I am slowly but surely going through our photos and other momentos to make our scrapbook(s) of Europe. We were going through everything and I found this photo. It always made me laugh...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
In Guatemala
Another teacher (Ann) and I arrived safe and sound in Guatemala. We were picked up in Guatemala City by the hostel we are staying at, which was wonderful. You can really see how poor the country is in by driving through Guatemala City, but we are staying in Antigua. The city is beautiful and surrounded by rolling hills and volcanoes. It is incredibly old and the entire city is protected against development, which is spectacular. We met two other teachers that we work with here. They were studying Spanish at one of the schools here. SO last night we were able to have dinner with their host family, and then go to a party at their school. Lots of free booze and salsa dancing, but Ann and I were so tired after our early start we didn't last very long. Today we explored more of the city, and went to some markets. We found one that was purely for the Guatemalans. We got some dirty looks becuase we clearly didn't belong there, but it was really interesting to see all the food vendors. And I didn't even yak at the meat vendors. ALthough the smell was more than gag worthy. Tonight we are being picked up and brought to the place where we will be working for the week. The principal of the school is having us all over for dinner and then putting us up in his hotel. It should be an adventure!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Ballonfest
Every June Howell has a big hot air ballon festival. This year it is June 27-29. You can check out what there is to see here. Mom and dad are coming over on Saturday... let us know if you want to come over too!! (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday)
A new addition to our family
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I am way behind in posting this... we got a new addition to our family in December. He is incredibly sweet and cute, and we fell in love with his picture on the Internet. He goes everywhere with us, so some of you may have meet him already at mom and dad's. Heis INCREDIBLY spoiled. He even has his own kiddie chair on the porch (it's Dora the Explorer). He was getting upset because he didn't have anywhere to sit when Mike and I were both out there, so we found a chair on sale and now he has his own place to sit... Crazy, I know... but we don't have kids... or a house
I made it!!
I know that it has been forever, but I am finally done with my first year teaching. I didn't loose my sanity (too many times), hit anyone, etc. The firewall did go out once when we were doing presentations... therefore one hour (7th graders) did get a glimpse ofa nudey webpage. HUGE OPPS. But I blocked the screen automatically and they were more excited about the fact that it actually popped up in school versus what they actually might haven seen. And to the best of my knowledge, there were not any angry parent phone calls. So, after 9 months I am still employed, and they seem to like me. I hear that the first year is the hardest, so next year I am hoping that I can stay up later than 8:30pm every night (that is really as late as I was able to stay up most nights). And I will now be able to update more often!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
SOOO Disappointed
So... with the Writer's Guild striking there will now be re-runs of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I feel like I have been cheated. All this time and I thought that THEY actually came up with their material.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Opps...
Well, after a silent 2 1/2 months, all I can say is opps...
So...
So...
- Prague was AMAZING. Slightly creepy and overwhelming at first as we were taking the train through the Czech Republic, but it was better once we hit Prague. The city was incredibly beautiful, but it was the only place that we had been to in which neither of us knew any bit of the language. Little scary. But the trip was wonderful.
- Leaving Germany was great. Scotland was sad, but by the time we moved to Germany we were ready to be home.
- In the first two weeks of being home, I had 5 interviews (in 2 school districts) and 2 job offers. I am now one of the two new Spanish teachers in the district, and I really like it. I teach 5th, 7th and 8th graders. Those awkward early teenage years...
- In those first 2 weeks, we also moved to Howell. Its a bit of a commute for Mike, but at least he doesn't have to make it every day. AND next semester he doesn't have class, so it will be cut down even more. WOO HOO!! And the commute for me is great. Only 15-20 minutes.
- It has been great being back home and seeing (most) everyone!! I will try to keep this more up to date from now on...
Friday, July 27, 2007
Down to one hand finger counting now
That´s right... only four more days until we start the long trek back to Michigan. So... this is more than likely the last time that you will hear from us until we get home. We are heading to Prague this weekend with a couple of friends. Its dirt cheap to get to from Bavaria, so we might as well go. We are really excited, and I am sure that we will have tons of pictures to show you all. We have most of our pictures uploaded onto our Flickr account now. I think that there are over 6,000 pictures of the last 11 months... and Germany is not all on there. Thank goodness for digital cameras! :)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Down to Finger Counting!
That’s right folks… I can count the number of days until we’re home on my fingers!! WOO HOO!!
Harry Potter
Since we had spent 9 months in the UK, I really wanted the UK version of Harry Potter. Not only is the cover different, but the spellings are in UK English and some of the UK slang is used. My wonderful husband took me out on Saturday and bought it for me. I was surprised that it wasn’t longer, but it was still good. All the theories everyone had were right and wrong. I don’t think that anyone had it right, only partially. I started it on Saturday, but couldn’t read a lot as the family we are staying with had a party in which we were invited to. It was really uncomfortable and no one talked to us though. We even got dirty looks from the dad of the family and he asked the people who finally sat near us what they were doing over sitting near us. I think he forgets Mike does understand and speak German. Jerk.
Anyway, I read all but 150 pages on Sunday evening and finished it Monday morning. I couldn’t sleep very well on Sunday I was so preoccupied with what was going to happen. It was well worth the wait. And now I need to read them all over again. It was a spectacular series and I am sad to see it finished. At least the ending was good.
