Sorpesee Lake, Ikea, and more Birthday fun! 08.10.2009 - 13.10.2009

It's been a quiet week on the home front. We don't have very exciting photos to share from the past week because we stayed local last weekend. Mike was in town and he had a few good meals with him and just relaxed through the weekend instead of racing all over the Autobahn as we usually do and will be doing this upcoming weekend-- mystery trip... so exciting!

These first photos are of poor quality because they were taken with our webcam. No camera at work, but I wanted to capture how wonderful the people here have been in welcoming us. As a surprise, they baked me a delicious chocolate chip (covered with chocolate) bundt cake and gave me a German cookbook (written in English and with American measurements!). What a great honor.

Here I am with the Dr. Oetker cookbook the staff gave me as a present (he's all the rage here and even has his own food product line!).
Delicious cake!
On Sunday we visited the Sorpesee Lake. It's a man-made dam but is pretty popular! They have boats that can take you across this 12 kilometer lake and there are lots of bikers and runners everywhere. Because everything in Germany shuts down on Sundays (very hard for Americans to get used to... but also very relaxing), people are seen walking around and being leisurely. We went for a very short 4 km. jog-- which isn't much... but since we've been really bad at exercising while we've been here, it's not bad!
Another view. The weather is just starting to pick up here and we've been getting more rain. Soon the water levels will rise again...

Here is our latest aquisition. There's this great store called "The Depot" in the Lüdensheid mall and we spotted these great candle holders. We love things made of wood and metal... and since they were about $30 Euro each at full price, we hoped they'd go on sale. Well, they did! They marked them down to $23 each and took another 50% off of that price... doing the math... we paid $23 Euro for both! While still expensive because of the exchange rate, we liked them a lot and we're excited to eventually decorate our soon-to-be-purchased-in-the-next-6-months house with them.

Random shot of a water bottle. I paid .19 for this 1 L bottle of water, but the recycling tax was .25! It's really spicy here and there's very little trash waste because of it. People take their recycling seriously and separate trash into about 5 different containers and recycle like it's their personal business. There are mini-recycling centers in every grocery store. You print a receipt when finished and they deduct it from your grocery order. The random shot was taken to show the "Vegan" & "Gluten-Free" labels. As if any water has any sort of animal product or gluten?!?

Poor quality and taken with the webcam. This is the view from our "office" -- actually the conference room we've set up shop in. It's also where we have our German lessons.

Here's a photo of Sabine (zuh-bee-nuh), our German tutor, on our way back home from Ikea.

Traffic on our way back from Ikea. Not on our side of the Autobahn, but pretty heavy in the alternate direction. Reason for the photo: a rule in Germany states that in construction areas, trucks are absolutely required to be driving on the far right. Hence the crazy line of trucks parked.

Ikea in Germany! While quite similar to the U.S. in size and items, the restaurant itself is enormous! There were probably 100 tables! They offer full plate options and they also have a mini-cafe near the checkout downstairs similar to the U.S. stores. I'm positive some people just go there to eat. How crazy! That entire window is how long the restaurant goes.

And here's the journaling for the week:

Donnerstag 08.10.2009 (day 24)
Oh Thursday! Our day began with German lessons, as it does for most workdays. We had another 4 hours and I just grew frustrated with things today. I get frustrated with myself for making the same repeat mistakes and after 3 weeks, I am still working with short, basic sentences that aren’t completely grammatical. Even though the learning struggles are there, I love living here, experiencing the wonders of Germany, meeting the really amazing and genuine people, and being on an adventure I know is once-in-a-lifetime. The people really are fantastic. We’ve been treated with the utmost respect and sincerity by everyone and we’re grateful. While I have plenty of German homework I am conveniently waiting until tomorrow to complete, the rest of the day was pretty fun! Ray and I left a bit early after he worked through some of the website launch concerns and made a phone call to Chicago. From work, we headed to Lüdensheid for a visit to the Stern Center (mall) to walk around and spend money. We walked around all of the floors and went into this great Pier-1ish store called The Depot. There are tons of fun home decorations there and we went in because we saw 50% off signs… and I recalled these great wood candle holders for our future dining room table (in our future home). Well, what was once 23 Euro each was 50% off… getting both for the price of just one! Walking more, we purchased an English-Deutsch dictionary—I know… it has been 3 weeks but we still didn’t have one yet! Ending our journey, we bought some groceries at the mall grocer and headed back home for some dinner. A night of laptops and CNN, and our Thursday was complete!

Freitag 09.10.2009 (day 25)
I woke up before the 7 a.m. bells this morning because I was a bit nervous. Mike was coming to visit and there was to be a manager meeting at work today. Being the wife of someone with such an incredible gift, I want to be just as successful in learning the culture and language as Mike himself was. I was thankful to hear that Mike also struggled his way through learning the language and he even admitted that he has to re-teach himself when coming here after a hiatus. He also told us that at around 3 months of his immersion, he finally had a breakthrough. It has only been 3 weeks. I needed to hear the encouragement because (we) both are hard-pressed on trying our best. After the meeting, we headed to lunch with some others to a place we’d been to once before. The great thing about Germany is that there are great restaurants… but there aren’t a ton of them. You likely visit the same great restaurants often enough when staying in our small area of “Sauerland.” At least you know what you’re getting is great quality! After espresso, we headed back and worked some more on the website that has just been launched (and looks considerably better and more user friendly… thanks to my incredibly talented husband!), met for some more talks… then off to our house in Neuenrade. Since we’ll be “celebrating” my birthday tomorrow out to dinner with Mike and the other execs, we wanted to have a more private celebration this evening. Being the simple person that I am, we headed for a walk around town and then next door to our pizza place neighbor, Franko’s restaurant. Such delicious bread, pizza, and lasagna… and we had a great night. We brought along our new dictionary and sat as we waited for our food pouring through every word we didn’t understand on the menu. That’s a way to get us remembering… when it comes to food, we want to be educated! I also enjoyed “real-life” training ourselves and being able to enjoy all that we wanted to as we’re here. We feel pretty comfortable in that restaurant, too, because the owner knows who we are and where we live. It’s acceptable for us to “try” our minimal German and be encouraged. And, it helps that the menu has repeat items we can decipher and then learn many items at the same time. Since chili peppers are called “peperoni” and they don’t actually use real American pepperoni here (called Salami and it’s legitimate salami), it’s nice to be able to learn such things! All-in-all, it was a great day and we feel great about our progress. Although, ask me on Monday as I struggle with the verbs and sentence structure (again) and I may have a different story to tell. But, it is the weekend and I shall treat it as such! The day before your birthday is always weird. You feel kind of awkward—I just don’t know how to explain it. We ended the day with an episode of Spongebob Schwammkopf dubbed in German—yes Spongebob Squarepants! Cartoons are about the only shows we can watch and surely understand the plot and possibly make out some of the words!

