For all the dog lovers out there, I have some funny dog stories for you. Well, Puppy doesn't think they're funny . . .
I wanted to go back to Monschau because it has been my favorite town so far. Nancy D had an interview this morning and Puppy had to be at work this afternoon and Monschau is an hour away, but we figured we could do it and should, since today was one of the only days it wasn't supposed to rain this week. So, after taking Jackie for a walk and making sure she did all her business,
*Side note: Walking the dog, something I have never had to do before, has confirmed my cat-personness. I have NO idea how many times a day that cat goes to the bathroom and this arrangement suits us both perfectly.
we all piled into the car and headed to the Schinen base. While Nancy D went into her interview (she now has her choice of jobs!), Puppy, Jackie, and I wandered the base waiting for things to open. As we walked, we saw a cop drive by. Then the cop looped back and headed back in our direction, just tooling around doing his cop thing. Jackie, seeing a golden opportunity, turned her tail toward the cop, squatted on the military grass, and did some serious business. We didn't bring anything for this type of situation because Jackie had already done her business earlier, not to mention the fact tha Puppy HATES poo and all that it entails. But we had to do something bcause the cop had pulled over and was watching us. Puppy poked her head into a nearby building, hoping the cop would give up and move on. He did, actually, move on. To pulling over to us and asking what she planned to do.
He was actually really nice and helped Puppy locate a bag, involving yet another person in the Great Poo Pick-Up Fiasco of 2010. Puppy was horrified and revolted, I was having a hard time not laughing, and Jackie was smiling at everyone. I personally think that Jackie was testing Puppy's love for her. And tested it was.
Monschau was just as adorable the second time around. Since it was lunchtime, we stopped in for a "light" lunch at a witch-themed brat place called Hexenhausen. It was adorable, cheap, and I would recommend stopping in. I ordered just a plain bratwurst mit brochen (brat on a roll, mustard was 50 euro cents extra but was worth it) and set up a picture of ShuShu eating a brat in this adorable establishment. I got everything positioned and was holding both ShuShu and the camera, when the adorable waitress ran over and held ShuShu for me. She even ducked under the table so she wasn't in the picture! Now that is excellent service. AND the food was delicious.
On a not completely unrelated note: German food hates me. The cream sauces and red meats mixed with walking around is killing me slowly. While German food is delicious, it is too heavy for my system and I am going to try to stick to ice cream or beer till I leave on Thursday.
After Monschau, we all came home and took a nap. Jackie was napping with me (she likes me best now because I let her sleep on the bed) and we both fell asleep hard (so much for being over jet lag). At one point, Puppy tried to get Jackie out of the room so they could play before she went to work, but Puppy clearly didn't understand the value of sleeping on the bed. At another point, I rolled over and saw Jackie sleeping with all 4 paws in the air. We had a hard time waking up, but all of a sudden at 6:30pm we both decided it was time and sprang out of bed. But then I realized that I needed to check my email and sat back down. Jackie walked over to me and raised an eyebrow. I informed her that she didn't have to wait for me. Jackie pricked up her ears. I told her that Nancy D was still here too and that she should should go downstairs and see her. At hearing Nancy D's name, Jackie trotted out of my room and headed to the left. "No, downstairs," I shouted, and Jackie turned around and trotted back across the doorway and down the stairs. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen a dog do.
Tomorrow we're heading to Bruges in Belgium. I saw the movie In Bruges with Colin Farrell and can't wait to see this beautiful city. I doubt I'll get to karate chop a midget though . . .
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Notes About Germany
Today we said our fond good-byes and dropped Mr. and Mrs. Puppy off at the airport in Dusseldorf. We had plans to go back to Monschau, but the weather today is cold and rainy, so we decided to chill at home instead. I am going to take this opportunity to mention a few random things about Germany, in no particular order.
*SuperNova Random Thoughts and Observations:
*SuperNova Random Thoughts and Observations:
- There are bike paths everywhere here. I had heard that the Netherlands were very bike friendly, but I hadn't realized that extended to Germany. There are beautiful, paved, smooth bike paths everywhere you go, well off the streets with their own directional signs. If you spend any significant time in Germany, rent a bicycle. There's none of the certain death you find in Amsterdam, just beautiful scenery.
- Europe does not believe in screens or air conditioning. If it is hot in the summer, you open the windows and deal with whatever comes in with the breeze. These past days at Puppy's it seems that certain bugs prefer certain days - Friday it was mosquitoes, Sunday it was flies, Monday was mosquito eaters . . . If you are bug-phobic then when you arrive in Europe, either bring some bug spray or drink enough beer to relax because the Europeans are not changing their ways any time soon and the bugs are here to stay.
- There is no such thing as a "light lunch" in Germany. I am definitely used to the idea of a light lunch and a heavier dinner, thus enabeling me to function during the day. There aren't really many sandwich shops or things of a light lunch type here. Everything in Germany has fried pork and fried potatoes with your choice of thick, creamy, fried sauce. You are expected to clean your plate. You are expected to drink beer with this meal because here, beer is cheaper than water. I have NO idea how Germans go back to work after lunch. It is a particularly difficult cuisine to get used to when it is also very hot out. If you are looking to avoid death by bratwurst and want something light and quick, look for a bakery. They will sometimes have sandwiches.
- Germany is still very much a cash society. If you come thinking that you'll just use your credit card, you will starve. Today I went to a huge electronics store to by a hair-straightener (I figure I come here often enough to make purchasing one that works in Europe worth it) and I couldn't even use my credit card there. However, you can easily pull cash out of the plentiful ATMs, so don't worry about traveling with lots of cash either.
- German is really interesting in that certain words will look funny, but once you try pronouncing them, they are almost exactly the same as English. Haus, for example (house), or katze (cat), which leads you into a false sense of feeling like you have a good handle on German, until you bump into words like ausfahrt and double over laughing while receiving curious looks from Germans wondering why you are laughing at the "exit" sign. Crazy Americans . . .
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Become comfortable with the word "toilet." You don't have to worry about not knowing the language wherever you are traveling to. In high school Spanish class I thought that the most important phrase I could learn would be, "Where is the bathroom?" I couldn't think of a phrase that would be more useful, except for perhaps, "Where is the ice cream?" However, my mass traveling has taught me that EVEYONE understand the word "toilet." They may pronounce it a tiny bit differently, but when accompanied by that certain look of urgency, they will understand. Do not waste valuable brain space learning "bathroom" in other languages. We Americans seem to think of the word toilet as vulgar, but I assure you that if you ask for a "bathroom" in Japan, you will hear the Japanese person mutter quietly, "You want to take a bath?" while being shown to a room with only a shower and a sink, as the toilet is in a totally different area. Just use the word toilet and you cannot go wrong.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Do make an effort, at least learn "thank you." Every where I have traveled to, I have received a much friendlier response from strangers when I at least attempt to say hello or please in their native language. They really seem to appreciate the effort and are much more likely to help. Any time I travel, I always try to learn "hello" (hallo, guten tag), "please" (bitte), and "thank you" (danke), and then I have "toilet" (toilette) at the ready.
- And speaking of toilets . . . In Germany and the Netherlands you actually have to pay to use the bathroom. This is a horror story that I'd heard about, but never experienced. It generally costs 50 euro cents to use a bathroom, public or not, even at the gas station. Why? I have no idea. If there's a person collecting the money, they're not really doing anything, in fact at the gas station, when you flush a tiny brush pops out of the wall and the toilet seat spins around while the brush shoots cleaning liquid on it, so they're definitely not cleaning. It's one of those things where it is the way it is, fussing about it won't change it, that time is much better spent figuring out which coin is the 50 cent coin.
Thanksgiving in July, Sun. July 25th
Because Puppy is based here in Germany and won't make it home for one of her favorite holidays, she asked her parents if we could have Thanksgiving dinner while they were visiting instead. So Saturday, after an uneventful trip back from the Mosel, we did some mad grocery shopping for the dinner Sunday, and then when we got home, Nancy D and I insisted that Mr. and Mrs. Puppy teach us how to make juk.
I should explain how I am surviving the German diet without keeling over, and my secret is . . . Chinese food. Everytime I visit Puppy and her parents, they cook and try to teach me how to make amazing traditional Chinese food (Mr. Puppy is from China and Mrs. Puppy is Chinese-American). Unfortunately, generally when I eagerly try to make the dish at home, I often end up doing things like cleaning grease off the ceiling. Juk is a rice porridge dish that Mr. and Mrs. Puppy made a few nights ago and Nancy D and I fell in love with. So despite my previous Chinese cooking difficulties and the fact that we still had leftover juk in the fridge, we insisted that they teach us how to make it. Politely insisted, with "pleases" and everything.
Turns out, juk takes hours, so it was particularly kind of them to teach us considering the late start we were already getting. First you have to debone a chicken (they almost lost me right there). Puppy was eager to practice her knife skills and so I watched as she popped joints and separated chicken parts under the careful supervision of Mr. Puppy. It was like watching a chicken snuff film, particularly when she got to the part where she had to slowly and carefully pull off the skin. She did an excellent job, however, and we threw the carcass in a pot to boil. Juk is a slow cook dish and the results are delicious and if you ask very nicely I will make it for you when I get back, complete with the fried bread you dip in it. And afterwards you can help me clean off the ceiling.
After dinner I went ahead and made my Aunt Doris' special maple-pecan pie so that we'd have one less thing that needed the oven the next day. Then I Skyped for a while (if you have anyone who lives far away or goes away on trips and you haven't tried Skype, you need to download it immediately. It's free), I LOVE Skype, it makes being away so much easier. Hmm, that sounds a lot like I'm a spokesperson for Skype (I love Skype, ever since I started using Skype I've had more energy, am more positive, I've even lost weight!).
