cha cha cha changes

Isn't it weird how much can change in a year, whether you want it to or not? On this day last year, I was helping Courtney move out and Jenny move into a house that I love and now, just one short year later, live a distance so far away that Google Maps cannot calculate directions between my old life and my new life. I was working and so busy that I didn't even have time to charge the solar-powered Christmas lights that I had purchased (not necessarily because I'm environmentally conscious, but mostly because I didn't want the increased electric bill). I'm mostly just concentrating on the purchase of mulled wine - Glühwein - this Christmas season and not fussing with decorations of any sort because I just have to move them around the world again in another 7 months. I HAD BAKED COOKIES ALREADY! I don't even have an oven here. Does that make you want to cry, or does that make you want to cry?

Minus the cookie baking dilemma, these are all changes that I signed up for and sought out. Guys, I live in Germany! When did this happen?! I think I blinked and then all of a sudden whoosh, I've been here for 4 whole months. My language skills have changed, my diet has changed, my workout habits have changed, my understanding of the word "foreigner" has changed as well as my understanding of "patriotism" have both changed... everything that comes along with living in another culture. But there are also things changing in the US, and when I get back there will be things there that I'll need to adjust to. Old loves and old friends married, settled, or enjoying new loves (how will I keep track of all the new last names?!), brother is already in college and might be really super far away from me, some familiar faces in DC perhaps with new jobs or new houses and other faces that have left for more school or more adventure, even my little house will not be the same if I can move back into it (George I miss youuuuu!)... time does not stand still. It is ever developing and changing. Even if I were to stay in the same place forever, it would not stay the same. I'm glad I am brave enough to make some changes once in a while and find out for myself what this big ol' world is all about.

In less than 24 hours, I'll have another visitor and the start of a grand adventure, spanning country borders and challenging Glühwein suppliers everywhere! My to-do list before then is 16 things long. It's also 34 degrees outside, rainy, and densely foggy. How much of that list is really going to get done, let's be honest.

Has Elf started playing repeatedly on TV in the US yet? If so... jealoussss.

Some picture highlights from Emma's visit to Germany!

Emma was just here for a total of about 93 hours. We had so much fun (and so much Glühwein). The 4 days spanned Thanksgiving, her birthday, 1500km of road trip, countless cups of Christmas cheer (really, so much Glühwein), mountains, churches, castles, probably close to 800 photographs, and lots and lots of memories. I miss having Emma live a stone's throw from me, but you know, a cup of Glühwein with Emma in Germany proved to be just as nice as a glass of wine with Emma in DC.

In true Emma and Liz form, took the time we had by the horns. Here are some pictures of this dizzying and splendid adventure!

Our brand new rental car

Frankenstein's castle! Creepy!

When in Germany...

Glühwein in Nürnberg

There were a few instances of mitten-forgetfulness along the way

Christmas stars are so glowy and festive and I love them

Oberammergau in Bavaria

 

Neuschwanstein castle

McDonald's makes Nürnburgers. Haaa

And if that's not enough for you, check out the only toilet that's ever compelled me to take a video of it flushing.

 

Round Two for visitors starts this Wednesday. I've already had 3 naps and one night of sleep in the 24 hours since Emma left, and I for see plenty more naps before Wednesday, too. This 'having an awesome life' business is exhausting!

Happy BirThanksThGiving Day!

Everyday it's important to find something to be thankful for, no matter how small that something might be or how not-in-the-mood you are to be thankful. But today, oh today! Today is Thanksgiving! Today is a day devoted to being thankful. Today also happens to be the birthday of my dear friend Emma, and she just so happens to be here in Germany visiting me! How's that for something to be thankful for?

Thankgiving will be celebrated this year in Frankfurt with other Americans living in Germany who are here with my same program, and with some employees of the organization who helps to implement our program, and with... I don't really know. People will bring dishes, and I have a hunch that the spread will look very similar to what a normal Thanksgiving table might look like, only a bit more... well, a bit more German, probably. It is also the official opening day of the Mainz Christmas market, so after Thanksgiving dinner, there will be much Glühwein drinking and holiday merriment and toasts to happy birthdays! What a day!

