Ninja Please

Salzburg was incredible. I am not sure though if it was as much the city as the people we were with.

Salzburg is known for four main things: salt (Salz) mines, a fortress on the hill (burg), Mozart, and the Sound of Music. The trip was extremely nice. We travelled with two others couples so we stayed in a place much nicer than we typically do (Billz and I roll dirty and ghetto). The breakfast spread was incredible!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Hohensalzburg Castle, especially since the trolley car was broken so we hiked it (yall know I get off on that sort of thing). The pictures below are the boys sitting on a real canon in the fortress and a view from one of the canon windows.




I was pleasantly surprised by the Sound of Music Tour. I am typically a little cheap, but since the whole group was into the tour, I decided to jump on board despite the hefty price tag. Not only did we get some inside scoop, history, and real scenery from the movie, but we also go an entire tour bus to ourselves (100+ seats for 6 people) and a tour of the country-side and Mondsee. The Edelwiess flower now holds a special place in my heart after hearing an Austrian tale. Since it usually grows in inaccessible places, it is said that Austrian men had to hike a mountain and find an Edelweiss to present to their fiance in order to show their commitment before marrying them.




In the picture below, Sara and Phil are grubbing on a Salzburger Nockerl, a typical sweet soufflé for which the city of Salzburg, Austria, is famous. They are supposed to represent the hillsides surrounding the city of Salzburg: the Gaisberg, Moenchsberg and Nonnberg. The dusting of powdered sugar resembles the snow-covered peaks.



In the picture below, Phil is admiring sake at a restaurant we now refer to as, "Ninja Please" or "I just shit myself" or "9.80€ sake/shnapps" or even "We gotta go. We gotta go right now." I cannot begin to tell the whole story, but it started with a night of drinking, a desire for a small plate and sake at the end of the night, and in the end we got smacked with an outrageous bill and they lost half of their glasses. The term "Ninja Please" was coined, and the prices 8.90€ and 9.80€ will be forever ingrained in our head.

This is us on the train. Barbara made us all chicken filet sandwiches for the ride!!! Barbs and Sarah also brought us homemade trail mix and white chocolate covered pretzels!!! They are both SOOOOO good in the kitchen; they make me feel so lame. I enjoy the train rides so much - no one has to drive so we can eat and have a beer and conversate the entire time. Sooooo nice.


Below is our house in Krafshof (which is ~2miles from the city center of Nürnberg. We have a balcony off of our bedroom and a little garden that I enjoy very much. OUr village is one of my favorite parts of our experience. EVERYONE says good morning (Guten Morgen), and the people really just want to help you out.

In Germany, at the local restaurants there is always a reserved table for the locals called the Stammtisch. It is a really big step to get to sit at one. We were invited on the first night, and the group is absolutely hilarious!!

Below is Billy and me at an Irish Bar. My colleagues make fun of me for going, but it is so much fun! Always live music, and it is one place where Billy does not stand out as much for being the loudest one there!

Amsterdam (Part 1, but there was a Part 2 and 3 as well)

When we first arrived in Germany, we had a rental car through my work for the first week.  We decided it would be silly to waste that time with the car, and decided to take off towards the Netherlands for a weekend in Amsterdam.

It was our first time on the German autobahn, and it was exciting!  Not to mention, you are allowed to have open containers in your car (the driver should not be drinking though), so I got to enjoy some beer on the way.  The trip took us almost 8 hours!  The traffic was insane and the road works did not help.

We quickly learned that parking inside the city is NOT an option unless you want to pay 50€ or more per day.  Therefore we parked outside of the city and took the tram to our hotel.

Without spending an arm and a leg, you are not going to end up in a nice place in Amsterdam.  Small and moldy would be the best description, but it worked for what we needed.

I was certainly most surprised by the beauty of Amsterdam. I had only heard about the parties, but there is SO much in Amsterdam outside of partying.  Walking the canals, people watching, architechture gazing, and market shopping are some of my favorite activities.

