Skiing Video

I tried to post this video from this year's ski trip previously, but without success. Now, Blogger has made it easier for me.

Phil's First Communion

April 6 was a big day for all of us--a very big day, indeed. Philip made his first communion!

For most Catholics, this is just another one of the steps taken as a member of the church. But, Bob and I are not like most Catholics. Bob is a *born again* atheist and I don't know what I am. Sometimes I believe in God and sometimes I don't. I'm definitely not spiritual--I just don't feel like I need to be at this point in my life--but I do like the feeling of community a church provides.

But, this post is not about us. It is about Philip. Philip made the decision to prepare for his first communion on his own, even though it meant giving up a lot of playtime. First of all, we had to switch him from ethics class to Catholic religion classes at school. Because there is no separation of church and state, public schools offer Protestant and Catholic classes as well as ethics for those who are not Christians (followers of the Orthodox Christian faith usually end up in Catholic classes). Then, Philip gave up two hours on eight Friday afternoons for first communion classes, one entire week of afternoons for Bible classes, five hours one Sunday to prepare him for his first confession, and one more Friday afternoon to confess his sins to Pfarrer Zettelmaier. He also spent four hours in practice for the big day, and on April 6, he made his first communion in the morning and returned in the afternoon for devotions.



It was a special day, because his grandparents, Bob's parents, flew from Chicago to be here for him. His grandfather sat with him during the morning service (the rest of us sat in the back with the other parents) and his grandmother sat with him during devotions. And then, of course, there was dinner in a restaurant and presents.


He also received a little extra reward--a day off from school! All the first communion kids got the following Monday off in order to make a field trip to Bamberg. Parents were invited too, so I joined Philip. Bamberg was one of the few German cities not destroyed by the Allies during World War II, because there was nothing there except churches and old palaces. Two tours of Bamberg were scheduled--an architectural tour for the adults and a medieval tour for the kids. We both learned about the history of Bamberg, but Philip's tour sounded like more fun--they built a fire using flint and ate gruel. After the tours, we attended a mass held in the Bamberger Dom (cathedral), and Philip looked so proud when he took communion for the second time in his life.

Bob and I are extremely proud of Philip, because he made the decision to accept the sacrament of communion despite his parents' beliefs and despite the huge time commitment, and he never once thought of quitting.

Skiing

Like last year, we spent our Easter break skiing, and just like last year, we stayed in an apartment on a hill that overlooked Radstadt. But unlike last year, we had lots of snow this year. It snowed every night, and a couple of mornings and afternoons too. Last year we skied at Obertauern in slush, and this year, we skied in powder. Only a couple of inches of powder, but powder nevertheless.



Alex's skiing improved--he went from skiing linked to Bob by a pole to skiing alone, and Philip, who already is a good skier, gained more confidence.



We also went sledding! We, including our sleds, were carried to the top of a hill by a snowmobile-driven carriage, and we sledded very, very quickly down a steep and twisting trail. Philip and I made it down safely, but when I rode with Alex, we had trouble making some of the turns and ended up in snowbanks twice. Poor Alex! He then rode with Bob and wiped out twice with him too.


On the drive to Radstadt, we stopped in Traunstein, Bavaria, for lunch. This is the town where my father finished his secondary education while being a refugee in Germany after WWII. Now that I've been there, I have so many more questions for him, but unfortunately, I can't ask him.

Language Woes

I love Germany. I love living here. I love how green it is here. I love the bakeries and the beer. I love being able to ride my bike everywhere. If only the Germans spoke English…

Last month I finished a Deutsch grammar course, and now I feel like my German is worse than it was when I started. I am aware of every little mistake I make.

Oh, I understand quite a bit and I can small talk, but who wants to talk about the weather all the time? I want to be able to express myself to the same extent that I'm able to in English.

For example, the other day I met Alex on the way home from school, and he was crying because a girl in his class keeps taking his hat. I told him that she probably just wants to play with him, but he wanted me to talk to his teacher. Instead, we caught up to this girl and her mother, who were walking ahead of us, and I told her mother what has been happening. "Lea nimmt Alexs Mütze und er weint." Lea takes Alex's hat and he cries. I also wanted to say that I'm sure Lea just wants to play with Alex but he doesn't understand. Unfortunately, I don't know how to say all that in Deutsch.