Samstag 10.10.2009 (day 26, and ironically, the day I turned from 26 to 27)
Three-cubed. The morning started well. We slept in and opened the door to the mail lady who had a package for me! Samantha is so thoughtful! She gave me a cute new North Face zip-up sweatshirt and some Godiva chocolates. Ray made me a card because I thought it was silly for him to buy me a card while I was with him (since we’re together about every minute of every day lately). It was very sweet and heartfelt. I also got cards from the rest of the family… thank you all so much for the love! I’ve been quite showered with presents, cards, and emails that make me feel quite special. Mike, Woody, Anya, and Lothar met us at our place in Neuenrade after noon and we gave them a grand tour of our apartment. Then, off to a cute town about 10-15 kilometers away that has a huge man-made lake/dam that has recently been re-done and is spectacular. Despite the downpour, we found a nice restaurant to have lunch in and walked a bit along the lake. It was really nice and I can’t wait to go back with some jogging shorts soon… if the weather lets us. You never know here in Sauerland; sunny one moment and downpour the next. We came back home to rest up before dinner this evening and I watched a bit of Mr. Bean and Hannah Montana as Ray took a short nap. Hey, I’ll watch anything with a “dumbed down” plot just to encourage the German understanding. Mike even encouraged us to take up reading children’s books. Not a bad idea at all. Dinner at the hotel where Mike and Woody were staying was excellent. We had been there before, but the meal this time was much more exciting for some reason. I decided that instead of a salad appetizer, I would drink wine. So far that arrangement is working out quite nicely. A dinner of Swordfish, chocolate mousse and espresso ended the perfect meal (Ray had beef and a salad with bacon). It was really great spending time with Mike and Woody. Since Mike has always treated Ray and I as family from our very first meeting (and Ray much longer than I), it is comforting when we can have dinner and learn more about each other still. He’s placed such a great deal of his trust in us and there’s just no doubt we will treat this opportunity with the best we can offer. Also, Ray has been given another opportunity and is taking over more responsibility with his new job than expected this soon. I won’t write details here, as this is a public copy—but it’s very exciting! Overall, it was a different birthday experience, but one I’m not going to forget. Next weekend is the real celebration. We head off to a country I’ve never been to as a “surprise” location. Who gets to do that!?! I’d say the celebration is continuing and not a moment is being taken for granted.

Sonntag 11.10.2009 (day 27, and my first full day of being 27)
What a great, relaxing day! There’s nothing better than not having to put on an ounce of makeup and getting to hang out with Ray. I certainly have nothing to complain about going to fancy dinners and rushing from one beautiful European town to another. But, a day of just rejuvenation is really super. We slept in and watched a bit of television (Larry King Live & John Stewart—two shows that never come on here but apparently random times on Sundays). A late breakfast, then off to the lake we visited yesterday to go for a 2.5 mile jog. While worth the effort, my stomach was pretty unsettled and has been the last couple days. It was perhaps the salad with raw fish I had yesterday. While I’m not bothered by sushi and I actually enjoy it, I don’t think my body was ready for it since it hasn’t been in my diet for awhile. It scared me a bit more, too, because I thought it was supposed to be trout and it looked as pink as salmon (maybe it was salmon but the language barrier caused me to believe otherwise)! I think I had some minor food poisoning, but nothing to keep me in bed. We came back home and had grilled cheeses and tomato soup; something I make at home all the time. The flavors were different, though. I remember Mike telling us last night about the difference in acidity of our foods v. the U.S. foods. Although the same ingredients, it was different! No chance to visit the market though… since everything is closed Sundays—I can’t say that’s very fun for us! I desperately want to go buy a pillow from Ikea (about 60 km. away), but we haven’t managed to find the time except on Sundays, when they’re always closed. Bummer! An afternoon of German homework, Rosetta Stone, and expense reports for us. Rosetta Stone is okay, but I think being immersed in the culture is absolutely crucial for us. I also think it’s helpful having a tutor to explain the random reasons why the verb comes in the second position of the sentence, etcetera. We made a VPN phone call to Maryland to speak with the clan over there and that was really nice. I plan to call my parents via Skype in a couple days, too. Very exciting to catch up with family!!!

Montag 12.10.2009 (day 28)
Early to bed, early to rise… arriving early to work because Ray had a list of work items he needed to accomplish before our 3-hour German session began at 9 a.m. It went by fairly quickly today as we worked through some of our homework and re-visited the verbs. Verbs, verbs, and more verbs. We headed out to grab some lunch from the nearest grocery store, Netto. We grabbed some fruits, veggies, some delicious bread, and some lunch items. Back to work and I headed to the kitchen to cook the baguette we just bought. That’s something great about Europe. Bread. The kitchen at the company is particularly unique (to Ray and myself). We’re used to working at places with break rooms/kitchens that don’t have dishwashers, stoves, or ovens! While there are no tables or chairs for people to eat together, the kitchen itself is quite superb. A freshly baked baguette in the middle of the day; how so very nice. While I was in the kitchen, Ray came in to summons me back to the conference room (which we call home usually). It turned out the office made me a delicious chocolate w/chocolate chips cake and wrapped a German recipe cookbook for me as a belated birthday present that they all signed! How very sweet! The cookbook is in English and in the U.S. measurements even! I have some real plans to take a week around our departure date in March and cook a dish per day for everyone to taste from the cookbook. There’s no way I can make a meal for the entire company, but I think it would be a fun event to see if they would enjoy their food made by an American. Just an idea… for 5 months in the future. More information about birthdays: while they put tealight candles next to the cake, there were none in the cake. I’m not sure if they follow the candle tradition, but I know they don’t have a birthday song like we do. Well, they have adopted other songs, but if they do sing Happy Birthday, it’s generally the American tune. They did not sing me a song, but they had such kind words to say and I was honored. What a great group of people I really appreciate. Ray wasn’t sad about the chocolate cake, either! An afternoon of me searching the web and doing German homework while Ray actually did some work. I chatted with my mom on Skype for a bit before leaving around 5:30. We headed to another grocery store, Kaufpark, before heading back home. We needed to get some of the items we couldn’t get when we visited Netto earlier that have to be refrigerated. We also snagged some fresh veggies which I like buying at this slightly-overpriced store. Home for a dinner of veggie & noodle stir fry and another night of German television! Tomorrow should be fun… a trip to Ikea!