The next morning the chaos began. I know it's July, but think back to Thanksgiving morning and all the crazy timing of dishes and divvying up of oven time, and then cram it all into Puppy's extremely small German kitchen. It was a long day after a long night, but when 6pm brought all our guests, the house was clean and dinner was perfect. Our guests included Randy, a guy Puppy works with, and his wife and 2 kids, a German couple and their tiny daughter Yula, and Hakkan, a Turkish man who also works with Puppy and speaks perfect English and German. These are all Puppy's neighbors and it was really neat that they're all so friendly and social. I also have to document that the German husband's name is Norbert and this was the first time I had ever met anyone named Norbert and I was delighted!
Dinner was a complete success and I am really grateful that I got to be a part of it.
I should explain how I am surviving the German diet without keeling over, and my secret is . . . Chinese food. Everytime I visit Puppy and her parents, they cook and try to teach me how to make amazing traditional Chinese food (Mr. Puppy is from China and Mrs. Puppy is Chinese-American). Unfortunately, generally when I eagerly try to make the dish at home, I often end up doing things like cleaning grease off the ceiling. Juk is a rice porridge dish that Mr. and Mrs. Puppy made a few nights ago and Nancy D and I fell in love with. So despite my previous Chinese cooking difficulties and the fact that we still had leftover juk in the fridge, we insisted that they teach us how to make it. Politely insisted, with "pleases" and everything.
Turns out, juk takes hours, so it was particularly kind of them to teach us considering the late start we were already getting. First you have to debone a chicken (they almost lost me right there). Puppy was eager to practice her knife skills and so I watched as she popped joints and separated chicken parts under the careful supervision of Mr. Puppy. It was like watching a chicken snuff film, particularly when she got to the part where she had to slowly and carefully pull off the skin. She did an excellent job, however, and we threw the carcass in a pot to boil. Juk is a slow cook dish and the results are delicious and if you ask very nicely I will make it for you when I get back, complete with the fried bread you dip in it. And afterwards you can help me clean off the ceiling.
After dinner I went ahead and made my Aunt Doris' special maple-pecan pie so that we'd have one less thing that needed the oven the next day. Then I Skyped for a while (if you have anyone who lives far away or goes away on trips and you haven't tried Skype, you need to download it immediately. It's free), I LOVE Skype, it makes being away so much easier. Hmm, that sounds a lot like I'm a spokesperson for Skype (I love Skype, ever since I started using Skype I've had more energy, am more positive, I've even lost weight!).
The next morning the chaos began. I know it's July, but think back to Thanksgiving morning and all the crazy timing of dishes and divvying up of oven time, and then cram it all into Puppy's extremely small German kitchen. It was a long day after a long night, but when 6pm brought all our guests, the house was clean and dinner was perfect. Our guests included Randy, a guy Puppy works with, and his wife and 2 kids, a German couple and their tiny daughter Yula, and Hakkan, a Turkish man who also works with Puppy and speaks perfect English and German. These are all Puppy's neighbors and it was really neat that they're all so friendly and social. I also have to document that the German husband's name is Norbert and this was the first time I had ever met anyone named Norbert and I was delighted!
Dinner was a complete success and I am really grateful that I got to be a part of it.
Mosel River Trip Day 2, Fri. July 23rd
We met downstairs at 8am for the hotel breakfast. There was the usual European breakfast fare - cereal, yogurt, fruit, sliced meats, cheeses, and giant crusty rolls. Josef's father, who either doesn't know English or didn't want to talk to us, brought out to our table a pot of coffee and a pot of tea and set them on little holders that had a tea light in the bottom to keep them warm, which I thought was cool. After having a leisurely breakfast, we headed to the ferry dock.
It was a really beautiful morning, despite the forecast for rain. We walked on a bike path along the Mosel and chatted until we came to the dock. Puppy and Nancy D have gotten really good at deciphering German, and figured out from the sign that the ferry came every ten minutes. "Oh, there's the ferry on the other side," Puppy pointed out. I looked and I didn't see it. "Where?" "There!" I didn't see it. I saw the dock on the other side, but I didn't see any boats. After a few minutes someone said, "Ah, it's coming." I looked and said, perhaps a little too loudly, "The whole dock is the ferry?!?" Mr. Puppy whacked me on the shoulder. The ferry was less than 2 euro and was a quick ride to the other side, to the town of Beilstein.
Once there, we decided to hike to the Burg Metternich (do you remember what "burg" means? That's right, castle, you're really picking up German!). This castle fell much more in the "ruins" category than the last castle we saw. There was an entrance fee, which Mr. Puppy thought was ridiculous since it was mostly just ruins and they clearly weren't using the money on upkeep. While this castle was not as in pristine condition, it was much more fun for taking pictures and Puppy and I had an excellent time running around shooting ShuShu against the castle grounds. If only I had had a tiny sword . . .
After we took as many pictures as we could (the German tourists were very polite about waiting patiently while I took 3 thousand pictures of ShuShu using the viewfinder), we headed back to the dock to catch the noon boat to the town of Cochem. This boat was more expensive, much bigger, and unbelievably slow. It took us an hour to go less than 10 kilometers. A guy on a bicycle passed us on the river bank. I think that if we had hopped on a log, we could have drifted to Cochem faster, but it would have been much more difficult to navigate the lock. Understand, though, that I'm not complaining. I really enjoyed the chance to sit down and chill for an hour. As we traversed the lock, an automated voice came over the speakers and taught us that the Mosel is still used for transporting coal and agricultural products, is the longest tributary of the Rhine, and there are something like 10 locks along the river.
When we finally arrived in Cochem, we stopped for lunch at a place advertising pfifferlinge as their special. Puppy, Nancy D, and I all decided to try the pfifferlinge for no better reason than it was their special and it was fun and slightly impossible to say. Turns out pfifferlinge is mushrooms in brown cream sauce (every sauce is a cream sauce) and it came with a plate heaped with what looked like those hashbrown patties and another dish of potatoes in small ball form. It was quite a lot, but this time members of the table helped take care of the left overs on my plate to prevent another waitress scolding.
After lunch, we split up and Mr. and Mrs. Puppy wandered off while we trekked to the castle (of course there was another castle!). Burg Reich was really cool looking, built on top of a rock like the castles in scary movies. You could almost see the lightning flashing behind it. We didn't go inside this one, being tired of paying admission fees, but we did stop in the gift shop where they had a number of child-sized weapons. So if you are wondering where you can pick up a mace or tiny trebuchet for your little neice or nephew, perhaps you need to get back at your brother or sister for something, search no longer! Just trek to Burg Reich for all your child-sized weaponry needs!
We were supposed to meet Mr. and Mrs. Puppy at the boat at 4pm and still had lots of time, so we decided to tool through town and do some wine tasting. Puppy and Nancy D both love reisling, and the Mosel vineyards specialize in white wines.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Go wine tasting in Cochem! Don't be nervous because you don't speak German, just look for signs that say "weinprobe" (wine tasting) and pop in. The wines are delicious and incredibly cheap (the average price was 5-7 euros for a bottle) and the people are very helpful even when their English is limited!
We went to three separate places (Nancy D wanted to get 3 different whites to ship home) and after some time well spent we carefully and cheerfully picked our way back to the boat laden with wine bottles. The trip back was uneventful and once back in Beilstein, Mrs. Puppy wanted to look around some more, and Puppy, Nancy D, and I really wanted some ice cream. The sky was turning ugly by this time, but we decided to explore the town some more and therein made a grave mistake. We did find a beautiful church and a family walking a puppy, but we also heard the ominous sound of thunder. We hurried back to the ferry, bought tickets, and once on the other side started speed walking along the bike path. But it was to no avail. The storm gave us three thunderous warnings and then just dumped on us. We paused under a tree hoping that the downpour might be brief, but soon gave up and darted back into the rain. By the time we arrived back, we were soaked. We went to our rooms to change and dry off and the weather continued to pour.
We had planned on attending a wine festival that started that night. So, cold and damp, we headed back outside, borrowing some umbrellas from the hotel. Fortunately, the festival was very close. It was a very simple festival, there were two outdoor bars set up where you could buy wine, there was a chuck wagon for food, and there was a large tented area full of picnic benches from which oompah music was eminating. We decided to get our dinner at the chuck wagon, which specialized in brats. Everyone else ordered a bratwurst, which comes on a roll with mustard. Not a bun, mind you, a roll. The goal, apparently, is not to have a bite of bread with every bite of sausage, but more just to have a handle for your brat. I decided to try the currywurst plate, which came with pomme frites (french fries) and sauerkraut (bleh). I'd seen currywurst on lots of menus and was curious to try it. Apparently, it's just a cut up pork sausage with curry sauce (not unlike the one that came with our nuggets, in fact, I think I saw the guy pump it out of a giant ketchup-looking bottle) on top. It was quite good, and the curry sauce was excellent with the fries. I gave the sauerkraut to everyone to put on their bratwursts (yes, Mom, I did try it first, and I still don't like it) and we sat inside a tent to eat and watch the oompah band.
After a while, we decided to split a bottle of wine (it was a wine festival after all) and watched as some sort of royal procession filed in. There was toasting (Prost!) and talking and more oompahing. Then, as we were contemplating heading out, a marching band filed in, followed by a guy dressed as Bacchus and his two Greek handmaidens. His outfit was outstanding, complete with one sholdered dress, caplet, and fishbowl of wine. It was awesome! He made speeches, drinking songs were sung, and then his handmaidens selected a guy from the crowd, made him get down on his hands and knees, and hit him with a stick and a sledge hammer as he repeated after Bacchus. Gooooooooood NIGHT everybody!
It was a really beautiful morning, despite the forecast for rain. We walked on a bike path along the Mosel and chatted until we came to the dock. Puppy and Nancy D have gotten really good at deciphering German, and figured out from the sign that the ferry came every ten minutes. "Oh, there's the ferry on the other side," Puppy pointed out. I looked and I didn't see it. "Where?" "There!" I didn't see it. I saw the dock on the other side, but I didn't see any boats. After a few minutes someone said, "Ah, it's coming." I looked and said, perhaps a little too loudly, "The whole dock is the ferry?!?" Mr. Puppy whacked me on the shoulder. The ferry was less than 2 euro and was a quick ride to the other side, to the town of Beilstein.
