Good Work for a Good Cause

I really enjoyed my first day volunteering for IFOAM. It was nice to get out and meet some interesting people who are trying to accomplish some ambitious goals.

I almost can't believe I'm saying this, but I also really enjoyed going to an office, sitting in front of a computer, and putting together a PowerPoint presentation. Most people I know, people who have to get up and go to an office every day, may question this statement. But, even for a year before I left the states I worked from home. For me, it was a nice change to work outside of my house, with the normal flutter of office activity, people around to answer your questions, and colleagues to walk to lunch with.

I'm going back today. Two days a week should be enough to enable me to enjoy going to an office, without it losing its appeal any too quickly.

Volunteering

I don't have much time for a long post today. I'm starting a new project this morning. I am volunteering in the Bonn office of IFOAM, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.

The group works as an umbrella organization to unify organic farmers throughout the world. It works to disseminate and share information about what's going on in the world of organic farming.

I'm not sure what exactly I'll be doing, but I'm looking forward to working for such a good cause.

Mo Mexican

I'm mistaken. Apparently there are a number of Mexican restaurants in Cologne.

I'll have to give them a shot, but I'm still not totally convinced that I'll get what I'm looking for based on the following clues:

• Havanna (Neusser Straße 17) — Isn't "Havana" actually the capital of Cuba? Why is it (with two "n"s) being used as the name of a Mexican restaurant?
• Peppermint (Hohenstaufenring 23) — Despite reviews that it's "the best Mexican food in Cologne" I'm suspicious of a Mexican restaurant in Germany with an English name. (Peppermint in Spanish in "menta.")
• Si Claro (Friesenplatz 9) — After my experience at the beer festival on Sunday, I'm staying away from tuna at Mexican restaurants. The shear quantity of tuna on the menu here is reason enough to be suspicious. (What it warm Mexican tuna dip anyway?)
  

There’s also Janita's Cantina (1 Hans-Böckler-Platz), which seems like it might be fine. The reviews suggest that this is an authentic option, and the name fits my vision of what a Mexican restaurant should call itself.

Though I’ll try Taco Loco first, a chain of four Mexican restaurants in Cologne. Why? A life-long Cologner recommended it and the tacos seem to be the right price. (I’m suspicious of a place that charges 10 Euros for a taco. That seems way out of whack.)

I'll update you when we've made the trip to Cologne for a tasting.

Wurst of the Week -7/28

Okay, this might just be the worst wurst of the week yet. At the Beer Exchange in Bonn we saw this vendor. "Wattwurm" translates to "lugworm." The long, thin sausages sold here do look like Britain’s sandworms. I'll spare you the image, but if you're really curious to see a lugworm, click here. (Warning: It’s gross!)

Beer School Session 9: Bonner Bierborse

If there beer school had a mid-term, yesterday's Bierborse in Bonn would have been it. The festival, which translates to Beer Exchange, takes place in 15 German cities throughout the summer. Bonn’s was held in the Rhineland Park.

In true German fashion, umbrellas and tables surrounded beer trucks and stands so most festival goers were able to sit down while enjoying their brew. Also typical for Germany, each beer was served in the appropriate glass, banded to match the brewery and the correct shape for the style of beer. (You pay a 2 Euro deposit for the glass, which is returned when you bring back the glass.)

With over 500 different beers from 75 countries, Kevin and I were able to review a bunch of the beers we've sampled so far. Many of our new favorites were represented, including Leffe, Franziskaners Hefe-Weissbier, and the Czech Bubweiser, Weihenstephan, Rathause Pils, and Peter's Kolsch. A few old standbys, namely Guinness, also joined the mix. Though I didn’t notice a single American beer, we did have a conversation about the Brooklyn Brewery.

With so many beers to choose from, this was also a good opportunity to sample something new. Kevin tried a Cuban beer called Cubano that he thought was not that good. The best beer sampled was Forst, a dark beer from Northern Italy.

Beer was the main attraction, but food and entertainment held a supporting role. There were plenty of treats, children's games, and a concert stage.