I want to be able to make the little distinctions that I can in English. Sometimes I'm angry or frustrated or annoyed or furious or just anxious, but in German, I'm forever *wütend* (furious). In conversation, I can never remember the words for the other feelings.

I never thought learning Deutsch would be easy, but I never imagined it would be this frustrating, and humbling. One cannot sound smart when they are stumbling over words in a foreign language. I apologize for underestimating the intelligence of all the immigrants I met in the US.

By the way, Germans use *liebe* (love) only when speaking about their spouses, children and parents. They think Americans are *theatrical* because we love everything.

Nudity

I recently read in a German newspaper that ABC had to pay 1.4 million dollars to the FCC for showing a naked woman on primetime TV. I wonder what the Germans are thinking, because the NYPD Blue clip doesn't reveal anymore than a typical ad for bathroom fixtures in the Obi (similar to Home Depot) catalog.

Nudity is taken for granted around here. You see it in television and print advertisements, in movies made for general audiences, on posters announcing the annual Erotic convention in Nürnberg, at the public pools where sunbathing topless is typical, and of course, the Englisher Garten in Munich (see my post from 7/13/2007).

And Germans don't "protect" their children from sex. Before children's movies in the theatre, we've often seen ads for AIDS prevention featuring talking condoms. In one, a young woman and a young man are passionately kissing in bed and they both reach over to pick up a condom. Another ad features Boris Becker emptying his pockets at airport security and saying something about being careful. I'm not ready to explain the depressing story of AIDS to the boys, but when they asked what condoms were, I told them that they keep you from having a baby before you are ready.

The way movies are rated here also demonstrates a greater tolerance for sex and nudity than in the US. Brokeback Mountain, for example, garnered an "R" rating in the US, but "ab 12 jahre (from 12 years old)" in Germany and "U," the equivalent of a "G" rating, in France, because two men kissing is not considered offensive, and the sex in the movie is only implied. The Devil Wears Prada earned a "PG-13" rating because Anne Hathaway's character spent the night with a man, and again, the sex was only implied. The same movie in Germany was considered mild enough for newborns, "ab 0 jahre (from 0 years old)."

Horror movies, on the other hand, are rated for adults only, the same as hardcore pornography, whereas in the US, they receive an "R," meaning children can see these movies as long as they go with their parents.

I was talking about this with a friend, who is originally from Canada but now lives in Erlangen, and she too doesn't understand why in North America we need to keep sex a secret from our children. As she put it, "Chances are good you will have sex in your lifetime, but what are the chances that you will be blown up?" Or chased by a masked man with a chainsaw, for that matter.

Something One Would Never See in Chicago

Yesterday, I was standing in line, waiting to check out, at the grocery store, when the elderly woman in front of me pulled 20 Euros out of her wallet and handed the wallet, along with the 20, to the cashier. The cashier then took out the 8 Euros and 95 cents that the woman still owed, counting it out to the cent, and handed the wallet back along with the receipt.

Weihnachten, Silvester, und Drei Könige

Christmas was perfect, just like last year, because we stayed home! Of course it is nice to visit family and friends, but this should be done on December 26, which is also a holiday here in Deutschland, as well as other countries, like Great Britain, where it is called Boxing Day (I think it's the same in Canada?).



On Christmas Eve, Philip and Alex baked cookies for the Weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus), who brought them lots and lots of Legos. And he didn't forget Oscar.




Callum, along with his mother, flew from Boston to Erlangen to visit his grandparents and the boys, or so they like to think.


Silvester (New Year's Eve) was spent having dinner at the home of one of Bob's colleagues and later on our terrace shooting off bottle rockets and watching the explosions over the center of town (sorry, no photos, because we don't have the expertise to capture fireworks on *film*).


The holidays ended on January 6, Drei Könige (three kings, also known as the Epiphany), with us driving to Pottenstein in the Fränkische Schweiz to see the fires on the surrounding hills (see my post from last year, January 7, 2007).

