Detroit

Imported from Detroit, Detroit Hustles Harder, One Detroit One Pride, Motown, The D, the one and only Detroit.

This city is my new home, and I want to be part of it, to understand it. Detroit has an incredible history and culture that is still very much alive. It is a city that has persevered and is still fighting through so many challenges. Arson, bankruptcy, crime, and racial tension are just a few of the struggles..

But I am optimistic that Detroit has a positive future and the Heidelberg Project is a sign of positivity here. The organization's tagline "Changing lives through art since 1986" is visible on the roads, buildings, fences, homes, and hearts of those involved. 

The best description of the Project is from the website..."The Heidelberg Project offers a forum for ideas, a seed of hope, and a bright vision for the future. It's about taking a stand to save forgotten neighborhoods. It's about helping people think outside the box and it's about offering solutions. It's about healing communities through art - and it's working!"

I first heard about this project last fall when we first moved to the Detroit area. At that time I visited the colorful street in the late evening and never got out of the car, just slowly driving with the windows rolled up and the doors securely locked. I was very new to Detroit, very much aware of the stereotypes, and informed of the activity in the news. I can't say that I wasn't afraid and my fear was a wall that prevented me from having a full understanding of the Heidelberg Project's message. I was a stereotype, a white, middle class individual from the suburbs coming to Detroit to take something, to say that I had been to the Heidelberg Project, without respecting the project for the hope that it provides for the residents of Detroit. The people that don't drive away in their nice car and leave the city to return to the comforts and luxuries of suburbia. The suburbia that wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the once grand city of Detroit. The suburbia that resulted from people abandoning the city.

This past weekend, I returned to the Heidelberg Project with a new outlook. This time, I parked on the side of Heidelberg street painted with wonderful large colorful polka dots. I got out of the car to explore this reality of Detroit. I allowed myself to absorb the artist's message and try to understand the pain, suffering, and joy in the neighborhood. 

**Art is a form of communication between an artist and the viewer, but it is a one way communication. The following opinions are my interpretations of the artistic message of the Heidelberg Project, not necessarily the message that the artist intended to convey. You have the right to your own opinions of course and my statements are not intended to offend anyone.

I parked in front of the "People's House" a.k.a. "Dotty Wotty". This house makes me smile and I love the color and vibrancy it brings to the street. There was a small child sitting on the porch with grandma that smiled, waved, and repeated hello. His presence completed the image for me of youth, energy, and fun represented by the bright colors. Various different colors and sizes, but all circles nonetheless.

The house next door is also colorful but sends a different message. This house is the "Number House", a white house painted with large colorful numbers. The news is filled with numbers about Detroit...78,000 abandoned buildings, 706,585 residents, 15,263 violent crimes annually, $18 Billion in debt. But this city is more than numbers. You can't use numbers to describe hope, a helping hand, or a smile.

Numbers don't convey pain and suffering either. I walked down the street to the next house and noticed the tree on the sidewalk first. It was black, charred, and smelled burnt. I saw the house, or the foundation that was left of it next, as I turned around and could practically feel the heat. This used to be the "OJ" or "Obstruction of Justice" house. The house first burned in a suspicious fire in May and everything but the front of the house was destroyed. You can read about how people came together to clean up the damage here. The remains became an art project, that was again set ablaze by the same young man in October. The foundation is now decorated by mostly children's toys.

The toys look recently abandoned, displayed in a way that makes the viewer think they were played with just yesterday by smiling happy children. The children whose bright futures were lost in a fire. Or maybe the children who will continue to play despite the fire.

The organization released an official statement after the fire in October, in which they have a message for the young man responsible for the damage..."We want you to know that we understand your pain.  We realize that all you’ve grown to know is destruction and that you see no way out.  This is precisely why we are here.  Our work is not about tangible “things,” it is about the Power of the Human Spirit. We recognize that there is a fire in you and we are here not to extinguish it, but to offer you a better reason to fuel it. Though you have tried, you cannot destroy the Heidelberg Project; it’s bigger  than all of us now. Instead, we invite you to join our family in creating a better neighborhood, a better Detroit, if not for anyone else than for yourself. As Tyree has said, “If you believe, you can change it…” We believe."

These are just a few of the images from the city block of color and art. I would encourage everyone to visit the Heidelberg Project. I encourage you to park on the street, get out of your car, and walk around the homes and yards here. Be open to the concepts and images the artist is conveying. This is hope in a city that needs it! 

How you like them apples?

Today was my first trip for apples in the fall 2013 season. My sister and I stopped at Philips Orchard and Cider Mill north of Lansing, MI. We both share a passion for supporting small independent businesses. Instead of stopping at the orchard giant Uncle John's Cider Mill with a corn maze, children's play area, large gift shop, and hourly activities, we stopped at the barn across the street. And I have to say that I am very happy with our decision. We split a bag of Honeycrisp apples of course and I also purchased a bag of Jonagolds. We also purchased a pumpkin, cider, and apple donuts. I have to say that their cinnamon sugar apple donuts are probably the best that I have ever had. I hate to compare them to my once favorite orchard in Indiana but they were firmer and crisper, and more delicious!

I continued to celebrate apple season by making a batch of applesauce tonight. I have been helping my mother to make applesauce ever since I can remember so I made sure to get my very own apple-pealer-corer-slicer in college. I love my applesauce chunky with brown sugar and cinnamon!

Look out for my next post of fall and Halloween baked goods and treats.

This past weekend, I visited my sister at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant. The small city with a population of 26,000 is home to the CMU chippewas, a school with 28,000 students. Mt. Pleasant is in the middle of nowhere, but is nonetheless filled with local gems. My new favorite of which is Dharma Mojo Tea Bar and Grill, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant. I personally am not a big tea drinker so I have not tried their tea but I have heard great things. The restaurant is in the same building as a yoga studio on the North end of town. They have a great menu that changes pretty frequently, with very affordable prices, and fun healthy food. I recommend the flatbreads and tofu stirfry!

On another note, I am really happy living in Northville. The city does a lot of fun activities year round. I would actually be very interested in getting on their event planning committee. Last week, Downtown Northville introduced the skeletons. There are tons of skeletons in various poses around the city. I have pictures of a few of my favorites. It is great to see such fun displays for the public, and even better to see them appreciated and undamaged.