Anyway, I read all but 150 pages on Sunday evening and finished it Monday morning. I couldn’t sleep very well on Sunday I was so preoccupied with what was going to happen. It was well worth the wait. And now I need to read them all over again. It was a spectacular series and I am sad to see it finished. At least the ending was good.
Yet Another Beer…
July 23, 2007
After today we are officially done with our Christmas shopping!! WOO HOO!! I don’t think that I have ever been this organized, and I am pretty sure that Mike never has either. Last year we went shopping on the night before Christmas Eve for our presents for each other. I am sure that living in Europe has helped us to complete our Christmas shopping in July though! :)
After we finished our shopping, we passed by a restaurant that was selling a beer that we had not tried yet – Aylinger-, so we of course HAD to stop. (The restaurants here only sell beer from one brewery.) There are normally not many different kinds of beer that a certain brewery makes. A pils, lager, dark, wheat, and dark wheat. I normally do not like the wheat beers here as they taste like cloves. BUT there is something here called a Cola-weissen that is very tasty. Half coke and half wheat beer. Radlers (half lemonade, half lager) are also quite nice. Especially on hot days. Mike tried their wheat beer, which was surprisingly not clovey. Which made for a wonderful cola-weissen. :)
After today we are officially done with our Christmas shopping!! WOO HOO!! I don’t think that I have ever been this organized, and I am pretty sure that Mike never has either. Last year we went shopping on the night before Christmas Eve for our presents for each other. I am sure that living in Europe has helped us to complete our Christmas shopping in July though! :)
After we finished our shopping, we passed by a restaurant that was selling a beer that we had not tried yet – Aylinger-, so we of course HAD to stop. (The restaurants here only sell beer from one brewery.) There are normally not many different kinds of beer that a certain brewery makes. A pils, lager, dark, wheat, and dark wheat. I normally do not like the wheat beers here as they taste like cloves. BUT there is something here called a Cola-weissen that is very tasty. Half coke and half wheat beer. Radlers (half lemonade, half lager) are also quite nice. Especially on hot days. Mike tried their wheat beer, which was surprisingly not clovey. Which made for a wonderful cola-weissen. :)
Art, Art, and More Art…
July 22, 2007
On Sundays many of the museums in Munich are only €1, and since it was looking pretty cloudy out (again), we headed to the Alte Pinakothek. The BIG art museums in Munich are broken up into three different buildings: the Alte Pinakothek – 13th to 18th century art-, the Neue Pinakothek – mainly 19th and some 20th century art-, and the Pinakothek der Moderne – modern art. We started with the Alte Pinakothek. It was a very nice collection which included many Rembrandt, Rueben, and even some Da Vinci and El Greco. The paintings were, of course, amazing.
After walking through the Alte Pinakothek, we headed over to the Neue Pinakothek. There were some Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, etc there. It was a very nice exhibit, but half the museum was taken up by a temporary exhibit that we didn’t buy tickets for. We walked over to the Modern Art building, but we know very few modern artists and don’t always understand modern art. I need help most of the time getting the point. Mike only really likes Dali, and there were only 2 Dali paintings in the whole building, so we skipped it. By then we had been looking at art for about 4 hours and were near our limit anyway.
On Sundays many of the museums in Munich are only €1, and since it was looking pretty cloudy out (again), we headed to the Alte Pinakothek. The BIG art museums in Munich are broken up into three different buildings: the Alte Pinakothek – 13th to 18th century art-, the Neue Pinakothek – mainly 19th and some 20th century art-, and the Pinakothek der Moderne – modern art. We started with the Alte Pinakothek. It was a very nice collection which included many Rembrandt, Rueben, and even some Da Vinci and El Greco. The paintings were, of course, amazing.
After walking through the Alte Pinakothek, we headed over to the Neue Pinakothek. There were some Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, etc there. It was a very nice exhibit, but half the museum was taken up by a temporary exhibit that we didn’t buy tickets for. We walked over to the Modern Art building, but we know very few modern artists and don’t always understand modern art. I need help most of the time getting the point. Mike only really likes Dali, and there were only 2 Dali paintings in the whole building, so we skipped it. By then we had been looking at art for about 4 hours and were near our limit anyway.
A Quarter of a Century and Counting
July 20, 2007
Yup, that’s right. As of July 20th I am a quarter of a century old. I only panicked a bit and have now decided I am no longer counting. No more candles, etc. I still want to celebrate my birthday and presents are always okay. But I am doing away with counting.
Anyway… the day was beautiful, so Mike skipped class and we went out to one of the lakes about a half an hour away from Munich. It was a great day. We walked from the town of Starnberg to Possenhofen. It was a nice walk, except for the 2 km in which the sidewalk disappeared and we had to walk along the side of the road. That was NOT fun, but we survived unscathed. We had brought bathing suits so we could go swimming, but in Germany there are no changing facilities. That is what the beach is for. And bathing suits are optional. Many don’t use them. We were actually surprised that most of the kids and all the men had bathing suits on. Many were Speedos, but at least it covers things. Many of the women were topless, but you get used to it after awhile. Although I don’t think I could go topless sunbathing with my neighbors or family watching. Stripping down in front of them, putting my bathing suit bottoms on, and then - while topless – carry on a conversation with them. It would be weird.
