Unfortunately I was on a plane during Eurovision this year, but I do like watching it. It is filled with crappy Euro music that would absolutely NOT make the charts in the States...not to say that is a bad thing. There are many musicians that I find I really enjoy over here and they are not on the charts in the States, but I feel if Americans were exposed to their music, they'd love it (even if they couldn't understand the words). My best example of this is Peter Fox. I think he rocks and so do the Americans that I made listen to his songs. They really did like him. The video is awesomely weird. Plus, he's got that hot Berliner look going on.
Now to the Eurovision. Seriously? Germany thought they would try to sex it up with Ditta von Teese, but in the end came in the bottom somewhere. Plus, the song, Ms Kiss Kiss Bang...well, it was ok, but I am not sure if you're going to hear it on the radio like Texas Lightening's song (they represented Germany a few years back). It is a weird video that I found on you tube, but it'll do. Ok, the song wasn't too too bad.
Most of the time, the groups that are up are freaking weird. I forget who it was, but they were, I believe from Finland. It was a group fromt the underworld...they were awful according to this American, but some of my German friends loved them. Weird. Anywho, on to the winner of Eurovision 2009. That would be Norway with their violin playing Harry Potter look-alike. The song is AWFUL! Seriously awful! I wonder what Simon Cowell would say....hmmm...
What did you think of Eurovision?
Monday, May 18, 2009
Back from the US
So, yesterday I got back into Germany from my two and a half week stint in the States. The trip was great. I got to see some old friends...and unfortunately didn't have time to see the masses of others that I really wanted to see too!
Markus did a decent job at keeping my plants alive...however, he doesn't seem to understand that some plants need a bit more than 1 millimeter of water every 4 days to stay alive. Luckily, he only killed two. I must add, those two were pretty much on their last leg. He did forget about the rosemary and the chives that were in the kitchen...there's no saving those. but they are easily replaceable...well, they all are replaceable really.
Some things that I learned on my trip is that patience is a wonderful thing to have. Luckily, I am one of those people who's very patient (at least I'd like to think so). Case in point...the flight from Frankfurt to Nuremberg was a bit dramatic. We were on the tarmac and in line to take off, but then had to go back to the gate because something was faulty with the steering. They wanted to fix it at the gate, but after 45 minutes, no luck, so we had to change planes. Some people were absolutely raging! They were yelling at the poor flight crew that this should have been checked out before we boarded and blah blah blah. Whatever...you have to plan for delays like this on trips! Hey, they were giving out free yummy chocolate! I would do whatever they wanted! So we ended up having to change planes and made it to Nuremberg 2 hours late.
I don't really remember taking off. I remember sitting down and reading my book a bit, then closing my eyes...the captain got on and said something that I don't really remember, and then we were landing. Weird. But that is what jet-lag will do to you.
So, now, I guess I should go and unpack...but what I really want to do is watch some shows that I recorded via the slingbox! Packing must wait!
Markus did a decent job at keeping my plants alive...however, he doesn't seem to understand that some plants need a bit more than 1 millimeter of water every 4 days to stay alive. Luckily, he only killed two. I must add, those two were pretty much on their last leg. He did forget about the rosemary and the chives that were in the kitchen...there's no saving those. but they are easily replaceable...well, they all are replaceable really.
Some things that I learned on my trip is that patience is a wonderful thing to have. Luckily, I am one of those people who's very patient (at least I'd like to think so). Case in point...the flight from Frankfurt to Nuremberg was a bit dramatic. We were on the tarmac and in line to take off, but then had to go back to the gate because something was faulty with the steering. They wanted to fix it at the gate, but after 45 minutes, no luck, so we had to change planes. Some people were absolutely raging! They were yelling at the poor flight crew that this should have been checked out before we boarded and blah blah blah. Whatever...you have to plan for delays like this on trips! Hey, they were giving out free yummy chocolate! I would do whatever they wanted! So we ended up having to change planes and made it to Nuremberg 2 hours late.
I don't really remember taking off. I remember sitting down and reading my book a bit, then closing my eyes...the captain got on and said something that I don't really remember, and then we were landing. Weird. But that is what jet-lag will do to you.
So, now, I guess I should go and unpack...but what I really want to do is watch some shows that I recorded via the slingbox! Packing must wait!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Another annoyance
I just remembered another annoyance I have with the US...
3. PRESCRIPTION DRUG COMMERCIALS!
Could these things be any MORE annoying? Seriously! Emily and I were playing around on Facebook creating a profile for her cute puppy Abby, and all of a sudden from the TV, "Did you know that 1 in 5 Americans suffer from genital herpes?" Seriously? I don't care! I don't suffer from them, and I hope those that do ask their doctor which medication is actually right for them instead of insisting on a certain medication. These prescription drug commercials are definitely OUT OF CONTROL! And, no I don't care about erectile disfunction either. And, no, I don't need to know about the newest birth control either...nor the newest allergy medication.