Hard Cider Review
Another reason I love Northville is because we live within walking distance of the Northville Winery. To be honest, their wine is not that amazing. I found it to be thin and mild, but their hard cider is very good. Their Rockin' Cock Hard Cider is a wonderful crisp, clean, hard cider with a full bodied apple flavor. Very much so deserving of the awards that it has won. Their berry ciders are decent but my favorite was definitely the original. The Northville Winery also experiments with their cider making a cider with hops and a bourbon barrel aged cider. I appreciate their enthusiasm and willingness to try new fun things.

So I have worked at my current job for 60 days and at day 46 I was tasked with planning the company's End of Fiscal Year Celebration in less than two weeks. I put together an event last Friday night that included dinner in the Amnesia Room of the Motor City Casino Hotel with entertainment provided by The Murder Mystery Company. The Amnesia Room is an old lounge/club on the 16th floor of the hotel with windows from floor to ceiling that look out towards the city. From one end of the room to the other you have a perfect view of the skyscrapers downtown, the river, the bridges and the old train station. For me, the view has a profound impact on my impression of Detroit.

Overall the evening was a success! There was plenty of laughter and conversation as the company celebrated a great year with excitement to meet new goals.

Clearly we have been so busy the past few weekends that I have not been on my bike for nearly a month. I miss riding and hope that the winter cold can hold off for a few weeks so I can get back on the road. Although I do not like brisk cold rides nearly as much, I am not ready for my riding season to be over yet.

Happy Fall!

I miss making my post titles in German...

I am an official volunteer at the Maybury Farm in Northville. I get the exciting job for a few hours on the weekends of collecting tickets, passing out corn maze "passports" and loading families onto the trailer. The farm has a 12 acre corn maze where families run around collecting animal stamps on their passport. Last week was my first time volunteering and if it stops raining I may be volunteering again today. The farm has a few farm animals, activities for kids, a gift shop and the corn maze. If nothing else, I am getting to know some great high school students and senior citizens in the Northville community.

Beer Review

After a slightly irritating day at work, I came home for a very fall dinner with a delicious very fall beer. For dinner I made butternut squash ravioli from Trader Joe's with a homemade brown butter sauce with sage, chopped and toasted walnuts, and craisins. It was delicious! I paired the not-so-nutritious dish with The Bruery's Autumn Maple beer. The beer is a Belgian style brown ale brewed with yams, molasses, maple syrup and spices. It is different than a pumpkin beer but equally fall and full in flavor. I might need to get another one to pair with Thanksgiving dinner. 

Drinks in Northville

I spent an evening in Northville with my wonderful mother-in-law and we did a food and drink tour down Main Street. We started by walking down the street to Bricks but they had a small kitchen fire so they were not making any food for another hour, then we tried Garage but they had a 45 minute wait for a table, so we headed back East to Le George, a Mediterranean bistro where we sat outside and enjoyed dinner and wine. I had been craving some baba ghanoush! We ordered an appetizer with hummus, baba g, falafel, and salad and then split a bean burger. I have to say that I was dissapointed in the bean burger and the two little tiny pieces of falafel, but overall it was a great meal. They need to increase the falafel volume and dress up the bean burger on their new menu.

After dinner we headed to Buckministers, the local pub on the corner for a beer. The family owned place is very eclectic with unique art on the walls. Then we went back to Bricks for more beer. It is a good thing that we did not stay there earlier to wait the "hour" before they were supposed to be able to make food, because the kitchen did not open for three hours and was just opening as we were enjoying beer number two at the bar. I would have been very hungry.

After a great evening of conversation and laughter, we began the two or three block walk home. We came to the corner of Main and the street was completely flooded. Water was gushing from the sewers and cracks in the road. I felt like I was back in Venice, when the water floods the plaza at night. So a pick-up truck drives up and stops in the middle of water, I go "Do you see this? This is not normal. Are you going to call someone?" and he goes "Yeah I work for the village, a water main broke." I said "Thank you." and we continue to walk home, way out of our way to avoid the flooded street. 

Detroit

We got a true taste of Detroit at the Eastern Market on a Saturday. We drove down to the city and tried to find parking at the super crowded market. I had been warned by a woman at work that the market was "very crowded, noisy, and smelly" and no matter how early you get there there are always 100 people there before you. She went once and that was enough. I actually enjoyed the market. We were able to find parking in a $5 lot near Shed 1. For me it was worth the $5 to find parking easily with a relatively short walk to the market. The owners of the lot were trying hard to jam as many cars as possible in their lot but they were also standing near the cars directing drivers. We walked through the food and restaurant sheds, the nick-knacks and stuff sheds, the interesting stores, and through the booths on the street. There would be a significant savings to buy produce from the Market because the prices are much lower there than at the local grocery stores. But when you take the gas to drive there and the time to shop into consideration, the savings are not as significant. We did pick up some gorgeous flowers and enjoyed the sights and sounds (but not the smells) of the market. And when we were leaving, we found a great hidden street with plenty of parking. Next time we go, I know exactly where to park for free. 

Only at the Eastern Market does a policeman ride around on a horse checking with the shop owners and vendors. He was very friendly making his way down the street saying "hey, you guys ok". He spent most of his time posing for pictures, talking to people, and letting adults and children pet his horse.

We really tasted Detroit at Slows. We had no problem enjoying a beer while we sat outside on their new patio waiting 30 minutes for our table. Nothing like pulled pork and brisket, accompanied by green beans, baked mac and cheese, potato salad, and baked beans. The sauces include apple, sweet, spicy, and NC vinegar style. Delicious!

Then came nap time, followed by a long walk around Northville looking at houses. 

Book Review
Sadly it has been a few months since I have read a book. I am now reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.(Thanks Mom!) Although I am only a quarter of the way in, I am enjoying her book about women in the workplace. A few of the topics have hit close to home now that I am back in the male dominated professional office environment. Earlier this week I came home from work upset because there are a few things that I am struggling with adapting my behavior to be "work/office appropriate". I had a meeting with the Director of Finance and General Manager to discuss process changes. In the heat of discussion and debate, I interrupted the General Manager while he was speaking. I stopped myself and apologized so he could continue. I was embarrassed and felt bad, getting angry at myself for not being professional. As I drove home, I was overly critical of myself, making it a promise that I will work on being a better employee.