In Possenhofen there is an old Palace that is still occupied. By whom we have no idea, but you can walk around it, which was nice. Then we headed to the train station to go down to Tutzing. We did not want to walk on the shoulder of a narrow road again, and we had already walked probably 4 miles. While we were there we saw a crazy lady. In Germany you buy your tickets for the transport before you get on the train, many of the tickets have to be validated before you get on the transport, but its all up to you. I have been riding the Public Transport for 2 months (with a ticket) and have never had my ticket checked. So… many people ride and take the chance that they will not be caught. The people that check your tickets on the subway, buses, and trams are in street clothes, so its very risky. The people that check your tickets on the train are in uniform. But on the trains not only do you get the fine, but you also have to pay twice the fare. Well, this lady got caught, wouldn’t give the people her name so they could write out the fine, so they took her off the train and called the police. We got there with the police. Wonderful. Her story was that she had a month pass, but was at the beach in Starnberg. It was there that some one got into her wallet and stole her transport card AND all her money. But they left her wallet. Well, the police sided with the train people and asked to see her wallet so they could get her name. She FREAKED. They had to take her wallet from her while she was screaming and trying to beat them away. They got her name though, gave her the fine (which was even more because she also had her bike with her), and she freaked even more. She ran off screaming at the police and train people. It was amazing. I’m guessing the police didn’t haul her in because it wasn’t worth the effort. Back home they probably would have tazored her and then hauled her in with multiple charges. But she went off to the other side of the tracks, got on her phone, and started yelling hysterically to someone. People are entertaining…
After the excitement, we got on the train to Tutzing and explored around the city. Its quite small, so it didn’t take that long. But we were able to find a non-naked beach, side on a small wall, and stick our feet in the water. It was a hot day, so it was quite nice. And we had a view of the Alps in the distance as well.
After we were done exploring Tutzing, we headed back into Munich and decided to have a Birthday beer in the Hirsch Garden. It’s the biggest beer garden in Europe and can hold 8,000 people. Well, we got there and it was a huge disappointment. It was the white trash beer garden of Munich. So… we downed our beers as quickly as possible and left.
Yup, that’s right. As of July 20th I am a quarter of a century old. I only panicked a bit and have now decided I am no longer counting. No more candles, etc. I still want to celebrate my birthday and presents are always okay. But I am doing away with counting.
Anyway… the day was beautiful, so Mike skipped class and we went out to one of the lakes about a half an hour away from Munich. It was a great day. We walked from the town of Starnberg to Possenhofen. It was a nice walk, except for the 2 km in which the sidewalk disappeared and we had to walk along the side of the road. That was NOT fun, but we survived unscathed. We had brought bathing suits so we could go swimming, but in Germany there are no changing facilities. That is what the beach is for. And bathing suits are optional. Many don’t use them. We were actually surprised that most of the kids and all the men had bathing suits on. Many were Speedos, but at least it covers things. Many of the women were topless, but you get used to it after awhile. Although I don’t think I could go topless sunbathing with my neighbors or family watching. Stripping down in front of them, putting my bathing suit bottoms on, and then - while topless – carry on a conversation with them. It would be weird.
In Possenhofen there is an old Palace that is still occupied. By whom we have no idea, but you can walk around it, which was nice. Then we headed to the train station to go down to Tutzing. We did not want to walk on the shoulder of a narrow road again, and we had already walked probably 4 miles. While we were there we saw a crazy lady. In Germany you buy your tickets for the transport before you get on the train, many of the tickets have to be validated before you get on the transport, but its all up to you. I have been riding the Public Transport for 2 months (with a ticket) and have never had my ticket checked. So… many people ride and take the chance that they will not be caught. The people that check your tickets on the subway, buses, and trams are in street clothes, so its very risky. The people that check your tickets on the train are in uniform. But on the trains not only do you get the fine, but you also have to pay twice the fare. Well, this lady got caught, wouldn’t give the people her name so they could write out the fine, so they took her off the train and called the police. We got there with the police. Wonderful. Her story was that she had a month pass, but was at the beach in Starnberg. It was there that some one got into her wallet and stole her transport card AND all her money. But they left her wallet. Well, the police sided with the train people and asked to see her wallet so they could get her name. She FREAKED. They had to take her wallet from her while she was screaming and trying to beat them away. They got her name though, gave her the fine (which was even more because she also had her bike with her), and she freaked even more. She ran off screaming at the police and train people. It was amazing. I’m guessing the police didn’t haul her in because it wasn’t worth the effort. Back home they probably would have tazored her and then hauled her in with multiple charges. But she went off to the other side of the tracks, got on her phone, and started yelling hysterically to someone. People are entertaining…
After the excitement, we got on the train to Tutzing and explored around the city. Its quite small, so it didn’t take that long. But we were able to find a non-naked beach, side on a small wall, and stick our feet in the water. It was a hot day, so it was quite nice. And we had a view of the Alps in the distance as well.
After we were done exploring Tutzing, we headed back into Munich and decided to have a Birthday beer in the Hirsch Garden. It’s the biggest beer garden in Europe and can hold 8,000 people. Well, we got there and it was a huge disappointment. It was the white trash beer garden of Munich. So… we downed our beers as quickly as possible and left.
