Chocolate, Waffle, Chocolate, Beer, Chocolate, Chocolate, Waffle, Frites, Chocolate . . .

That pretty much sums up my 4 day trip in Belgium. Unfortunately at the last minute I had to go alone, but it was still a great trip.

I left Thursday morning as we had it off for Ascension Day. In my research on Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels I discovered that in Bruges there is a basilica called the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek (or Basilica of the Holy Blood) which has a phial that supposedly contains a few drops of Jesus Christ's blood. Every year they hold this huge parade with the Holy Blood as the centerpiece and it just so happens that this parade is on Ascension Day. That decided my trip for me. I went directly to Bruges the first day to see the parade. To be honest I was very pleasantly surprised. I am pretty certain that most of the town participates in the parade where different stories from the Bible are acted out. There were hundreds of people in the parade. My favorite part was the attention to detail from the painful but authentic sandals to the real baby as baby Jesus to all of the live animals. There were camels, donkeys, chickens, a flock of sheep, falcons, and more. Amazing. It was like a parade, play, petting zoo, concert, and church sermon all in one! It lasted about an hour and I was glad I had spent the time waiting farther down the route so I had a good view of it.

After that I explored the beautiful city that is Bruges. I think it might actually be my favorite city now. It has the picturesque canals, great medieval architecture, and chocolate on every corner (not to mention the Belgian waffle stands). Plus there was a carnival going on there too so I checked all of that out. That first day I tried lots of chocolates and traditional cookies. (I'll summarize all of my chocolate discoveries at the end.)

The next morning I got up early and managed to leave the hotel on schedule and thankfully so. (Oh and I love that at breakfast in Belgium you actually get fresh Belgian waffles. Heaven!) I went to the Belfry first (the big tower in the city center) and since only 70 people are allowed up there at a time I had to wait about 15 minutes. But by the time I came down the line was out the door. Anyway it is a really tight, spiral staircase all the way up, so much so that I might have had a little claustrophobic freak-out moment on the way up. But I worked through it and made it up the 366 steps for the great view.

Then I headed to the Choco-Story museum. I learned a bit about the chocolate production process and a lot about the history of chocolate consumption. Then we watched a little demonstration on how they make pralines (and of course got a sample). Oh and in the chocolate art area they had a life-sized chocolate Barack Obama (and there were only about 6 pieces of chocolate art and none of the others were of people, just Obama).

Before heading onto Ghent I went to the Halve Maan Brewery tour. It was fun and there were even good views of the city involved. Plus at the end you get a free beer. No complaints.

Then the 20 minute train ride to Ghent, where I tried to plan my time in Ghent. Unfortunately I was so tired at this point (and maybe at a sugar low) that I couldn't find the motivation to really seek out everything there. It was surprisingly beautiful (again, what a difference a canal makes) and since I didn't see most of it now I have an excuse to go back to Belgium.

Then on to Brussels for my last 2 days. Word of warning here: have a map of Brussels with you before arriving at the train station, because you can't find a city map in the Central station. This especially becomes a problem when you only have your hotel address and the memory of the sentence "near the central train station." Luck was one my side though and the 3rd building of the first street I tried was my hotel! Then the concierge who checked me in offered to take me around the city the next day after he got off work in the morning at 11. It was a nice offer, but as soon as he mentioned going to Salsa too, I figured this was not the best idea. Needless to say I had to sneak out of the hotel the next morning so that I didn't have to tell him I didn't want a personal tour by a stranger who knew where I was sleeping that night.

I confess, in Brussels I did one of those hop-on, hop-off bus tours. I know, I know; but there were lots of things to see and some were outside the city center, plus it gets boring walking around all day alone, so this way I got someone to tell me all about the city. I wont list all the sites, that's for you to see when you go visit.

I did seek out the Manneken-Pis fountain and was a bit disappointed because his outfit that day was just a straw hat. Plus the fountain was much smaller than I had imagined. In fact most of the chocolate replicas around the city were larger than the real thing.

Oh I almost forgot, Saturday was Gay Pride Day in Brussels and they had their huge parade that day too. It was just like San Francisco's, except slightly more mellow (but not much). The hardest part is trying to cross the parade route and not get covered in confetti.

