Regensburg

The best thing about the lovely historic town of Regensburg is that Mark is here for a work meeting, and my bestest friend from California, Lauren, is here as well!

And not only did she bring her lovely self, but she also brought, all the way from San Diego, 2 big bags of Cheetos and 2 big bags of Munchies (seriously Germany, what is up with the Paprika chips?!?!)

I was specifically informed by Lauren that she is sick and tired of looking at a picture of a toilet every time she opens this site (sorry dear!) so with orange dusted Cheetos fingers, I say goodbye to the shelf toilet...

And what better pictures to replace the toilet but the lovely historic town of Regensburg.

Despite the rain and chill, while Mark and Lauren were busy at work, I've ventured out on my own to see the sights. The Dom St Peter was a definite must see and since it's smack dab in the centre of town, became my beacon in the sky so I didn't get lost (I have absolutely no sense of direction!!)

The Schloss Thurn und Taxis was my next stop and while I was too early for the guided museum tour, I wandered the grounds happily and toured through St. Emmeram's Church (a former Benedictine monastery). I was the only one there and I've gotta say it was a little eerie listening to my footsteps echo down the empty aisles.

Back across town to the Steinerne Brucke (stone bridge), at one time the only fortified crossing of the Danube, a cafe latte by the river and back to the hotel for a nap.

In my travels, I did manage to buy a lovely pair of winter boots (thanks Mark!) and found an Aveda hair salon. Despite the results of the hair incident of 2010, I have made an appointment for tomorrow for a cut and colour in the morning (pray for me!).

Afterwards, the plan is for lunch at the Historische Wurstkuche for the best sausages in Bavaria and then a 2pm tour of the Altes Rathaus (old Town Hall) and Reichstagsmuseum which, according to my Lonley Planet guide includes "the original torture chambers in the basement...with tools such as the rack, the Spanish Donkey (a tall wooden wedge on which naked men were made to sit (!!) and spiked chairs."

So between the Aveda salon and interrogation room, tomorrow might be a tough day...

Can't wait!

The List

We've had a few visitors now as well as a few trips back home to Canada and Ireland, and the one question we frequently get is "what is the strangest/weirdest/most different thing you've noticed about Germany?" So here goes - the list (compiled with the help of Mark, Sarah and Hoff in one shape or form) of all that makes Germany so...well...different...

1- All things toilet - This discussion started when we took Sarah to Heidelberg and while coming out of the washroom she casually mentioned that the woman who used the stall before her left the toilet seat up. That made us consider that the sign (pictured above) which is prominently displayed in our bathroom at home (who the heck lived there before us anyway???) was possibly there not to prevent men from sprinkling on the seat, but perhaps women??? This finally lead to talk of the German shelf toilet (also pictured above). Apparently when asked, any German will explain the reason for the location of the "shelf" is so that you can examine your "business" to ensure it is normal before flushing it away. I swear I have never put this much consideration into my toilet activities until moving to Germany...(and for the record, we have a very American toilet in our house!)

2 - Smoking - As previously mentioned, Germany has cigarette vending machines on every street corner, as well as the convenient cigarette slide at the grocery store. It wasn't until I attended my first music festival in Darmstadt, however, that I realized how much they embraced smoking. There were well dressed, cigarette logo adorned models milling through the crowds with open cigarette packs handing out samples to anyone who was interested. They were also encouraging sample takers to sit in the special roped off cigarette area to enjoy the music and said free cigarettes in the comfort of a lounge chair. All the PSA's in California against smoking came rushing back to me upon witnessing this spectacle. I've decided I will start smoking (perhaps a pipe?) just to belong!

3 - The man in the 5 sizes too small tight white pants on the tram (you know who you are!) - for that matter, I will include the 75 year old ladies with fuchsia and turquoise hair as well as the guy I frequently see biking through the park with small round sunglasses and turn of the century carny clothes. Apparently I am not living in the fashion capital of the world.

4 - Women only parking spaces - (The sign doesn't indicate for pregnant women, women with kids, disabled etc...) I assume it's just women. Needless to say I haven't driven around searching for a parking spot since we arrived.

5 - On the topic of driving - no speed limits! Everything they say about the autobahn is true. But my question is, why is it that we now live in the land of no speed limits and yet Mark, for the first time ever, has received 2 speeding tickets in 3 months??!?

