I think if we had planned an extensive stay it would have felt pretty cramped.  We decided to head out and explore the town a little, although at this point it was past 11pm. The town was pretty quiet, with a few bars and restaurants still open but definitely no wild night life (at least not on a Sunday night at this time of year.) Maybe it’s a different story in the high season.

The next morning, we loaded up our things into the car and checked out and then searched for breakfast. We discovered some very tasty fresh brioche from a local bakery, and set off wandering.

The promenade along the river is sort of romantic, and provided inspiration for the artist Vincent Van Gogh (he lived in Arles for some time and painted many of his works here.)  We then headed towards the Roman colosseum in town, and snapped a few photos from the outside. As we only had a couple hours to sightsee, we also chose to not go inside the ruins of the Roman amphitheater, either. But I put my camera through the fence and snapped a few photos.

Arles is a nice city to just wander around in. Like in Besançon, there are plenty of narrow, winding streets that you can just enjoy following to see where they take you. I’ve sort of fallen in love with the window shutters and balconies of France and Italy, so I snapped lots of photos of those.

We finished up our tour of the city by grabbing a coffee at the cafe Van Gogh made famous in his painting “Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum.” Well, I should clarify: I had a coffee, and had to beg, bribe and practically threaten the Mr. that he should accompany me while I enjoyed said beverage. He wanted nothing to do with the “tourist trap” cafe, and couldn’t fathom why I would want to have a coffee there. Men. Men who didn’t study art history, actually. Anyway, I’ll be darned if  I didn’t hear French voices come from the table next to us;  so it wasn’t just us and the Asian tourists! Still, I did find myself getting slightly annoyed with the wait staff that they kept asking me if I wanted to eat. Yes, it was around lunchtime, but it wasn’t like every table was full and people were standing around looking for a free one. I get the pushiness in those circumstances, but not when it’s mostly empty.

After the coffee, I grabbed a veggie sushi pack to go from a little cafe just on the corner of the square (she made it right in front of me, and it was sooo delicious.) We then headed to our car and towards our next destination: Spain!

Besançon, France’s “secret city” May 9, 2011

So as I mentioned in my previous entry, the Mr. and I recently took a vacation to France and Spain.  I was a little nervous about the trip considering neither of us speaks particularly good Spanish or French, but this didn’t seem to bother the Mr. Some of my basic high school Spanish did come back to me, but I never learned any French so apart from “please” and “thank you,” I had pretty much no idea how to say anything. (We finally did learn the phrase for “the bill, please.” The Mr. initially had no idea so asked one waitress “péage?” which I am pretty sure means “toll.” She must have had a laugh over that.) I always felt slightly guilty that we asked pretty much everyone we had to speak to if they spoke English, but I consoled myself with the  fact that English is, for better or worse, the default universal language that most people know. Sometimes we’d be asked, “English or German?” And I’d quickly say “German!” just so I didn’t feel like the loser English-speaker who doesn’t know another language. Not that I’d get very far with German if the Mr. wasn’t there….

Besançon, France

Anywhoo, the first stop of our vacation was a city I just sort of stumbled onto, and had actually never heard of before. I was searching for a city somewhere in France where the Mr. and I could spend our first evening, that wouldn’t take any longer than 5 hours or so to reach. We wanted to keep the driving to a minimum on that first day partly because I knew we’d get a late start out the door (we always do), and partly just to keep from driving too much in a straight shot.  Having had my wallet stolen back in December, my Indiana driver’s license was unfortunately in that wallet and therefore has not been replaced. Even if I did still have it, I’m past the point where I’m legally allowed to drive here in Germany without passing a written driving test and getting a new license, but without any license at all it’s certainly not worth the risk to drive.  So we knew from the get-go the Mr. would be doing all the driving for the trip, and I was keen to try and make sure we didn’t do too much in any single day as I’m sure statistically that raises the risk for an accident. And one really doesn’t want to have an accident, especially on the autobahn. Anyway, I was googling places and came across Besançon, France. The distance was just right, and after reading this article from the Guardian, I was pretty much convinced.