Once there, we decided to hike to the Burg Metternich (do you remember what "burg" means? That's right, castle, you're really picking up German!). This castle fell much more in the "ruins" category than the last castle we saw. There was an entrance fee, which Mr. Puppy thought was ridiculous since it was mostly just ruins and they clearly weren't using the money on upkeep. While this castle was not as in pristine condition, it was much more fun for taking pictures and Puppy and I had an excellent time running around shooting ShuShu against the castle grounds. If only I had had a tiny sword . . .
After we took as many pictures as we could (the German tourists were very polite about waiting patiently while I took 3 thousand pictures of ShuShu using the viewfinder), we headed back to the dock to catch the noon boat to the town of Cochem. This boat was more expensive, much bigger, and unbelievably slow. It took us an hour to go less than 10 kilometers. A guy on a bicycle passed us on the river bank. I think that if we had hopped on a log, we could have drifted to Cochem faster, but it would have been much more difficult to navigate the lock. Understand, though, that I'm not complaining. I really enjoyed the chance to sit down and chill for an hour. As we traversed the lock, an automated voice came over the speakers and taught us that the Mosel is still used for transporting coal and agricultural products, is the longest tributary of the Rhine, and there are something like 10 locks along the river.
When we finally arrived in Cochem, we stopped for lunch at a place advertising pfifferlinge as their special. Puppy, Nancy D, and I all decided to try the pfifferlinge for no better reason than it was their special and it was fun and slightly impossible to say. Turns out pfifferlinge is mushrooms in brown cream sauce (every sauce is a cream sauce) and it came with a plate heaped with what looked like those hashbrown patties and another dish of potatoes in small ball form. It was quite a lot, but this time members of the table helped take care of the left overs on my plate to prevent another waitress scolding.
After lunch, we split up and Mr. and Mrs. Puppy wandered off while we trekked to the castle (of course there was another castle!). Burg Reich was really cool looking, built on top of a rock like the castles in scary movies. You could almost see the lightning flashing behind it. We didn't go inside this one, being tired of paying admission fees, but we did stop in the gift shop where they had a number of child-sized weapons. So if you are wondering where you can pick up a mace or tiny trebuchet for your little neice or nephew, perhaps you need to get back at your brother or sister for something, search no longer! Just trek to Burg Reich for all your child-sized weaponry needs!
We were supposed to meet Mr. and Mrs. Puppy at the boat at 4pm and still had lots of time, so we decided to tool through town and do some wine tasting. Puppy and Nancy D both love reisling, and the Mosel vineyards specialize in white wines.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Go wine tasting in Cochem! Don't be nervous because you don't speak German, just look for signs that say "weinprobe" (wine tasting) and pop in. The wines are delicious and incredibly cheap (the average price was 5-7 euros for a bottle) and the people are very helpful even when their English is limited!
We went to three separate places (Nancy D wanted to get 3 different whites to ship home) and after some time well spent we carefully and cheerfully picked our way back to the boat laden with wine bottles. The trip back was uneventful and once back in Beilstein, Mrs. Puppy wanted to look around some more, and Puppy, Nancy D, and I really wanted some ice cream. The sky was turning ugly by this time, but we decided to explore the town some more and therein made a grave mistake. We did find a beautiful church and a family walking a puppy, but we also heard the ominous sound of thunder. We hurried back to the ferry, bought tickets, and once on the other side started speed walking along the bike path. But it was to no avail. The storm gave us three thunderous warnings and then just dumped on us. We paused under a tree hoping that the downpour might be brief, but soon gave up and darted back into the rain. By the time we arrived back, we were soaked. We went to our rooms to change and dry off and the weather continued to pour.
We had planned on attending a wine festival that started that night. So, cold and damp, we headed back outside, borrowing some umbrellas from the hotel. Fortunately, the festival was very close. It was a very simple festival, there were two outdoor bars set up where you could buy wine, there was a chuck wagon for food, and there was a large tented area full of picnic benches from which oompah music was eminating. We decided to get our dinner at the chuck wagon, which specialized in brats. Everyone else ordered a bratwurst, which comes on a roll with mustard. Not a bun, mind you, a roll. The goal, apparently, is not to have a bite of bread with every bite of sausage, but more just to have a handle for your brat. I decided to try the currywurst plate, which came with pomme frites (french fries) and sauerkraut (bleh). I'd seen currywurst on lots of menus and was curious to try it. Apparently, it's just a cut up pork sausage with curry sauce (not unlike the one that came with our nuggets, in fact, I think I saw the guy pump it out of a giant ketchup-looking bottle) on top. It was quite good, and the curry sauce was excellent with the fries. I gave the sauerkraut to everyone to put on their bratwursts (yes, Mom, I did try it first, and I still don't like it) and we sat inside a tent to eat and watch the oompah band.
After a while, we decided to split a bottle of wine (it was a wine festival after all) and watched as some sort of royal procession filed in. There was toasting (Prost!) and talking and more oompahing. Then, as we were contemplating heading out, a marching band filed in, followed by a guy dressed as Bacchus and his two Greek handmaidens. His outfit was outstanding, complete with one sholdered dress, caplet, and fishbowl of wine. It was awesome! He made speeches, drinking songs were sung, and then his handmaidens selected a guy from the crowd, made him get down on his hands and knees, and hit him with a stick and a sledge hammer as he repeated after Bacchus. Gooooooooood NIGHT everybody!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Mosel River Trip, day 1 Thursday, July 22nd
We decided before bed to head out at 10:00am the next morning. At 11:00am, we were on the road (best laid plans you know). Mr. and Mrs. Puppy were nearing the end of their month-long visit and Puppy wanted to take them on one more trip and decided that a trip to the Mosel River would be both scenic and fun. The Mosel River runs parallel to the Rhine River, but is a little more relaxed with less traffic and tourists.
*SuperNova Germany Travel Tip: When traveling in Germany, rent a car. Germany is a lot like Oregon in that it is very spread out and the public transportation is limited (compared to, for example, Japan). So if you are staying in Germany for more than a couple days, it would behoove you (that's right, I used the word "behoove") to rent a car. For those of you terrified of driving in another country (have you been to China?), let me reassure you that German drivers are very safe and considerate, the cars and lanes are large, and it's the same side of the road (sorry Australians).
The area of the Mosel that we were visiting was about 2 hours away. On the way to our hotel, we stopped at Burg Eltz (Castle Eltz). This is one of the few castles in Germany that was never bombed or destroyed (although I think it caught on fire a couple of times). This was also one of the few castles that was built and used mainly as a residence. It has been in the same family for 800 years and the current owner is a 33rd generation Eltz. Being from America, I find myself consistently impressed with that kind of history. When we bought tickets (8 euro per person), we heard the young German girl behind the counter tell the people in front of us that there was an English tour in 30 min. When it was our turn, we asked her again just to make sure, and she told us that there was an English tour in 11 min. Hmm. We asked where the tour met, and she said, "To the right," indicating the stairs. We also asked where we could get some food, and she said, "Also to the right." It turned out that the meeting spot for the tour was no where near the food shack (where we had "nuggets," which they didn't even bother to translate into English), and an English tour was not scheduled for any time. One could be arranged, but you had to ask very nicely. My traveling companions thought perhaps the girl was confused. I personally think that she only knew 2 phrases of English, "The English tour is in __ min.," and "To the right." The tour was actually really interesting and there were a lot of original artifacts in each room. Unfortunately, they were also doing some renovations, so all of the picuresque photos contain an ancient traditional yellow crane in the background.
After Burg Eltz, we headed into Ellenz-Potersdorf to look for the Hotel Weingut Heinz Dehren. We were met by Josef, who checked us in and gave us our room keys. I was delighted to discover that this hotel had an elevator.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: The elevator has not caught on in Europe, so never pack more than you can heft up a flight of stairs.
It was about 4:00pm and we were starving (splitting an order of nuggets was not as filling as one might hope. They did come with curry dipping sauce, which was interesting). We asked Josef where we could eat and he told us that everything was closed till 6pm. He offered to get us some cake from the kitchen and so we had delicious apple cake outside on the hotel's covered deck. After that we went to our room to watch some German TV till the hotel restaurant opened at 6pm.
I LOVE watching TV in other countries! Especially the commercials. If you are traveling with a friend, make a game out of trying to guess what they're selling. It's harder than you would think. Often times there is a music video channel, a la MTV, which is really fun to watch and see what's popular in whatever country you are visiting, but unfortunately this hotel did not. So we flipped through the channels and watched various soap operas and entertainment shows.
A little after 6pm we all went down to dinner. The hotel restaurant was deserted.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: People in Europe eat late. And not only do they eat late, but they eat forever. It's not uncommon for a restaurant meal to last hours. If you are looking for something quick, you are likely going to have to just go to McDonalds.
We seated ourselves and Josef came out to greet us wearing a chef jacket. He not only managed the hotel, but was also the restaurant chef. Since they were not busy, he stayed and translated the entire menu for us. Mr. Puppy asked if they made a particular dish at the restaurant or if they bought it from somewhere, and Josef said, "Except money, we make everything here." Craving a change from the typical German fair, I decided that fish sounded nice and light and asked Josef what he'd recommend. He said the pike-perch in almond butter. When it arrived it was a stack of fish pieces with sliced almonds on top on a plate of melted butter. So much for a light dinner. Everything that was ordered was delicious, including the bottle of reisling from the hotel's vineyards (the Mosel River area is also wine country), which Josef had helped harvest himself, of course.
After dinner we turned in, deciding that the next day we'd take Josef's suggestion and ride the ferry to the next couple of towns and have a look around.
*SuperNova Germany Travel Tip: When traveling in Germany, rent a car. Germany is a lot like Oregon in that it is very spread out and the public transportation is limited (compared to, for example, Japan). So if you are staying in Germany for more than a couple days, it would behoove you (that's right, I used the word "behoove") to rent a car. For those of you terrified of driving in another country (have you been to China?), let me reassure you that German drivers are very safe and considerate, the cars and lanes are large, and it's the same side of the road (sorry Australians).
