Monthly Archives: June 2009

TraveLog: The last two days

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Hallole! I’m typing this update from about 36,000 feet. Marty and I are headed back to the States after a great trip. Here are some highlights from the end of our time in Germany.

• The last couple of days of our trip were quite relaxing. On Friday, we got up relatively late after our excursion to Austria and Munich the previous two days.

• After breakfast (brunch, really), we headed south to Switzerland to meet some family friends and see some sights.

• We hung around Schaufhaffen for the afternoon, window shopping and visiting a local waterfall.

• Switzerland was nice but VERY expensive. I was hoping perhaps to get a nice Swiss watch with automatic movement, but was flabbergasted at the prices (not that I really expected to get one, but still…).

• The waterfall was cool. Not very big, but still quite scenic. Makes me want to visit Niagra Falls.

• Saturday was an even slower-paced day. We stuck around Burladingen and had an afternoon snack (cake, coffee, and mimosas) with some of Marty’s relatives. The weather was so nice that the two of us just walked to the house.

• Marty and I returned to Sofie and Gerd’s and stuffed our faces with a variety of grilled meats, salad, schnapps, and (of course) beer.

• The meal was delicious but a little on the indulgent, unhealthy side. To give you an idea, at one point I put a garlic cream sauce on top of buttered, cheese-filled, bacon-wrapped sausage. Yup, you read that correctly: garlic cream sauce on buttered, cheese-filled, bacon-wrapped sausage. My aorta hurts just typing that. It’s a miracle we didn’t keel over and die from a heart attack right then and there.

• The alarm didn’t go off so we had to rush a bit Sunday morning.

• No worries, though, as we made it to the Frankfurt airport with plenty of time to spare.

I’ll post the next (and final) TraveLog update from Long Island, including some of post-trip reactions, pictures, and things I learned along the way. ‘Til then, guten Tag!

TraveLog: Munich

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Guten Abend!

  • Another full day lie ahead of us.  We left Bad Reichenhall for Koenigsee.
  • One thing I’ve discovered about my travels these past few weeks: bad weather follows me around.  It rains in San Diego, like, eight days a year, and I happened to go there during three of them.  Then, I get to Germany and it’s cold and rainy here, too.  Marty, Sofie, and Gerd are also sad about this fact:
The rain I bring makes people sad. :(
The rain I bring makes people sad. 😦
  • The weather was crazy.  First, it started out cold and rainy.  Then, as our boat ride on the lake (GORGEOUS and AMAZING, btw) came to end, the clouds parted, blue sky appeared, and the sun came shining through.  Of course, right?  The weather clears up after our boat ride to St. Bartolome.  Nice.
  • While riding the boat, there was group of about six or seven older women singing and drinking schnapps.  Awesome.
  • We then drove to Munich, for an afternoon in the city.
  • On the way, we wanted to stop in Chiemsee to check out another church, but the weather got crappy again.  Boo.
  • By the early afternoon, the weather, thankfully, with the 25 mph wind gusts blowing the majority of the clouds out of the region.  Seriously, it was crazy gusty.
  • Ah, Munich.  My first observation: holy tourists, Batman!
  • We managed to find the big church in the middle of the city, Frauenhirchen.  Wow, this place is huge.
  • We also climbed a 14-story church tower to get a glimpse of the city from above.  The staircase in said tower was very narrow (reminiscent of the world’s narrowest street), and we had to stop frequently to let people by or to pass people ourselves.  It got quite cramped in there, to say the least.  Amazing views, though–worth getting slightly felt up by the weird looking Japanese woman.
  • Then, we found the Hofbrauhaus.  I’d wanted to visit this place for a while, so it was nice we got a chance to go.  The food was pretty good, but the service was terrible, even by my adjusted European standards.  Oh well, I can now say I’ve dined and drank at the famous Munich HB.  Prosit!
We originally ordered half liters, but our server extraordinaire failed to mention to us that after 4:30 they only serve liter sizes of the original brew. Damn, that's a big stein!
We originally ordered half liters, but our server extraordinaire failed to mention to us that after 4:30 they only serve liter sizes of the original brew. Damn, that's a big stein!
  • With full bellies, we trekked back to the car and drove back to Burladingen.  Marty and I had a good chat (read: serious subject peppered with incessant teasing and poking…SOP, really) while Gerd graciously sped along the Autobahn and got us home safely and soundly.
  • Of course, we ended our night with a little drink, an Italian concoction of champagne and liqueur.  Ah, Germany.

