Berlin

Have you done this trick? Ask yourself which season you would be if you were a season then which season your significant other is. Then ask yourself which is your favorite season. Compare your significant other's season to your favorite season, does it match? Well, for Chris and I it does to a tee. I am a spring in personality, Chris is a fall. I just love the fall and he the spring. Here are a few pictures to explain why I like the fall.









We went to Berlin for a three day weekend. We left on Saturday morning real early. We got to our hotel about noon, walked around Berlin. We first went to KaDeWe, a huge department store I had a gift certificate for (thank you Beth!). It is huge, has every pillow, pan, and chinaware you could imagine. Good quality stuff. They had the whole entry room decorated for Christmas. Okay, as you know Germany doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving but celebrates St. Nickolas on December 6th, so everything starts a lot earlier for Christmas decorations here. Like every department store here there is a floor for the restaurant. This store, however, had every type of food you can think of, and you sit there and eat at the booths. It was lunch time and a Saturday, so it was packed with people. Chris and I, who both hate crowds, left the store to walk around the town more. With the historical division of Berlin there really is no longer a center. There are several pockets of plazas scattered around. We went to the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag. My family was there in 1990. It was totally different then than what I saw now. The east and west have definitely blended together. Only a trail of bricks marks the old route of the wall, but if you didn't know what to look for, you wouldn't notice the difference. There are many new nice apartment buildings in the former east side in addition to the renovated historical buildings. In one area that used to be a no-man's-land there are now huge skyscrapers, very modern looking. It was a total different city. People were very nice and out and about. And yes, that is a snow sledding run in the middle of the plaza. What fun!



Sunday, we went to Potsdam, a town not far, well not "American far." It was about a 40 minute ride on the S-bahn (commuter train). It was/still is where the wealthy of Berlin built their palaces. It was absolutely gorgeous. Full of gardens and nice homes, and much more relaxing than the bustle of Berlin. It was pretty foresty. The colors of the trees are just amazing. We walked along a lake and saw a few palaces. We ate lunch at Movenpick restaurant. Who knew that Movenpick has more than ice cream. We were too full though to enjoy their sundays, although they were very tempting. We then took a tour of the King of Prussia's palace (actually, one of the king's palaces...). It was very impressive. We have seen many residences of different rulers throughout Europe, so at times it seemed the same old, but this place was definitely more elaborately decorated. There was a room with Grotto style decoration (cave-like with seashells and gemstones on the walls), usually they're located outside in a garden, but this was inside. The floor was just as detailed as the room. It was impressive. They also liked marble. It was quite a place. Unfortunately, the audio guide didn't really explain much. I think I understood more from the personal guide who was speaking German than from the English audioguide. The guy was better at telling tidbits about the place.

We found a movie theater that plays original version movies (aka, in English), so we saw 2012, not knowing anything about it. It turned out to be an okay movie. Good at special affects, but typical storyline. Monday, we went back to KaDeWe (lot less crowded on a monday!) and bought ourselves some pretty bowls (thanks Beth!). We then went to see the Berlin Wall mural. They had artists come from around the world to paint on a segment of the wall that is remaining. We got back to Munich that evening. It was a great trip. A great weekend to get away as well. We both needed a break.

We are now looking forward to my brother's visit this weekend and our Christmas and New Years break in 4 weeks. We are going to Arkansas for the week of Christmas and California for New Years' week.

Kochelsee and Dachau

My favorite season is here! Even though it brings the colder weather, the short days, and the colds. Everyone is sick. Chris got a cold for several weeks, actually since he got back from his retreat beginning of October and is now just getting over it. I caught his cold but it seems to be going away, hopefully for good. We have had less kids in the kindergarten due to colds. Fun stuff! But the colors of the leaves make it worth it! maybe.

We went to Kochelsee one weekend. It was also the week we had our coldest temperatures so far and our first snow of the year. So, well, maybe not the best weekend to walk around outside. The lake was beautiful. This picture shows how the weather couldn't make up its mind whether to have fall or just start winter. We ate at a Germanized-Americanized-Mexican restaurant. We shared a burrito and a cheeseburger and they were huge! It was very good, the best we have had around here. The restaurant was in a bath house that had an indoor and outdoor swimming pool. There were a lot of people there. It had a gorgeous view of the lake. We sat warm as we watched it snow outside, then went on a short hike. We ended up at an hydroelectricity plant that lies between the upper and lower lakes. The water goes down these huge tubes from the lake higher up the mountain and is be forced through water wheels to generate the electricity (the green thingy's in the other picture). We caught a picture with a Bavarian man with his traditional hat on. It was quite a place. Chris loved it. Got some science in our weekend.