The area of the Mosel that we were visiting was about 2 hours away. On the way to our hotel, we stopped at Burg Eltz (Castle Eltz). This is one of the few castles in Germany that was never bombed or destroyed (although I think it caught on fire a couple of times). This was also one of the few castles that was built and used mainly as a residence. It has been in the same family for 800 years and the current owner is a 33rd generation Eltz. Being from America, I find myself consistently impressed with that kind of history. When we bought tickets (8 euro per person), we heard the young German girl behind the counter tell the people in front of us that there was an English tour in 30 min. When it was our turn, we asked her again just to make sure, and she told us that there was an English tour in 11 min. Hmm. We asked where the tour met, and she said, "To the right," indicating the stairs. We also asked where we could get some food, and she said, "Also to the right." It turned out that the meeting spot for the tour was no where near the food shack (where we had "nuggets," which they didn't even bother to translate into English), and an English tour was not scheduled for any time. One could be arranged, but you had to ask very nicely. My traveling companions thought perhaps the girl was confused. I personally think that she only knew 2 phrases of English, "The English tour is in __ min.," and "To the right." The tour was actually really interesting and there were a lot of original artifacts in each room. Unfortunately, they were also doing some renovations, so all of the picuresque photos contain an ancient traditional yellow crane in the background.
After Burg Eltz, we headed into Ellenz-Potersdorf to look for the Hotel Weingut Heinz Dehren. We were met by Josef, who checked us in and gave us our room keys. I was delighted to discover that this hotel had an elevator.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: The elevator has not caught on in Europe, so never pack more than you can heft up a flight of stairs.
It was about 4:00pm and we were starving (splitting an order of nuggets was not as filling as one might hope. They did come with curry dipping sauce, which was interesting). We asked Josef where we could eat and he told us that everything was closed till 6pm. He offered to get us some cake from the kitchen and so we had delicious apple cake outside on the hotel's covered deck. After that we went to our room to watch some German TV till the hotel restaurant opened at 6pm.
I LOVE watching TV in other countries! Especially the commercials. If you are traveling with a friend, make a game out of trying to guess what they're selling. It's harder than you would think. Often times there is a music video channel, a la MTV, which is really fun to watch and see what's popular in whatever country you are visiting, but unfortunately this hotel did not. So we flipped through the channels and watched various soap operas and entertainment shows.
A little after 6pm we all went down to dinner. The hotel restaurant was deserted.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: People in Europe eat late. And not only do they eat late, but they eat forever. It's not uncommon for a restaurant meal to last hours. If you are looking for something quick, you are likely going to have to just go to McDonalds.
We seated ourselves and Josef came out to greet us wearing a chef jacket. He not only managed the hotel, but was also the restaurant chef. Since they were not busy, he stayed and translated the entire menu for us. Mr. Puppy asked if they made a particular dish at the restaurant or if they bought it from somewhere, and Josef said, "Except money, we make everything here." Craving a change from the typical German fair, I decided that fish sounded nice and light and asked Josef what he'd recommend. He said the pike-perch in almond butter. When it arrived it was a stack of fish pieces with sliced almonds on top on a plate of melted butter. So much for a light dinner. Everything that was ordered was delicious, including the bottle of reisling from the hotel's vineyards (the Mosel River area is also wine country), which Josef had helped harvest himself, of course.
After dinner we turned in, deciding that the next day we'd take Josef's suggestion and ride the ferry to the next couple of towns and have a look around.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Back to Amsterdam! July 20th
Tuesday, Puppy had to work, so we decided to go back to Amsterdam because Mrs. Puppy had never been there and none of us (except Mr. Puppy) had been on the walking tour yet. This time, just to show us how diverse it could be, Amsterdam was really hot and humid with not so much as a breeze.
We made it in plenty of time for the 1:15pm walking tour and followed our guide, an Aussie named Julian, through the town. We learned many interesting things on the walking tour, all of which I had planned on relating to you, and most of which I forgot immediately. I can tell you that Amsterdam's color of choice is orange because that is the color of their royal family, which makes me wonder if their royal family is color blind or if all the other colors had already been taken. I can also tell you that I was not exaggerating about the traffic in Amsterdam last time, whenever Julian stopped to gather us around for some fascinating information, he would always have to say, "Please come up on the sidewalk, do not stand in the street, if you stand in the street you will DIE." I do highly recommend the walking tour, however, while the walking tour of Amsterdam is free, the guides work for tips only, so keep this in mind if you're planning on joining one.
So, our plan for the day had been to eat lunch, take the 2 hour walking tour, go to the Rijksmuseum, find some cheese for Puppy, possibly go to a coffee shop, eat dinner, and head back at a reasonable hour.
~SuperNova says, "Plans are like dreams; they are nice to have but don't always come true."
Julian's tour was well over 3 hours. It was 4:30pm when it was finished. I asked him if it would still be worth it to go to the Rijksmuseum, since it closed at 6pm. He said that the Rijksmuseum was undergoing renovations, and recommended we see the Van Gogh museum instead. I am proud to say that with Nancy D's amazing map reading skills, we found the museum and tackled all 4 floors AND made it to the gift shop before it closed. We found an Indonesian restaurant for dinner (Amsterdam is known for its diversity, so you can find any type of food; however, Indonesian food is recommended since Amsterdam has had such a long history with Indonesia, what with sea trade and all) which was lovely, particularly because we finally were able to sit down. (With the tour and the museum, we were up walking in the heat from 1:15pm to 6:30pm.) The cheese shop was closed, but we found a tiny one on the main drag to the Central Station and still were able to get some aged gouda for Puppy. We made it home at a more reasonable hour at least, 12:30am.
Some notes about Amsterdam:
*It is a diverse city that welcomes all races, religions, and sexualities and shows equality for all by not, in any way, discriminating against who gets run over by a bicycle.
*It is a lovely city that I would highly recommend you to visit. However, DO NOT bring your grandparents or children. Here is an excellent test - if you can sit through 9 1/2 Weeks with a particular person without experiencing any discomfort (besides the usual discomfort that comes when you realize she has some serious man-hands), then you can travel with that person to Amsterdam.
*Do not limit yourself to looking both ways when you cross the street; your head should be in a constant swivel back and forth as you cross. Many times I would look to the right and see that it was safe to cross and 1 second later I would look again and be nearly taken down by a tram that was hiding behind a little girl.
*Do not wear your best shoes. In an effort to discourage hard drug use in bathroom stalls, Amsterdam had the brilliant idea of having men pee in public. There are these little stalls right on the side of the street, shaped like half a yin-yang or a spiral, put on a concrete slab, where men can step in and pee against the side. No, no drain, just onto the wall, then onto the slab, then into the street. Yes, eewwwwww.
*Do NOT take pictures of the ladies in the windows of the red light district. It's not allowed and they are not afraid to take you down. People will believe you when you tell them about it, you do not need photographic evidence. Let that shot go.
*DO take the walking tour, try some coffee, go to the museums, try the food, and ask questions (they speak great English)! It's wonderful place to visit.
We made it in plenty of time for the 1:15pm walking tour and followed our guide, an Aussie named Julian, through the town. We learned many interesting things on the walking tour, all of which I had planned on relating to you, and most of which I forgot immediately. I can tell you that Amsterdam's color of choice is orange because that is the color of their royal family, which makes me wonder if their royal family is color blind or if all the other colors had already been taken. I can also tell you that I was not exaggerating about the traffic in Amsterdam last time, whenever Julian stopped to gather us around for some fascinating information, he would always have to say, "Please come up on the sidewalk, do not stand in the street, if you stand in the street you will DIE." I do highly recommend the walking tour, however, while the walking tour of Amsterdam is free, the guides work for tips only, so keep this in mind if you're planning on joining one.
So, our plan for the day had been to eat lunch, take the 2 hour walking tour, go to the Rijksmuseum, find some cheese for Puppy, possibly go to a coffee shop, eat dinner, and head back at a reasonable hour.
~SuperNova says, "Plans are like dreams; they are nice to have but don't always come true."
Julian's tour was well over 3 hours. It was 4:30pm when it was finished. I asked him if it would still be worth it to go to the Rijksmuseum, since it closed at 6pm. He said that the Rijksmuseum was undergoing renovations, and recommended we see the Van Gogh museum instead. I am proud to say that with Nancy D's amazing map reading skills, we found the museum and tackled all 4 floors AND made it to the gift shop before it closed. We found an Indonesian restaurant for dinner (Amsterdam is known for its diversity, so you can find any type of food; however, Indonesian food is recommended since Amsterdam has had such a long history with Indonesia, what with sea trade and all) which was lovely, particularly because we finally were able to sit down. (With the tour and the museum, we were up walking in the heat from 1:15pm to 6:30pm.) The cheese shop was closed, but we found a tiny one on the main drag to the Central Station and still were able to get some aged gouda for Puppy. We made it home at a more reasonable hour at least, 12:30am.
Some notes about Amsterdam:
*It is a diverse city that welcomes all races, religions, and sexualities and shows equality for all by not, in any way, discriminating against who gets run over by a bicycle.
*It is a lovely city that I would highly recommend you to visit. However, DO NOT bring your grandparents or children. Here is an excellent test - if you can sit through 9 1/2 Weeks with a particular person without experiencing any discomfort (besides the usual discomfort that comes when you realize she has some serious man-hands), then you can travel with that person to Amsterdam.
*Do not limit yourself to looking both ways when you cross the street; your head should be in a constant swivel back and forth as you cross. Many times I would look to the right and see that it was safe to cross and 1 second later I would look again and be nearly taken down by a tram that was hiding behind a little girl.
*Do not wear your best shoes. In an effort to discourage hard drug use in bathroom stalls, Amsterdam had the brilliant idea of having men pee in public. There are these little stalls right on the side of the street, shaped like half a yin-yang or a spiral, put on a concrete slab, where men can step in and pee against the side. No, no drain, just onto the wall, then onto the slab, then into the street. Yes, eewwwwww.
