Berlin Was an Indescribable Trip I Can’t Get Over
On German soil history was tangible to me. In Berlin it I could taste it.
Year: 2010
I Don’t Get It: Hand-Holding Cyclists
On multiple occasions I’ve seen couples (of all ages) cycling next to one another, holding hands. 1. I would never see this in Canada. Then again, people there rarely ride bicycles let alone in Prince George. Could you imagine if one of them went to swerve a pothole? 1.5 A more pressing question is, is this remotely possible in Amsterdam? (Reference my last post.) I can just see it now: ‘Couples Dies in Tragic Death-By-Tram Accident.’ 2. These couples must be head-over-heels, this is hardly a casual act. I’m imagining that classic scene where the a couple sits in a movie theatre and He yawn/stretches and whoops! His arm is around his lady friend. There’s no whoops-I-swerved-in-close-enough-and-caught-your-hand, gotcha! No sir, this is a mutually executed display of affection. 3. Do they get extra points for going further distances? Nonetheless, very sweet I suppose.
De Dutch: A Giggly Road Trip to Amsterdam
Oooh the convenience of Europe. It was Tuesday and we thought, “Amsterdam, Friday? ROADTRIP”
C’est La Vie! Paris Trip, Recounted
I can still remember the exact moment I saw the tower for the first time and the sweeping sensation being romanced by Paris. I swear at this exact moment one can hear Edith Piaf singing ‘La Vie en Rose.’
My Apologies! I Know I’ve Been AWOL Lately
I was too exhausted to even try to order food in German and just sat at a table and tried to stay awake long enough for my food to arrive. Best doener of my life. I probably ended up spilling ¼ of it and made a terrible mess, rather fitting for the hot mess I had become. I know, I know, I know! I’ve been totally AWOL in the last little while. For about a week and a half I sincerely did not have much to write about or was just lacking inspiration. Plus, the weather was grey and depressing, sigh. And then things got a little busy and then well…this weekend “happened.” Quotations are denoting the magnitude of my ‘night’ in HanGover. Good lord. I’ve run into quite the posse of fantastic people in Hanover. Networking through facebook, ex-patriot social sites, friends of friends, we have created quite the conglomerate of international young adults. Most of us girls are au pairs, with the exception being Lorna, now an ex-au-pair but dating a great German guy and …
Warning, Illegal Worker Operating Bicycle
If I told you that I had intended on an hour long Wog (Jog with intermittent walking) I would be lying.
Nosh on This
There isn’t a lot to report on at the moment.
I’m an Expat and I can’t Stop Thinking About German Packages
…I mean packaging…portions. Within the first few days of commencing my au pair duties here in Germany, I went grocery shopping with HostdDad. My primary observation was the packaging of foodstuff. Had I eaten a slice of Dutch Space cake that had caused me to grow, and subsequently my environment to shrink? [http://www.amsterdamlogue.com/space-cakes-a-5-hour-mental-party.html] Rice in 500 gram packages…Muesli, 1/4 the size of a generic Canadian box of cereal, milk sold (only) by the litre. Why? Was there literally less shelf space in European grocery stores? Had Ikea placed a quota on the size of refrigerators? Or is this a relic of a world war- a former strategy for rationing food? With an arsenal of unanswered questions, I was later confronted with some very conflicting observations. A couple days later HostDad served me an Erdinger Weissbier dinner. What a legitimate beer. “Okay, the rice is sold in 500 gram packages and this bottle of beer is at least twice the size of a Canadian beer. Passing judgement, I can conclude that at least Germans have their …
Paris With Nathalie is Officially Booked
Contrary to popular opinion, I had a delightful evening, yet uneventful, evening working on my coursework.
This & That/Dis & Das – Gray Day Ramblings
Alright, quick update. This week has largely been uneventful and the weather quite grey (but at least not wet). I’m feeling slightly deceived by the summer weather that graced my first weekend here. HostDad left on Sunday morning for Texas and so it’s just been HostMom and I, and Matti of course! I expected this would be a hectic week full of dirty diapers, dropping Matti off, retrieving him, etc. It just so happens though, that today (Thursday) is a national holiday. Given that the holiday falls on a Thursday, many business just say to hell with it on the Friday and call it a “bridge weekend.” Loves it. Yesterday was my first trip into Hanover. Hanover is the capital of Lower Saxony (the “province” if you will) that Celle lies in. It is about a 25 minute train ride and will cost you 18 Euro round trip if you don’t have a discount card (which I don’t). HostMom needed to meet with a lawyer for a couple hours so I took the opportunity to head into …