Dienstag 13.10.2009 (day 29)
I can’t believe we slept through the bells this morning! Luckily, we were able to set our alarm for 30 minutes later because we were picking our tutor up at her house in Altena at 9:30. Altena is located about 15 kilometers away from our house—but the GPS said that it would take 30 minutes to get there… and they were right! We were a bit late picking her up because our estimates were incorrect. Onto the autobahn we went on our way to a town called Kamen. We needed to buy some pillows because the pillows here are far too soft for our jagged-American ways. Germans are efficient, but like a more breezy, softer lifestyle overall; right down to their pillows! After a month, I needed a new pillow. Pulling up to Ikea about 40 kilometers later, we noticed the enormous restaurant from the parking lot. We were told that some people go to Ikea just to eat at the restaurant! Not so in the USA. Not so. We just have so many options in the U.S. that I don’t think anyone would think of finding an Ikea just to eat there. In fact, we went up to the restaurant first and found it hard to find a table and chairs because all 100 of them were packed! We arrived there around 10:15 and grabbed some drinks (and I also got an ice cream… I know it was 10 a.m. but who can resist a delicious vanilla-schoko soft serve at .50 each!?). A lesson about all things grocery store in German for about 1.5 hours and on we went into the store for pillow purchasing. We ended up buying the following: some super cheap slippers for me at 1.79€, 2 pillows, 2 pillow cases in pink (cheapest color… haha!), and some Ikea-tupperware. All items will be left behind in March when we return to the states… but these we necessary to spruce up the apartment a bit more. The prices here are no different than in the U.S. and the same products to boot. As a matter of fact, they’re actually more expensive here because of the exchange rate. Back up to the Ikea restaurant for lunch (having Swedish meatballs in Germany tastes the same as in Carson, California says Ray) and off to take Sabine home and head into work. Our drive through Altena was nice because it was scenery we hadn’t seen since our first week here (wow… it’s almost been a month!!!): Burg (castle) Altena, a huge power plant we’re quite curious about, and another Toom market. We arrived at work halb 3 (30 min. before 3 p.m.) and stayed for about 2.5 hours before heading home to make dinner. A little laundry, cartoons, and Ray working on his laptop for all things work-related until almost 9 before we actually fully settled down. Our friends Nic & Alison made their way back to the States today and I’m kind of sad. It’s not like we had seen them since our adventure to Munich over a week ago, but knowing they were on the same connected soil was a bit comforting—like friends also exploring and being vulnerable with you. Oh, and I’m getting so excited for our surprise trip on Thursday night!!!

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I changed the layout to make it wider because I think it might be easier to read that way rather than having to scroll down so frequently. Let me know if you'd prefer I switch back. :)

Mein Geburtstag - siebenundzwanzig Jahre alt!

What a different birthday. Not bad... but totally unconventional! Experiencing more in life than I ever thought possible, I don't see my birthday (especially this year) as a day to stand out... since everyday here in Germany has stood out! Although we spent much of today in the presence of work associates, we felt like we were among family. While not as relaxed as a day with my own parents, we were pleased to have company that has been so trusting and ultimately giving to the two of us.

The day began as I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas (picture taken after I cleaned myself up a bit...) and the doorbell rang. Who could it be... the post-woman! A package just for me from my incredible sister-in-law. A birthday sweatshirt (worn all day!) and some Godiva chocolate caramels.
Here are the goods (minus the sweatshirt) up close and personal. A personalized box of birthday love...
More surprises from Lothar and his wife, Anya. They said the gift should remind me of our great time in Germany when we do finally head back stateside.

Two great meals today...

... and a bit of a back-track. This is what Ray found when he went outside to retrieve my birthday package from the post-woman. A worm nearly the size of his foot. Excuse the foot photo... but chances are if you're reading this, you're family or close friends and you put up with our weirdness.

I received tons of love, cards, and emails from my family and friends. Thanks to all you wonderful people! I do feel very special. Thanks to Gramie, Papa, Kay, Steve, Mom, and Dad, and the rest of you great friends! Vielen Dank! (Many thanks)

Finally, if you're wondering what my amazing husband of 14 glorious months did to celebrate my birthday, here's the info:

I am hard-pressed about thoughtfulness over dollar amount. I'm just that way and consider myself sometimes unnecessarily cheap (I am working on such issues...). Living in Europe is more than any "gift" I could've been given. (But let's be real: before we leave here in March, I will be the proud owner of European boots, gloves, and a nice fragrance). Regardless, I knew we'd be spending the full day with company people and wanted to have a more intimate affair at a later date. We will be going on a "surprise" trip to another country next weekend. It was a "grab bag" of places and he had no choice... other than to keep it a secret from me and make it a fun surprise weekend. So, there are fun things to come next weekend that will send me to my 2nd European country! I love surprises and I'm excited to experience these crazy adventures with such the incredible man I have been blessed with.

Enough from me for now... blog post to come later this week with few photos, but the week of journaling as usual.
Love, B.

Rothenburg, Munich, Oktoberfest & Oberammergau 02.10.2009 - 07.10.2009

Our latest trips were to Wurzburg, Rothenburg, the Bavarian side of Germany, Oberammergau, Munich, and to Oktoberfest for the last day of festivities during the 16-day celebration. We were greeted by our friends Nic & Alison who flew into Frankfurt on Saturday (the 3rd) and continued on after we headed back north for a trip of their own through Switzerland, the south of France, and Italy. It was so nice to see them and share our lives with them for a short time. We have no photos from Wurzburg where we stopped to meet our friends and have a Greek lunch.

A very European chic photo of the adorable city of Rothenburg.
Here we are walking along (literally!) the city wall of Rothenburg. Some of the charm in this Bavarian town is that the wall that surrounds the city is still very functioning and the city itself has gone relatively un-ruined like much of the German landscape during wartime.

We stopped off for a local dessert that looked just like pieces of left-over pie dough, deep fried with powdered sugar (or your choice of topping). I wouldn't say it was delicious, but for .90 Euro, who can beat the experience?!

The color in this photo is a bit off... I realize... but look behind through the window to see a better look of the displays of these egg-y treats.

Here we are standing on one of the many walk-streets in the town of Rothenburg. It's quite cute and obviously caters a great deal to tourists.

The city wall...

The celebrating begins! This very day of October the 3rd marked 20 years of unification between the west and east sides of Germany. The west side isn't too thrilled, but the east, very. Rothenburg had a marching band throughout the city we happened to stumble upon on our way back to the cars.

These photos are definitely out of order! This is a photo of a castle-like estate that someone obviously built to live in (it's probably not very old) but sits in the valley of these gorgeous mountains behind. This photo taken on the last day just before heading back up north in Oberammergau.

This is the mountain peak I was talking about. It looks almost like a small Half-Dome. This gives a better angle of where that castle-looking house is located in the bottom right. There's a cross at the top that can't be seen very well in this photo... but keep scrolling down...

Here's yet another photo of that hill and you can somewhat make out the cross here. This city is known for being religious, as there was a promise in history that the people of Oberammergau promised to put on a Passion of the Christ play if they were spared from the bubonic plague. Well, 360+ years later, and this tradition remains... with half of the city residents performing in the play every 10 years! Next play, exactly 1 year from when we visited in the first 2 weeks of October, 2010. People from all the churches we attended in LA and Chicago are sending people to see it. It's such a gorgeous drive to get there and such a beautiful countryside... my favorite landscape of nature so far in all of Germany! Bavaria is a real treat.

Final fact about Oberammergau: there is a German military base nearby. We saw 3 fighter jets in the time we were there! Very cool stuff.

Here's the very building they hold that passion play in. It looks pretty newly constructed and already has the 2010 banner on the front. I'm not sure if they hold church services in between the 10 years, but I'm sure it's used somehow. I was kind of hoping for something a little more Shakespearean-theatre-esque... but alas, it's just a big fat auditorium.

This is the Munich Rauthaus (city hall) at the center of town. We took the train from our hotel (about 4 km. away) and landed in the dead center. There were lots of backpackers and young people as well as all age groups. It was certainly a town that college students like to visit, though. It's very lively, as you can see from the mounds of people at the bottom of the photo. The weird thing... if you walk just 1-2 blocks in any direction from there, there are empty sidewalks. It's the happening place!

