Munich and I Are Going on a Break

At work today they asked me to help out during the renewal season in our Dublin office, and of course I said yes. For 5 weeks, from November 16 until December 18, I will be working in Dublin! Hopefully I will be able to come home on some of the weekends since it will be Christmas Market season here in Germany, but if anyone wants to meet me in Dublin during that time I will have an apartment to myself. This is just one more advantage to being childless and single! And it seems like I just keep jumping from one beer capital to another. Interesting . . .

5 Days and 1 Bottle of Sunscreen (aka Sardinia)

That's right, in 5 days I used almost an entire "Urlaubs-Grosse" (vacation sized) bottle of SPF 30 sunscreen, but I managed to make it with only a 1st degree sunburn. I thought that wasn't too bad for 5 days on the beach in Sardinia.

I was with 4 friends on the northern coast of Sardinia for the past 5 days. The parents of my Italian friend own a sumer house near Porto Pollo (basically the kite surfing capital of the world) and we stayed there, about a 20 minute walk from the beach. The weather was perfect for all 5 days (hot and not a cloud in sight) and at only point while floating in the water I was looking up and could only see bright blue. I have never experienced that before and it was so cool.

I don't have much to tell since basically we laid on the beach and read and went swimming in the Mediterranean sea for 5 days. Then at night we went out for a fantastic dinner at some restaurant and then saw where the night took us. Once it was to a party on the beach with the rest of the entire island. Another night it was the city's street fair with all handmade items. One night for dinner we went to a restaurant where basically you get what they give you, and Good Lord is it good. We ate and ate and ate, and each thing was fantastic. Everything was traditional Sardinian food (which surprisingly doesn't include much seafood) including the pork, which I have to admit was amazing even though I am not a big pork fan. This place was one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. It is worth a trip to Sardinia just for this place. I could talk about the food for days.

One of the days we took a day long boat tour of the northern islands. We stopped at a few beaches and swam and also stopped in the middle of the Mediterranean at one point and jumped off the boat for a swim.

In general, the most unnerving thing about the beach was that I was without a doubt the whitest person there, probably the whitest on the entire island. It was crazy! Buts it is nice to know that I won't have a leather couch for a face at 35 like most of them. As far as the locals go, the one nice things is that for every woman on the beach that made me self-conscious about my body there were 2 others that made me feel good about myself.

Oh and the random event of the trip: in the bar on the beach we met an ex-Navy guy who retired in Sardinia who has actually been to not only Nebraska, but to a Huskers football game! I think he was more excited about this than I was. He kept talking about how nice everyone was and then even called his brother in the states to tell him he had met a girl from Nebraska. Just goes to show how great we must be when we leave that kind of lasting impression!!

This was without a doubt 5 of the most relaxing days of my life. And truth be told I didn't know the beaches in Italy were this beautiful. It reminds me of Greece, water so beautiful you would think it was fake. I was hard to not "accidentally" miss my flight.

Kaufbeuren, Tempting . . .

Yesterday the chief actuary of Allianz Re invited the department out to his house in Kaufbeuren for a garden party and city tour. Apparently the universe wants everyone to move there because the day was absolute perfection. If it wasn't a one and a half hour drive from Munich I would be looking for a house out there right now.

We arrived at his beautiful home in the mid-afternoon and proceeded on our tour of the city. Let me just say that a city is so much more interesting when you know the history and have a private tour! It was another medieval city with the remnants of the city wall and a small chapel that was built something like 800 years ago! Just amazing. Then we proceeded back to his house and had Kaffee und Kuche (it is a tradition in German households to have coffee and cakes at 4 pm everyday. Unfortunately/fortunately this doesn't happen at work!) I could definitely get used to that though!

Then we sat and talked and watched the kids play and then they announced dinner was ready. Dinner?! I didn't know this was going to be part of the day and man was it a good part of the day. There was everything from quiche Lorraine, summer salad, shrimp, salmon wraps, and more. It was fantastic. Then we sat and drank and talked until it was time for dessert. Just when I thought I couldn't eat another crumb out came the tiramisu and Linzer torte. Well you can't say no to either of those so of course I had to try both. (I mean come on, I have to really experience the culture. Food and all . . .)