When Larissa Came to Erlangen

Larissa, my sister, came to visit us in Germany! She didn't stay long enough, but if she had stayed a year, it still wouldn't have been long enough for us.


While she was here, we hit the Christmas markets in Erlangen and Forchheim,


and Bamberg,


and Nürnberg,


and Prague.


(Larissa's feet on a Prague sidewalk)



Larissa joined us on the Nikolauszug (St. Nicholas Train), and had a long conversation in English with one of St. Nick's angels.


She also made it to Alex's Nikolasabend (the Eve of St. Nicholas Day, December 5) Parade and Concert, and Alex did get to use his Goose lantern this year.

We had a lot of fun, but of course, she had to go home, and this was very hard for all of us. The boys liked having her around, and mention everyday that they miss her, and I feel guilty for living even farther from Montana. In Chicago, we were 24 hours apart by car and now we are 24 hours apart by air, due to layovers in Denver.

When we both lived in the Midwest, we saw each other often, and when Larissa first moved to Montana, we saw each other at least once a year--either Bob and I would drive out west or she would take the train to Chicago. But then in 2001 we decided to move to Germany, and it was four and a half years before we got together again. Now this visit was two and a half years since our reunion in 2005. I'm not certain when the next time will be. It could be this coming August or next year or the year after that. It doesn't help that we moved to Germany, although our lives were so busy in Chicago that I couldn't guarantee seeing her more often. Nevertheless, this uncertainty makes me miss her all the more.

November

November has been a busy month, but not a very interesting one. Philip went from writing simple sentences, in German, in 2nd grade to writing essays, in German, in the 3rd grade. Alex is learning to read and write in both German and English. I'm taking a German grammar class--more on this in another blog. The boys decided they were too old to participate in the annual St. Martin's Day parade (the photo is from last year's parade--Alex made a lantern that looked like a goose, St. Martin's symbol). We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home with a chicken instead of a turkey, which you can buy here but we think the chickens taste better.

And Bob returned from a trip to Chicago, which he promised to write about and post on my blog (we're still waiting). While in Chicago, Bob stocked up on things that are not easy to come by in Deutschland. Such as:

Hellmann's Mayonnaise. They have mayonnaise, but not Hellmann's. You can buy it in Belgium, but not in Germany.

Ziploc Bags. People with US connections buy them and then wash and reuse them. During the summer, we saw a lot of Ziplocs hang out to dry on clotheslines. I'll have to get a photo next summer.

Secret Anti-perspirant. They sell deodorants, but not anti-perspirants, or at least, I haven't been able to find any. They used to sell Secret deodorants, which I thought were just as good as the anti-perspirants, but I can't find them anymore either.

Levi's jeans. Oh, they sell Levi's here and they are quite popular, but they are expensive. A pair of 501s can cost 85 Euros, or with the current exchange rate of $1.48 per Euro, $125.

Halloween!!!

Halloween was much better this year. The boys went Trick-or-Treating this year with a friend. And a handful of kids, mostly Philip's friends, showed up at our place. Philip complained that a lot of people weren't home or weren't opening their doors, and therefore, they didn't get a lot of candy. I reminded him that in Germany many people, particularly older folks, don't celebrate Halloween (All Saints Day, November 1, however, is a public holiday) and that in Chicago we ended up throwing at least half of the candy away. They said they had fun anyway.

Actually, Halloween here reminds me of Halloween when I was a kid. With the exception of Jack-O-Lanterns, nobody decorated their homes, and we collected candy only from our immediate neighbors, the people we knew. And my mom didn't open the door every five minutes from 5 to 9.

I thought it was perfect, especially since it was a foggy night!

Shopping on Sunday

Last Sunday everyone in Erlangen went shopping. Shopping on Sundays is normal in the US, but not in most parts of Germany. All stores, except bakeries and the quicky-marts of gas stations, are closed on Sundays, so when the stores open one Sunday every season, everyone takes advantage of it. I hate shopping and yet I feel like I have to go on these rare Sundays.

But there is more to do than just shop. The fire department was at Huguenot Square teaching kids how to use fire extinguishers. The Bergwächter (mountain guardians--literal translation) demonstrated how they transport someone who is hurt down a cliff. They climbed down from the tower of the Huguenot church. The church and tower were open to the public, and we walked up to get a view of Erlangen. There were bratwurst and brezen (pretzel) stands, and a medieval market at Neustädter Kirchenplatz (another church square).