A more dramatic view of the Rauthaus in Munich.

Our adventure into the "tents" of Oktoberfest! These were the "one size fits all" size they offered us so kindly. No one went thirsty...

The bretzel stands outside I was quite fond of.

Polizei!

Some food that I was so alarmed by that a photo was necessary. EEEHK!

A disturbing carnival ride at Oktoberfest. Those are full grown adults risking their lives on a carnival ride that went at least 3 times higher than ones at amusement parks (that don't move and aren't constructed by a few nuts and bolts to be unscrewed again just days later). We considered this a death trap and made the decision to stay alive a bit longer.

Compare the ride you see now to the photo above... same one! scarrrrry!

Lifting weights and consuming unnecessary calories. I guess you only live once, right? Well, we only planned to visit Oktoberfest once, too! Check that box, done.

Alison appears to be posing for a photo I was unaware we were supposed to be "cute" for. I decided the other approach: pretend as though you will never eat again and inhale the pretzel with a few intense bites. Successful mission, indeed.

Some of the dancers and celebrations going on all around us in the smoke-filled, lung-disturbing, bodily-odorous room.

We were positioned quite close to the band in the room about the size of a football stadium.

Alison again posing with a better view of the enormous pretzels we managed to consume all of, with the help of our incredible counterparts.

On Saturday the 3rd, we witnessed these fireworks to show the unification of the two sides of Germany in an impressive show!

Excited our camera can take such decent photos of flying fire.

The story here: this famous castle is the inspiration of the Disney Cinderella castle. It was located about 20 miles from Oberammergau and we visited this as our last stop on our way back north (and said goodbye to our friends here, too). We only viewed the outside and hiked to see it up close... but did not enter. Originally we bought tickets to have a guided/forced tour through the castle for 35 minutes and 9 Euro each (making that about a quarter per minute each! times 4 people...)... but then we decided to get refunds even though they have a big sign that states they do not allow refunds. We were told after we spent the $36 to get a tour for us 4 that we also had to either walk up the hill that would take about 40 minutes, pay to take the bus and still have to walk up 15 minutes, or take a horse carriage for a fee as well. Man... the cost of fun. We chose to walk since our English tour was to start in 1 hour from the time we purchased tickets. Okay, fine. We walked all the way to the top in less than 20 minutes, realized the castle was so new having first started construction in the late 1800's and set back down the hill to get our money back. As nice as it looked, it was just not charming enough to convince us that it was worth $36 to see the inside that is likely to look as new as the outside. I think we'll just go to Disneyland instead. Ha!

While a complete ripoff, the Neuschwanstein castle is striking. They consider this the most photographed point in Germany and is visited by lots of people annually. The original king who had this built was declared insane for bankrupting Germany to build this. Now, I don't believe they're sad about the loss... producing $9 a person just to visit it!

Here's the journaling I've been doing:

Frietag 02.10.2009 (day 18) -- with contributions from Ray making his writing debut!

Friday was a day of ping pong. After spending an hour or so at the office catching up on email, we headed to a local mall (about 20 minutes away) for some “real life” lessons with our German tutor. What did 5 hours get us at the mall? Lotion… and that’s it (plus the Chinese food we had for lunch). At 3 p.m., we rushed back to the office so Ray could make a call back to Chicago… then headed back to the town with the mall to visit Toom (the largest grocery store in the area, and the only one that carries refried beans). If you’re counting, that’s day #2 at the same grocery store. We’re a little obsessed with buying food—but generally never more than 10 Euro at a time. After securing some incredibly good cheap cookies and more beans, we headed home… just in time to find that Chicago had been eliminated as the 2016 Olympic city. Happy to see Rio & South America finally host a summer games, we were sad to think about all the friends and family that would have visited us in Chicago had the games been held there. I guess it’s nice we didn’t have to pay more taxes, either. But… oh the fun it would’ve been! After a smorgasbord dinner, we are packing and getting ready for a weekend in Bavaria with our friends Nic and Alison. Overpriced drinks and food, here we come! (for the record, every real German we told that we’re going to Munich for Oktoberfest laughed at us while following that with a lecture on how much money we’ll spend on something that is worth only a quarter of the price).

Samstag 03.10.2009 (day 19)
What a fun day! Today marks two things: the connecting of the east and west sides of Germany (fall of communism), and our friends Nic & Alison coming to visit! We left our place shortly after 8 this morning to head through Frankfurt south to meet them in a town called Würzburg. This town is known for its very baroque castle… but we weren’t super impressed. The area was cute, but the castle itself seemed rebuilt and not too charming in terms of age and detail. We ate lunch at this great Greek restaurant where we consumed plenty of potatoes and had our first beers of the day… dunkel beer = dark beer. Off we went after lunch to another town called Rothenburg—located on the Romantic Road drive. We walked the streets and walked on the town wall (stairs lead up to the steep, narrow walkway that looks down on houses below). This town was inspiration for the movie Pinocchio and scenes from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were shot there. There were lots of people and we saw a band playing in the city center, tables everywhere, and desserts. We sampled a “snowball” ourselves (missing the German term…) which seemed to be pie dough strips deep fried with a topping of your choice. After walking the town and checking out the Bavarian-esque culture, we headed further south to München. The normal Autobahn and stops for water closets… and finally the town that will tomorrow present us with the delicious melodies and indulgences of Oktoberfest. We went to our respective hotels and then met again for a dinner and short taxi to a recommended restaurant-- Bachmaier Hofbräu. Many people dressed in Dirndls, Lederhosen, and leathery-strapped capri pants. Our dinner was excellent. On our table: steak with fried egg, potatoes of many shapes and forms, Bavarian potato salad, more potatoes, more processed meat, and pasta arrabiata with grilled onions and jalapenos. That was possibly the best pasta arrabiata I’ve ever had… at a place you’d never think had decent food to begin with. In addition to our beers, we were happy campers. The trudge back to the taxi, then to our hotels… as we were driving to our hotel, we saw two separate firework shows to celebrate the unification of Germany 20 years ago this day.

Sonntag 04.10.2009 (day 20)
The morning started slowly. Nic & Alison were getting used to the time change while we slept in a bit. A quick breakfast, then out the door of our Euro Suites hotel to the train station to meet them in the center of Münich. We found our ways onto the train, went a few stops and were dropped off in the center of town at the Rauthaus = town hall. The buildings surrounding were pretty, the place was packed with many young backpackers, and tourists dressed in Bavarian clothing. We met up with Nic & Alison and headed back to grab some food before heading to the Oktoberfest festivities… the last day of the 16-day celebration for the year! We walked a few blocks from their hotel to the carnival madness. Booths everywhere selling brats, ice cream, all things delicious, and beer. In to the first beer tent we went… and then out. It was pretty packed. We went into another one and sat down to have a drink and very large pretzel. The pretzel was probably equivalent to half a loaf of bread. It could’ve used dipping sauces, but we were happy with our salty snacks. There were bands in the tent playing Bavarian music and everyone seemed to know the dance motions and words. Surprisingly, there were not as many Americans as I imagined. We saw lots of Italians, Americans, Germans, and even some Canadians! Out of that smoky-filled tent and a trip to the water closet later, we headed out for some snacks (ice cream, brats, fries…) and into another tent. We walked out through the carnival and saw some incredible rides. None of those rides seemed safe or a good idea. I have a photo of one swing ride that had to be at least 10 stories tall. We headed back to the Marriott for some TV and resting before heading out to a Trattoria for dinner at the city center. A fun but tiring day landed us back on the train and to our hotel for a good night’s rest. We can now check Oktoberfest off the list of places to visit.

