The Yorks

First Bath

2010-09-21T13:51:00.001-07:00

Bea LOVES the bath. And who wouldn't if mommy and daddy make a room a steamy 80-some-odd degrees? But it's worth it for us to hear the coos and see the grins of our baby. And don't worry, we didn't wait 5 weeks to bathe sweet Bea, I'm just behind in my blog posts!

She's Here!

2010-09-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

Although our baby girl arrived over a month ago, (August 13th to be exact, at 6:00 in the evening, a full 12 days later than estimated), I've had more pressing things to tend to rather than blogging.

So, without further ado, here is our daughter, Beatrice Elise York!

She was 7 pounds 5 ounces and 21 inches long.

We are so in love. And in awe. And terrified. And humbled. And exhausted. We're parents. God help us. No. Seriously.

The Waiting Game

2010-08-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, the due date came and went. And I'm still pregnant. I know a few days is really not a big deal, and yes, some women do gestate for 42+ weeks, even though modern American medicine doesn't usually let you go that long.

But still. I admit to my impatience. And though Nate and I are ready; ready as we'll ever be, there are times where I think, (and this is usually in the dark watches of the night), "I'm not ready...I can't do this...give birth?? Parent??? Oh no no no. What was I thinking?" And then I first try and make some deal with God; going back to working full time as a kindergarten teacher, planning vacations to far away places with my beloved husband. Just us two. But then I eventually end up surrendering to God and where I am at right now with this little soul inside me.
Ha, like I had a choice. :/
Anyway, it's a mental surrender, which in truth is more powerful.

And then there are the logical thoughts. Impatience is still hovering, but at least I can acknowledge that it is time. A life change is upon us and we need not be fearful. We've been married for 8.5 years. We've had each other to ourselves for that long. EVERY night was date night and we'll always get to reminisce fondly about our time together. And we do. But, now we get to share it with a new little life. And that is exciting. It will be hard, but so is marriage to a degree.
Not only are we welcoming a new baby with open arms and minds, but a new phase in life. And that's worth waiting for.

Maternity Pictures

2010-07-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

I'm just glad we did this. It almost didn't happen! These were taken in my 38th week by the talented Julie Cahill. Thanks Julie! Here are the ones we liked. Sorry there are a lot. Hope you like them too!

Out of the mouths of babes

2010-06-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

As a (former) kindergarten teacher, I've come across some pretty funny quotes from students of mine. I even have a document where I'm saving them all in hopes of writing a short book one day. This little conversation, though not from one of my kindergarten classes, is rather humorous.

On our way up to a wedding this weekend, Nathan and I stopped at an In N Out Burger for lunch. At the end of our meal I went to the restroom. All the stalls were being used so I waited my turn. As one of the doors unlocked a mother and her young son, perhaps 3 or 4 stepped out. The little boy looked me up and down over and over again, and as I went into the stall and locked the door I heard this conversation:

Boy: Mommy, why is that lady's tummy so big?
Mom: She has a baby in her tummy.
Boy: But, where is the baby?
Mom: It's inside her tummy growing, just like you were. You were in mommy's tummy when you were real little too.
Boy: But how did the baby get there?
Mom: (in a hurried voice) Let's wash your hands honey.

Ah. Children. How I love their innocent wonder of the world. Too funny. Nathan says I should have shouted "I'm not pregnant!" but it's just a little too obvious at this point.

A Day at the DMV and other such pregnancy adventures

2010-06-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

I recently had to renew my driver's license at the DMV. Actually go to the government building, pay the fee, take an eye exam and a new picture. Although I think this is unfair while pregnant, there's no controlling that and it seemed easy enough.

Wrong.

As most of us Californians know, our state government is in a sad sad state as of late. The DMV (along with almost all government offices) is now closed certain days of the month for furlough days. This limits the amount of time one can conduct business with them. Ugh. So, even though I had made an appointment and arrived on time, I still had to wait in a long line just to tell them I was there. Then I, like everyone else, took a number (yes, after waiting in line), and waited for my number to be called.

The visit did not go as well as I would have hoped.

First of all, it was raining that day. And the line was out the door in the rain. Fabulous. Then some man is smoking directly behind me. Um, hello, pregnant woman in the very near vicinity! So I went Mama Bear on him and he stepped further away and exhaled in another direction.

Then when I finally reached the lady at the reception desk, she complimented my hair. Which sounds great, right? Except that her hair resembled Farrah Fawcett circa 1975. Oh no.

Then I realized that I had forgotten the document which had all my info on it that I was bring. Shoot. As I'm finishing up filling out a brand new document to replace the old one, my number gets called.

I pay my fee. The man asks me to read the letters on a chart against the wall. All I see are fuzzy b's, p's, q's, e's and other letters I'm not entirely sure about. My vision is shot. Pregnancy doesn't help. My driver's license now says I need corrective lenses. When did THAT happen??

I take my picture, forgetting to remove my bright yellow purse on my shoulder. After the click, the man says, "Great picture. Even got those dimples in there." Um, what? I have dimples?? Since when??? Apparently my face is fatter now too. And I have dimples.

I then go to New Leaf market to get a few groceries. Granted, these were groceries that I was craving, not necessarily healthy things, namely: Coconut bliss ice cream, Green and Black's chocolate bar and 2 for 1 Odwalla protein drinks. Hey, gotta get that protein in there from other sources than just meat!!
The guy at the checkout stand then comments as he's beeping through my purchases, "Well, someone's trying to gain weight!"

Sheesh. What a day.

Belly Pics from Mother's Day

2010-05-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 28 weeks. Well, actually BABY is 28 weeks, not me, I'm considerably older than that......

Sometimes from the front, you can't really tell (unless I'm holding my stomach, as shown). I just look a little bigger. But from the side, it looks like I swallowed a basketball.

Dresses and cardigans are my new bestest friends as they camouflage well the poundage placed on my upper arms, thighs and fanny. Well, at least I tell myself that they do.

Spring in New York

2010-04-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

And I don't mean the "new York". I mean the Big Apple. The city.

Took my last airplane trip (at least for awhile) to New York City. I went with my best friend Ali, who just so happens to have a very cool sister who works as an assistant costume designer on broadway. Ah, it's good to have connections.

Anyway we enjoyed central park, Brooklyn's botanical garden, Times Square, shopping and the highlight: 2 broadway shows including the opening night of American Idiot by Green Day. Of course it was a big-to-do and a handful of celebrities were there: Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka, Rosie O'Donnell, Edward Norton, of course the band Green Day among some others. I only saw them from a distance, mostly because I'm too shy to approach them. Oh well.
We partied into the night (2am, not bad for a pregnant woman!) and enjoyed all the free food at the after party.

I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by New York before going there. It just seemed SO famous and so daunting, that I would never feel quite comfortable. Nevertheless, it was great! I heart NY! Truth be told, I think I might just be a city girl. If that's even news to anyone.

Amazing fabric stores: floor to ceiling of every kind of fabric and related material you could possibly imagine.

First time to NY? Gotta go to the Empire State Building, right?

Michael & Sarah's wedding

2010-04-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Nate's youngest brother, Michael got married Easter weekend. Youngest in that he came about 3 minutes after his older twin brother. Anyway, now everyone in the York family is married. 4 sets of Mr. and Mrs. York. Whew! It is finished. Beautiful wedding, great people, fun was had by all. Congratulations Michael and Sarah!

Nathan and his other 2 brothers, Ryan and Allen in the bridal party. Love how they all held their hands the same way, with their left hand on top so that their wedding bands show.

Drumroll please......

2010-03-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

We can't believe it. I personally thought it may have just been impossible. But it's true. Or at least 99.9% (according to the ultrasound technician) true. And best of all, everything looks good and healthy.

Here's my favorite interaction of the day:

Technician: Do you want to see between the legs?
Me: Yes, please.
T: Any wagers? (looks at Nate, Nate shakes his head)
Me: I think it might be a boy, I had a dream it was a boy....
T: Ok, let's see here.........well, there's "his" vagina.

Too funny. We also found out that the placenta is anterior lying, meaning that it's in front, so no wonder I haven't felt too much kicking. Oh well. There are worse places it could lie.

Our daughter (ohmigosh, that sounds so weird), was a bit of a stinker too. She kept moving away from us and refusing to give a profile picture. Plenty of face-on ones though. She was moving and punching up a storm too. One picture we even got with her hand beneath her chin, graduation style! Such a little poser. She's definitely a Grellmann girl!

Slightly Pregnant Pictures

2010-03-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

~9weeks

Ah, body image. Gotta love the way we love/hate our bodies. So much societal pressure to look a certain way. Even in pregnancy.

~19 weeks

Recently, my weight hasn't been an issue for me. I've been on the low end of the BMI index for awhile now, and even at my heaviest, (freshman, 15 baby), I was still within the normal range. So, seeing my weight go up and up, is a bit hard for me. I know it's ok, but sometimes it freaks me out to see those numbers I've never seen before on a scale! But I'm not complaining (yet). Just telling. Please don't look at my butt.

Telling My Parents

2010-02-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

I love my mom. And my dad. I truly do. And I couldn't wait to tell them that we're having a baby. Mostly to have the endless hints and questions about WHEN we're ever going to procreate end. Yes, we've been married for 8 years, yes, I want to have children, yes, I know I'm in my 30s. Ok, already!

Anyway, when we chose to tell them at Christmas through a gift, their reaction was more than we could have hoped. Maybe that's what you get when everyone's given up hope? Nah. Just mom's bubbly personality. Gotta love it. If you know Joyce, you KNOW what I'm talkin' bout. Check out the pictures below.

And just for the record, we got them the "Grandparent's Handbook", a license plate frame and stuffed a few copies of the ultrasound in there too.

Oh yeah, we told Nate's parents at Christmas too, they were happy also, but we didn't take pictures. Sorta knew that the Grellmann side would be a little more, ahem, dramatic.

A New Year. A New Life.

2010-01-11T12:34:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile since I last posted. Granted, I'm doing more in day to day life here than in Munich, but overall, life is more....boring?

At least for the reader, we are no longer visiting and taking photographs of European places, food and experiences. Our life has gone back to "normal", if you could call it that. Don't get me wrong, we love our life here: our family, our house, our church community, we are truly blessed. Things are just different. We are different. It feels like Nathan and I were snatched out of time and space for a bit, and then plopped back down into a place where not much has changed and no one has any idea what we experienced. I'm sure this is absolutely normal for those who travel. It's just odd and sometimes we feel a bit disillusioned.

But in the Grand Scheme, it does not matter. It will be fine. We will be just fine.

I suppose this may be a strange (or perhaps perfect?) lead in to what is new and good this coming year. I am pregnant. We are going to have a baby. There. I said it. Or, typed it anyway. The baby is due August 1, 2010.

If we think we're disillusioned now.....just wait for those posts! We are truly excited. Elated. Scared sh**less. We're going to be parents. All normal feelings, I presume.

I personally have wanted this for so long, that now that it's really happening, it feels like I am in a constant dream-like state. That, and I'm overrun with hormones. I feel blue for no apparent reason. I've been nauseous and uncomfortable for the past few weeks. I know this is NOTHING compared to some women's experiences, but for me, this is all so new. I'm trying to enjoy every minute, but my impatient, selfish self wants things to go faster. Or slower. Or "Stop! Wait! I can't do this!" When I just want one hour back to be myself again. Just me. No other being sharing what is mine.

But then I realize that I had my time. I enjoyed it and made the choices I made. I had my "normal" moments. Normal will never be the same again. I am as ready as I'll ever be. Let the adventure begin. Bring it, Baby. We are ready for you. And we love you.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

I can't beleive I've been writing on this blog for over a year now. I feel like Thanksgiving in Germany was just yesterday (see Nov. 2008 post)! Thankfully (haha), this year, we had a whole turkey, not just a giant breast.