Ok, that is all for now.
Things I LOVE in the US
Ok, so since I went on a rant about things that I can't stand about the US, I figured I'd give a few things that I absolutely LOVE and wish that Germany would incorporate...it would be hard, but it would also make Germany that much more awesome.
1. FREE REFILLS!
I LOVE THIS! I'm getting spoiled over here with free refills of Iced Tea...and speaking of...
2. ICED TEA
This is the most wonderful drink on the face of the planet and I plan on making it in Germany...I even bought ice cube trays just for this purpose! Mmmm...with a wedge or two of lemon and a bit of sugar....nothing beats it!
3. FREE CHIPS AND SALSA*
If Germany could benefit of one thing, it would be free chips and salsa at restaurants...or free bread sticks...I'm not picky! Just a little something while you wait. *This could be the pregnancy talking though...
Ok, so the post about the negative things here had to deal with bathrooms and this one with food...makes you think, huh? :)
In the U.S. of A
I'm in the US right now, hence the lack of posts, but I had a bit of time on my hands, and I thought I would write a little something.
There's something that has been on my mind since I first used the public restrooms on this post, and so I thought I'd go on a little rant about things that I DIDN'T miss about the US.
1. PUBLIC RESTROOMS!
This is the obvious first annoyance. Why oh why in this Puritan society of ours is there almost ALWAYS a half inch to one inch gap between the door and the surrounding wall of public restrooms? This has really been a mystery to me, but seriously? Some of the toilets you sit on have you sitting right smack in the middle of one of these lovely gaps...and what do some people do as they walk by? The give a little look-see. Good lord! I don't think that it would cost that much more to put a plastic thing there to cover the gap.
2. AUTOMATIC FLUSHING TOILETS
Seriously, I can flush by myself! I am an adult. If I don't want to touch the flusher with my hand, I'll hit it with my foot. Even if places have these automatic flushing toilets, most of the time they don't work properly. Either they don't flush, so you have to push that little button to make it flush (which happened at Target, and thus defeating the purpose), or it flushes eleventy billion times while you're still sitting on the pot (like what happened to me today in the Phoenix Airport). Seriously, I'll flush myself. I will wash my hands and/or use hand sanitizer.
I'm pretty sure that there will be a couple more to add to this list as the trip goes on. But these are two of the major ones. :)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Two nice places to go in Bavaria
Last night Markus and I were over at our friend Christina and Rainer's house having a wonderful Spargel meal with some new friends Penny and Chris. The kids were there, too...Christina and Rainer have a cute little toddler, Oliver, and Penny and Chris have an adorable toddler, Nathan and a cheeky (meaning he's got wonderful cheeks!) baby, Luca.
We brought our Charlie down since Christina and Rainer also have a Charlie, albeit, a 25 kilo heavier Charlie, and so we had a little Charlie-fest. The dogs loved it. They were running around, playing with sticks, rolling in God knows what, jumping in the river..well, little Charlie was doing this while big Charlie was waiting at the bank for little Charlie to bring the stick over so he could steal it :). All-in-all, the Charlies had a blast! Little Charlie is still recovering from pancakes and loads of play-time yesterday...it's like he's hungover. Pretty funny since this is usually the dog with the most energy!
Ok, so back to my story...when we were on the walk with the dogs, I was telling Christina and Penny about these two wonderful places here in Bavaria. The first is the Fränkische Schweiz, or Franconian Switzerland. No, it's not in Switzerland...it is in Bavaria, I promise. We took our friends Sarah and Cliff hiking there last year. There were a couple of steep parts, but we all lived :). In the area close to where we were hiking, Pottenstein, there is a big Cavern that you can take tours of. I have no idea what it costs since the line is always so long.
Not only in Pottenstein is there plenty to do, but really the whole area. A couple of weeks ago, Markus and I took Charlie on a hike close to there in a town called Goessweinstein. Very dog friendly...plus it was gorgeous! Here's one of my favorite pics from there.
I highly recommend the Fraenkische Schweiz to anyone looking to get out of the city and go on a hike. I don't remember how stroller/buggy friendly the paths are (since I wasn't really paying attention at the time), but I do remember they are dog friendly :).
Next up is the Oberpfaelzer Freilandmuseum in Perschen. This place is SUPER kid friendly (they have special programs twice a month for children) and decently dog friendly...they do have geese and chickens running about, so Charlie went a bit nuts and we had to keep him on a really short leash. Here is their flier in ENGLISH and the website in GERMAN.