Beer Floats
My friend, Lisa, told us about beer floats when she was here visiting us. We were wary about the whole idea but she assured us that they were good. We figured you would have to do it with a dark beer, such as Guinness, but we were told that any beer would work. So we bought some beer and ice cream and tried it. Well, I am here to tell you that any beer will not work. The beer we used had quite a bit of a hops flavor. Which attached itself to the ice cream. I think it would be great with a dark beer, or a less hopy beer. Now we’re just going to wait until we get home to try it. And until we get a specific name of a beer she has successfully used in the beer float equation.
The Most Disgusting Beer in the World
July 19, 2007
There is a beer garden near us that has been voted the prettiest beer garden in the Munich area before and it sells a beer made in Munich that we had not yet tried. It was a nice day, so we walked over there before we went grocery shopping. We had heard that the beer was not very good and the only reason it was still in production was due to tourists. We now know that this has to be the truth. It was horrid beer. And to top it all off, they were out of beer mats for Spaten beer. Most of the beers have their own beer mats, so we have been collecting them. Free souvenirs! :)
There is a beer garden near us that has been voted the prettiest beer garden in the Munich area before and it sells a beer made in Munich that we had not yet tried. It was a nice day, so we walked over there before we went grocery shopping. We had heard that the beer was not very good and the only reason it was still in production was due to tourists. We now know that this has to be the truth. It was horrid beer. And to top it all off, they were out of beer mats for Spaten beer. Most of the beers have their own beer mats, so we have been collecting them. Free souvenirs! :)
Back to the Oldest Brewery in the World
July 18, 2007
Well, after Mike told people that we had gone to the oldest brewery in the world, they wanted to go to. And Mike was, of course, more than willing to take them there. He was sure that they could not get there without him. I’m pretty sure that he just wanted more of what he claims is one of the best beers in the world. SO today, we headed back to Freising and the Weihenstephan Brewery. We were able to try a couple more of the different types of beer they brew that we didn’t last time. The rest of the beers that they brew that we didn’t try, we bought. They are dirt cheap in their store. There is a beer store in Mt Pleasant that will order anything that they can for you if you ask. When we get back to Michigan, and settled, we are going to find out if they can get the Weihenstephan beer in. We’re also going to check with Erica’s in Grand Rapids, so hopefully we can share the beer with others!
Well, after Mike told people that we had gone to the oldest brewery in the world, they wanted to go to. And Mike was, of course, more than willing to take them there. He was sure that they could not get there without him. I’m pretty sure that he just wanted more of what he claims is one of the best beers in the world. SO today, we headed back to Freising and the Weihenstephan Brewery. We were able to try a couple more of the different types of beer they brew that we didn’t last time. The rest of the beers that they brew that we didn’t try, we bought. They are dirt cheap in their store. There is a beer store in Mt Pleasant that will order anything that they can for you if you ask. When we get back to Michigan, and settled, we are going to find out if they can get the Weihenstephan beer in. We’re also going to check with Erica’s in Grand Rapids, so hopefully we can share the beer with others!
Paulaner Brewery Tour
July 17, 2007
We were able to go on a brewery tour for only €3 each through the school Mike goes to. It was all in German – of course – but I still picked up a bit of it. The guide had a very thick Bavarian accent (which is the most difficult German accent to understand.) But Mike was able to explain it to me after he stopped talking. The tour was incredible. It last an hour and a half, and he took us through the entire process. The best part for me was watching the bottle cleaning (they re-use the glass bottles up to 6 times), bottle filling, and labeling. I got another video of that, it was so fast Mike wanted to document it. :)
At the end of the tour we were told we would get a pretzel (a big soft pretzel), and a beer. Mike and I figured that the beer would be a small taste. We were wrong. At the end of the tour we were given two 0.5L beers, two big pretzels, and dinner. It was amazing. And all for €3. If we had known about it sooner, we would have probably gone a few more times.
We were able to go on a brewery tour for only €3 each through the school Mike goes to. It was all in German – of course – but I still picked up a bit of it. The guide had a very thick Bavarian accent (which is the most difficult German accent to understand.) But Mike was able to explain it to me after he stopped talking. The tour was incredible. It last an hour and a half, and he took us through the entire process. The best part for me was watching the bottle cleaning (they re-use the glass bottles up to 6 times), bottle filling, and labeling. I got another video of that, it was so fast Mike wanted to document it. :)
At the end of the tour we were told we would get a pretzel (a big soft pretzel), and a beer. Mike and I figured that the beer would be a small taste. We were wrong. At the end of the tour we were given two 0.5L beers, two big pretzels, and dinner. It was amazing. And all for €3. If we had known about it sooner, we would have probably gone a few more times.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
July 15, 2007
The next day we went over to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is an hour train ride from Nuremberg, and about 4 hours from Munich due to all the train changes you have to make. So, it was now or never for Rothenburg. It was incredibly hot that day. In two days it went from jeans and sweatshirt weather to shorts and tank tops. It was horrid and made eating hard. But Rothenburg was wonderful. It is an old medieval town in which the old city has not changed drastically since the mid 15th century. And it was not bombed during the war, so it is actually intact. Pretty rare around here.