We were amazed to find a vendor selling tacos — a first for our Germany travels. Now we know why. The tacos were terrible. They made Taco Bell seem delicious and authentic. I ordered a fish taco. It was a scoop of warm canned tuna spiced with straight sodium. Kevin had the veggie taco. It was a serving a beans and topped with overcooked spinach, replete with the green water that it had been stewing in for the last two days. The strangest part was the shell. More like a taco boat, the taco could only be eaten with a fork like a taco salad, but served on a napkin.

Fortunately, we then found a very nice guy selling Alsatian tarts cooked in a wood-burning stove. We ordered one with bacon and one with potatoes. Both were delicious and helped us to forget the tacos.

Beer School Session 9: Postponed Until Monday

We're going to a beer festival tomorrow (Sunday), so I'll write this week's beer school post on Monday.

Cheers!

Expat Food Post

Looking for a post about life as an American expat in Germany? Read today's post on The Apron Caper, "Robbed by the Cob."

Obama in Berlin

I have felt a little left out of the U.S. presidential race this year.

Sure, there are times when I think that was a blessing. It was a long spring with primary, after primary. The emotional roller coaster relayed via CNN International was enough to keep my political curiosity perfectly sated.

But, yesterday, I would have liked to been in Berlin.

Watching Obama's speech I made me long for the chance to hear him speak in person. The excitement in the 200,000-plus crowd gathered between Berlin’s Victory Column and Brandenburg Gate was clearly evident. It's slightly embarrassing to admit this: but the speech left me teary-eyed.

Despite claims made in both the American and German press, which said that his speech was "vague on issues," I was not left wondering about the specifics of his policies. For me, what was important was that he is looking to work in partnership with Europe, rather then strong-arming the rest of the world.

As Obama exited the stage, there were people from all over the world chanting, "yes we can." It was great to see American flags waving unabashedly. After eight years of feeling that Europeans hate Americans based on the politics of our president, I am looking forward to voting for someone who makes me proud to be an American.

Here's a quote from an article on Bloomberg.com that seems to sum-up this idea:

“A potential American president having an extremely enthusiastic response from a European audience waving American flags: That was all very compelling," added [Democratic media consultant Bill Carrick], who isn't working on the Obama campaign.... "I was a little skeptical about all this when I first heard about it, but I think it worked."

(Image (c) New York Times.)

Movie Titles: Lost in Translation

Last night I had a conversation about German translations of American movie titles. Sometimes the title is translated exactly, but other times the Germans put a whole different spin on the movie. This morning I Googled "German translations of American Movies." The following is a list of some of the stranger examples I found.

• Airplane --> Die unglaubliche Reise in einem verrückten Flugzeug (The Unbelievable Trip in the Mad Airplane)
• Bidget Jone's Diary --> Schokolade zum Frühstrück (Chocolate for Breakfast)
• Boys on the Side -->Kaffee, Milch und Zucker (Coffee, Milk and Sugar)
• Billy Elliot --> I Will Dance [Why on earth did they change it from a name to something in English? That's one I can't figure out.]
• The Cable Guy --> Die Nervensäge (The Nuisance)
• Die Hard --> Stirb langsam (Die Slowly)
• Dodgeball --> Voll auf die Nuesse (Full of the Nuts)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High --> Ich glaub' ich steh' im Wald (I Believe I'll Stay Here in the Wild)
• Girl, Interrupted -->Durchgeknallt (Cuckoo)
• Joy Luck Club --> Töchter des Himmels (Daughter of the Heaven)
• The Man Who Know Too Little --> Agent Null Null Nix — Bill Murray in hirnloser Mission (Agent Zero, Zero, Nothing — Bill Murray in a Brainless Mission)
• Miss Congeniality --> Miss Undercover (Why not use the German word for congeniality?)
• Planes, Trains, and Automobiles --Ticket für zwei (Ticket for Two)
• Pump Up The Volume --> Hart auf Sendung (Cruel Broadcasting)
• Rebel Without a Cause --> ...denn sie wissen nicht, was sie tun (...Then You Don't Know What You Do)(Thanks to Snooker in Berlin, I now know the correct title is "Because They Don't Know What to Do")
• Six Degrees of Separation --> Das Leben – ein Sechserpack (Life — A Six Pack)
  

Want more? Check out the German movie site, Movie Fans, or About.com's list of German movie titles.