I am thankful for:

messages from friends

real marshmallows to top my süße Kartoffeln: Jet-Puffed holla! thanks, Emma.

Skype
my mom

my sister

my brother

the memories i have from my last couple of Thanksgivings with Gram and Uncle John in South Carolina

my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, and the friends who are my family

the men in my life who have loved and supported me throughout the years

to know my prayers are heard

coffee

germany: for making the most delectable treats readily accessible day and night (and Sundays if you know where to look)
airplanes
heated buildings in the cold of winter
laughter

love

This is a very small list considering all the things I'm truly thankful for. What are you thankful for this year?

Christmas Prep in Germany

Close your eyes and picture the North Pole. Do iiiiittt. Do you see tiny houses? Christmas cheer? Lights that twinkle? Me too. And from what I can gather, the entire nation of Germany is about to be full of perfectly (Germans and their precision) crafted Christmas Markets that will be nothing short of stereotypically kitschy and completely 100% magical, straight outta the ol' North Pole. I'm taking this as a personal challenge to not spend every cent I have on mulled wine and roasted almonds. But then again, I'm only living in Germany once, so why not?

Here are some still shots of Mainz in full set-up mode:

Schwimmen ab 11 Uhr

On Thursday, after a looong day of doing my best at remembering how to actually do schoolwork (but, ughhhh I could be eating cake instead!), I badly needed to move. I could not get myself to the pool fast enough. The only problem was that it was 9:45pm when I was done working, and the pool closes at 11. By the time I walked there and changed, it'd be 10:15pm, and I'd only have 30 minutes to swim before it was time to get out, rinse off, and make my way back. Not enough time. But then I remembered! It's Wednesday! On Wednesdays, the pool is open until midnight. "Hooray!", I declared, and I headed out the door.

Upon arriving to the pool, I remembered that it was in fact Thursday. With a sad face and disgruntled manner, I shuffled the mile back to my house. Ok, I didn't shuffle. I walked at my normal spritely pace. And I wasn't wearing a sad face. I was wearing an "I'm cold" face. But inside I was feeling grumbly, I tell you!

I had been really excited to swim during the 11 o'clock hour. Would I get a lane to myself?! Would I get the whole pool to myself?! Who knows, but I became really delighted at the idea of ending a day with a late night swim. Their website states that every Friday the pool is open till 2am. 2AM! "Well for Pete's sake, that's my night!", I thought. And so it was planned.

After school on Friday, turning down an invitation for drinks from some lovely fellow students, I made my way home to eat dinner, and anticipate my midnight swim. Oh boy, oh boy! Well, oh boy is right. Read on.

I got to the pool at 11:30pm, wondering what it was even like to sign in to go swimming so late. The lady at the desk looked at me as though surprised to see that I had entered the building with the intention of gaining access to the facilities. The following conversation went something like this, though keep in mind, this was all in German so I'm questioning everything that's happening the whole time- thinking something is really wrong with my listening comprehension skills.

"Hello" 

"Cool... the pool's empty! Here's my pass." 

"Only naked." 

"What? No I... what? I'm here to swim laps? Back and forth? You're open until 2." 

"Only if you're swimming naked." 

"I can only swim laps naked?"

"Fridays."

"Naked?"

She gestures a charade to imply without clothing. 

"You can swim laps but you have to do so naked."

I look in towards the pool to see that its only patron is a middle aged man. No offense to middle aged men, but you know... I'm good. 

 "What time makes everything naked?" 

(I used the verb "machen" because that's just what my language skills happened to spit out.)

"Starting at 11pm Fridays."

"Ok cool. Have a nice evening."