I suppose at 30 I could be helping out with more than just pies, but that's what I was assigned this year. And with last year's experience under my belt, I set out and made one pumpkin and one apple pie, both entirely from scratch, crust and all. In Germany they just don't have pre-made pie crust so I had no other choice; and it was actually simpler than I thought. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to take a bit more time with their pie desserts.

Sorry, no pictures of the pies, I'm not that organized, but we do have a few pictures of the family (my aunt, uncle and cousins, Alexandra and Britta). Sadly, Kevin had to work and Merissa is still in Munich, so it was just my parents, Nate and I. On the up side, the weather was PERFECT that day and we enjoyed our traditional walk along West Cliff Drive after our Thanksgiving meal.

Our 8th Anniversary

2009-11-21T10:51:00.000-08:00

Nathan and I were married 8 years ago on November 3rd. Time has f-l-o-w-n! I can't believe it. I still love him so much. More in fact. That's a good thing. Marriage rocks.

We spent some time in San Francisco, we first went to see the musical Wicked and then had dinner at a nice restaurant. Our hotel was awfully kind, I'm not sure if we paid for as big of a room as we had, but it was great. They even sent up a bottle of champagne! Always let them know what the occasion is, it's worth it! The next day we then walked around, shopped and relaxed. It was a great, if not brief, little vacation.

Our room at Hotel Monaco (I'd recommend it)

Coffee at Philz

Ali and Paul's Wedding

2009-11-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, October 24th, one of my best girlfriends got married. Ali and I have been friends since 4th grade and this was SO much fun. I love her. I love Paul. I love all our wonderful friends and the amazing memories we have together.

I've come to realize in recent months that I had a relatively unique high school experience. Many of my high school friends are still my friends and we are still in rather close contact. EVERYONE in Santa Cruz High's class of '97, was nice to each other. Ok, ok with a few exceptions. But those people don't count, they were actually the minority rather than the majority. The jocks got along with the thespians and the intellectuals got along with the druggies. In fact, often those lines were blurred, the jocks WERE the thespians and the intellectuals WERE the druggies. And vice versa. Anyways, our rather large group of girlfriends (and some guys too) still love and support one another through moves and weddings and kids. I am so thankful for wonderful friends.

Nikki and Anthony

Corey and Adam

Chloe and Steve

Me and Sean (what? Nate was taking the pictures, so of course there' more of his wife! Plus, doesn't my eye makeup look awesome?!?!)

Santa Cruz County Fair

2009-10-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

We try and go every year to the County Fair in September. Obviously we missed last year, so we made a point to go this year and got to take our youngest nephews, Wesley and Cody, 3.

We spent quite a bit of time checking out the chickens and their crazy hairdos, the train exhibit and the science tent. We had corn dogs for dinner and cinnamon buns for dessert. But the boys didn't really like the cinnamon buns. Promising to let them ride a few rides at the end made for good behavior the whole night. They zonked out in the car all the way back home to Bonny Doon.

I debated putting this one of me and Wesley in. Look at the ketchup all over his face! Oops.

Travels with Amy

2009-10-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

My good friend Amy Bootz came to visit us our last month in Munich. (So this was way back in August, sorry! I'm a bit behind!) And we had a wonderful time and amazing conversations, as always when we're together!

At the Viktualienmarkt. It was so hot that day.

Dinner one night at the famous Hofbrauhaus. Amy is so gusty. She began taking pictures of some locals across from us in full Bavarian garb, when this guy motioned for her to come over and get her picture taken with him. They didn't speak any English and I think Merissa did some translating. His friends were a little upset at the time it was taking to take the pictures, but this guy was really happy to have Amy next to him. He even made her give him a peck on the cheek for it. She was pretty disturbed by that. Guess I would be too!

Biking along the Danube in Vienna. No, it's not blue either. We stopped for lunch at this little river side restaurant where Amy was stung by an evil Viennese bee. And I cut my leg on my bike gears. Ugh! We're so accident prone.

We also went to downtown Vienna and saw St. Stephens Cathedral and the Opera house.

Schoenbrunn Palace (the residence of the Hapsburg family)

And, then, one of our final days in Munich, we took a bike tour around the city. It was a gorgeous day and the people were great. We even got to take a break and have lunch at the Chinese Tower biergarten in the English Garden. Our guide was overtly flirty, but whatcha gonna do? I volunteered to be the "Ass Man" on the trip. Meaning that I brought up the rear of the group. I got a frisbee as a souvenir.

Being "Back"

2009-10-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

It's been just about a month since we've been living here in Santa Cruz County again, and it feels.....fine.....and strange.

Relatively few things have changed in the course of a year (and really a year is NOTHING!), and yet, everything has changed. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? We have a new president, laws and government systems are transforming (which, I know they always do, but for some reason it feels as though it's actually affecting our day to day lives), highway 1 was remodeled, my daily duties have changed, Nate's work responsibilities have changed, our family changed, our house has changed, WE'VE changed. Perhaps this is the most profound. And I must ask, what happened to my beloved Longs Drugs??? Seriously California, we leave you alone for 1 year and you let an evil east coast company take over? I am disappointed. So very disappointed. Thankfully, some things are still the same: Safeway is still open 24 hours (yes! I can grocery shop whenever I want to), the bagelry still has guacamole and egg salad spreads, and sunny fall days are plentiful here on the central coast.

Being back in this culture also requires, (well, this term is debatable), some new things which we have learned to live without this past year.

1. A second car - we didn't even need one in Munich, and we're getting by just fine with one right now, as long as I'm not working and the weather is nice. Come cold, wet and rainy winter though, I'm not sure if Nathan will be down for riding his bike to the carpool bus. (And as I edit this, we have recently purchased a red Toyota Highlander. I know, I know....)

2. cell phones - this has been perhaps the most liberating and frustrating one of the bunch. No, you can't reach me whenever - I'm free. But that also means I'm stuck sometimes unable to communicate.

3. clutter - I used to be so afraid to get rid of things. Clothes, furniture, papers, STUFF! It's not that scary. It's liberating.

4. Haas Avocados. Yes. They are required!!

Hmm, guess that's it. Thought there was more. Have you noticed that I'm into lists lately? Next post will be (although shamefully tardy) about my friend Amy's visit with us in Munich and Vienna.

Lessons in Europe

2009-09-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

With a bit of reflection, I've come to realize that this year was all about life lessons.

Growth.

Which is never fun while you're in the midst of it. I'm quite happy in my little ruts that I dig for myself thank you very much (not really, but the known evil is always preferred to the unknown, right?)!

These are a few of the things that I've learned (and am still in process of) this year; perhaps Nathan too for some of them. The real test will be whether or not I can put the knowledge that I've gained through these trials into practice. Just some more tools to add to my journey. They begin lighthearted and end a bit deeper just like the natural progression of my thoughts.

What I've learned:

-how to find a bathroom and order food in 4 languages other than English

- how a number of infections and illnesses are treated in another country

-how to do conversions with general accuracy (oven temperatures, weight, distance, why don't we all just go metric?)

-that our marriage has grown stronger through this experience; everything from the way we fight, to the way we show love to one another has matured and deepened. Through the difficult moments, Nathan and I managed to bond more tightly rather than pull away from one another. I did not expect that during trying times. Please let us know if we ever begin to look and dress like one another - don't want it to go too far.

- that I've lived and experienced firsthand what countless writers and authors have penned before me; essentially that life is not a series of accomplishments or milestones, but rather that which happens despite or without careful type-A planning

- life is not, and probably SHOULD not always be about the pursuit of happiness. Americans interpretation of our forefathers wisdom is messed up. Don't fight the lows, roll with them and have faith that they'll pass.

-it really. Really. Does not. Matter.

-sometimes, you just lose. The End. move on.

- and, at the heart of it all, God. is. God. I am me. He is sovereign over all. it's about Him. His kingdom. not me. this one truth and realization is the underlying lesson this year for me. Back to the basics, kids.

Things we are SO excited about coming back to

2009-08-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

1. MEXICAN food!! Real. Real, mexican food. Flavor. Spice. Heat.

2. coffee. GOOD coffee. central american coffee with complex flavors and aromas. watch out Surf City.

3. communicating comfortably. all the time.

4. church community. People who love God. My friends who encourage me to be more Christ-like.

5. a car. I can privately go anywhere I want, when I want. freedom. the American way.

6. One-stop shopping. Grocery shopping will no longer be an all day event.

7. more predictable weather patterns.

8. Space! Big, BIG American size bathrooms and personal area.

8. cheaper goods. Sort of. If the dollar keeps tanking against the euro, at least.

9. Ali's wedding in October! Congratulations Ali and Paul!! And of course all of our family and friends too. :)

10. coming back older, wiser and more experienced. no quoting me on that!

Things we will miss about Germany

2009-08-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

1. the beer. it just isn't the same anywhere else.

2. the sauerkraut. it IS disgusting. anywhere but here.

3. public transport. clean, efficient, timely, really wish we had this option in the US.

4. proximity to the rest of Europe. Every amazing country within approximately a 1 hour flight: Spain, Italy, Greece, England, Belgium, etc. We were in the center.

5. shopping. never before have I had so many cute and/or beautiful options. Especially H&M. The Europeans know how to dress.

6. waste management system. this is where the European culture is far superior to ours. yes we are consumers. but as the country, the US could manage their garbage a WHOLE lot better. wish we were more environmental like the Germans. Granted, they have had to learn the hard way with restricted land and resources, a growing population and heavy human casualties in 2 world wars, but we should be learning from that! who's with me?!

7. Ok, I admit it. Some meat products that you cannot get anywhere else. Namely, Leberkaese and Weisswurst.

8. Just our lifestyle here. It will never be like this again. And can I admit to a bit of escapism? Just a tad.

9. The friends we've made here. At least now we have connections to come and stay at a later date. (Right? Danny? Ella? Charlene? Emily? Martin & Hannelore?)

10. a culture that doesn't seem as competitive and image conscious as ours. but I could be wrong.

11. our separate and individual comforters.

München Residenz

2009-08-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

After living in Munich for a year, we finally made it to the palace that we pass by every day. It was the city residence of the Wittelsbach family, the ruling family in Bavaria. Apparently, they were always trying to keep up with the Hapsburgs (remember them from European history 101?) rulers of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, who were trying to keep up with the Bourbons of France. Needless to say, they all visited one another and copied each others decorating style. Which I guess we still sorta do today.

It had beautiful courtyards and rooms, and we very much enjoyed the private theater and royal treasury. Enjoy the pictures!

Little, tiny porcelain vases

Little, tiny paintings

Ok, are you bored of overly ornate décor and furnishings yet?

Here are some things we found interesting: The paintings in the great hall all have knife marks where they were cut out at the end of the second world war. When the Allies were about to overtake Munich, the Nazis went through and tried to "save" the paintings by cutting them out, rolling them up and taking them away. If you look carefully, you can still see the knife marks.

I want these.

His and Her crowns

How's this for a beer stein? Nice.

Merissa and I pretending to be beautiful princesses.

Hiking in the Gorge

2009-08-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

Nathan, Merissa and I went hiking yesterday near the charming town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This is also the town where you can catch a tram up to the Zugspitze (the tallest point in Bavaria, and where we went earlier this year). Now that it's summer and rather hot outside, we decided to "hike" (I place that in quotations because what the Germans consider hiking is so much easier than what Californians do, it's more of a walk really), along the river and through the gorge.

It was so cool. The water was light mint green, freshly melted from the glaciers and ICE cold. The damp scent of rocks and water filled our noses as we tried to talk to one another over the deafening rush of water. We almost bumped into some people a few times because it was so very dark going through the rock, it actually felt a bit like the Boardwalk's cave train or some attraction at Disneyland.

