um, venice is AMAZING!!
it is so beautiful.
and i am so hungry . . . time to find some pizza!
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
the aftermath . . .
well, we hope your christmas was as fabulous as ours.
i don't even know where to begin. we really had the best time! our host families were fabulous. the food was delicious! the conversation and laugher were the best.
i can't wait to post pictures! hopefully in venice (we leave to take the train there tomorrow) we will find a cafe with wireless where i can post pictures from our laptop . . . until then, i am using other people's computers . . .
today, we drove to chiemsee (i may be spelling these things wrong) to see a castle built by king ludwig II. he was a huge fan of the sun king who built versailles in france . . . so this castle was like a little versailles. crazy!
after that, we drove to salzburg, austria for the afternoon. and we got back to bad birnbach (bad means "bath" and birnbach means "pear creek." the bath part of the name comes from the hot springs here. how cute is the name?!) in time for dinner. who does that?! when was the last time you were able to drive to another COUNTRY, wander around for the afternoon and make it home in time for dinner?!
dinner was awesome! our host family took us to a brauerai (brewery) in a nearby villiage where you BRING YOUR OWN FOOD (unheard of in america, but AWESOME). so our host dad (he is an amazing cook!) made dinner and we took it out to eat! this was a very traditional bavarian place. we even had some singers come play bavarian tunes for us with a horn, accordian and an upright bass . . . i took a video. if i can figure out how to post it on here, i will.
arwen, do you know how?
we spent yesterday at the hotsprings. our hosts gave us a 5 hour pass for christmas so we could "take the waters." it was really nice and relaxing. we both had an aromatherapy massage and jon fell in love with saunas. it was the perfect chrismas present.
tomorrow, we catch a train at 9:10am (that's 10 minutes past midnight for you folks in portland!) and head for venice . . . i am not looking forward to lugging my pack around on the waterbus looking for our hotel (we had to get a hotel :( i was hoping to stay with someone who could tell us about the city but alas . . . we could not find anyone!) . . . but i know it will be worth it.
we love you all and hope your holidays were restful and peaceful. what did you do? what are your plans for new years eve? when will you come visit us when we get home?
see you soon!
Tabitha and Jon
i don't even know where to begin. we really had the best time! our host families were fabulous. the food was delicious! the conversation and laugher were the best.
i can't wait to post pictures! hopefully in venice (we leave to take the train there tomorrow) we will find a cafe with wireless where i can post pictures from our laptop . . . until then, i am using other people's computers . . .
today, we drove to chiemsee (i may be spelling these things wrong) to see a castle built by king ludwig II. he was a huge fan of the sun king who built versailles in france . . . so this castle was like a little versailles. crazy!
after that, we drove to salzburg, austria for the afternoon. and we got back to bad birnbach (bad means "bath" and birnbach means "pear creek." the bath part of the name comes from the hot springs here. how cute is the name?!) in time for dinner. who does that?! when was the last time you were able to drive to another COUNTRY, wander around for the afternoon and make it home in time for dinner?!
dinner was awesome! our host family took us to a brauerai (brewery) in a nearby villiage where you BRING YOUR OWN FOOD (unheard of in america, but AWESOME). so our host dad (he is an amazing cook!) made dinner and we took it out to eat! this was a very traditional bavarian place. we even had some singers come play bavarian tunes for us with a horn, accordian and an upright bass . . . i took a video. if i can figure out how to post it on here, i will.
arwen, do you know how?
we spent yesterday at the hotsprings. our hosts gave us a 5 hour pass for christmas so we could "take the waters." it was really nice and relaxing. we both had an aromatherapy massage and jon fell in love with saunas. it was the perfect chrismas present.
tomorrow, we catch a train at 9:10am (that's 10 minutes past midnight for you folks in portland!) and head for venice . . . i am not looking forward to lugging my pack around on the waterbus looking for our hotel (we had to get a hotel :( i was hoping to stay with someone who could tell us about the city but alas . . . we could not find anyone!) . . . but i know it will be worth it.
we love you all and hope your holidays were restful and peaceful. what did you do? what are your plans for new years eve? when will you come visit us when we get home?
see you soon!