So, strike 2 on the swim. I guess I'm just meant to swim at the same time as everyone except for that one naked dude. Maybe I would have swam naked, but the thought of swimming laps with nothing but a cap and goggles just makes me want to die of laughter and also of awkwardness. This incident mostly just confirmed my theory that, when in Germany, one should expect nudity and sexual references to reveal themselves whenever, where ever.  More importantly, the lesson I learned is to never turn down the opportunity for a German beer. The alternative will be disappointing.

It's beginning to look a lot like Weihnacht

I just wanted to start this post out with a picture of cake. There must be something in the water here, like bagels from New York, that makes the cake just really stinkin' delicious. Seriously, you cannot go wrong with a piece of cake here. Unless you're working hard to keep your figure in which case you can probably go wrong. Do you see that piece of Frankfurt Kuchen with the ball of buttercream frosting and cherry on top? The side and layers are also thick with buttercream frosting. Not good. Yet so, so good at the same time.

In other news not related to my culinary adventures (wait, everything in Germany eventually relates back to the culinary world, I think), Mainz is getting decorated for Christmas! First, the Marktplatz (market square) started being strung with lights. Then, the bahnhof (train station) started setting up Christmas tree decorations on the front, and I'm told there are lights on the back of the building. Then last night, I spotted the first real Christmas tree. In the Altstadt ("old" part of town), not far from the Marktplatz. There it was: tall, so tall. haphazardly strung from the top and half way down the tree with big, white bulbs. That's going to be my Christmas tree, and I shall post pictures of it here once it's lighted.

Marktplatz getting decorated with lights

You guys, all of these things is that it's almost Christmas time in Germany! This means Christmas markets, Glüwein (mulled wine), and cookies. In my imagination, this also means constant merriment, softly falling snow enough so that everyone leaves footprints but not enough to get in the way of all the merriment, carols, rosy cheeks, and a magical month that is like living in a live Advent Calendar. Is that so much to ask? I didn't think so either.

Plus, yesterday I passed someone on the sidewalk humming Jingle Bells. This time last year I was in DC and I knew Christmas was around the corner because I heard a bum humming the Nutcracker. Humming is a tell-tale sign that the holidays are approaching, apparently.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag!

Today is my Omi's birthday! She is a beautiful 83 years old, and I'm convinced (I've always been convinced) that she has more energy and more natural motivation to create good than I do, or than almost anyone for that matter. My Omi is very special to me, and between her and my mother (her daughter), I feel like I'm blessed with great examples of selfless and inspiring women- not to mention women with spines made of steel. Often I get sad when I think about how rarely I stop what I'm doing to pick up the phone and call her, see what's up. She never fails to have a sweet card in the mail for any occasion, and I generally tend to only get around to the big ones, mostly Christmas and Valentines Day (what, I like glitter!). As I type this, I'm sitting next to a small box to be shipped to Omi with a tiny birthday treat and greeting in it, but of course I didn't get around to mailing it on time, so I'm looking at it on her birthday instead of her enjoying it (next stop: post office, apparently).

My Omi can design, sew, or fix anything. I am the proud owner of this fabulous black dress that she designed when she was in fashion school in Chicago in the 1940's. Oh it's so timeless I could die. She survived some of the most trying experiences as a young girl, and I think of those now as I whine about tiny little things going on in my rather cushy, opportune life. She still volunteers her time at a million different places each week in an effort to make her community a better place. She makes time for family and makes sure that family remembers to make time for family. She encourages us and comforts us and inspires us. She is also the best cook maybe ever, but I think that comes with the German background. She lent her ear to me when I was torn about where to go in life, what opportunities to follow, and the concerns I had about each option. She can also turn out a knit hat, scarf, or baby booties in world record time.

I would like to give my Omi a little hug today. Thank goodness that I can Skype her and send her my wishes and love. Though, in reality, she probably won't be there when I call because she'll be out being busier than I am here at my computer.

Happy Birthday, Omi <3

Ich liebe dich.

Me with Omi in July right before I left for Germany.