So it was more like being at a street fair than just shopping. It had more to do with meeting friends for a beer and sausage than spending money on a new jacket, although I'm sure plenty of jackets were sold that day.

Biergarten Weather

Last Sunday was another beautiful fall day in Erlangen. It was sunny and warm, but not too warm. Sweater Weather! So, we decided to bike to a beer garden in a village, Adlitz, about 7 or 8 kilometers from Erlangen. And so did everyone else in Erlangen. The roads and paths through the forests and fields from Erlangen to Adlitz were packed with bikers and walkers. Everyone from the tiniest babies to the oldest Omas (grandmothers) were out and about, because winter is coming and the beer gardens will all be closing soon.

The ride itself took longer than I expected and there were more hills than I remembered. We made this trip before in 2002 and 2003, with both kids in a Burley bike trailer. This time they rode their own bikes. They tried to make it up as many hills as they could, but often they had to walk their bikes up. This gave me the excuse to get off my bike and walk too.

The struggle was worth it--the bratwurst and roasted wild boar were good and the beer was great.

Unfortunately, the weather also made me nostalgic. I always loved Chicago in October.

Herbst

It's autumn, and the weather has been mixed. We've taken advantage of the sunny days by visiting a reconstructed medieval village in Bad Windsheim, where the boys learned about sheep herding, and by buying pumpkins and gourds at the local farms.

Unfortunately, today is a holiday, German Reunification Day, and it's raining. We were planning to go to a local amusement park before they close for the winter, but I think we'll go swimming to Atlantis instead.


PS Alex lost his first tooth--the exact same tooth Philip lost first when he was six.

Summer Vacation III--Spain Wieder

Valencia and Barcelona were the last planned stops of our Sommerurlaub. Unfortunately, our stop in Valencia was not a pleasant one. Not because Valencia is an awful place. On the contrary, it has everything I like in a city--an old and gritty center, great museums, and restaurants facing clean Mediterranean beaches.

Our stop in Valencia was unpleasant because our car broke down. The car's battery died in an underground parking garage. If there is one thing I truly fear, it is car troubles. Maybe it is because I once owned an old Saab that was constantly breaking down and leaving me stranded. Luckily, Bob joined ADAC, Germany's version of AAA. They were great! First of all, their phones are manned by people who speak English, and when we're stressed, neither one of us can remember a word of Deutsch. Secondly, they took care of everything. They asked to speak to a Valencia native, which was not hard to find since we were next to the Mercado Central. The woman told them our exact location, and they sent a local mechanic to jump the battery. It took him about an hour and a half to get to us, so during that time the kids and I went shopping in the Mercado.


Since our car decided to die on us on the day we were to leave for Barcelona, we couldn't wait for car garages to reopen after lunch. Everything in Valencia closes down from about 1 or 2 until 4 PM. Since Bob couldn't turn the car off, because the battery would die again, we drove straight to Barcelona. Bob didn't even turn the car off when he added gas. The bartender at our hotel in Sant Cugat, a suburb of Barcelona, told Bob how to find a garage and we had a new battery within the time it took the kids to finish their swim in the hotel's pool.

While we were in Valencia, we tried paella, which wasn't very good, but we ate at one of the restaurants along Valencia's immaculate city beaches. Supposedly, Hemingway ate his paella at La Pepica, a couple of doors down. Too bad it was closed that day.


We also saw the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, a modern museum complex with an arts center, science museum, IMAX theatre, planetarium and aquarium. The science museum had an exhibit about the Titanic, but we didn't have time to see it. Schade!

Last stop Barcelona! I used to think Paris and Prague were the most beautiful European cities. Now, I'm going to have to add Barcelona to this list. In fact, Paris has been bumped down. After my second visit to Prague (possibly in December), I'll decide which one tops my list. The architecture was mesmerizing, and the locals were very patient with the tourists, almost too patient.



