I was lucky to visit Germany a couple of times this year, and that Doug got to come with me on my last trip to Berlin. I'm going to focus on Cologne & Frankfurt here, and will write about Berlin in a separate post.
A few things about Cologne and Frankfurt: Cologne: Cologne was beautiful, but sadly the trip was a bit tarnished by the US election. When I made plans to visit schools in Germany in early November, I hadn't considered the fact that I would be gone the day of the US election. Plus, I really didn't expect the outcome, so I wasn't really worried about being alone that fateful night. It was really interesting walking around the city that day because a couple of conversations I heard (in German) were peppered with words like "electoral college", "Hillary", and of course "Trump." The election was definitely on everyone's mind. I was at a pub before heading back to my hotel room to start watching the results (it was going to be a long night because of the time difference) and I talked to a couple from California who weren't worried about the election at all, and a UPS pilot who lived between the East coast and Louisville (small world) and was pro-Trump (that conversation didn't last long.) Anyhow, I headed back to my room with my handmade "I'm With Her" t-shirt on, and, well, I don't have to go into what happened, because we all know. I didn't sleep, I cried, and then I went to the international school to do my visit and try to keep it together. I had an annoying conversation with a Canadian who was SO tired of people thinking she was American and some funny conversations with students who joked that Germans had made their own poor decisions in the past. I should mentioned that the cathedral was gorgeous and I really enjoyed drinking the local kölsch beer, although I'd like to go back and experience the kölsch culture with others. When you go to a kölsch bar they serve you the beer in a tall cylindrical .2 litre glass, and will keep filling it up until you put your coaster over the top of the glass to let them know you are done. It's definitely more of a group drinking experience, but I tried it out on my own. Frankfurt: It rained a lot in Frankfurt, and I was still depressed from the election (I think I actually still am!) so I don't have much to say about it honestly. I took a nice walk along the river, saw the historic center, and it was nice. One thing to know about Germany is that they are still very much a cash culture, which means you would think there would be ATMs everywhere, but there aren't, so make sure to have cash on you.
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I was lucky to take two trips to do school visits in Switzerland this year, and fortunately Douglas was able to join me for part of the second trip. I actually loved my first trip so much that I decided to take Doug to most of the same spots I had visited in the fall. The main places I/we went were: Basel, Zuoz (tiny town in the the Alps - very close to Italy), Lausanne. The big benefit of the second trip is that there was a lot more snow in the mountains (although not nearly as much as they used to get - sad fact of life now) and of course that I had Doug with me to enjoy the sights and the cheese. Fondue for one is not nearly as fun as fondue for two. A few things I would like to remember about Switzerland: -The trains and trams and public transport...it is truly amazing how little need for a car there is in Switzerland. Yes, the trains are expensive, but if you buy the tickets ahead of the time you can get discounts, and gas isn't cheap either. -The cheese dishes! During the two trips I ate more cheese than is healthy to eat in a month I would imagine, but it was all worth it. I had fondue alone the first time around, as well as a roll stuff with fondue cheese - amazing, and then had fondue twice during the second trip as well as raclette! All of it was delicious. I was lucky to meet up with my friend Oriah for my final fondue and she took me to an adorable spot on a farm outside of the city where only the locals go - really delicious and in a beautiful location. -The Christmas markets and Christmas decorations. I was very lucky that my first trip to Basel was in late November when the Christmas markets had just opened and all of the shops had their windows dressed for the season. Wow. It was all amazing - it felt like I'd walked into my mom's Christmas village we used to set up each year. I would love to go back with family and friends as these kinds of things are always more fun in numbers - whenever I went up to a stand to order a mulled wine I was asked "two?" and would then have to say, again, no, just one! -The cultural diversity. Switzerland is nestled amongst 5 other countries - Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, France to the west, Italy to the south and Germany to the north. It's amazing the effect this has on the language, food, atmosphere, and politics of the different regions. When Doug and I flew into Basel, which is a Swiss city right on the French and German border, we accidentally took the exit into France instead of Switzerland! Fortunately we realized our mistake and quickly "crossed the border" into Switzerland. The great thing about this diversity is that you can find different kinds of foods in different parts of the country depending on the countries you are closest to, and the languages people are speaking also change. -The lack of interest they show towards tourists - in a good way. I am used to Portugal and Spain where the economies practically run on tourism and at times it can just feel like too much - menus thrust in your face, Segway tours, Tuk-Tuk tours, Gocar tours, souvenir shops taking over the mom and pop shops, etc., etc. Switzerland feels like the opposite situation - you can be there, the Swiss will be nice enough, but they're not going to change their ways for you. In the more traditional areas of the country the shops, including the supermarkets, close at 7 or 8 pm. On Sundays EVERYTHING is closed. Menus aren't translated into English, and thankfully people aren't shoving said untranslated menus into your face. It feels like you have stepped into Swiss life while you're there, and it's lovely. -The two men and the red envelope at the coffee shop in Lausanne. After Doug left I headed to the beautiful town of Lausanne, close to Geneva, to do some school visits. One morning I was at a coffee shop having breakfast and there were two men sitting in front of me - probably a