Welcome to my traveling journal, dated July 16 - August 24! Disclaimer: Below are the adventures of Sara Novocin, told by Sara Novocin, and from the point of view of Sara Novocin.
Disclaimer: I sometimes tend to write more stream of consciousness, so bear with me. I will try to make it flow coherently.
Warning: the royal "we" is used quite frequently for those with a romantically weak stomach.
---->So, I haven't updated the journal in awhile as you can tell, but I thought that I should since we are leaving for France in a few days. Previously, I was writing backdated entries in ascending order, but this section of my journal is meant to be read from the top to the bottom. This helps to confuse any new readers!
The photos I have included in my journal are from our stay in Kassel, Germany (look for more in the European Travels photo albums), and I believe that they represent our stay as far as journal entries go.
The first photo is of an eerie statute that we saw while walking along the streets. It's eyes seemed like they were following us everywhere! A lot of the architecture in Kassel is very beautiful, but the thing that I think about most is how the buildings do not have any alley ways. It is one of the marked differences between here and the states, but I think that it might make the area a little safer.
The second photo represents an opportunity for my aspiring career as a buyer. Unfortunately, we never went to the market. I think that I started coming down with a sickness around that time. The past few weeks have been draining for me. I don't exactly have the flu. I've just had body aches and a sore throat. Last night, I woke up from coughing too much!
The third photo was something that Andy noticed at the grocery store. He called them "bo-bo cheetos". I had never really heard of that term, but I thought that the spelling of the knock-off brand of Cheetos was funny. Same difference.
Here we have, as I call them, "brain flowers". Well, the name is pretty self-explanatory because up close I thought that they looked like brains! Ahhhh! Many of the flowers at the store were inexpensive and beautiful. I can't wait to buy some for our apartment in France!
Frau Heinemann: our friendly host in Germany. It actually took us about one week to discover that she was also a clown. She is a local artist here, who rents out a couple rooms of her home. She has been very helpful to us, but her directions are to be taken with care. One of our first days here, she gave us directions to a bakery and what a hike that was! The frau also maintains a garden and a pasture/forest with horses. We have tasted some fresh apples, blackberries, and peppermint tea thanks to the frau.
These gorgeous orange flowers were my first flowers in Germany! Andy bought them for me one day when he went out to the market. How I wish that I could take them with me to Montpellier! I am pretty sure we will be leaving them to the frau as a parting gift.
Ummmmmm, coffee! They have the coolest way of making coffee here. You just put the coffee in the filter and pour hot water! I know it is not ingenious, but we love making coffee this way!
One strange thing after the other here in Kassel! (No studies have been done to confirm this theory.) When we tried making fried eggs, we noticed that the egg yolks were actually orange instead of yellow! Breakfast still turned out fabulous! We had Nutella on toast with potato pancakes and cheesy eggs! Of course, my eggs had ketchup! But, not the usual ketchup. Here it is curry ketchup; I like it, but I don't think Andy does. We made due until we bought some Heinz. Which is actually a little more watery in Germany.
Schofferhofer Hefeweizen! This beer was first introduced to us by Ruben and Janine. What a delicious beer, and I don't even like beer that much! This beer is grapefruit flavored (as you can see) and a staple beer for me in Kassel. It only costs 3.65 for a six-pack at the grocery store.
This trio of photos are from an Irish bar that we went to in Kassel. You can kind of see the clover in the beer foam of Andy's Guiness. I kept trying to get a picture of Andy with a beer foam mustache, but he licked the foam off before I could get a good photo. By the second shot, he was not having as much fun as I was.
At the bar, there was an old American guy from California singing live music. He sang "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel among others. The odd thing was, that after he was done singing, he went around and asked everyone for donations.
Beer + Yummy Bratwurst & Onions = LUNCH
Our first real homemade german lunch. This was at Andy's request of course, but it was magically delicious! I added some potatoes and red pepper to the final dish for extra flavoring and color. We ate the bratwursts on broetchens, fresh from the bakery. Andy always tells me how mom would love these rolls. Hopefully, I can find a good german recipe for broetchens before we leave Kassel.
These two games are our latest conquests in the gaming world. I thought I'd enter in the dog poo sign for humor.
"Die Burg" aka The Castle is a fun-filled adventure for two. Maybe I like it so much because I usually beat Andy at it ! :) It is a lot like Carcassonne, but with a few changes (of course). The Count expansion pack to Carcassone is a lot of fun, too! I definitely recommend to all!