And then I started Sandberg's book...in which she tells a story of one of her presentations to her employees. At the end of the presentation on gender stereotyping, she told the attendees that she only had time for two more questions. She called on two people, answered their questions and then said she was finished. The women in the room put down their hands following directions, numerous men in the room continued waving and shouting to have their questions answered. Sandberg stayed at the podium to answer their questions. When she returned to her office there was a woman waiting for her who said that she learned a valuable lesson today. Sandberg asked "what?" thinking it was going to be something she said during her presentation. Instead the woman said, "I learned to keep my hand in the air."

My husband told me that the men in his office interrupt each other all the time. I remember the men in my previous professional job interrupting each other during sales meeting and conversations. My mostly male customers would interrupt me all the time on the phone and in person. I consider myself a kind, considerate, and respectful person, who waits patiently for a turn to speak. Is this personality trait going to affect me negatively in a male dominated work place? Is it okay to interrupt? Can I be successful as a leader without interrupting? Or will I go unheard?

All questions that will be answered with time in the workplace. The difference is that I am now consciously aware of these things. I look forward to finishing her book.

Cooking German in the US
While listening to our German music playlist, I cooked German cuisine from my Dr. Oetker German Cooking Today. The dish was Cabbage Roulade with boiled potatoes and brown gravy. Let me just say that it was much easier in the comfort of my very well stocked American kitchen than it was in our partially stocked basement apartment in Germany. And I was able to find cooking string in the stores here so the rolls were much easier to make.

Here is what I made in Germany:

And here is what I made tonight:

I used regular white cabbage today instead of Savoy and just made boiled potatoes. The rolls were bigger and the gravy darker brown tonight. Both delicious!

I can't believe that it is almost October already. Our weekends have filled up quickly since we have been back in the US and I am very excited for a busy fall.

Happy Fall!

After a long relatively uneventful week at work (but let me say again that I am absolutely delighted to be back at work), the busy weekend began. My weekend started with dinner, a concert, and drinks on Friday with some great ladies, one of which was also in Germany this year with us.

CONCERT
We had dinner at Imperial in Ferndale. Let me try and describe the restaurant and bar...all of the tables and benches/chairs are beautiful wood, it's community seating so you seat near strangers, they have fantastic tequila drinks on the menu, the employees do not have uniforms and many of them have fun crazy colored hair, they serve gourmet tacos, hotdogs, and sides served individually. We ordered chips with guacamole and salsas for the table. I was definitely not able to eat two of the salsas without choking and sweating, but I am a wimp and really enjoyed the roasted red pepper salsa. I also ordered their taco of the week for $2.50 which had grilled zucchini, goat cheese, and an assortment of other complimentary ingredients. I paired my taco with a bacon wrapped hot dog in a bun with chorizo chili, cheese, and other things delicious for $4. I definitely recommend the restaurant! And if you go, you have to try an Uno Mas tequila drink with cucumber and a little bit of spice.

After dinner we headed over to the Royal Oak Music Theatre to see the Local Natives. The opening band was decent and played a few quick songs, but the headliner was great. I have a place close to my heart for live music, and sometimes my favorite moments are when I can literally feel the music. There is something about being surrounded by the sound of a great full-sounding talented band that makes me so happy. Even though I was not fully familiar with all of the band's music, I recognized a handfull of songs and truly enjoyed the concert.

BEER
After the concert, we went for drinks and I ordered a Short's Autumn Ale that was on tap. It's a little different than other fall beers because it wasn't as spicey, definitely more malty and bitter. I was happily drinking it until someone at the bar ran into me and dumped it all over me. It was not as delicious on my jacket and dress as it was in my cup. Luckily the bar was not well lit because the dark beer left an awesome strain running down the front of my body.

OKTOBERFEST
Saturday afternoon, we drove the quick hour and a half to Frankenmuth, MI for Oktoberfest. We were dressed in our lederhosen and dirndl, ready to pretend like we were back in Germany. Now don't get me wrong, Frankenmuth is a great little town with family oriented activities, cute houses and shops, and great restaurants, but it is no Germany. It is "Michigan's little Bavaria", just check out the commercial.

*Now the Pure Michigan Commercials on the radio do get sometimes annoying when you hear them repeatedly, but I do enjoy the message they are sending. And then someones makes a depressing parody of the video that sends a very different but real message. Sadly, this is reality. Check it out here.

So back to Oktoberfest, Ryan and I get out of the car and we immediately draw attention to ourselves because of our outfits. Everyone stares and we were 2 of maybe 25 people in a crowd of 400 plus that were dressed appropriately. One woman looked at us and then said to her husband "Yeah I did see some people in costumes." A man took pictures of us. We met a couple who came to their first Oktoberfest and made dirndl and lederhosen. They also asked to take pictures of us.

FRUHLINGSFEST in GERMANY versus OKTOBERFEST in FRANKENMUTH

-Dinner includes a roasted chicken             -Dinner is a buffet of German-American food
-Beer from 1 Liter mugs                             -Beer from disposable cups
-Real plates and silverware                         -Disposable everything
-Delicious giant pretzels                              -American style doughy pretzels (not as good)
-Stage with live music                                 -Stage with live music
-Nearly everyone in lederhosen and dirndl  -Barely anyone in lederhosen and dirndl
-Carnival rides and games                          -A few inflatable bounce houses
-No children in the Beer Tent                     -Children everywher
-Median age in the Beer Tent - 30             -Median age in the Beer Tent - 55
-Everyone dancing on the table benches     -A few people dancing on the dance floor
-Drunk people                                           -Drunk people
-Policemen patrolling the grounds              -Policemen eating the buffet
-Nice happy people                                  -Nice happy people

*At Oktoberfest, I did see a whole table of people playing Ellen's Heads Up Game. I have recently become an Ellen fan. The show is not just for the wonderful middle-aged woman. And the app game looks fun!

After spending some time in the beer tent, we also walked around the downtown area, through a craft fair quickly and around the shops on the river. I wouldn't have minded spending more time at the craft fair. In the shops on the river, I tried beer popcorn. The sign outside the window of a popcorn shop encouraged me to come in and try beer popcorn. It was pretty nasty and just made me want a beer to wash it down. I will not be trying that again.

After our buffet dinner in the beer tent, we went to Frankenmuth Brewery. Ryan enjoyed an IPA after trying their Hefeweizen. I enjoyed good old water since I was driving home. The place was packed so we sat at the bar, people watched, checked out their menu, and chatted. I noticed that they make their own rootbeer so I got a case as we were leaving. Their rootbeer is pretty good, not a "rooty" as others but still delicious. And check out how they spell bier on the label.