Stephan told us that when we go, we have to try Schneeballens. They are a type of ball like butter cookie dessert made only in Rothenburg. (I think.) They were pretty good. For the rest of the afternoon we just walked around the city. There are a couple of pretty churches we looked at as well. There was a concert going on in the Frauenkirche by American High Schoolers. It was really pretty sounding, and interesting that it was Americans. Every week there was another group of American High Schools from different states singing in the city. St Jakobs Kirche was also wonderful. The altar and windows are incredible, and upstairs is another altar carved all out of wood with the image of the Last Supper. After St Jacobs, we just walked around more of the town. You can still walk on the city walls, which we of course did. It was a lot of fun, but there are some HUGE spiders hiding out in the overhangs. Big and hairy too. After that, it was time to get onto the train and head back to Munich. Unfortunately, the three hour train ride turned into almost 4 ½ due to our train being so SLOW. SO irritating.
The next day we went over to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is an hour train ride from Nuremberg, and about 4 hours from Munich due to all the train changes you have to make. So, it was now or never for Rothenburg. It was incredibly hot that day. In two days it went from jeans and sweatshirt weather to shorts and tank tops. It was horrid and made eating hard. But Rothenburg was wonderful. It is an old medieval town in which the old city has not changed drastically since the mid 15th century. And it was not bombed during the war, so it is actually intact. Pretty rare around here.
Stephan told us that when we go, we have to try Schneeballens. They are a type of ball like butter cookie dessert made only in Rothenburg. (I think.) They were pretty good. For the rest of the afternoon we just walked around the city. There are a couple of pretty churches we looked at as well. There was a concert going on in the Frauenkirche by American High Schoolers. It was really pretty sounding, and interesting that it was Americans. Every week there was another group of American High Schools from different states singing in the city. St Jakobs Kirche was also wonderful. The altar and windows are incredible, and upstairs is another altar carved all out of wood with the image of the Last Supper. After St Jacobs, we just walked around more of the town. You can still walk on the city walls, which we of course did. It was a lot of fun, but there are some HUGE spiders hiding out in the overhangs. Big and hairy too. After that, it was time to get onto the train and head back to Munich. Unfortunately, the three hour train ride turned into almost 4 ½ due to our train being so SLOW. SO irritating.
Nuremberg, Day 2
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July 14, 2007
Well, we were told when we agreed to stay with Hildegard that she works every weekend from 10am to midnight so we would have to day all to our selves. Which was great with us. We woke up early enough the next morning so that all three of us could get ready for the day. As soon as we were all ready to go, breakfast started. Now on the phone, she told us breakfast would be toast and some German meats. (Then again, dinner wasn’t supposed to be as big as it was either.) In reality breakfast was bread, about 20 different kinds of German meats, two different kinds of cheeses, some kind of ham salad, and the huge pieces of dessert from the night before that we didn’t get to. For a couple that usually only eats cereal for breakfast, it as overwhelming. After 10 minutes into breakfast Hildegard asked what was wrong with us and Mike tried explaining that we eat small breakfasts. This did not go over well. So we ate more, and more. By the time we were done I thought I was going to be sick again. If not sick, I certainly did not want to eat for another week. Then she made us 7 sandwiches to take with us for lunch. As neither of us were planning on eating until the next week, we were hoping on finding some homeless people to give our sandwiches to. Unfortunately, the old part of Nuremberg is too touristy and no homeless dwell there.
We finally left the house at 10am, took a driving tour around Nuremberg, and then were dropped off outside the Documentation Center that houses a lot of information on the Nazi Party and Nuremberg’s importance to it. We were given specific instructions to go explore the center and that she would pick us up outside of there is an hour and a half in her taxi. Then she would show us the rest of the grounds. We tried talking her out of it, but to no avail. We had hoped that we could so that we could go explore the grounds and skip the museum. Mike already knows most of the information provided given his area of study, and it was a beautiful day. Finally shorts weather again and we wanted to enjoy it. So, we sadly had to go to the museum. It was interesting, and Mike was able to get a few pictures for the class that he is teaching next semester.
We would have liked to explore more of the grounds, but unfortunately only got to drive by them. Mike was able to get out and take pictures though. Then we were taken on another driving tour of Nuremberg. As it was all in German, and Mike couldn’t translate – most of what we saw had no meaning until we left the car and Mike could explain what we saw. We were finally dropped off at 1pm in the old city. We had two hours before we were meeting old family friends. Mike’s Grandma babysat a woman way back when and now she has a son that is our age.
After being dropped off, we walked over to the St Lorenz Kirche. It was amazing inside, but sadly, you cannot take pictures inside without a special pass. The postcards were cheaper than buying the pass. The altar and stone work is definitely worth a look. Then it was off to the Trodelmarkt area. By now Mike “needed” a beer (it was technically vacation), so we forced ourselves to each eat a sandwich. Not that we were hungry AT ALL, but we knew that we would be if we drank a beer. So, we tried yet another Nuremberg beer. The Trodelmarkt area is very beautiful and was well worth the walk through. We even saw a gondola on our walk in this area. Right after I said that Nuremberg was the German equivalent of Venice. Weird. Then it was back to the old market to meet Stephan.
He took us back up to the castle and told us all about what we were looking at. We even got to hear a Nuremberg legend, which was spectacular. The castle was really pretty, but nothing like the Scotland castles, which was interesting. Then we went back to the Town Hall to see the crown jewels. They were really pretty and their story even more interesting. Then it was off to see Stephan’s parents at their house, which was about a 30 minute drive from Nuremberg. It was my first experience on the autobahn. Some parts do have speed restrictions, and we were on a few of those parts. We also went on a section with no speed restrictions. I am just glad that we were not in a really fast vehicle. I don’t think that I would have liked that, and even as is, it seemed like we were going fairly quickly. But we survived, and I can now say that I have been on it.