*Do NOT take pictures of the ladies in the windows of the red light district. It's not allowed and they are not afraid to take you down. People will believe you when you tell them about it, you do not need photographic evidence. Let that shot go.
*DO take the walking tour, try some coffee, go to the museums, try the food, and ask questions (they speak great English)! It's wonderful place to visit.
Summer Bobsledding in Monschau, July 19th
Puppy's parents arrived from Berlin on Sunday. So Monday we all hopped in the car and took a trip to Monschau. Monschau is a little mountain town known for its mustard and its Christmas Bazaar. What it should be known for is it's awesome bobsled coaster!
Puppy found it online and we decided immediately that we not only needed to go there, but it needed to be priority #1 of our sightseeing list. We jumped in the car and with the aid of Frau, Puppy's GPS, we found it with little difficulty. We parked and headed to the entrance.
It was an absolutely beautiful day, and being off the beaten path did not prevent this activity from being fairly packed with people. What we discovered when we arrived is that the Rohren Bobsled Coaster is a 751 meter long track made of what looks like a huge pipe cut in half and nailed to the side of the mountain. You ride down the track on a 1 or 2 person scooter while holding onto a handle between your knees that doubles as a brake if you push it forward. The windy track is full of sharp turns where your scooter banks up the side like a real bobsled. This was going to be fun!
We bought tickets and marveled at how cheap they were - 2.50 euro per person - and got into line. A teenage German girl put the scooter you picked out on the track and told you when to go. I went after Mrs. Puppy. I started down the hill gaining speed very quickly. I got worried for a second when I hit the first turn and saw a sign that I thought said that I needed to brake (but couldn't tell as it was in German and it flew by in 2 seconds) and I didn't want to go flying off the track. However, as I did not see any carnage on the side of the track like hats or shoes or bodies, I just let it go and held on.
I was flying down the track, when coming out of a turn I saw a group of three in front of me. "That's weird," I thought, "how could you have 3 people when the largest scooter they have is a 2-seater?" As I got closer I could see that it was not a group of 3, it was 2 scooters pushed together. There was Mrs. Puppy, liberally using her brake, chugging along at her own pace, completely nonplussed that there was a German couple stuck to the back of her scooter looking very confused. I leaned on my own break so as not to hit them, and we all went tooling down the rest of the track at a perfectly modest pace, enjoying the scenery. I was laughing so hard by the end of the track, I could barely get my scooter off the track.
When you reach the bottom of the bobsled track, you pull your scooter off, walk a few meters over to another German teenage girl, who sets you on another track sitting backwards. She then hooks a rope connected to a ski lift to the back of your scooter and WHOOSH, you are hauled off towards the top of the mountain by what looks like the seat of your pants. This track is straight and a much more fun alternative to having to drag your scooter miles uphill, not to mention dignified looking.
Once we were all gathered at the top again, we realized that there was no choice but to go again. This time we realized that it was even cheaper if we bought all 5 tickets at the same time. Puppy suggested that we go down together since the extra weight would make the scooter go even faster. Seeing that this was a genius idea, we selected a 2-seater and hopped on, Puppy in front. As we started rolling, Puppy shouted over her shoulder, "Oh, by the way, I don't use the brake!" "Whatever!" I yelled back and ZOOOOOM! we were off! The extra weight did make the scooter fly, we took the turns horizontally. I couldn't see, but Puppy told me after that she was worried a couple times that we'd run out of bank wall before the scooter dropped back down. We were greased lightning; all the moisture generally kept in our eyes started streaming along the sides of our faces. We almost caught Nancy D, who was just pulling her scooter off the track as we shot by and hit the pad at the end of the track. It was AWESOME and I feel the trip would have been worth it just for that.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Go do the Rohren Bobsled!
After the bobsled, we headed into Monschau. After parking, we started walking through the adorable cobblestone streets towards the historic Senfmuehle (mustard mill). It turns out the Senfmuehle is not only at the end of town, but uphill past all the hotels at the end of town. Unfortunately, you can only view the actual mill on a tour and the tours only go on certain days and this was not one of those days. Fortunately, the gift shop was open and they encourage you to try everything. The marzipan honey was delicious, but their honey selection was nothing compared to their mustard tasting area where they have 18 varieties of mustard for you to try - fig mustard, honey poppyseed mustard, garlic mustard, curry mustard, tomato mustard, reisling mustard, all quite delicious. If you like mustard, that is. They also had wild game sausages to try, and I highly recommend the wild boar. The saleswoman spoke perfect English and was exceptionally helpful!
After loading up on mustard, we headed back to the main drag for lunch. We stopped at a lovely restaurant where we sat outside on a deck adjacent to the Eifel Museum of Photography and Film. We ordered club soda (I LOVE this about Europe - you can get fizzy water almost anywhere) and the Eifel Toast, a pork escalope with mustard sauce and cheese (I did not know what an "escalope" was, but enjoyed saying it and did so at every opportunity). I figured since we were in the Eifel area and the mustard town, I'd order the dish with the mustard sauce. My entree was on the cheaper side, so I thought it would also be on the smallish side. This was not German thinking. I was brought a piping hot plate with a long piece of bread that reached across the entire oval plate, topped with chopped lettuce, topped with mustard cream sauce, topped with fried pork cutlet (escalope mystery solved), topped with more mustard cream sauce, topped with melted cheese. The lettuce did not fare well in this hot dish, turning into something remeniscent of what comes on a McDonalds McChicken sandwich, but the food was delicious! Hurray for pork escalope! I ate as much as I could, then gave away as much as people would let me, however, when the waitress came and picked up my plate, she looked at me and demanded, "What is this?!?!" She seemed shocked when I told her it was delicious but just too much. This is the second time I have been reprimanded in Germany for not cleaning my plate.
After lunch, we wandered through the picturesque town and Mrs. Puppy stocked up on printen (German gingerbread) while Mr. Puppy photographed everything. We also wandered through the handy crafts mall before heading home. Monschau was a fantastic place that I would absolutely recommend and am hoping we can make it back there before I leave as I deeply regret not buying wild boar sausage when I had the chance.
Puppy found it online and we decided immediately that we not only needed to go there, but it needed to be priority #1 of our sightseeing list. We jumped in the car and with the aid of Frau, Puppy's GPS, we found it with little difficulty. We parked and headed to the entrance.
It was an absolutely beautiful day, and being off the beaten path did not prevent this activity from being fairly packed with people. What we discovered when we arrived is that the Rohren Bobsled Coaster is a 751 meter long track made of what looks like a huge pipe cut in half and nailed to the side of the mountain. You ride down the track on a 1 or 2 person scooter while holding onto a handle between your knees that doubles as a brake if you push it forward. The windy track is full of sharp turns where your scooter banks up the side like a real bobsled. This was going to be fun!
We bought tickets and marveled at how cheap they were - 2.50 euro per person - and got into line. A teenage German girl put the scooter you picked out on the track and told you when to go. I went after Mrs. Puppy. I started down the hill gaining speed very quickly. I got worried for a second when I hit the first turn and saw a sign that I thought said that I needed to brake (but couldn't tell as it was in German and it flew by in 2 seconds) and I didn't want to go flying off the track. However, as I did not see any carnage on the side of the track like hats or shoes or bodies, I just let it go and held on.
I was flying down the track, when coming out of a turn I saw a group of three in front of me. "That's weird," I thought, "how could you have 3 people when the largest scooter they have is a 2-seater?" As I got closer I could see that it was not a group of 3, it was 2 scooters pushed together. There was Mrs. Puppy, liberally using her brake, chugging along at her own pace, completely nonplussed that there was a German couple stuck to the back of her scooter looking very confused. I leaned on my own break so as not to hit them, and we all went tooling down the rest of the track at a perfectly modest pace, enjoying the scenery. I was laughing so hard by the end of the track, I could barely get my scooter off the track.
When you reach the bottom of the bobsled track, you pull your scooter off, walk a few meters over to another German teenage girl, who sets you on another track sitting backwards. She then hooks a rope connected to a ski lift to the back of your scooter and WHOOSH, you are hauled off towards the top of the mountain by what looks like the seat of your pants. This track is straight and a much more fun alternative to having to drag your scooter miles uphill, not to mention dignified looking.
Once we were all gathered at the top again, we realized that there was no choice but to go again. This time we realized that it was even cheaper if we bought all 5 tickets at the same time. Puppy suggested that we go down together since the extra weight would make the scooter go even faster. Seeing that this was a genius idea, we selected a 2-seater and hopped on, Puppy in front. As we started rolling, Puppy shouted over her shoulder, "Oh, by the way, I don't use the brake!" "Whatever!" I yelled back and ZOOOOOM! we were off! The extra weight did make the scooter fly, we took the turns horizontally. I couldn't see, but Puppy told me after that she was worried a couple times that we'd run out of bank wall before the scooter dropped back down. We were greased lightning; all the moisture generally kept in our eyes started streaming along the sides of our faces. We almost caught Nancy D, who was just pulling her scooter off the track as we shot by and hit the pad at the end of the track. It was AWESOME and I feel the trip would have been worth it just for that.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Go do the Rohren Bobsled!
After the bobsled, we headed into Monschau. After parking, we started walking through the adorable cobblestone streets towards the historic Senfmuehle (mustard mill). It turns out the Senfmuehle is not only at the end of town, but uphill past all the hotels at the end of town. Unfortunately, you can only view the actual mill on a tour and the tours only go on certain days and this was not one of those days. Fortunately, the gift shop was open and they encourage you to try everything. The marzipan honey was delicious, but their honey selection was nothing compared to their mustard tasting area where they have 18 varieties of mustard for you to try - fig mustard, honey poppyseed mustard, garlic mustard, curry mustard, tomato mustard, reisling mustard, all quite delicious. If you like mustard, that is. They also had wild game sausages to try, and I highly recommend the wild boar. The saleswoman spoke perfect English and was exceptionally helpful!