Montag 05.10.2009 (day 21)
This morning we met Nic & Alison again for some sightseeing in the Bavarian countryside (about 30 miles north of the Austrian border… bummer! Another weekend I guess…). We found a road stop to grab some quick pastry breakfast and headed towards the inspiration (castle) for Disneyland’s Cinderella castle. Along the way, we stopped off to grab some goods at the local grocery store and refuel ourselves by walking around the little town of Oberammergau. Our old church back in Redondo Beach and even some new churches we’ve checked out in Chicago all plan to have people visit that town in October of 2010 when the “Passion Play” is performed over a 2-week period. The city itself is known for putting on the play every 10 years as a promise that they made back in history. After the hour walk around the town, we headed to the Disney castle. We grabbed some brats, pizza, and chicken nuggets before heading up the hill to buy the spicy 9 Euro tickets (a piece) to view the inside of the castle for 35 minutes. And even then, we had to either pay for a horse carriage, a bus, or walk up the hill that they estimated to be 40 minutes. Well, we walked. It might have taken 20 minutes, but that is being generous. It was a short walk. When we got to the top, we weren’t impressed much. It was a castle about 100 years old (foundation first set in 1869) and it looked new. Having seen some really charming, 800+ year old castles, we weren’t interested in staying for the tour we paid for. Back down the hill on foot to get our refunds before heading back home… the lovely 6+ hour drive. Sad to see my friends leave, but excited they were able to find time in their vacation to see us. They’re off to Switzerland and all through the south of France before ending in Paris late next weekend. We originally hoped to make it to Paris for dinner with them before they left, but we are strapped next weekend and 3 weekends in a row of intense driving is just wearing on us. Great weekend… now on for a short work week!

Dienstag 06.10.2009 (day 22)
The generosity of the people here amazes us. Every day we go into work, someone either welcomes us with food, treats, or comes in to talk with us in depth about what we’ve been up to the past weekend. Today we had two people come in that are always generous, Karston and Manuela, who offered treats and great conversation. We couldn’t ask for a better situation with better people. German homework started our morning. Our lessons resume tomorrow and we have to catch up with what we’ve been slacking on! We met the India managing director today and we had a nice lunch with him and Lothar at a Chinese food restaurant in Werdohl. Delicious! We had a package of our mail arrive at the company today and spent a good deal of time sifting through. It was a nice treat to get some of our magazines: Forbes, The Economist, NEA Today, and Everyday Food. I was practically drooling on the pages of some of the dishes. I am reminded that I need to try and make polenta soon. It’s always so delicious and it reminds me of the sweet corn ravioli from my favorite restaurant in Redondo Beach – Coyote Cantina. I used to order sweet corn ravioli from them… absolute heaven on a plate. An afternoon of reading magazines (and being condemned for them being in English…) and Ray phoning the company web developer in the states and our work was over. After work, we set out to find some spices for curry tomorrow night. I’m stuck on a recipe from the Martha Stewart magazine that arrived from the states today. We also (finally) got our second Vodafone card working which means we can both be on the Internet at the same time! Imagine that. It only took 3 weeks and the store was 1 mile away with the answers we needed in minutes to get things up and running. We had the best Mexican food for dinner (refried beans, tortillas, salsa, jalapeños) and relaxation. German lessons tomorrow at 9 a.m. I better get some rest so I can install that thinking cap first thing mañana…wait… that’s Spanish…

Mittwoch 07.10.2009 (day 23)
Today was a productive day (that feels good!). We had German lessons for 4 hours and finally got hooked up to the Internet at work—so now I can regularly update photos without wasting our home-Internet cards. Yahoo! I’m still feeling a bit under the weather and that’s not too enjoyable… but I’m a survivor. Our German lessons went okay. Ray and I are starting to get the hang of saying some of the sounds (finally!) and words are coming out faster when we say them. While conjugating verbs is another thing, at least we are proud of a small accomplishment. We had plenty of homework we didn’t really understand because they were of verbs we had never seen before and we were to put together mixed sentences and conjugate the verbs accordingly. But, German isn’t like English in the sense that the sentences are always constructed in the same general order. On a side note, Ray has been very excited about his recent discovery: there is a website online called www.germanwings.com that offers $19 flights (excluding taxes and various other ways they rip you off) to a list of places in Europe and there are a few lists to choose from. The catch is that you have to “blind book” the trip and after you book and pay for it, they tell you what the location you are going to is. If you’ve already been to a city and want to exclude that from the list, you can for $2.50 each location, each way. Since there were two German cities in the mix we had already visited, we excluded them for $20 extra. It’s quite a fun idea and Ray’s been researching, booking the hotel and transportation for when we visit this unknown place. Well, he knows the place, but I don’t. Since we’re in town this weekend for my birthday, we’ll celebrate late next weekend instead and it will be a mystery to me! We’re flying out of Cologne which is about 1-1.5 hours away driving. We leave Thursday the 15th and arrive back in Neuenrade on that Sunday the 18th. I love surprises and I’m excited (but Ray isn’t so good at keeping secrets and I’m afraid that since we still have a whole week before we head out, I’ll find out somehow). Tonight we’re making homemade curry for dinner and possibly getting some haircuts. That should be a learning curve challenge! Good day. I hope tomorrow and our German lessons then will be as successful as today. In case you’re wondering… I miss a few things: American television, my pillow (and bed), obviously family & friends, guacamole, and Tropicana orange juice.

Until next week... B

Update: 24.09.2009 - 01.10.2009

Our adventures continue... we visited Dresden over the weekend of the 25th-27th. A couple castles, a few beautiful churches, a church service (in German), and a concentration camp. Below are the photos from those experiences and at the bottom I attached the (lengthy) journal of our stay day-to-day.

Hotel Elephant in Weimar. We stopped off to check out this famous hotel where Tolstoy, Bach, and Hitler stayed. I wouldn't want to stay in his room. It was built in the 1600's and is now owned by Sheraton (Starwood).
Albrechtsburg Dom in Meißen

Albrechtsburg Castle and attached Dom in Meißen.

A few more photos of the Albrechtsburg Castle...

The view from the back door of the Albrechtsburg Castle in Meißen.

Inside the Albrechtsburg Castle. We had to wear slippers to protect the wood floors.

Dinner in Meißen. Excellent Indian dinner! I was so pleased to have something other than pizza. I piled on the veggies!

Wartburg Castle in Eisenach. This is the castle that Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible from Latin to German in just 10 months (in the early 1500's). Hitler, the ghastly man that he was, called this castle the most German of German castles and hoped to put a swastika in place of the cross. Happy to hear that plan failed. At least one of his planned failed... at least one...

Ancient writing on the walls...

