2013 is officially underway in what promises to be an exciting year for us! Adrian is staying busy with work and Dave is working hard on school trying to get his Master’s Thesis ready. We are excited about everything that is coming up for us and we have so much to look forward to!
First up is our trip to Budapest, Hungary next weekend. For a Christmas gift, Adrian planned a surprise date for every month of the year and the first one is coming up at the end of January: a three night stay in Budapest- giving us a chance to see the city and to get out of Germany for a break. We’ll definitely be writing a blog post about that so look forward to it.
Once we get back, Adrian’s old friend Jess is visiting all the way from California after spending January in Ghana. Then at the end of February, Dave is heading on a ski trip to Austria with some friends from school. Next up it’s Dave’s birthday and the one year anniversary of when we got engaged! After that we have our trip to the Greek islands, which will be a great to welcome back the warmer weather.
We’ve also been taking advantage of winter in Berlin and trying to get out and be as active as possible despite the freezing temperatures! And of course throughout all these adventures we’ll both be working hard and planning for our wedding in October of this year, which will definitely be the highlight of 2013! We are trying to get everything sorted out from over here in Berlin and have made a ton of progress on what hopefully will be a fun time. We can’t wait to see everyone!
We LOVE Christmas. The music, the food, the decorations, the feeling of hope and happiness that the season brings- it’s one of the best times of the year. And no where does Christmas quite like Germany. The Christmas Markets that pop up all over the city come the end of November are one of our favorite things about living in this country. We made it to quite a few of the markets this year including Alexanderplatz, Potsdammerplatz, the Kulturbrauerei and the one down in Potsdam with it’s special Polish theme. Beautiful booths with some unique goods as well as some yummy Polish cuisine! When we were down there we also took a stroll around the grounds of Schloss Sanssouci to work off all the tasty treats.
It’s a little sad to bid the markets “tschüss” now that the season has come to an end, but we frequented them plenty these past few weeks as well as enjoyed a variety of other Christmas parties, fests and traditions.
The conclusion of Thanksgiving means it’s Christmas music season. Dave and I both have a fondness for Amy Grant’s rendition of the Christmas classics- though we have different CDs we grew up listening to- so we heard a lot of her the past few weeks. We also spun through all the other hits via our ipods and 8Tracks playlists. These tunes are always best enjoyed with some fresh baked Christmas cookies and a glass of hot cocoa or glühwein.
The start of the advent season also calls for an Advent Calendar- again something Germany excels at! There are so many varieties of calendars and people get pretty creative with homemade ones as well. We went with a childhood favorite of mine- Playmobile and had a lot of fun alternating days in which we could open a new window and add some figures to our Christmas scene.
Christmas season also brought about good times with friends and we were able to celebrate on numerous occasions including a dinner party hosted by Max and Sachiko, the staff Christmas party at Phorms and a festive evening at my colleague and friend Sandra’s place. Always so nice to share in the festive spirit with good friends!
One of the major perks of working in education is the break between Christmas and New Years- always a much needed period of rest, relaxation and recharging of batteries. I finished up work on Friday the 21st and have a break until January 2nd! We decided to celebrate the holiday in Berlin this year and have been having a grand old time doing absolutely nothing!
The one big plan we came up with was to celebrate by coordinating and cooking “9 Feasts of Christmas”. Why 9? Who knows? Unfortunately I contracted a gross bacterial infection on my tonsils which put a little damper on excessive eating, but one visit to the doctor and a Penicillin prescription later we were back on track. We didn’t quite make it to 9, but did get in 7 delicious feasts. We rated and debated and decided that the top three were:
1. Christmas Day Feast- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy etc…
2. Americana- buffalo wings, cheese burger and fries (The burgers were so good we forgot to stop and take a picture!)
3. Deutschland- schnitzel, spätzle and German beer (Dave’s pick)
3. Small Bites Feast- jalepeno popper dip, stuffed mushroom caps, salami, cheese, crackers and olives (Adrian’s pick)
As you can tell food plays a big role in our holiday celebrations and all of the feasts were fun to plan (and eat!).
As the big day approached we finished up last minute preparations and gift wrapping and then spent Christmas Eve enjoying a variety of Christmas movies and drinking hot tea and coffee on the couch. In the evening we headed down to the American Church in Berlin to celebrate the real reason for the season and had a great time at their beautiful candlelight service. In additional to all the wonderful songs the pastor’s sermon was particularly compelling and focused on the theme of hope. After the service concluded we headed home for fondue, champagne and our favorite film- It’s a Wonderful Life.