On many weekends when we stay around Munich, we take a walk along the Isar River. On this day the temperature had warmed back up, becoming more fall than winter. It was quite warm. Okay, warm was like 55 degrees. It is amazing how you get used to the temperature.

We celebrated Halloween at the Kindergarten. We had decorated the room with the kids' crafts all month of jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, bats, and spiders. We even carved a real jack-o-lantern with the kids. It was a lot of fun. We made pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, and baked pumpkin seeds. On the Friday, we had all the kids and parents come in costume where we ate the delicious food and danced. It was great to see how the parents got involved. Also interesting how every parent's costume was scary. When a kid said they wanted to be a princess or fairy I heard several parents say, what about a ghost or a witch. I had told the kids they could be anything, scary or not. We had several fairies, a couple of witches, a ghost, a black cat, a knight, etc. I went as a fairy. My co-teachers were dressed as a painter and as a cat. Chris and I were going to go to Nancy's house for a halloween party. I have mentioned Nancy in the last post. She lives in Ulm. It would have taken 3 hours to get there but we would have spent the night. Chris however felt horrible. His cold had gotten worse that weekend so we stayed home. We ended up getting three groups of about 4 or5 teenagers (14-15 year olds) come by in scary costumes to trick or treat. They said it in German. It is getting more and more popular in this age group around here.

This weekend we went to Dachau concentration camp. It's one of those things we've been putting off. Yeah, its a worthwhile experience, but... Anyway, we finally got round to seeing it. It is actually quite close; only 30 minutes from the center of Munich. We walked around. The temperature has gotten back into the low 40s. So it was really cold today as we walked around. At the exit of the train station, there is the "Path of Remembrance". It follows the route the prisoners had to walk from the station to the camp. Along the path they put up boards of information. We decided to walk it versus taking the bus. We consider ourselves pretty smart on directions and so forth, but we lost the path several times along the way. There were no markings. You had to remember the map that was on the board back at the train station, and even then it wasn't very specific. When we got there we saw many Americans there. "Arbeit Macht Frei" is written in the door to the entrance of the camp. It means "Work makes you free." It was a joke towards the prisoners. Dachau was actually more interesting than I thought it would be. We have seen so many movies this last year that has a plot based on this time period of Germany, so it was interesting to see one in person. It was an interesting weekend.

The days are getting shorter now and the weather is getting colder. I have seen some Christmas lights starting to go up and they are now putting up Tollwood, one of the larger Christmas markets/music festivals for the Christmas season. I am loving the atmosphere here, but it is strange to go home when it is already getting dark at 4:30. We are also counting down the days til the break when we return home to see everyone again. Just six weeks!

Ulm, Oktoberfest, and Passau

One weekend, Chris and I went to Ulm (or actually Senden, a small village outside of Ulm) to visit Nancy and Timo and their son Joshua. Nancy is an old friend of Carrie's (my sister). Ulm is a smaller big city west of Munich: 1 1/2 to 2 hours by train. It has the tallest cathedral in Germany. Nancy and Timo were wonderful in driving us around to see the area. First we spent awhile driving through many small villages that they had not seen before. Whether or not it was because we got lost or just wanted to take the scenic tour, one won't say. It is a great way to see places you wouldn't normally see. The countryside they live in is so beautiful and breathtaking. We went to a festival in one of the villages. It was fun to see the locals in their scene. We ate lunch there and walked around the booths. It was held in the courtyard of the cloister there. We then drove to Ulm. It was more modern than I was expecting. The cathedral was impressive but not much different than any other cathedral we have seen. The stain glass is beautiful and it was very simple because it was not Catholic. One way of knowing instantly if it is Catholic is the detail and amount of artwork. Catholic churches are packed with decoration. We went to an old hotel that was sinking into the river. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant and headed back to their place. We stayed the night at their wonderful home and left after breakfast back to Munich. On the way back we had some time in Ulm before our connecting train left and so got a peak at a marathon race that was taking place through town. We had a wonderful time visiting and sharing stories about Germany and living here versus the US.