Guten Nacht!

TraveLog: Salzburg

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Guten Abend!

• The hotel had a “Sofie”-like breakfast spread ready for us , so we could fuel up adequately for our big day in Salzburg.

• Driving to Salzburg was easy and short. Finding a parking garage, on the other hand, took quite a while. The GPS unit we had did us no favors either, with quite possibly the least intuitive and least helpful user interface ever.

• We eventually found one, and our day in downtown Salzburg finally began.

• The main highlight of the city, the stuff Marty and I were looking most forward to, was the Mozart stuff. We first hit “Mozart Plaza” where there is a big statue of the man himself, surrounded by various shops and vendors. Stay tuned for pics!

• The four of us then strolled the streets of Salzburg, peering into shops and restaurants and, in some cases, spending some Euros on souvenirs and gifts. It felt good to spend money; Sofie and Gerd have essentially paid for everything thus far. They are TOO NICE.

• We visited Mozart’s birthhouse and the accompanying museum.

• Then, it was back to Bad Reichenhal for dinner, which was delicious (surprise, surprise). The Schweineschnitzel, beer, and dessert were exactly what I wanted, taste, portion size, and all.

• Marty and I are going to try to get to bed early tonight (read: before midnight) as we have another busy day ahead of us.

• Tomorrow: Munich!

Schlaf gut!

TraveLog: Germany, Day 6

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Hallole!

• After another late night, I dragged myself out of bed at around 7:30. With less than five hours of sleep each of the past two nights, this morning felt like a school day.

• Sofie prepared another yummy breakfast, which included croissants, eggs, and bacon. Yeah, buddy!

• We drove to Ulm to get a glimpse of the world’s tallest church tower. At 161 meters, it was pretty impressive. Bit what really got my attention was the church’s interior. It was a study in Gothic architecture, with its extremely high vaulted ceiling and intricately detailed sculptures and carvings. It served as quite a juxtaposition to the church we visited yesterday. Since I’m on my iPod right now, I can’t upload any pics; I’ll update the entries when we get back to Burladingen.

• We continued east, hitting a bit of traffic outside Munich. While in the city, we stopped by another castle, Schloss Nymphenberg.

• Sofie, Marty, and I were in and out of consciouness while Gerd quietly drove us farther east. He’s awesome!

• We finally reached our destination just outside of Salzburg, a town called Bad Reichsall. It took us a few tries to find a hotel, but we ended up at a nice one, which (importantly) has internet access, thereby allowing me to post this entry in a timely fashion!

• For dinner, we walked to a local beergarden, where we proceeded to stuff our faces with beer, spätzle, and various meats and sauces. Two words: FOOD BABY.

Tomorrow, SALZBURG!!

Tschüssi!

TraveLog: Germany, Day 5

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8 June 2009

Hallole!  (Practicing my German.  Not bad, eh?)