The next morning we woke up, made breakfast and got down to opening stockings and gifts. Santa was particularly good to us this year:) Our favorite gift would probably have to be the awesome projector from Al and Melissa. We’d been thinking about getting one for awhile and we have to say watching movies projected up on our living room wall definitely beats a computer screen! Thanks again for such a great gift! We also got a great box of baking goods you just can’t find in Germany and some sweet gifts from my parents. I love my new Packers sweatshirt!
We also got some new books, movies, picture frames, a few beautiful sweaters and scarfs and much more! My big gift from Dave was a trip up north to a lakeside village called Waren. We left the on the 26th for a two night stay in a classy hotel called Hotel Harmonie. The hotel features saunas, steam rooms and spa services and a massage was included in my gift! We had a great couple of days relaxing in the saunas, playing games, walking around the old city center of Waren and hiking the surrounding lakes- completing a 10K hike Friday morning! It was wonderful to get outside the city, see another part of Germany and spend a few days in a pretty, peaceful spot.
We got back to Berlin late on Friday and have been enjoying our new projector, munching on leftovers and enjoying the last few days of 2012. We’re headed to a dinner party at Saskia and Mathieu’s apartment to ring in the New Year and then will try to catch some of the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl on the 1st before I have to return to work on the 2nd.
2012 has been a wonderful year. It was our first full year in Berlin and we saw and did so much. The major highlight has to be our engagement in March, but we have a lot of close seconds: our 8 week trek across the States visiting both coasts, the mid-west and attending 3 awesome weddings, the trip to Ireland for Dave’s birthday, the trip to Spain for Adrian’s birthday, family and friends visiting this Fall, exploring all the beer gardens of Berlin this past summer, Dave’s ski trip to the Alps, trips around Germany and Poland, Adrian finding a job at Phorms and many more!! We’re pretty damn lucky and quite thankful for all that 2012 brought, but are pretty sure 2013 is going to blow 2012 out of the water! Bring on the New Year!
There’s nothing better than waking up the morning after daylight savings and realizing it’s not 10:00 am, it’s only 9:00! However, that great feeling is short lived as the day winds down with the sun setting before 5:00 and then continues to go downhill for the next 8 weeks (tonight scheduled sunset is 4:14pm)! Luckily Christmas season begins early in Berlin and we’ve been keeping busy with plenty of cozy, indoor activities and a few well bundled outdoor excursions!
The weekend after we trekked out to Dresden we joined up with a group of friends at the Parov Stelar concert down in Kreuzberg. The concert was great and we had a lot of fun dancing to the opening acts and Parov Stelar was amazing. For those who don’t know their music check out some videos from their website!
We also had a chance to check out some of the buildings around Berlin participating in the Berlin Festival of Lights. More than 40 sites feature illuminations and light projections for two weeks each October. Dave got to check them out last year, but I missed the festival while I was in Prague so I was happy to see it this year. Some really awesome displays!
The next weekend we hosted a party at our apartment in celebration of Halloween. We were able to fit about 15 people into our place and had a great time checking out costumes, consuming festive drinks and snacks and playing a couple rousing games of Cards Against Humanity! It was a great way to celebrate the holiday:)
Phorms Crew!
Dave as a Democrat
Omon, Thomas and Ira
Jenny and Daniel- Day of the Dead “calacas” & Grapes
Since Halloween day fell on a Wednesday we didn’t go too crazy- made a delicious dinner at home, watched a couple frightening movies and passed out candy to trick or treaters, who in Germany say, “Süßes oder Saures”! We only had three, but that’s three more than we ever had in D.C. or Boston so I’m considering it a victory!
The last few weeks have been pretty low-key. We met up a few times with friends for drinks, one time at a pretty swanky bar called Muschi Obermaier. The bar is a play on the name of Uschi Obermaier- a German sex symbol and a leader in the sexual revolution. She lived in Kommune 1 in Berlin- a famous politically motivated commune in the 60’s and reportedly had affairs with Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix.
We also celebrated our 6 year anniversary this past weekend- November 11th to be exact. When I got home from work on Friday Dave surprised me with a sweet set up of flowers, champagne and a bunch of homemade treats. Later that night we joined our friends Mathieu and Fred (visiting from Denmark) for a few drinks out. We spent the rest of the weekend just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. On Sunday we took a long walk around Berlin and made our way to the Christmas Market at Potsdamer Platz (yay for the long Christmas season in Germany!) for a glass of Glühwein. That night Dave took me out to dinner at a fondue restaurant near our place that we’ve been wanting to try for ages- delicious! Plus we both won our fantasy match-ups in our “Title IX” league…perfect ending to our anniversary weekend!