I still wonder why one of the events at the Frankenmuth Oktoberfest is Wiener Dog Races, but it must be sponsored by Frankenmuth Brewery because I think they have a thing for Weiner dogs. Interesting.

I would like to return to Frankenmuth sometime to check out Bronners, the world's largest Christmas store and maybe do some other fun activities. We also talked about maybe coming back with some friends and staying in a hotel there to party at the beer tent. Either way, we are living here now and Frankenmuth is close so we will probably be back. It is a very different attitude when you are living somewhere for a longer period of time. We are settling here and making it home so I don'd have to hurry up and do everything I can because we are not leaving soon. It will take a bit of getting used to.

Well I'm back!

So during my month hiatus, I was busy! I am now moved in, settled, and unpacked in Northville, MI. I started a new job, and began life back in the USA. It is hard to believe how much my life has changed in just a few short weeks. I has spent more of 2013 in Germany than in the US.

Here are a few things that I miss from Germany already:
- Delicious bakery bread with a crunchy crust
- Cheap Nutella
- Accessible public transportation (U-Bahn und S-Bahn)
- Hefeweizen in 1 Liter bottles
- Travel and Exploring Europe
- Big FM und Ein Hundred Sieben Sieben on the radio
- How is in the norm to bring your own shipping bags to the store
- Classic Mineral Water

Ok coincidence, as I am typing this, I am watching The Avengers. In the beginning of the movie, The S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to identify the location of Loki at 29 Konigstrasse Stuttgart Germany. Guess where that is? The Schlossplatz in downtown Stuttgart.

- Being able to walk everywhere to run errands
- Shopping carts that move in all directions
- The woods behind our apartment in Boeblingen
- The culture

Nortvhille, MI a suburb of Detroit, has a history that goes back to the early 1800's. To celebrate the history, for the past 25 years, the city hosts a Victorian Festival. Friday night the celebration on the streets downtown began with a small craft fair, mini parade, kid's carnival and food vendors. I was determined to see the parade but sadly I missed it twice. First we walked to the end of the block and the crowd was dispersing because we were told that the parade was over and walking away from town (only 15 minutes after it had began, so I figured it was small and not that impressive.) Then we continued strolling around the downtown area for another 15 or so minutes and then noticed a crowd on the other side of town watching a parade. We caught up to the crowd to catch the last two minutes of the parade before it ended and the people in the parade dispersed. The downtown area is not that big, but still who misses a parade twice? It would have been helpful to know the parade route.

Luckily a fresh homemade root beer float from a street vendor put an end to my frustrations about missing the parade.

After an evening of activity in downtown Northville, we strolled through the neighborhood and passed the Cider Mill and Northville Winery. When we were just half a block from the winery when a car pulled up with an older gentleman who asked for directions to 630 Baseline Road. We told the man that we were new to the area but happy to help if we could. I pulled out my handy phone, typed the address into Google Maps and told him to go back a few blocks, make a right, then a left because that is what Google said to do. He thanked us and went on his way. We continued walking for three minutes only to find that the address of the Northville Winery which was just in front of us was 630 Baseline Road. Unfortunately the man was soo close, but trusted young strangers who rely on technology. I do honestly feel guilty for sending him away and can only hope that he made it to the winery eventually that evening. On the other hand, the Winery should really fix their address in Google Maps...

I am excited to spend some time at this gem down the road during the wonderful fall season. As I went for a walk around our apartment complex tonight I could smell the sweet cinnamon and sugar of homemade apple donuts coming from the Cider Mill.

Saturday was another day of festival fun! Ferndale hosted the DIY Street Fair. Myself and two carloads of our friends headed to the streets of Ferndale for crafts, food trucks, beer and live music. We strolled the streets to check out the tents and tables of unique crafts before stopping for a bite to eat. This craft fair was definitely different than the stereotypical middle aged woman fair and was filled with artistic decor and goods made by a younger more hipster crowd. I loved it! For dinner I enjoyed a Creamy Artichoke Grilled Cheese Sandwich on Sourdough Bread from a food truck. It was cooked and in my stomach within 15 minutes. (Much better than our previous Northville Food Truck experience but I will save that story for another time.) For first dessert I had a few delicious beers and for second dessert I enjoyed homemade ice cream. Not just regular ice cream though...mint chocolate chip ice cream with absinthe.

Most of the beer at the Street Fair was provided by Woodward Avenue Brewery. I did have a glass of Pumpkin Pie Ale from Liberty Street Brewery as well. I was not super optimistic about the beer from Liberty Street Brewery since I have been disappointed before but I had to give their pumpkin beer a chance. It wasn't bad, a thinner beer with a mild pumpkin taste and sweeter flavor with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. I have a thing for fall beers, specifically pumpkin beers. I also enjoyed a raspberry beer from WAB and a citra pale ale from another brewery.

We all enjoyed doing some people watching while we drank beer and listened to great live music. I couldn't help but wonder who was people watching me. Here are some of the interesting sights (of many dogs):

- A ginormous Saint Bernard with an interesting name who drooled like it was his job and locked his eyes on our friend's beef brisket.
- A young woman with a recently operated on broken leg with probably the word's ugliest dog in a sweater vest. Seriously I think this dog won the contest.
- Dreadlocks, lots of dreadlocks.
- A man in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pajama Pants
- The world's cutest Husky puppy with the prettiest blue eyes

So check out the view that I get to wake up to everyday from my apartment window...

Auf Wiedersehen!

Well, I am now in the final hours of Germany! The past six months have been quite an experience. The good times of travels and laughter with family and friends have flown by and the challenging times seemed to last forever. Too much has happened for me to try and recap it here in one post, but overall the combination of experiences have been life changing.

So this past week...has definitely been a blur. Here is what I remember and worth mentioning...

On Wednesday, we joined some of Ryan's coworkers at the Corso Cinema International to see Pacific Rim in English. First Ryan and I took the train into Stuttgart to shop for our super touristy German steins. There is one tourist shop in the city compared to hundreds in more tourist destination cities like Munich. I am very glad that we purchased these awesome stereotypical German beer glasses though. Then we had doner kebab at a different shop downtown and I have to say that I did not enjoy it as much as when we get it at our favorite shop in Boeblingen. It was extremely spicy and the sauces just were not right. The movie was ok, definitely different than the typical movies that I enjoy. My favorite parts in the movie were when the main character Charlie Hunnam was shirtless, which was not nearly enough!