I had a late lunch/early dinner so as not to have to sit alone surrounded by groups of people staring at the girl eating alone. I had the mussels and they were wonderful. Another tick in my list of must-do.

The highlight of the last day was a chocolate demonstration at La Maison des Maitres Chocolatiers. If you are ever in Brussels you MUST do this. It is sort of a chocolate co-op in the Grand Place and everyday at 4 they offer the workshop/demonstration. There were only 3 of us and we went up into this workshop room and he talked all about history (which only slightly involved chocolate) and kept quizzing us on all of these historic events. Regardless it was very interesting and he was very friendly. Then we made some pralines. The best part is once it is over you go back downstairs and get a hot chocolate and samples of some pralines. The price for the whole thing was something like 8.50 euros and it lasted over an hour, we got a 5 euro hot chocolate, and probably another 3 euro worth of praline samples. Best deal of the trip. Oh and the best praline there was the rosemary-orange praline.

So now for the chocolate experience. I had all sorts of different chocolates from about 10 different shops. I easily ate 10 pralines/chocolates each day, in addition to the frites, waffles, and cookies. I tried every interesting praline I could find including banana, mint, coffee, tiramisu, lime-chili, peanut, creme brulee, rosemary-hazelnut, and more. My favorite places were Depla, Chocolate Line, and Laurent Gerbaud.

Definitely one of the top 3 trips of the past 14 months!

How Did I Miss You in HIstory Class, Prague?

My first thought on the way into the Czech Republic was that they were still using some sort of medieval communication system involving fires. From the plane I could see these small fires in each little city and also along the horizon. They almost appeared to be in back yards and then in town centers. I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into. Do they not use phones yet, or are they still worried about being invaded? Luckily the owner of our hotel explained later that night that is was Witch's Day and that all over people have bonfires that day. In fact on a late night stroll through Prague that first night we saw not only bonfires but also people dressed as witches and whatnot. Pretty fun.

Oh I should mention, I went to Prague with another ex-pat from FFIC, Brigitte. She is only in Munich for 4 months, but might actually manage to make more trips than I will in 2 years!

So anyway, the first night was quite fun because we checked into our hotel. Not normally a particularly "fun" experience, but this time it was. So about 2 blocks from our hotel the cab pulls to a quick stop and 2 police officers approach the car and shine flashlights into the back and then the driver pops and hood and the trunk. Then they walk around the car with one of those giant dentist mirrors to check underneath. After a couple seconds of worry, then a few seconds of just strong curiosity I notice the American flag a few meters ahead. We are about to pass the US Embassy. Then right after the Embassy is the police station and then upon parking in front of the hotel I notice the building across the small street is the German Embassy. This is just about the safest area of town! At this point the hotel owner greets us at the door, invites us to sit in the small lobby/entry way, gives us some water, and tells us everything we want to know (and more). It was fantastic. He gave us maps and recommendations and general city advice (taxis, pickpocketers, and money changing) and then the history of the house. It is 500 years old. Then to our great room right off the entry way. It was enchanting.

The next day we met the owner's (Jan) son, Jakob. After out great breakfast we got the "Jakob" version of what to do/see/skip for Prague. He basically told us all of his father's restaurant options were ok, but we should instead listen to him. Then he gave us more information than we could have ever dreamed of. It was all great though (which is not usually the case for hotels!) One of the first stops was for a trdelnik which is a fantastic Czech sweet treat. It is dough wrapped around a cylinder and cooked over a fire and then covered with sugar, cinnamon, and almonds. It was as good as you are imagining!

Then we headed up the big hill for the castle, monastery, and cathedral. Here is where we joined the other 5 million tourists! I still can't believe how many other tourists were in this city. I believe it is actually one of, if not the top tourist destination in Europe! Now that I've been there I can agree with this statement and also understand why. It is so beautiful and so diverse. I don't understand why we don't learn more about this city in history class. It has so much history. More than many other cities I've visited lately.

