I left off yesterday after the first parade. So, after the break we were off to the city so that the Musikzug could play at a church. It was quite interesting since we had to walk through the city and see all the party goers. Let me tell you, that was pretty interesting. Everyone was dressed up. We saw a guy dressed up as a bride (and the next day in the Bild Zeitung, we saw him in the paper as having the highest blood alcohol content of those surveyed). There were many dressed as clowns, which I think is a normal costume.
Back to the church. It was quite interesting. It was called the "Jazzkirche". It was pretty interesting, and a lot different than a Catholic service, and I kind of liked it. The guys that were playing the sax, piano, drums and bass were absolutely amazing. The Musikzug wasn't too bad either. They did a rendition of "My Way" that was really good.
Well, after the church, it was time to take on Dusseldorf. First things first...FOOD! We were all hungry, so we had to find something quick. We had decided earlier to go to Hooters (baby was craving chicken wings), so that is where we went. Unfortunately, it was quite disapointing. I have to write a whole other post on it later though...it was that disapointing.
After the disapointing meal, we headed back to the streets. It was quite fun I must say. Even though I wasn't partaking in the drinking activities (but who really wants to drink a beer that smells like dirty socks?) I had loads of fun. We were dancing in the streets to many fasching songs...they were quite funny. However, you had to be pretty careful. There were lots of broken glass pieces on the ground, plus there were loads of little schnapps bottles (think airline size) everywhere and a crazy amount of trash. I was wondering how they would get it all cleaned up by the next day. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture of that amount of garbage! It was quite impressive. And, they did get it all cleaned up. They had these teams of street cleaning trucks that were out in droves that night.
Ok, back to the evening. After dancing in the streets for a couple of hours, we decided to move on to a bar. However, the thing is that in Dusseldorf, people can smoke in bars. Luckily, the bar that we went to had an outdoor area with heaters, so that is where I was with some of the others. The waiter was pretty funny. One of the girls that was with us tried to speak high German to him, but he could tell right away she was from Bavaria, so I tested him to see if he could tell I was from the States. It was pretty funny. He was like, "You're from the North, no wait Denmark, no wait Berlin, no wait the West." Finally I gave in and told him I was from Texas. He got a laugh out of that. Then I ordered an Apfelschorle, and he said, "What, you come all this way from Texas and you just drink juice and not our wonderful beer?" I then told him it wasn't wise for pregnant women to drink beer. So he brought the apfelschorle for the baby.
By about midnight, I am pooped, but I didn't want to make Markus go home early. So I had him put me into a taxi and send me home. That was nice. I got home, brushed my teeth and went to bed. I didn't even hear the other when they came home. I was that tired.
The next day, Rosenmontag, was the big Faschings Parade in Dusseldorf. Luckily, we didn't have to leave until about 11, so everyone got to sleep in just a bit. After everyone was dressed, the Musikzug played a bit for the Priest and the priest's helper (the dudes that allowed us to stay at the youth center). That was nice. Then it was off to the big parade.
The parade started at 1:35pm, but it took about 45 minutes until the Musikzug could start marching...they were number 33.12 in the parade...there were lots of people in the parade. It was quite nice (I'll get pics posted later) and luckily, it didn't rain during the parade, just a bit before. We marched for roughly 7 kilometers, but it really didn't feel that long. We were on TV, however, I don't know how long, or who exactly was on TV, but nonetheless, we were on TV.
The best part about the parade were definitely the kids. They were so freaking cute. All dressed up and screaming out "Hellau" (it's what they say in Dusseldorf during Fasching). They were quite disapointed that we weren't throwing candy, but, they were still cute nonetheless. The best costume that both Markus and I saw was this little kid dressed up as a kangaroo...and in the pouch was a little kangaroo. Our kid will definitely be a kangaroo in the future! Another awesome part of the parade is that I found 20 Euro on the ground! Woohoo! That was pretty great.
So, all in all, Dusseldorf was a great trip (minus the Hooters). I would recommend going to the Dusseldorf Fasching Parade...but be prepared for lots of drunken party goers.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Dusseldorf, Part I
Where to begin...
This weekend we were in Dusseldorf with the Musikzug HIrschau for their Karneval festivities. The Musikzug has been going there now for 33 years, and Markus has been going since 1991, so it was about time for me to go. Well, I couldn't partake in the drinking activities, but that was just fine with me. They have this "special" beer there called "Altbier" and seriously, it smells like dirty socks, so no thanks. I stuck with water and Apfelschorle (apple juice mixed with sparkeling water).