Thursday I waited for the movers to come pack our airfreight, which did not happen because the truck broke down.

Friday they did come and brought a box of candies and gummies to apologize. The box was immediately packed in my carry-on for snacking during our layover this week. The apartment feels quite empty without our extra belongings.

Friday evening we met up with friends at the Schonbuch Brauhaus in Stuttgart for dinner and drinks. Our super over-priced dessert drinks were enjoyed at Sky Beach Stuttgart. I have been wanting to go there since the weather became decent and was very excited to stand at a bar table in sand on a rooftop beach bar. They weather was perfect, the view was great and the sand between my toes was wonderful. Of course the experience begins with clumsy me stumbling on the wooden boardwalk and smacking my right foot. I didn't feel the pain at the time, but the swelling that ensued should have been a sign...After elevating and icing, the size of my foot was now returned to normal and I am trying to ignore the colorful bruises. Thankfully this is the closest we have gotten to a medical emergency since we arrived here in February. Knock-on-wood, since we are almost but not quite home yet.


Saturday was a hot day in Boeblingen with temperatures in the afternoon reaching nearly 100 degrees F. We were outside late afternoon in a paddle boat on the Oberer See for just under the maximum 30 minutes in our rented boat. That was about all our bodies could take of the heat.

Then we cooled down at the city festival Schlemmen am See. The event was much like a small "Taste of Chicago event with five days of drinking and dining on the lake with local restaurants and live music. I had the most refreshing cold bubbling apple juice ever! For dinner we had salmon cooked over an on-sit fire-pit, with delicious "wild potatoes" and a Flammkuchen. We hung out there into the early evening when the temperature cooled down and the people came out. I finally tried an Aperol Spritz while we listened to fun music and watched people eat Ox im Brot. These giant meat sandwiches looked absolutely amazing but I was beyond stuffed and just could not imagine eating one. It only I could try everything!

The next morning was Sunday and we had a double date at the pool and afterwards a BBQ with friends. Even though it stormed all morning, the sky cleared up for a few hours in the afternoon and we were able to soak in the sun at Fildorado outdoor pool. The outdoor complex is huge with volleyball courts, sand areas, grass areas, kids play area, giant trampolines, a snack bar and patio, and numerous large pools complete with an in-pool rock climbing wall, three diving boards and kiddie slides. I could have easily spent more time there this summer if I would have known it was so awesome. (And it only costs 4 Euros per adult.) I enjoyed every minute there and was sad to leave when the sky started to get dark again. Here are a few other observations at the pool:

- Everyone was super happy. All you could hear was laughter!
- There were naked or nearly naked babies running around all over.
- Very few lifeguards.
- Speedos and short shorts!
- Still no paper cups. The snack bar had plastic beer glasses with a deposit.
- The concept of privacy does not exist in the locker room...

As soon as we entered our friend's apartment, the sky ripped oven with lightening and thunder and the torrential downpour began and continued for the next 26 hours (I will get back to that a little later, keep reading.) The couple had prepared a delicious feast of watermelon, tossed salad, Swabisch potato salad, toasted bread, and just about everything you could imagine grilling; shrimp, salmon, white fish, curry chicken, steak, sausage scallops, and bacon skewers. Delicious!

For dessert, I made a strawberry blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream. It was supposed to be a strawberry rhubarb crisp, but I had to make a last minute change. Rhubarb has been everywhere pretty much since we arrived in Germany and I have been super excited to bake with it but had not had an opportunity to make a large dessert until now. I went to five stores on Friday and could not find Rhabarber anywhere. I tried researching the growing season here and all I could find is an article saying that Germans prefer locally grown rhubarb and choose not to import. My last minute change still produced a delicious product and used locally grown blueberries. Thank goodness blueberries are in season here now!

On Monday, it rained, all day! It literally stormed hard until 6 pm and the lightening and thunder never let up. I was busy in the kitchen beginning at 7 am. The German tradition is for employees to bring snacks and treats for their coworkers on their birthday and their last day of work. Ryan has experienced a fellow employees last day and they brought a kleines Frühstück of pretzels, danishes, etc. For Ryan's last day he asked me to bake desserts for his office of about 50 plus people. I baked the following in a very small oven. The best part is that we don't have a cookie sheet so I could only bake 12 cookies at a time on the oven drip pan lined with parchment paper.

- two 9x11 pans of brownies
- 5 dozen peanut butter cookies
- 5 dozen oatmeal craisin white chocolate chunk cookies
- about 35 oreo truffles
- 3 dinner plate sized sugar cookie fruit pizzas

Ryan and I were introduced to the construction that they began in Boeblingen that morning when I tried to drive Ryan to work. The route which should have taken 20 minutes at the most took over an hour. There were numerous lanes closed in the small city center and the route was detoured out of the way. I wanted the car though in case I needed to run to the store in the rain for any last minute baking necessities. Of course I did have to run out once and had no traffic problems going to the close Real.

After baking and cleaning all day, the plan was to meet friends for dinner in downtown Stuttgart. I left plenty early to run to the bike store to return the CO2 cartridges I purchased before heading to Ryan's office to park so we could take the train downtown together from there. Side note - of course I never got a flat once I was overly prepared for one and TSA does not let you fly with pressurized cartridges. So to give you an idea of timing, I left the house at 5 pm with the plan of catching the 5:45 pm train. Well I tried two different routes to get to the bike store and found them all to be blocked due to either construction, accidents, or flooded roads. Then I decided to forget the cartridges and I drove three different routes to try and get to Ryan's office. FAIL! Then we gave up and decided that I would just park two stops down from his office at Goldberg and we would meet on the 6:00 pm train. FAIL! There was a notice on the boards at Goldberg that the trains were not running through the woods to Vaihingen due to flooding. Ryan was able to make it one stop to downtown Boeblingen, right in the heart of the construction. Since it was pouring and he was trapped, I fought the traffic to go pick him up. Then we were together but trapped, we decide to try and head back to Goldberg to see if there are any changes or if we can take the bus...And two of the routes are closed so we have no choice but to drive to Vaihingen...but there is no where to park there and take the train into Stuttgart and the Autobahn is so overly congested because of the rain and the trains being out of service that traffic is not moving at all. After fighting the traffic for nearly another hour, we decide to give up and head home...But now the road to access our neighborhood is closed so we have to go way out of the way to get home. We finally made it home a little after 8 pm for our last dinner at our Boeblingen apartment.