Ray standing near the cafe we ate at when we visited the Wartburg. Unfortunately, the food choices weren't too accomodating and we paid something like 3.50 € for a small soda... each! Ray added to his sausage consumption, and I did a bit of unwanted fasting.

Possibly (since most writing was in German, we aren't positive) the very Bible that was translated. The smaller items were translated (like titles), but longer descriptions were lost to the language, so to speak.

Possibly the most strange pigeons I've seen. They have peacock-looking back feathers.

The room at the Wartburg Martin Luther was said to have translated the Bible in.

Views from the inside, out.

One of the approximately six rooms we toured in the Castle. This room, like most, was renovated in the 1800's when Germany had a major restoration time of many of their castles. The ceiling was raised for acoustics.

Just being my dorky self. The blur just adds to the charm. ;)

More Wartburg. Being the first castle we visited, we took a few photos...

The exterior of the Wartburg (pronounced vart-boo-erg)

The entrance to the Wartburg and my pricey indulgence.

Martin Luther's childhood home in Eisenach.

Johann Sebastian Bach's childhood home in Eisenach.

Dresden - What they refer to as the "Nymph's Bath" in the Zwinger area of downtown.

Copying this girl who was taking photos from this staircase at the Zwinger.

The Zwinger courtyard in Dresden. It is referred to as a major baroque German landmark in the center of Dresden. Much of this was destroyed during the world war and had to be rebuilt/repaired. Inside the surrounding courtyard buildings hold famous paintings you can pay some spicy €€€ to see... like a painting by Raphael. We did not pretend to like the art...

Hanging out in the courtyard. We managed to get a photo that didn't show a million tourists-- just about 500 people were also in the courtyard in large groups following a tour guide holding up silly things...

A little Brandy humor. I just don't understand the need to keep the helmets on. Were they afraid they would lose them? An easy wasy to avoid having to apply sunscreen to the head? Cool new hat trend?

Ray hanging out reading the Frommer's on the Elbe River in Dresden.

Ray was catching up on his Vitamin C while exploring the Zwinger.

Not sure what this photo was except a nice European one.

Gorgeous Dresden it all its glory.

A former Turkish cigar factory built in the early 1900's. According to Frommer's, architects weren't allowed to build smoke stacks in downtown due to their asthetics... so he built it mosque-like when really it has never been a mosque.

Just a little downtown Dresden European flair...

Propaganda. The next day was expected to be the German voting day for a new Chancellor. They kept the same one... in fact. This booth was giving away some swag of which I took upon myself to grab a pin... of which Ray would not let me wear because he wasn't sure how socialist they were... they were also giving away plants. To that... I say, WHY? Nothing says, "vote for our candidate" like a fern.

Ray had a bit of a freak-out session as the autobahn split off and we were driving in the middle of the road, essentially. This only captures a tiny fraction of the construction madness that is the European stimulus. Aren't we lucky enough to experience both the U.S. and Europes!

The Dresden Church of our Lady (Dresdner Frauenkirche) is the most famous in Dresden. We wanted to enter it (churches are usually free) and realized when we got in that there was about to be the start of a Lutheren service in German. We took our seats, did the best we could with repeating the German... and enjoyed the beauty of the interior. It was also ruined a bit during the war and renovation just finished a few years ago.

This organ is from a Catholic church in Dresden -- we stayed to hear it play.

More gorgeous architecture in Dresden.

Oh, how I wish these were burrito stands...

Turning somber... with death comes new life...

Buchenwald concentration camp ruins... an uncomfortable reminder of a horrible time in history.

The entrance.

Tomorrow we're off to München (Munich) for the last weekend of Oktoberfest and to meet up with our friends Alison & Nic! I can't wait to see them!!!

Here's the lengthy journal of our lives in our 2nd week of German life. Read if you dare. It's long!

Donnerstag 24.09.2009
Our normal wakeup of 7 a.m. came quickly as usual… with the sound of the church bells. We mentally prepared ourselves for another day of German studies with our “American bread” with mixed berry marmalade (they do not call it jam/jelly/preserves according to our tutor). We started our German lessons a bit later at 10:00 and finishing at 13:00 hours. We ate lunch at work and planned our adventures over the next few weeks. We booked a hotel for Dresden this weekend and spoke with Lothar about some opportunities and places to visit along the way of the 5-hour drive. We’re leaving tomorrow morning at an early hour (likely 8 a.m.) and I’ll record that along the way. Work ended at the usual 16:30 and then explored a new grocery store (now visited 4: Aldi, Lidl, Netto Discount Martkt & now, Kaufpark). This grocery store is the crème of the crop—obviously. They sell more name brand items from America, exceptional produce from all over the world (with a high price… but when you want fresh veggies/fruit…) and……..Peanut Butter. The beloved, German-disliked, spread we take pride in spreading on millions of Weber bread slices with a slab of jam. They even had TWO choices… as Ray asks from down the aisle, “Crunchy, or smooth?” We went back home after this clear victory and waited with chilled beers for Lothar to come for dinner. He arrived at 18:00 and we went next door to the pizzeria. There we met the owner/chef, Franko—an obviously Italian man. Fantastic! We had pizzas and enjoyed them thoroughly. We will be returning and we’re hoping he will be open in Dezember when our families arrive to share the experience with them as well. There are lots of options and as authentic as Italian food can be in Germany. Back home to finish our beers, wind down, watch some United Nations talks on CNN, and prepare for our mini-“holiday” (as they refer to vacations in Kanada) to Dresden. Tchuss!