6 - No Sunday shopping - 'nuff said

7 - The air raid sirens - The first time we heard them was about 3 days after we arrived and I was tempted to hang my Canadian flag out the window so the allies knew where we were. Apparently, since there are a lot of chemical companies around our area, they are in place as a warning system in case of toxic spills/chemical explosions. We, however, have been hearing regular test sirens. Supposedly. But if I start to develop a rash, I'm moving...

8 - No kitchens - It's customary when you move from your rented apartment to take your entire kitchen with you (yes, even the kitchen sink). We discovered this while house hunting when we walked into a series of apartments with bare walled kitchens and water hook ups. We were lucky enough to find a landlord willing to install a kitchen for us, but normally we would have spent many hours in Ikea with limited ability to speak German, miming out what our dream kitchen would look like!

9 - The working girl - One Sunday on our way to the train station, we passed by a lovely woman standing on the side of the road in the middle of the day. The next time we passed, she was there again, talking to a bus driver (this was not a bus stop by the way). Eventually we clued in to exactly what she was doing on a Sunday afternoon at 2pm. The last time we drove by she had found herself a nice little trailer to park on the side of the road. Apparently business is good!

10 - The Herkules Bar - Germany certainly doesn't have the strict closing times we had become accustomed to in California, however, you can imagine our surprise when we walked by the Herkules bar and saw that it's opening hours were listed as 6am to 5am. The bar is open 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have it on good authority that just before 5am, a bell is rung to signify last call. Patrons can then order 2-3 pints, head outside to the curb and drink happily for an hour while the place is literally hosed down inside in preparation for the 6am opening. We haven't experienced this first hand ...yet...

So to all future visitors to our humble no pee on the seats apartment, this is just a taste of what you can expect.

And any volunteers brave enough to join us on a night out the Herkules are very welcome!

The Hair Incident of 2010

I'm a little ashamed to admit that while living in California, I did get caught up in the endless pursuit of beauty. I began waxing things that should never be waxed, had regular mani's and pedi's, sported acrylic nails for a period of time and spent $150 every 6 weeks to have my hair cut, coloured and highlighted at a fantastic salon in Carlsbad (Entourage Salon ) where the owners and girls working there were like a big family and you couldn't help but become part of it all. I loved it!

So, when I found out about the German move, I had serious reservations about how I was going to cope - style wise. I immediately decided I'd give up the acrylic nails, mani's and pedi's and gave serious thought to not getting my hair cut until we went home.

But, after 10 weeks in Europe, my hair had a different idea...

In an effort to ease into the transition to a new hair dresser, I took to the Internet to find out what other people do. Turns out 95% of the expats on line actually go back home to get their hair done in order to avoid the dreaded euro cut. While I did crunch the numbers to see how hard it would be to fly to San Diego 8 times a year, apparently it's not that practical (according to Mark anyway...sigh...)

But I was not to bet deterred! So when Mark came home from getting his hair cut down the street raving about the girl who speaks almost perfect English I decided I'd take a chance. (For the record, Mark has always had the same cut which can be described using clipper number lingo, however, he came home from this hair salon with it a little long on the top sporting the pseudo-faux-euro-Mohawk. It should have been my first clue...)

I walked in on my way back from class and it was pretty busy (usually a good sign right?) so I made an appointment for the next afternoon for a cut and colour.

The conversation upon arrival went something like this:

Her: So you lived in America?
Me: Yes, in California
Her: I've always wanted to visit America!
Me: Really where?
Her: Detroit...

Okay - Clue number 2! No one wants to visit Detroit!?! Not even our friend Jason - and he actually lives there! Apparently it was some sort of gangster Eminem thing for her... So...moving right along...

Her: So you want your hair the same colour?
Me: Yes, just something to cover the gray (yes I have lots of gray!) Will that work?
Her: Okay, but Really? You're hair colour is nice but it's a bit....boring...

What? ME! Boring?? Never!!

That was when it all went awry...

In an effort to reduce the boring factor, I suggested some red highlights. What then appeared before me were little hair swatches of varying shades of fuschia, so I gave up and picked one. It's not really clear on the photo, but trust me - they're there!

I then proceeded to explain that I have been trying to grow out my hair (like FOREVER!!) so PLEASE don't cut too much off. I have a lot of hair, so it needs to be layered to reduce bulk and usually it's cut in an angled bob a little longer in the front, with a longish bang to cover my massive forehead.