The Weih family has a beautiful house in a very small village outside of Hersbruck. Their yard is full of flowers, fruit, and veggies; it looks out over hills and forests and is very beautiful. They were very nice and took us to dinner at a small restaurant on a hill over looking Hersbruck. The food was very tasty – and was in normal person portions. It was the Hersbruck Sommerfest, so at about 10pm we were able to see a nice firework display. Mike was thrilled since we were not able to see them on his birthday. (The video was great though Becky!) Then it was off to a genuine German beer tent. Where they only sell liters of beer. Mike and I split one, and still had problems finishing it. The beer tent was a lot of fun though. There was a band, lots of people, and lots of waitress carrying around 6 or more liters of beer (and some of them were in their 60’s!). I can barely hold one – and most of the time need two hands to do it – let alone 6 or more! Amazing…
Well, we were told when we agreed to stay with Hildegard that she works every weekend from 10am to midnight so we would have to day all to our selves. Which was great with us. We woke up early enough the next morning so that all three of us could get ready for the day. As soon as we were all ready to go, breakfast started. Now on the phone, she told us breakfast would be toast and some German meats. (Then again, dinner wasn’t supposed to be as big as it was either.) In reality breakfast was bread, about 20 different kinds of German meats, two different kinds of cheeses, some kind of ham salad, and the huge pieces of dessert from the night before that we didn’t get to. For a couple that usually only eats cereal for breakfast, it as overwhelming. After 10 minutes into breakfast Hildegard asked what was wrong with us and Mike tried explaining that we eat small breakfasts. This did not go over well. So we ate more, and more. By the time we were done I thought I was going to be sick again. If not sick, I certainly did not want to eat for another week. Then she made us 7 sandwiches to take with us for lunch. As neither of us were planning on eating until the next week, we were hoping on finding some homeless people to give our sandwiches to. Unfortunately, the old part of Nuremberg is too touristy and no homeless dwell there.
We finally left the house at 10am, took a driving tour around Nuremberg, and then were dropped off outside the Documentation Center that houses a lot of information on the Nazi Party and Nuremberg’s importance to it. We were given specific instructions to go explore the center and that she would pick us up outside of there is an hour and a half in her taxi. Then she would show us the rest of the grounds. We tried talking her out of it, but to no avail. We had hoped that we could so that we could go explore the grounds and skip the museum. Mike already knows most of the information provided given his area of study, and it was a beautiful day. Finally shorts weather again and we wanted to enjoy it. So, we sadly had to go to the museum. It was interesting, and Mike was able to get a few pictures for the class that he is teaching next semester.
We would have liked to explore more of the grounds, but unfortunately only got to drive by them. Mike was able to get out and take pictures though. Then we were taken on another driving tour of Nuremberg. As it was all in German, and Mike couldn’t translate – most of what we saw had no meaning until we left the car and Mike could explain what we saw. We were finally dropped off at 1pm in the old city. We had two hours before we were meeting old family friends. Mike’s Grandma babysat a woman way back when and now she has a son that is our age.
After being dropped off, we walked over to the St Lorenz Kirche. It was amazing inside, but sadly, you cannot take pictures inside without a special pass. The postcards were cheaper than buying the pass. The altar and stone work is definitely worth a look. Then it was off to the Trodelmarkt area. By now Mike “needed” a beer (it was technically vacation), so we forced ourselves to each eat a sandwich. Not that we were hungry AT ALL, but we knew that we would be if we drank a beer. So, we tried yet another Nuremberg beer. The Trodelmarkt area is very beautiful and was well worth the walk through. We even saw a gondola on our walk in this area. Right after I said that Nuremberg was the German equivalent of Venice. Weird. Then it was back to the old market to meet Stephan.
He took us back up to the castle and told us all about what we were looking at. We even got to hear a Nuremberg legend, which was spectacular. The castle was really pretty, but nothing like the Scotland castles, which was interesting. Then we went back to the Town Hall to see the crown jewels. They were really pretty and their story even more interesting. Then it was off to see Stephan’s parents at their house, which was about a 30 minute drive from Nuremberg. It was my first experience on the autobahn. Some parts do have speed restrictions, and we were on a few of those parts. We also went on a section with no speed restrictions. I am just glad that we were not in a really fast vehicle. I don’t think that I would have liked that, and even as is, it seemed like we were going fairly quickly. But we survived, and I can now say that I have been on it.
The Weih family has a beautiful house in a very small village outside of Hersbruck. Their yard is full of flowers, fruit, and veggies; it looks out over hills and forests and is very beautiful. They were very nice and took us to dinner at a small restaurant on a hill over looking Hersbruck. The food was very tasty – and was in normal person portions. It was the Hersbruck Sommerfest, so at about 10pm we were able to see a nice firework display. Mike was thrilled since we were not able to see them on his birthday. (The video was great though Becky!) Then it was off to a genuine German beer tent. Where they only sell liters of beer. Mike and I split one, and still had problems finishing it. The beer tent was a lot of fun though. There was a band, lots of people, and lots of waitress carrying around 6 or more liters of beer (and some of them were in their 60’s!). I can barely hold one – and most of the time need two hands to do it – let alone 6 or more! Amazing…
Nuremberg, day 1
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July 13, 2007
We headed to Nuremberg on the first train that we could catch Friday morning. This is the city where both Mike’s Grandma and Mike’s Mom were born in, and where various family members still live. We were able to get into Nuremberg so that we had 5 hours to explore the city before we had to head to Mike’s second cousin’s house.