Anniversary Surprise from Dave!
Anniversary Car Bombs- we are super classy!
So happy to celebrate the best six years anyone could hope for!
Berlin
First Glühwein of the Season
We’ve both been working hard in addition to all the fun and are especially excited for the next few weeks- we have visitors coming! This upcoming weekend Dave’s cousin Catherine is visiting from London, where she is studying abroad, and our friend Anthony is coming over from Bremen. Then the following week brings Thanksgiving and Cara and Will’s visit. We’re very excited to welcome family and friends to our city and show them around! Can’t wait to see everyone! ❤❤❤
This past weekend we took a quick trip east to visit the city of Dresden and Sächsische Schweiz. We were only gone for one night, but we saw and did a lot and had a great time!
Friday night we celebrated our -1 year anniversary (we’re getting married on October 12th next year) with a very American night- cheeseburgers, buffalo wings and cake! The next morning we got up bright and early to catch a bus to Dresden. We hit some unexpected traffic and ended up detouring through the suburbs of Berlin for awhile, but the trip is only two hours, so the extra time didn’t put too much of a dent in our plans.
Once we arrived we headed directly to the Frauenkirche. The beautiful church was completely destroyed, along with most of Dresden, during Allied bombing raids in the Second World War. It was originally built in the 18th century and when it was reconstructed in the 1990s and early 2000s the original plans first created in the 1720’s were once again used. The church is suppose to be an exact replica of it’s former glory. It’s gorgeous outside and even more beautiful inside. The colors inside are unique pastel hues and the balconies are beautifully curved. The reconstruction work is pretty amazing and it was especially cool to see the old stones salved from the ruins- in the picture below you’ll see that it’s pretty obvious to identify the stones.
Frauenkirche in the year 1880
Frauenkirche in the year 1945
Frauenkirche in October 2012
After visiting the Frauenkirche we grabbed some lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening just walking around Dresden and visiting the different districts. Though we didn’t venture into the Green Vault (home to the largest collection of “treasures” in Europe) we did walk around the grounds and both agreed it was the prettiest spot in the city.
Following hours of walking and taking in the sites we decided to head up to the Gothic Quarter for dinner. As usual we walked around looking at thousands of places before actually making a decision. Unfortunately the place we chose (Wenzel Prager- a Bohemian style beer hall) was packed with no tables available. We opted for our second choice- a yummy Thai/Vietnamese restaurant. And luckily as we passed Wenzel Prager on our way back to the hotel we saw that it had cleared out a bit and were able to pop in to taste the beer sampler. So basically everything worked out great:)
The next morning we woke up early, ate a delicious European style breakfast at the hotel and headed down to the train station to hop a train to Sächsische Schweiz (the Switzerland of Saxony), one of Germany’s beautiful National Parks, for a day of hiking and outdoor fun. Our first stop was the town of Rathen and our hike up to the Bastei Bridge. To reach the bridge you hike along the famous “Malerweg”, German for painter’s way. The area and the bridge are known for being the subject of many paintings over the years, most notably by German artist, Caspar David Friedrich. The trail was pretty chock full of people, but the weather was perfect and as we reached the top the sun finally broke through the morning clouds. Along the hike we were provided with various scenic viewpoints of the Elbe River, the valley and Sächsische Schweiz.
We took a different trail back down the mountain stopping to have a small snack and enjoy a bit of the gorgeous fall foliage.
After our hike up to Bastei we hopped back on the train and headed a little further east to Bad Schandau. Another ferry ride down the river and we were in the heart of the gorgeous resort town. We walked through the town up to the Kirnitzschtalbahn- a tram established in 1898 to ease the travel for visitors to the national park. The tram was old and loud, but enabled us to see more of the park and make it up to the Lichtenhain Waterfall. We were warned from the outset that the waterfall was less than impressive, but were surprised by the effort the park had taken to spruce it up. Next to the waterfall is a restaurant/mini-biergarten and as we were enjoying a couple Weißbiers dramatic music began to play and a hoard of tourists rushed to the base of the viewing area. A few seconds later massive amounts of water came down from the falls creating quite a production. We were pretty much cracking up at the corniness of the exhibit, but that could also have had to do with the 1/2 liter beers on pretty much empty stomachs. Even though it was corny it was still a lot of fun. After our beers and a slice of Apfel Kuchen we headed back to the tram to the ferry and started our trek home.
