Our apartment is slowly coming together, thanks to the help of IKEA and friends!
Here are some shots from our place:
Bedroom #1
Bedroom #2
Living Room and Office:
More pictures to come soon of dining room and kitchen...
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
You know you've been in Germany for awhile if...
1. You have tried most of the 30+ Ritter Sport chocolates and you have a favorite.
2. You go to the grocery store everyday or every other day (or three times a day). If you didn't your produce, meat, breads would go bad since there are limited preservatives in the foods.
(I know I've mentioned the tiny refrigerators, but I'm not sure if I've mentioned the freezers. Damian and I can barely fit a frozen pizza in ours - and ours is the standard size!)
3. You leave your bike unlocked in your front yard, in the middle of the city center, and no one steals it.
4. You've watched countless hours of The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons dubbed in German.
5.You ride your bike up the steepest hills.
6. You are accustomed to feeling really stupid for not speaking German while everyone else speaks your "foreign" language, English.
7. You still can't figure out the trash, recycling, compost system and secretly dispose of all in the trash to hide your ignorance. Germans are very serious about their recycling and composting.
8. You realize the "timeliness" of the German trains is only in the stereotypes and not reality as the entire country struggles with the outdated train infrastructure.
9. You get overwhelmed entering a large grocery store.
10. You are becoming more comfortable being naked around strangers. This may seem very strange at first, but the Germans are MUCH more nonchalant about their naked bodies than us non-Germans. Three examples of this: 1) communal showers at all of the gyms 2) non medical gowns at the doctors office, you just get undressed right in front of the doctor 3) Spas, with thermal baths and saunas are a very common way to relax and enjoy time with friends. All of them offer portions or entire spa requirements to be nude to enter.
2. You go to the grocery store everyday or every other day (or three times a day). If you didn't your produce, meat, breads would go bad since there are limited preservatives in the foods.
(I know I've mentioned the tiny refrigerators, but I'm not sure if I've mentioned the freezers. Damian and I can barely fit a frozen pizza in ours - and ours is the standard size!)
3. You leave your bike unlocked in your front yard, in the middle of the city center, and no one steals it.
4. You've watched countless hours of The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons dubbed in German.
5.You ride your bike up the steepest hills.
6. You are accustomed to feeling really stupid for not speaking German while everyone else speaks your "foreign" language, English.
7. You still can't figure out the trash, recycling, compost system and secretly dispose of all in the trash to hide your ignorance. Germans are very serious about their recycling and composting.
8. You realize the "timeliness" of the German trains is only in the stereotypes and not reality as the entire country struggles with the outdated train infrastructure.
9. You get overwhelmed entering a large grocery store.
10. You are becoming more comfortable being naked around strangers. This may seem very strange at first, but the Germans are MUCH more nonchalant about their naked bodies than us non-Germans. Three examples of this: 1) communal showers at all of the gyms 2) non medical gowns at the doctors office, you just get undressed right in front of the doctor 3) Spas, with thermal baths and saunas are a very common way to relax and enjoy time with friends. All of them offer portions or entire spa requirements to be nude to enter.
LONDON
Damian and I went to England for Christmas. We spent the holidays with family there in a town called Bath. When we first arrived, we all spent the first two days in London before heading to Bath.
After spending Saturday with family, catching up over drinks and food, we rested well. Damian and I woke up early and rented bikes to explore London. Here are the pictures of us out and about in London.
Buckingham Palace (parade of guards)
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
Damian with the statue of Richard the Lionheart outside the House of Parliament.
The London Bridge
Using my cell phone in a British phone booth:
Our last stop was The British Museum which houses the entire collection of Greek and Egyptian artifacts stolen from the tombs and the Acropolis. That actually isn't true, but it feels like they have all of ancient Egypt and Greece with the extensive collection.
Here is the famous Rosetta Stone:
Before heading to Bath for the week, Damian and I made a quick visit to the 221B Baker Street to visit Sherlock Holmes.
Could I pass for a detective?
Sherlock's study:
Professor Moriarty and Teacher Moriarty: can you tell which is the evil one?
Friday, January 10, 2014
Esslingen Medieval Christmas Market
The Esslingen Christmas Market is a bit more famous than the Tübingen one because it's much larger and there is a whole section that turns medieval. All of the workers are dressed as various Medieval characters such as monks, priors, friars, merchants, peddlers, craftsmen, maids etc. They sold things like wood carvings, handmade soaps, animal fur. I ate some delish Knight's Soup of veggies and various spices.
Here are some medieval entertainers performing with fire and music.
Here are some pictures of the traditional Christmas market section.
Tübingen Christmas Market
The week after the Tübingen Chocolate Fest, the town held their Christmas Market.
You can't attend a Christmas market unless you have some Glühwein:
It is not uncommon to see children playing musical instruments around the market collecting coins from patrons. However, this group of four was impressive. Even the professionals like to make some extra change on the weekend!
A carousel at the end of our street.
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