After loading up on mustard, we headed back to the main drag for lunch. We stopped at a lovely restaurant where we sat outside on a deck adjacent to the Eifel Museum of Photography and Film. We ordered club soda (I LOVE this about Europe - you can get fizzy water almost anywhere) and the Eifel Toast, a pork escalope with mustard sauce and cheese (I did not know what an "escalope" was, but enjoyed saying it and did so at every opportunity). I figured since we were in the Eifel area and the mustard town, I'd order the dish with the mustard sauce. My entree was on the cheaper side, so I thought it would also be on the smallish side. This was not German thinking. I was brought a piping hot plate with a long piece of bread that reached across the entire oval plate, topped with chopped lettuce, topped with mustard cream sauce, topped with fried pork cutlet (escalope mystery solved), topped with more mustard cream sauce, topped with melted cheese. The lettuce did not fare well in this hot dish, turning into something remeniscent of what comes on a McDonalds McChicken sandwich, but the food was delicious! Hurray for pork escalope! I ate as much as I could, then gave away as much as people would let me, however, when the waitress came and picked up my plate, she looked at me and demanded, "What is this?!?!" She seemed shocked when I told her it was delicious but just too much. This is the second time I have been reprimanded in Germany for not cleaning my plate.
After lunch, we wandered through the picturesque town and Mrs. Puppy stocked up on printen (German gingerbread) while Mr. Puppy photographed everything. We also wandered through the handy crafts mall before heading home. Monschau was a fantastic place that I would absolutely recommend and am hoping we can make it back there before I leave as I deeply regret not buying wild boar sausage when I had the chance.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
July 16th, Aachen
Yesterday was Pat-Pat and E's last day before they moved on to London, but Puppy had to work in the afternoon, so we went on a quick morning trip to Aachen. This time Jackie, Nancy D's very well-behaved dog, came with us to add general cuteness to the experience. Just a half hour drive away, Aachen is an adorable town that is famous for it's Imperial Cathedral, Kaiserdom, which is where Charlemagne is supposedly buried. We had lunch at a Nobis Printen cafe which specialized in gingerbread. I had a chicken curry wrap (surprisingly not as delicious as the one from the gas station) and a mystery dessert that looked as if they had made a long PVC pipe out of thin cake, filled it with cream, and thickly sliced it. Turns out it was a lemon cream cake and it was extremely fluffy and light.
After lunch, Puppy stayed outside with Jackie while Nancy D took us into the cathedral. It was HUGE, elaborately decorated, and closed. You could step just inside, but everything was blocked off with scaffolding.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Do not put all of your hopes in one cathedral. Sights that you've always dreamed of seeing can be closed, under rennovation, impossible to find, outside in the rain, away on tour, or any number of other disappointing circumstances. It's important to remember not to fall apart because you didn't get to see the Mona Lisa. Usually the stories about your days that go wrong are your most interesting or funny and often the moments that you will remember the most clearly are the ones you didn't plan. Keep an open mind, the only thing that can ruin your trip is you.
Pat-Pat and E left early this morning and Puppy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Puppy, arrived this afternoon. We'll head to Monschau tomorrow and get our mustard on.
After lunch, Puppy stayed outside with Jackie while Nancy D took us into the cathedral. It was HUGE, elaborately decorated, and closed. You could step just inside, but everything was blocked off with scaffolding.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Do not put all of your hopes in one cathedral. Sights that you've always dreamed of seeing can be closed, under rennovation, impossible to find, outside in the rain, away on tour, or any number of other disappointing circumstances. It's important to remember not to fall apart because you didn't get to see the Mona Lisa. Usually the stories about your days that go wrong are your most interesting or funny and often the moments that you will remember the most clearly are the ones you didn't plan. Keep an open mind, the only thing that can ruin your trip is you.
Pat-Pat and E left early this morning and Puppy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Puppy, arrived this afternoon. We'll head to Monschau tomorrow and get our mustard on.
July 15th, Amsterdam
EVERYONE should go to Amsterdam! This is what I have been told many a time. So here was my opportunity to finally visit this much talked about city as it is only a 2 and a half hour drive from Geilenkirchen, where Puppy lives.
We had to be up and out the door by 10am in order to make the 1:15pm free guided walking tour. Now you might think that getting 5 girls ready and out the door by a specific time was an impossible task, but there we were, heading down the road. Hurray for excellent travel companions! For lunch, we stopped at a Big P (if you see a sign on the highway with a capital P, that means "park" which in turn means food and gas and bathrooms, I am frequently on the hunt for a Big P) and I got a lemon Fanta and a curry chicken wrap and paprika flavored potato chips and it was very good, not at all what one might expect from a gas station. It was an overcast, windy day and when we finally arrived I was glad that I had worn long pants.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Research the weather where you are going. Many people end up packing and dragging around stuff they will never use/wear because of the infamous phrase that plagues us all, "just in case." Now, I always wear long pants on the airplane no matter where my destination is because in an attempt to keep people in their seats and unable to move the average temperature on the plane is kept at a brisk 40 below zero using arctic breezes flowing by your feet. (If you generally run hot and think the plane temperature is a little warm, then you are probably the guy who always sits next to me and opens his overhead air vent to full blast and I'd just like to say that I loathe you.) However, there is no need to pack 2 of every kind of outfit because "you never know." No, you generally do know and in the off chance the weather is unseasonably warm or cold, remember, you can always pick something up there (see: SuperNova Travel Tip: It's a first world country).
When we arrived at the parking area in Amsterdam (you park in a huge parking garage just out of town and then take the train in so you don't have to drive through the craziness of the city), we rushed to the station to catch the train to go into downtown to catch our tour. We got on the correct train and while we were trying to figure out which stop to get off at a very helpful Dutch woman who overheard us informed us that the train was actually under construction and wouldn't take us where we needed to go, so we would need to get off and take my traveling nemesis, the bus.
When we finally arrived downtown we had long missed the walking tour. So Puppy, who'd taken the tour before, did her best to recreate it while we dodged bicycles. I have heard a lot about Amsterdam but I had heard nothing about how the Dutch are constantly trying to kill you. The Netherlands is exceptionally bike-friendly, so there are millions of them going in all directions AND there are cars AND there are buses AND there are silent trains NONE of which slow down for any reason whatsoever, in fact I suspect that they speed up when they see you. Perhaps you are thinking that if I just stayed out of the street then I wouldn't have this problem, but we had to jump out of the path of a car while walking through what I thought was a city square. I was actually almost hit by a train! There was no horn or bell, in fact, I think the driver was disappointed that I noticed it coming.
We looked in a few shops, dodged vehicles, stopped for ice coffee, and then went on a boat tour of the canals which had an automated woman's voice who would explain sights as we floated along in Spanish, French, and English which would have been very interesting if I didn't develop narcalepsy and fall immediately asleep (see: Jet Lag). After the boat tour, we had dinner at Shuripuni, a spiffy Indonesian restaurant in the Bloemen Markt and then Nancy D, Pat-Pat, E and I had coffee at a coffee shop. After that we were really ready for dessert and stopped into a cute restaurant on the river where E ordered creme brule and french fries. By the time we made it back to the car it was after midnight, so we didn't make it back home till about 3am. We all slept really well that night though!
We had to be up and out the door by 10am in order to make the 1:15pm free guided walking tour. Now you might think that getting 5 girls ready and out the door by a specific time was an impossible task, but there we were, heading down the road. Hurray for excellent travel companions! For lunch, we stopped at a Big P (if you see a sign on the highway with a capital P, that means "park" which in turn means food and gas and bathrooms, I am frequently on the hunt for a Big P) and I got a lemon Fanta and a curry chicken wrap and paprika flavored potato chips and it was very good, not at all what one might expect from a gas station. It was an overcast, windy day and when we finally arrived I was glad that I had worn long pants.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Research the weather where you are going. Many people end up packing and dragging around stuff they will never use/wear because of the infamous phrase that plagues us all, "just in case." Now, I always wear long pants on the airplane no matter where my destination is because in an attempt to keep people in their seats and unable to move the average temperature on the plane is kept at a brisk 40 below zero using arctic breezes flowing by your feet. (If you generally run hot and think the plane temperature is a little warm, then you are probably the guy who always sits next to me and opens his overhead air vent to full blast and I'd just like to say that I loathe you.) However, there is no need to pack 2 of every kind of outfit because "you never know." No, you generally do know and in the off chance the weather is unseasonably warm or cold, remember, you can always pick something up there (see: SuperNova Travel Tip: It's a first world country).
When we arrived at the parking area in Amsterdam (you park in a huge parking garage just out of town and then take the train in so you don't have to drive through the craziness of the city), we rushed to the station to catch the train to go into downtown to catch our tour. We got on the correct train and while we were trying to figure out which stop to get off at a very helpful Dutch woman who overheard us informed us that the train was actually under construction and wouldn't take us where we needed to go, so we would need to get off and take my traveling nemesis, the bus.
When we finally arrived downtown we had long missed the walking tour. So Puppy, who'd taken the tour before, did her best to recreate it while we dodged bicycles. I have heard a lot about Amsterdam but I had heard nothing about how the Dutch are constantly trying to kill you. The Netherlands is exceptionally bike-friendly, so there are millions of them going in all directions AND there are cars AND there are buses AND there are silent trains NONE of which slow down for any reason whatsoever, in fact I suspect that they speed up when they see you. Perhaps you are thinking that if I just stayed out of the street then I wouldn't have this problem, but we had to jump out of the path of a car while walking through what I thought was a city square. I was actually almost hit by a train! There was no horn or bell, in fact, I think the driver was disappointed that I noticed it coming.
We looked in a few shops, dodged vehicles, stopped for ice coffee, and then went on a boat tour of the canals which had an automated woman's voice who would explain sights as we floated along in Spanish, French, and English which would have been very interesting if I didn't develop narcalepsy and fall immediately asleep (see: Jet Lag). After the boat tour, we had dinner at Shuripuni, a spiffy Indonesian restaurant in the Bloemen Markt and then Nancy D, Pat-Pat, E and I had coffee at a coffee shop. After that we were really ready for dessert and stopped into a cute restaurant on the river where E ordered creme brule and french fries. By the time we made it back to the car it was after midnight, so we didn't make it back home till about 3am. We all slept really well that night though!