We had a great trip out east and we’re happy to get out into nature for a short time. Can’t wait to visit more cities in this beautiful country!
We’ve been back in Berlin for a little over a month now and are settling back into our routines. Adrian started work September 1st and is really enjoying her job as a kindergarten teacher at a bilingual school in South Berlin. Dave has finally found an internship working at a non-profit called Global2015 and will be finishing his thesis in the spring. Meanwhile some of our more faithful readers have been a little disappointed with the volume of blog entries lately… sorry about that! We promise to try and pick it up from here, but those who know us well know that we don’t exactly always stick to everything.
This past weekend we enjoyed some of the last warm weather we will get here in Berlin by taking a boat ride with friends around the Spree river. Our friends Matieu and Sakia bought a coupon from a company called Grill Boat and invited us to come along so we jumped at the chance. The boat was more of a ‘float’ though with a small 10 hp motor and a huge firewood grill in the middle so we weren’t exactly speeding around the city. The trip also came with a case of beer though so the speed of the journey didn’t really matter that much.
The trip started from a part of Berlin that we hadn’t had much of an opportunity to check out: the Treptower Park area in the southeastern part of the city. Adrian got off of work at her usual time (3pm) but the boat didn’t leave til 5:30 so we took the extra time to explore some of the walking paths along the river and enjoy the nice weather. Berlin is turning cold very fast but it was actually a quite pleasant and warm at about 72 degrees.
We arrived pretty early to the launch pier but used the time to catch up some of the other people who had also arrived. All told there were eight of us along for the ride but there was plenty of room on the boat for more. We took off a few minutes late but the guy in charge was pretty easy going. He showed us how to use the boat and sent us off with a warning about the aggressive swans.
As soon as the grill got hot enough, we started feasting on a great spread of burgers, veggies, sausage, bacon and chips. Not the most healthy meal, but definetly delicious!
Sure enough, soon after we had the grill going the swans started coming after us in full force. They were pretty aggressive, but luckily not wily enough to make it on to the boat!
Anna with the swan!
The Spree was actually pretty nice for a urban river. All along the shores are different clubs and biergartens some of which we made a note to check out later. One thing you can say about Berlins: they love enjoying the outdoors while it’s still warm enough to do so.
Unfortunately, about an hour and a half into our trip it started to rain fairly hard. We didn’t let it dampen our spirits though as we continued on with the eating and drinking… but we did head straight back to the dock as fast as our little 10 hp motor would take us. We had a great time though and already can’t wait for next summer and our next boat (float) ride!
Our red-eye flight from Sacramento got into Boston around 10:00am and once again we hopped the bus up to Maine. The next day we headed out to Great Spruce Head Island with most of the Hewey/Chebuske clan. Dave’s family has been traveling to this island for more than 50 years now and I’ve been lucky enough to tag along the past five years. It’s about a 45 minute boat ride from the main(e) land out in Penobscot Bay. The week’s activities consist mainly of hiking around the island, hanging out at one of the many beaches, game playing and eating delicious dinners that Melissa makes on a wood-burning stove every night. Another great thing is that it’s pretty much impossible to charge electronics and there is no internet access at the big house- it’s probably the only time of the year we’re completely “off the grid” and I love it! I also love visiting the island because it’s such a special place for Dave and his family and it’s so interesting to think about the history of island.
We had a fantastic week at Great Spruce Head, but left a couple days early so that we could make it to the second wonderful wedding of the summer- the McGrath/Fitta affair. The wedding was held on Friday night and while the weather had been holding all day, the rain started to fall just minutes before their outdoor ceremony. We weren’t sure what the bride would decide to do, but Melissa was awesome, threw up an umbrella and marched down the aisle in the downpour. They even headed to beach after to take photos! One of the groomsmen (Dan) captured this moment, which I love!
Rain couldn’t dampen the spirit of the party and we had a ton of fun at their reception. Highlights included the best man’s speech, the amazing cake bar and their awesome DJ who spun oldies and classic favorites into the night. Thanks Seamus and Melissa for inviting us to be a part of your day!!
