Marvelous Maastricht

I was starting to feel antsy to get out of Bonn so we took a day trip to Maastricht, Netherlands on Saturday. I don’t know how we picked Maastricht. I didn’t really know anything about it other than someone on a tour in Luxembourg was from Maastricht and said that there was good shopping. It is now my new favorite day trip from Bonn.

We didn’t really have any sort of an itinerary for the day. Our plan was to simply wander the streets, shop and eat some good food.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to Maastricht until about 2:30. Jim wanted to ride before we left and then needed to stop at Decathlon on the way for some bike stuff. So I’ll just have to go back sometime soon to see more of the town.

We parked near the train station which was a good base. The street from our parking lot to the pedestrian center of town was lined with cute boutiques and funky restaurants.

The main part of town was across the bridge to a maze of cobblestoned streets for pedestrians only. The streets were packed full of shoppers on a Saturday. Like most of Europe, the shops are closed on Sunday so Saturday is the big shopping day.

Maastricht is surprisingly about half the size of Bonn, but feels so much more cosmopolitan. It also feels a lot cleaner than Germany. I’m not exactly sure why.

I have come to love the Netherlands. I’m sure that part of it is the fact that every Dutch person speaks English and also probably German and French. Their ability to switch between 4 different languages is amazing. You never have to ask if someone speaks English, they all do. Plus they can figure out your language based on your accent and switch to that language within seconds of speaking to you. The main reason for their language ability is that their TV programs aren’t dubbed so they are hearing French, English or German TV shows in the original language with subtitles in Dutch.

One of my favorite finds in Maastricht was a bookstore. It was an old church that had been renovated to a bookstore. I loved the combination of old world architecture and modern bookstore. There was even a café in the front of the church where the alter would traditionally be located.

Jim and I were both successful in acquiring a few new purchases so after the shops closed at 5:00; we went to the various squares to get a look at the non-commercial side of Maastricht. Of course, we both said that we’d love to come back in the summer when the trees lining the squares have their leaves. We seem to say that a lot here.

While wandering the streets, we happened upon a restaurant that Jim’s coworker had recommended. We decided to have dinner there- http://www.rest-beluga.com/. It was too early to eat dinner and the restaurant was empty so we decided to go get a coffee somewhere and come back.

While Jim was looking for the perfect café, it started to pour. After wandering around in the rain for 45 minutes and refusing to share my umbrella, Jim was soaked and freezing. We decided to scrap dinner and simply go home.

Of course as soon as we started walking back to the car, the sun came out and a huge rainbow appeared.

Chillin' in Edinburgh

On the train heading to Wigan Sunday night, I met an older gentleman while we were both waiting for the bathroom. When he found out I was going to Wigan, he simply asked “WHY?” I think that pretty much sums up my trip to Wigan. He was from a small town near Wigan and said they only thing Wigan has going for it was that they had a good rugby team. Thankfully, I wasn’t expecting much for my day in Wigan.

When we arrived in Wigan, Jim was opposed to calling the hotel for directions. He decided to use Google on his blackberry which has never worked out for us despite the several times we’ve tried it. When we finally arrived at the hotel according to Jim’s blackberry Google, it was actually an abandoned lot. We did finally find the hotel after Jim called and asked for directions. All I can say about the hotel is that if you ever find yourself in Wigan (although why would you?), don’t stay at the Wigan Oak Hotel.

While we were walking through the town lost, we were surprised to hear loud music coming from every bar and dance club we passed. We looked at each other, thinking the same thing: It is Sunday, right? I guess everyone was getting a head start on their St. Patrick celebrations a few days early.

The next day while Jim worked, I wandered around the town and did some shopping. There weren’t really any sights to see so I ended up buying a book and hanging out in a coffee shop.

That afternoon we drove up to Edinburgh so we were able to have dinner in Edinburgh rather than Wigan. We stayed at the Roxburghe Hotel which was a beautiful hotel and a really good value for an upscale hotel. . http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/roxburghe/accommodation/index.htm

After settling into our hotel, we went in search of food. Based on a recommendation from an employee of another restaurant, we ended up at The Dogs. http://www.thedogsonline.co.uk/. The restaurant had a laid back French bistro feel to it and true to its name had a huge picture of a dog behind the bar. The restaurant was reasonably priced and had an eclectic menu. I think they considered themselves a gastro-pub. Looking back, it was the best meal we had in Edinburgh.

The next day, I was lucky enough to have another beautiful, sunny day. I walked around the town while Jim was in his meeting to orient myself with the town. I walked up to the Edinburgh castle and along the touristy Royal Mile. I stopped for lunch at a healthy, vegetarian restaurant called Always Sunday. I would recommend that place to anyone looking to avoid the traditional Haggis or fish and chips prevalent in the touristy areas.

Jim and I met up after his meeting and walked up to the Edinburgh Castle. It was too late be able to see the entire castle so we planned to come back the next day. We walked down to the Palace of the Holyroodhouse along the Royal Mile before heading back to the hotel. We made reservations at Atrium which was close to the hotel but it was a disappointing dining experience. The menu looked good but the restaurant wasn’t able to pull it off. I had the feeling that they hadn’t quite grown into their concept just yet. They were like a little boy wearing dad’s suit coat. Unfortunately, the majority of the fine dining options are located out by the Leith Docks which require a cab. The next time we go, it would be worth a cab ride to check out the restaurants in that area.