Well, I’m happy to report that you can believe the hype: Besançon is really lovely. We arrived in the late evening and checked into an Ibis Hotel located a short 10-minute walk from the city center. I chose the Ibis because it was very central and also offered parking. (The underground parking was another adventure all to itself; I’m still always amazed when the Mr. successfully navigates unscathed through the extremely tight parking garages of Europe.) After we checked into our room, (which was very clean but sparse and featured a sort of “pod” bathroom…literally, it’s like a separate small room you step up into) we headed into town to try and find something to eat.

By the time we had walked along the river from the hotel to the city center and had snapped photos, it was already getting a little late, close to 9pm. We wandered along the narrow, winding streets, drinking in the lovely old architecture of the historic center and people-watching while they dined with sidewalk-seating at an impressive variety of restaurants. We checked out many menus at many restaurants, with me longing to feel a little hungrier so I could justify a huge steaming bowl of moules marinière, steamed mussels. The problem was that neither of us were particularly starved and therefore didn’t feel we could justify a big, expensive meal. Finally we spotted it, a Lebanese restuarant whose menu boasted some of my favorite foods; hummus, falafel, chicken skewers…and the photos accompanying each dish looked so appealing.  After a quick discussion outside, the Mr. and I agreed that what might make the most sense was to order maybe four appetizers instead of entrees so we could have a bit of several things that sounded good. It was the perfect plan.

We stepped inside and were greeted by an older woman who said something in French we didn’t understand, and then proceeded to figure out pretty quickly that English was better. She spoke English really well. She seemed very busy as many tables were full, but was friendly. We took a seat. There were two menus on the table that featured bright, colorful photos of various appetizers you could get, like hummus and falafel. She also came by and handed us more extensive menus, but we could readily see everything that appealed to us on the laminated colorful appetizer menu. We wanted to order a glass of house wine for me, and a bottle of beer for the Mr. She informed us she didn’t have the beer he wanted, but that they had a lovely Lebanese wine which we could share a small carafe of if we’d like instead. I didn’t care either way, and the Mr. agreed to sharing the wine. He knew it was pricey (14 euros for the carafe), but it was the beginning of vacation and we wouldn’t be spending that much on the meal with the four appetizers, so it seemed okay to splurge a little on the wine.

She came back with the drinks, and the Mr. explained to her that we’d like to order four appetizers instead of entrees as we aren’t that hungry. She then told us about a shared platter we could have for 22 euros each (44 euros total), and all the delicious things we would get on it. The Mr. explained again that we really weren’t that hungry, and would just like order the four appetizers. She took down our order and disappeared to tend other tables. Within 10 minutes, our falafel (small deep-fried patties made of highly-spiced ground chick-peas) and tabbouleh (diced parsley salad with burghul, tomato and mint) arrived. Both were delicious. I was in food heaven. After we had cleared those plates, our chicken skewers (with hummus…hmm..bonus…hadn’t expected that!) and the Mr.’s kofta (fingers, stars or a flat cake of minced meat and spices that can be baked or charcoal-grilled on skewers) arrived. Those, too, were absolutely scrumptious. We started to eat, and at some point, one of us remarked that “these plates are bigger, aren’t they?” and “hmm, yes…and this is an awful lot of food, isn’t it?” Actually, it was a TON of food on each plate…more like an entree-sized portion. The more we ate, the more we began to realize that there was no way these portions could be just appetizers. And sure enough, when the bill came, she had charged us for two appetizers and two entrees. With the pricey wine, it ended up being a very expensive meal, indeed. What happened was clearly a clash of cultures as her English was fluent and we don’t think there’s any real possibility she just misunderstood. But now we’re lefting wondering which culture we clashed with: French culture, where perhaps the idea of ordering four appetizers instead of entrees in a restaurant is tantamount to blasphemy, or Lebanese culture, where perhaps the restaurant owner “knows best” what’s good for you, even if you didn’t order it? If anyone has any insights to either French or Lebanese restaurant culture, I’d love to hear those thoughts!

Hello…is it me you’re looking for? May 5, 2011

Greetings, all! It’s been a while since my last post, but happily my absence has been due to good things like vacations and friends visiting (yay!), not illness or apathy (boo!)

