claudia schiffer

So for all the years I've been in the U.S. I had seen images of Claudia everywhere, but I just realized that I never heard her speak until today, in Germany, in a shampoo commercial. I was like, "She's German???" (and she does more than just look pretty???)

Ok, so I'm a little slow. You can't blame me though. I don't read People magazine, and she dated David Copperfield! Oh yeah, and I never heard her speak to hear a German accent!

OKTOBERFEST AND THE MOUNTAINS

Munich, Germany: Sept 18, 2004_

First day of Oktoberfest! For those who don't know what it's like (such as me previous to attending), it's like a big state fair, with rides, stupid carnival games, sweets, and of course beer.

The drinking is done in what they call "tents" but are actually buildings with tent tops (I don't know how that works...) and there's a band in each one playing festive music, with traditional German music as well as pop songs ("We are the Champions", and "We will rock you" seem to be the favorites...), while people are standing on the bench chairs singing and dancing along. It's a big party in each tent, holding hundreds of people (yes, crowded! I felt bad for the waitresses). And each tent has a different brew of beer, so people hop from tent to tent.

Yes, I had a small share of one brew (we stayed in one tent). :) The funny thing is, proper Germans are still proper Germans, in any setting. Ok, so Germans use a knife and fork for everything they eat. A few guys at our table ordered chicken halves--even after all the drinking and being in the party atmosphere, they still ate so cleanly and neatly with their knives and forks. Me, I would have ripped off the drumstick and eaten it with my fingers. That's the only way I know how to eat them!

Sorry, no pictures of Oktoberfest, I forgot to bring the camera :( .



Raubling, Germany: Sept 19, 2004_

Around our area are many farmhouses along the mountain sides that are partially converted to cafe style restaurants. The roads (some paved, some dirt) up to them are used as hiking/biking trails. So, it's common for people to hike up to them, eat, then hike down...exercise and meal built into one trip. On Sundays, all stores are closed except for restaurants, so people tend to do these hikes on Sundays, including us!

Click on the pictures to see bigger versions

On our way up the hill....

from left: Ralf (JP's coworker), Sylvia (Manfredo's girlfriend), JP, Manfredo (JP's coworker)

On our way up, we pass by a church... this place, with the mountains in the background and the green hills, I wanted to start singing, "The hiiiilllls are aliiiiiiive with the sound of muuuuuuusiiiiiiiic......"



Manfredo and Ralf decide to trespass and pick some apples to munch on....



We pass by a small residential area....ahhh, the beautiful Bavaria home with colorful foliage

and of course, the satellite dish.


Another pretty home...people with allergies, stay away.




I was so hungry, I just wanted to fly to the farmhouse....



Finally after 2 hours, time to eat, with a nice view...



Sylvia and Ralf, and the farm house behind.




On the way down.....



Checking out the live wire crossing the trail, connecting the electric fences (for the cows :). Yes, I heard plenty of cow bells!

Actually, I wonder, if a cow gets up at night, and wakes up all the other cows with its bell, do the other cows get mad?


JP and the goat eye each other




Ralf feeding the goat with berries....



Look at their weird eyes...


A nice Bavaria home & garden, next to where we parked.




This was one of the longer hikes, but there are many short ones that people go on after work for dinner. A few days earlier, JP, Ralf, and I went on a short one after they got off work...


Raubling, Germany: Sept 13, 2004_

We drove only about 5-10 minutes from the apartment until we parked and started hiking. It was about 30 minutes to get up to the farm house.

Ready to eat...say cheese.



Our view off to the side.



That's it for now! Tschuess! (informal good bye, pronounced like "loose" except start with a "ch".)

The Flight

Christa was so sweet to drive me to the airport from SF at 5:30am! Also, thanks so much to her cousin (2nd cousin-- FYI on the term that most of us are confused about) that let us stay in his overcrowded SF apartment!

My flight...the first leg was from SFO to Washington DC, a 4 hour ride in the morning. Some kind of electrical thing went out while we were in the air, so none of the ovens and movies didn't work. They served us some drinks and pastries that didn't need warming, but I was still starving since I didn't have any breakfast. They gave us $5 vouchers for anywhere in the airport so I spent it on McDonalds, which ran out of ketchup!

Then, on my flight from Washington DC to Munich, just half the ovens were not working! So half the plane got served and the other half had to wait 15 minutes later.

Other than all that, it was the perfect flight :). On the positive note, the pilots made smooth landings that I barely noticed. On the first leg, I ended up being in the middle row (3 seater) with no one else, so I essentially took up all three seats with all my stuff and elbows and legs. Hey, I had to take advantage of it somehow! :)



The next day....

We went to Wal-mart to get some misc items. Yes, they have Wal-Mart here! We also went to a bunch of other furniture places which basically look like IKEA. (We're just looking for rugs--the apartment is already furnished). The furniture you see at IKEA is typical of common German households. Update: I've been corrected by other Germans saying that this is not true and that IKEA is for the young Germans who don't have much money (and I went to their houses...). I'd say this is true in other countries like US and Canada as well since IKEA is so popular world-wide.


Auf Wiedersehen!
(formal good bye)

why germany

To answer more questions...The #1 reason to go there would be my boyfriend, but I also see it as an opportunity to travel, which I love to do! As my wise friend Lori has told me, "you're young, have no mortgage..."

This was totally my decision. Since I've already been there 3 times, I pretty much have an idea of what it's like there and love it! I've got enough money saved up and am really excited to go! What better way to visit foreign places than with a local!

I've always been jealous of my friends who have taken months off at a time to travel (Ryan and Sara!) so here's my chance! I-CAN-DO-IT!!!

b.log

Just in case you're curious, "BLOG" is short for Web Log, which is like an online journal. Blog can be used as a noun, as in, "I keep a blog to document my life" or as a verb, "I like to blog" or "Blogging is addictive."

There's your crash course on "Blog."

Oh yeah, the picture to the right was taken by my talented cousin Gina. Thanks Gina!

you knew it would eventually happen....

Well, the time has come. I have decided to move to Germany and my ticket is booked for Sept 10!

While I'm there, I will be taking German language classes and hopefully working. I'm quitting my current job at Business.com and am looking for contracting positions, either through companies in the US or in Germany. Actually, if you know of any opportunities, please contact me!!!

Meanwhile, I'm selling my stuff and packing the rest to take to my parents' house. I'm trying to figure out what to do about health insurance. JP is getting DSL set up at his apartment so I can do my contracting work over the internet (I hope!) and so we don't end up fighting over dialup since we're both major internet geeks!