Tabitha and Jon
Friday, December 22, 2006
back in germany
so, we spent the last 4 days in Prague and are now back in Germany. I am honestly glad to be back.
Back in a country where i can semi-speak the language and semi-understand the culture. Prague was GORGEOUS! but it was a little frustrating that we couldn't speak or understand the language . . . we were lucky to have Jon's friend Jason as a guide.
We will be posting pictures again soon (I know you don't believe me) but right now I am on a public computer at a University so I don't have access to my pictures at the moment.
For Christmas, we will be staying with our friend Thomas (who stayed with us in Portland last year around July or August). We are in Regensburg (look it up on a map) and tomorrow will go to Pocking (via Passau) to be with Thomas' family for Heilige Nacht (Christmas Eve). Christmas morning, Franzi (who we stayed with in Würtzburg) will pick us up and we will go to Bad Birnbach for Christmas day (complete with a visit to Christmas mass - a first for Jon and I!). We might be lucky enough to visit the hotsprings in Bad Birnbach (if we can afford it) as well!
it looks like it will be a good christmas. in bavaria. most of the people we will be with don't speak Englsih. but, we are so happy that they are opening their homes to us! it really will be a great experience!
we miss all of you and wish you a VERY merry christmas, solstice, new year, etc! we can't wait to see you and hear how your holidays are going! i promise to post some pictures as soon as i get the chance!
love you!
Tabitha
Back in a country where i can semi-speak the language and semi-understand the culture. Prague was GORGEOUS! but it was a little frustrating that we couldn't speak or understand the language . . . we were lucky to have Jon's friend Jason as a guide.
We will be posting pictures again soon (I know you don't believe me) but right now I am on a public computer at a University so I don't have access to my pictures at the moment.
For Christmas, we will be staying with our friend Thomas (who stayed with us in Portland last year around July or August). We are in Regensburg (look it up on a map) and tomorrow will go to Pocking (via Passau) to be with Thomas' family for Heilige Nacht (Christmas Eve). Christmas morning, Franzi (who we stayed with in Würtzburg) will pick us up and we will go to Bad Birnbach for Christmas day (complete with a visit to Christmas mass - a first for Jon and I!). We might be lucky enough to visit the hotsprings in Bad Birnbach (if we can afford it) as well!
it looks like it will be a good christmas. in bavaria. most of the people we will be with don't speak Englsih. but, we are so happy that they are opening their homes to us! it really will be a great experience!
we miss all of you and wish you a VERY merry christmas, solstice, new year, etc! we can't wait to see you and hear how your holidays are going! i promise to post some pictures as soon as i get the chance!
love you!
Tabitha
Saturday, December 16, 2006
happy wochenende!
we are in hildesheim right now. this is where tabitha lived for 3 months about 3 years ago and for six weeks about 5 years ago. we are visiting old friends and making new ones.
i really want to write some blogs and show some pictures, but i am EXHAUSTED!! it is after 1am and i have to go to bed so i can get up at a decent hour and ride my (borrowed) bike into town before 10am.
for now i will say that we found the german mecca. it is called trillke and is this awesome communal living project with a bunch of artists and musicians, etc. all organic food and beautiful decorations and wonderful people . . . we love it! we feel like it is a taste of portland!
so . . . pictures and stories will come soon - i have not forgotten you! i have just been busy and away from an interenet connection for a bit.
maybe i will post in the morning . . . or the afternoon.
liebe,
tabitha
i really want to write some blogs and show some pictures, but i am EXHAUSTED!! it is after 1am and i have to go to bed so i can get up at a decent hour and ride my (borrowed) bike into town before 10am.
for now i will say that we found the german mecca. it is called trillke and is this awesome communal living project with a bunch of artists and musicians, etc. all organic food and beautiful decorations and wonderful people . . . we love it! we feel like it is a taste of portland!
so . . . pictures and stories will come soon - i have not forgotten you! i have just been busy and away from an interenet connection for a bit.
maybe i will post in the morning . . . or the afternoon.
liebe,
tabitha
Friday, December 15, 2006
things i am happy about
so, i will name two things i am happy about and then you can tell me things that you are happy about ok?