This is the view from our window. 

Where's Bilbo?

Another benefit of going in ugly and cold weather is there are NO tourists and everything is MUCH cheaper.

This is no lie.

Our favorite place in Amsterdam to sit down for a coffee was definitely the Bluebird cafe. 

The layout of Amsterdam is SO confusing to navigate without looking at your map every five seconds.  We spent the majority of our time lost. This picture pretty much explains everything.

THE MOON. This explains our last night.

Goodbye Amsterdam... we will be back.

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.

For Sarah.

Jet-lagged and luggage-less, we checked into our hotel, ventured out for a bier, and walked into a brothel...

True story.

Our Deutsch adventure starts Dec. 17, 2010 when we took a trip to Nürnberg and Erlangen for one week in search of an apartment (flat), bank accounts, new office, etc. We had to choose the week before Christmas due to school and work obligations on both of our parts. The week before Christmas turned out to be the week that Frankfurt am Main International Airport shut down for six days leaving 40,000 pieces of luggage and people stranded.

Needless to say, we lost our luggage... but NEVER our spirit of adventure. So while waiting in one of 500 lines with 20,000 other people to rebook our flight or get a train ticket, I decided it was time to take action. We found the ONLY car rental agency with an available car (a Ford... go figure... or as the Germans say, 'ein Fahrt'). Then we took off on the autobahn, in the snow, towards our destination. By the way, the autobahn is every highway in Germany, not just one road without a speed limit.

When we arrived in Nürnberg, to the magnificent Imperial Castle and the walls surrounding the old town, we found our hotel and checked in - then went out in search of a bar. We located a place on a alley with 'bar' in the window. When we walked in, everyone turned and stared with a combination of expressions from 'Fresh Meat!' to 'WTF did you bring sand to the beach!?!' to 'Competition!!'. Anyway the pictures on the wall of the naked women with a number associated with each one gave us a clue we had stumbled into the red light district. We politely took our beer to go and left.

Due to the weather, the timing, and our precious (eye roll) little dog, we did not have much luck with a home while on the Orientation trip. We found one that was perfect in the center of Nürnberg; however it was a bit too far from work. We found another that was in a small village outside of Nürnberg, however it did not have a kitchen. We ended up deciding on the one without a kitchen (negotiating one to be put in), and it was the best decision I have made in awhile. Let me add, that it is extremely UNCOMMON for flats to come with kitchens, and none of them come with ANY lights, appliances, etc.

A quick run down of our schedule, then I want to touch on the cultural differences and document our initial thoughts.

Dec. 15 through Dec. 16: All of our stuff is packed and sorted for either air shipment, sea shipment, or storage
Dec. 17 through Dec. 24: Orientation Trip to Nürnberg
Dec. 24 Stop by Billy's grandmother's for Xmas, drive from CLT to Raleigh
Dec. 25 through Dec. 27: Christmas with my family
Dec. 27 through Dec. 30: Hotel living (non stop errands and many hours put in at work trying to catch up despite having the entire week off)
Dec. 30: Asheville for AVETT BROTHERS (amazing)
Dec. 31: NYE throw down in Charlotte!
Jan. 1 through Jan. 5: Work, work, work... errands, errands, errands (LUGGAGE IS FOUND in PARIS!)
Jan. 5: Drive to Raleigh for one last dinner with my mom
Jan. 6: Goose is picked up and driven to DC for his flight. We fly out for Munich.
Jan. 7: Arrive in Munich with ALL of our luggage!!!
Jan. 8 through Jan. 17: Adjust to German life... eat good, sleep bad
Jan. 17: Start work and move into new home (Ihlestraße 12, 90427 Nürnberg DE)
Jan. 21 through Jan. 23: Amsterdam!
Jan. 25: Start German classes
Jan. 31: Dinner with boss from Lynchburg
Feb. 11 through Feb. 13: Salzburg Austria
Feb. 25 through Feb. 27: Ski South Tyrol Italy
April 30: Maggie comes... Prague, Budapest or Croatia trip
May: Mom comes
June: Tiff comes and BERGKIRCHWEIH http://www.der-berg-ruft.de/
July 7 through July 16: London 10k, Scotland, and Netherlands
August: Originally planning Egypt, but with recent uprising it will probably be Greece
September: Oktoberfest and return home to the States
October/November: Italy
December: Christmas in Paris

