Prego in Prague

We're leaving for the airport in a few hours. Still have to pack, but I'm not really concerned. When you only have a handful of maternity clothing, it's super easy to pick out a weekend's worth of outfits. I probably wont post anything while I'm gone, but look forward to a few trip posts next week.

One Trip Before the Baby Comes

After a small freak-out the other day that I have, "seen everything that I wanted to see," Kevin and I booked a weekend trip to Prague. I though Paris would be my last excursion sans child. But, I'm very excited that we'll fit one more city in. We leave on Thursday and return on Monday morning. I wonder if they celebrate Halloween in the Czech Republic.

Yet, I wonder if this trip will really alleviate my panic. Deep down I know that no matter how much I see or do while living abroad, I'll still come away from the experience feeling like I haven't seen everything I want to see, taste everything I want to taste, and experience the many different cultures and customs.

But, accepting that you can't see everything and taking full advantage of what's at hand is really an important lessen to learn about traveling. (And life in general.) So, I’ll be thankful for the many opportunities I’ve had in the last year and enjoy the weekend.

Fall for Cochem

Last spring, when my parents were visiting, we made a day trip to the Mosel River Valley. Nestled upstream from Koblanz on the shores of this windy, picturesque river is the town of Cochem. With its half-timber houses, ancient gate, and abundance of wine shops, Cochem represents the idealized version of a German wine town. And, even though the day we spent with my parents was cold and rainy, Kevin and I vowed we'd be back.
Our return trip came, ironically enough, when Kevin's parents were visiting a few weeks ago. Luckily, this time the weather was on our side. After spending over a year in Germany, I can say that fall is unequivocally the best time of year here. It seems to rain less, and the crisp air is refreshingly perfect for going out wearing a cozy sweater. Adorned with fall's brightly colored leaves, high above the Mosel Valley is the perfect place to enjoy the season.
In Cochem, it was an easy to do this. After parking the car we headed directly to the Sesselbahn, which translates literally as "chair train." Rising nearly 825 feet, this chair lift takes riders to the top of the Pinner Mountain. You can purchase either a round-trip ticket, or take the chair lift up and walk back down. If you choose to get down on your own accord, you are rewarded for your efforts by being able to stop at a small amusement park and zoo or the Cochem castle.

We purchased round-trip tickets, but were still presented with many options once at the tops. There is a path to a lookout point, which is also the site of the Pinner Cross. Here are stunning views of the town, the river, and the surrounding mountains and vineyards. Also, in what I've come to know as typical German fashion, there is a small cafe where you can get a coffee and piece of cake or a beer.

Beer School: Making Up for Lost TIme

Even though I haven't had a brew in months, Kevin still likes to try local beers where ever we travel. When his Dad came to visit a few weeks ago, he too embraced the idea of tasting as many different types of beer as possible. Here's an update on some of the best beers they tried in the last few months.
In Greece, Mythos was the beer of choice. It was light and refreshing -- a perfect match of the hot, dry climate.
















In Paris, Kevin was excited to find Leffe, which is still in the running for his favorite overall beer.
















In Luxembourg, Diekirch was the local beer suggested. It wasn't anyone's favorite.
















Even though this picture was taken in Austria,the perfectly poured German wheat beer seems at home. Erdinger continues to hold it's place as one of the best beers we've tried.

Hay, Why Not Stay Here in Germany

There was an article in the New York Time's travel section this week that I feel the need to share. It's about what I think should clearly be called "extreme ecotourism." I'd love to know if any of my more adventurous readers in German have ever tried it. And for my non-German readers, I think this will underscore a point that I've been making throughout the last year: that the German's are really, really green.

So, you're wondering what's the hitch, right? The "hotels" discussed in this article are not actually hotels, but farms that have open their doors to travelers. This concept is not new. Throughout Italy and France there are stories written about travelers who stay in charming farmhouse accommodations, with sheep bleeping and cows mooing just beyond the door.

In German, apparently, instead of staying in the farmhouse, guests really connect with life on the farm by sleeping in the barn. Not barns converted into guesthouse, but barns...with the sheep bleeping and cows mooing right there. And, what makes these farm-stays even more surprising is those guests don’t even have beds. Called Heuhotels, which translates to English as hay hotels, guests sleep in loft filled with the cut grasses.

This really gives a whole new meaning to hitting the hay!

Life as an Expat: Easier But Still Not a Breeze

I've been in Germany now for over one year. Time certainly has flown. It seems like just yesterday that I was getting off the plane, not knowing what to expect.

Day-to-day life, of course has settled down into a series of repeatable routines. Small interactions no longer cause the panic that they once did. I can now understand the postman when he's asking me to sign for a neighbor's package. I can order in a restaurant and ask a shopkeeper for help. I can figure out which train ticket I need to purchase depending on where I am going. (I only recently learned that I was buying the wrong class tickets. For a year I have been getting by on cheaper rides then I should have.)