Since I last wrote, LOTS of things have happened:

1. I began my two-month long break from language class (hurray!), during which time I had planned to spend several hours a day EVERY day memorizing past lessons so I’d be totally ready for when class resumes in a couple weeks’ time. Well, apart from me answering basic queries in Spanish or French with my basic German (go me, right?!), not so much German has been practiced (uh-oh…).  I keep telling myself I still have a couple weeks’ time so all is not lost, but yeah…still not so much studying German so far. One thing I am feeling good about (but that was totally useless on vacation) is that I realized I actually do know waaaaay more German than Spanish or French. Every time somebody asked me something, I pretty much wanted to blurt out the answer in German or tell them I didn’t understand in German. Not particularly useful in France or Spain, but made me feel good all the same. (What also made me feel good was the Mr. was totally rubbish, too; he often said ‘oui’ in Spain and ‘Si’ in France.)  I’m starting to think there really might just be too many languages in Europe.

2. We went on vacation. Hurray! It was lovely. I think I shall write (a) separate post(s) as there is so much to say.

3. We celebrated Easter with the family. Hurray! I felt it went better this year as I did understand a bit more, at least when the conversation was nice and basic. I started drifting off and staring at ceiling cracks, however, when the conversation strayed into politics and I couldn’t follow. No bother; it was better, and that’s what counts.

4. We had good friends from Edinburgh visit us for a few days. Double hurray! A few days spent with friends and showing them the sights does wonders to help with homesickness, or in my case, more of a “friendsickness.” (I actually really enjoy living in Germany; I just wish my family & friends did, too.) Well, to be honest, I’m discovering that it somehow helps AND makes it worse all at the same time…because I’m reminded of just how much I miss having friends around.

5. I’m baking again. Hurray! (for my tummy, anyway, not so much for my waistline.) I baked American chocolate chip cookies again, and this time the Mr. helped as we only have a hand mixer and I find that once it gets to the “adding flour bit” my poor right hand (damaged from years of waitressing) can’t really cope. He kept asking me “when do we add the milk and water,” or something like that. To which I replied, of course, that you don’t add milk or water to chocolate chip cookies.  Now you need to imagine his snobby German accent: “What?!” he gasps. “You mean there’s only sugar, flour and fat in these things?! They’re like heart-clogging artery bombs! No wonder America is fat!!” Yeah, whatever. See if you get any of MY cookies, Mr. Poo-Poo Head. I seem to remember you scarfing down quite a bit of the last batch….That being said, this batch actually came out pretty flat and pancake-like, which really annoys me, especially as these are actually for guests. I’m hosting a sort of afternoon tea tomorrow and have baked the cookies and will shortly head to the kitchen to bake some cupcakes. The cupcakes should prove interesting. I bought a German cake mix in a box, so I’m going try and convert that to cupcake form.  Not sure how they’ll turn out, but at least I have the flat cookies as a back-up plan

So yeah…that’s pretty much the update. What’s new with you?

What Goes On January 9, 2011

The path to Käppele

The last couple of weeks have been quiet, enjoyable ones. The Mr. has been resting up before returning to work, and I’ve been gearing up to begin my intensive language course. We had some lovely, long walks around the city and yesterday enjoyed walking up to Käppele, a church that survived the 1945 bombing is now in the care of the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchin. It sits on a hill overlooking the city and is one of Würzburg’s most recognizable landmarks.

We also attempted (sort of) to go sledding one day while the snow was still covering the ground (temperatures only *just* warmed up yesterday melting all the snow. It’s been on the ground since Thanksgiving, I think!) I say “attempted” as we had no proper sled. The Mr. thought perhaps we could fabricate one using an Ikea bag and a yoga block. A nice idea, but sadly it was a colossal fail. If only we had had a lunchroom tray like we used to use back at DePauw….

We also watched (and are still watching) several documentaries. The Mr. picked out “The Story of India” last year as a Christmas gift, and it was a highly enjoyable and enlightening exploration of a fascinating country. I’ve only been to New Delhi (briefly) and Dharamsala (for a month), all the while focussing on Tibetan culture, but I’d enjoy returning at some point to see more of and learn more about India. The documentary also tied in nicely with two novels I’ve been reading, Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, and Brick Lane by Monica Ali. The other documentary series I’m currently in love with is Simon Reeve’s Tropic of Cancer. Reeve is journeying around the world along the Tropic of Cancer, uncovering “environmental, political and human stories from some of the most remote places on the planet.” It’s fascinating, beautiful and at times heart wrenching. Going about our daily lives, it’s so easy to forget how privileged and lucky we are compared to most, and how we are but a small part of a much larger world.