Our first stop, of course, was La Sagrada Família. All I can say is "Hmmm?" I don't know if I liked it. It was not as impressive as I thought it would be, but I didn't hate it. I am glad that we viewed a few of Gaudí's other architectural gems; otherwise, I would have left Barcelona without a positive impression of Gaudí. We saw Palau Güell, which was under scaffolds but the rooftop sculptures were visible, Casa Batlló, and La Pedrera. La Pedrera was especially breathtaking--flowing concrete and metal is the only way I can think of to describe it.



After taking photos of La Sagrada, we stopped at a café across the street for dinner. The food on the menu seemed reasonably priced, and we assumed that beer and Fanta would be only a Euro or two more than in Valencia. We ended up paying almost 7 Euros per beer and almost 5 Euros per Fanta. The waiters said, "It's not us, it's the church."

The next morning, we visited the Barcelona Zoo, home to the only know albino gorilla, Snowflake. What their website neglects to tell you is that he died three years ago. We were all disappointed, but we knew that he was old--he was brought to the zoo in 1966--and he hadn't been in good health since 1996, so we weren't completely surprised. They did have some of the largest pythons we had ever seen, and during our visit we came across a cage of about 50 nutrias. Bob said, "This is why the pythons are so big." I told him to keep his voice down, because Alex was going on about how the nutrias looked like his favorite stuffed animal, Bibery, which is actually a marmot but looks like a beaver.

We spent the afternoon walking through Barri Gótic and along La Rambla. We found a great restaurant in the Barri Gótic called 4 Gats (4 Cats)--Art Nouveau décor and three course meals, including water and wine, for 15 Euros a person. There were too many mimes along the Rambla, in my opinion, but the boys found them interesting, as did the British tourists.

Bob and I will remember the architecture and the food in Barcelona. The boys, on the other hand, will remember the completely naked, old man riding his bike down a busy street. Too bad we didn't get a photo.

Originally, we had planned on camping one more night in either Lyon or Dijon, about half way between Barcelona and Erlangen. But, Bob was anxious to get home, so we drove 14.5 hours home.

Summer Vacation II--Portugal

After five days on the road, we arrived in Portugal. Our first stop was Porto, and when in Porto, one must buy Port wine. Unfortunately, Bob and I know nothing about Ports, so Bob called his friend Mike in Chicago. He told us to look for Churchill or Sandeman Vintage 1995 Ports. Interestingly, the shops we visited recommended the Portuguese Port houses over the British. A little competition? We ended up buying a Borges Vintage 1995 and a Sandeman Founders Reserve. We have yet to try either one.



After Porto, we stopped in Óbidos en route to Lisbon. Touristy, but charming, here we saw our first and best impression of azulejos, decorative tiles often depicting landscapes, historic scenes or the holy family.

That same evening, we arrived in Lisbon. We stayed at the Novotel, a hotel chain belonging to the French Accor hotel group. This may become our default hotel in Europe, because they all allow dogs. Even the Holiday Inns, which allow dogs in Germany and France, don't allow dogs in Portugal or Spain. In six days we had seen so much that we decided to stay in and call room service.


Normally, our first stop when visiting a new city is the historic center, the old city. But in Lisbon, we decided to go to the Oceanário first. It's a modern aquarium somewhat similar in design to the New England Aquarium in Boston with a large central tank and smaller tanks circling the walls. It had your usual collection of sharks, rays, eels plus a huge Ocean Sunfish, which I thought looked prehistoric. The Lisbon Oceanarium is the second largest in Europe, but which is the first? When I did an Internet search, the aquariums in Barcelona, Valencia and Genoa all claim the title.

Before going to the Oceanário, Oscar's leash ripped opened Bob's left index finger at the second knuckle. Oscar lunged at another dog, and since Bob was holding the clasp, which allows you to lengthen or shorten the leash, it somehow snagged the skin on the inside of his index finger and cut it deeply. Because it was still bleeding that morning, we couldn't tell how deep the wound was. But, when we returned to the hotel and took the bandage off, we realized Bob needed stitches. I thought I was going to faint, because I could see the cartilage of his knuckle.