I think I was finally back in my apartment by 2 am, so I would have to say the day was a success. Now if only I could have a house like Marcus's in a city like Munich for a price like in Nebraska with weather like San Francisco. And while I'm wishing, I'd like to speak German better also.

Medieval Festivals in Germany Make Sense (History Wise)

Today I met my colleague Kornelia and her boyfriend in this little historic German city called Schongau. The city sits on the top of hill and still has the historical wall from the middle ages around it. They were having a Medieval festival in the city center and it had all the trimmings. Everything from people in full out costumes, lots of Bavarian food, wooden swords, massages, and of course "witch-oil" for all your witch-protection needs.

Then we went to the lake and laid there for a while in the sun before having an eiscafe, which is coffee with a scoop of ice cream in it. (It is just as good as you think it is!) I am so excited that Kornelia and her boyfriend will finally be moving to Munich next month. This way our adventures will be easier to organize and we can even play some Settlers of Catan!

Well, That's a First

I can't remember the last time I went to a romantic comedy with a group that consisted of any guys at all, but tonight I went to see The Proposal with not just one, but 4 guys. In fact, I was the only girl. The best part was that they actually liked it so I didn't feel too self-conscious about having suggested the movie. Luckily at our standard post-movie bar I got some reinforcement in the female sense so I could more easily defend our gender! Then we proceeded to plan a group trip to Amsterdam in October. All in all I have to say it was a very productive night.

Hiking Like the Germans Do . . .

That means: getting up at the same time on a Saturday morning as I do on a work day, hiking up steep ravines and down poorly constructed paths, taking a 9, 7, 5, and 1 year old, and doing all of this for 6 hours.

The CRO department organized a hike at Hoellentalklamm yesterday. It actually ended up being an Actuarial department hike with a couple others from the CRO department. The hike took place in the mountains right outside Garmisch-Partenkirchen which is where the Winter Olympics took place in 1936. The Hoellentalklamm itself is this amazing ravine that you hike through to get to the base of the Zugspitze which is Germany's highest mountain.

We only made it to a height of t 1,387 meters, but based on the number of times we went up and then down and then up and then down on the path I am pretty sure we hiked up at least 2,ooo meters. The day was great and the waterfalls, caves, forests, and snow were all very impressive. (Sorry Yosemite, this place may have you beat.) We stopped at the hut that was 1,387 meters up and had lunch and took a bit of a break before hiking back down using the alternative route.

Overall it might just be one of the most impressive hikes I have ever been on. And of course I didn't bring my camera, but I will try to get pictures from one of my co-workers so you don't all think I am a liar. I promise, it was one of those places that helps me understand why the Germans are so serious about hiking and go every weekend.

Oh and one of the best parts of the day was the car ride to and from the hike. I rode with one of my co-workers and we got to do about 140 MPH on the Autobahn. That will never get old. I might just be willing to pay the 1,000 euros and spend the hours it would take just to get my license so I can drive that fast myself. Oh speed, why are you so much fun?

Adventures in Regensburg

Yesterday I went with 5 friend to Regensburg in Southern Germany. It was a perfect day with some wonderful German highlights. Regensburg was and is a very important medieval city. It's history and some of it's buildings go back to ancient Roman times. The Dom was beautiful and the Stone Bridge was built in 1146! I could keep listing the sites all day, so I'll stop, but I'd recommend researching the city in all the free time I am sure everyone has.

While there I ate one of the famous Regensburg sausages. (Sorry, but it tasted just like all the others) but the old building where they make them is really cool. Plus you know they must be good when a place has 2 things on the menu (sausages in a roll and sausages on sauerkraut) and still has a line out the door. Regensburg also has a gelateria that has not just one but two kinds of cinnamon gelato! Heaven!