So we left at about 1pm Saturday and made it up there at about 7. It was pretty nice, the area where we stayed. It was at the corner of Koelnerstrasse and Schuetzenstrasse. And if you wanted to walk to the city, it took about 25 minutes. Not too bad. So, we get in and unload the bus (there are about 55 people there all together). We didn't stay in a hotel or anything. It was more like a youth center for a church, which is exactly what it was.
We got in, set up our beds...these awful "feldbetten", they're cots, but pretty unconfortable. By this time it is close to 8 and I'm pretty hungry. All that there was to eat was cold wurst and bread. I'm a pretty picky eater right now and there are some things that I just can't handle...two of those being cold wurst and bread. I just had to stomach it. And I did :).
After everyone was settled and got some cold wurst and bread, everyone dressed up. I didn't really have a costume, but I did have this hamburger hat that we bought the day before at Mueller. So, that was my costume. A hamburger hat. I know, I know. In the future, I need to be a lot more creative! But forgive me just a little as I was feeling like absolute poo in the days leading up to us leaving for Dusseldorf. I had these great plans of being a Deviled Egg...I would wear devil horns, and make a fried egg looking thing to wear. Next year.
So, back to the costumes. Everyone dressed up...there were garden gnomes, bees, Hawaiian girls, devils, cowboys, Markus was a pirate, and my favorite costume was from these 5 guys. They were each wearing a Staubanzug (a white full body suit to protect from dust?). What they did was they colored each one a different color and wrote on the back what they were. One was the bottom bun, another ketchup, another mustard, another meat, and the last one was the top bun. Together they were a hamburger. It was pretty clever.
The costume contest (of which I was a judge) lasted for about 2 hours, and then after that I was starving and on the verge of puking I was so hungry. So, a big group of us went out and the closest thing was a McDonalds. So, we went there. I had every intention of going out with them after that, but I was just too pooped and not feeling too good (duh, McDonalds!), so Markus did the gentelmanly thing and walked me back to where we were staying. I passed out and was so tired, I didn't hear the others come home at 2am. However, I did hear this one guy at 5:45am, but that is because he sounded like a freaking chainsaw!
On Sunday, there was a lot to do, and luckily, the pukey feeling was gone. We got up at about 8, had to be ready to leave by 9:45 since there was a parade that the Musikzug had to march in that started at 11:11am. Everyone was "fit" or, really, as fit as they could be after a night of drinking. It was a lot of fun. I got to march with them and help out as well. I would run water, lemonade and beer to the musicians between songs. It was about 6 kilometers long, but there was also a lot of stopping. So, it wasn't too streneous.
After the parade, I was absolutely starving, so I ran as fast as I could to the bratwurst stand and got a huge bratwurst and semmel with curry ketchup. It was heaven! All of the musicians got a ticket to get a free one, and I would have too, but I was too impatient and starving. After the long march, we went back to the place we were staying and took a nap. The musikzug had to play a bit later at a church in the city center, so we had about 2 hours to relax.
More to come later...it's time now to relax some more :)
This weekend we were in Dusseldorf with the Musikzug HIrschau for their Karneval festivities. The Musikzug has been going there now for 33 years, and Markus has been going since 1991, so it was about time for me to go. Well, I couldn't partake in the drinking activities, but that was just fine with me. They have this "special" beer there called "Altbier" and seriously, it smells like dirty socks, so no thanks. I stuck with water and Apfelschorle (apple juice mixed with sparkeling water).
So we left at about 1pm Saturday and made it up there at about 7. It was pretty nice, the area where we stayed. It was at the corner of Koelnerstrasse and Schuetzenstrasse. And if you wanted to walk to the city, it took about 25 minutes. Not too bad. So, we get in and unload the bus (there are about 55 people there all together). We didn't stay in a hotel or anything. It was more like a youth center for a church, which is exactly what it was.
We got in, set up our beds...these awful "feldbetten", they're cots, but pretty unconfortable. By this time it is close to 8 and I'm pretty hungry. All that there was to eat was cold wurst and bread. I'm a pretty picky eater right now and there are some things that I just can't handle...two of those being cold wurst and bread. I just had to stomach it. And I did :).
After everyone was settled and got some cold wurst and bread, everyone dressed up. I didn't really have a costume, but I did have this hamburger hat that we bought the day before at Mueller. So, that was my costume. A hamburger hat. I know, I know. In the future, I need to be a lot more creative! But forgive me just a little as I was feeling like absolute poo in the days leading up to us leaving for Dusseldorf. I had these great plans of being a Deviled Egg...I would wear devil horns, and make a fried egg looking thing to wear. Next year.
So, back to the costumes. Everyone dressed up...there were garden gnomes, bees, Hawaiian girls, devils, cowboys, Markus was a pirate, and my favorite costume was from these 5 guys. They were each wearing a Staubanzug (a white full body suit to protect from dust?). What they did was they colored each one a different color and wrote on the back what they were. One was the bottom bun, another ketchup, another mustard, another meat, and the last one was the top bun. Together they were a hamburger. It was pretty clever.