The old city is very beautiful and even has the old city walls. Nuremberg was heavily bombed during the last World War, so I am pretty sure that it has been all rebuilt, but it’s still pretty. The first thing that we went to was the Handwerkerhof. It is a small part of the old city that still retains the old timber houses which hold small shops. There are all sorts of hand made products there to look at along with a few traditional German restaurants. It was wonderful to poke around there for a bit.
We then started walking down towards the castle, which is on the other side of the old city from the Handwerkerhof. We passed by many beautiful churches, and the incredible old market with its gorgeous fountain before Mike realized that he was really hungry. We stopped at the Bratwursthaus for real Nuremberg Bratwursts. We had heard about the bratwursts for a while from family members, so we had to try them. There about the size of breakfast sausages, and they are tasty. And since we were having bratwurst we had to have a beer… the Nuremberg Tucker beer was quite nice. To round off our Nuremberg food experience, we went and both Lebkuckens for dessert. They are a particular type of cookie that Mike’s mom usually orders around Christmas time that are made in Nuremberg. They’re okay, but they have a ginger cookie taste (which I do not like) and an almost cake like consistency. Mike usually eats most of them. No different this time with them really fresh either. But its all part of the experience and we were able to buy them from the original store. Quite exciting.
Then it was to the Frauenkirche. The artwork over the doorway was amazing. The inside was very pretty (as was the outside) with gorgeous stained glass windows, sculptures, old frescos, etc. There were some interesting modern religious paintings hanging around the church that I wouldn’t normally associate with a church that old, but they seemed to fit in with the old stuff quite well.
After we had had our fill of cookies, and the Frauenkirche, we headed over to the castle. We got there and it was swarming with police. It seemed quite odd, but we weren’t being stopped from entering, so we pressed on. But when we went to go up into the main courtyard, where were lots of men in nice suits and more police. We decided just to turn around and head back tomorrow. Hopefully then we won’t be bared from entering.
We then just wandered around the castle end of the old city. The house were Albrecht Durer, the German painter, was born is over on this end of the city. Also on this side of town was… the Aldstadthof Hausbrauerei (Old City House Brewery). We decided that we definitely need another beer before we went to meet “the family” as we were pretty sure that this particular family member did not drink. So we got a pint to spilt of reminded us of the real ales from Scotland. It was spectacular. A must see for anyone that enjoys beer. They sold their beer really cheaply (and in large quantities), but as it was day 1 of a 3 day trip and we had to lug our stuff everyday, we passed it up.
And after a beer, there is no better place to go than church. Which is exactly what we did. Kirche St Sebaldus was spectacular. It is the oldest church of Nuremberg (has been re-built since World War II) and was amazing. There was a four person singing group rehearsing up at the altar and they were wonderful. We even got a short video of them singing. Its shaky, but at least they can be heard. If I knew how to upload videos, I would. But I have no clue. (Any help would be appreciated!) The rest of the church was quite beautiful, but it was all the more so with the wonderful music that was filling the church.
Next we stopped by the Rathhaus – the town hall. It is a fairly large town hall, that has been expanded many a time. We thought we were touring the actual town hall, but after our tickets were bought and we started looking at the signs a bit more closely, we found out that the main room of the town hall is only open once or twice a month. We were touring the dungeons. It was actually a really interesting tour. There was a deaf couple on the tour so the guide spoke very clearly and used her hands a lot to point to things and explain how things worked. It was great and I was able to pick up a lot of what was going on (it was all in German.) We were able to see jail cells, torture devices, how “questioning” worked, and even the jail keepers quarters. It was quite interesting.
By the end of the tour it was nearly 3:30pm and time for us to start heading over to Hildegard’s.
She is Mike’s second cousin and Mike’s Grandma’s God Daughter. She speaks very little English, but my German comprehension has gotten lots better, I just cannot speak it all that well.
We got to her apartment at about 4pm and were eating a huge meal by 4:15pm. Turkey breast – German style, bratwurst, German potato salad, AND tomato-cucumber salad. It was a ton of food and as we were sitting down to eat she told Mike that she doesn’t like it when people come over to eat and “eat like birds.” It’s a lot of work to cook all that food, and she finds it offensive when its not all gone. Great. I don’t normally eat huge meals, but I did my best. I think both Mike and I ate more than we do on Thanksgiving and Christmas combined all before 5:30pm. It was rough, but we did it and no one was offended.
Then more family came over. All German speakers. For the most part I was able to understand what was going on, but Hildegard is really into alternative medicine. Most of those conversations had to be translated later for me by Mike. She talks so fast and so much that there was no translating while the conversation was happening. Such is life though. I would have nothing to add to the conversation anyway. After a while of visiting with family, we had more food. This time satziki (sp?) sauce. (Its like the stuff that they put on Gyros.) This time I really though I would be sick. It was good, but I was definitely not ready to eat more. Thankfully, no more food was thrown our way… until breakfast the next morning.