Anyway at about 2pm we decided to stop for lunch and went to one of Jakob's recommendations. The restaurant is called Palffy and is a very high-end, elegant place that offers an inexpensive lunch menu to encourage business at lunch. Since it was a perfect day we sat out on their beautiful veranda (although the dining room was so relaxing and charming I wouldn't have minded eating there either). The food was fantastic! Ostrich carpaccio, cod with beautiful veggies, and ice cream profiteroles for dessert even thought they weren't actually on the menu. A perfect relaxing and delicious lunch.

Lots of other great little stories from this afternoon, but I don't want this post to go on too long and this way you'll have to ask me about them and show you've actually read this post! They're really some of the funniest stories, so ask me.

Anyway, that night we had a super rushed dinner in order to get to the orchestra concert we had tickets for. At the traditional Czech restaurant we ordered a pork knee and let me tell you it was a once in a lifetime experience, because I will never do it again. Once I finally got a bite that wasn't pure fat it tasted rather good, but that took so long and was way too much work. It was funny though, because it came out on this hanging device and was thus suspended for us to eat off of. Oh and also, the Czech beer was good, but I am not understanding why the big to do.

It required a mad dash through the city, but we made it to the concert and it was worth it. It was in the Municipal House concert hall and was Czech composers: Smetana and Dvořák. Very beautiful both musically and with regards to the venue.

Sunday was the Jewish Quarter day (since of course everything is closed on Saturday). It was a very educational and moving day. From the Jewish cemetery with stones upon stones, to the old synagogues turned into museums on the history of the people and the faith for the past couple thousand years, to the Old New Synagogue which is the oldest in Europe, and finally to the Spanish Synagogue which was the most beautiful. Oh one of the best parts was at the entrance to one of the museums the old man checking the tickets invited me to join him in his booth. I might have considered it had he been about 60 years younger, but he was adorable.

Then to the third of Jakob's suggestions, Cafe de Paris, for lunch. And with that one Jakob was three for three on recommendations! Then we followed it up by sharing 2 cookies, and a slice of chocolate cake at a nearby bakery which cost a grand total of 31 crowns (which amazingly is only $1.50! You just have to love that conversion.)

What The Earth?!

So I just went to the dentist in Germany and um, what was that?! As a fellow "highly developed" country I expected the experience to be similar to that in the states. A scrape here, some pain there, and then the spinning buffer thing, but no. I spent 10 minutes on paperwork, 5 minutes waiting, and then 5 minutes in the chair. I didn't even see the actual dentist. The dental assistant looked at each tooth while blowing high pressured air at them and then poked at my gums with that super poky thing. Then he said "great teeth, everything looks good, and come back in 6 months." For what? I don't think you'll be seeing me again, even if you are across the hall from my apartment.

While Your Insanity Amazes Me, Your Vision Astounds Me

Well King Ludwig, I finally saw the last of your palaces (another unfinished project) and I must say that I am impressed. The palace (part of which is a replica of Versailles) on Herreninsel is gorgeous. The gardens and fountains and the views all make me want to be royalty from the 1800's regardless of all the lack of modern medicine, suppressive treatment of women, and general non-existence of gelato stands.

My opinion of the islands may have a bit to do with the fact that the day was beautiful (until the storm appeared out of no where) but I don't think my opinion would have changed much if we had been there on a less sunny day. Unfortunately because of the un-forecasted and quick moving storm we had to cut our time on the Fraueninsel short, but I hope to go back sometime to check out all of the ceramics which are made on the island.

The most random part of the trip was the woman who we started talking to on the boat ride back who offered us a ride to the train station since it was raining. We actually took her up on her and her boyfriend's offer. The ride was so funny though. She had lived in New York for a while and is quite well travelled so we talk a lot about what we all missed from the states. The top of her list: beef jerky, KFC, and Dunkin' Donuts! Wow, really?! Most of those are the things I am glad to be far away from!

Real France This Time

I finally made it to a real French city, none of that half-French/half-German Strasbourg stuff this time. And Lyon was just what I had hoped for. I spent 2 days in Lyon and 2 days in Geneva with my friend Fabienne over Easter. While it is true that the French don't like to speak English, I found that if you tried to speak French and were cute about it, then they found you entertaining and were nice. Or if need be just keep talking in English because chances are that they actually do speak English and will eventually answer you in English. Nice system they've got there.