I really thought we connected. She seemed to understand! So for 2 hours I sat there while she proceeded to cut enough of my hair off that it no longer fits in a ponytail!

Finally, at the end of it, she asked what kind of styling tools I needed to blow dry my hair. I gave her a confused look until I looked around and realized the other ladies in the salon were drying their own hair! Really?!? Isn't the professional blowout one of the reasons we go to the salon?? Especially those of us with coarse questionably wavy hair!!?! So I politely said I'd let it air dry and tried to get outta there!

On the positive side - it only cost 46 Euros, which is cheap!

On the negative side - I have punk rock mom hair...

So, we will never speak of this again until the Hair Incident of 2012, because that's the next time I'm getting my hair cut. Gray hairs be damned!

But I really do need to get my legs waxed....I'm scared...

Just a Housewife

I don't think the musical "Working" has been on Broadway since the 70's (although apparently there will be a revival in 2011? Who knew?) yet some of it's songs, like Just a Housewife, still ring true.

Apparently I'm "just a housewife" (or eine Hausfrau if you want to get technical). This realization hit me last week when I decided to join Mark on a business trip to Glasgow. While filling out the customs card, I reached the question "occupation" and almost choked on my peanuts when Mark said smugly over my shoulder - "it's housewife you know..."

Not that there is anything wrong with that (so please don't write any nasty comments about the merits of housewifedom!) I think it can be a noble profession, especially if you have kids. But we don't have kids (as much as I may treat Stormy like a baby - I do realize on some level he actually is a cat!) So now that I'm unemployed, as our dear friend Cherrie put it, I seem to have just no place in society.

So in an effort to get back out there (is this how I'll feel when I finally drive Mark to divorce and am again getting back out there?) I've started an intensive German language class. It's a 4 week beginner course with Studio Mondiale in Darmstadt and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for language training. The cost was reasonable (only about 300 Euro compared to Goethe Institute 1000 Euro plus) and there are 8-12 people in each class (9 in mine) from all over the world. Although I naively thought the instructors would have to speak English, they actually exclusively speak German. So after an initial panic because I had no idea what was going on, I realized that everyone else had the same blank stare, so we would all figure it out together. And we have! It's amazing what you begin to understand in a very short period of time.

So, while I doubt this blog will be written in German anytime soon, I'm hoping that in a couple of months I will be able to understand enough German to ....wait for it....actually get a job. Who would have thought I'd actually WANT one of those?

Or maybe I'll just go back to school...I could get used to writing "student" on my customs forms! Either way, I'm slowly finding purpose once again.

Anyway, since Mark will be home from work soon, I really should put dinner on! And he likes to have his Martini at just the right temperature when I meet him at the door...

Drink...and Don't Drive

All you North Americans (ie Canadians and Americans) are surely familiar with the Don't Drink and Drive campaigns...

Well, we did discover a similar sentiment here in Germany, however, at least they have their priorities straight - Drink! (and don't drive). Very clever...

This little discovery was all thanks to our first visitor since we moved to Germany - Hoff!

The nice thing about visitors is you actually plan all the sightseeing trips you should take but don't because you live here (we took him to Heidelberg, saw the castle and bought Cuban cigars - since he's from the USA it's a treat!). More importantly, however, visitors allow you to discover the little cultural differences between where you were and where you are.

This came about when Hoff asked what would be a quintessentially German gift he could bring back for friends, leading to a discussion of his observations of what's different. To sum up:

a) Drink and don't drive (as long as there's drinking!)
b) And if you're drinking anyway, drink in the streets (it's like Vegas without the incessant sounds of slot machines! - see picture)
c) And if you're going to drink in the streets - you should smoke since there are still free samples given out by cigarette companies, vending machines in the streets and a convenient slide in the grocery store where your pack drops right onto the conveyor belt for easy access - also see picture.

While it was decided that beer and smokes were what he should take back, I hope he bought a t-shirt at the airport.

For good measure, I also included some pictures from the gardens by our place in Darmstadt and us in Heidelberg - just to prove we aren't the worst hosts ever...

So these are the take homes from our first visitor. I hope you had a good time Hoff, or at least pretend - otherwise, we won't get any more visitors!! Hopefully we can get our act together before our next guest - Mark's mum!

"Feels Like Home"

For some reason the Chantal Kreviazuk song popped into my head today. Not sure if it's because our furniture is scheduled to arrive from California tomorrow or if it's because we just came back from Ireland and I may have slipped into that post fun festival funk...