Oktoberfest started and people in there lederhosen and dirndles were walking about once again. This year the weather was very pleasant. I think about 80 percent of people dressed in their Bavarian outfits. Last year it was much colder and rainy. I wore my dirndle as well. It was the thing to do. I am still amazed how casual it really is to dress in the outfits. We see it here and there but during this time it is expected. We had several kids in the Kindergarten come in with their outfits on. Makes it more difficult to go to the bathroom but hey, it is a lot more fun. I also think it is interesting how many heart cookies they sell. The booths selling them are packed full and all over the fest. People go around wearing their cookies too, though we haven't seen anyone actually eating one. Chris and I walked around and went into the tents this year to see what it was about. We didn't try last year. It is what they say, packed full in every tent, with people standing on tables or sitting and eating and drinking. Dancing, singing, laughing, and having a great time. They know how to party that is for sure! Bands are playing on stage. Each tent, which looks more like a building then tent, is decorated in its own theme. They put a lot of effort into it.

Chris went to his work's retreat at Chiemsee from Saturday to Thursday last week (yes, it started on the weekend, and the monday was a national holiday too). Jia and I went to Passau that Saturday. We both heard about Passau and thought to go take a look. It is a small town two hours east of Munich, on the border of Austria. We walked around. It was again another city more modern than we expected. The streets though were cobblestone and narrow. It turned out Saturday was another holiday so the town was closed and empty. We went to the cathedral and this one was definitely a Catholic cathedral. Very decked out, but mostly the ceiling in this one. The columns were solid white to make you look up and stare at the ceiling. It was impressive but too much as well. We went to the point of Passau, as Passau is a small pennisula. It is where three rivers meet, the Inn, the Ilz, and the Danau. It is fun to see the Danau (Danube) at different points of its journey. It was nice just to go some place new. It may not have been that exciting but a nice day to walk and talk. Sunday, Jia and I went swimming and then to the Oktoberfest on the last night. It was fun. We went on a couple of rides and had cotton candy. It was fun to see it in the dark with it all lit up.

It is now turning to fall. The temperature has done an up and down dance. I don't mind the rain, but this up and down drastically is really tiresome. The leaves are turning color and falling. It is gorgious. I love that we have seasons here. I am not sure I like the sun going down before 6 though and definitely not looking forward to the temperature going below freezing. We actually had our first snow this past week. I'm pulling out the winter wardrobe.

August

No title would work for all that went on in August. At the very beginning of August Chris and I went to the Olympic Park for the Summerfest there. It was supposed to be the summer version of Oktoberfest, but really it wasn't. It was a very small version to say the least. We walked around mostly on the outskirts of it all, it being so loud and we were not in the mood for it. I was coming down with a cold. Sunday we went to Oberschleissheim Palace, on the outskirts of Munich. It was built by a King of Bavaria who thought he was going to be elected Holy Roman Emperor, but turned out he wasn't. So he never used this palace and we can now enjoy the beauty of the place. Parts of it are now regular apartments while the gardens are still maintained. The weather was turning from warm to rainy and cold that week. My cold became a chest cold.

It has been a full year that I have been working at Bubbles Kindergarten. It has definitely changed since we started. It is amazing to think how far we have come to being a well put together kindergarten. The kids are great. They really work as a group and enjoy each other. It is fun to watch and hear them trying their English. They understand me now and so I don't have to repeat myself as much. I am now forcing them as much as possible to speak it. I have also learned enough German to understand them, or at least the gist of it. It has been a great experience and am loving the time I have there. The last week of August, first week of September is the summer break for them and so we were winding down the kindergarten and cleaning up for the end of the year.

Gemini caught her first, and hopefully last, mouse. We have been letting her outside more and more. She is loving it and since she comes when you call her name, it seems okay. She jumped in through the bedroom window with a mouse in her mouth. She looked so proud with it. "Look what I found!" However, she put it down and there it goes running around the room trying to find a place to hide. It went behind the bed. We pulled the bed out a little and let Gemi go back and get it, but she just turned around like what?? We found the mouse went through a hole into the compartment under the mattress. So we had it cornered but then Gemi jumps over and grabs it, runs out of the compartment and then lets it go again. Off it runs. She caught it once more and dropped it again, but luckily Chris was able to catch in a bowl. Unfortunately, our efforts to capture and let it go outside did not succeed as the bowl ended up decapitating it. But my, Gemini was so proud!

My cold was getting better and almost gone by the middle of August. Laurel, Tony and their 5 month old Ted came to visit us. It was wonderful to have them and get to know Ted. Their first full day here we walked all over Munich and showed them around downtown and Nymphenburg Palace. It was a long day and very hot. The next day we went to Neuschwanstein Castle. They went to tour around the castles while Chris and I sat by the lake or a cafe with Ted. My cold was coming back full on and worse than before, so I tried to keep it slow. That night I had a fever and so Monday went to the doctor's. Laurel, Tony, Ted went off to Nuremburg. The doctor put me on antibiotics and told me I had the beginnings of pneumonia. Because I didn't have a fever anymore I was just to stay at home. Tuesday our visitors went off to see Salzburg and Vienna, while I stayed home to get better. They returned on Thursday and I was feeling much better already. My energy wasn't at full speed but better. Friday I showed them around a bit and then left them to tour around themselves. Saturday, we went to Regensburg for a half a day. We took it slow. It is a small village so it wasn't hard to see it all and not do much walking. Sunday they left for Paris. It was nice to see them.