We then ended the day by exploring the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Apparently the 1932 winter olympics were held here, just as the Nazi party was coming into power. And, on a side note, Munich is putting in it's bid for the 2018 Olympics. If they win, who wants to join us in a trip to Munich?

Wild Johannisbeeren? Or just poisonous? We didn't find out.

The Little Things

2009-08-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

Just some little things that I've been up to this week. I made bagels from scratch, something I never thought I could do. Thank you Ali McNabb for the recipe and encouragement!

And we ordered pizza for delievery.....in German! You actually go online here and order it, so it wasn't THAT difficult, but still scary. They have really weird toppings here (which Jessi Wegner, our northern German friend, says is not even German at all and that the Bavarians are the weird ones). They offer pizzas with things like eggplant, corn, eggs, pepperocinis, and the like. Very odd. We ended up getting two pizzas, one with salami, artichoke hearts and bell peppers and then one with mushrooms and basil. They were both relatively good and it was nice not having to go out or cook that night!

A Weekend with the Belgians

2009-08-10T07:24:00.001-07:00

Our friends, Tom and Pascale came to visit this past weekend. We were able to give them a tiny sample of Germany, tourist style. We went to a Biergarten for dinner Friday night, Neuschwanstein on Saturday, Weisswurst for breakfast and the BMW museum on Sunday. Classic.

Odeonsplatz at dusk. Apparently, Tom's a good photographer.

At the Chinese Tower in the beer garden. That's a Schweinhax'n. A Pork Knuckle. Simply medieval.

Schneeballen (snowballs) that we bought at a pastry shop. They looked so much better than they tasted. We were all disappointed.

Weisswurst for breakfast. And yes, Weissbier in the morning. Traditional Bavarian breakfast!

At the BMW museum.

Italia

2009-08-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

So, we have finished our vacation in Italy. Actually quite a while ago. But I'm just getting to the blog now. So, in one massive entry (though I promise not to put all of our 663 pictures, just a small sampling), here is our Italian Vacation!

Overall, just a great trip: I turned 30, we saw the rugged beauty of the Cinque Terre, absorbed the old, the new and the touristy culture of Rome, survived the fighting spirit of Naples, tasted the most simplistic and delicious pizza in the world, gaped at the splendor of the Amalfi coast and found my heritage and "spiciness" (as Nathan calls it) in Sicily. Whew!

At this point, I'd like to acknowledge my wonderful husband. After 8 years of marriage, (with a challenging year abroad, yet including a fabulous vacation in Italy, so this is duly noted), I am more in love with him than ever. The last time we were in Europe together for an extended vacation where it was just us 24/7, we had our gigantic fight somewhere in the middle. Yes, middle of the vacation and almost middle of the European continent. I think we were in Interlaken, Switzerland. This time, however, it was like we were more one than ever before. Entertaining and lively when needed, and solitary silence when needed. Yet we were never really outside of each other's presence. I am loving that marriage can get better with time and age.

If you're interested in some of the stuff we did, here's a bit of a list of the highlights and things we did and saw.

Cinque Terre

charming b&b place run by the nicest couple, spent many nights eating and chatting in their private garden. One night, our host brought us homemade Limoncello made by his octogenarian mother.

Hiked all of trail no. 1 throughout the 5 cities.

Celebrated my birthday with a romantic dinner overlooking the water.

The garden

Doesn't it remind you of Big Sur?

The classic and overdone shot of Vernazza.

The homemade Limoncello.

Rome

explored the Vatican

saw the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon and Roman baths

ate TONS of gelato daily, often twice daily. My favorite is a scoop of pistachio with a scoop of chocolate

hung out at the fountains and people, er, tourist watched

drank lots of espresso

A blurry picture of me quickly rubbing St. Peter's stub of a foot. It has basically rubbed off throughout the years.

Sistine Chapel

Nate at Trevi Fountain

Spa Day! The Roman baths. Good night it was hot that day! I longed for water in those ruins.

Naples

visited Pompeii which is just outside the city

visited the National Archeological Museum where most of the stuff from Pompeii ended up (including ancient porn. yes, porn. Don't worry, I didn't put up any pictures, those can be viewed upon request....I TOLD you we had a great time!)

ate THE BEST pizza in the world

An amazingly beautiful mosaic and it's detail (on right).

Positano, Amalfi and Ravello

went to the beach

shopped
explored

went to the beach again and again

Villa Cimbrone in Ravello

We had a thunderstorm one night.

Amalfi

Sicily

drove with the crazy Italians

explored the cities of Taormina and Enna
visited the best preserved ruins in the world in Agrigento

went to the beach again
ate deliciously rich cannoli and yummy arancini (it means little orange and is filled with rice, meat and cheese)

City on a Hill

And there was NO ONE there!

Mt. Enna in the background. One of the world's most active volcano. Can you see it smoking?

Ah. Viva Italia!

New Post Coming Soon!

2009-08-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all of our sweet and loyal readers! Thank you for still checking in on the blog, I just haven't had access to photos. I suppose I *could* just write a bit, but that's boring without pictures to back it up! I will be back in Munich (where all of our stuff is) by Tuesday and should have a new post soon. I promise!

Amalfi Coast

2009-06-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Nathan writing. We'll post later with more details, stories and pictures, but here's a short trip update in the meantime.

We had a great time in Cinque Terre where we hiked and explored the five seaside towns and managed to squeeze in some beach time to boot! Rome was great to see and take in the history, even if it was hectic and crowded. Naples was...strange...a beautiful city in many ways, but also dirty and intense. It really did have the best pizza we've ever tasted. What makes the Neapolitan pizza so good, in my opinion, is the dough. It's thin, slightly chewy, and not too bready. Actually, now that I think about it, it is a bit like Naan bread. In any case, with a few basic toppings and a wood fired oven, it makes for a fantastic pizza.

We're about 2/3 of the way through our Italy trip and are now in the town of Positano on the Amalfi Coast. It is really beautiful here, and I think this may be our favorite destination (though we'll have to see how Sicily, our last stop, compares).

Here are a couple of pictures from the Amalfi Coast. First, a couple of shots of Positano.

And then a picture from Ravello, another town on the Amalfi Coast, which is best described as being "closer to the sky than the sea" because it is 1100 feet above the shoreline.

However, of all the beautiful things we've seen, I personally think the most gorgeous picture is this one from a cafe in Rome where we escaped the mid-day heat. It's no wonder that we get better service from the guys here when Shera asks for help ;)

Buongiourno Italia!

2009-06-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I leave tomorrow for our 3 week Italian vacation. We've had this trip planned since 2004. We just didn't know when we were going to take it. And here we are! 2009 and the year I turn 30. I am a bit bummed that I will not be able to celebrate my 30th birthday with my friends and a nice big party, but a trip to Italy comes in a close second.

We will be traveling mostly down western Italy. Sadly, there is never enough time to see it all, and we had to make some sacrifices. We are the type of travelers whom like to spend at least a few days in each location to try to get a feel of the area. So, we'll be in the Cinque Terre for 5 days, Rome for 5 days, Naples for 3, the Amalfi Coast for 5 and Sicily for 5.

We will see everyone when we get home to Santa Cruz (for 2 weeks for Nate, the month of July for me) on July 1st.

Ciao il mio bellas!

Lederhosen and Dirndls

2009-05-30T13:21:00.001-07:00

We finally purchased our ultimate souvenir: a pair of Lederhosen for Nate and a dirndl for me! These outfits are the "traditional" clothing of Bavaria. I put traditional in quotes because styles have evolved over time, especially the dirndls.

Way back in the day, these dresses were very conservative; down to your ankles with absolutely no skin showing below the neck. Of course now it looks a bit more bar wench-like, which is perfectly valid too, that IS what they are, serving liter after liter of beer. I am wearing a definite summer style dirndl, in both length and colors. Merissa's is a bit more traditional with the longer skirt and muted pattern. Technically we are supposed to wear them with hiking boots, but it just looks so much cuter with flats!

Nate's lederhosen (which translates to "leather pants"), are very traditional. I don't think the men's outfits have changed much in the past 50+ years. I could be wrong though. He also has a relatively summery set, not the long winter pants (or the short shorts either!), but rather the 3/4 length.

So, what do we wear them to in Santa Cruz? I believe the Tyrolean Inn in Ben Lomond has an Oktoberfest each year, so we'll certainly have to make an appearance and enjoy the only local German/Austrian food in the area. Perhaps they'll also make good Halloween outfits, we'll see. Any other suggestions? Enjoy our little photo shoot!

Uh-oh. Whole-lotta kissin' goin' on!

I swear my butt is not that big! Is it? No, it must be the petticoats and pleats............

This dog appeared out of nowhere and decided to do it's business in our general vicinity.

Being silly (not sure if you noticed, and I can't believe I'm actually asking you to look closer at my husband's crotch, but there is actually a flap that buttons down so that men, while stupid drunk, can relieve themselves quickly).

Walking home.

Picnic in the Park

2009-05-24T03:47:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the beautiful weather we've been having lately, Nathan, Merissa and I decided to have dinner in the park, picnic-style. It's been staying light out until almost 9pm every night, and continues to stay light later and later. Ah, the redeeming benefits of being in a northerly locale in the summer! Versus the winter, of course, where it gets dark at 3:30/4pm.

So, we made Emily's delicious pasta salad (a perfect light summer meal), freshly baked pretzels with sweet mustard, avocados that we splurged on from the Viktualienmarkt, cherries for dessert and a great bottle of red wine from France. It was perfect. Except for the avocados. They looked like Haas, they felt like Haas, but baby, they were NOT Haas avocados. They were sad, watery, flavorless, slightly rotten on the inside yuckiness. Europeans do not know the beauty of true Californian (or Chilean, as Merissa would carefully point out), avocados. Sigh. Soon.......soon, we shall taste their delicioiusness again.

If you are interested, here is the recipe for the pasta salad. It's just so good. We call it Yummy Pasta Salad. Thanks Emily York for sharing this with us!

12 oz. bow tie pasta
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
16 oz. artichoke hearts in marinade
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and cool it down. Mix with everything, except the cheese in a large bowl. Refrigerate for as long as you can stand (sometimes, I skip this step 'cause I'm hungry! But you just want the salad cold). Add the cheese. Mix all together thoroughly. Enjoy!

Belgium

2009-05-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

We visited some friends this past weekend in Leuven, Belgium, which is a university town near Brussels. Nathan was stoked to try a bunch of Belgian beers (they really are very different than German beers) and I couldn't wait to try famed Belgian chocolate and waffles! Separately of course. Although I'm sure it would be a good pairing!

Our hosts were amazing tour guides, setting up brewery tours, tastings and making sure that we got to try authentic cuisine and lifestyle. Thank you so much Tom and Pascale! We were even welcomed into Tom's parent's home and got to enjoy a meal and drinks with the family. It was a nice change of pace and we had fun.

They put mayonnaise on their fries. And almost anything else. But maybe that was just Tom.....

The waffles were AMAZING!!! I could've eaten 3 in one sitting. They are actually more of a dessert food rather than breakfast like we make them. I can't decide if the best part was the warm softness of the dough being freshly cooked or the liquidy chunks of raw sugar to be found thoughout the waffle. Look how happy Nate is to eat his. Oh baby.

Well, now what?

2009-05-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Just an update for those of you I haven't had the pleasure of speaking with personally. Our guests have come and gone, we have a few more travels to accomplish before we come home, but then.......that's it? Ok, cue nervous breakdown! No, seriously, a lot has changed while we've been "living it up" as you may think, in "fabulous Europe". Well, it's not all excitement and dreamy. It's just.....
...life.

Generally, most of my days are pretty hum-drum, still gotta do the basics of living, eating, washing, cooking, cleaning. And things change. And I do not do well with change. But then inevitably change becomes the new norm and I adjust, kicking and screaming along the way.