11/11/11

Today (11/11/11) at 11:11am in Germany, Fassenacht starts... the 5th season, Fasching, Karneval, or what we know as Mardi Gras. "What?!" you say? That's right. It officially begins today, and then lasts until Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, but the big celebrations don't happen until the week prior to Lent. Mainz is one of the biggest Fassenacht celebrations in the country. Today friends and fellow Radolfzellers Mickey, Kate, and Shane are coming into town to help Ginny and me celebrate the beginning of a fun season. Can't wait!

More importantly, as I'm over here celebrating the start of chaos, I will not be forgetting that today is Veterans' Day in the US. We are a great nation. That is not to say that we are perfect or that we know it all or that some of our faults aren't glaring, but we are a nation of freedom, diversity, expansive beautiful lands, and Starbucks. I have really learned a lot more about how I feel about my home country by being a foreigner trying to make my way in Germany, and this Veterans' Day maybe more than any before, I realize what it is that our men and women in uniform stand up to protect. I admire their courage, and I'm thankful for their service. To all veterans and current members of the US Armed Forces - Happy Veterans' Day. <3

Augenblick

Sometimes (like today for instance), my life looks something like this.

Woah.

Where am I?

A week ago today, I found myself sitting in Athenos restaurant somewhere in the Taunus Mountains North of Wiesbaden, Germany. I was alone, the only patron of the establishent, eating pita bread and drinking Greek white wine. The sun had been down for nearly an hour, though it was only just past 6pm. I was surrounded by an laughable amount of both pictures of Greece and duck figurines. The only thing in my bag, other than my camera and wallet, was my journal. If ever there were a time to make an entry, this was probably it.

That day, November 1st, was Allerheiligen- probably better known in English as All Saints Day. It's a Catholic holiday (maybe also Anglican?), and while I'm not Catholic, I do have family graves in Wiesbaden. What better day to head to a cemetery than this one? And what better time to get there than late afternoon before the sun is down but as it's thinking about getting dark out? There are candles on every plot in the cemetery and each candle is lit on Allerheiligen. I wanted pictures of this, since we have family pictures in daytime, but none at dusk of which I'm aware.

Well, since I have a knack for creating adventures, planned or otherwise, this was no exception. I arrived at the Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof just in time to miss my #6 bus to the cemetery. I had no idea that it ran every 15 minutes, and that if I had been patient I could have gotten a coffee and then hopped the next bus. Instead, I had researched beforehand what line to take, and the 272 had a stop a couple blocks away. I got on the 272 and explained to the driver in German that I was trying to get to this place but I don't know what the right stop is that will get me closest to it and will you please help me? "mumble mumble mumble sit down" was basically the response. (Normally it's not that the person is mumbling but a mixture of dialect meets my inability to always make sense of the words flying at me in German.) I figured that he meant me to sit down near to the front so that he could point out to me the right stop when we got there. This is something that is not out of the ordinary for a bus driver to do in the US. Or, at least, that's my experience. Well, I was wrong. I knew I'd recognize the neighborhood. It's at the top of a hill, and I could recognize the cemetery and I could recognize a flower shop across the street. Using memories, I was sure I could figure out the right stop. Sure enough, I recognized all of it as we blew down the street- swoosh went the flower shop past the window, swoosh went the cemetery out windows on the other side of the bus, and down the highway we went. Oh crap.

"No worries," I thought. I like to walk, so I would just walk from the next stop. I pressed the "let me off at the next place please" button, and some lady looked at me like I was crazy. What? Then I looked around the bus and realized that half the passengers had nodded off. This bus was not stopping any time soon. Oh gosh, here we go. Up into the Taunus Mountains the bus roared. Too far to walk back. The sun went down. It was cold outside. And even if I were crazy and did want to walk back, there were no sidewalks and we were going reeeaalllyyy fast.

Well, the bus finally did stop about 10 minutes later. I was about 6.5 miles past my intended destination. The only thing I could see were 2 houses, 4 streetlights, and one bus stop on the other side of the highway. On the other side, the schedule informed me that the 272 was done running for the evening, but in one hour I could catch a different bus back into Wiesbaden. One hour. Welp, might as well see what's in the place, wherever I am. "This Place" turned out to be Neuhof and what was in it turned out to be not much, but there was Athenos.