But, I am still constantly surprised by what I still don't know. Our T.V. receiver was out for the past few days since I couldn't read the instructions about how to replace the card that determines what service I have. I still don't have voice mail set up on my cell phone or have a home answering service. And how the medical system works is still a complete mystery.

The Benefits of Blogging

I had a number of reasons for starting this blog.

I wanted to recording my travels and experiences abroad. The fact that a blog post is posted for all to read makes me want to keeping it updated. Knowing that people log on inspires dedication that I never has to writing in a journal.

Sharing what's happening with friends and family back home was another incentive for starting the blog. One blog post is more effective then e-mailing the same stories over and over. Of course, I still keep in touch with friends and family, but the blog gives then a baseline for what has been going on in my life. (I also know who never reads the blog, based on what they don't know.)

One thing that I never expected has turned out to be one of its greatest benefits: Connecting with a community of other expats. Initially, this community was a strictly virtual one. Reading other expat blogs and getting comments from them quickly made me feel like I wasn't as alone in adjusting to life abroad.

I have also been lucky enough to meet a few wonderful people in my area through this blog. Sharing my story online has widened my real-life social circle and introduced me to my neighbors.

Spud Love

According to an April 2008 article in The American Journal of Potato Research, German per capita potato consumption is seven on one-third bushels. There are between 54 and 60 pounds of potatoes in a bushel. That means the average German eats between 396 and 440 pounds of potatoes annually, or 1.14 pounds of potatoes a day.
That's an awful lot of spuds. But, in my experience it doesn't sound too far off. When I've talked to Germans about their shopping habits, I'm told that they buy potatoes at a rate of 5 to 10 kilos (or 10 to 20 pounds) at a time. Every time I've been invited to eat in the home of a German, potatoes were served. I even know of an all potato restaurant in Königswinter. (They serve the absolute best fries!)

You'd think it would be boring to eat so many potatoes, but there are countless ways to cook them around here. You can get them mashed, roasted, boiled, or fried; in salads, with or without mayo; transformed into dumplings, pancakes, or noodles; and baked and stuffed, or au gratin.

Last week, a colleague of mine told me that he's been getting his potatoes direct from the source. A farmer he knows delivers potatoes – along with a few other farm fresh staples – once a week. Excited by the thought of fresh organic potatoes combine with being able to directly support a local farmer meant that I didn't hesitate to get in on the action. Last Friday I picked up my two-kilo order. (I know, I know, I'm still not a German. Four pounds is nothing!)

These potatoes were delicious – earthy and fresh. But, what excited me the most about the potatoes I purchased was that I got not one, but two heart shaped spuds. If that doesn't show that they were grown with love, I don't know what would!

Wurst of the Week: October 20

These sausages might just be my favorite...they have bits of cheese that gets melty and delicious when cooked.

A Day in Normandy

Even though my husband lived in Manhattan for years, or perhaps because of it, Kevin doesn't like to spend too much time in a big city without an escape. When a week in Paris was planned for his parent's recent visit, he had trouble imagining what we would do for so many days. He saw an endless progression of museums and monuments, museums and monuments.
To keep him sane, and to give the rest of us a chance to see another part of the country, we decided to plan a day trip. Our destination was easy to pick when looking at a map. Kevin's Grandfather served in the army during World War II and was one of the soldiers to storm the beaches of Normandy. Our outing would be to the beaches.

The D-Day beaches are almost three hours from Paris, not including city traffic. This didn't leave us much time to explore the many D-Day museums or visit the American cemetery, but it was still powerful to walk along the coast and imagine what his experience must have been like.

The sea-air worked up our appetites, and we were happy to warm up with lunch. Muscles and fries were exactly what I wanted, and I found them in a little restaurant just off the boardwalk. The day was cold and very windy, but inside was a great place to watch the choppy white-capped waves.

On the way home we set the navi to avoid the highway, and drove through the farming area inland from the coast. Though this excursion was beautiful, the sights weren't the main attraction. We went in search of Calvados.
Normandy is a major apple-producing region, and is known for its apple brandy, Calvados. It’s available from farmers throughout the region: you just need to know what to look for. Small signs on the main road announce where to turn for local products. However, this is a mission that, especially for the non-French speaking traveler, must be taken on with a sense of adventure. Sometimes, when you find your way to the farm, there is no one home. Other times, you simply can't find the farm at all.

But when you do find a farm store, you are almost always rewarded for your efforts. We were.

Greeted by one of the owners of the orchard, we were invited into the farm's tasting room. Here we were given samples of four bottles of Calvados, each produced on site and aged for different lengths of time. Side by side tasters were able to discern differences as the liquor developed. We were also invited to taste the farm's cider and Pommeau.