Nathan's work contract has been slightly extended through the month of August, so we'll be here a bit longer than originally planned. I do not know WHAT I was thinking when I booked our trip to Italy to arrive back in Munich, only to leave for San Francisco the next day. Maybe I thought I'd never get there. That's usually what I seem to think, it always seems so far off.

And, perhaps the most life-altering change (thus far), is that I resigned from my job. It was one of those decisions made by a step of faith. What do I do now? God knows. Really. He does. And I am clutching to that truth like it's my lifeline. Cause it is. Sure, I could easily wander into "who am I? what am I? where does my value lie? am I just existing rather than living? what purpose have I? am I a being just wandering aimlessly about in this world, taking up air and space?" and I could go on. But I will not. Will not go there. :) Promise. Um, encouragement helps too!

I hope I haven't hijacked this blog into being too much about me rather than about Nathan and I. Then again, he works and I get to do this, so of course it's from my perspective. Anyway, if you're still here, thanks for reading. The next post should have some pictures and not as much existentialism. I promise that too!

Venice, Italy

2009-04-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Nate and I enjoyed a romantic rendezvous in Venice.

When we first arrived on Thursday, it was raining and a bit chilly. This did not make me happy. I certainly don't do well when I'm cold, and I was wearing an adorable little knit dress and flats. Everyone else had on warm pants and rain jackets. Not only was I cold, but I felt stupid for not paying closer attention to the weather reports. Wishful thinking I suppose. Can you tell that I REALLY want warmer weather? I've been deprived here! Work with me seasons!

Anyway, we bought umbrellas at a tourist stand, mine being a corny Venice painting one, but hey, it was either that or the ugly plaid one Nate got. Oh well, at least we were now out of the rain.

We then checked into our hotel (a bit gaudy, it's Italy, but still awesome, don't you love the pink bedding and walls? The walls were actually fabric covered and somewhat soft....hmm), I changed, and then we went to explore this mysterious and beautiful city.

Venice is interesting. It's extremely old, crumbling before your very eyes, über-touristy and yet totally unique. It's often imitated, but never duplicated. There is nothing like Venice. Sure, it's a bit dirty, overrun and overdone by tourists from all over the globe, but it's absolutely amazing. The architecture, the narrow (and I mean narrow!) twists and turns of every "street", nothing is straight, vertical or horizontal. Everything is sinking, and unevenly at that.

Cars are no where to be found. Boats take their place. Perhaps this is also what adds to the ancient feel of the city (er, should I say, town. There are only about 30,000 residents, the rest are all tourists). The modern invention of the car does not work here. This just adds to Venice's charm.

By Friday however, the weather had changed into beautiful, warm, spring days. Hooray! Nate and I explored as much as we could. We got lost on purpose, always finding some little store or plaza just around the bend.

Good thing we did so much walking too, because we ate like pigs. Venice is known for it's seafood dishes and so we tried the local specialites like sardines in saor (whole sardines in olive oil, onions, raisins and pine nuts), nero di seppia (cuttlefish cooked in a sauce made with it's own ink, it's better than it sounds), and the amazing, the delicious......risotto al mare. This is risotto cooked in a fish stock with other goodies from the ocean, like mussels, shrimp and clams. Yum. It was so, so, so good.

Of course, since it was our first time in Venice, we HAD to do a gondola ride. And it was fun, a great way to see the town.

At one point during our ride in the gondola (with, might I add, a gondolier who looked sort of like a younger Ricky Ricardo with tatoos), we passed the back entrance of the opera house. As we turned to look, a very nice private water taxi pulled up to the steps, simultaneously Nathan looks to the bridge ahead and comments about all the men with "really nice" cameras. I say "they sort of look like paparazzi" just as this beautiful woman in a suit leaps out of the taxi, cameras clicking and flashing away, and into the opera house. Our gondolier says that it was someone famous, but with his accent, I did not understand the name, something like Charlene blahblahblah. Come to find out later that Salma Hayek got married that weekend (actually the DAY we were on our gondola ride) in the opera house and Venice was full of celebrities. And I didn't see a single one. Except of course for the woman jumping out of the water taxi, which I'm now guessing was Charlize Theron, who was a guest at the wedding. Just goes to show you that in that small little town, so tightly packed with buildings, you can really hardly see anyone. D'oh!

We really loved Venice. Nathan and I have decided to go back. Someday.

The Grellmanns Part 5 - End of the Visit

2009-04-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

As my parents' visit came to a close, we just enjoyed the beautiful weather, the beer gardens and a relaxing Easter Sunday; even though my father wandered off at one point, and ended up having lunch with our neighbors. All in all, it was a good visit with the parents.

One day we rode the paddle boats in the lake at the English Garden.

The Easter carrot cake that our neighbors kindly made us. They are so sweet. They even took care of my dad, whether he needed to borrow a bike or became separated from us for an afternoon and needed entertaining.

The Grellmanns Part 4 - (How many of these are there??) Olympic Park

2009-04-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Back in 1972 Munich hosted the summer Olympics. Many know this mainly because of the tragedy that befell the Israeli athletes, which makes this place all the more awe-inspiring. At least for us non-sport lovers, such as myself. For my parents however, just being the site of world competition in a multitude of athletic events makes it worthy of seeing.

We saw everything we could. Most of the big stadiums were closed due to renovations. Of course. They are always renovating in Europe. Which was a bit disappointing, but my parents were ok with it.

The park also has a 290 meter tall tower (951 feet) which overlooks the entire facility. It gives nice views of the entire city and a birds eye view of the stadium.

In the same area as the Olympia Park is the BMW headquarters where they have a museum of sorts and public showroom. My father, being into nice cars HAD to see this. And we did. We saw lots of different models of cars, motorcycles, and other machinery (forgive me, this is REALLY not my thing and I have no clue what I'm talking about). There were displays on paint, interior upholstery, speed, balance, the BMW factories around the world, and of course video racing games that any young boy would drool over. Again, not really my cup of tea, but it was fun getting to ride in some of the sport cars and motorcycles.

This car was his favorite. It's #1 in his book. That's why he's holding up 1 finger. It's an SUV. Of course.

The Grellmanns Part 4 - Salzburg

2009-04-09T04:58:00.000-07:00

One day, we took a day trip to Salzburg, Austria. This trip did not include Nathan, which ended up reverting us back to "The Grellmanns". Dad, Mom, Shera and Merissa. It also meant that we had colorful emotions that day trying to decide what we wanted to do.

First we went on a walking tour of the downtown area. We saw Mozart's birthplace, some churches, cute alleyways and the outdoor concert hall. After this, it was the girls vs. Dad. Insert some heated discussion, a storming off by one party member, a peacemaker compromising and then we cordially parted ways. My father hiked up to see the medieval fortress, while the rest of us sought out some Sound of Music locations, a different view of the city and finally decided to stop for coffee and ice cream in an old café. Everyone was happy.

Mom was SO happy about her ice cream. Merissa and I got amazingly delicious coffee. Austrians KNOW how to do coffee. Thanks to the Ottoman Empire.

Since it was before Easter, there were eggs EVERYWHRE. The Germans/Austrians (they'll hate me for lumping them together like that) love Easter and decorating eggs. It's this tradition that is taken very seriously by decorators. Here are some pictures of an egg store where you can buy the intricately decorated eggs. Hey, why make your own when you can buy PERFECT ones? Germans love perfect.

End of the day, and back to Munich.

The Grellmanns Part 3 - Schloss Nymphenburg

2009-04-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

The Sunday before Easter we went to Schloss Nymphenburg, the Bavarian royal family's summer home. It's sort of like the German version of Versailles. We bought the ticket for the ENTIRE park, meaning we visited over 4 different buildings all over the grounds. But hey, we got our money's worth!

We began in the main building where King Ludwig I had a gallery of "beautiful women" where he had his artists paint the most beautiful women in his kingdom. We found one that looked somewhat like Merissa.

Then we went to the quiet chapel down the road. The floor was so old that the authorities make you wear these gigantic, gray, felt slippers so you do not damage the floor. We had fun shuffling around.

Then there was the recreation pagoda where the royals would go to rest after hunting or to play cards and other games. Who knows what went on in there!

We then continued on our walk to the Queen's private quarters where she escaped her husband.

This place was by far the most beautiful. Definitely decorated for women.

The kitchen.

Pretty tiles.

Then came Ludwig's bathhouse where he bathed. Although who knows how often. It was just a giant pool indoors. Talk about wasting water!

About this time, I started to get really bored. Merissa happened to capture it. Thankfully, I had an ice cream cone.

We then went to the final building on the property, the carriage house. This place housed all of the royals' carriages for coronations and such. There were also paintings of all of their horses too. Dad had to search for his most favorite horse and get a picture of just that one. Here he is searching.

The winner is......

Bertha!!!

Here is a picture of one of the carriages.

Our favorite quote from my dad of the entire trip went something like this:

"Joyce, just look at these carriages. Don't they remind you of the Chronicles of Narnia? Like the witch's sleigh? So ornate..........it's like..........yuck! I HATE it!!"

I hope that's as funny in print as it was when he said it. Nate, Merissa and I are still laughing about it.

These last ones are just more of the gardens. Again, a tiring, but chock-full day.

The Grellmanns Part 2 - Fussen

2009-04-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

Our first Saturday we took a trip to the town of Füssen (which means feet), outside of Munich. This is the town that houses the famous Neuschwanstein castle. However, since my parents had already been there 28 years ago (and it honestly has not changed), we decided to explore the small town and REAL medieval fortress.

The train ride over. Despite their expressions, Gary and Joyce loved the train.

And of course, if there is a sports facility (think this one is tennis courts), dad needs a picture of it.

No, that's not snow anymore. It's edelweiss growing. Yay spring!

We do love to shop.

Had to put this one in because my purse under Nate's sweatshirt looks like I've got one big butt. Hehehe.

View from the castle tower.

Nate and Dad taking pictures.

Atop the tower.

And everyone's personal favorite: Daddy in the stocks.

The Grellmanns Part 1

2009-04-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Day 1

Mom and Dad have arrived. That evening we had dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. Both parents had a Maß (liter) of beer. They rarely drink. It proves to be a really fun evening, mom and dad are drunk, it's great! No, really, they're ok, and tipsy might be a better word. Later dad crashes on the couch. Some things are just international.

Day 2

We explore the city center. This is before Merissa and I get critical of our parents' picture taking skills and begin to bring our own cameras.

It wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Munich Google office. Thank you to Mr. Google for making this trip possible.

Day 3

We go on a walking tour of the city, shop, check out the University and briefly walk through the English Garden. Honestly this is where the days start blurring. All I know is that one day, both Nate and Merissa had to work so I had them by myself. Which is a lesson in patience. Perhaps one of our favorite stories of this day is when Merissa and I were speaking on our cells. First, a little background.

Munich is a very bike friendly city and there are designated bike paths all over the city where pedestrians are not supposed to wander. Key word here: wander. What does my father do in pursuit of the best pictures? Wander. Yes. This is one of the first things we tell visitors, to STAY OUT OF THE BIKE LANE, this is how to identify it, please always be aware. We have not had to visit a German hospital yet and we do not want to.

So, I am on the phone with Merissa, my parents and I are just outside the university, (where careless college students RACE to their classes), and suddenly all Merissa hears is me shouting "GET OUT OF THE BIKE LANE!" My father nearly gets hit. It was hilarious only after the fact of course.

This is the picture Gary almost got injured for.

We then met Merissa later at the Chinese Tower beer garden in the English Garden. Again, maß of beer, ginormous pretzels and the delicious obatzda cheese (mix of butter, camembert, onion and caraway seeds).

The end of a tiring, but good, day.

Meet the Parents....in Germany!

2009-04-03T00:46:00.000-07:00

My parents, Gary and Joyce Grellmann visited us most recently.

Many of you know them, but for those of you who do not, let's just say that they have easily identifiable quirks (like all parents, right?). We have had many adventures, made complete by Grellmann family drama. Those of you that know....just know.

They arrived April 1, not having flown internationally since 1981. Here is a picture of them arriving at the airport.

Not bad after a 12 hour flight. They certainly have me beat. (Look how excited they are! Or is it delirium?)

Here is a list of the things we did and saw over their ~10 day visit (not necessarily in this order):

-climbed St. Peter's church tower
-Schloss Nymphemburg (a palace)
-Marienplatz (Munich's city square)
-walking tour of Munich
-Kaufingerstrasse (shopping)
-University of Munich
-a visit to the town of Fussen
-a visit to Salzburg
-a visit to Augsburg
-Olympic Stadium (of course! What else with 2 P.E teachers??)
-BMW museum/showroom (again, of course, my father)
-explored the English Garden (which is larger than both NY's central park and London's Hyde park, it stretches for about 3 miles) and went paddle boating in the lake.
-dinner with neighbors
-meals at Hofbrauhaus, Löwenbrau, Augustiner Kellar, Hax'nbauer and the Chinese Tower beer garden in the English Garden

What haven't we done? This is how my father operates. And my mother is just along for the ride. I hope their "vacation" was a least partly restful. Restful is open to interpretation.

More stories and pictures to come later. Stay tuned.

"So Shera, what DO you do all day?"

2009-04-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

I get asked this quite a bit. It's actually overwhelming having so many options with what to do with my time. And it's difficult to not feel as if I'm wasting my time over here. "I should be writing a book! I should be mastering the German language! I should be researching and cataloging tips and tricks about cleaning, cooking and general house management!" Should, should, should. Too many shoulds. So, without feeling guilty, here are some things I do to pass the time, take care of things and enjoy myself.

1. Go grocery shopping - this is a must. Sometimes it's just getting meat for dinner that night and other times its a full day of multiple stores trying to find what I need.

2. Read

I think this was during my Twilight frenzy.

3. Meet with friends for coffee/museums/brunch/shopping.

4. Clean the apartment - if I was more organized, it would be more efficient, but as of now, at least 1 day a week is spent cleaning the entire flat. Toilets to tops of doors. Goody. **Lately this has not been happening, and cleaning has been demoted to "when the guests leave and before the next ones get here".

5. Go online - one may have noticed that I am on Facebook a lot these days.

6. Sleep - I have been enjoying this. It's been great.

7. Take out the trash and recycling (believe it or not, this actually takes a while. See October's posts for a refresher).

8. Cook- Nate says I'm getting better. I still not all that adventurous, still just a follow the recipe kinda gal.

9. Bake- Cake like breads and cookies are my favorite. Although I did make a pie crust from scratch and it kicked ass.

Nate made me put the cat picture in here. He says that, although I bake, I've usually eaten most of whatever treat I've made before he gets home. Oops.

10. Do the laundry

11. Meet Nate for lunch

12. Continue to explore Munich and surrounding Europe - I still try to get lost in certain neighborhoods of the city just to explore. And we have our Italy trip booked for the month of June.

A Visit from Nichole and Michael

2009-03-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

Nate's cousin, and our good friend, Nichole Whiteman visited us this past week. Her boyfriend Michael came along, in his first trip to Europe ever. They were here for the Starkbierfest, the festival of Strong Beer (this is what the people would drink during Lent, containing anywhere from 6-10% alcohol and considered "liquid bread" by the monks).

It was nice to have their company, we went to the Deutsche Museum (one of the biggest and oldest science and technology museums), explored the city of Munich and drank A LOT of beer. It was great. For a few days Nic and Mike also went to see Austria, staying in both Salzburg and Innsbruck; and getting in some good skiing too!

Michael was stoked about the non-existent open container laws.

Nichole's dramatic side makes an appearance.

At the Deutsche Museum. Mike pondering a turbine engine and Nichole ducking a bomb.

It's fun having guests. Next up......the parents! Here we go.......

Hamburg

2009-03-16T02:55:00.000-07:00

The Rathaus (town hall)

Our beloved Jessi and Jonas.

The port city

We went to Hamburg this last weekend to visit our friend Jessica Wegner and her family. They are originally from Hamburg and have been trying to convince us that the north of Germany is WAY better than the south. Well, at least prove to us that all of Germany is not like Bavaria. And she is right!

Hamburg was a really cool city. It reminded me of San Francisco/Zurich with its weather, surrounding water and numerous bridges. Little fact: Hamburg actually has more bridges than Venice, Italy!

Why is my husband so dashingly handsome?

Jessi and her boyfriend Jonas played tour guides in their city taking us on a double-decker bus tour and translating the German narrative just for us. They are so sweet. We strolled along the waterfront wharf and had fish sandwiches for lunch (very typical port-city grub), walked through the underground (and underwater) tunnel that connects the two sides of the Elbe river and got to party one night in the famous Reeperbahn.

The Reeperbahn is an historic party area, (if that's possible...), where sailors would spend their hard earned wages on prostitutes and liquor. Hey, let the good times roll! And it's still a party hearty area today, although the sailors are no longer the only ones who come here to have a good time. All the youth in Hamburg can be found here on Friday and Saturday nights staying up until early the next day. One street in the Reeperbahn area is famous for its prostitution, as it is legal here in Germany. Jessi and Jonas were telling us that women, although they are technically "allowed" to go on this street, often do not because they get hassled by the prostitutes. Whether this is from shame, competitiveness or simple distraction, women are not welcomed on Herberstraße. However, if you are a man, the story is completely different. I'm sure you can imagine. Needless to say, we stayed away from that street, but still got some good pictures of sex ads.

We also enjoyed a wonderfully delicious meal at Jessi's parents home. Besides the yummy food and excellent company, was the fact that they live in a swanky apartment overlooking the Elbe river. It was breathtaking. I felt very sophisticated. But Jessi's parents seem to have that ability, to make you feel cooler than you are.

One night, we ordered pizza and ate our slices off WWII-era dishes. It was sorta creepy and cool at the same time, knowing that the plates we were using were made during the reign of the Third Reich. Also, when I was trying to take this picture, the camera wasn't focusing properly and the picture was not coming out at all. We all started joking that maybe you're not supposed to be able to take a picture of the swastika!! But then I figured out my camera's extreme focus mode and it turned out fine. Notice that it was made in Bavaria.

We then said our good-byes and headed home on Monday. Except Nate, he had already left via train on Sunday afternoon (someone's gotta work right?). So here is the last story of our travels this past weekend.

Merissa and I arrived at the Munich airport and bought an outer ring train ticket to get back into the heart of the city. Now, we already have tickets for rings 1-2, the airport is located in ring 13 and the outer ring ticket we bought for 9 euros only covers rings 5-16. I know, I know, this is getting complicated. Yes, welcome to Germany. Anyway, all you need to know is that we deliberately knew we were breaking a German law, but figured we could make it 2 rings without getting checked and save 50% of the normal cost. It really is ridiculous how expensive it is to get to and from the airport!

You know where this story is going right? Of course, (probably because she was with me, because this stuff never happens to my sister), somewhere in the 4th ring we get checked. They do not care if you don't speak German, there are signs in multiple languages saying you will have to pay a fine of 40 euro if you do not have the correct ticket, so what else can we do but say that we are getting off here in......uh......Johanneskirchen. (Where the hell are we?) So, Merissa and I employ our best acting skills and pretend that this is our stop, walk confidently toward the exit and let the train leave us behind.

Thankfully, the ticket guard, or whatever they're called, didn't follow us or give us a fine, they've been known to do that. So, here we are in Johanneskirchen, out in the middle of the Bavarian countryside waiting 20 minutes for the next train. After the scare wore off, all we could do was laugh uncontrollably. Lesson learned. NEVER break the German laws!

Portuguese Tapas. Nate's favorite: sardines.

St. Michael slaying a demon (at least that's what I think this is...)

Atop the tower in St. Michael's Church

The underground and underwater passage to the other side of the city.

Last, but not least, this is where we stopped for coffee one day. It's a chain. We explained what Balzac sounds like to native English ears. We all had a good laugh.

What a Mess

2009-03-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

Those of you that have known me long enough (or perhaps even new friends), understand that "graceful" is not an adjective used to describe me. I'm very clumsy and in addition to breaking a few plates and glasses here, I have also broken a glass lampshade in our bedroom. I have close calls daily where something slips out of my fingers and onto the floor. Usually I'm lucky and nothing gets broken or ruined. The story below is the exception. (Sarah, Forrest and Nate correct me if I jumble the details).

On the Myatt-Paul's last night, we went to the Augustiner Kellar bier hall. To get there, we take a tram which runs in the middle of the road on cables. We had just finished at the Kellar and began to head home. We were walking to the tram stop and then suddenly heard the tram quickly approaching. If we didn't run we'd miss it! So we all broke into a jog, even Sarah with Luke in the stroller. We jogged along the street until all the cars had gone past so we could cross. Forrest, being ahead of everyone, crossed first, then Nate, Sarah and finally me). I must've caught up with Sarah or passed her (she did have the stoller after all) because the next thing I knew, my feet were stumbling. I tried to re-balance myself, but to no avail, I came crashing down in the middle of the road, landeding hard on my hands and knees with my purse somewhere to my left. Mind you, the tram was ahead of us, and we were still trying to make it. Thankfully, we did.

But when I got in the tram we surveyed my damage. I had muddied up my jeans, torn through one knee and was bleeding. My white mittens were a green black from the wet ground. We could not stop laughing. Apparently, since it was dark, I had forgotten about the little curb that separates the cars from the trams and it took me down hard! Thankfully, Sarah, being behind me, saw me fall and avoided the obstacle. So, although I'm a klutz, I'd like to think I saved Sarah and the baby. Some of you may be thinking "Well, Shera, don't run after drinking! That's what happens." And this is the saddest part. I was the ONLY one not to have an alcoholic drink that night. But I wish I could blame it on intoxication.

We got home, I cleaned myself up and Sarah, channeling Martha Stewart-like abilities, sewed my ripped jeans. Thank you SO much Sarah! Anyways, now I have scrapes and bruises all over my legs (those bruises from sledding last weekend are still there) and I probably have the world's least sexiest legs right now. I look like a victim of domestic violence. Good thing it's still winter because I'm a mess.

A Visit from the Myatt-Pauls

2009-03-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

The last few days we enjoyed the company of our good friends Sarah, her husband Forrest and their 11 month old son Luke.

We had fun playing tour guides in our cold/wet/snowy city. Although I kept apologizing for the dreadful weather, Sarah and Forrest (coming from Houston) welcomed the cold and relief from humidity. Others of you who plan to visit may not have such a rosy outlook (mom and dad, I'm looking in your direction). Basically we just explored the city center, shopped for authentic Birkenstocks for Sarah, and ate A LOT of traditional Bavarian foods.

Baby Luke is a great little traveler too. He only seemed to become upset when we stopped moving and there were no longer new things for him to view! Such a cutie. And his little smile and belly laugh will melt your heart. Sarah and Forrest, thank you so much for your visit! We miss you already and (at the time of writing) you haven't even caught your plane yet!

PS - Ha ha. We did NOT give Luke beer. He's just at that age where he reaches for and grabs anything. What did he happen to grab at the Hofbräuhaus? The boys' liters of beer. Too funny of a picture to pass up.

Just love these Teas!

2009-03-02T06:53:00.001-08:00

The one on the left says: "Little Sin".

"Sweet Devil"

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Thanks for reading!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

2009-03-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Today is Nate's 32nd birthday. We celebrated by sleeping in and then having huevos rancheros for breakfast, a true treat in central Europe. I even made him guacamole. It kicked ass. It was another sunny day (warm even! It was 52F!!! All I wore was jeans and a sweater! This is a VERY big deal), so we took a walk in the sunshine and had tea and pie. All the York boys seem to like pie better than cake for their birthdays. What is WRONG with them?? Anyway, Nate enjoyed his berry pie and a fun, yet relaxing weekend.

Sledding

2009-02-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

We went sledding today with our friends Danny, Katharin and their cute 4-year-old son, Benny. (I hope I spelled all names correctly!)

It was so much fun riding the little gondola to the top of the mountain and then sledding all the way back down. It was a good 30 minutes down the mountain, (with stops for Glühwein along the way), and we were able to fit in about 3 runs. The weather was absolutely perfect, not a cloud in the sky. We had so much fun in fact that Nathan and I are both sore and black and blue. I have some nasty bruises on my hands and inner knees and Nate's bum is sore from landing on the wooden sled while going over jumps. I will not torture you with pictures of those, although I was tempted.....

Thanks Paz family for inviting us on such a fun adventure!!

On the gondola ride.

There seems to be a church at the top of every mountain here. It's really cool actually.

Coming down the first part of the mountain. That's not us, but you get the idea.

Glühwein pit stop. We met some guys from Sacramento on vacation. They were nice enough to take our picture!

The end of a good day.

Fasching

2009-02-24T06:15:00.000-08:00

Pronounced FAW-shing, this is the German Carnivale or Mardi Gras. For those of us without Catholic backgrounds, Fasching is the time before Lent when everybody indulges in fun, general zaniness and worldly pleasures of all kinds. In Catholic Bavaria, it is no different, because beginning on Ash Wednesday is Lent - 40 days of restricted foods and religious discipline.

Downtown Munich is getting into the spirit. And I do not mean the Holy Spirit. There are bandstands with musicians dressed in wacky costumes (cows, hot pink wigs, just any odd clothing) singing everything from the 60's "Hey baby, I wanna know, will you be my girl?" to The Rocky Horror Picture Show's "Time Warp". It's hilarious with everybody dancing in the street. No wonder I enjoyed it, it was just like Santa Cruz! With the drum circles and costumes, I felt right at home. It was great. And even more fun when you join them! As the photos below demonstrate.

On a side note, everyone here in Europe seems to smoke. It is banned indoors, so it's really not that bad (unless you are walking directly behind someone and the wind is blowing in your face). Normally this does not bother me one bit, as it is an easy problem to solve. However, with Lent almost upon us, Nate and I have a theory that giving up smoking for Lent is popular, and therefore people are puffing away like chimneys until the last second when they have to quit. It's quite difficult to escape the smell of smoke.

Anyway, there are carnival booths and rides for kids and of course food of all kinds. I think my favorite thing is the confetti though. You can buy these bags of it and everyone throws it at one another. Nothing like confetti to make it feel like a real party.

See what I mean? These ladies reminded me of my mom. (Only the ladies on the left!) Love you mommy, you would look great in a hot pink wig. :)

These were the traffic fairies. They were stepping out in traffic, stopping cars and even tour buses with their magic wands. Some they did not let pass. They must have drank too much fairy juice. It was very entertaining.

I loved the octopus men. I think they were my favorite. Other than the confetti that is.

Now you know what it looked like, smelled like and even though this is a rather crappy video (I haven't used it in so long, that I forgot how to turn it off!), you can even hear what it was like to be there.

A Motley Post of Strange Topics

2009-02-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

Hi there, this is Nate finally posting again. Nothing much this time, just a random cornucopia of pictures with no common theme.

Exhibit A: Happy Dinky cereal. It's chocolate..yummm! As far as we can tell "zahlen-spaß" literally translates to "pay-fun" so something is clearly lost in translation here.

Exhibit B: Finally, one-stop shopping for all your cult needs! We didn't browse this store, but perhaps they sell Kool Aid and robes.

Exhibit C: "Hot Love" tea. Just in time for Valentines Day.

Exhibit D: We import Tapatio from home. It is a wonderful warming friend in the land of bland pork and sauerkraut. Shera has caught me whispering sweet nothings to it.

Exhibit E: Venison salami. At least, that's what we believe it to be. Whatever, it is sooo tasty.

Exhibit F: For foot! This one's for Matt. Seriously though, we've been walking so much that the calluses (or is it calli?) on my feet were starting to hurt, so I had a mini-spa day yesterday. I had to scrub pretty hard..memories of Dumb and Dumber.

Miss you all,
-Nate

First Sunny Day in February

2009-02-16T04:25:00.000-08:00

The day after Valentines Day was the first sunny day around here in almost 2 weeks. Nate and I are pretty sure we have some mild form of seasonal depression. We have become sun worshipers. And for those of you who have known me formerly as "Militant Sunscreen Girl" will be in shock. Well, I still wear SPF 15, so maybe not.

Although it was sunny, please do not think that that means "warm". No, no, no, no, no. It's been colder than a tin toilet seat in the Yukon! It was about 19F, anyway, and for this California girl, that is inconceivable. The snow was piling up on the ground, kids were sledding down the little hills in the English Garden and the adults were warming up with more Gluhwein (the mulled wine popular around Christmas).

We walked around, trying to find the patches of sun to stand in and ended the walk with some Gluhwein and hot punch at the Chinese Tower. If you look carefully at the pictures, we look a bit pained in each one. I was REALLY cold! I think we only lasted about an hour and a half before we decided to head back inside.

The Chinese Tower in the English Garden where we had our Gluhwein.

We're really cold here. It's getting painful.

Here I am soaking up the sun.

Our surfer friend doesn't seem to care how cold it is.

Sick Days

2009-02-05T03:24:00.000-08:00

The past few days Nathan has been home with flu-like symptoms which, from what we can gather, looks like he has....the flu. I TOLD him to not lick the handles on public transit! EWWW!

Anyway, I'm home too, getting to play caregiver. Not sure how well I'm doing. So far, he's still sick. I think in the first photo he was actually a bit delirious, and then he conked out. My poor mister.

Ice Skating

2009-02-02T01:14:00.001-08:00

This Sunday, Nate and I went ice skating at our neighborhood outdoor rink. The weather was perfect; chilly, but not snowy or raining.

There were a lot of cute kids learning to skate and therefore pushing around these life-size penguin or gnome stabilizers to help them with their balance. Wish I could have had one. Thankfully, neither Nate nor I took a tumble on the slippery ice. Even when we got to skate dance a bit to YMCA and You Sexy Thing, there were no falls, which is saying a lot when you consider my typical lack of balance. Hopefully we'll go again soon!

On the U-bahn

2009-01-28T05:17:00.000-08:00

Here's just a few quick pics of us when we were playing around on our U-bahn line, the U4/U5. People were definitely staring at us, it's just considered odd to take pictures on public transit, but we didn't care.

Jessi comes to visit

2009-01-22T04:11:00.000-08:00

Our friend Jessica Wegner from Hamburg came for a few days to visit us and see a bit of Munich. Unfortunately the weather was awful. We had what the Germans call "Schneeregen" or snow rain. So, what LOOKS like dandruff in the picture is actually snow/rain falling on us. Other than that, we look cute.

Basically we just shopped the January sales, showed Jessi the downtown area and enjoyed her company. It's so great having friends visit. Especially friends who are fully bilingual and bicultrual! We love you Jessi!

City Museum

2009-01-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

The Munich city museum was a strange compilation of Munich's history. It contained art and artifacts from the middle ages, replicas of apartments and foods from different eras, photographs surrounding WWII, and even weird 19th and early 20th century carnival exhibits. It was neat in a bizarre way, but very random.

Is that a finger?

Bavarian food

A photo of Hitler and Mussolini.

Now onto the creepy carnival items. That's me with the wall of doll heads................psycho! Despite my smile, I am actually very, very scared. And on the verge of tears.

And then of course the carnival game where you "Smash Hitler". Looks like he got it right in the kisser quite a few times. Guess these had to have been from after the war.

Weißwurst for Breakfast

2009-01-18T03:26:00.000-08:00

On our first weekend back in Munich Nathan and I decided to take it easy. A leisurely traditional Bavarian breakfast, walk along the river Isar in the rare winter sun and grocery shop together.

First, breakfast. The traditional Bavarian breakfast is weißwurst (white sausage), a pretzel and weißbier (white/light beer).

We didn't have pretzels, so I just made toast. In this montage, Nate is demonstrating how one properly eats a weißwurst. First you slice it lengthwise, then remove the outer casing carefully (which looks really disgusting, I'd tell you what I think it looks like, but this is a family blog, not appropriate).

Slice and eat. Of course TRUE Bavarians say you must actually SUCK the meat out of its casing. We haven't mastered that yet, we'll get back to you.

Then came our walk past a portion of the English Garten and the river Isar.

And finally, grocery shopping. Saturday being the last day you can shop since the stores close on Sundays. I decided to document the "American" section.

Love that 6.59 euro Pam. Approximately $8.50.

And this random last picture is from the Underground. This is the ticket machine you use to buy tickets for the public transit. Can you count how many buttons? Germans like to complicate things. Thankfully, we had friends and colleagues help us figure it out.

January

2009-01-16T14:38:00.000-08:00

Ah, January. What to do? It's below freezing outside daily, shopping is wearing thin and no one visits until March. Conditions are perfect for museums!

I intend to visit as many museums as this city has to offer! Well, at least as many as I can get to. And I will filter out the junk and take you to only the coolest.

Today I went with my friend Emily to the Alte Pinokothek, an art museum that is like Munich's version of the Lourve.

It contains many Rubens, at least one Da Vinci and other German and Flemish painters. I suppose in that last sentence I just gave away that I do not know that much about art. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it and enjoy myself at the museum!

Unfortunately, flash photography was not allowed so many of my pictures came out blurry. So, these are the ones that made the cut. Please do not ask me the names of the artists or the title of the painting. They were just ones I found interesting.

There was of course a LOT of religious art, that's a given. But it was even more fun when I recognized the story and got to share with my friend Emily. I explained the biblical stories and she identified and explained the Greek and Roman mythology ones. We were a great team making the experience all the more enjoyable.

This last picture was surprising. Apparently it's quite normal for artists to come into huge museums and practice their art! My friend Ella from NYC said that there are always classes and artists at the Metropolitan Museum. Call me a little slow, but I had never thought of that before. Anyway, it was cool to see it in process. Hope I didn't disturb the guy.

Stay tuned for more museums in Munich!

I'll be home for Christmas

2008-12-18T01:26:00.000-08:00

We fly out of Munich on Saturday at around 4pm (7am PST). And we'll be getting into SFO at around 7:30pm, d'oh! Hate those long flights.

But! We SO look forward to seeing everyone! There will definitely be trips to Taqueria Vallarta, Hoffmann's Café, Rumble Fish Sushi and The Bagelry.

We will be splitting our time between my parent's place, our house in Scotts Valley with Ryan and Emily, and Nathan's parent's house. In addition, we'll be taking 2 days or so in Carmel to "vacation" in our beautiful area. Hope to see everyone over the holidays! Merry Christmas!

Funny Pictures

2008-12-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post these. Just random signs and cultural differences that are amusing. Enjoy.

This looks totally photoshopped, but it's just the camera fogging up when we were up on the Zugspitze and then went into the little hut for hot chocolate.

Scary buttons and dials on the washing machine in the hotel.

This was where I went to do laundry. Two floors below ground, super narrow, cold and dank.

This does not need a caption. Don't you just love the detail?

Oh!
Those German men!

This was in Sweden. Apparently you can buy a air tight piglet carcass.

From the first snow in Munich. The sign says: Surfing and bathing forbidden/prohibited. Guess not everyone follows those German laws.

Almost forgot this one. What the???

London

2008-12-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

More traveling for Nate's work! We just got back from London this evening. It was a pretty low-key trip. I didn't even take any pictures this time, sorry. I had these great plans to, but then time just flew, and before I knew it, we were back in the airport.

Since we had already been to the city previously, we took it easy. Mornings were filled with long breakfasts and afternoons we spent walking in either Hyde park or Regent's park. We did manage to visit both the Museum of Natural History (for me) and the Science Museum (for Nate), although without the same fervor we usually devote to museums.

But London is always fun, especially when you get to meet up with friends! We had a delightful dinner one night with my dear friend Leslie and her charming husband, Colin. We enjoyed drinks at this really cool pub decorated in purple and ornate golden picture frames. Thanks for the evening, Leslie and Colin!

Just so you know, we'll be back home December 20th-January 11th. I am so excited to come home for Christmas and see everyone!

Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market)

2008-12-04T02:04:00.000-08:00

Merissa, my friend Emily and I took a little trip a few days ago to the world-famous Nuernberg Christmas Market. It was really magical and beautiful. And cold!!

There were so many little crafts and goodies, it draws people from all over the world. In fact I even met some Americans from Lake Tahoe. Of course all the American tourists were older, retired ladies and couples shopping for their grandkids and home decorations. But it was fun to chat.

Basically we oohed and ahhhed over the finely detailed ornaments, shopped a bit, snacked on roasted nuts (they actually have roasted chestnuts here! But in the picture we're eating sugared almonds), and drank Glühwein (mulled wine).

In the Christmas Market you can find gingerbread houses (do you see Hansel and Gretel and the witch?), plum people, these little figurines they make out of dried plums, Lebkuchen, and smoking candles, with their mouths open wide. The gingerbread heart literally translates to "My little sweet witch". What girlfriend or wife would want that?? Getting a little too close for comfort.....haha.

There are Christmas markets all over, so this will not be the last one, just the biggest and most famous. Who wants to join me when we're 60+ for shopping in Nuernburg around Christmas?

PS - did you notice that I finally figured out my page setup? I've been using mr. computer genius as a crutch for way too long.

A Word about Fashion

2008-12-01T02:30:00.000-08:00

A few weeks into living here, I had a realization. I could be anyone I wanted to be here. I get to project any image about myself that I choose. That's my choice and within my control. Exciting and scary, isn't it?

It's interesting to think about environments and culture and how it shapes who we are. In Santa Cruz, jeans are the wardrobe staple. And flip-flops. Well, in the summer at least...but sometimes even in the winter. It's a very casual culture. In fact, in most of California, laid-back styles and comfort dominate. Actually, our friends in Portland (Hi Pfeffys!), get to wear fleece jackets, Danskos and ergonomic canvas purses, so I suppose it's west coast.

Europe on the other hand is Old World and they still often dress that way. Their casual is our nicely dressed. Perhaps it's just more urban, I'm not sure. Nathan is in one of the few "bubbles" (namely the Google bubble), that lets him dress casually at work. But again, it's different. He wears a button down shirt and jeans every day instead of a t-shirt and jeans. Oooo! Fancy! All other business men wear suits and ties and the casual ones have the Euro preppy thing going on. Some of their shoes are even pointy like women's shoes (but without the heel).

Women's dress is more scrutinized. Of course. You CAN wear baggy jeans and Dansko shoes, but then you're pretty frumpy and stick out like a sore thumb. To fit in, this must be your costume: heels, preferably ones that make a clicking sound, or the new trendy flat boots (thank you God!), dark skinny jeans, a visually interesting top (whether that's by color, cut or detail), a scarf and jacket/coat. Black is huge here too. Black coats, black boots, black scarves, black gloves, black, black, black! Everything is black!

And makeup? Oh makeup. Every woman wears it. You must! And they are daring too. Black eyeliner, colorful tropical fish eyeshadow, and of course lipstick. I really don't like lipstick, but you're almost not a woman here if you don't wear it. But gloss works too I guess. Women in Europe are just more willing to take risks with makeup than west coast north Americans.

Muinch is a lot like L.A. in a sense. It's warmer in climate than the rest of Germany, their film industry is here and you can get away wearing just about anything. But there are always those unsaid rules about dress. And without much else to do, I find myself absorbed into this new cultural attire.

I've begun to wear skirts and dresses, tall boots with tights and even nylons! Perhaps the greatest risk I took was wearing bright turquoise opaque tights. But the strange thing was, no one cared or thought it was out of the ordinary. I would be stared at unforgivingly if I were to wear that in Santa Cruz! I am so not in California (Kansas) anymore.

Dublin

2008-11-30T15:01:00.001-08:00

Well, these are totally out of order, but it doesn't really matter. Isn't the Guiness beautiful?

We had a wonderful time in Dublin. And it never rained on us! Well, I guess Nathan got a little on his walk to work (which was the reason we were there) a few days, but that's nothing for the British Isles! I thoroughly enjoyed speaking English and found a new appreciation for being independent. It was great.

There's not a TON to see in terms of actual places, so we basically just took in the local culture via food, drink and walking. We enjoyed lamb stew, Guiness beer, Trinity college and of course some pubs. We did schedule a tour in Dublin castle and a visit to Christchurch cathedral, which were really cool.

One morning we even had a traditional Irish breakfast. Which came with the so-called "black pudding". Upon it's arrival (see the picture above), it just looked like a dry biscuit of some kind. It had what seemed to be barley in it and it's texture was dry and somewhat crumbly. So I ate it. Well, at least part of it. Until Nathan said that it was probably congealed blood. I didn't believe him since it didn't have the texture of what I'd expect. And it's taste? It was bland! Tasted of nothing! Hearty. Solid. Boring. Nate of course ate the whole thing. We then went back to the hotel and checked on Wikipedia. Sure enough black pudding consists of: blood (cooked until congealed) and barley used as filler. AND I ATE IT!!! At least I didn't finish it.

PS - The one picture of Nate eating a pretzel and a weiß bier which seems out of place, is because it is. We're still in the Munich airport.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2008-11-23T03:37:00.000-08:00

We had our first snowfall today and it's so beautiful! Even our garbage cans outside are pretty! Nate and Merissa were so excited that they were singing Christmas songs and running outside to let it fall on them. They're so cute.

We then took a walk to the English garden and got some Glühwein (mulled wine) to warm us up. It's so cute and Christmasy over here now. The Germans don't have Thanksgiving (obviously), so their Christmas begins sometime in late October. The stores begin stocking all the Lebküchen and Advent calendars. Then they begin setting up for all the little Christmas Markets all over the city, which are these wooden shop stalls where they sell Chrismas ornaments and trinkets, at least I think. This is my first time and they haven't quite opened yet. It's so traditional and wintry here, it really feels like Christmas!

PS - Don't you just love the surfers in the Isar totally disobeying German law? The sign says swimming and surfing forbidden. But they're there, in freezing temperatures, gettin' their groove on.

Stockholm, Sweden

2008-11-20T02:38:00.000-08:00

So begins the travel craze.

Why Stockholm? Well, other than it being beautiful and sort of unique to visit in the beginning winter months, one of the ladies I met through the League of Accidental Hausfrauen, Charlene (pictured center), had moved up to Umea, (northern Sweden) and she, another friend, Emily from LoAHf and I decided to meet in the capital. It was a fun girl trip filled with second-hand shopping, swedish food and bundling up.

We saw the Vasa musuem (thanks Sarah), this really cool sunken ship from the 17th century, ate reindeer (mmmm Rudolph!), and shopped cool Swedish designs. I loved the wall of candy at the grocery store, and how can you not love heart shaped meat?

Thankfully, it wasn't too cold there. It stayed right around 1-3 degrees C, so just above freezing, and no snow yet. Still, it was freezing rain. What was really trippy was that we only had about 6-7 hours of daylight and the sun set about 3pm every day. Cool. But not something that I could deal with for more than 3 days.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving early this year. Our super friendly landlords/neighbors one floor above us, along with another neighbor from Romania and her 4 week old son (her husband, unfortunately, was out of town). We tried as best as we could to duplicate recipes that were familiar to us and honestly it turned out pretty good! Not bad, considering I had never headed the cooking before. Here I am the little housewife in training.

Considering that we didn't have a full bird, just one large turkey's breast, it turned out pretty well! First I went shopping for all the necessary ingredients at the Viktualienmarkt, which was fun, especially since my neighbor accompanied me and helped to translate! Then, confronted with the harsh truth that they just DO NOT HAVE certain things here (ready-made pie crust, gravy packets), set to work making these things from scratch. Which I have never done before. But hey....I've got the time.

So, the night before I made 2 butter crusts for the pumpkin pies and purchased my first turkey heart, liver, gizzard and neck, which by the way, were under 1 euro. Score!

Then Merissa and I went to work in our little kitchen, which apparently by German standards is quite large, and made turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, the works. Thankfully (pun intended), we were able to use our neighbors' oven, so it was really easy to bake everything at once.

Overall, it turned out to be a success! Our neighbors liked the food (phew!), the setting was beautiful (they have a big and gorgeous dining room), and it felt so good to eat comfort food in a casual, family-style atmosphere.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Paris

2008-11-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Nathan and I celebrated our anniversary in Paris. Because you can do things that romantic when you live in Europe! I still can't believe this is my life.

Anyway, we began by taking a night train to the City of Lights, which was an experience in and of itself. It was cool, but cramped, even in first class (which is the only way to have a private room). Sleeping was a bit difficult, but somehow we managed to get some rest. I think my favorite part was showering. I kept thinking I was going to fall out of the shower with the instability of the train, but it was easier than I thought. And I got to be clean upon arrival!

When we arrived in Paris, it was cold and rainy, but that just makes it more romantic, right? So we checked into our hotel in the 7th arrondissement and with a view of the Eiffel Tower. I'm not sure why, but the tower is now lit with blue lights and a searchlight at night. Maybe because the European Union color is blue, not sure. Then, at every hour on the hour, the tower sparkles like a firecracker for about 5 minutes. It was cool to us tourists, but I'm sure the Parisians are really annoyed by it.

While there we visited Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre (again, because there is so much to see there) and Montmartre. Here's a tip: if you have never seen the Mona Lisa, you may want to go soon. They keep pushing visitors further and further away from the painting, pretty soon we're gonna be looking through binoculars to see her. Sheesh.

And of course, when in Paris, you have to have steaming hot bowls of French onion soup in the Latin quarter, cry-it's-so-good baguettes, and even a plate of stinky cheeses and escargot. Which we did; and it was great.

A friend of mine in Munich, who lived in Paris for a summer before moving here, likes to say that, (I'm paraphrasing here): Paris is like the hot girl, very seductive, everyone wants her, but she's high drama and it's a rocky relationship. Munich, however, is the girl who you take home to the parents and cooks for you. Basically, Paris is great to visit, but Munich is a more livable city. Besides, even mousy Munich gets to let her hair down and go wild once a year...at Oktoberfest!

I hope she's right. Because a rendezvous in Paris always seems like a dream.

Haircut

2008-11-06T04:49:00.000-08:00

As scared as I was to go and get my hair done by a new stylist, my bangs were getting even scarier. Uneven and l-o-n-g! So, here's my "new" 'do. It's basically the same as before, but cleaned up and with a few chunky pieces in front.

And the German word for bangs: der Pony. How cute is that?

Next post: Paris

The Election

2008-11-05T08:22:00.000-08:00

It's really weird. All of a sudden, US citizens are popular! The Germans are SO happy that Obama is president. I was congratulated twice today by strangers, whom, when they heard me speaking English, asked excitedly if I was from the states and then broke into a big smile and offered their kudos. Wow!

My friend, who is from Michigan, said she was up late last night so she could hear the results and told me that people all over were cheering and clapping. Nathan had colleagues offering their congratulations and Merissa had a student this morning who ran into class and shouted "We won!" She's German of course, so I'm not exactly sure....but whatever. It's so funny.

At least we're off to a good start with the Democrats, foreigners don't seem to hate us as much anymore. Hopefully it will ring true, but the Dems are in the hot seat now. Let's see if they can clean up this mess.

How to make German Brownies

2008-11-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

To fully blossom into a Hausfrau, one needs to do some baking. And so Merissa and I decided to bake some brownies. German brownies. From a mix. A German mix!

First, we bought the mix.

Next, we read the directions. (Surprisingly, I'm actually better at "reading" German than speaking it)

"Oh dammit, we need a pan!"
"Wait, it comes with a pan!"
"It comes with a pan??"

Yes, it came with it's own cardboard pan in the mix box. Quite impressively German engineered too. Which....means it took us twice as long to assemble. Hehehe.

We were so excited, the apartment smelled of chocolate brownies, and we waited impatiently for them to cook, nevermind cooling. Then we tried them. As we exchanged confused and disappointed glances, we finally admitted the truth.
"These don't taste like brownies."
"They taste like unsweet cake."
"Yeah, bready-cake."

We were so disappointed. I vowed never to buy them again and then devoured an entire bag of gummi bears.

Pretty Fall

2008-10-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken by my sister, she's better at remembering to bring her camera out than I am. This place certainly has 4 seasons. And winter's next. Supposedly this Thursday will be our first snow.

2 steps forward, 1 step back

2008-10-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

I think I made an appointment today over the phone.

I needed to make a doctor's appointment, so of course first I researched with our insurance company...yes this doctor takes our insurance...yes they speak fluent English, ok good.

I tried calling yesterday with Merissa around in case I needed to have her translate with the receptionist. She taught me a few phrases to use in case they didn't speak English, yet reassured me that they probably do anyway and I really shouldn't worry. Unfortunately they are closed on Wednesdays.

Fast forward to this morning, I had had an extra cup of coffee and blame that for my heightened confidence. I called again. Alone. Mer and Nate had gone to work, and I shortly regretted making the call.

Sprechen Sie Englisch? Nein, nein.

Oh crap. Now the rest is in German, but I'll just tell you in English. The words in italics were words in which I used English because I didn't know the German word.

"Do you speak German?'
"A little. Uh, yes, I'd like to make an appointment with one of the doctors"
"Do you have ----------?" (I have no idea what she said, I'm sweating and panicking at this point)
"What?"
"Do you have -------?"
"Uh, what is that word?"
"12:00 Monday 27?"
"Yes, ok, good."
"Name?"
"Shera York" (I spell it)
"Telephone number?" (and I gave it to her)

And that was it. But no confirmation or anything, just the end. Then I hung up, cried and called Nate. My poor husband. Always calming me down.

I think I have to go find this place tomorrow and see what transpired in that telephone "conversation". I will not be calling to make appointments for a while though. I'm going to walk into these places and employ facial expressions, hand gestures and other non verbal communication to my benefit. Learned my lesson.

Neuschwanstein

2008-10-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Schloss Neuschwanstein, the fairy tale castle that Walt Disney based his logo on. Total tourist trap. But we couldn't have chosen a more perfect day, it was cool, clear and fall's colorful foliage was beautiful. Unfortunately, after we got home, Nate discovered that the camera was on the wrong setting, (set for night pictures from our trip to Zurich), so all of our photos are a little grainy. D'oh!

You probably don't want all the history, it's a bit lengthy, but we had a full tour of the castle and then went on a hike up in the hills to see some amazing views. The tour is a bit bare bones, only 35 minutes, and you are not allowed to take pictures inside the castle or go anywhere cool--like the spires of the tower. Still, it was really beautiful. And we've decided that King Ludwig was definitely a bit of an odd one.

**The unknown guy in one of the pics is Nicolai, one of Nate's work colleagues, who was visiting Munich.

I rock

2008-10-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

Why? WELL! Because I had my first breakthrough, I ordered coffee beans from the Dallmayr, all in German! Yay me! I am becoming the brave, relaxed and fashionable (if I don't say so myself, more on that later) woman that I know I can be.

It went like this:

Me: "Grüss Gott, Ich hätte gern 500 gram von Ethiopian Crown bitte." (Good day, I'd like 500 grams of the Ethiopian Crown please.)

Cashier: "In die Bohnen oder der gemahlene?" (In whole beans or ground?)

Me (after a slight pause where I was trying to figure out what she asked): Uh, in die Bohnen, bitte" (Uh, in whole beans please)

Cashier: "Beutel?" (Bag?)

Me: Nein, danke. (No, thanks)

Cashier: Ok, Auf Wiedersehen (ok, goodbye)

Me: Auf Wiedersehen (goodbye)

I'm celebrating the little things, right? It's been a good week. This has been my happy song and I'm singing it now. "Leeetttt the sun shine....leettt the sun shine...the suuun shine in....."

Zurich, Switzerland

2008-10-14T01:56:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I spent this last weekend in Zurich. He had some meetings at the office there on Monday, so we decided to make a little trip of it.

It's a cute little city sort of reminiscent of Lake Tahoe with it's huge lake and the city surrounding. We basically just wandered around, ate fondue and Swiss chocolate and shopped. The weather was beautiful and the Swiss people were SO friendly. Maybe a little too friendly, apparently we stayed in a hotel near the nightclubs (oops! Shera's picks strike again!) and the sex industry seems to be a part of the norm there. I dunno, maybe that's just my experience.

Really though, the Swiss people were very nice. We met several people at restaurants just sitting next to us and they loved that we were from California. Everyone in Europe loves California it seems.

On Sunday we went to the Google office (the central office in Europe) for Nate to do some prep for work the next day, and I got to play (a bit). Not sure if you've ever seen pictures of this office, but it's a virtual playground. There's a huge slide you can go down to get to the ground floor, firefighter poles (which took me a while to figure out, "why do they have a striptease pole in an office???), a huge video game room and these little meeting rooms that are shaped like deep sea diving equipment, ski lifts and eggs. All equipped with phones of course. We couldn't take pictures, but you can go here and see some public domain pics.

On a Personal Note

2008-10-10T01:20:00.000-07:00

I have had a tough time trying to communicate how I have been feeling about this move. The truth is that I go through ups and downs. I know a lot of this has to do with cultural differences and not knowing the German language. It makes me feel very vulnerable.

To be perfectly honest, I have no desire to learn German. Spanish and Mandarin I understand, those are useful. But, according to Wikianswers, only about 100 million speak German. And approx. 1 billion speak English. When we move back in early July, whom am I going to speak German with? And how much can I really learn in 9 months?

But then situations happen that require at least a basic knowledge of the language. When I went to go get Nathan from the airport, something happened with the trains, they stopped coming for almost an hour (very un-German, y'know?), people were upset, all announcements and information were in German and I began to panic. I had no idea what was going on and what to do. Do I try to catch another train? Wait it out? In retrospect, it's absurd, not even a big deal, but in the moment I was absolutely panicked.

So, know what I will be working on this year? Not mastering German, but learning to relax. To chill. Not panicking, staying calm, cool and collected. Realizing, I am NOT in control and being content with that. With my personality, this will certainly be a challenge.

One of the ladies I met here whose husband is also working/studying abroad, sent me this "open letter" she wrote. It truly sums up how I feel. This is by Charlene Lam:

be kind to yourself
change is stressful. moving is stressful. moving to a new country is even more stressful.

it’s ok and it will get better

you may find yourself trembling before a meat counter,
stammering over the five words of German you know.
you may find yourself wondering, who are you here, anyway?
besides your spouse’s trailing appendage
are you a manager if there’s no one to manage? a teacher if you’re not teaching?

you may find yourself reduced to tears over everyday things like laundry and grocery shopping
your husband may come home to a rant about dairy products:
why are there so many kinds of yogurt, where’s the non-fat milk, what the hell is quark,
and why does it take forever to find the cottage cheese?

your friends at home may not understand your angst
they may point out how lucky you are to be in a foreign country
and you may agree that you are lucky,
but that doesn’t change the fact
that you can’t figure out how to get your laundry to dry.
and this is your life, not an extended vacation

you may find yourself waiting 20 minutes in line at the post office,
only to be humiliated by a grumpy old man
who insists neither he nor anyone at that branch speaks any English.
Lick your wounds, turn it unto a funny story, ask someone else.
It’s Munich, not rural China;
someone, whether a worker or a fellow customer, is bound to know some English.
it’s ok and it will get better

forgive yourself your embarrassments
and celebrate your triumphs, no matter how small
I broke out in celebratory dance when I finally tracked down hangers

identify your danger behaviors
the things you do to numb yourself
mine include sleeping way too much
pissing away the day online
and never leaving the house
so I set the alarm and get dressed at a reasonable time
instead of shrinking in, I make a conscious effort to reach out
– and find it’s often rewarded three-fold
I indulge myself sometimes, staying home all day to putter around, if it makes me happy
but I also take any opportunity to go out

identify what comforts you
I find comfort in familiarity
so I set up my routines
the same breakfast of muesli, yogurt and apple sauce
the same route to the grocery store
I was pining for my old routines:
wandering into Soho to have lunch with friends, getting tapioca drinks
my friend Jordana wisely advised me
to seek out the equivalent foods and experiences
unique to Munich
that I will miss when we move on
now I look forward to telling new friends about weisswurst
people-watching in the Englischer Garten
and exploring Bavaria by train

identify an activity that gives you a sense of satisfaction or accomplishment
it’s easy to forget that you’re a smart, competent woman
when you can’t even read the cooking instructions on a box of couscous,
take a class, go to the gym, finish a book
and one day you’ll find that, hey, I understood what that person said
and hey, I can read this menu
and you’ll be thrilled
I’m just reaching that point, and now I’m moving on
to another new place, another new culture
but I’m reminding myself:
be kind to yourself
it’s ok and it will get better

Thanks Charlene. Yes, it will get better. And each day is new and full of hope.

Die Zugspitze

2008-10-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany. It's about 2,962m (about 10,000ft, so big whoop to those of us who've been to the Sierra Nevada, but still cool).

Quite a feat of German engineering though. It was super easy to get up there. Just take a cog wheel train up the mountain, then another ski lift-like tram to the peak. Beer, sausages and hot chocolate await you at the top. Now that's my kind of hiking. On the way down we decided to take the cable car. That was like being in a glass elevator--a vertical drop from the top. I had to keep my eyes on the horizon.

The border between Germany and Austria is also up on the Zugspitze, so you could easily walk into the Tirol region in Austria, as you can see from some of the pictures. It was interesting to be on the German side, where they just passed a law banning smoking indoors, then to walk to Austria; you could smell the tobacco even before you crossed the border. But at least it was warm inside!

Things I Hate (or strongly dislike) about Germany

2008-10-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

1. The meat - it may taste good, but WHAT IS it?? And I think I'm getting sick of sausage. Would you care for pork, pork or pork? Yes, I'm aware that meat made both lists.

2.The so-called queues (or lines) - Everyone here needs to go back to kindergarten and learn how to get in line. An orderly, straight line. It seems that when you are in a store, people just crowd you. They do not stand behind and wait their turn, unless you give them a look that rightly establishes you as the alpha customer. And no one seems to get out of the way after they've finished their transaction, they just stand there and make the "line" wait even longer. Very irritating.

3. (Almost) Everything closes on Sunday - what, do they think it's the Sabbath or something? :)

4. The weather - I now appreciate being born and raised in sunny California. A wise choice and 2 thumbs up to our European ancestors who picked up, moved across an ocean, decided the east coast was still too close to their homeland's climate and continued west until they reached the coastline! I become so jealous when I check the weather report and Munich's highs are sometimes Santa Cruz's lows in the evening! With rain! The precipitation never stops here: summer rain, fall rain/fog/mist, winter snow, spring showers. Hot, dry places are so attractive right now, maybe I'll try to plan a trip to Dubai.