Dussledorf
The day after I arrived, Puppy's cousin, Pat-Pat, and her friend, E, were scheduled to arrive. They were traveling across Europe to celebrate graduating from college and wanted to make a stop to see Puppy. So at 10:30am I reluctantly got up, showered, and we trekked back to the Dusseldorf airport. Once we had them in tow and found the car again, we headed into downtown Dusseldorf for lunch.
We stopped at Brauerei Schumacher, a brewery that specializes in alt bier (which is light and delicious) and I had my very first schnitzel experience. Maria from The Sound of Music had deceptively led me to believe that schnitzel had noodles, but I guess I misunderstood her meaning of the word "with," as schnitzel does not have noodles. Schnitzel, in fact, is a fried pork cutlet, not unsimilar to katsu in Japan, except in size of course. I had jaeger schnitzel, which means they cover the cutlet in a thick brown gravy with mushrooms, and it came with roasted potatoes and a side salad. Or rather I should say a small bowl of dressing with some lettuces floating in it. I also had an alt bier, of course, when in Rome. It was all quite delicious, however, it was also quite a lot and the man serving us gave me a disapproving remark when he took away my half eaten plate.
I was actually surprised that German food is really just bratwurst, potatoes, and bier, excuse me, beer. I had thought that was just what people associated with Germany, like sushi and Japan even though Japan has many other wonderful dishes. However, everything on the menu in the brewery was a large piece of meat and potatoes, albiet prepared and arranged in different ways (not unlike Mexican food in America). Now I realize of course that I have been to exactly one German restaurant in my time here, so it is more than possible that as I progress through my travels I will discover the many delicate layers to German cuisine. But from what I've heard and seen so far, I'm going to go ahead and doubt it.
After lunch we walked to an ice cream shop, Eis Pia, that was supposed to be the best in town, but I was disappointed to find that it was just a gelatto shop. And while gelatto is delicious, I was hoping to find an excellent German ice cream shop. The search continues!
After lunch we headed back to Puppy's farmhouse to let Pat-Pat and E settle and start some laundry, and we started to plan our trip to Amsterdam!
We stopped at Brauerei Schumacher, a brewery that specializes in alt bier (which is light and delicious) and I had my very first schnitzel experience. Maria from The Sound of Music had deceptively led me to believe that schnitzel had noodles, but I guess I misunderstood her meaning of the word "with," as schnitzel does not have noodles. Schnitzel, in fact, is a fried pork cutlet, not unsimilar to katsu in Japan, except in size of course. I had jaeger schnitzel, which means they cover the cutlet in a thick brown gravy with mushrooms, and it came with roasted potatoes and a side salad. Or rather I should say a small bowl of dressing with some lettuces floating in it. I also had an alt bier, of course, when in Rome. It was all quite delicious, however, it was also quite a lot and the man serving us gave me a disapproving remark when he took away my half eaten plate.
I was actually surprised that German food is really just bratwurst, potatoes, and bier, excuse me, beer. I had thought that was just what people associated with Germany, like sushi and Japan even though Japan has many other wonderful dishes. However, everything on the menu in the brewery was a large piece of meat and potatoes, albiet prepared and arranged in different ways (not unlike Mexican food in America). Now I realize of course that I have been to exactly one German restaurant in my time here, so it is more than possible that as I progress through my travels I will discover the many delicate layers to German cuisine. But from what I've heard and seen so far, I'm going to go ahead and doubt it.
After lunch we walked to an ice cream shop, Eis Pia, that was supposed to be the best in town, but I was disappointed to find that it was just a gelatto shop. And while gelatto is delicious, I was hoping to find an excellent German ice cream shop. The search continues!
After lunch we headed back to Puppy's farmhouse to let Pat-Pat and E settle and start some laundry, and we started to plan our trip to Amsterdam!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Jet Lag
I hate jet lag. I am sure that you are sitting there thinking, "Yes, well, who doesn't?" And of course you are right, there's no one out there staring off into space, dreaming of the delightful feeling of being unable to sleep at night and narcaleptic during the day. However, that in no way means I'm not going to complain about it right now. If you are of the "quit yer whining" mentality, feel free to skim through the next few paragraphs.
So let's time-line this out. I got into Dusseldorf, Germany at about 7pm on Tuesday. Nancy D picked me up at the airport and we drove back to my dear friend Puppy's adorable brick farm house out in the country. That night we just grilled steak and chatted and went to bed around 12:30am. Now, I had already been up for 2 days straight, minus the 2 hours I slept on the plane while they showed The Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler (I think passing out right that movie was a defense mechanism), so it was only natural that I woke up at 5:00am the next morning. I did manage to fall back asleep, but knowing full-well that it was a mistake. Morning sleep is always hard sleep, riddled with messed up dreams, and I woke up at 10:30am groggy and feeling like I was made of lead. Which is always how one hopes to present oneself to their hosts.
That night we decided to go to Amsterdam the next day and stayed up till about 1:00am chatting and making plans. I went to bed, checked my email, snuggled under the covers, closed my eyes . . . and they sprang open. I was wide-flippin'-awake. We had to get up early to head out and no one likes hanging around a tired, grumpy traveler, so I tried everything to get to sleep. I read, I played hangman on my iPod, I got up for a few minutes and then tried again, I closed my eyes and counted in Japanese, I learned the alphabet song backwards, I got a drink, I went to the bathroom, I let my mind drift; and with each thing I tried, SPRING, my eyes popped open. I will admit that I did finally drift off at about 6:45am, which allowed me about an hour of solid rest before Puppy knocked on my door telling me it was time to get up.
I hate jet lag.
I have been asked how long it takes for me to get over jet lag. And the answer is, of course, that I have no idea. Nevermind the fact that I've flown overseas 7 times, I have absolutely no idea how long it takes for me to adjust. You only pay attention to it when it's making you miserable, you don't usually note the day you feel just normal. There are a lot of opinions out there about jet lag remedies and I have found them to generally be a mix of old wifeyness and youthful optimism. Here are a few theories I've heard, followed by some light scoffing:
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Do not kill the people you're traveling with/visiting.
So let's time-line this out. I got into Dusseldorf, Germany at about 7pm on Tuesday. Nancy D picked me up at the airport and we drove back to my dear friend Puppy's adorable brick farm house out in the country. That night we just grilled steak and chatted and went to bed around 12:30am. Now, I had already been up for 2 days straight, minus the 2 hours I slept on the plane while they showed The Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler (I think passing out right that movie was a defense mechanism), so it was only natural that I woke up at 5:00am the next morning. I did manage to fall back asleep, but knowing full-well that it was a mistake. Morning sleep is always hard sleep, riddled with messed up dreams, and I woke up at 10:30am groggy and feeling like I was made of lead. Which is always how one hopes to present oneself to their hosts.
That night we decided to go to Amsterdam the next day and stayed up till about 1:00am chatting and making plans. I went to bed, checked my email, snuggled under the covers, closed my eyes . . . and they sprang open. I was wide-flippin'-awake. We had to get up early to head out and no one likes hanging around a tired, grumpy traveler, so I tried everything to get to sleep. I read, I played hangman on my iPod, I got up for a few minutes and then tried again, I closed my eyes and counted in Japanese, I learned the alphabet song backwards, I got a drink, I went to the bathroom, I let my mind drift; and with each thing I tried, SPRING, my eyes popped open. I will admit that I did finally drift off at about 6:45am, which allowed me about an hour of solid rest before Puppy knocked on my door telling me it was time to get up.
I hate jet lag.
I have been asked how long it takes for me to get over jet lag. And the answer is, of course, that I have no idea. Nevermind the fact that I've flown overseas 7 times, I have absolutely no idea how long it takes for me to adjust. You only pay attention to it when it's making you miserable, you don't usually note the day you feel just normal. There are a lot of opinions out there about jet lag remedies and I have found them to generally be a mix of old wifeyness and youthful optimism. Here are a few theories I've heard, followed by some light scoffing:
- Some say that all you have to do is not go to sleep the first night; just stay up all night and then you're all set. This might work if you happen to be an energetic 20 year old who thinks nothing of all-nighters. However, the last time I stayed up all night and tried to go to work the next day, I thought I was going to die.
- Others say that you should get on a schedule as quickly as possible and stick to it. This is a great idea and if we could get airports, train stations, hotel clerks, and tourist attractions on board I think it could really work.
- People will corner you with lots of theories about drinking water and taking a variety of vitamin supplements. Which is never a bad idea, but not likely to actually prevent you from turning into a dragon lady.
- You could change your daily schedule at home before you leave. In fact, you already do, staying up late trying to get ready for your trip and lying awake at night worrying!
- There are a lot of expensive products on the market that claim to cure jet lag, and if you think that sounds like a promising option, then I have a magic wand you might be interested in . . .
- And my favorite; Just sleep on the plane. It's really quite simple, just pretend you are lying down and not sitting up, get over your qualms about lying your head on a stranger's shoulder, clear your mind of the screaming children and coughing passengers, develop the ability to immediately fall back asleep after the flight attendant wakes you up to make sure your super-effective seatbelt is fastened, become deaf to the pilot's completely unintelligable tidbits, and you're all set. And if you are one of those people who actually can just "sleep anywhere," then I hate you.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Do not kill the people you're traveling with/visiting.
Now, I'm going to take a nap.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
July 12th, 2010
"Ack! What time is it?!?!? . . . 3am, back to sleep. ACK! What time is it?!?!?! . . . 4am, OK. ACK! Why's it so light outside??? . . . only 5:30. I guess I'm up."
I'm what you might call a nervous traveler. Every single time I fly, I worry that I will oversleep and miss my flight. My flight could be at 7pm and I would be up at 4:30am. So, I just tell myself that I'll sleep on the plane (which is a blatant lie) and get up. This morning I put on my carefully selected flying outfit, straightened my hair, and made myself up.