couple or at least dating. When they got up to leave one of them handed the other one a red envelope. When the man opened it he looked inside and said something like "Oh no, I can't accept this." I made that up of course because I couldn't understand their French but that's what his body language said. I will always wonder what was in there - money? A key to his house? A key to his heart? -My perfect breakfast at a pastry shop in Lausanne. On my way to a school visit in Lausanne I found an adorable café and had a piece of quiche and a cappuccino and they were both delicious. -Concert at cathedral in Lausanne. When I went to see the cathedral during some free time I had I saw that that evening there was going to be a concert with the local orchestra and a couple of vocalists. I hemmed and hawed about whether I should go back to get a ticket when the doors open, and I am so glad I did. It was a Tuesday night and it was PACKED with people and the concert was gorgeous, plus they played the organ which was just incredible. After a year and a half away I was lucky to head home for two weeks (well, two and a half thanks to the blizzard in Halifax!) and see and spend time with so many people that I love so much. 18 months is the longest sustained amount of time I had ever been away from the States, and while I definitely experienced some culture shock, more than anything I just felt overwhelmed by the love that I felt from everyone. One of my favorite sensations is when you have been away from people for a while, but it feels like you never left, and I was lucky to feel that over and over again during my time in Dayton, Louisville, and Halifax, with a few stops in between. Thank you to everyone who hosted me and welcomed me home! To help my terrible memory, and since I didn't take many photos, I'm just going to make a list of some of the highlights of my trip. It was so lovely to stay with my parents for a week, spend an afternoon at Little Saigon and the Goodwill Outlet with my mom and Jan, visit Freddie at her new assisted living apartment, have pizza with my best friends from high school, have brunch with my OU ladies, have dinner with the Aughe-Shanahan clan, be bombarded with hugs and love from my Collegiate friends and students, go to OHS for a school visit (very surreal to be back there), have a delicious Old Fashioned and dinner with friends in Lexington, have a BBQ dinner with friends in Louisville, enjoy an evening at the Holy Grale (they still have the most amazing burger I've ever had), spend a week with the Carrico family and enjoy lots of snuggles with my nieces and nephew, enjoy a 2 hour brunch at North End Cafe, spend a loooong weekend in Halifax with my brother's family, cook with Eleanor, snuggle Lydia at night, and experience a huge blizzard! And while I of course loved seeing everyone at home, it was really special to get to spend so much quality time with my nieces and nephew in Louisville and my nieces in Halifax, so I do have a few photos of them to share! Claire enjoying a popsicle at Derby City Pops. I had a great conversation with her there about (not) having children (she asked if Uncle Doug and I really don't want to have kids) and when I said no she responded with "Well, I guess kid are a lot of work." She's a smart kid! Unfortunately the only picture I have of Amy from my visit is her stuffing her face with chips and salsa at Sol Aztecas, so I am using this one from when she came to visit us in Portugal. I picked Amy and Claire up from school one day and we went to Carmichael's Bookstore as well as the frozen yogurt shop. So fun. I also loved helping Amy pick out her outfit for the Valentine's Day dance! Matt. He's hilarious. I picked him up at school and we went to Day's Coffee where he proceeded to tell the barista that he was ordering hot chocolate but would be pretending it was coffee. I was lucky to be in Halifax when Eleanor became a Junior Auxiliary, which is basically the Anglican church's version of Scouts. She was so excited. We were snowed in for a few days so we had lots of play time together. Lydia (and almost everyone else in the house!) had the flu while we were snowed in, so I'm glad I got this shot of her with an almost smile since the poor thing was pretty miserable a lot of the time! She's so so funny and loves puppies! The blizzard that delayed my return to Portugal for a few days, but in the end I was glad to have extra time with the family. And after two and a half weeks away, it was so great to get back to this guy and his crazy beard... this beagle and her crazy nose... and this city and its crazy warm weather and beautiful views!
This year I have been lucky to do quite a bit of traveling thanks to the part-time work I am doing with Oxbridge, the study abroad company I have been working for for the past 8 summers. I have been visiting high schools in Europe to promote Oxbridge's programs, and the obvious bonus of this work is that I get to visit new places, many of which I might not have chosen to visit otherwise. I have gone to some great spots, but my favorite trip so far this year was Malta. I ended up there thanks to a week-long recruiting trip that started in Lisbon and then took me (and about 25 other summer program and university reps) to Porto, Rome, and finally Malta. I was really lucky to click with three lovely ladies at the beginning of the week, and the four of us spent the evenings together eating great meals and forming new friendships. Fortunately my new friend from Amsterdam was planning on taking advantage of the visit to Malta and had also booked her return trip for a few days later, so we ended up spending the weekend together on the island.
As the photos show, Malta was amazing! It had such a great mix of beautiful architecture, natural beauty, and old world charm. The highlight was when we took a ferry from Malta, the main island, to the island of Gozo and got to snorkel and swim underneath the Azure Window, a huge natural arch on the coast. Doug's dad, the arch hunter, would have loved it! A few things I'd like to remember about Malta: -The sound of the language -Great cheese -Delicious local beer - Cisk -The beautiful old doors -The old-school shops still in existence - haberdasheries! Sadly they were all closed the day we toured around because it was lunchtime -The religious icons all over the place -The candle festival in Birgu (I don't have any photos that do it justice, but it was beautiful - check out some photos from the world wide web here) |