We headed to Nuremberg on the first train that we could catch Friday morning. This is the city where both Mike’s Grandma and Mike’s Mom were born in, and where various family members still live. We were able to get into Nuremberg so that we had 5 hours to explore the city before we had to head to Mike’s second cousin’s house.
The old city is very beautiful and even has the old city walls. Nuremberg was heavily bombed during the last World War, so I am pretty sure that it has been all rebuilt, but it’s still pretty. The first thing that we went to was the Handwerkerhof. It is a small part of the old city that still retains the old timber houses which hold small shops. There are all sorts of hand made products there to look at along with a few traditional German restaurants. It was wonderful to poke around there for a bit.
We then started walking down towards the castle, which is on the other side of the old city from the Handwerkerhof. We passed by many beautiful churches, and the incredible old market with its gorgeous fountain before Mike realized that he was really hungry. We stopped at the Bratwursthaus for real Nuremberg Bratwursts. We had heard about the bratwursts for a while from family members, so we had to try them. There about the size of breakfast sausages, and they are tasty. And since we were having bratwurst we had to have a beer… the Nuremberg Tucker beer was quite nice. To round off our Nuremberg food experience, we went and both Lebkuckens for dessert. They are a particular type of cookie that Mike’s mom usually orders around Christmas time that are made in Nuremberg. They’re okay, but they have a ginger cookie taste (which I do not like) and an almost cake like consistency. Mike usually eats most of them. No different this time with them really fresh either. But its all part of the experience and we were able to buy them from the original store. Quite exciting.
Then it was to the Frauenkirche. The artwork over the doorway was amazing. The inside was very pretty (as was the outside) with gorgeous stained glass windows, sculptures, old frescos, etc. There were some interesting modern religious paintings hanging around the church that I wouldn’t normally associate with a church that old, but they seemed to fit in with the old stuff quite well.
After we had had our fill of cookies, and the Frauenkirche, we headed over to the castle. We got there and it was swarming with police. It seemed quite odd, but we weren’t being stopped from entering, so we pressed on. But when we went to go up into the main courtyard, where were lots of men in nice suits and more police. We decided just to turn around and head back tomorrow. Hopefully then we won’t be bared from entering.
We then just wandered around the castle end of the old city. The house were Albrecht Durer, the German painter, was born is over on this end of the city. Also on this side of town was… the Aldstadthof Hausbrauerei (Old City House Brewery). We decided that we definitely need another beer before we went to meet “the family” as we were pretty sure that this particular family member did not drink. So we got a pint to spilt of reminded us of the real ales from Scotland. It was spectacular. A must see for anyone that enjoys beer. They sold their beer really cheaply (and in large quantities), but as it was day 1 of a 3 day trip and we had to lug our stuff everyday, we passed it up.
And after a beer, there is no better place to go than church. Which is exactly what we did. Kirche St Sebaldus was spectacular. It is the oldest church of Nuremberg (has been re-built since World War II) and was amazing. There was a four person singing group rehearsing up at the altar and they were wonderful. We even got a short video of them singing. Its shaky, but at least they can be heard. If I knew how to upload videos, I would. But I have no clue. (Any help would be appreciated!) The rest of the church was quite beautiful, but it was all the more so with the wonderful music that was filling the church.
Next we stopped by the Rathhaus – the town hall. It is a fairly large town hall, that has been expanded many a time. We thought we were touring the actual town hall, but after our tickets were bought and we started looking at the signs a bit more closely, we found out that the main room of the town hall is only open once or twice a month. We were touring the dungeons. It was actually a really interesting tour. There was a deaf couple on the tour so the guide spoke very clearly and used her hands a lot to point to things and explain how things worked. It was great and I was able to pick up a lot of what was going on (it was all in German.) We were able to see jail cells, torture devices, how “questioning” worked, and even the jail keepers quarters. It was quite interesting.
By the end of the tour it was nearly 3:30pm and time for us to start heading over to Hildegard’s.
She is Mike’s second cousin and Mike’s Grandma’s God Daughter. She speaks very little English, but my German comprehension has gotten lots better, I just cannot speak it all that well.
We got to her apartment at about 4pm and were eating a huge meal by 4:15pm. Turkey breast – German style, bratwurst, German potato salad, AND tomato-cucumber salad. It was a ton of food and as we were sitting down to eat she told Mike that she doesn’t like it when people come over to eat and “eat like birds.” It’s a lot of work to cook all that food, and she finds it offensive when its not all gone. Great. I don’t normally eat huge meals, but I did my best. I think both Mike and I ate more than we do on Thanksgiving and Christmas combined all before 5:30pm. It was rough, but we did it and no one was offended.
Then more family came over. All German speakers. For the most part I was able to understand what was going on, but Hildegard is really into alternative medicine. Most of those conversations had to be translated later for me by Mike. She talks so fast and so much that there was no translating while the conversation was happening. Such is life though. I would have nothing to add to the conversation anyway. After a while of visiting with family, we had more food. This time satziki (sp?) sauce. (Its like the stuff that they put on Gyros.) This time I really though I would be sick. It was good, but I was definitely not ready to eat more. Thankfully, no more food was thrown our way… until breakfast the next morning.
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