Week 4: 04/08/2008-10/08/2008
I think we are pretty much settled in at this point. We have started making "real" meals and have been focusing more on our French lessons. We have also been discussing more of the future and what goals we would like to be setting for ourselves in the upcoming year. Does that mean that I am any closer to figuring it out? Well, the answer is no, but I am very adept at going with the flow. I don't like the feeling of waiting for the next thing to happen, but it seems inevitable. Maybe it is due to the lack of a permanent residence. It seems like once we get to France then I can start pursuing my interests more readily because I will have access to a library, etc. I would like to learn about carpentry, but I am not exactly Jesus. I am hoping that Bob V. will help me out.
Oh, and we have also been toying around with the idea of making jingles, but I think that is more of a past-time activity. I really love our life together!
Week 3: 28/07/2008-03/08/2008, My week without Andy
For most of the week, Andy was away in Dusseldorf. We got to talk on the phone everyday, but I missed him a lot. Due to the lack of personal communication, I ended up watching horrible reality tv shows. Basically anything I could find in English. Though watching "South Park" in german is a little amusing.
I also got to read some books. I finished the series "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" and bought a new book, "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" by Muramaki, a collection of short stories. I was craving a good long book, but I really like this author. I am now currently reading "Cat's Cradle".
The remainder of my time was spent shopping! I only bought socks and stockings, but I still love shopping nonetheless. I was glad when I discovered that sales go year round here. I had previously read in a book that they only had sales twice a year, but I was informed that that had ended two years ago. The fashion in Germany is very 80's, but I knew that before coming over here. I must be getting old, because it is so shocking to see a teen in more makeup than I am wearing!
I also did a lot of grocery shopping. They have about four or five grocery stores all located in the same area (by one of the tram stations close to our place), and it is neat to go and see all the different items that the stores carry. May not sound too interesting to you, but I enjoy it.
The first thing that I noticed missing in my life was Root beer. Overall, food prices are really great and come with tax included; a very cool thing! I knew that the stores wouldn't have peanut butter, but I miss it all the same. The fresh bakeries are a great bonus! It is the oddest thing though, because some of them have mad amounts of wasps flying everywhere and no one seems to mind but Andy!
Andy arrived back from Dusseldorf just in time for Zissel im Kassel! I guess we missed the cooler parts of Zissel; they had a street parade, boats in the harbor, and fireworks, but there was really no way to have known because we didn't know what the schedule was, and it lasted four days. The part of Zissel we did see consisted of an area full of food vendors, carnival games, and rides. We sampled some local wines and ate bratwurst. I think we may even have a new business venture in Kassel. The creating and selling of Elephant ears, a delicious American tradition! The only stands that we saw with "American" foods consisted of a doughnut stand and a hot dog stand, but the hot dog stand was located right next to one of many bratwursts' stands. I don't know how it made any business!
Week 2: 21/07/2008-27/07/2008
We awoke early and went to a delicious Austrian bakery! When Andy went to the conference, I enjoyed a nice walk to the Unimarkt and picked up some snacks and beverages. We had some dinner at the Austrian restaurant again and played Carcassone! We have actually played a number of games during our stay with a majority being close games, but Andy as the victor. :(
Let's see, it has been awhile since I have updated my journal. On Tuesday, 22/07, we went on a boat cruise on the Donau. Before we went on the boat cruise that day, we met some American mathematicians. So, we sat with them during the cruise and discussed morality among other things. It was really awesome because I did not lose "Tichu" once that day! (and we played a lot of games that day!)
Wednesday was the last day of the conference. Nothing too exciting on that day that I remember. We ate at a german restaurant for dinner and had "Hot Love" for dessert since they did not have banana splits as advertised on the menu. It was actually really delicious; a mixture of ice cream with a hot mixed berry topping, whipped cream, and wafers. Admittedly, we were a little skeptical at first.
Thursday, we left Linz for Kassel. Luckily, Ruben helped take some of our bags since his group drove a car down from Germany. We arranged our bags so that the heaviest items were in the bags that Ruben was taking with him. Only later did we find out that Ruben had to take them up 3 flights of stairs! :(
Kassel is very beatiful. One of the first things we did was buy some watches. Ruben also took us to a boardgame store, where we purchased "Space Beans" and "Gheos". For more information on these games, check out www.boardgamegeek.com
We also met Ruben's girlfriend, Janine. She is nice, but her English is limited. We have gotten to play a lot of boardgames with them. One of the first things that Andy taught Janine was how to play "Tichu".