Some claim that Pommeau is Normandy's best-kept secret. It is unfermented apple juice, fortified with Calvados (apple brandy) and aged in a barrel. It is kind of like an apple wine, with hints of pear and vanilla that is served in place of more common dessert wine, such as port.

Not Debatable

This photo was on the home page of the Irish Times' Web site today. Thanks to my sister for sending the link. It totally made my day. I hope you enjoy it too.

Ah, The Quite Life

It's been a busy few months. I don't really know where September went. And let's not even talk about October. It's half over and I didn't even realize it began.

We've certainly had a great time. Greece, Austria, and France. Big cities, small towns, and everything in between. Weddings, birthdays, and wine festivals. Churches, museums, and monuments. Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. It's all a wonderful blur. Thankfully I've been taking photos all along and updating the blog. Without them, I don't know that I'd be able to remember everything.

But now, for a few short days anyway, I have nothing planned. And I'm loving it.

Moselle, Rhine, and Ahr: Wine Festivals

Fall is harvest time. Around here, that means it's time to pick the grapes. The Moselle, Rhine, and Ahr River valleys, are all within a stone's throw. In these vineyards, along with those in the neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate, over 70 percent of all German wines are produced.

Riesling is the king of German grapes, but it's not the only variety grown. Other wine wines produced in the region include Scheurebe, Ruländer, Silvaner, Gerwürztraminer, and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc). Red wines, include Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Dornfelder, Portugieser and Trollinger.

Fall also means that the picturesque towns surrounding the vineyards come alive with festivals. Typically these events take place in a town's main square, and include music, pagentry and lots of food and drinks. Many towns have wine stores and cellars that are open even on Sundays this time year. Here you can taste the local wines and purchase bottles to take home. But, be sure not to miss the real delicacy at these festivals: a drink called Federweißer.

Also known as new or fresh wine, Federweißer literally translates to feather white. It is made from fermented freshly pressed grapes, known as must. Typically, Federweißer is made from harvests lesser-quality grapes. It owes its appearance, which is greenish white, to suspended yeast.

Federweißer is sold when the alcohol content reaches 4 percent. The beverage continues to ferment in the bottle as the sugars in the grapes continue break down, topping out at a 10 percent alcohol content. The bottled cannot be sealed. Instead, a permeable lid is used to allow the gasses to be released and stops the bottle from exploding.

For this reason it is hard to transport. That, compounded with the fact that it needs to be consumed within a few days of production, make this a real seasonal treat. It is only found in wine-producing areas during harvest time.

Federweißer is made from white grapes. The comparable, but less common, red grape variety is called Roter Rauscher. Both tastes light and refreshing – reminiscent of grape lemonade – and pair very well with savory foods. The local traditional compliment is Zwiebelkuchen.

Zwiebelkuchen, which translates as onion cake, is really more like an onion quiche. Made with a single, bottom yeast crust, the filling consists of steamed onions, diced bacon, cream, and sometimes caraway seeds.

The Potty Post

This post has been a long time in the making. For the last year I have encountered many bathrooms worthy of a photograph. More often than not I don't have my camera with me on these visits, but since being a tourist is my current occupation, I've had it with me enough to document a few of the most interesting restrooms that I've found.

And so, without further ado, here is my collection of favorite restrooms...

The bathrooms in Germany are generally super clean -- even the public ones on the autobahn. Here's a video of how some of these rest areas stay so fresh with self-cleaning toilets.


Though you hear stories about a hole in the ground, I've only seen one of these "toilets" since we moved here last October.

The French have so much style. Here, even the toilet is fancy.
In Ghent, Kevin and I saw these pods and I had no idea what they were at first.
Then, after we figured it out, I asked Kevin to demo it for the picture. He never actually used this pod, though we saw lots of men who took advantage of them during street festival we were attending.
You'd never believe that this is the bathroom for a very pleasant creperie in Paris. Entering the restroom was like going into a whole different world.


This picture documents the craziest sink I've seen.

Jeff Koons Exhibit at Versailles

The Château Versailles is again the site of controversy. Where the public was once literally up in arms about the goings-on at the palace inhabited by Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, today they have their britches in a bunch over the current exhibit. On display through December 14, 2008 are 17 Jeff Koons sculptures.
An American artist, Jeff Koons’ most widely recognized works are his large public sculptures. Known as the "King of Kitsch," his work is often classified as Neo- or Post- Pop. He has pioneered a method to turn inflatable objects into metal and many of these pieces are on display in Versailles.