We polished off the last three beers remaining in our refrigerator on Monday. One from Belgium, one from Copenhagen and a local one from Boeblingen. That pretty much encompasses our  beer travels from the past six months. Unfortunately our freezer burnt pizza, icey frozen mixed vegetables, and super fatty American style frozen chicken wings did not complement the delicious beer, but I was very happy to not be on the road.

Tuesday on the other hand was a great day. The American style baked goods and desserts were a big hit at Ryan's office and everything was eaten. I was able to take the train into Stuttgart in the morning to change our address at the bank and do some last minute gift shopping. Then I met up with the American ladies I have been spending time with the last few weeks for lunch, people watching in the park, shopping, and wine.

I took the train home for the last time and was very tempted for some reason to shout  before my stop "I am an American and I have been trying to fit in here for the past six months and it is really hard!" I restrained myself and instead just exited and walked to our favorite Doner shop to meet Ryan for dinner. We enjoyed our doner and the last walk home. I will not miss walking up 50 or so stairs everyday to get home!

Now for 24 hours in a plane or airport to get home and begin our lives back in the US. I will definitely continue cycling and even registered for a bicycle repair and maintenance class at a local bike store. Hopefully I will perfect my brewing skills and enjoy craft beer from all over the US. Maybe I will even continue blogging as long as I continue exploring. Every day can be an adventure!

Radfahren, Laugfen und Wandern!

This past week has flown by and the countdown is now 10 days until USA!

RADFAHREN

On Tuesday I biked the Stuttgart Radel-Thon. The route is 79 km around the city of Stuttgart. Here is a great link to the map for your reference. I started my route by riding to the Goldberg train station here in Boeblingen to take the train through the woods to Rohr where the route begins. The website advertised the route to be paved and some gravel. In reality, the path is crushed stone, giant rocks, some smooth pavement, road, dirt paths in the woods, and crappy pavement covered in dirt, leaves, and rocks. I was instantly irritated and my brand new tires were not happy. So it was slow going and I had to watch for the signs since the route weaved in the cities and woods. I got lost twice because the trees and bushes were overgrown and blocked the signs.

I convinced myself that my efforts were worthwhile since I really wanted to finish the route. The nice part was that I saw a lot of the area. My favorite part was around Bad Canstatt, and not just because the path was paved, but the view was also spectacular. Here are some pictures from this wine area...










After being four hours into the ride and stuck in the woods going uphill around Gerlingen on a deep gravel path, I called it quits and rode down towards the city center on the road to catch the train back to Boeblingen at Schwabstrasse. I was smart enough to bring plenty of water, GU packets, and snacks to keep me going while I rode, but not smart enough to get off the path when it became unfit for a road bike (which was immediately). Now I can say that I almost finished the Stuttgart Radel-Thon!

LAUFEN

*Disclaimer - I am very grateful to the soldiers that serve and make many sacrifices for the US and I mean no offense. These statements are just my opinion.

So I have been going for jogging/walking/running exercises during the day to be active. There are wonderful paths behind our apartment in the woods on both sides of Panzerstrasse. The American base Panzer Kaserne also happens to be located in these woods. The base is surrounded by fences, barbed wire, trees, and giant signs that say to STAY AWAY so I have always kept a distance. Well last week I was running in the woods, listening to music, and in the zone when I dropped to the ground because I felt like I was being shot at. The gunfire was loud and echoing through the trees. I literally jumped out of my skin in fear for my life. I soon realized that I was near the Panzer shooting range and the soldiers were practicing. I have heard gunfire from our apartment in the residential community on numerous occasions but until recently, I was not usually around during working hours of week days. I understand that target practice is necessary and I would prefer if American soldiers knew how to shoot but I honestly have a problem with a gun range being so close to the community. Germans (and Americans not involved in the military) should be able to enjoy the serenity of the forest near their home without the BANG of guns. The noise is too loud and quite unsettling. I did some more research on the public's opinions and here is what I found:

- Here is an article from June 2012 that highlights how upset the community is. I am glad to hear that the base doesn't shoot on weekends and German public holidays.
- It says here that the Panzer Kaserne has an outdoor shooting range and an indoor firing range.
- I had trouble finding articles in English but would be interested in finding out what our neighbors think of the noise if we were staying here longer.

SINDELFINGEN

The city of Sindelfingen next to Boeblingen had a Great Festival Weekend Saturday and Sunday that we checked out on Saturday. We biked there and locked our bikes at the biergarten at Sommerhofenpark to walk around the park. There were three stations at the park with tents, booths, and presentations. Each station was from a time period when what is now Sindelfingen was occupied by others. Most of the displays were completed by school children of varying ages that have been studying the time periods. It was all put together very well! The city is celebrating 750 years of existence, I believe. We were able to understand and learn quite a bit even though most of it was in German. I have become an expert at looking at pictures, paying attention to body language, and listening for the few words that I do know.

After meandering around downtown Sindelfingen looking at booths, vendors, and historical displays, we biked back to our favorite local brewhouse, Schonbuch Brauhaus. We spent the later afternoon and early evening on the patio drinking hefeweizen, pils, radler, and their brand new pale ale. Yes, they definitely have an American style pale ale and check out the label. It is relatively dark in color for a pale ale and pretty weak on an IBU scale, but an excellent first attempt for a German brewery.

WANDERN

On Sunday, we hiked! Baden-Baden is a short one hour drive away and offers plenty of hiking in the Black Forest. We started on the 60 km Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, or Black Forest High Road in the late morning and stopped right away to do a short hike. We followed the Panoramaweg to the Geroldsau Waterfall. The path is mostly gravel and an easy 1.5-2 km round hike to a small waterfall. I really enjoyed being in the woods and walking along the stream.

Then we drove on the windy uphill road again to stop at a scenic overlook to eat our sandwiches. After a quick lunch in the sun, we continued to a large trail-head with parking possibly near Buhlertal. All of the trail-heads are labeled and the parking lots have plenty of maps with signs. We chose a 4 km hiking path and started in the correct direction. Unfortunately we somehow got off the path in the woods and ended up not completing the round route. The path was a much harder hike through the woods and around giant rocks and just about as wide as a deer path, but quite enjoyable. The viewpoints were gorgeous and very scenic! It we had more time, I could easily spend all day doing some of the longer hikes in the area.

Im Auto, aus dem Auto...