Belgium Eats

We ate like kings in Antwerp.

On Friday night Kevin and I had dinner at one of the many cafes near the cathedral. I can't remember the name of the place, but the wood-burning stove drew me in. I anticipated that the food would not be great, thinking that it was more the location that got the crowds. I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

We shared an order of mussels. On all the menus in Antwerp they were offered three ways — natural, with white wine, and with garlic. We went for the garlic and were not disappointed. The mussels were plump and briny — honestly some of the best I've ever eaten. We also split an order of spare ribs, which I was surprised to find on many menus in the city. The spare ribs were also excellent with a slightly spicy, slightly sweet glaze that really hit the spot.

On Saturday night we ate at Het Vermoeide Model Restaurant. A bar and staircase so steep it closely resembled a ladder occupied the first floor. The dining space is on the second floor, with tables in every nook and cranny. In the center of the room, which opened to the floor below, a grand piano was suspended along with a piano player who provided the soft background music.

We started with a plate of house-cured Norwegian salmon. It was lightly spiced with dill and chives and exceedingly tender. Next was a steak with Roquefort sauce and pork braised in a calvados-spiked sauce. Both meals were very good and (disappointingly) left us too full to try the desserts, which included something that looked like and old-fashioned ice cream Sunday and pound cake served with fruit and cream.

Sunday morning Kevin and I enjoyed something that we haven't had since leaving the states last year — a proper brunch. At Chez Fred in the shopping district along Kloosterstraat, we were delighted to have omelets and quiche. The prefect brunch experience was accented by great music, good coffee, and really nice dark brown bread that is served whimsically in a brown paper bag.

I knew we were on to a great food scene, but received confirmation of this fact while sitting a brunch. The very stylish and hip gay couple that sat at the table next to us on Saturday night arrived at Chez Fred for brunch just as we were paying our bill.

Ghent Summer Festival

On Saturday Kevin and I took the train from Antwerp to Ghent. The trip was super easy, especially since our hotel was directly across the street form Antwerp's Central Station. We decided to take the train instead of driving because we expected the city would be overrun since it was the first day of the Ghent Summer Festival.

Known to locals as the Gentse Feesten, as far as I can figure, the reason for the ten-day festival is nothing more then an excuse to have a great big party. Each square to the city center is transformed into the venue for different events, including concerts, comedy performances, dance productions, children's theater, and puppet shows. We managed to catch the opening parade, where people on floats threw flowers into the crowds, and a Salsa band. The streets were filled with all sorts of vendors sell food and miscellaneous trinkets. And, similar to life in Germany, no festival would be complete with out plenty of beer tents.

Kevin and I spent afternoon in Ghent, but I think we missed the real action, which we expected started in the early evening and lasted to the wee hours. Tons of DJs are scheduled to play as part of the 10 Day Dance Festival, which is one of the four events to happen simultaneously.

Wurst of the Week -7/21

The medieval meat market in Ghent, Belgium — the Groot Vleeshuis — is now a bar and café. This sausage sampler was served below hams handing from the ceiling. The wurst in the middle was certainly the worst…it tasted like cold, spicy hot dogs.

Antwerp Weekend

I made a spur of the moment change in my weekend plans. Rather then going camping in the rain in the Mosel Valley, I pulled together a trip to Belgium instead.

On Friday afternoon Kevin and I traveled to Antwerp, Belgium. The drive took about two and a half hours and we were settled into our hotel by 5:00 PM. That gave us some time to wander along the Meir, Antwerp's main shopping street. Before setting out on this adventure I was unaware that Antwerp claims to be one of Europe's fashion capital, along with London, Paris, and Milan. The street and surrounding neighborhood is home to standard chain stores, as well as high-end designers and new, avant-garde boutiques.