Apart from the long walks and documentaries, we did make a bit of progress on the flat over the holidays. The Mr. went through some boxes in the office/guest room so we were able to clear a few more of those out, and we’ve ordered a new dishwasher and vacuum cleaner. The cabinets and cooker/oven will have to wait a bit longer, but apart from lacking storage space, it’s not too much of an annoyance. We’ve borrowed a small, portable cooker which makes a world of difference (i.e. I can make pasta again – hurray!)

And this evening I’ve taken the ornaments off the tree, and the Mr. will carry it outside soon where it will be picked up by the city tomorrow morning for composting. Somehow, I never feel quite ready for Christmas to end. I wish there was another big holiday in January after New Year’s Eve (which is so close to Christmas it really can’t count) to make this winter month a little more enjoyable. (January birthday people: your moms were genius for having you in January – it’s never a boring month for you!) But the lack of anything exciting to look forward to in my own life in January has me thinking: what if I were to invent my own holiday? I mean, why not? Who’s to say I can’t, right? It would definitely include good food, family & friends. But what else? What would you add if you “invented” your own holiday?

Getting Down to Business November 9, 2010

I arrived back in Germany on Sunday a year older (celebrated my birthday the day before) and definitely feeling every bit my age. For me, going over to the states is never as bad as coming back.

That looks about right....

Firstly, most flights arrive late in the day so when I fly over from Europe I usually only have to stay awake a few hours before hitting the sack. And secondly, my suitcase(s) are usually relatively empty so that I can load up on tons of stuff. At the moment, what I haul back is a combination of keepsakes, American foods I can’t find anywhere and this time lots of scrapbooking supplies, too. I always dread the trip back as I usually arrive early in the morning with a full day ahead AND hauling close to my body weight in luggage. I paid the extra $55 for a second suitcase which seems a rip-off (I remember the good ‘ol days of TWO free suitcases and seafood meals) but is still a better deal than shipping things by the US postal service. I did decide to go ahead and do that, too, and paid $53 for a box weighing about 17 pounds. So the airline prices seem almost cheap in comparison.

I’m happy to be back, but I have to say that the feeling is different from when I’d return to Edinburgh. Coming back to Edinburgh felt like coming home. It was a cozy, warm and comfortable feeling, almost from day one. I like Germany and it is growing on me, but there was something almost magical about flying in and looking at Auld Reekie from the air. Somehow Frankfurt just doesn’t have that same charm….and yet I am growing to really love and appreciate Würzburg. And I should be fair, too. Since we moved to Germany back in February, I’ve spent almost as much time in the states as here. So how could it feel like home? I’m so appreciative of the time I’ve had in the states, but I am ready to really focus on settling in.  I sort of feel like I’ve been living in limbo these past eight months, with “home” being some mixture of many places rather than just one.

Today in the store, the bakery clerk complimented me on my German and I had to laugh. I was able to tell her what I wanted, and understood a few basic questions she asked me, but I should be able to do so much more by this point. She probably wouldn’t be so quick to compliment if she knew I had been living here since February! So first on the agenda is language. Although I’m sort of dreading the commitment of a full-time intensive language course (especially doing it in winter – ugh!) I know I have to get off my lazy bum and just do it. And the other top priority is studying for and hopefully passing a written exam for a driver’s license here. The Mr. and I also have a lot more work to do on the flat. Six months have passed since we moved in, we still don’t have an oven, stove or kitchen cabinets. And there are still boxes everywhere. Part of the problem was moving into a completely empty flat with no kitchen or any closets and lacking lots of furniture, and part of the problem was being away so much. But I’m starting to go crazy looking at the chaos and not being able to cook pasta, so it’s time to kick it in high gear. The next few months are going to be busy ones, I think.

Planes, Pains & a Hospital Bill October 5, 2010

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted, but that’s not for lack of things happening. During my absence, The Mr. and I travelled to Indiana, and he then got sick. Actually, “sick” is a bit of an understatement as he actually had to have an emergency appendectomy. We weren’t really sure what was wrong with him, but it was 2am, he was in a lot of pain, and an emergency room sounded like a good idea. Thank goodness we did take him as things could have gotten a whole lot worse had we not. They operated on him that morning, and he spent a total of almost two full days there. What’s been perhaps the most interesting part of this entire experience is discovering just how much two days in an American hospital for an appendectomy costs these days. The price tag?  Well, we don’t know for certain yet, but after a few phone calls we think the final total may be close to $20,000. We have travel insurance that should cover everything, but we were really shocked to discover just how high medical costs have skyrocketed in this country. I seriously had no idea. And the thought of being uninsured? Utterly terrifying. The Mr. said even though he is certain we will, never, EVER, forget to purchase travel insurance when travelling to US from now on, he’s still sort of freaked out at the thought of coming back and possibly not being covered for some reason.  Nooo, there’s no need for health care reform in the US. That’s just silly talk.

