Taking flight

Another 4-day weekend is staring me right in the face with nothing but a few hours lingering between me and all the fun it promises to bring. To make it even better, my mom is still here! She'll get to see my stomping grounds when she meets me in Frankfurt for lunch, and later we'll go out on the town and see what the night has in store for us. I am like my mom in that when I look at a map, my head absolutely swims with possibilities for adventure. We both sat down a couple nights ago to pour over our Germany map and plot our weekend. With about 1,000 ideas on the table and perfect weather in the forecast, it's gearing up to really be excellent.

And, have I mentioned? Mainz hosts a Red Bull Flugtag on Monday! You know, when groups of people build hilarious go-cart type things and then launch themselves as far as they can over a body of water? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check it out here. It's bound to be entirely entertaining and good for an afternoon of laughs. A genius marketing idea, too. I like that these people are taking on a ridiculous challenge and flying as far as they possibly can while not sacrificing for a moment their enjoyment of the event.

Along those lines, I am in full-fledged job hunting mode since my return to the USA is less than 2 months away! I am in the unique position of being able to now head in any professional direction I choose, but whatever I choose is probably the path I will then stay on. I studied business and finance but then worked in politics and have now acquired international experience. The job I was holding out for looks to be a no-go timing wise, so now the question is... where do I want to live? I had sort of figured I'd head back to DC and put my new foreign experience into play, but maybe that's not what my next adventure is supposed to be. Job hunting is always a bit stressful but also rather exciting too, don't you think?

Maybe I'll go here, or here, or try to become this or this.   :)   Oh! the possibilities!

Through the lens: Dresden

When in Dresden, see what the Dresdeners rebuilt.

I was really impressed with Dresden. It was renown for being absolutely beautiful before it was bombed to smithereens in WWII. Then, it fell in East German territory which meant that it was part of the GDR and therefore under communist rule until 1990. Through funding from the German government as well as all over the world, Dresden has spent the last twenty years making a large effort to rebuild what once made it so stunning. But they have also embraced their history, and that is evident, too. Very worth a stop. And if you go, don't forget to swing through the Neustadt as well as the better known Altstadt. It doesn't look like much, but it's full of gems.

My MOM is in Germany!

Life filled to the brim with even-better-than-usual things to do is a pretty accurate description of what's going on over here lately. I've shown you guys my Prague pictures here and here, given you all a glimpse of my weekend in the French Riviera here, haven't even told you yet that Emma was back for a quick visit, and now my mom is here! In the middle of all of the excitement I still am managing to find time to get to work everyday with enough energy to be productive. Let the job offers roll in! I'm an asset!

My mom and I spent this past weekend as a 4-day vacation and headed to Dresden, Germany-- a city I had wanted to visit before I left Germany for good. Have you read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut? If you haven't, I recommend it. I read it about a month ago after years of it sitting on my I-should-probably-read-this-someday list, and it increased my curiosity for Dresden just that much more. I could really see the history of the place just in the architecture. The pretty buildings in its Altstadt incorporate various elements of the completely charred ruins of its old glory days. We stayed on a main drag that was unquestionably built by the GDR (DDR). It was all very rectangular and utilitarian. But it was interesting to see how the city has approached its reconstruction, and it was nice to see that its decades of history as part of the DDR is not just wiped away or destroyed but rather acknowledged and incorporated into what it is today.

I have to say though, hands down the best part of my long weekend was just the simple fact that I got to spend time with my mom. No cell phones ringing, basically no email checking (we did Skype that sweet brother of mine), no hectic schedules or meetings... just us. We had time to walk and talk and sip coffee and just enjoy time together, and it was honestly the biggest treat. It's not all too often that I just get my mommy to myself.

And as if that wasn't great enough, she even woke up super early this morning made me breakfast before I left for work. love love love

Prague, Pictures from Day 2

At the end of April, I went to Prague with Anja, Micha, and Nadja. I posted pictures from our first day here, but then I flew off to France, Emma came here to Mainz, my mom just flew in.... aaaaand all of a sudden it's been weeks since I was in Prague, and I haven't shared more pictures. Oops. Enjoy!