So after a quick exploration of Vienna, we took off again to go back through Salzburg, Austria and then Munich, Germany. All is one day! The drive to Salzburg was only a few hours and very scenic. We stopped in the very little town of Fuschl am See East of Salburg. The view (pictured above) was great and although we really wanted to hike, there were not ideal paths there. Instead we got out to walk around the Southeast part of the lake on the paved paths. It would be a great place to eat lunch on the lake, stay in a cute hotel, and stroll around the small village, but we were not interested in those things at this time.

We continued the short drive to Salzburg and parked in a more industrial area. We walked along the river, around the university, and through the park to take in the views. For lunch we picked up sausages from a street vendor. It was a relaxing few hours. In hindsight I should have dragged Ryan to the Sound of Music shooting locations. "The hills are alive..." I do love that movie!


Then we were back in the car. We drove the last few hours to Munich, Germany. We went to our hotel right away and snagged a free parking spot on the street. After getting settled we strolled down the street and were surprised to find a ton of activity downtown. We happened to arrive on the last day of the Christopher Street Day week in Munich. CSD is the Pride Week for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. The highlight of the week was the parade the day before but there was still booths, bars, and live music on Sunday. We enjoyed a few beers while listening to live music on the Marienplatz with the crowd.


For dinner, we dined at the Hofbrauhaus in the large beer hall. We sat near a window though since it was very hot and humid inside and there was not any seating in the biergarten. The atmosphere is great! You sit and enjoy 1 L mugs of beer, listening to live traditional music, watching servers run around with large trays of food, being hassled by employees selling ginormous pretzels, feasting on Bavarian specialties, and enjoying great conversation. However, the place is pretty touristy.

After dinner we strolled around the city center and happened to come across a small wine garten/festival/booth, and a Jewish music celebration. Munich was just an amazing place for activity and I loved all of it. Today, in Germany, people are able to come together and celebrate differences. The world of today is far beyond the past. The world is filled with amazing and wonderful people with differing views, religions, races, sexual orientation, etc. and we can come together and celebrate. Life is good.

Ryan and I spent Monday morning:
- window shopping at the Tesla dealership. Keep dreaming honey!
- eating pretzels and soup in the Viktualienmarkt
- shopping for lederhosen at Tracht & Mehr
- hanging out at the Marienhof park
- checking out over-priced crap at tourist shops

And then we drove back to Boeblingen to run to the grocery store, do some laundry, and just veg.

I hope to be biking and exploring this week! Only 2 weeks and 2 days left here in Germany!

Wien in 36 Stunden!

Friday we left in the morning to drive 7 hours to Vienna, Austria. The first 4 hours consisted of me behind the wheel cursing the road numerous times. The speed limit would go from unlimited to 100 to 80 to 60 to 80 to 60 all within 1 km and then there would be a camera over the road and the construction zone would begin and I would be driving in a lane 2 m wide next to a semi and the process would repeat. After we entered Austria, the speed was consistently 130 km/hr and Ryan had the privilege of driving.

We arrived at our hotel Best Western Kagran late afternoon. It is definitely the cheapest and best value hotel room we have stayed in so far in Europe. Our room is massive compared to other European rooms. After stretching our legs from the long car ride and getting settled in our room, we headed our on the U-Bahn to the Naschmarkt for a snack. We walked down the long stretch of food vendors passing many of the same delicious items: Chinese food, hummus, olives, cheese filled dates and figs, candy and dried fruit, tourist souvenirs, and restaurants. The vendors were very multicultural and aggressively calling to you and handing out snacks to taste. I caved and tried a falafel. It was delicious and I was happily swindeled into buying 8 pieces of falafel, a cheese filled date, some delicious hummus, and baklava (which they spell baklawa). Then we walked down the road to enjoy our snacks with little teeny tiny forks in a grass yard behind a building. We explored the area around the tourist info center. Side note: I have tried to find the tourist info center in nearly every city we have visited and honestly the only really helpful ones were in Lund, Sweden and Berlin, Germany I think. Many of the tourist info centers just have a few brochures and a place to buy tickets, and are not worth the visit, but that is just my opinion. I have found the hotel consierges, and the internet to be more helpful when trip planning.

Then we took the train on a quest to find a Deutsche Bank ATM. There were two listed on Google in a concentrated area but neither exist any longer so we failed. We gave up and headed towards the Danube Tower (pictured to the right) where we had a dinner reservation at 9 pm. We walked through a massive business complex and apartment building to a cute park with great green grass and unique artistic gardens. People were playing frisbee, soccer, volleyball, and tennis with picnic blankets set up all over. We sat and watched people bungee jump from the tower for awhile, then went up the elevator to the top of the tower. I wore a short summer dress which was dumb because the viewing platform at the top of the tower was cold and very windy. The tower was built in 1964, is 252 meters above city level and has a cafe and rotating restaurant inside. Ryan and I enjoyed our first and probably only coursed meal in Europe complete with appetizer plate, aperitif, soup, main entree, and dessert. We chose different things off the set menu of course so that we could try as much as possible and thoroughly enjoyed every bite! The city was also quite pretty at night from the tower.

Side note: one of the stations we were in downtown had signage on the walls with digital displays increasing numbers. We could not read all of them because they were in German, but some said things like; Number of schnitzel eaten in Austria since the beginning of the year. Some amounts were in days and some in Euros. What a fun idea!

So the free breakfast in our hotel is pretty simple and consists of coffee, juice, and tea, a banana, 2 slices of bread, 4 rolls, sausage sticks, butter, jam, and meat spread including chicken and cow liver spread. After eating what we could, avoiding the spreads, we headed downtown to the Sigmund-Freud Park to meet for a free walking tour. Side note: we encountered the view pictured to the left while we were walking. Zoom in on the picture if you can. I think it is hilarious.

Here are the highlights from our 3 hour, 8 km tour:

- Universities in Austria are completely free. There are so many students in many classes that there are not enough seats so students take notes sitting on the ground.
- Vienna Rathaus (City Hall) was built at the time when buildings could not be taller than the nearest church so the architect built it just 1 meter shorter than the nearest church...and then added a large statue on top to make it taller than the church.
- The Music Film Festival was currently going on at the Rathaus platz which is supposedly the busiest platz in Austria.
- Many of the buildings in Vienna are made to look old but are actually relatively new.
- Austrian Parliament building is built in the Greek style to demonstrate democracy and has a large statue of the Greek God of intelligence in front. When Austrians are upset with decisions made by Parliament, they joke that the Greek God is looking away from Parliament because there is not any intelligence inside the building.
- Sisi lived a rather sad life and was stabbed to death through the heart.
- Vienna city center used to be surrounded by a wall. There is now a road there that runs where the wall used to be around the old city center.
- Austrians love their sweets too! Manner wafers, introduced in 1898 by the confectionery dynasty founded by Josef Manner are pretty tasty.
- Our tour guide was very informative and at the end of the tour told us that he was an aspiring photographer and had postcards made of a picture he took of Vienna at night. He gave each of us a postcard as a gift and asked that he like his page on Facebook because if he gets 1,000 likes then a shop owner will sell his postcard. (Search Timariuveo to "like" his page).