Around the time The Mr. started feeling better from surgery, I came down with either a mild stomach virus or food poisoning. I wasn’t deathly ill, but did run a little fever and felt pretty poorly for a few days. And that’s pretty much how our vacation together in Indiana has gone. It’s sort of a bummer, but at least it means The Mr.’s taken plenty of time to rest and recharge, which can be difficult to get him to do.

This one might not go down in the record books as “best vacation ever”….

The Latest September 15, 2010

A few years ago, my beloved Dell Inspiron was on its last legs. It started making a horrible, death-rattle sort of noise, and eventually the blue screen of death appeared. Luckily we managed to buy an external hard drive a few days before the blue screen popped up and I managed to save just about everything.

Good ‘ol Inspiron was doing quite well with its new hard drive, that is, up until yesterday when the darn thing just wouldn’t boot. And just to shake things up a bit, this time, it gave me a black screen of death with a blinking cursor in the top left corner. The Mr. had to completely wipe the hard drive. Bizarrely, I had just used the external hard drive a few days ago (at the Mr.’s suggestion) as it had been ages since I backed anything up. But I didn’t save everything. Sadly, I had a few favorite NPR “All Songs Considered” podcasts that I’m pretty sure can’t be recovered, and I think my latest photos from the Bavarian Alps are also gone (thankfully I had uploaded 2/3 of them to Facebook). My website bookmarks are also toast. I don’t know why I didn’t try harder to back these things up. Laziness, I guess. That’s what you get for being lazy, huh?

Anyway, it’s been a while since I last wrote, so here’s the latest news:

*The Mr. and I took the above-mentioned trip to the Bavarian Alps for a couple of nights and stayed on Kochel am See. It was really lovely. On the day we arrived, we did a nice, peaceful walk along the lake. One of the highlights for me was discovering wild mint of some sort growing in a cow pasture. We didn’t eat any, of course, but it smelled wonderful. The next day we took a cable car up to a restaurant/guesthouse on Herzogstand mountain. We then climbed another 45 minutes or so by foot to the summit. It was a bit cloudy, but the views were still pretty phenomenal. On our last day we visited Glenleiten Museum, a sort of open air history museum with more than 60 historic buildings (houses, barns, etc.) that have been painstakingly moved from their original locations and reconstructed. We were fascinated by the history behind some of the houses we toured, some of which dated back to the 1500s.

*We’ve been busy making appointments and registering at various health practitioners around Würzburg. There were quite a few things health-wise I needed to take care of now that we’ve moved to Germany, and I have to say I’ve been really impressed so far with the both the environment of all the clinics we’ve been to and the quality of care we’ve experienced at each. It’s been interesting being able to compare the health systems between the US, the UK, and now Germany, and I really want to learn more about how the German healthcare system works here. So far, it’s looking to me like you get very good quality care for the money you put into it.

*And finally, I’ve been feeling a bit depressed as I MISSED MY BIG BREAK. Yup, I coulda been a celebrity, kids. Right now, as I type, there’s most likely a scene being filmed somewhere here in Würzburg for the new Three Musketeers moving coming out. It’s starring some pretty big names like Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz (of Inglorious Basterds fame) and Milla Jovovich. Back in July, ads were placed in the local paper, on the radio, etc. looking for about 1,500 extras to be part of the film. I nearly peed my pants with excitement and begged The Mr. to go with me to the casting. Long story short, we showed up, the line was long, and The Mr. wanted to bail. And I didn’t want to wait without him. Plus it was a beautiful summer afternoon and we had rented a car.  So <cue the violins> , I’m still pretty broken up about it, but I guess with 1,499 other extras sucking up my limelight, Orlando might not have noticed me. I can wait. Oh, yes, Mr. Bloom…I can wait. Ahem.