The following days consisted of our first real down time of the vacation and we enjoyed relaxing, catching up on a few movies and pigging out on our American favorite (buffalo wings, fried pickles, Amato’s Italians etc…). On Wednesday we welcomed the first part of the Chebuske clan who drove up to Maine for Cara and Will’s wedding (our third wonderful summer wedding, which took place on August 18). I had met Dave’s uncle Greg and aunt Evette when they graciously let us stay with them on our way to DC five years prior, but it was wonderful catching up with them and Jamie and getting to meet Dave’s aunt Marguerite, uncle Chris and cousin James at a big family BBQ at the Chebuske house. Thursday I headed up to the wedding site with Mary and Anina for Cara’s bachelorette festivities (which included a cooking class that allowed us to indulge in all the delicious food we created and enjoy some wine along the way). Dave joined us Friday and we got to explore a little bit of Southwest Harbor and Acadia before the rehearsal and subsequent dinner. At the dinner I finally got to meet Dave’s grandmother, Grandy- who was wonderful to finally talk to in person. I also met the rest of Dave’s cousins, who were so much fun and I’m looking forward to seeing again at our wedding next year!
Saturday brought the big day and it was absolutely beautiful! The wedding was held on the family blueberry farm of Cara’s husband (so exciting) Will. The location provided stunning views of Blue Hill. The backdrop was beautiful as was the bride. Dave served as part of the “wedding team” and I was honored to be asked to do a reading of Cara’s favorite poem, Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. The ceremony was short and sweet, but incredibly touching.
The cocktail hour was held in the beautifully decorated barn on the property and the reception in a gorgeous tent with great views of the sunset. The food was delicious, Dave had the steak and I went with the lobster- yum! Music and merriment went long into the night and we had a absolutely wonderful time!
A brunch for all the wedding guests was held Sunday morning. After taking part in the delicious food and saying our good byes to family and friends we headed a bit more north to check out Darthia farm, where Jack has been working for the past few months. Darthia is a family-run farm on the downeast coast of Maine. The day we stopped by they were having a big party for friends and neighbors. We got to enjoy some local music and meet a number of Jack’s co-workers and he was able to show us around the property. The farm houses a number of animals plus a variety of gardens. We sampled some of the tomatoes, which were delicious!
Following our tour of the farm we drove down to Schoodic Point in Acadia National Park for a brief climb across the rocks and some swimming. The scenery was gorgeous and the park not too crowded.
After our short side trip to Acadia it was time to head back to Portland. We dropped Jack off and headed south. The next few days consisted mainly of packing and picking up a few “only in America” items (i.e. buffalo sauce, graham crackers, solid deodorant etc…). We had a fun last couple of days just soaking up the sun, spending additional time with family and getting ready to go before we took off for Deutschland.
We’re back now and trying desperately to get on Berlin time. Luckily I have a week until my job starts, so progress is slowly being made! We’re hoping this year in Germany brings more comfort with the language, more opportunities to travel and hopefully some visits from friends and family (wink, wink:)). It felt really good to get back into our apartment and start to think about the upcoming year. Last year when we arrived we had no idea what was in store. I think by now we feel much more settled and comfortable and Berlin feels a bit more like home. We’ll keep you updated!
The first leg of my USA World Tour stopped in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I got to spend an amazing couple of weeks visiting family there and hanging out with my parents and Maddie who flew out for the trip- a perfect welcome back to the good old US of A!
I had a long trip from Berlin, of course because of the distance, but also due to the fact that I had to make two transfers on my way to Milwaukee. Luckily everything was on time and I made it in one piece. My parents and Maddie flew in from LA the same day and our flights were only about 20 minutes apart- so we met at baggage claim, surprising my grandfather, who had no idea I was coming! It was so good to see my family after so many months and we spent the next two weeks catching up, watching TONS of baseball (Brewers, Chinooks, high school and little league!), eating delicious American food and exploring a bit of Milwaukee. Highlights of the trip included tailgating at the Brewer’s game, visiting the Harley Davidson museum, a food tour of Brattle Street and our day at Summerfest. Of course just relaxing and spending time with my whole family, particularly my grandma and grandpa, was the best part and I’m so happy I was able to spend as much time as I did in Wisconsin.
Dave wasn’t able to join me in the Midwest given the fact that his finals went into the first few weeks of July, but we met up on July 10th at Boston Logan. His flight was delayed by 5 hours due to a fire in the control tower at Newark, but thankfully Logan has free WIFI- why every airport doesn’t offer free internet is beyond me! We spent the next couple days hanging out with family and friends, speeding around Casco Bay in the Spensington and getting ready to head down to Massachusetts for Paul and Robin’s wedding. We went down to Sudbury on Friday for the rehearsal dinner was tons of fun and incredibly delicious. Then since Dave was in the wedding party he spent the day Saturday hanging out with the other groomsmen and the Paul while I had cocktails and gossip with other girlfriends in our hotel room. The wedding ceremony was my favorite part of the day and both Paul and Robin looked great and so in love. The reception that followed was also wonderful and the after party continued back at the hotel bar long into the night. Congrats guys and thanks for inviting us to be a part of your day!