I was feeling better and we decided to take the chance to go to Italy as we had already planned and booked everything. We just would take it easy. Monday we sat on the train for 6 hours to Venice. It was a beautiful trip through the Alps and countryside. We got to Venice and checked into our hotel. We walked around a bit and found a place to eat. Throughout our time in Venice, it was funny to see how many times we would see tourists turn a corner with a map in their hands looking around them confused. We did it many times ourselves. Every street is an alleyway. There is no "streets." They zigzag and you turn down one and find yourself cut off by a canal. It was confusing and quite funny sometimes as we thought at one point that we had figured it out until we turned again to find another canal or square with four or five other alleyways you can choose. Venice was beautiful. It was the most expensive city we visited and yet we feel the most rundown. We don't understand why they don't fix up the plaster and paint on the buildings. Maybe they like the rundown look. We went to the basilica, which was the most impressive of Venice. The next day we went on a boat ride to different islands around Venice. Each island was known for one art work or the other. One island was known for glass making and the other for their lace. It was nice to see a different part of the area and ride on the water.

As our trip was progressing, the heat was progressing as well. It was very hot and sticky. Italy in summer, what else can I say.

We took the train to Florence. My antibiotics ran out at this time and I was feeling much better. My energy was up, but I still felt a little congestion in my chest that just did not go away. We walked around Florence hopping from one shady spot to the next as it was very hot. We spent one full day touring Florence. We went to the Ulfizi Gallery. My only grudge is that they made us throw away our water bottles. I hate buying water so I just keep refilling the same bottles when I have the chance. Chris did not think the gallery was as great as it was said to be. It is a great art museum, but I agree it is not the Louvre.

The next day we took a day trip to Siena. It was a beautiful old town. The church there is huge and decked out in detail everywhere. The columns are striped colored marble, the ceiling and inch of floor had tiled patterns or mosiacs, again all in marble, probably with many dozens of different patterns and colors. It is quite a church. We went to the fortress, which like Florence, is now used as their expo center. It had beautiful views back towards the city.





The next day we went to the five villages (Cinque terre) that are on the coast of Tuscany north of Pisa. These five villages are known for the way the farmers carved out the hillside for their crop and lived on the coast. We were not really sure how to tour this area, but we started with the top most village Monterosso. We went swimming in the water and walked the village. We then went for a hike. And it was a hike. It was very hot. This trail goes all the way along the coast through the five cities. I think after it all we had chosen the two cities that had the farthest distance between each other. But we took it slow and drank all the water we had by the end of it. It was a beautiful walk despite the heat. The path wound itself along the hillside through the vineyards. It had a gorgious view of the water. We made it to Vernazza. The town was very cute tucked in the cove of the hillside. Very small. We took another dip in the water and ate pizza. It was a fun day and different than what we had been doing.

The next day we took the train down to Rome for another couple days. It was still hot but there was a breeze so it felt cooler than Florence. We walked around the area and saw Medici's Rome house to compare to their Florence home. We went around Florence looking for gardens or parks to walk through but there was only one small one. We like searching out our gardens to have a peaceful walk and slow down some. In Rome, I noticed a huge park area by this Medici home. So we went through it. It was mostly brown but there were ponds and statues and paths, so it worked okay. But we didn't stay long. The next day we went to the Colloseum and the ruins. It was quite impressive. I have been to Rome before and seen these sights so Chris will have to fill in what he thought........(it was very old: Chris) I really enjoyed the guide at the Colleseum. It really makes a difference who you have as a guide for they have their own spin on things. She was very factual and gave tidbits about the place and the area, and she disputed myths. (Chris: apparently the story about filling up the Colesseum with water for fake naval battles is untrue) I liked hearing her description of how it would have looked in the past. That night I wasn't feeling so good and my cold was getting worse again. We went to the pharmacy the next morning and got a refill of the antibiotics I was on. That day we went to St. Peters and the Vatican. We saw the Sistine Chapel. It would have been nice to see only the Chapel, but they make you see the whole museum. Chris was now coming down with a cold too, so we went back to the hotel afterwards and spent the rest of the day in the hotel reading our books in the air conditioning.