  • After a quiet breakfast at Sofie and Gerd’s, we drove to Sigmaringen to view another castle.  It wasn’t nearly as impressive as the one we saw yesterday.
  • We then drove to Steinhausen, a very small town not too far away, to see the church that many consider “the most beautiful village church in the world.”  It didn’t disappoint, with beautiful paintings on the ceiling and intricate decorations throughout the space.  Here’s an upshot-selfer (yes, Mike, I love these types of pics):
In front of the altar, looking back to the organ. The church really was beautiful.
In front of the altar, looking back to the organ. The church really was beautiful.
  • We then drove to Schussenried for some lunch at a brewery.
  • After lunch, we took a tour of their “bierkrugmuseum.”  On display were over 1200 beer steins from across several centuries.  It was pretty cool, actually.
  • Our next stop was Meersburg, a town on a lake in southern Germany.  While we at cake and drank coffee, we could see the Swiss Alps and watch various ferry boats cross the lake, transporting people and cars.
  • We then drove back to Sigmaringen for some dinner.  I had the Jaegerschnitzel, which was yum.  The rain started to fall as we left the restaurant and accompanied us on our whole way home.
  • Once home, we started planning for the rest of the week.  Our plans include a visit to Salzburg, and perhaps a stop in Munich if the weather is agreeable tomorrow.  Here’s hoping for sunshine!!

I may not have internet access for the next few days, so this could be the last TraveLog update for a bit.  I’ll have my iPod Touch with me, so perhaps I can log on and give some brief synopses of the days’ activities while away from Sofie and Gerd’s (no pics would be included, though, unfortunately).

Tschuessi!!

TraveLog: Germany, Day 4

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7 June 2009

  • After breakfast, Marty’s cousin, Hans, picked us up and brought us to a gorgeous castle not too far from Burladingen, Schoss Hohenzolhern.
  • Unfortuantely, the tour we took was in German (the English tour was an hour later, and we were hungry and the weather wasn’t cooperating…more on that to come).  So, I spent the majority of the tour glaring at some dude who wouldn’t shut up while our lovely tour guide was explaining the history of the centuries-old building.
  • As I mentioned, the weather wasn’t doing us any favors.  Luckily, we got some pics in before the tour, because after the tour, the skies opened up and we got rained on:
Rain, rain, go away...
Rain, rain, go away...

 

  • After the castle, we went to Boll for some lunch.  I had some potato pasta with a (heavy) mushroom cream sauce and some salad.  Very rich, but tasty.
  • Then, we drove to Hechingen and walked around the quaint little town for a bit before getting some tasty pastries to eat with Hans’ girlfriend, Irmgard.
  • She was waiting for us in Gammertingen, where I had some Black Forest cake and coffee.  Luckily for Marty (and me, for that matter!), she spoke English, so the conversational burden could be shared between us.
  • Since the weather wasn’t very nice at end of the castle tour, Hans drove us to a lovely viewpoint that overlooked the castle.\
  • After parking the car, we had to hustle 1.5 km to the spot due to the uncertain weather conditions.  But, amazingly, the sun came out just as we reached the overlook.  Here’s a selfy of that spot (note the sunshine…yay!):
The castle is MUCH bigger in person. Cool view, though, huh?
The castle is MUCH bigger in person. Cool view, though, huh?

 

  • We then drove back to Burladingen and waited for Sofie and Gerd to get back from their election day work.
  • Sofie perpared a DELICIOUS dinner, and we capped off the meal with a shot of Jaegermeister.  Ah, Germany.

TraveLog: Germany, Day 3

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6 June 2009

  • Woke up around 9 a.m. surprisingly NOT hungover from the previous night’s debauchery.  I did, however, feel very tired and my body definitely felt like it drank the night before.  For some reason, I had trouble falling asleep, for whatever reason.
  • Had another great breakfast, including scrambled eggs and bacon, rolls, fruit, juice, coffee, rolls, toast…EXACTLY what I needed and what I craved.
  • Drove to Stuttgart to the Mercedes-Benz Museum.  Very cool building and innovative technology inside to help patrons learn about the brand and its place in the German and global auto industries and economy.
Not my greatest photographic moment, but it'll prove that I was, indeed, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
Not my greatest photographic moment, but it'll prove that I was, indeed, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
  •  After learning about MB, we stopped by one of the restaurants in the museum for a snack.  I had some yummy Weissewurst.  DELICIOUS.
  • Drove back to Burladingen.  I updated my blog and FB status while Sofie prepared a nice dinner that consisted of soup, salad, and lasagne, dessert, and two kinds of wine.
  • Ate said 4-course meal.  Again: Delicious.
  • Retired early (around 11 p.m.), only to stay up with Marty joking about cheeses and salads for another two hours.  Yup, we’re almost 31.