On Sunday, 10/07, we ate for the first time at Boccacio's, an Italian restaurant. It has now become a weekly tradition the place is so good! Our winning meal is a Hawaiian pizza with Gorgonzola cheese! Yum! Earlier that morning, we went to visit Herkules, an old castle in Kassel! Check out the video on our website! It was really beautiful, but a really steep walk. By the time we got done climbing DOWN all of the stairs my legs were a little shaky. We had really great timing though, because when we reached the bottom, the water began cascading down from the castle. It is pretty funny too, because when we were walking down, I thought outloud how much cooler it would have been it the waterfall worked. I thought that it was out of commission.
At the bottom of the castle was a restaurant (with funk-smelling bathrooms). Andy and I sat outside and had a hefeweissen and bratwurst together. Then we continued to climb further down the "hill" towards the closest bus stop. Another good example of timing, when we reached the bottom, a crowd started forming around the lake, and we caught the geyser.
Day 5: Sunday, 20/07/2008
Sunday night, we enjoyed a wonderful reception at the Castle Hagenburg! We both had a little too much to drink, and due to the time of night,only had chocolate from the vending machines for dinner. Ruben also arrived that night, (Andy's friend from Germany.) so we stayed up late hanging out.
Day 4: Saturday Morning, 19/07/2008
Another wonderful breakfast at the hotel! Now we are off to the train station for our stay in Austria. And here is where I leave you gentle viewers (sorry I have been watching too much Buffy).
(Later that day) The train ride was very beautiful. When we first arrived in Linz, Austria, for the math conference, we hopped on a bus to Hagenburg. Our hotel is nice, though it is more like a dormitory. The only weird thing is that the maids come every morning to clean the bathroom, make our beds, and change the towels. It is quite unusual and bothersome!
The first night here we ate at a delicious restaurant (I had Schnitzel and Andy had Chicken Cordon Bleu), and met some French mathematicians. They were all very nice, but I am somewhat worried about our living situation once we arrive in Montpellier. We were told that it is extremely hard to find an apartment because of all of the students and that everyone is on vacation in August.
Day 3: Friday morning 18/07/2008
Fruhstuck (breakfast) was very delicious! There was an assortment of meats, cheeses, breads, yogurt, granola, fruit, etc. There was also orange juice and cherry juice available with breakfast. We couldn't find an atm (geldautomat), so instead of taking the S-bahn (underground subway), we walked around the city exploring. Overall, it was a really nice day, great weather, delicious beer and food, etc., but near the end (because I did not wear my walking shoes) my feet were a little blistered. That and I fell while looking at really cool architecture. Busted up my knee and cracked my toe nail. Ewww..........
During the course of the day, we ate at two beer gardens. We first went to the Hofbrauhaus, where we ate sausages, pretzels, mashed potatoes, and saurkraut. Later, we were at Lowenbrau beer garden. We had some pretzels, french fries, beer, and dessert. I also think that we played a boardgame at every restaurant that we went to! Afterwards, we went home and had a nap since we were still a little jetlagged.
Day 2: Thursday night in Munich 17/07/2008
When we arrived to Munich, we easily found our way to the hotel, Hotel Max Emmanuel (Derag). It turned out to be nice, and there was a delicious Italian restaurant adjoined to it, "Osteria Viscomi's". Since we were still pretty tired, we went to the Italian restaurant for dinner and retired shortly afterwards.
The restaurant was fabulous! We ate ham tortellini and a linguine with salmon and zucchini in a lobster cream sauce. Most people only knew broken English, but I timidly attempted speaking what little German I remembered from high school.
Day 1: The Airport 16/07/2008 (Technically Day 2)
Well, we slept rather unpleasantly on the airplane to Dublin, our first stop before transferring on the plane to Munich. In Dublin, we rode the "slow" bus into town and walked along the streets looking for a bite to eat. We stopped and had breakfast at "Tasty Options". The food was good, but pretty high prices. ~8 euros for eggs, sausage, bacon, white pudding, and toast. I had a ham and cheese panini with an apricot chutney spread! Quite delicious, and only ~5 euros.
After breakfast, we decided to ride the bus more and see where it took us, and we ended up at the Irish YMCA. There we had some more coffee, my 4th cup that day (one on the plane, one at the airport, one for breakfast, and the last at the Y.) Needless to say, after that I was feeling a bit nauseous. Well, we rode the bus some more and realized that we had actually not gone to the center of town. However, we did take some videos for your viewing pleasure.
So, we finally made our way back to the airport and waited for our plane to Munich. Did I mention that we arrived an hour early to Ireland from D.C. and our plane to Munich had an hour delay? We were around 50% functional when our plane arrived, but this led towards a peaceful rest on the plane.