The costume contest (of which I was a judge) lasted for about 2 hours, and then after that I was starving and on the verge of puking I was so hungry. So, a big group of us went out and the closest thing was a McDonalds. So, we went there. I had every intention of going out with them after that, but I was just too pooped and not feeling too good (duh, McDonalds!), so Markus did the gentelmanly thing and walked me back to where we were staying. I passed out and was so tired, I didn't hear the others come home at 2am. However, I did hear this one guy at 5:45am, but that is because he sounded like a freaking chainsaw!
On Sunday, there was a lot to do, and luckily, the pukey feeling was gone. We got up at about 8, had to be ready to leave by 9:45 since there was a parade that the Musikzug had to march in that started at 11:11am. Everyone was "fit" or, really, as fit as they could be after a night of drinking. It was a lot of fun. I got to march with them and help out as well. I would run water, lemonade and beer to the musicians between songs. It was about 6 kilometers long, but there was also a lot of stopping. So, it wasn't too streneous.
After the parade, I was absolutely starving, so I ran as fast as I could to the bratwurst stand and got a huge bratwurst and semmel with curry ketchup. It was heaven! All of the musicians got a ticket to get a free one, and I would have too, but I was too impatient and starving. After the long march, we went back to the place we were staying and took a nap. The musikzug had to play a bit later at a church in the city center, so we had about 2 hours to relax.
More to come later...it's time now to relax some more :)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Our Day in Regensburg
Yesterday, Markus and I were in Regensburg. We were meeting up with some other English speakers at lovely Cafe Kona in the Altstadt to have coffee, chat and trade some books. The great thing about Kona is that they have bagels. These aren't just any bagels, they are the best bagels I've been able to find in Germany.
It was really nice. There were some new people there, some that were there last time and my good friend Sarah. She's pretty rockin'. So we were there for a couple of hours chatting and having coffee. Markus enjoyed it and was able to find a book he was interested in. He was the only male there, but he really did enjoy it.
After we were finished there, Markus, Sarah and I decided it would be great to go to this wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant called Exil. YUM! Luckily, I was having a good day yesterday in relation to the nausea, so I was able to enjoy my meal only once. :) Sarah's husband met up with us and so did Christina and An. These ladies are really great and have MANY interesting stories to tell. It was loads of fun and I really can't wait for the next expat meet up. It is nice to have such an eclectic group of friends. I love it!
Today, Markus is in Hamburg for work. I hope that everything is going well. Charlie and I are relaxing here at home. It is snowing (just a little though) so Charlie is a happy puppy.
It was really nice. There were some new people there, some that were there last time and my good friend Sarah. She's pretty rockin'. So we were there for a couple of hours chatting and having coffee. Markus enjoyed it and was able to find a book he was interested in. He was the only male there, but he really did enjoy it.
After we were finished there, Markus, Sarah and I decided it would be great to go to this wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant called Exil. YUM! Luckily, I was having a good day yesterday in relation to the nausea, so I was able to enjoy my meal only once. :) Sarah's husband met up with us and so did Christina and An. These ladies are really great and have MANY interesting stories to tell. It was loads of fun and I really can't wait for the next expat meet up. It is nice to have such an eclectic group of friends. I love it!
Today, Markus is in Hamburg for work. I hope that everything is going well. Charlie and I are relaxing here at home. It is snowing (just a little though) so Charlie is a happy puppy.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Charlie and his Charlie ways
We have a neighbor who has a little dog named Tiffy. She is...well, she is slightly protective of her area. Mind you, we live in an apartment building. So every time that she walks past our door, Charlie gets this deep guttural growl and we just know that Tiffy is either coming or going. The worst/most annoying part is that she starts barking at our door and that gets Charlie going. It is a battle each time, but luckily they are separated by a door. Charlie doesn't like Tiffy at all and there is good reason for this. When he was a puppy, Tiffy would always growl at him and chase him and try to bite him...once again protecting her area. Well, now that Charlie is older, he realizes that he is about two and a half time bigger than Tiffy and can take her on. That doesn't stop her though.
So, now whenever I hear the growl, I try to get Charlie out of the hallway and into either the living room or the bedroom, so he won't attack the door.
On the bright side, we got about 5+ inches of snow here, and so Charlie is absolutely a happy camper. He loves the snow, especially when we throw snowballs at him for him to catch. Plus, he really loves eating the snow. I just hope that he doesn't get too bad of a tummy ache...
So, now whenever I hear the growl, I try to get Charlie out of the hallway and into either the living room or the bedroom, so he won't attack the door.