Our last stop was the town of Naples. We went here primarily for the cheap flight back to Munich. It turned out to be the scariest town we have been in. We came across 4 pickpockets selling the ill-gotten-goods in the short walk from the train station to our hotel. Even our tour book recommended not going outside at night. I would agree. We got there checked into our hotel and left the city right then to go to Pompeii. Pompei turned out to be quite larger than we expected. We thought it would be this small village but it was actually a city with 10 to 20 thousand people. The village, if you don't know the history, was covered by the eruption of a nearby volcano 2000 years ago. The people suffocated by the carbon dioxide and the village was destroyed and covered with ash and lava. It was rediscovered in 1700s. The village still has 1/3 left to excavate. It is impressive how the village was so preserved all this time. They put plaster into the molds of the lava that once were bodies and you can see them how they laid when they died. The molds are now in some museum somewhere, but the idea is quite somethig. It really is a village where the second floor just got wiped out. You can see the stair cases up to the second floor, the rooms, the ovens, the mosaic floors, the frescoes on the walls. Yes, a lot has been run down but you can still imagine it as it was back then and the style of artwork.

The next day, Friday, we flew back to Munich. We only went to Naples because it was cheaper and quicker to fly from there. But we are glad we did, because we saw Pompei.

We spent the weekend reading books and sitting around the house. I was really hoping my persistent cold would go away. Monday, I went to work. It was a great day to be back. The kids were fun to see after the break. After being gone for three weeks, they seemed a foot taller. But I was coughing all day so in the evening I went again to the doctors. I am now at home on stronger antibiotics. I can't wait for this to be over. I have three days off work. That is why I have so much time on my hands to write such a long blog! But I would not change our decision to go to Italy, we enjoyed it too much.

Strasbourg, France in July

Chris read our June blog and laughed at the title as he didn't think it a quiet June. I guess I forgot that he traveled more than I did. This month, for the third month in a row, Chris yet again, went to the USA. This trip led him back to SLAC and San Jose. He went to a seminar in honor of his adviser who past away not long after we left the US. Chris gave a talk at the seminar and met up with former colleagues. He stayed at Grandma Joan's house and had a wonderful visit with her. He packed in his week visiting as many people as he could, enjoying game night where he got to see a group of our friends like old times.

While he was in California, I was keeping busy at home and work. I went for a walk around Munich one Saturday for something to do. There is always something going on in Munich. I am always amazed that there is always some street festival or parade, or park festival going on. This day there was a Gay Pride celebration. There must have been a parade through the city because of all the confetti and paper on the streets. Then in Marienplatz there was a huge crowd of people eating and drinking and dancing. There was a huge stage set up and a concert going on. There were booths of food and drinks. It was quite a production. There were several people dressed up for the occasion. It was not what I expected to come across on that Saturday but it did make me smile.

A week later, now that Chris adjusted to the time zone once again, we went off to Strasbourg, France to meet up with Derek, Hazel, David, and Shannon. We had a wonderful time being with Chris' family and touring the Alsace region of France. We stayed at Gunstett, a little village about 40 minute drive outside Strasbourg. The house we stayed at belonged to the owner's grandmother. It was built in 1750 or so. It was a nice house and newly renovated, but we had to get used to the low ceilings! Around the village was several farms and at the edge of every field, was a crucifix. We figure it is to bless the harvest.

I stayed only until Monday night since I had to go back to work and didn't officially have any days off left. Chris stayed there until Wednesday night. On Sunday, we drove through the vineyards of Alsace from one village to another, all old villages. It was beautiful. After figuring out the wine tasting is not actually at the vineyards but at the people's homes in the town, we found a place. The lady was very nice and with her broken almost fluent German and Shannon's and our German plus David's French, we were able to understand. We were the only people and we sat at the only table in their bottling room. We tried several wines and bought some bottles. The wines were all white. It is the only color grapes we saw as we drove around as well. I guess it is white wine for us.

We drove up to a Monastery at the top of the mountain. It had a gorgeous view. You can see the different small villages amongst the vineyards in Alsace.




Monday we went into Strasbourg. It was a busy day walking. We visited the cathedral. This cathedral was known to have the oldest surviving stained glass windows. We visited Little France, an area of Strasbourg that is old and very French. Strasbourg has changed hands between Germany and France so many times, it is so confused. People speak both French and German and you see influences of both cultures. We took a boat ride around the city. It was nice for we got to sit and see the city from the water's perspective and get some history. Chris' favorite is that it took us to the EU buildings.