1) i am happy that i have my keens. these shoes rock. with all the walking i do around here, my feet and legs would be killing me if it weren't for the keens. my legs are a bit different in length which causes my hips and shoulders and the rest of my body to be slightly askew . . . so walking a lot always causes me pain in my hips . . . but for this whole trip (and since i bought the keens) i have had no pain in my hips! yay!
2) i am happy about my new polka-dotted shirt from H & M that was 4.90 euros. nice.
if you are lucky i will post a picture of me wearing it.
now it's your turn. what are you happy about?
1) i am happy that i have my keens. these shoes rock. with all the walking i do around here, my feet and legs would be killing me if it weren't for the keens. my legs are a bit different in length which causes my hips and shoulders and the rest of my body to be slightly askew . . . so walking a lot always causes me pain in my hips . . . but for this whole trip (and since i bought the keens) i have had no pain in my hips! yay!
2) i am happy about my new polka-dotted shirt from H & M that was 4.90 euros. nice.
if you are lucky i will post a picture of me wearing it.
now it's your turn. what are you happy about?
Monday, December 11, 2006
Wurtzburg!!!
ok . . . so Jon and I went to visit our friend Franzi for the weekend in Wurtzburg where she is going to school.
I will tell the story of the weekend in pictures.
We arrived in Wurtzburg at 5:20 pm (after a 2 1/2 hour train ride) and Franzi met us at the station. After a short train ride we arrived at her house.
This is her street:
it was one of the only streets in Wurtzburg that was not destroyed during the war.
this is her house:
and this is her room (where she let us sleep. she slept in her roommate's room since her roommate was in Berlin for the weekend):
almost everything she owned (furniture-wise) was from ikea . . . nice.
that night she and her friend Juliana made us kaiser spitzel (or something like this). it was like chunks of crepes with toasted almonds, powdered sugar and raisins. yum! then we went downtown in the night to a weinstube . . . also yum. the wine is VERRRRYY affordable here!
the next day, Franzi had to work so we walked around town and saw what there was to see . . .
the Residez (used to be where the king lived, but now it is a museum, archive and winery):
us in front of the gardens at the residenz:
us very happy to be in the residenz garden:
the view across the river from downtown:
this (above) is the Festung. it used to be a fort or something, but now it is an archive, museum, winery (hmmm, sounds like the residenz) and tourist attraction . . . Franzi lives at the base of it. (seriously, you can see the hill begin a few feet from her bedroom window).
so, we walked around, went to the Weihnachtsmarkt, had coffee, etc.
here is jon enjoying his bratwurst sandwich:
he's so cute!
(yes, it is hard for me to find things to eat that aren't cheese and bread in the restaraunts. being a vegetarian in germany is actually easier than i thought it would be though . . . so that's good).
that night, we met Franzi, Juliana and their friend Julia at the markt for Gluhwein and pommes frittes (french fried). then we went back to Franzi's house for more snacks and drinks and stayed up late talking. They said that Jon has the best German they have ever heard from an American! and they were nice to me when i tried to speak it . . .
here is everyone enjoying the pommes at Franzi's house:
(they eat it with ketchup and MAYONAISE! ew).
the next morning, the three girls made a traditional bavarian breakfast for Jon and I. weisswurst and weissbier at 11am in the morning. with sweet senf (mustard) and pretzels. i ate the preztels. here is jon trying to peel his weisswurst:
the bavarian music playing in the background made it perfect :)
after that, we walked up the hill to the Festung with Franzi.
Jon and Franzi on the path:
jon and i on our way up:
the view from the top:
franzi bored with the view (ok, probably just tired from staying up until 2am with americans who have not yet adjusted to the time change):
so, the weekend was filled with laughter, friends, good food, no sleep, good coffee, beautiful views and the feeling of christmas! we are going to spend christmas with Franzi's family . . . they are a very bavarian family from what Franzi has said and they don't speak much english . . . so this will be an adventure!
right now, Jon is playing the new nentindo Wii with Jens (we are back in Bayreuth). Tomorrow we will go to the Festspielhaus and learn more about Richard Wagner . . . the purpose of this part of the trip.
hope you enjoyed our weekend!
love,
Tabitha (and Jon).