~SuperNova Travel Tip: Put some effort into getting ready for the plane. I know that it's a long flight and you want to be comfortable, but there are 2 very important things to remember: 1. you are in public 2. people can see you. Now you may be jumping to the conclusion that I am vain or too concerned about what other people think, and you would be correct. Flights do not always go as planned (more and more consistently it seems lately), and when I am depending solely on the goodwill of the airline agent I want to look like a pleasant, friendly individual, not the victim of a hostage situation. I am not saying that you should break out the high heels and eyelash curlers, but I am saying that sweatpants that say Hello Kitty across the seat and hair raked into a bun on the top of your head will not encourage people to go out of their way for you.
I will spare you most of the travel details because it was relatively uneventful. I will say that while many airports (and I saw many, I had 4 separate flights - Seattle, Chicago, Poland, Germany) point out that they now have free WiFi, my iPod pointed out that they were huge liars. I would also like to take a moment to brag that I got a month's worth of travel necessities into 1 carry-on bag (plus personal item)! It was a difficult selection proccess; many items applied for a position in my suitcase and many promising candidates were cut in the end, but I did it and with more than one outfit even! Would you like to know my secret?
~SuperNova Travel Secret: If you're going to a 1st world country, they probably have it there. Whatever it is, they probably have it. So if it's a liquid and not a specific prescription item, leave it behind and pick up some shampoo when you get there.
I would also like to comment on the frequently heard travel-related exclamation, "I don't know why I'm so hungry/tired, all I'm doing is sitting." People forget what an amazing work out traveling is. You are lifting carry-on in and out of overhead compartments (and catching items that may have shifted during flight), stressing about each and every arrival time and next depature time (stressing burns calories!), and walking miles and miles to connecting gates (your connecting flight's gate will only be close to your arrival gate if you have hours and hours of lay-over time. If you only have an hour to make your connection, it will be on the other side of the city, in which case you're also getting an excellent cardio work-out by sprinting). I'm thinking of marketing a new work out system that involves running around the airport, "Stress Your Way to a Thinner You."
I am actually quite shocked how easy my trip was. Yes, it was crazy long (I left at 11am Monday from Oregon and arrived at 7pm Tuesday in Germany) and of course there were minor things like children that would benefit from a strong tranquilizer, but it's been so long since I have had a travel day where one flight wasn't on time and so I missed ALL connecting flights that it seemed super easy.
I'm what you might call a nervous traveler. Every single time I fly, I worry that I will oversleep and miss my flight. My flight could be at 7pm and I would be up at 4:30am. So, I just tell myself that I'll sleep on the plane (which is a blatant lie) and get up. This morning I put on my carefully selected flying outfit, straightened my hair, and made myself up.
~SuperNova Travel Tip: Put some effort into getting ready for the plane. I know that it's a long flight and you want to be comfortable, but there are 2 very important things to remember: 1. you are in public 2. people can see you. Now you may be jumping to the conclusion that I am vain or too concerned about what other people think, and you would be correct. Flights do not always go as planned (more and more consistently it seems lately), and when I am depending solely on the goodwill of the airline agent I want to look like a pleasant, friendly individual, not the victim of a hostage situation. I am not saying that you should break out the high heels and eyelash curlers, but I am saying that sweatpants that say Hello Kitty across the seat and hair raked into a bun on the top of your head will not encourage people to go out of their way for you.
I will spare you most of the travel details because it was relatively uneventful. I will say that while many airports (and I saw many, I had 4 separate flights - Seattle, Chicago, Poland, Germany) point out that they now have free WiFi, my iPod pointed out that they were huge liars. I would also like to take a moment to brag that I got a month's worth of travel necessities into 1 carry-on bag (plus personal item)! It was a difficult selection proccess; many items applied for a position in my suitcase and many promising candidates were cut in the end, but I did it and with more than one outfit even! Would you like to know my secret?
~SuperNova Travel Secret: If you're going to a 1st world country, they probably have it there. Whatever it is, they probably have it. So if it's a liquid and not a specific prescription item, leave it behind and pick up some shampoo when you get there.
I would also like to comment on the frequently heard travel-related exclamation, "I don't know why I'm so hungry/tired, all I'm doing is sitting." People forget what an amazing work out traveling is. You are lifting carry-on in and out of overhead compartments (and catching items that may have shifted during flight), stressing about each and every arrival time and next depature time (stressing burns calories!), and walking miles and miles to connecting gates (your connecting flight's gate will only be close to your arrival gate if you have hours and hours of lay-over time. If you only have an hour to make your connection, it will be on the other side of the city, in which case you're also getting an excellent cardio work-out by sprinting). I'm thinking of marketing a new work out system that involves running around the airport, "Stress Your Way to a Thinner You."
I am actually quite shocked how easy my trip was. Yes, it was crazy long (I left at 11am Monday from Oregon and arrived at 7pm Tuesday in Germany) and of course there were minor things like children that would benefit from a strong tranquilizer, but it's been so long since I have had a travel day where one flight wasn't on time and so I missed ALL connecting flights that it seemed super easy.
July 11th, 2010
I wake up at the crack of dawn with my stomach in a knot. On a Sunday. It must be One Day Left Before I Fly to Europe day. There’s no point in trying to sleep, I have thousands of things to do and precious little time to do them in. I promptly get up, make breakfast, figure I have time to check my email, mess around on my computer, realize Sunday Morning is on, spend some quality time contemplating whether I should take a shower tonight or tomorrow morning before I leave while petting the cat, and then am ready to start seriously thinking about looking at my To Do list.
Technically, it’s my 300th To Do list. I love lists. Is this because I am enviously organized or obnoxiously anal? No, it’s because I’m a huge space cadet and am easily distracted by shiny things. If I didn’t have a list to keep me focused, I’d end up painting the cat’s claws a smart pink, which does not happen to be a priority To Do item the day before you fly. (I’m kidding of course, I’m not a crazy cat lady. I’d be much more likely to see if she’d let me put lip gloss on her.)
~SuperNova Travel Tip: Make lists. Things you want to get done before you leave, things you need to get done before you leave (yes, there’s a HUGE difference), and things you should pack. And do it in advance. Even if you have an excellent memory, life is distracting and traveling is stressful. You’re still going to forget something, there’s no preventing that, but this will help you forget less.
My list actually wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t left packing to the last minute. I ALWAYS pack at the last possible second. There are many reasons why; if you pack too far in advance, you find that you need something that you packed away and take it out and it never makes it back in, you forget what you’ve already packed and end up with a ridiculous number of socks, and, most importantly, I am an all-star procrastinator.
I did, in the end, get everything on my list done by the very reasonable hour of 8pm, I even made it to the gym for an hour (because going to the gym one day before I leave will most certainly offset the amazing array of German food I plan on trying). I should note that when I say “got everything on my list done” I mean that everything got crossed off, not that every individual thing got done. When you get down to the wire, eventually you have to just come to peace with the fact that the house will not be vacuumed before you leave, and you cross it off the list. The sooner you come to terms with this, the less stressful your day will be. A friend of mine, who was a first time traveler, said to me in a panic, “We should have started getting ready earlier!!!” I laughed and gently shook my head at his naiveté. It doesn’t matter when you start preparing for your big trip (“big trip” = any trip that involves more than one flight or requires you to be away from home for longer than 5 days), you will not get everything done. That’s because your brain keeps coming up with thoughtful things that “have” to be done before you leave. I am here to tell you that they don't. The world will not come to an end if the fruit bowl is not shaped in a pyramid before you leave. (Consequently, your pet will come to an end if arrangements aren’t made for it, so that definitely goes on the “needs to get done” list.)
*SuperNova says: “When it comes down to it, as long as you have your ID and your credit card, you will be fine. (Unless you’re going to a 3rd world country, then you should probably get some shots or something.)”
Technically, it’s my 300th To Do list. I love lists. Is this because I am enviously organized or obnoxiously anal? No, it’s because I’m a huge space cadet and am easily distracted by shiny things. If I didn’t have a list to keep me focused, I’d end up painting the cat’s claws a smart pink, which does not happen to be a priority To Do item the day before you fly. (I’m kidding of course, I’m not a crazy cat lady. I’d be much more likely to see if she’d let me put lip gloss on her.)
~SuperNova Travel Tip: Make lists. Things you want to get done before you leave, things you need to get done before you leave (yes, there’s a HUGE difference), and things you should pack. And do it in advance. Even if you have an excellent memory, life is distracting and traveling is stressful. You’re still going to forget something, there’s no preventing that, but this will help you forget less.
My list actually wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t left packing to the last minute. I ALWAYS pack at the last possible second. There are many reasons why; if you pack too far in advance, you find that you need something that you packed away and take it out and it never makes it back in, you forget what you’ve already packed and end up with a ridiculous number of socks, and, most importantly, I am an all-star procrastinator.
I did, in the end, get everything on my list done by the very reasonable hour of 8pm, I even made it to the gym for an hour (because going to the gym one day before I leave will most certainly offset the amazing array of German food I plan on trying). I should note that when I say “got everything on my list done” I mean that everything got crossed off, not that every individual thing got done. When you get down to the wire, eventually you have to just come to peace with the fact that the house will not be vacuumed before you leave, and you cross it off the list. The sooner you come to terms with this, the less stressful your day will be. A friend of mine, who was a first time traveler, said to me in a panic, “We should have started getting ready earlier!!!” I laughed and gently shook my head at his naiveté. It doesn’t matter when you start preparing for your big trip (“big trip” = any trip that involves more than one flight or requires you to be away from home for longer than 5 days), you will not get everything done. That’s because your brain keeps coming up with thoughtful things that “have” to be done before you leave. I am here to tell you that they don't. The world will not come to an end if the fruit bowl is not shaped in a pyramid before you leave. (Consequently, your pet will come to an end if arrangements aren’t made for it, so that definitely goes on the “needs to get done” list.)
*SuperNova says: “When it comes down to it, as long as you have your ID and your credit card, you will be fine. (Unless you’re going to a 3rd world country, then you should probably get some shots or something.)”
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