I'm not really in the market for any clothing these days, though, so shopping wasn't high on my agenda. (Especially when using Euros to pay.) So, I was happy that the frocks weren't the only things on display in the windows.

As part of a summer arts event, a number of store's windows were taken over by circus-like installations. The vignettes change on a regular basis. (We weren’t able to figure out the schedule, since all of the literature about the installation was in Dutch.) After the display is changed, a new drawing is added to the window to show viewers how the scene transformed itself.


From a man melting into a puddle, to a fire rescue, to a midget with a chain saw, each window was both humorous and creepy. I totally loved it! And, I don't think I was the only one who enjoyed the work. People were enjoying the windows all weekend, but concrete proof that the residents of Antwerp support project could easily be seen on Sunday. The street packed with pedestrians even though all the shops were closed.

Beer School Session 8

Belgium is one of the only countries that can truly rival German in its claim to producing the best beers in the world.

This weekend, Kevin sampled some of what they had to offer. The hands-down winner of the weekend was Leffe Braun.

Despite the claims made on the banner, Delirium Tremens, has not been "elected" the best of beer school. (Though I do love the elephant logo.)

Belgium for the Weekend?

Well, Kevin and I planned to go to the Mosel Valley camping this weekend. But, the weather report predicts rain and temperatures in the 60s all weekend. While I'm not one to plan my life around the weather, the thought of sleeping on the soggy ground for two days is entirely unappealing.

This morning I went online to search for an alternative plan. Looks like the travel gods may be working in my favor today. Turns out there is a huge festival in Ghent, Belgium that starts tomorrow. It’s called the Gentse Feesten (Ghent Festival), and takes place ever year for ten days in the middle of July. The event is actually four festival mashed together, the Blue Note Jazz Festival, the International Street Theater Festival, the International Puppet Festival, and 10 Days Off, a dance festival (I think that's club dancing, not ballet).

Ghent, a city I wanted to visit anyway, is about a two and a half hour drive from our house. Now I'm just need to try to pull together the lose strings. I'll update you tomorrow or Monday with whether or not I was able to pull off the trip.

Mixin' Things Up

Sometimes routines are good. They shape our lives and give us much needed structure. Other times routines create ruts, and it's good to get out at a different time of days, avoid your normal routes, and see things from a different perspective.

Usually I get up, write my blog posts, take care of business at home, and don't venture out of the house until later in the day. I've joked with Kevin that everything I'm on the train it's over run with teenagers on their way home from school.

Today, however, I left the house early. I wanted to get to the market in Bad-Godesburg in the morning with plenty of time to run to another shop if I couldn't find everything on my list. In the morning it's whole different world out there. With the teens still in school, the town buzzed with other errand runners -- mostly Moms and old people. It was nice to see a different group of people, interacting with the town in an entirely different way.

Yogatastic

I returned to my yoga class after a nearly three month hiatus. That means that today my arms are so sore I can hardly lift them up to type. Thankfully I have a laptop, so I don't have to lift them too far.

I am always amazed and frustrated that it takes such a long time to get in shape, but no time to lose it. Despite my complaints though, it feels so good to be getting back in the swing (or should I say flow) of a regular practice.

Am I an Internet Addict?

I'm sad to report the answer to yes! I discovered the depth of my addiction yesterday when my service was out for most of the day.

I currently use the Internet to --among other things -- write my blog posts, send and receive e-mails, read the newspaper, look for work and communicate with clients, research projects, talk on the phone, listen to the radio, watch TV, and make plans.

I am also constantly Googling to satisfy any curiosities or flights of fancy. I can't tell you how many time Kevin and I open one of our computers to answer a question that comes up in the course of a conversation.

What's in Cassoulet? (Duck legs, bacon, sausage, vegetables, and white beans.) Where are the Balkans? (Between the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea, and includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, and part of Turkey). How many people in the world speak German? (98,000,000)

All this begs the question. What did people do before they had access to all this information?

Wurst of the Week -7/14

Though the sausage section of U.S. supermarkets can't compare to the German’s, the wurst case at Whole Foods in NYC offers way more chicken and turkey varieties.