Either way, last Tuesday, Mark and I hopped on a plane from Frankfurt to sunny Dublin (yes you read that right - it was actually sunny in Ireland in August!). We rented a car and drove north through Belfast to the Heart of the Glens Festival in Cushendall. The new motorway had just opened so for 2 1/2 hours I listened to Mark exclaim "I can't believe how quick this is! I remember when it used to take an hour just to get this far!" (I also believe he was walking barefoot in the snow up hill back then, but I digress...)

As per our usual, we arrived at his mum's place, ate a wonderful dinner and immediately took off into the village to find his old high school friends for a drink. (Although his mum did come with us, so we didn't feel too bad about eating and running...). Day one passed and we were reasonably unscathed (we got home around 2am? That's early!).

Day 2 was nice and relaxing - take away for the chinese in the village and in bed by midnight. I thought I had finally cracked the secrets of the lasting the week with Mark's friends!

Day 3, however, was a completely different story. It started innocently enough with tickets to the seafood barbecue at the boat club. Sounds like a classy event at the club right? Sure, Klassy - with a K. After the Kearney's and the O'Gradys got hold of bottles of wine, it was all down hill. We eventually were kicked out of the "supper" area and told to go upstairs where the fire was going, the bar was open and the band was playing. Sure enough, we were eventually kicked out of upstairs too and told just to go home. I think it was close to 4am? Not sure...

Day 4 was "Dallywood" night (ie everyone dresses up like movie actors and characters and drinks in the street...there were an inordinate number of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...are they making a comeback? Only in Belfast...) A much quieter night I must say - likely in response to the night before. Eventually when we all got together again, we were able to piece together what happened the night before (and what happened after everyone went home - needless to say, one person had to sleep in the car to avoid her snoring husband, locking everyone else inside the house, someone else passed out on the couch with a peanut butter sandwich, and more than one parent had to walk their kids to hat making class the next day (some in their night gowns I might add) because they really "shouldn't have been driving". I love the festival. The only potential downside is that the girls have agreed to get dressed up next year and since I'm technically unemployed, I'm in charge of costumes. I really need a job!

Saturday was the traditional Lurig run ( a 3.5 mile run from the Curfew Tower to the top of the Lurig and back - 1150 feet high) and given my new career as a fitness model, I must do the run next year - just to inspire the little people. Training starts tomorrow...

Sadly, we were headed back to the Fatherland on Sunday and I really think I hit a funk having to leave the fun behind.

So now, I'm sitting on the floor in our near empty apartment (the rental furniture was picked up today) waiting for our stuff to arrive tomorrow. Time to find something else to occupy my time...hopefully something that involves a bit less wine...people will start to think I have a problem!

And the Oscar goes to...

Excuse the title, it was the only move reference I could think of...

But, we've discovered what might be the best thing about movie theaters in Germany. They serve beer and wine! In lovely wine glasses and everything!!

Since we are leaving for Ireland tomorrow to visit Mark's family for a couple of days, we decided that this weekend was not meant for a fancy getaway to exotic parts of Europe.

Instead, we honoured the great American date tradition - dinner and a movie (or in our case, movie and dinner)...only in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt has a selection of original language movie theaters, so we decided to check out Inception and see what all the fuss was about. The movie was great, but frankly the whole trip was worth it just for the concession stand! The candy selection was dire (M&M's were the only thing that could technically qualify as candy...) however, they did have the requisite popcorn and nachos with plastic cheese (which of course we ordered, along with M&M's). But...the best part...they served beer. And wine. And for an extra 2 euros, you got a real wine glass with a poker chip so you could get your money back if you returned the glass. How great is that! I'm thinking you should just keep the glass and in 4 movies have a 4 piece serving set for only 8 euros! Cheaper than Ikea! I must say I was thoroughly impressed. Yes, I took a picture...

After the movie we hopped on the subway to "Goldman Restaurant" on Hanauer Landstrasse in Frankfurt. For 80 euros each, they have a "surprise" 5 course tasting menu and wine pairing which was excellent and worth every penny. (although I wonder if they'd drop 2 euros off the price if I brought my movie wine glass? Must try that next time!)

All in all a great date night and a nice weekend home before the Glens of Antrim festival in the Dall.

If nothing else, the next 5 days promise to be full of blog worthy events...like 2 years ago when a man walked into the bar with a donkey...really...gotta love small towns!