After the tour we stopped for a quick lunch at Cafe Europe. Our sandwich and salad were decent but the service was slow and I feel like our server was particularly rude because we did not speak German fluently. After our trip to Copenhagen I learned the importance of taking a break to rest and refuel after a 3 hour walking tour.

We arrived at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna just in time to pick up our reserved tickets for a guided tour in English. The school trains Lipizzan stallions and riders to to perform. Usually the stables house 72 horses but most of the horses are on holiday in pasture this time of year and the performances are on hold until August. The best Lipizzan stallions arrive at the school in Vienna at age 4 to begin training and then performing at age 12 and have two rights...the right to take a 2 month holiday annually in pastures and the right to retire at age 25. The indoor winter arena is pictured to the right. I learned a lot about the horses, riders, and school and would have loved to see a performance.

Then we walked around the shopping area on Mariahilfe Strasse and took a street car to the Salm Haus Brauerei and Restaurant. Side note: I was really happy on the old street car. I have a thing for trolleys and street cars. Anyway, we were directed to join a table with an older couple on the patio and were soon joined by another older couple. We quickly found out that both couples were from Frankfurt, Germany and here on holiday, arriving by bus. They spoke to us in German and some English when we both looked very confused and we enjoyed a few hours of conversation about Germany, beer, English, Harley motorcycles, and Bosch. I thoroughly enjoyed the food and practiced German while having great conversation with nice people.

After dinner we strolled through the Belvedere Gardens. Belvedere is an Italian word that literally translates to "beautiful sight". The view of the building and gardens with fountains and statues is beautiful. And then we had ice cream for dessert at the largest ice cream parlor we have visited in Europe, Zanoni.

Then we rested after a long day in Vienna!

Side note and "lightbulb moment": So Vienna in German is Wien. So Wiener Schnitzel means "Viennese Schnitzel" or schnitzel from Vienna. It is the national dish of Austria, duh!

Nur einen Monat bleibt...

French dinner night...

From my little Best Alsatian Recipes cookbook, I made Fish Stew. The stew was cooked with Riesling and we happily paired it for dinner with the rest of the bottle of Riesling and a second bottle of Pinot Gris from Vin D' Alsace Robert Blanck. I had a fun time shopping for fresh fish at the Real earlier in the week, learning the German words for the fish I wanted. The recipe calls for tench, pike, pike perch, lake perch, trout, and eel. I was only able to find pike and pike perch I think, but the stew still turned out all right. It almost looked like the picture in my cookbook. I was most proud of the white roux that I made for the sauce  and the homemade croutons to put on top.

Last week I spent some time with my fellow American ladies here. We spent one day of sunshine at the Stadtstrand in Bad Cannstatt. This is a patch of sand on the river known as the town beach where one can enjoy a refreshing drink and grilled burger while lounging in an uncomfortable chair. The dirty sand felt great on my feet since this is the closest I have been to a beach in over a year. The burger was delicious though and very close to an American patty. We were optimistic about the chairs but the design is just not comfortable.

Another day we shopped downtown and then had dinner and cake again at the Grand Cafe Planie. I enjoyed a German style Caesar salad and black forest cake.

It was a different experience celebrating American Independence Day from Germany. I did nothing American that day! An American family I met on the train told me that the base here in Vaihingen would be shooting off fireworks but we did not go see them and the base behind out apartment did not light any. It was a normal day of work here for Ryan and we did not visit with the other American trainees here in the evening either. I can say that my national identity as an American has changed with my experiences here in Europe. By repeatedly acknowledging my nationality as an American when asked where I am from and identifying cultural differences between European countries and the US, I have developed a much stronger subjective sense of belonging to the US. I am an open-minded, people loving, adventurous individual, and an American at heart.

I did get out to two different bike stores for tubes, tires, a C02 inflator and cartridges. After spending some time giving my bike some much needed TLC, I am ready to ride. My plan is to get out as much as possible before July 25th when the movers come to pack up our air-freight. I want to ride the 80 km Radel-Thon around Stuttgart, bike West again, and take the S1 train to the end at Kirchheim unter Teck and then bike home.

I was able to get out for a shorter ride on Monday, heading down the long way towards Herrenberg and then coming back up. It ended up being a 32 mile ride that took me nearly 3 hours because I got turned around in Herrenberg and Holtzgerlingen. The route is nice though with a decent climb, a few rolling hills, and safer roads. I made have to ride it a few times to become familiar so that I do not have to consult my phone frequently and get lost in the urban areas.

Since I have had the opportunity to put together a casual bachelorette party for an American that I have been spending time with who is marrying a German this week, I figure I would share the German tradition.

In Germany, a future bride has a Junggesellinnenabschied or "Hen Party". It is thrown and attended by the bride's closest friends and occurs at venues similar to the American tradition including restaurants, bars, and clubs. The biggest difference is that in Germany, the bride wears an obnoxious costume such as a barnyard animal, and has to either sell items from a Bauchladen or perform tasks for money. The Bauchladen is a box worn around the neck that falls to the waist and holds as assortment of condoms, liquor and other items that the bride must sell to men throughout the evening. The proceeds are invested in drinks for the bride and her closest friends that are all wearing matching outfits. One Friday evening, we saw a group out for a Junggesellinnenabschied in Stuttgart. The bride was in a drindl and she was in the street armed with paper towels and glass cleaner, tasked with cleaning the windows of men for money. Her loyal friends were helping and cheering her on.

Although I would love the opportunity to participate in a German Hen Party, I put together a casual evening of dinner, drinks, gifts, and baked goods with the bride's sister at a bar in Tubingen. We went to a college bar Saints and Scholars in Tubingen and hung out there in black dresses with the bride-to-be in white to celebrate.

Ryan and I have a long weekend ahead of us in Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich!