that time again...

another 8 weeks is drawing to a close, as is our time in germany. this was our second round in europe, but unlike greece, we had the ability to really travel around to other countries with ease. maybe it was even a little too easy. we only spent one weekend in germany, which is a shame really because there are some beautiful places to see. ah, but our rational was that we can always come visit germany on vacation one day. when would ever have enough time to see lisbon, amsterdam, vienna, venice, london, prague and iceland again??

it’s a balancing act we play at trying to keep sane while at the same time cramming in as much of the world as we can, while we can.

i won’t lie and say we’re not a little tired. i’m looking forward to our first three weekends in ireland (actually in ireland!) like you cannot imagine. no airports, no planes = heaven!

of course, thanks to ryan air and their ridiculously low airfares we’ll be jetting off every weekend after that. which is fine considering we’re 99.9% sure we’re headed home the last round as our sponsor seems bound and determined to keep people as close to their respective homes as possible in an effort to cut costs as well as morale.

we’re looking forward to it though. we’ve got a lot going on back home and it will be so nice to spend our favorite time of year (read: football season and pumpkin lattes) with loved ones.

it's hard to believe this will actually make over 6 months we’ll have spent in atlanta and over 8 months in the u.s. since we began last january.

germany has been a great round with awesome travel, pablo coming to visit, two trips to visit friends and lots and lots of beer and sausage. i won’t say that our locations in cologne and essen, especially the latter, didn’t leave a little to be desired, but the weekends have been great.

now- back to packing…the guinness is calling.

Berlin

It was a lovely last weekend in Germany both with the weather and the company. KS invited us to crash in on her and her cousin’s weekend and we gladly accepted; arriving just in time to pop open some bubbly for Friday happy hour.

Saturday was an adventure for me. It seems 12+ years without riding a bike makes for a slow return to cycling. Seriously though, who can’t remember how to ride a bike??? I just assumed that it would be like, well, like riding a bike. Not so much.

Oh to be a 30-something and have one of your friends jogging beside you holding on to the back of your bike like a kindergartner on a fairly busy street in Berlin. Good times.

I did get the hang of it enough to actually enjoy the day, although I refused to cross the street on the bike and also walked it when there wasn’t a bike lane. I have a rule against dying on the weekends.

All was okay until I had two big radlers (more on those in the food blog) at the beer garden and may have had a slight collision with a man and his wife at the top of a curvy hill in the Tiergarten . I said “may” have. There were only two possible witnesses and they know the score should they squeal.

All I’m saying is- I biked all day long around Berlin and no blood was spilled- mine or that of any others. I call that a success. AND I did it all in a dress..






Sunday we were able to squeeze in the Gedachtniskirche and the East Side Gallery…both memorials to some of the city’s darker days…






I know I’m always saying it, but we really enjoy our weekends spent with friends so much. It’s such a rarity for us and just to have dinner and catch up is just as much a treat as sightseeing.

We can’t thank KS enough for the hospitality and AM for bringing the sunshine with him from Rome. Of course when we landed in Essen Sunday night it was pouring rain and continues to rain today. Oh Essen…how ready I am to leave you behind.

And that is exactly what we’ll do in just a few days when we head to our next home in Dublin on Friday. I can almost smell the Guinness…

[sigh]

[sofia petrillo style] picture it…

a small and ill furnished hotel room in the sprawling metropolis of essen, germany. 48ish hours ago…

[having just finished “a room with a view” and wanting all things e.m. forster, dorky mcdorkerson giddily looks up free classics on amazon.com for her kindle] “ooh, passage to india…ooh here’s howards end! dang it. i can’t find maurice!”

[wife, not truly listening as is normal when dorky mcdorkerson gets on a roll. said with eyes rolling] “uh, huh. what? yeah, sorry honey.”

[dorky mcdorkerson] “ooh, i should go ahead and get war and peace, huh?

[wife, eyes still rolling] “sure, sure. yeah, sounds great."

[dorky mcdorkerson, unfazed by her wife’s obvious lack of interest] “oooh, here’s dracula! i can’t remember if i’ve read it before…i’m getting it!”

[wife, somewhat interested] “you are not reading that before bed. you’ll be scared just like you used to be after watching that ghost show.”

[dorky mcdorkerson] “what?!? no way! paranormal state WAS scary, this is a classic. like i’m going to be scared from some book written in the 1800’s! come on!”

[wife] “DO NOT read it before bed.”

[dorky mcdorkerson, under her breath] “whatever.”

fast forward 24ish hours later, same hotel room. dorky mcdorkerson and wife have crawled into their giant bed which is actually composed of two larger than twin-sized mattresses pushed together. after another thrilling night in the sheraton essen lounge, they are settling in…

[dorky mcdorkerson turning on her mighty bright book light, grabbing kindle and clicking on dracula. she is frantically shaking her right leg, which she is allowed to do since the wife cannot be annoyed with the movement in her adjoining, but separate bed] “love you.”

[wife facing away from obnoxiously bright book light and laying on the far side of her mattress away from insanely annoying leg movement] “love you.”

20ish minutes later…

[dorky mcdorkerson] “honey???”

[wife, sleepily] “what?”

[dorky mcdorkerson] “i’m scared.”

Island

Even rain couldn’t take away from the beauty of this country. Blast this rain! I think God is trying to get us ready for living in Ireland.

Anyhoo, back to our weekend…

We arrived early morning on Thursday and headed directly to the Blue Lagoon from the airport. Almost immediately you feel like you’ve landed on a different planet with all the green spongy moss covering fields of black lava rocks. Then you see the ethereal blue water and you’re even more convinced you’ve left Earth...



The Blue Lagoon is a hot spring and full of silica which makes it delightfully relaxing and leaves your skin super soft. I think it may be the best thing we’ve ever done after a long and early morning flight. Very relaxed girls...



After we were done soaking we made our way to Reykjavik and to our hotels. We quickly popped out to grab some food and see the town. I know it is technically the capital of the country, but I just can’t call it a city. Reykjavik feels far more like a college town than an actual city and not at all like a capital. Cute little restaurants, bars and stores selling Icelandic “woolens” (sheep outnumber people in Iceland) fill the small streets and thanks to the earthquakes there isn’t a building over a few stories high. It was ridiculously quaint.

We had one of those weird too late for lunch but too early for dinner meals and after milling about had a couple of local beers (Gull-not bad, not bad) and went to bed. We had been up since 4:30am so our 10pm bedtime seemed more than reasonable.

We set off after breakfast on Friday for the golden circle tour. This is kind of the quintessential tour in Iceland since it covers some of the best of their natural sites. We first stopped at one of their newest geothermal energy plants. What a snorefest. I’m all for being green and I actually find the concept interesting, but it was a bore of a tour. We then hit the Gullfoss Falls- really beautiful and we even had about 5 minutes where it wasn’t raining...


We saw 2 of the world’s 5 geysers although only one blew…or spurted…or erupted or whatever it is they do. Very cool...




Then we ended our day visiting the site of the world’s oldest parliament. Iceland was founded by Norwegians that wanted to escape their king’s rule. AKA- they were over the taxes. With no monarchs to rule them they created the world’s first parliament to still keep it somewhat civil, keep in mind they were Vikings. They chose the site due to the large amount of space, grass to feed the horses and available drinking water. No building was ever erected as the chieftains stood on “law rock” to announce new laws to the citizens each year. It is a place dear in the hearts of Icelanders as the birthplace of their country and government. Just so happens this is also where you can see the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia which was just freaking awesome…




Saturday we headed to Southern Iceland where drove through awe-inspiring farmlands to see waterfalls,tons of ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, a glacial tongue (also covered with ash from Eyjafjallajökull), some black sand beaches (one with very cool basalt formations) and visited a little museum founded and still run by the cutest little old Icelandic man you could imagine that focused on the culture of the Southern way of life complete with farmhouses from the 18th century…









It was a really great, but also long day- made even longer by our 1am flight out.

Iceland is just so unique and truly breathtaking. I’m sure many of you have never even thought of visiting it. God knows I didn’t a couple of years ago, but really you should put it at the top of your travel wish list. There is no other place like it.

This weekend is our last in Germany and we’re actually staying in the country to spend some QT with KS in Berlin. Can’t wait! And I’m sure I’m cursing us right now by typing it, but the weather called for rain all week but is now saying an entire weekend of sunshine. I’m still packing the umbrella.

**more photos to come as soon as i get them from our travel companion who played personal photog all weekend- thanks, v!!**

flashback friday

snippet of the german national anthem from the world cup game we watched in cologne...



this is germany- the beer is a very important part.

Prague

Prague…beautiful, charming, soaking wet Prague…well, at least it was soaking wet on Saturday. Even before we went to breakfast it was raining on and off. We decided to risk it since it was only a light rain. Weather report calls for “heavy rain”?? Why yes, but surely it will stay on and off and hey, we’ve got an umbrella and two raincoats. A little rain isn’t going to keep us from seeing this city.

Except it wasn’t a little rain- it was a lot of rain. Like a torrential downpour kind of rain.

But not yet, when we set off it was a light rain. We decided if we could make it to the Prague Castle we’d be golden since most of the stuff was inside and we’d see what we could along the way. We made it to the old town square and even across the St. Charles Bridge to St. Nicholas’ Cathedral with this annoying yet manageable rainfall…







It was while in the cathedral (and the reason there are so many photos of the church, although it really was pretty spectacular) that the heavens opened up and the rain came flooding out. We stayed in the church as long as possible and after a short couple of blocks we ducked inside a restaurant to try to wait it out. After some local beer, some bad potato dumplings and even worse goulash, we realized it wasn’t getting any better outside. To the contrary, it was only getting worse. Finally we decided to just get on with and make the long trek back to the hotel- in the downpour*.

Once there we changed into some dry clothes and promptly headed to the lounge- which is where we stayed all night. As boring as it sounds, it actually ended up being a fun little night in with far too much champagne and even a Canadian palm reader.

Sunday we were in total hustle mode to see all we could before our flight out that night. We finally made it to the castle were able to actually see some of the city and all its beauty along the way…







Another weekend’s plans foiled by this dang European summer rain. That’s okay though, we’re not quite done with you, Prague. As Arnie would say-we’ll be back.

We actually leave tomorrow morning for a long weekend. We’re so excited about it since it's a trip we've really been hoping to make while on the road (insert drum roll here)......(are you done?).....ICELAND!

Adventure awaits and yes, the weather forecast is of course calling for rain.



*Sadly my point-and-shoot that I used to capture some “fun” pics during the rainy walk back somehow ate all the photos. Which includes some awesome panoramic I took…sigh. I don’t know, but I have had some kind of voodoo curse going on with my electronics lately. If I can find some way to recover them I’ll post them.

filling in the gaps

as of late we have a great deal of loved ones dealing with hardships. cancer, illnesses, addiction, loss and tragedies…it feels like almost all news from home is awash with sadness, anxiety and fear.

being so far away is difficult for us. we feel helpless and know from this distance or even if we were home our only real option is to pray.

i struggle sometimes with my prayers. i wonder how to get it all in, to make sure i’m remembering all those i know in need and those i don’t even know…i struggle to remember to pray for God’s will instead of my own desires for people.

i read somewhere lately a passage about prayer. i can’t even remember where i read it, in a book i think or maybe an article, but it was about this kind of struggle. the person said they had decided to pray for God to fill in the gaps. the gaps being the space between people and the things they need, whatever those things might be…just for God to fill in that space, for God to provide the connection between where they are now and where they need to be to find peace.

i’m hopeful that God will fill in the many gaps back home and bring peace to all our loved ones and all their loved ones. this i pray.

any additional prayers and positive thoughts you could send their way would be very much appreciated.

flashback friday

some more of my awesome filming skills from our trip to manuel antonio in costa rica...



there is a lot going on in the video because there were little monkeys all over the place, but seriously can someone please confirm that the second monkey on camera actually does the sign of the cross?

"un-american, unequal, unfair"

yesterday was a huge day for my family and families across the united states. or as my friend on facebook said "a big yay day if yer gay". i'd say it was a big day for all americans who treasure the personal freedoms and liberties granted by our constitution.

a lifelong republican judge overturned proposition 8 that had banned gay marriage in the state of california.

the fight is long from over, but a victory is a victory and this one was big! below is the reaction from the attorneys that argued for the side of equality...



be warned- it's a little annoying to watch since a rally is going on behind them. i didn't know gays blew airhorns??

London

Our weekends are usually short affairs, but our time in London was cut even shorter by delayed flights, early departure times, and repairs to the Underground.

We started with the delay that cost us our dinner plans, but at least allowed us a quick champange toast and some take-out pizza at our friends' place.

Saturday we grabbed a quick bite and headed to the National Gallery. Swoon.

I heart museums- especially ones that are so incredibly laid out that you can still have a great experience even when time is limited. I also heart my wife who has been quite the trooper this round with all the art I’ve been shoving down her throat. She’s never been too fond of perusing paintings, but I think she’s actually starting to enjoy herself.

I was most excited to see this Van Eyck…



I still remember seeing it for the first time in one of our school books as a kid and being so drawn to it. It was much smaller than I thought it would be, although I’m not sure why I thought it would be huge. It was still hauntingly beautiful.

So…after our mad dash around the National Gallery we headed over to Parliament to meet up with our friends and take a tour of the building including the House of Lords, Commons and the rooms the Queen uses before she addresses the House. It was really so interesting and something I highly recommend should you go to London.

After grabbing a pint and some fish and chips at a neighboring pub we took a trip down the Thames to wander around Greenwich and then back up to Towers Bridge to have dinner. It was just really a lovely night chatting over dinner and a couple of pitchers of Pimms.

Sunday we had planned the unthinkable- we were going to all sleep in and enjoy a leisurely brunch with our friends before our early afternoon flight back. Oh the horrors- to be in a different city and not spend every waking moment running around like giant tourists?!? Yes and it would have been amazing, but thanks to the Underground line being down over the weekend we literally had to run out the door after just getting dressed.

Luckily with us being so close in Ireland we can hopefully fulfill our dreams of a simple brunch with friends at some point soon.

We can’t thank them enough for their hospitality! It was great hanging out and catching up!! Hopefully we can do more catching up before we leave Europe.

Friday we’re off to Prague and as soon as I get rid of the nasty cold I picked up in London I’ll be very excited.

DISCLAIMER- Due to the awesome pinched nerve in my neck and the fact that neither the Parliament nor the National gallery allow cameras, pictures were really at a minimum. I didn’t even get one of us with our friends. WTH?

Seriously though, the “masseuse” who took it upon herself to go all Chuck Norris on my neck in Bohol better hope I never make it back to the Philippines.