After the wedding we headed back to Boston with friends, Dan and Alix- who were nice enough to let us crash with them for a few days. We took advantage of the weather on Sunday and spent most of the day at the beach before heading up to one of our favorite Boston spots for dinner at Red Bones BBQ. Monday morning I headed over to visit Northeastern and check out the new Visitor Center. It was great to see some of my wonderful old students and catch up with former co-workers and I wish I could have spent longer catching up with everyone! Beer was calling though and I hopped the T over to meet Dave and Dan for a tour of Harpoon Brewery. After Alix got off work we all headed over to Fenway with the intent of scalping Red Sox tickets. Unfortunately prices were a little high so we opted for beers and the view at Bleacher Bar (the bar looks out into Fenway through a panel in centerfield). The red sox are a terrible team and all their players should be traded immediately. And the Sox actually won one!
The next morning we woke up we woke up early and headed out to Sierra Madre after an absolutely stellar week in Maine and Massachusetts. The minute we landed we went into full wedding planning mode. We’re estimating that we won’t be back in the area until just a month or two before the big day, so our goal was to accomplish as much as possible in the two week period we had! And I’d say we were pretty successful! We picked a date, found a ceremony and reception venue, picked a caterer and sampled tons of cupcakes. Additionally we have some great leads on a photographer, DJ and flowers and I was also able to find a dress! It was a jam-packed couple of weeks, but really fun to finally get to do some planning!
In addition to all the planning we had plenty of time for fun. We caught both an Angel’s game and a Dodger’s game, made it to the beach, had a big bbq with friends in LA, watched TONS of Olympic events, saw the LA Philharmonic at the Santa Anita Racetrack and enjoyed a great overnight trip with the fam up at Lake Arrowhead. Dave also had the opportunity to travel up to San Francisco for a few days to hang out with friends from college and while he was gone my mom, Maddie and I went to Disneyland (which I hadn’t visited since 2005). And when you go to Disneyland with us- you REALLY go to Disneyland. We were up at dawn to make it to the park for the opening and we stayed past the official close- to almost 1:00am- trying to get on every ride possible…an exhausting, but awesome day!
At the end of our time in California Dave and I drove with Maddie up to Davis. She’s going into her senior year and I couldn’t miss the chance to see Davis and have her show me around the campus and the city before she graduated. We had a lot of fun checking out the local farmer’s market, grubbing on burgers and brew at Burgers and Brew and hanging out with her friends our first night. The next day we biked around the greenbelt and all over campus- stopping to eat a picnic lunch in the arboretum. Our flight left for Maine that night, so we had one last (delicious) Davis meal of pizza and wings at Vito’s before heading to the airport. It was tough to say bye to Maddie since I’m not sure when we’ll see her next, but I know we’ll be talking a lot this year as the wedding approaches…yay for the best Maid of Honor ever!!
This concludes Part I of our World Tour USA 2012 post! Since we did so much on our trip I decided to break our post down into two parts. I’m putting it out here (so I hold myself to it!)- look for part II tomorrow!
As I prepared to leave for the U.S. I began to think about the possibility of reverse culture shock. I am flying back for my trip to the U.S. exactly 9 months to the day that I left Boston for Berlin (Dave is flying back about 10 days after me because of his exams). Of course, upon our arrival in Germany there were a few things that struck me as slightly odd or just a bit different. Obviously the biggest shock to my system was the language barrier formed between myself and my fellow Berliners. I know enough now to get by (on the basics), but if someone mistakes me for a native speaker and our conversation steers from anything other than common plesantries I’m immediately lost. This happened most recently at the pharmacy when the pharmascist attempted to give me, what I can only assume to be, directions and warnings related to my medication. Other “shocks” included small things like all stores and shops being closed on Sundays, no hostesses in restaurants and the fact that smoking is allowed almost anywhere. I don’t think I’ll experience too much of a transition period upon my return to the States, but I know there are a few things I am SO looking forward to…
1. The food! I can’t wait for buffalo wings, cheddar cheese, butterfingers, IPAs and all the other hard to find food items in Germany. I also can’t wait to revisit some of our old favorite places–mmm…bbq brisket, fried pickles and mac n cheese at Red Bones.
2. The people- of course,! I can’t wait to be surrounded by family and friends. And we have the added bonus of being able to attend 3 weddings of wonderful friends and family during our time home…very excited!