This place is pretty amazing. What they did is they disassembeled farmhouses, regular houses, mills, and other historic buildings that couldn't be kept at their location, brought them to this area in Perschen, and re-erected them into little cities. It is really cool, especially to see just how small the rooms were. Poor Markus always had to duck under the door frame...and I even had to too! What was also interesting to see is just how small the beds were. I would have to be in the fetal position just to fit in one...and no, it wasn't a kid's bed!
There is a restaurant on site, which is really good. They serve traditional farmer meals...so expect sausages, not schnizel! They also bake their bread on site with grain that is milled at the mill there. For it being this German dark bread that I normally don't like, it was pretty good. I forgot my camera the day that we went, so unfortunately I don't have any pics of the place, but on the website, there are loads of pics.
I would highly recommend this place for a family outing...even if you don't have kids! It was so interesting! I would recommend getting there kind of early, especially if there is going to be some sort of even on the day you want to visit. It can get pretty crowded. However, I WOULD recommend going on one of the event days becuase it makes the trip just that much more interesting! Oh, and if you have guests coming that aren't from around here, it is a really interesting place for them. Markus took my dad, brother, uncle and grandmother's boyfriend (yes, the boyfriend of my 83 year-old grandmother!). They had a blast. My dad, and suprisingly my brother, REALLY enjoyed it!
We brought our Charlie down since Christina and Rainer also have a Charlie, albeit, a 25 kilo heavier Charlie, and so we had a little Charlie-fest. The dogs loved it. They were running around, playing with sticks, rolling in God knows what, jumping in the river..well, little Charlie was doing this while big Charlie was waiting at the bank for little Charlie to bring the stick over so he could steal it :). All-in-all, the Charlies had a blast! Little Charlie is still recovering from pancakes and loads of play-time yesterday...it's like he's hungover. Pretty funny since this is usually the dog with the most energy!
Ok, so back to my story...when we were on the walk with the dogs, I was telling Christina and Penny about these two wonderful places here in Bavaria. The first is the Fränkische Schweiz, or Franconian Switzerland. No, it's not in Switzerland...it is in Bavaria, I promise. We took our friends Sarah and Cliff hiking there last year. There were a couple of steep parts, but we all lived :). In the area close to where we were hiking, Pottenstein, there is a big Cavern that you can take tours of. I have no idea what it costs since the line is always so long.
Not only in Pottenstein is there plenty to do, but really the whole area. A couple of weeks ago, Markus and I took Charlie on a hike close to there in a town called Goessweinstein. Very dog friendly...plus it was gorgeous! Here's one of my favorite pics from there.
I highly recommend the Fraenkische Schweiz to anyone looking to get out of the city and go on a hike. I don't remember how stroller/buggy friendly the paths are (since I wasn't really paying attention at the time), but I do remember they are dog friendly :).
Next up is the Oberpfaelzer Freilandmuseum in Perschen. This place is SUPER kid friendly (they have special programs twice a month for children) and decently dog friendly...they do have geese and chickens running about, so Charlie went a bit nuts and we had to keep him on a really short leash. Here is their flier in ENGLISH and the website in GERMAN.
This place is pretty amazing. What they did is they disassembeled farmhouses, regular houses, mills, and other historic buildings that couldn't be kept at their location, brought them to this area in Perschen, and re-erected them into little cities. It is really cool, especially to see just how small the rooms were. Poor Markus always had to duck under the door frame...and I even had to too! What was also interesting to see is just how small the beds were. I would have to be in the fetal position just to fit in one...and no, it wasn't a kid's bed!
There is a restaurant on site, which is really good. They serve traditional farmer meals...so expect sausages, not schnizel! They also bake their bread on site with grain that is milled at the mill there. For it being this German dark bread that I normally don't like, it was pretty good. I forgot my camera the day that we went, so unfortunately I don't have any pics of the place, but on the website, there are loads of pics.
I would highly recommend this place for a family outing...even if you don't have kids! It was so interesting! I would recommend getting there kind of early, especially if there is going to be some sort of even on the day you want to visit. It can get pretty crowded. However, I WOULD recommend going on one of the event days becuase it makes the trip just that much more interesting! Oh, and if you have guests coming that aren't from around here, it is a really interesting place for them. Markus took my dad, brother, uncle and grandmother's boyfriend (yes, the boyfriend of my 83 year-old grandmother!). They had a blast. My dad, and suprisingly my brother, REALLY enjoyed it!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
See...you don't need guns! Just potatoes!
This has got to be my favorite headline of the past few days... "Lady Sends Burglar Packing with Potato Bombardment".
Here's the full story: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090415-18655.html
It stopped the burglar! I need to stock up on potatoes!
Here's the full story: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090415-18655.html
It stopped the burglar! I need to stock up on potatoes!
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