At Home for the Weekend

After being away, or preparing to be away, since the beginning of June, by the time the weekend rolled around I was happy to stick closer to home for a change. Friday was cold and rainy, so Kevin and I stayed home, hunkered down on the couch, and started watching the second season of Prison Break. We got the first season as a Christmas present and had been anxiously waiting to find out what happens next.

On Saturday morning we ran errands and stocked up on some essentials. The market in downtown Bonn was overflowing with local produce, and we spent the rest of the weekend working our way through pints of sweet, dark cherries and over-sized blueberries. Saturday evening we met up with friends at the movies theater in Bad-Godesburg to watch the new Will Smith movie, Hancock. (The movie wasn't the best, but it we really enjoyed the outing, which concluded with our favorite falafel sandwiches and fries.)

On Sunday morning we headed across the river for a hike in the Seibenburg nature park. Here, we spotted a buck, which is only the second time we've seen a deer in Germany. But the real highlights of the trip were the gigantic, prehistoric-looking orange slugs.

Beer School Session 7

Good news for U.S. tasters!

While in the U.S I was happy to discover that one of our favorite German beers is available state side. Here's one that everyone should try:

• Franziskaners Hefe-Weissbier from Munich. Hefe-Weissen, which translates in English to yeast wheat, is not filtered before bottling. This process makes the beer is opaque because the yeast continues to act after bottling. This one is really good, and especially well suited for summer months. Look for the jolly Franciscan monk on the label.

Returning to Real Life

I've been home for a couple of days now, which means that I've had some time to get back to my normal life. This means I had to deal with a number of annoying tasks, yes. I had to catch up on paying the bills and doing laundry. But it also means that I am back to doing things that I enjoy. Things that I missed while I was away.

Notably for anyone reading this, I'm back to updating the blog daily. Thanks for your patience and thanks for continuing to check the site.

Other things that I missed are riding my bike, running on a regular basis, and cooking. (Not to mention my husband, who was only in the states for a week.)

A Moveable Feast

Wondering what I did during my week in NYC? Did I go to any museums? Take in a show? Visit the Statue of Liberty or go to the top of the Empire State Building?

No. No. No and no. I ate.

New York has amazing restaurants and for a week straight it was breakfast, lunch, and dinner with friends at various restaurants throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan.

I ate Mexican food more than anything else. There is no Mexican food in Germany, so I needed to get my fill while I could. I had chicken tamales on Alma's amazing roof deck in Red Hook; ordered from a taco truck in West Chelsea and ate on the roof deck at Martha Stewart's offices (and yes, her roof deck is as nice as you'd imagine it to be); and basically inhaled an order of the fantastic guacamole at Mercadito in the East Village.

Italian, a perpetual favorite, came in a close second. I had an amazing breakfast of toast with ricotta and poached fruit at Morandi in the West Village and pasta with ragu and mini meat balls at Little Frank on First Avenue just off Houston.

Other highlights included salads at La Bonne Soup in Midtown and the Salad Queen in Williamsburg. Spanish-inspired pressed sandwiches at the Oak Wine Bar and Café near the Graham Avenue stop on the L train, and excellent fish at Riingo near Grand Central Station.

Expat's Mixed Allegiances

Where did June go? It seems like I blinked and the month disappeared. It’s been forever since my life was normal -- the German version of normal that is. I have so much blogging to catch up on that it will take me a few days to write about my U.S. trip.

Meanwhile, today I want to write about coming home. Last month I blogged about my surprise that, upon returning to German I was happy to be "home." A few days before that I wrote about going to back home to New York.

All this talk about home makes me wonder, where home really is. Is home New York City, where I lived for most of my adult live and where a vast majority of my friends live? Is home upstate New York, where I grew up and where my parents still live? Is home Raleigh, NC, where I own a house? Or is Germany home, where I get my mail and share an apartment with my husband?

Turns out, I think all of these places are home. That makes me lucky. I am able to go home again and again and again.

Wurst of the Week -7/7

Here's a real American wurst: An NYC street dog.