3. Driving. Dave loves not having a car and being able to rely solely on public transit, but I’m a Southern California girl and we LOVE our cars. I can’t wait to borrow my parents car and cruise along the CA highways with the windows down…which we’ll be doing of a lot of considering we have a lot of wedding planning to pack in while we’re in CA.
We have a jam packed couple months ahead of us as we’ll be traveling all through New England, to parts of the Mid-West and then heading out to Southern California for a couple of weeks. I think we’ve nailed down a dates and plans with most people, but if you’ll be around the Maine or So. Cal area this summer let us know and we’ll see if we can set something up!! Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland, Hallo USA!
Last Wednesday Dave and I finally got a couch for our apartment! Even though we had to move the thing down four flights of stairs and then up another flight to our apartment it’s totally worth it–so nice to be able to finally sit back and relax in our place. As we were enjoying our first “sitting” Dave got up and surprised me with an early birthday present: two tickets to Barcelona! We were leaving following day at 3:00 and would be spending four glorious days in a much anticipated travel destination of mine: Spain! He had even purchased a bottle of Spanish wine to start the celebration early…such a thoughtful guy:)
Even though we flew into Barcelona we were actually only going to be spending one day in the city- the other three we spent in a beach town a little south of the city called Castelldefels. When we arrived on Thursday night we were starving, so we dropped our things at the hotel and headed out for dinner. As we were walking we noticed most restaurants were closed, which we thought a little weird for 7:00 at night. I knew the Spanish typically dine late, but had no idea that restaurants and kitchens don’t often even open until 8:00 or 9:00 at night?! Luckily there were a few bars open and we found a place that served food all day. We split nachos and a cheeseburger- not quite the Spanish cuisine we might have imagined we’d find, but delicious none the less. After dinner we grabbed a bottle of wine and some dessert and headed out to the beach. We spent a couple hours dipping our toes in the Mediterranean, sipping some Spanish wine and watching the sunset- perfect start to a vacation.
The next day we got up early and walked the quick three block walk to the beach. The day was perfect and we spent all morning lying in the sand and playing in the surf. Come lunchtime we headed into the city to pick up some Spanish meats, cheeses and a loaf of bread. We ate by the pool and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and pool lounging before heading upstairs for a little siesta.
After our siesta we decided to head back to the beach, but this time to one of the many beach bars posted up every few hundred meters along the shore. After drinks we headed into the town for some tapas and to catch some of the Euro Cup action. For those of you who don’t follow soccer (“football”) the Euro Cup is currently underway and people are MAD for it. The competition is fierce between certain nations and everywhere you look people are tuning in for the big match-ups…a fun time to be in Europe as a sports fan. We sampled some Spanish tortilla and Berberechos (cockles) as we watched the Czechs unfortunate loss to the Russians. After the game we stopped for some gelato before making our way back to the hotel.
We woke up Saturday to another bright and sunny day and my birthday!! We ate a delicious breakfast at the hotel and headed back out to the beach. Since our (well mostly my) pasty white skin hadn’t seen a good amount of sun in quite awhile we were both suffering from sunburns from the previous day. We decided for a birthday splurge and rented chairs and an umbrella right at the water’s edge. It turned out to be a fabulous buy and we hung out on the beach from 9:30-about 3:30.
Following our beach excursion we headed back to the hotel for a bit more pool time and some downtime. After resting up we decided that we’d had such a good time at the beach bar the previous night we ought to go back. This time we had the good fortune to catch some live music. The band was made up of 3 Spanish musicians and the lead singer was an older ex-pat from Florida. They played old school rock, including some Elvis and all in all were pretty talented. For dinner later that night we found a spot at a place called Can Moyas. Even though we tried to be “Spanish” about the time of our meal, when we showed up a little after 9:00 there were only about 5 other tables occupied…oh well. We ordered a pitcher of sangria to start and then another round of the yummy Berberechos. Then we split an order of palella and a steak- both absolutely delicious. Since it was my birthday our waiter brought over extra shots and Dave bought me a rose from one of the vendors walking through the area. At the hotel after dinner we popped some champagne and shared a big piece of chocolate cake. I really couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing (or delicious!) start to my 27th year. Thanks baby for planning everything!!