Oddly enough one of the best parts of the trip was the train ride home. The train was packed and we wanted to sit together so we just went to the 1st class section and sat down. Well, it was empty and there weren't any other seats. So our plan was to just speak English when the ticket lady came by and pretend we didn't know that we couldn't sit there. Anyway after all the scheming she didn't even say anything when she checked our tickets so we had a very comfortable ride back. Well, that was until the character from a reality show appeared. I swear I thought we were on candid camera or something. Here's what happened. This probably 55-60 year old guy walked by sporting what I can only describe as terry cloth shorts which were so short that you could see the pockets sticking out of the bottom. They were white, horrifyingly short, and he wore a belt with them. And of course he hadn't seen a gym since Regan was president. Not so surprisingly he found a lot of reasons to walk back and forth. Every time requiring me to try to keep from falling out of my seat laughing. I only wish I could have gotten a picture. So far this is my first regret from my time in Germany.

Let The Comparisons Begin

I made it through my first trip back to the states and I didn't have to force myself back on the plane, so I guess that means I really do like it here. My trip was great, quick and busy, but great. I got to see lots of people, bought a bunch of groceries to take back, and ate lots of burgers, BBQ, frozen yogurt, and Mexican food. Plus I got to tell the same stories 34 times and answer the same questions 56 times. Now I officially know who does and who doesn't read the blog. Not that I expect anyone to read it, but now I know who my audience is!

One of my favorite parts is that I couldn't understand one of the first Americans I spoke with when I landed in Chicago. Poor guy at the bagel shop in the airport was struggling to tell me the total by showing me the receipt and I was so tired that I couldn't figure out why he kept pointing to the receipt. Oh America. . .

My other favorite part was that my name was on the display at Fireman's Fund where they welcome visitors. Made me feel quite special even though they didn't trust me enough to let me walk around unescorted.

Overall I loved my time home. Helped me remember how much I both love and hate driving, how much I miss the Food Network, how much I miss being able to small talk with clerks, and just how fat we Americans really are. Sorry but it's true. More on that later.

Look Out USA

It's finally here. My trip to the states is tomorrow! I will arrive in Omaha on Wednesday night (July 8th) and stay through Tuesday noon (July 14th). Then I'm off to Seattle until Thursday night (July 16th) when I head to San Francisco until Saturday night (July 18). If anyone would like to get ahold of me while I'm in the states you can call me on my old cell phone 402-305-1367. I hope to see as many of you as I can, so let me know when you're available!

Krista & Kellie kommen nach Muenchen!

The last 2 weeks were amazing!  Kellie and Krista came to visit me and we had a blast. (At least I did.  Hopefully they feel the same!) I got to show them around Munich, we all went to Zurich, and then I sent them on a few trips without me.  We "experienced" Bavarian food, traveled, shopped, and ate lots of gelato.  

The second weekend they were here we went to Zurich to visit our friend Fabienne.  It was so much fun to take the train with friends!  Zurich was great and it absolutely lived up to it's reputation for being expensive, having great shopping, and being the chocolate mecca of the world.  There are two key shops for chocolate in Zurich, one is Merkur and the other is Sprungli (of Lindt & Sprungli).  I could live in these shops! Oh and the speciality at Sprungli are the Luxemburgerli which are little confections that look like tiny hamburgers, but taste like heaven!  You all have to come and visit me just so we can go to Zurich to get one.  It will be worth it, I promise.

Also while in Switzerland we spent a day at this great little city called Luzern.  It is about 45 minutes from Zurich and so beautiful.  We did some great shopping and even got Kellie an "European haircut."  Great souvenir, right?   This little city would be my top recommendation right now for honeymoon location.  

We also managed to experience 2 Swiss bachelor parties and a couple German ones too!  Oh and we discovered this Italian snack called Piadinas which is basically an Italian quesadilla.  So good!  The girls even came twice to have lunch with me at work in the canteen.  I felt like the little kid showing their parents their classroom at school.  "Here's where I get coffee.  Here's where I eat lunch. Here's my desk. Here's my window."  So sad, but I loved every second of it!

All in all I am pretty sure that they both need to move back here so we can all learn German together while teaching these Germans a few things!