On the bright side, we got about 5+ inches of snow here, and so Charlie is absolutely a happy camper. He loves the snow, especially when we throw snowballs at him for him to catch. Plus, he really loves eating the snow. I just hope that he doesn't get too bad of a tummy ache...
Monday, February 9, 2009
Bishop Richard Williamson
So, if you haven't heard, there is this Bishop out there saying that the Holocaust never happened. Seriously? Seriously! Are you kidding me? Below I posted the interview in which he makes these statements. I sat there and my jaw was simply dropped. I couldn't believe my ears. What kind of Christan man...no strike that. What kind of man could actually do that with the incredible amount of evidence out there that shows that the Holocaust did happen? It is simply unbelievable to me. What an ass.
Going to the Dentist in Germany
I have been meaning to write about this one for a while simply because this was quite an interesting experience. I wouldn't call it a "culture shock" exactly. Just something that I noticed.
So, I'm off to the same dentist that my husband has been going to since he was a kid. Needless to say, the guy knew Markus. The other funny thing is that this appointment was the day before my first OB/GYN appointment confirming the pregnancy. So I had to tell the dentist office that I was pregnant BEFORE my mother-in-law found out. The bad thing about this is two-fold. Hirschau is a small town and the dentist office is directly across the street from my in-laws house. Luckily, it didn't get back to my in-laws. :)
Ok, ok, back to the dentist visit. In the States, the dentists and their assistants must wear gloves. Here, there were no gloves. Quite interesting. It was also a bit of a different feeling. I don't know how to really explain this, but it felt more "hands on", no pun intended...well, maybe just a little. Anyway, it was actually a pleasurable dentist experience. They fixed this one chipped tooth, cleaned my teeth, and sent me on my way. All for 10 Euro. Not too bad huh? I thought that this was quite an interesting experience simply for the lack of gloves.
So, I'm off to the same dentist that my husband has been going to since he was a kid. Needless to say, the guy knew Markus. The other funny thing is that this appointment was the day before my first OB/GYN appointment confirming the pregnancy. So I had to tell the dentist office that I was pregnant BEFORE my mother-in-law found out. The bad thing about this is two-fold. Hirschau is a small town and the dentist office is directly across the street from my in-laws house. Luckily, it didn't get back to my in-laws. :)
Ok, ok, back to the dentist visit. In the States, the dentists and their assistants must wear gloves. Here, there were no gloves. Quite interesting. It was also a bit of a different feeling. I don't know how to really explain this, but it felt more "hands on", no pun intended...well, maybe just a little. Anyway, it was actually a pleasurable dentist experience. They fixed this one chipped tooth, cleaned my teeth, and sent me on my way. All for 10 Euro. Not too bad huh? I thought that this was quite an interesting experience simply for the lack of gloves.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
German humor...
A friend of mine found this. I think it is HILARIOUS! If you understand German, you'll find it even more funny. If not, no worries. Pictures are worth a thousand words!
German: Where Babies Come From...
German: Where Babies Come From...
Morning Sickness
So I know I haven't posted in a while, and I have a wonderful excuse...strike that...just an excuse. Morning sickness. Well, in my case it lasts just about all day, with the big fireworks happening in the evening. The Doc gave me some B6 vitamins, which seemed to help at first, but now I think I'm just taking them to a placebo effect. However, I will continue to take them in hops that they will somehow miraculously work.
I did find something that does kind of work. Alphabet soup. The kind from Maggie that you just add a liter of boiling water and let it cook for 8 minutes. This stuff calmed my stomach and I was actually able to eat it! Woohoo!!! However, I think I have overdone it and I ate too much. But I'm just taking it easy until it has some time to digest. I figure that will help.
The other kicker here is that I'm getting a cold. Blah! But, my mother-in-law thought that I should "inhale" steam mixed with peppermint oil. That seemed to really help. I'll be trying this a couple more times today. It did also seem to help out with the nausea. I thought it would have adverse effects since normally I cannot stomach peppermint smells right now. Who'd of thunk it? Interesting.
Alright. Time to digest.
I did find something that does kind of work. Alphabet soup. The kind from Maggie that you just add a liter of boiling water and let it cook for 8 minutes. This stuff calmed my stomach and I was actually able to eat it! Woohoo!!! However, I think I have overdone it and I ate too much. But I'm just taking it easy until it has some time to digest. I figure that will help.
The other kicker here is that I'm getting a cold. Blah! But, my mother-in-law thought that I should "inhale" steam mixed with peppermint oil. That seemed to really help. I'll be trying this a couple more times today. It did also seem to help out with the nausea. I thought it would have adverse effects since normally I cannot stomach peppermint smells right now. Who'd of thunk it? Interesting.
Alright. Time to digest.
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