The next morning we forced ourselves out of bed early so that we could make sure to see as much of Barcelona as we could in a day…and we saw A LOT (I have a couple ugly blisters to prove it!). We quickly dropped our bags off at the hostel and hustled downtown to catch the start of a walking tour around the Old Town of the city. Our tour guide, Gorka, was awesome and showed knew a ton about the ancient and medieval history of Barcelona. He walked us through a big portion of the gothic quarter stopping at number of different stops along the way. We learned about a few interesting Catalonian traditions and even got to see one: the dancing egg! Every year during Corpus Christi a number of sites along the city display “dancing eggs”- these eggs are supported by water fountains and they look as though they are dancing atop the water (see picture below if you don’t believe me). Another tradition we learned about takes place during Christmas. It’s common for every Catalonian home to have a statue of the “Caganer“, which you’ll see in the photo below, is a man taking a dump. It’s placed as part of the traditional nativity scene. There are many thoughts behind why he’s part of the Christmas tradition, but our guide believed the man to symbolize the circle of life and putting back into the earth what you take out. Whatever the reason, it’s a fun tradition but probably not one I’ll be implementing in our home in the future. The last part of our tour lead us to Plaça del Rei. Being a bit of a history buff this was one of my favorite stops because of it’s connections to King Ferdinand, Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Inquisition. Even though it’s long been proven false the steps in the square were rumored to be the place Columbus met King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella after his return from the Americas…pretty cool!
Following our tour we stopped for a quick bite before heading over to Parc de la Ciutadella. Before finding out that we were going to Barcelona last week I really didn’t know much about the city. I’m a little embarrassed to say that my only knowledge of the city came from an episode of the Bachelorette a few years ago when Jillian had a date there. The big thing I remember from her date is that she met the guy by this gorgeous fountain…so naturally I had to find this fountain and see it too! The fountain is not actually known as “the fountain from Jillian’s season of the Bachelorette”, but the Cascada. It’s absolutely stunning and I took a million photos as we wandering around it.
We continued our stroll through the park checking out a small lake with row boats, a number statues and small plazas and getting in a little people watching. It was Sunday and the park was crowded with groups having picnics and parties. The whole area was beautiful.
From the park we decided to head back into the Gothic Quarter in an attempt to get into the Picasso Museum (which was free after 3:00pm). Unfortunately the line just to get in the museum was probably 300 people deep. We opted to skip the wait in an attempt to see some more of the city, so we hopped on the metro and headed up to the Antoni Gaudi designed cathedral, the Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia is a beautiful church in the center of the city. Construction on the building began in 1882 and amazingly enough continues to this day. Some sources put the expected date of completion to be 2025/2026, but who knows?! Again, we opted not to go inside due to time constraints, but we walked the entire length of the church’s exterior and were so impressed with everything about it.
Next we made our made our way over to Casa Batlló and La Pedrera to check out some more of the famous Gaudi architecture of the city. Gaudi is Catalan’s most famous architect and considered the “figurehead of Catalan Modernism”. His style is unique and immediately recognizable, plus it’s everywhere in the city.
We hadn’t quite had our Gaudi fix so we hopped back on the metro and headed up to our final “big stop” of the day: Park Guell. The park is located a little farther north in the city and isn’t the most accessible. From the map it looked a good 10-15 minute walk, but the map didn’t show the fact that it’s basically located atop a giant hill. Fortunately the path was well marked and there were even some escalators to help with the climb, but we definitely got a workout in as we made our way to the top. It was all worth it though and the park turned out to be my favorite site of the day. There were long winding trails leading visitors around to the many important sites within the park- many created by Gaudi himself. We spent a couple hours trying to catch everything. We also visited the park during the Spain v. Italy match of the Euro Cup and could hear cheering and horns throughout the surrounding area the whole time…it was great!
As we descended back into the thick of the city the sun started to go down. We found a nice outdoor table near the University and grubbed on some sandwiches and a couple tapas. After dinner we tried to experience a little bit of the Barcelona nightlife by headed to a bar Maddie recommended called Chupitos that opened at 10:30, however when we arrived around 10:45 they still looked to be setting up and one of the staff told us they weren’t opening for another 20 minutes. At this point we’d been walking around for 12+ hours and it was raining…needless to say we decided to be old foggies and started back towards the hostel, which actually turned out to be a smart choice given that the metro system shuts down at midnight on weeknights. We were wondering how a city that starts their nights so late could close transport so early, but we got our answer the next morning when we saw huge groups of people piling out of clubs at 8:30/9:00am!
Our flight left pretty early on Monday so the only thing left to do was find me some churros con chocolate (something my friend Becky has been telling me about for more than 6 years now)! It was a little harder to find than anticipated, but we eventually spotted a place, chowed them down and made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. It was a perfect birthday trip and I’m already planning our return trip to Spain:)
Anniversary Surprise from Dave! 
Daverian's Travels 