Frietag 25.09.2009
What a day! We sure have made the most of our trip so far. We gladly slept in this morning an hour past our normal wakeup (special for a Friday!). All packed up, we drove out of Neuenrade onto the Autobahn and en route to Dresden (eastern Germany: former soviet territory). Our first stop was at the Wartburg “Luther” Castle in Eisenach. We enjoyed an expensive lunch of bratwurst, french fries, salad, an apple, and two diet cokes for a spicy 16 Euro (and if you’re keeping track… no I did not partake in the eating of meat in its natural casing). The castle was beautiful, but by no means a dream castle. Apparently Hitler at one point called this castle the “most German of German castles” or something of that sort; disgusting that he stepped foot in the same area. This was also the same castle that Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German in the 1500’s (in just 10 months!). We were able to see the very room he did so and walk around other rooms for 8 Euro each (with a fantastic tour guide who perhaps spoke better English—and faster—than most Americans I know—an obvious German though). After leaving the castle, we drove by Martin Luther and Johann Sebastian Bach’s childhood homes. We continued our drive on the lovely autobahn (Ray drove the entire day!) to the Buchenwald concentration camp. As we drove in to the “camp”, we couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with deep sorrow for people who begged for their lives in this very place just 60+ years ago. How disgusting and wretched. Being our first experience in such a tragic area, we didn’t know what to expect. It was weird seeing a cafeteria, young travelers laughing and sitting about, and people walking around with audio tour machines around their necks. We decided against the “tour” and made our selections wisely. As we descended to the main entrance, there was writing on the gate. There was a stench that filled the air; we weren’t sure why, but it didn’t seem out of place. We entered the “prison” and were disgusted with small quarters of torture these people had to endure. We walked through the front gates that were recently re-wired to depict the actual wiring that was there during the actual time. It reminded me of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. I love that movie but hate the story itself. The actual camp buildings were mostly destroyed/bombed at some point within the last 60 years after the U.S. came in to assist the prisoners. The clock above the entrance shows the exact time (I believe it read 3:14) that the people were liberated. This was also the same camp that Eli Wiesel wrote about in his famed book, Night. We entered a building that held supplies that they turned into a museum of sorts—showing artifacts, pictures, letters, etc. When I saw the “wagon” they carried the bodies in, I almost lost it—tragic. We walked into the final building we visited, the disinfecting room. Each and every prisoner would be disinfected into a bath… the remnants of this very bath on the ground… sends chills down your spine in a very disturbing way. We left the sight just before closing with heavy hearts. We’re just pleased we didn’t enter the crematory. Frankly, I’m surprised they even allow people to enter. We saw pictures online that there are remnants of hooks on the ceiling used to hang and ovens still intact. The very thought is excruciating. We continued in through the nearest town, Weimar, and continued on to Dresden from there—only stopping for a dinner of pasta and Burger King (obviously Ray). Finishing off the evening, we arrived in Dresden, drove a little out of the way, saw some distant gorgeous castles in the background and headed to our hotel. One last point about the traffic/construction in Germany. It does appear that Germany is doing construction on every single road at the current time. Oye.
Samstag 26.09.2009
Another day, another bakery. Seriously. We like bread, but I think we’ve been liking it a bit more than usual lately. We awoke in our hotel and only had a few miles to drives before arriving in the center of Dresden. We stopped off at the grocery store, Lidl (lee-dull) to purchase some breakfast in a hope to save money and calorie intake: alas… all we could scrounge up were a couple bananas, OJ, and some buttery chocolate bread rolls; so much for the calorie savings. As we arrived, we found a parking area (tons of parking in Europe and all nicely labeled- but not cheap) and set out for our walking tour of the downtown. We started at the Zwinger—a model after Versailles (Raphael artwork inside… although we did not pay to see it) and lots of museums. The courtyard of the Zwinger used to be used for battles, etc. It was bombed during the war, but is back in business and restored. It’s a courtyard of symmetrical buildings and lots of tourists to be found everywhere. After, we went to the Catholic Court Church and listened to the organ play at exactly 11:30. It’s the largest church in Saxony. Then, we walked through a political rally and Ray condemned me for what looked like accepting a piece of swag (pin) that he then told me I wasn’t allowed to wear in fear that I was supporting communism or something of the like. They were also handing out plants (huh?!) and pencils to those willing to come to their booth. There was also a German singer and lots of security. We crossed through the city and sat in on a Protestant devotional service entirely in German. Originally we set out to just walk inside the church as we had the Catholic church. As we entered, it turned out we were actually coming in to hear a service… so we sat. It was humbling. I don’t think there was a single other American (other than the two of us) in the crowd of maybe 500 sitting in that room. The church is called Church of Our Lady and was also partly destroyed during the bombings but was restored by the help of churches all over the world. We had lunch at an Italian Bistro (pizza… again). We walked down to the ferry area at the Elbe River and kept walking along a bridge to the other side of Dresden… the college side. We walked through a few shops and open/indoor markets and back around to check out the Dresden Royal Palace we also chose not to enter. Back into the car (and 10 Euro to the man…although Germany has a female Chancellor) and we were off. Off to another town about 30 minutes away called Meissen , the city of porcelain. We don’t own china and don’t much care for it ourselves, but the town is famous for a manufacturer that makes German china with the symbol of two swords as their signature design. We came for the castle, actually. The city boasts small authentic-looking European walking streets and very skinny windy roads I thought we might blow a tire on. There’s a beautiful dom (church) and a castle there—and we toured the castle alone for 3 Euro each. We were excited because this castle actually had outsiders that tried to destroy it and there were constant battles. How very cool. In one room they required you wear slippers over your shoes to protect the wood flooring. We left the castle and spent about 30 minutes in search of a WC (aka: water closet, or bathroom). They are not easy to find in Europe. You have to be very deliberate about peeing. We ended our evening with the best meal I’ve had so far—Indian food!!! There was a really cute little restaurant on a hill with a fountain and the whole European feel and we had dinner outside. Just perfect… relatively cheap… and delicious. I was just happy to not be eating pizza or pasta for one meal. I think we’ll need to detox when we finally get back to the states. This indulgence is making me round. Today also marks our first 14 months of marriage!

Sonntag 27.09.2009
Nice wakeup at the “Fun Hotel”—silly name. We attempted to work out last night at the gym’s fitness center, but the machine was bleak. Yeah, one. We attempted to use that one machine and even then it did not work. We gave up on that and just chose to work out this morning by running around a loop our hotel was located on. It turned out to be decent. We got ready and left Dresden after and headed back to the city of Weimer (about 2 hours on the way home). No real breakfast, but lunch was a stop to Burger King off the road. We were originally lured to a huge shopping mart area that we were excited to pick up a few things at… but then we realized we were living in Socialist Germany; a Germany that closes all shops on Sundays other than the touristy towns. Shucks. While lunch at Burger King is usually uneventful, we were thrilled to have fresh greens salads. Our bodies practically screamed, “thank you” for providing nourishment that wasn’t cheese, bread, or sausage. Another note about the BK: they are a good competition to McDonalds here in Germany. They do a decent job with rest stops here in Germany, but the “fast food” options here are limited to a few no-names and those two American chains (with a few Subways if you’re lucky). We stopped in Weimar for approximately 20 minutes to check out this small town square where the Hotel Elephant is located. Hitler, Bach, and Tolstoy have all stayed there. Back in the car after Weimar for another 3.5 hours of driving—brutal! Ray was amazing with the driving. What’s so funny about the Autobahn is its long stretches of unlimited speed and complete halts to 60 kph. There were a few pockets of traffic because of this and an awful 10-car accident. There was a completely flipped car on a hill about 15 feet high. It’s a decent reminder to be careful. We arrived home and did the usual unpacking, prepping, and relaxing for another full week.

Montag 28.09.2009
Church bells come far too soon… but good news is we’re both starting to feel “a part” of the lives of the business here and for that, we’re grateful. Last week we felt a bit like sore thumbs and somewhat uncool American celebrities and novelties. Today we finally started to get the hang of things—well, not the German language part. As a matter of fact, we somewhat dreaded it. It’s like expecting a headache to come before it arrives. But alas, we knew that it would not be easy; so we trudge on. Not without a pop quiz. At 27-years of age (nearly), I get pop quizzes. I barely believe in them as a teacher myself, but know that teachers must assess learning. Easier on the other side of the fence. As Ray and I laughed through the quiz as we put down more English words than German, we realized once again that we have so much to learn. But then, we opened an email from Samantha who herself is a Spanish teacher. She went through the struggles of learning a second language and has succeeded. She reminded us that we’re going to beat ourselves up, have headaches, and feel defeated, but that it’s still something valuable in learning and working through. Thanks, Sam. We really needed your encouragement. Our German lesson ended with homework and then lunch: delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I’ve never been so happy to eat such a boring meal! We intend to bring some of the really good stuff (Laura Scudder’s) back to Germany after we head back to Maryland for Erin’s wedding in November. We hope to share with others who think peanut butter is so unhealthy and distasteful. After lunch, we actually headed by car with Lothar and Karston to a sausage stand in downtown Werdohl where they took Ray last week. We wanted to check it out so we could take my dad there when they come to town. Back at the office, I finished helping another employee translate the new website wording into English. It’s meant to be in British-English because that’s who they do their business with (as opposed to American-English), but since we don’t have a source, I did my best to keep it on the formal, yet logical side. I had some great conversations with two of the employees today—both around 15-20 minutes each! (yay!!!) Ray worked on getting some website logistics figured out with the management team and sat in on a weekly meeting. We called it a day around 6:00 and headed to the grocery store and home for dinner and a walk around our little town.