We left from Zurich and were in Lyon within 4 hours. The hotel was right in the heart of the old city amongst the beautiful architecture, delicious bakeries, and tempting shops. That night for dinner we headed to rue des Marronniers which is a one block street with nothing but restaurants. Dinner was great. (Although it took 20 minutes of staring at the menu before we decided, and the menu was even in English!) Here is where I realized that while French desserts are my absolute favorites and impossible for me to resist, the French savory dishes scare me. How can they be so good with desserts and so weird with the rest? Anyway I found a non-scary scallop risotto which was heaven, and so far Lyon held up to it's reputation for being a food capital of the world.

The next morning I had a chocolat au pain and a cappuccino for breakfast (except the cappuccino was an espresso topped with whipped cream, not technically correct, but actually really good). We then went to the top of the hill to see the Fourviere. It was beautiful. Then we walked to the Roman ruins. It was so amazing. These structures were built in 15 B.C. and they are still around! The rest of the day was spent walking in and out of bakeries, patisseries, and chocolate shops. And if that wasn't enough we walked to the Halles de Lyon which is a massive indoor food hall. All the meats, cheeses, seafood, baked goods, and desserts you could dream of. Basically this was my heaven.

That night we went to dinner at the restaurant that my colleague, who is from Lyon, recommended. I got the Lyon speciality: quenelle de brochet, which is a pike dumpling. It was one of the best dinners I have ever had. It was a small dish but I was full half way through. Amazing. Plus the atmosphere in the restaurant was perfect. A small room with wood beamed ceiling and low lighting. (Aside from the worst behaved French child I have seen who had useless parents, it was a great experience. The 3 or 4 year old kid was sitting by himself on one side of the table with both parents sitting on the other. He was off his chair and all over the place, bumping into everyone the whole time. The parents never said a thing or corrected him once. In fact at one point the waitress came over, picked him up off the floor, sat him in his chair, and scooted it to the table. Even after this the parents made no effort to keep him in line. I'll stop there, but it goes on.)

The net day we went to Geneva. We hadn't booked a hotel but lucked out on a nice one which wasn't too expensive. Then was walked around the city. It was beautiful. Although I have noticed that almost any city is beautiful when it is on a lake or river. Dinner that night was fantastic. (I promise I have had a bad meal, just not on this trip!) I tried beef tartar for the first time. Oh and the local wine (a pinot blanc) was perfect.

The next day on the train ride home was the most beautiful train ride I have ever been on. The snow capped mountains, the lakes, the hills covered in wineries. Why is it that when you are in France and you see a building which is old, run down, in need of paint, and an eye-sore you think of it as rustic, beautiful, and picture worthy? France is just magic like that I guess.

5 Months, 3 Cities, and 3 Apartments

So within the past 5 months I am able to say I have had apartments in 3 different European cities. Munich, Dublin, and how Zurich. I spent the past 2 weeks working from our Zurich office and will spend at least the next 2 weeks down there again. (All that's left is working from our Singapore office) It has been fun to spend that much time in Zurich. Unfortunately work is very busy so I don't get to see a lot of the city in the daylight, but the bit I've seen/done has been great.

The first weekend there I went to Bern (the capital of Switzerland) on Saturday and on Sunday got to meet a cousin I haven't seen since before the age at which you are able to remember things without being just told that you were there or did something.

Bern was nice. It wasn't the best weather, but I got to see the apartment where Einstein developed his Special Theory of Relativity. I have to admit it was pretty cool. Then I walked around a bit and saw the bear pits (the namesake of the city, Bern=bear). It is a city known for a lot of fountains and it was quite interesting.

On Sunday we drove around the area near Zurich and saw several of the smaller cities. We also stopped at a huge monastery in Einsiedeln which was actually quite beautiful and unique, and for once was not just another church to add to the list. Then we had lunch/dinner in Rapperswil which is on the south side of Lake Zurich and beautiful. Very nice views and a great garden/castle for walking.