So the culture...
Bavaria is true romantic German life. It is what you vision when you think of Germany- the people, the bier, the architecture, etc. The Bavarian region is similar to the South in the US in that it tends to be a bit conservative, has a strong dialect, and the poeple tend to be a bit more friendly. I am so grateful that we live in a small village. However the village is only 2 miles from the center of the city, so I would compare it to Dilworth or Southend and Charlotte, rather than Gastonia or Huntersville and Charlotte. The day we moved in, our neighbor (a young woman in her 20s) brought Goose a package of specialty dog treats (that smelled like absolute a**) and a beautiful handmade note in English, although she speaks very little English. She also has offered her car to us on several occasions to pick up large items and to take Goose to the kennel. This is typical of our village. The people have welcomed us, and this is not the case everywhere. Our other neighbor has a Ph.d from Berkeley and offered his home to us. He also had a big party for his daughter (who can't be 15) yesterday and EVERYONE was drinking. That is one of the main differences here. They treat you like an adult and you are expected to act like one. There is a general sense of responsibility and order.

At work, most (but not all) of the people have been amazing. There are exceptions of course (like the sweet little 4ft woman with incredible 80s style and orange face and hands from self tanner). In Germany, lunch is the largest meal of the day, so it is expected (but never verbalized) that you eat lunch at one of the three restaurants on site with your colleagues. The food is surprisingly good. Of course anything that is fresh and not loaded with preservatives is labeled 'good' in my book.

There are no cubes, everyone sits in large rooms with even larger windows. Each person has a desk, typically facing another person. I miss my privacy terribly, but it has allowed me to become friends with my colleague, Daniel Kühn, that sits across from me. I thought he might be into men until I got him on the subject of the curves of Swedish women. Hahahahahhaha... I have really enjoyed becoming friends with him and joking about how the Germans have no sense of humor (of course he hits be right back with jokes about American fast food and pizza). We are going to start running together a couple days after work.

At work it is also customary to say good morning (Guten Morgen or Morgen) to each person in the morning(but never twice, because that is an insult since you didn't remember). Coffee, Cappaccino, Mocha, etc. is free from the coffee rooms... which is AWESOME! As in most European countries, smoking is prevalent so there are also smoking rooms... which makes that area of the building stink. The German men are very attractive in my opinion, so I am in search of a man for Mags; however it is proving difficult to find one for her that doesn't smoke or ting my gaydar a bit.

I absolutely adore everyday life here... everyone walks, or bikes, or takes the bus. Of course many people have cars, but if it is close they are not driving. There are bike lanes and paths everywhere. Also, on Sunday, EVERYTHING is closed, everyone is outside, and no one is working. It is amazing. Billy and I took Goose on a walk through the forest and then on a bike ride through the villages. We saw everyone out walking, riding, drinking bier, drinking wine, etc.

We have to walk or bike ~0,5 mile to our butcher for meat, and about a mile or so to our baker. I walk ~0.5 mile to the bus stop each morning, catch the 31 to the 30 and then walk ~0.25 mile to work. In the Spring I will probably ride my bike. It is about 6 miles.

There is no crime outside of a stolen bike here and there. There is no Super Sized fast food. There is fresh food and flowers and air...

I am all over the place here, but I am so content with my life here. I am already thinking about extending my stay beyond two years. Of course, as Billy said when I told him this, 'I'd be down, but in case you haven't noticed Baby... you love and thrive off of change. It will probably get old to you.' For an explanation on my blog in three months when I am bitching about all the things I love now, see the graph below.

In the meantime, I love Germany and I love my life here.