Following in someone's footsteps, obviously

I made friends with the hostess/bar tender/waitress and told her all about why I was there. I ate pita, drank wine, wrote a little, and left again with best wishes for catching the right bus this time from the employee. If you ever find yourself in this place, I recommend trying out the local Greek establishment. And I'll have to try again to make it to the cemetery (which I did once it was pitch black and I started walking down some totally dark road next to it and decided that was a terrible, terrible idea and horror movie plot waiting to happen and then turned right around, found the main gate, and realized it was, for good reason, closed after dark). Turns out the number 6 bus goes right from the MAINZ Hauptbahnhof to the cemetery in Wiesbaden. Figures it's that easy :)

Wine at Athenos and just 2 of the many wall hangings

Cemetery. Um, maybe later.

Vino at my table for one

Hey pita brot!

I wanted to go here to start with

I took the number 6 home from the cemetery that I didn't visit. Geez.

Bon Iver Day

So last Sunday (not yesterday but a week ago) I went to Cologne to meet my friend Mickey and to see Bon Iver in concert! I had the perfect ingredients for the making of a wonderful day. I was lucky enough to get to know Mickey during those 2 months I lived in Radolfzell. Then, great surprise, two fellow Radolfzellers were also in Cologne- Ali and Ariana. Mickey and I got into town late in the afternoon and rendezvoused with Ali and Ariana and walked around the Altstadt before picking a place for dinner and catching up. It was so very nice to see these folks again, since it had been one month since we'd all moved away to our respective German cities.

After dinner - Phad Thai that reenforced the notion that ethnic food in Germany is not the greatest - Mickey and I bid adieu to the girls and headed to see Bon Iver! I had my camera with me from sightseeing earlier, and the bouncer at the door was not about to let me into the concert. Well, too bad for him I was feeling feisty and my German was flowing like the River Rhein because I argued with him for quite a few minutes before he finally agreed to let me into the venue. That's right, dude! So, while every other person who was at the concert has pictures on their phones, cameras, professional video recording devices, etc, I am the only person who walked out of there without any pictures of proof. Other than being sad to not be able to show you, dear reader, what it was like, I really don't need pictures. The show was amazing. They are so incredibly talented. So talented, in fact, that I decided to not leave the venue in order to catch the last train that would get me back to Mainz before the trains stopped running for the night. I stayed to the very end (and the end was Skinny Love and oh my gosh it was so great). Mickey saw me off at the closest U-Bahn stopped and I made my way to the Hauptbahnhof to see what my train options where. Overnight train to Frankfurt at midnight, 2.5 hours of homelessness there and then back to Mainz by 5am. Better than sitting in Cologne until 5am.

So, I hopped aboard my first ever overnight train and snoozed for a very comfortable 2 hours. Really, if you're considering train travel in Europe and you don't care about being able to see the countryside out of the window, this would be a good way to travel. We blew straight through Mainz on that train, and regardless of how hard I tried wishing the train to safely stop and let me off there, we trucked right on to the Frankfurt airport stop. It is here that I de-trained and spent close to 3 hours in the train station in the wee morning hours. It was actually pretty delightful. One tiny pretzel stand was open (in Germany you must always be able to have a pretzel if you want one, I'm pretty sure), so I got a coffee and croissant (not pretzel, sorry to disappoint) and took my place on some seats near other overnighters, half homeless for real and half weary traveler. I opened my copy of The Economist that I had purchased for the trip to Cologne and learned about the world and kept my eye on the probably-not-so-safe-to-be-near homeless guy. Don't worry Mom; you've taught me how to be aware of my surroundings and be safe.

Once I made it back to Mainz, it was 5am and I had a 20 minute walk back to my place. It was a lovely walk and everything looked so great to me, probably because I was tired. By the time I made it back, I was considering just staying awake and enjoying more of a day in which I had already accomplished so much. But then I put my head on my pillow and slept till noon.