Zurich is beautiful, but my heavens is it expensive. I find myself doing the exchange into euros instead of thinking about the fact that the Swiss Franc is equivalent to the dollar, because if I thought about the cost of things in dollars I would have lost my mind already. I just try to soften the blow by thinking about the amount in euros which makes the number smaller, but doesn't actually lower the price. I guess it is so insanely expensive there because the taxes are so low, but as someone not getting those kinds of tax benefits, it is a bit of a strain on the bank account. (Oh funny side story, I spent the last 2 weeks trying to survive in a foreign city with absolutely no cash. My EC card wouldn't work so I quickly had to learn which places accept credit cards. Dresdner bank has now officially joined the sh** list.)

I realize this post is a bit sporadic and random, but it is hard to summarize these past two weeks into anything I think someone might potentially be interested in. My apologies.

The Alps, A Snowstorm, And Kaiserschmarrn

Last weekend I went with a group of friends from work to Innsbruck for a skiing/snowboarding weekend in the Alps. Innsbruck is where parts of the 1964 and 1976 Olympics took place. It is a beautiful city (well at least the little bit of it that I actually saw was nice). The first day 2 friends and I took snowboarding lessons since we were the only ones who didn't already ski or snowboard. We met our instructor at the rental shop and, my hand to God, he was perfect. I thought it was just a myth that snowboarding instructors are attractive, but (at least in Innsbruck) it is true.

We headed up the mountain directly from the center of the city. There is an extensive gondola system that goes from city center to about 2000 meters up the mountain. When we got to the top we discovered ourselves in the midst of a snowstorm which lasted the entire day. Within minutes my hair had frozen into a giant icicle, but there was no consideration of turning back. By lunchtime we were pretty well soaked through. We went to the hut and had lunch in an almost empty restaurant. Just us and 3 other people.

After lunch it was back out to practice edging on the half pipe. That's right in the first day we were on the half pipe. (Ok, so we were just using the middle part, but that is just a minor detail.) Because of all the snow there were about 15 other people on the mountain that day. In fact I could tell you what every other person out there that day was wearing! At one point one of the snowboarders who was coming down the half pipe almost ran over me and had to take a fall to stop. He came to a snow spraying stop about 1 meter from me and left me completely covered in snow (which I preferred to being run over).

That night I had kaiserschmarrn for dinner because I discovered that it is actually Austrian and I figured that justified it. Man is that stuff good!

The second day we headed back to the same hill (by ourselves this time, unfortunately) to try to figure this whole snowboarding thing out. Plus I didn't really ever fall on Saturday, so I needed to get some bruises at some point (and boy did I!). Well, once we got to the top of the mountain we discovered just how lucky we had been on Saturday. The entire city and surrounding areas were all out for the day. There were people everywhere. There were even kids on skis who were under the age of 3. Likely they had taken their first steps that week so the parents decided it was time to strap on the skis. All these people made it harder to practice since I worry less about hurting myself than I do about hurting someone else. By the end of the day the guy from Venezuela ended up as the super star, showing up a girl from Slovakia and myself (I've lived near enough to snow most of my life that I shouldn't have done so poorly.) But aside from sore muscles no one was hurt by the end of the weekend and I can now officially say I've been snowboarding in the Alps!

Fasching = Halloween + Donuts

Last Tuesday was Fasching (aka carnival aka Fat Tuesday . . . ) and I got to celebrate Munich style. While the best place to be for Fasching is actually Koln, Munich was fun too. There is a big celebration in the Marienplatz where everyone is dressed up in costumes and walks around drinking, eating, and throwing massive amounts of confetti, but mostly they are drinking. There are portable bars set up all over and not just beer but wine, Gluhwein, hard alcohol, and pretty much any other kind you'd want.

My favorite part is that the traditional food for Fasching is krapfen aka Berliner aka filled donuts. It is so nice to have an excuse to eat donuts all the time, and even though the US is the country known for loving donuts I have to say that Germany in general has nearly perfected the filled donut.

The costumes are great and let me just say that there are no holds barred. Everything goes. There were fruits, witches, Hello Kittys, tigers, police officers, and then people dressed as Mexicans, Arabs, Gypsies, and more. I found that a bit surprising and realized that in the US we don't typically dress in the traditional (or stereotypical) dress of major cultures. I don't know if it is good or bad. Anyway, Fasching was a great day and not just because we only had to work a half day!