I will tell the story of the weekend in pictures.
We arrived in Wurtzburg at 5:20 pm (after a 2 1/2 hour train ride) and Franzi met us at the station. After a short train ride we arrived at her house.
This is her street:
it was one of the only streets in Wurtzburg that was not destroyed during the war.
this is her house:
and this is her room (where she let us sleep. she slept in her roommate's room since her roommate was in Berlin for the weekend):
almost everything she owned (furniture-wise) was from ikea . . . nice.
that night she and her friend Juliana made us kaiser spitzel (or something like this). it was like chunks of crepes with toasted almonds, powdered sugar and raisins. yum! then we went downtown in the night to a weinstube . . . also yum. the wine is VERRRRYY affordable here!
the next day, Franzi had to work so we walked around town and saw what there was to see . . .
the Residez (used to be where the king lived, but now it is a museum, archive and winery):
us in front of the gardens at the residenz:
us very happy to be in the residenz garden:
the view across the river from downtown:
this (above) is the Festung. it used to be a fort or something, but now it is an archive, museum, winery (hmmm, sounds like the residenz) and tourist attraction . . . Franzi lives at the base of it. (seriously, you can see the hill begin a few feet from her bedroom window).
so, we walked around, went to the Weihnachtsmarkt, had coffee, etc.
here is jon enjoying his bratwurst sandwich:
he's so cute!
(yes, it is hard for me to find things to eat that aren't cheese and bread in the restaraunts. being a vegetarian in germany is actually easier than i thought it would be though . . . so that's good).
that night, we met Franzi, Juliana and their friend Julia at the markt for Gluhwein and pommes frittes (french fried). then we went back to Franzi's house for more snacks and drinks and stayed up late talking. They said that Jon has the best German they have ever heard from an American! and they were nice to me when i tried to speak it . . .
here is everyone enjoying the pommes at Franzi's house:
(they eat it with ketchup and MAYONAISE! ew).
the next morning, the three girls made a traditional bavarian breakfast for Jon and I. weisswurst and weissbier at 11am in the morning. with sweet senf (mustard) and pretzels. i ate the preztels. here is jon trying to peel his weisswurst:
the bavarian music playing in the background made it perfect :)
after that, we walked up the hill to the Festung with Franzi.
Jon and Franzi on the path:
jon and i on our way up:
the view from the top:
franzi bored with the view (ok, probably just tired from staying up until 2am with americans who have not yet adjusted to the time change):
so, the weekend was filled with laughter, friends, good food, no sleep, good coffee, beautiful views and the feeling of christmas! we are going to spend christmas with Franzi's family . . . they are a very bavarian family from what Franzi has said and they don't speak much english . . . so this will be an adventure!
right now, Jon is playing the new nentindo Wii with Jens (we are back in Bayreuth). Tomorrow we will go to the Festspielhaus and learn more about Richard Wagner . . . the purpose of this part of the trip.
hope you enjoyed our weekend!
love,
Tabitha (and Jon).
Sunday, December 10, 2006
the question and andwer post
ok, i will answer 2 questions today and then post some more pictures from our weekend in Würtzburg later . . .
question 1 from LJ and Brent:
What is the environmental scoop, etc?
in germany (as in most of europe it seems) people are more conscious about the environment than in america. they sort their trash 3 or 4 ways generally and have different pick up days for different types of trash. i have yet to see a plastic bag decorating a tree (this is mostly due to the fact that everyone uses cloth shopping bags when they go the store or they have to pay 10 cents or something - probably more - for a plastic one everytime they go). also, there are more people in a smaller amount of space so people are conscious about how much space they take up (thus the reason for smaller cars, not setting all of your things on the seat next to you on the bus, standing in line much closer to someone in front of you than you would in america). anyway, they are lightyears ahead of america in terms of having energy efficient washing machines, etc. there are wind generators (you know those big spacey windmills like in california?) everywhere . . . they don't eat genetically modified food and they are actually sort of afraid of candy or cereal or what have you that is too brightly colored. they wont eat it. their pastries are much less sweet than in america. and the organic or health food stores are called a reformhaus . . .