The current exhibit marks the first time a contemporary American artist has been granted a retrospective at the venue, and not everyone is happy about it. A right-wing organization dedicated to "French artistic purity" known as the National Union of Writers of France, for example, has been protesting the show at the palace gates. On the other side of the debate, the curators claim that the show aims to break down the clichés attached to the palace and offer new insight into the site.
Among the group visiting Versailles with me, the exhibit served to cause it's own bit of disagreement. I loved it. It was very interesting to see how modern art and original pieces in the palace interact. What better way to highlight the decadence of the palaces by juxtaposing it to an over-the-top contemporary artist? In one room there was a sculpture of Michael Jackson and his pet orangutan Bobo. It's not too hard to draw a parallel between his disconnection to regualr people as Marie Antoinette's.
My in-laws on the other hand hated it. Afterward they told me they tried their best to ignore the Koons works altogether.

Love it or hate it the exhibit was successful in accomplishing one thing: it forced visitors to look at the rooms differently, and created something to discuss. In the end, isn't that really one of the most important things that art can do?

Paris Museum Pass

Before our first day of hard-core sightseeing in Paris I figured out what attractions we were interested in visiting and determined that a Paris Museum Pass was a good value for us. The pass can be purchased for two, four, or six consecutive days and costs 30, 45, 60 Euros respectively. It may seem like a lot of money, but with each major attraction costing between 7.50 and 15 Euros a pop, and Versailles costing 20 Euros, it makes sense if you plan to visit a few things.

We opted for the four-day pass and, even though we only used it for three days, determined that we saved money on the deal. Besides, I like the pay once system. Somehow I feel like I spend less when I’m not reaching for my wallet over-and-over again. And, I am more likely to visit things. Also, with the museum pass you are able to skip some of the lines. Pass-holders get preferred entry to many of the sites.

The passes can be purchased in advance online, at tourist information centers throughout the city, or at any of the attractions. With over 60 monuments and museums included, purchasing the pass was super easy.

The pass itself is about the size of a credit card and folds out to include a ton of information. All sixty-plus sites are listed, with their hours of operation and a brief description in English. This was extremely helpful to us, as I actually changed the order of what to see based on the days that things were opened. (How glad was I that we didn't travel all the way out to Versailles on Monday, only to find out that it was closed?)

In addition to Versailles, we also visited the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre Museum, the l'Orangerie Museum, and Saint-Chapelle.

Cruising the Seine

Just before I left on my trip for Pairs, my Parisian friend said, "You know what you really should do? Take a boat ride on the Seine." Since this was already on my in-laws to-do list, her advice sealed the deal.
On Sunday afternoon we decided to take advantage of the unbelievably good weather. It was our day to cruise the Seine. Since we were going to be in the city for a few days, we opted for just a boat ride with the audio tour rather then purchasing the hop-on-hop off trip. (The hop-on hop-off may be a good idea if you are only in Paris for a few days and want to combo your boat ride with sightseeing.)

The boat that we took departed from the river near the Eiffel Tower. This made sense for us, since it was close to our hotel, but you can find tours departing from may locations along the river. Our ride was about an hour long and cost 12 Euros. There was an amazing tour guide, who spoke at least five languages fluently. She supplemented the tour's audio guide with interesting tidbits and answered questions.
From the boat we were able to see some of the city's major attractions, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louver and d'Orsy museums, and the obelisk where Marie Antoinette was beheaded. We also got to go under 12 different bridges and see the Parisians pick-nicking and sunbathing along the river's banks.

Wurst of the Week - 10/6

In Paris, the hot dogs are covered with cheese and sandwiched in a baguette.

First Stop, Eiffel Tower

The first few times I was in Paris I skipped a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I thought that it was too clique, too touristy. How young and foolish I was then. On my third trip I relented. My traveling companions wanted to go, so I didn't really have much of a choice. On this trip, it was my first stop.

In my opinion, the Eiffel Tower is a tourist destination worthy of the trip. The iconic tower, which can be seen from all over in the city, is almost 1,063 feet tall. Construction of the tower began in January 1887 and was completed just two years and three months later, in time for the 1889 Paris World's Fair. The tower was only supposed to be temporary the time any claimed the tower to be a monstrosity that ruined the city's skyline. Over 100 hundred years later, it's hard to imagine the city without the Eiffel Tower.

While waiting on line to go up, try not to think about the fact that the tower was only built to last 20 years. The elevators are glass, give you a view of the city and the structure of the tower, and are very scary. I made a short video of the ride down, but it doesn't give you a complete sense of the ride.

Unless you are absolutely afraid of height, go to the top. Sure the view from the first level is lovely, but the view from the top is amazing. Also, it’s a great place to go on your first day in the city because it gives you a 360-degree lay of the land. If you know which sights you want to visit in your trip you can identify them and see where they lay in relation to one another. For the rest of your trip, you can think back to what you saw on the top of the tower and remember where things are. Also, you get a good sense of how big the city is.