I had seen a sign for a clinic near the hotel, so I told the guy at the desk, who seemed to speak perfect English, that my husband needed a doctor and how do I get to the clinic. He said he was new to this hotel, so he went to ask the manager. I didn't hear their conversation, which was probably in Portuguese anyway, but I think they thought I wanted to buy Clinique cosmetics, because they sent us to El Corte Inglés department store. He said the clinic would be right in front. Later, I realized that cosmetics are usually sold in the front of department stores. Nevertheless, the security guard and the department store nurse helped us by sending us in a taxi to the closest hospital. Luckily, almost everyone in Portugal speaks English, unlike Spain or France. Both the receptionist and doctor who stitched Bob up spoke English.



That evening after Bob returned from the hospital, we decided to see historic Lisbon. The guy at the desk (same one) suggested we take a taxi up to the Castelo de São Jorge and then walk through Alfama. Great idea, because the castle sits on top of a hill overlooking Lisbon, and if we had walked up the hill, we would have heard a lot of whining from Alex. The views from the castle were great--Lisbon has its own versions of SF's Golden Gate Bridge and Rio's Christ the Redeemer. And walking through the winding streets of Alfama was fun, although my outdated guidebook made the Alfama sound like a working class neighborhood with lots of family-friendly restaurants. Instead, it reminded me of Wicker Park during the early stages of gentrification. Finally, we did find a family restaurant that served Cape Verdean food.




The next morning, we drove to the suburb of Belém to see Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. I had read that this monastery had the most beautiful cloisters in Europe, and this time the guidebooks were right on target. The architecture is Manueline Gothic, which is unique to Portugal. Even though I couldn't fine a source confirming a Moorish influence on Manueline architecture, the monastery and its cloisters reminded me of the Alhambra. After the monastery, we were going to walk to the Torre de Belem, which according to Rick Steves is right across the street. Across the street and a kilometer away, which is not far unless it's a hot day and one has two kids in tow. It might as well have been 10 kilometers away. We decided to drive. Since the line to get in was long, we just took photos from the banks of the Tejo River. Besides, the kids were more interested in some jellyfish that had washed ashore.


That evening we drove to Cabo da Roca, Europe's westernmost point. In my mind, I had always pictured Ireland and Great Britain as being much further west than continental Europe, but after this trip and a glance at a globe, I realized that the western coasts of Portugal and Ireland fall approximately on the same longitudinal coordinates. It was beautiful, but very windy and cold.

From Cabo, we drove to Sintra. Originally, I wasn't too excited about visiting Sintra, because it sounded too touristy, but now I regret not seeing more. First of all, the road to Sintra wound, or should I say spiraled, through quaint villages and beautiful mountain forests. The pines don't look like traditional Christmas trees, i.e., triangular. They look like most deciduous trees, with a long trunk and full canopy. We drove past numerous Quintas, or estates, some of which doubled as hotels. I had hoped to see the Castelo dos Mouros, which overlooks Sintra. All we saw was a glimpse of the walls between the trees before the fog rolled in. We never saw any part of Pena Palace, which from the description in the guidebooks sounds like it rivals Neuschwanstein.


After three nights in Lisbon, we spent a week on the Algarve, Portugal's southern coast. We rented an apartment in a house with a swimming pool. We ended up using the swimming pool more often than the beaches, which were about two kilometers away, and like I said before, on a hot day with two kids…



As it turned out, the beaches in our area near the town of Albufeira were very crowded. I had assumed with British and German tourists, but the owner of the neighboring house told us that all of Lisbon comes to Albufeira in August. But we managed to find a less crowded beach in Salema, in the western part of the Algarve. Part of the beach allows dogs, which is not true for Falésia, the beach near our house, and there is a great seafood restaurant, Atlântico, on the beach. This is the beach popular with British and German tourists. We rented kayaks, and Philip paddled quite well. Alex, on the other hand, just wanted to enjoy the ride.

On August 15, we celebrated Alex's 6th birthday. All he wanted to do was swim in the pool and eat Chinese. Luckily, we noticed a Chinese Restaurant near Falésia.




We spent most of the week relaxing by the swimming pool, but we did a little sightseeing. We saw the rock formations of Ponta da Piedade near Lagos, the Moorish fortress in Silves, and the beaches along the barrier islands of Tavira.