not sure what else to tell you right now about that . . . how did i do Lj?
questions number 2:
what is the preferred mode of transportation in Germany?
most people go by foot, bicycle, bus or train. not as many people have cars and those that do don't use them when they can walk instead. there are a lot of cars, but they are much smaller and get better gas mileage because (dun dun dun) gas costs a LOT more here than in america. they pay about as much for a LITRE of gas as we do for a GALLON. that's a BIG difference!
so, i hope you are enjoying your time as you celebrate the winter holidays! we are having a fantastic time and have fallen in love with gluhwein!!! it schmeck lecker! (i don't know if i spelled that right) . . .
yes, sometime jon will contribute to this blog too . . . but for now, it's me . . .
gute nacht! (it is 21:29 for me right now),
Tabitha
question 1 from LJ and Brent:
What is the environmental scoop, etc?
in germany (as in most of europe it seems) people are more conscious about the environment than in america. they sort their trash 3 or 4 ways generally and have different pick up days for different types of trash. i have yet to see a plastic bag decorating a tree (this is mostly due to the fact that everyone uses cloth shopping bags when they go the store or they have to pay 10 cents or something - probably more - for a plastic one everytime they go). also, there are more people in a smaller amount of space so people are conscious about how much space they take up (thus the reason for smaller cars, not setting all of your things on the seat next to you on the bus, standing in line much closer to someone in front of you than you would in america). anyway, they are lightyears ahead of america in terms of having energy efficient washing machines, etc. there are wind generators (you know those big spacey windmills like in california?) everywhere . . . they don't eat genetically modified food and they are actually sort of afraid of candy or cereal or what have you that is too brightly colored. they wont eat it. their pastries are much less sweet than in america. and the organic or health food stores are called a reformhaus . . .
not sure what else to tell you right now about that . . . how did i do Lj?
questions number 2:
what is the preferred mode of transportation in Germany?
most people go by foot, bicycle, bus or train. not as many people have cars and those that do don't use them when they can walk instead. there are a lot of cars, but they are much smaller and get better gas mileage because (dun dun dun) gas costs a LOT more here than in america. they pay about as much for a LITRE of gas as we do for a GALLON. that's a BIG difference!
so, i hope you are enjoying your time as you celebrate the winter holidays! we are having a fantastic time and have fallen in love with gluhwein!!! it schmeck lecker! (i don't know if i spelled that right) . . .
yes, sometime jon will contribute to this blog too . . . but for now, it's me . . .
gute nacht! (it is 21:29 for me right now),
Tabitha
Friday, December 8, 2006
here's something fun:
i taught our host jens to speak like a pirate. he can now say:
"keep a sharp eye matey"
and
"savvy?"
it really is perfect.
tchuß!
tabitha
"keep a sharp eye matey"
and
"savvy?"
it really is perfect.
tchuß!
tabitha
Thursday, December 7, 2006
pictures!
so . . . here are the first batch of pictures from our trip! enjoy!
jon and i on the loooooong flight here:
i woke up sick the morning that we left . . . sinus pressure, running nose, etc. so i did not sleep much at all, and now my nose is peeling from all the blowing i had to do . . . and landing was horrible for the pressure in my head!! other than that, the flight was good.
our hosts, sarah and jens (pronounced yenz) let us stay in their room:
they are sleeping on the couch . . . what amazing hosts! i feel sort of bad letting them . . . so we try to be polite, stay out of the way, do our dishes, buy our share of food and toilet paper . . . you know. but this really is a good set up! fun people, free housing . . . nice.
the view from our room:
aaahhh yes . . . german buildings.
this is jon walking down the way to the richard wagner museum where he is doing his research every day:
he is actually doing research in the archives next door. we went through the museum yesterday - it is in his old house where he and his family lived here in bayreuth. but in the war, it was bomed and rebuilt as the museum. nothing in germany is really authentic. it has all been rebuilt. i find this very sad.
tonight, jon and i went down to the weihnachtsmarkt (christmas market) and had some gluwine (pronounced glue-vine). it is hot spiced christmas wine. yummy! it really felt like christmas! here is jon enjoying his wine:
more photos to come later . . . tomorrow we are going to Wurtzburg!
jon and i on the loooooong flight here:
i woke up sick the morning that we left . . . sinus pressure, running nose, etc. so i did not sleep much at all, and now my nose is peeling from all the blowing i had to do . . . and landing was horrible for the pressure in my head!! other than that, the flight was good.
our hosts, sarah and jens (pronounced yenz) let us stay in their room:
they are sleeping on the couch . . . what amazing hosts! i feel sort of bad letting them . . . so we try to be polite, stay out of the way, do our dishes, buy our share of food and toilet paper . . . you know. but this really is a good set up! fun people, free housing . . . nice.
the view from our room:
aaahhh yes . . . german buildings.
this is jon walking down the way to the richard wagner museum where he is doing his research every day:
he is actually doing research in the archives next door. we went through the museum yesterday - it is in his old house where he and his family lived here in bayreuth. but in the war, it was bomed and rebuilt as the museum. nothing in germany is really authentic. it has all been rebuilt. i find this very sad.
tonight, jon and i went down to the weihnachtsmarkt (christmas market) and had some gluwine (pronounced glue-vine). it is hot spiced christmas wine. yummy! it really felt like christmas! here is jon enjoying his wine:
more photos to come later . . . tomorrow we are going to Wurtzburg!
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
ok
so, i've fixed it so that anyone can comment now without having to start their own blogger account. sorry about that . . .
comment away!!
comment away!!
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
we have arrived!
it is about 5 pm local time and i have just showered and put on clean clothes . . . we are at our host sara's house in bayreuth (pronounced bai-roit). she lives within walking distance from the trainstation, so that makes things nice. bayreauth is a fairly small town, so getting around should be easy.
right now we are both pretty tired. we landed in frankfurt at about 9am (that's midnight in oregon) after a 9 and a half hour flight that included only about a half hour or so of sleep for both of us.
we rode the train from frankfurt to wurtzburg and then changed trains to get to bayreuth. we arrived here around 330 or so.
sarah is now making us kartoffeln (potatoes) for dinner . . . mmm . . . german food!
tomorrow jon will visit the archives and begin his research. and i . . . well, i will get some sleep, walk around town and maybe meet jon at the wagner museum in the afternoon.
this is going to be nice.
peace,
Tabitha
right now we are both pretty tired. we landed in frankfurt at about 9am (that's midnight in oregon) after a 9 and a half hour flight that included only about a half hour or so of sleep for both of us.
we rode the train from frankfurt to wurtzburg and then changed trains to get to bayreuth. we arrived here around 330 or so.
sarah is now making us kartoffeln (potatoes) for dinner . . . mmm . . . german food!
tomorrow jon will visit the archives and begin his research. and i . . . well, i will get some sleep, walk around town and maybe meet jon at the wagner museum in the afternoon.
this is going to be nice.
peace,
Tabitha
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Oh Yeah . . .
We leave TOMORROW!!!
The time has just flown by! We are finishing up the final packing and trying to get our apartment in some sort of order so that our friend who is house sitting for us does not have to live in our filth.
Just today, the last piece of the puzzle fell together as to where we will stay while we are in Munich. Our friend's brother has a place there and even has some connections with the local opera - how fantastic is that? So, now I think we have just about all our places to stay lined up.
It has been quite and exercise of simplicity to pare down the items we are bringing with us to a backpack-full each. It is going to be a great learning experience in several ways.
Time to prepare my sinuses and eardrums for the flight . . .
love you all!
bis bald,
Tabitha und Jon
The time has just flown by! We are finishing up the final packing and trying to get our apartment in some sort of order so that our friend who is house sitting for us does not have to live in our filth.
Just today, the last piece of the puzzle fell together as to where we will stay while we are in Munich. Our friend's brother has a place there and even has some connections with the local opera - how fantastic is that? So, now I think we have just about all our places to stay lined up.
It has been quite and exercise of simplicity to pare down the items we are bringing with us to a backpack-full each. It is going to be a great learning experience in several ways.
Time to prepare my sinuses and eardrums for the flight . . .
love you all!
bis bald,
Tabitha und Jon
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