TraveLog: Germany, Day 2

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5 June 2009

  • Woke up around 9 am.  Got some good sleep.  Not great, but good enough to feel rested.  Tried to get Marty out of bed, which proved a tougher task than I had anticipated.
  • Sofie and Gerd (our gracious hosts) prepared a nice breakfast for us that included rolls, all kinds of fruit spreads and preserves, coffee, juice, pretzels, and cheeses.  Delicious way to start our day.
  • After eating, I FINALLY showered…and it felt great.  Ahh, so fresh and so clean clean!
  • Shopped at a local store in Burladingen, then came back for some lunch: Kaiserschmarren.  It was like breakfast for lunch.  Yum.
  • Drove to Reutlingen.  Did some window shopping.  Also walked on the world’s narrowest street.  No kidding, it’s ONE FOOT wide.  Check it out:
Yes, this is a real street, with addresses and everything. Told you it was narrow, even for skinny guys like me.
Yes, this is a real street, with addresses and everything. Told you it was narrow, even for skinny guys like me.
  • Then drove to Tubingen.  Got some souvenirs and had Tellerschnitzel and some beer for dinner.  Again: YUM.
  • Drove back to Burladingen to host family’s friend’s house and spent the next 4.5 hours getting WASTED on beer, schnapps, grapa, and liqueur.  And I mean WASTED.  I have the two failed Facebook status updates to prove it.
Just one of MANY shots on the night.
Just one of MANY shots on the night.
  • Then Marty spent the next 1.5 hours grilling me and teasing me about Xan.  Fun times.

TraveLog

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3 June 2009

  • Left JFK on time, at 8:35 p.m. local time.

4 June 2009

  • Arrived in Reykavik early, at 6:05 a.m. local time. Switched planes.
  • Departed Reykjavik on time, at 7:25 a.m.
  • Arrived Frankfurt a bit early, at 12:30 p.m.  Luggage took a few minutes to get to us, but otherwise, all good.
  • Ate some McDonald’s in the airport as a quick snack.  Marty and I were quite hungry and tired, but this gave us enough energy to get to the car, in which…
  • We drove from Frankfurt to Stuttgart.  Marty and I promptly passed out during the 2.5-hour ride.
  • In Stuttgart, we walked around a bit and enjoyed a beer (mmm, Hoffbrau) and some sunshine.
  • Drove to Burladingen.  Passed out on the way…again.
  • I had some Kas-Spatzle (missing some umlauts, I know) for dinner.  Cheesy and heavy (surprise), but quite delicious.
  • Got home a little before 9 p.m.  Enjoyed a beer and some conversation.  I listened mostly. 🙂
  • Finally went to bed around midnight.  Ahh, sweet sleep.
Enjoying the some German sunshine in Stuttgart.
Enjoying the some German sunshine in Stuttgart.

Whirlwind

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It’s about two hours before Marty I leave for the airport to fly to Germany via Iceland (hey, Björk!).  This after I returned Monday from an excurison to San Diego to present at a conference.  As I’m waiting to leave, I can’t help but reflect on the past year and how much has happened and how much is going to happen in the next few months.  It has been and will be a whirlwind that shows no sign of slowing until possibly mid-August.  But the way I see it, the school year was tough, much more of a struggle than I anticipated and much more of a struggle than I initially wanted to admit, so I deserved some time off to travel and see new places and meet new people.

I should have fairly regular internet access, so I’ll be sure to post some pics from Germany, and I hope to have some really good ones for the upcoming 12 of 12.  Stay tuned!