Dienstag 29.09.2009
An early wakeup today (but actually woke up when the church bells were sounding!) as we headed to work to meet Lothar and another Raja employee for a drive to Frankfurt. One of the subsidiaries is located there and we went to learn about their product line and meet the employees. We were greeted well and had a walk around the factory to check out how the heat exchangers & coolers are created. We left for lunch to another great Italian restaurant in Frankfurt before returning back for a bit more learning at the factory. Then… a drive back to Werdohl and a bit of chatting with the employees. One of the employees and I were talking yesterday about this candy chocolate egg that is a German treat—but that isn’t sold in the U.S. due to our strict child-choking laws. Being a socialist country, a printed warning label is suitable and these small toys are allowed here. Well, since our discussion yesterday, he brought us two of those chocolate eggs… filled with a fun little toy, complete with decorative stickers. It’s fun learning a bit more about some of the cultural differences. We also learned about a few beverages they favor here: Fanta/Coke mixture, and beer/fanta, or beer/Sprite. There are unique German terms for such beverages that I am too unskilled to repeat. Arriving home was great; a completely foggy day from start to finish. All day I felt a bit under the weather and wanted everything to be at home resting. It’s the usual cold I get about 3 times a year. It starts out with a drip in my sinuses, swollen lymph nodes, then sore throat, then runny nose. It’s not a fast process… unfortunately—usually lasting about 1.5 weeks from start to finish. Needless to say, I just wanted to rest. Stir fry for dinner and a great Skype conversation with my parents who I miss very much. We’re over on our Internet now, but we’re hoping to work something out where we can talk with them connected to a phone line at work. We’ll see! With a language barrier, everything is a learning process.

Mittwoch 30.09.2009
Ray left early this morning as he was picked up from our apartment at 4:15 a.m. for a business trip to London for two days. Yikes! Our families back home hadn’t even gone to sleep yet! As far as I’m concerned, 4:15 is practically the middle of the night. So… I slept. Then I woke up and wandered around wondering what I might do with 60 Euro (only), a car that could not be parked for longer than 2 hours due to parking rules around our place… and limited Internet that won’t let me blog or post photos. I headed out the get a few groceries, made myself some soup for lunch and chilled in our apartment. Around 1:30, I headed out to the factory to use their Internet but left just 15 minutes later because the room I use was being occupied. Back home for an afternoon of reading one of two English books we brought from the states. I just about finished it (currently 20 pages shy from the end). It’s called Born on a Blue Day about an Autistic Savant who accurately recited over 25,000 digits of pi. As I write this, I’m watching a movie preview on television in German… of a movie that came out in the states at the beginning of August. It has yet to be released in a few days. I think it takes a considerable amount of time to dub in German, perhaps? Ray is off in London and we haven’t spoken today because we only have one phone, preventing us from connecting, obviously. I pray that he’s doing well and made it there safely. I just wish it was me there with him! I am so thankful for today being a rest day for me… feeling a bit under the weather won’t be good for our weekend trip to see Alison and Nic in Munich! Tomorrow should be fun and Ray will return in the evening. Good; being without him is not as fun. One last piece of excitement: we get two TV channels in English, CNN and MTV. Needless to say, I’m doing quite well on my International relations and keeping up-to-date on the latest music. Well, the only reason MTV is in English is because Germans also like some American music. Otherwise, that would be in German too. But what I’m getting at… I saw what appeared to be a NEW Right Said Fred video today.

Donnerstag 01.10.2009
Happy Birthday to my friend Lauren Lewis! We worked together at Black Angus waiting tables in college. This morning was a prompt wakeup to drive to Ludenscheid to meet Sabine. We went to the school she attended, Bergstadt Gymnasium. It’s similar to our mixture of middle school & high school in the states to compare (grades 5-13 held there). We met the headmistress there, Ms. Anette Meyer who welcomed us into the school and to learn a bit about German culture through education. You can imagine that I was thrilled to step foot in a school feeling a bit misplaced this year not teaching my own set of students. We had a walk into the teacher’s lounge that was huge with big comfy chairs. Then we had a meeting with a teacher there, Sebastian (sp?), who teaches English there and is quite fluent. He is the teacher that will be communicating with the other teachers in the school to invite me into their classrooms to share my experiences from schools in the U.S., myth v. reality, political battles – as he said the students have a grim view of the U.S. based on the Bush Administration. They will have a holiday coming up and he will be emailing/calling me to set up some days I can come into classrooms and learn/teach. They gave me one of their school annuals, contact information, and invited me to come to informational meetings to learn about the school with prospective parents and students over the weekend. I felt very welcomed (but a bit awkward) and I’m excited to work with them for a bit. The school itself was older than most schools I’ve been in before… chalkboards still hung on walls, old desks and chairs, very small classrooms that hold 30+ students, overhead projectors, and almost no technology. Granted, I only visited one classroom. The school bathroom I entered was interesting. Before reaching the stalls, you had to grab from one of the 15 toilet paper rolls hanging from the wall and then enter the stall with the paper you grabbed. There isn’t paper inside and if you forgot, too bad! Another difference—the amount of students smoking outside of the school. That wasn’t such a welcome change. Sabine and I left the school to head to the city center and entered a small mall where we found a café to have scones and cappuccinos. From there we parted and I headed to a market we’ve been wanting to check out, Toom. It’s about the size of an American grocery store and the ones we normally shop at close to our home are about the size of most Trader Joe’s (but let’s not confuse the fact that they are nowhere close to the glory of my beloved TJ’s!). I found some serious goods: hot sauce, salsa, tortillas, refried beans!!!, other beans, more peanut butter… etc. The refried beans were obviously amazing. From there, I found a Mexican restaurant using the GPS just to get excited about going there soon! Finally I headed home to relax and continue to re-coup as Elliot made his way home. Back safely from London, Ray had a whirlwind of a trip visiting customers and eating fancy dinners. In his attempt to make me feel better, he said that he didn’t see much of what London really is. Overwhelmed with the amount of businessmen who drink coffee, Ray is convinced he needs to start. I recommended espresso because it’s a quick shot, but he considers that a “gateway drug.” Oh, and happy 60th communist birthday, China. Perhaps those fireworks and crazy celebrations could’ve been used to feed the impoverished. Just saying.

For a full update on the photos I've updated since the start of the trip in a slideshow from facebook, click here.

Until next time... B