Baby Steps into France

I finally had my first trip to France, even if it was only a couple of feet into the country. I'm almost kidding. I went with 2 other American ex-pats to Strasbourg, France. It is a very interesting town with lots of history. It has been French and then German and then French, etc. but the key is that in 2010 it is France and to tell the truth I could tell.

Once we arrived Friday night we headed across town to the hotel, but because of me it took about 3 times longer than it should have because I had to stop at every bakery and chocolate shop (which were all closed) and drool over the display. I mean they had macaroons the width of baseballs for heavens sake! The first morning breakfast sort of turned into brunch after searching for a place for a while. But it worked out well because I had basically a bruschetta with tomato spread, eggplant, and chicken and it was amazing. I think the best savory dish of the trip.

Then to the cathedral to watch the astronomical clock at 12:30. It was interesting and impressive that something built that long ago still functions as it should. Plus the cathedral was beautiful inside (aside from the part where they charged money for everything). I think I ate a salad for lunch, but all I really remember was the chocolate tart from heaven at the end of the meal at Paul.

That night we were trying to find a particular restaurant and when we asked this nice couple for directions they ended up just walking us there. They were so nice which is great because we would have never found it! Another point for France.

The next morning we woke to a beautiful snow covered Strasbourg and headed to the Tomi Ungerer Museum - International Center of Illustration which featured Tomi Ungerer (illustrator of tons of book including Crictor) and Saul Steinberg (known best for his work for the New Yorker). I think it may be one of my favorite museums of all time except for the basement, which I sort of regret encouraging us to explore. I should have let the mystery stay a mystery. Eventually we headed back to Petit France to explore again and take more pictures.

Luckily on the way to the train that night I was able to find one bakery open so I could get my long awaited macaroon. I proceeded to carry it all the way back to my apartment in my breast pocket (6 hours) without smashing it and man was all that work worth it! AMAZING!!

The worst part of the trip was the ride home on the train when a group of (drunk of course) soccer hooligans got on the train and made a game of who can get Beth to hit them first. Basically the one guy kept opening the door to the car and singing and talking to the group around us (of course we were all women so an obvious target). I did enjoy the part where since I was ignoring him while he asked what book I was reading he ended up calling me French. Awesome, but just goes to show how oblivious he really was as I was reading an English book called Independence Day with a big American flag on the cover. Oh well, I kind of like being called French, who'd have known.

First Trip of 2010!

Have you ever had a swig of beer and then thought "this is good but it is missing something . . . hey, I know what it needs, a big dose of smoky bacon"? Probably not, right, because you're sane. Well there is a small city in Germany who makes it's name via this Rauchbier (smoke beer) and it tastes exactly like a side of smoky bacon was dropped into your dark beer. Bamberg, Germany is a small city in Northern Bavaria which is an Unesco World Heritage Site as it actually survived the war without being destroyed. It also has the Rathaus which is one of the most photographed locations in Germany.

We left early yesterday morning and arrived in Bamberg and began the tour/battle to not freeze. The Dom there is one of my favorite churches now. It might have had something to do with the Christmas decorations, but too bad. I love the big trees lit up with candles and the nativity scenes. Plus it was a nice understated, massive stone building. I know that seems like an oxymoron, but it isn't this time.

Later we went up the hill to the Kirche St. Michael which was a bit overstated inside, but was somewhat redeemed by it's Christmas decorations. Oh, but it had the most interesting ceiling I have ever seen. The ceiling had herbs and plants painted on it. Odd. Then we walked around to the back where there were views of the city and about 1000 empty champagne bottles and firework trash everywhere. Apparently the entire city went up there on New Year's Eve and each had a bottle of champagne, a box of fireworks, and no trash cans. Anyway, the walk down was fun as it was snowing the whole day we were there and the stair were covered in ice. I imagine we were very entertaining to watch although I didn't particularly enjoy envisioning myself sprawled out in the muddy ice. Don't worry we made it back in one piece.