The next day we took a tour of the Edinburgh Castle which was definitely worth the 10 euro. It had a few different exhibits on the history of the castle, the history of military service and battles throughout Scotland’s history, and also the history of the crown jewels. We had an afternoon flight so weren’t able to see any of the area’s museums or other sights.

We ended our trip by sitting outside in the sun at an Italian restaurant on George Street and having a relaxing lunch.

I’d love to visit the countryside and some of the castles outside of the city if I get another chance to spend some time in Edinburgh.

Weekend in London - March 13 - 15

Jim had some business in Wigan, England and Edinburgh, Scotland so we decided to make a trip of it and have ourselves a mini break as they say in England. We spent the weekend in London before heading to Wigan and then Edinburgh.

Jim’s friend, Zarko, was kind enough to let us crash at his place and acted as a local tour guide for the weekend. It was really relaxing and in a strange way felt a little like being home.

We flew in on Friday night and went to Zarkos to get dressed for dinner. A partner at Zarko’s firm who has done some work for Jim’s company wanted to take us out to dinner. He had recently become a member of the Reform Club (www.thereform.com) which is one of London’s Gentleman Clubs (no, not that kind of Gentlemen’s Club). The club requires jacket and tie and only recently allowed women, but of course our bathrooms and cloakroom were in the basement. I guess it is like a country club but without the golf course and pool. I’m not sure I understand exactly why someone joins one of these clubs. I guess it must be for entertaining, prestige of being accepted and the extensive library they have.

On Saturday, Zarko took us to a farmers market. The Borough Market is located on Borough High Street near London Bridge, and is one of the largest markets in the world, known for its gourmet and international items. I was in heaven. They had truffles, specialty coffee, every kind of mushroom known to man, fresh seafood, and freshly baked goods along with prepared foods like paninis, empanadas, spring rolls, north African salads, or burgers. They even had a guy selling fresh oysters. I was tempted to get one but the line was too long.

Even better than the huge variety of options were how free every vendor was with the samples. It was like Sam’s Club on a Saturday but with good food. I could have wandered around for hours sampling all the different things. After circling the entire market to see what was offered, we got some Middle Eastern salads and had a little picnic right outside the market next to the Southwark Cathedral.

After our picnic, we walked along the Thames and soaked up the sunshine stopping at St. Catherine's Warf for a coffee. I'd never been to before I decided that I needed some retail therapy. We headed to Oxford Street so that I could go to Selfridges for a little shopping while the boys went for some tea and shisha at a Middle Eastern restaurant.

For dinner that night, we headed to the upscale Mayfair area for dinner. We ate at a cute French bistro called Le Boudin Blanc (http://www.boudinblanc.co.uk/) which I highly recommend for anyone looking for reasonably priced French food in London. We had an excellent dinner.

The next day was even sunnier and warmer than the previous day. We took a boat down the Thames to Greenwich in South London where the prime meridian, National Observatory, National Maritime Museum and Royal Naval College are located. We walked up the hill to the Observatory and stopped for a coffee before heading down to wander around the village of Greenwich.

The boat ride was entertaining and pleasant on such a sunny day. The driver/ tour guide had a thick cockney accent and combined some history with stuff he obviously made up on the fly. At one point he talked about someone "the Great" which spurred a conversation about why we don't have names like Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great or Vlad the Impaler (Jim's favorite). I suggested that Jim should call himself Jim the Complainer and he in turn named me Alison the Uncomfortable.

We took the boat back to central London and then headed back to Zarko’s area, West Hampstead. We stopped for dinner at a Thai restaurant and had a great dinner before packing up and heading to catch the train to Wigan.

Germans and their Ice Cream

Last summer I saw millions of Germans lining up at the gelato shops all over Bonn to get their ice cream fix. Of course then it was sunny (well maybe not exactly sunny but not raining) and warm-ish. Knowing that the winter would bring cold and rainy weather, I thought to myself that it must be hard for all of these ice cream shops to stay in business since most of them did not have indoor seating.


Germans, however, do not seem to be phased by the cold in the least. They ride around town on bikes without hats and gloves, while I am bundled up in wool sweaters, hats, gloves and countless scarves.

All winter long, I saw people eating ice cream walking around downtown. When I was craving hot chocolate, hot tea or soup, they were strolling around with frozen treats. It is such an odd sight to see someone in a hat and gloves eating an ice cream cone outside. You just don't see it in the US. Sure, someone might go to Baskin Robbins and sit inside and eat ice cream in the winter, but they aren't wandering around in the cold.

Has growing up in America made me soft? What happened to my hearty German genes?

Annecy, France - Alps trip continued

Our next stop on our Alps trip was to Annecy which is a town just south of Geneva, Switzerland. Jim had been to Annecy in the summer and said it was a beautiful town located on a pristinely clear lake surrounded by mountains. Annecy was also equidistant to two cross country ski places we planned to check out.

Our first afternoon in Annecy, most of the shops were closed so we just wandered around the town and went out by the lake. It was still pretty bright out so we were able to get some decent pictures before the clouds rolled in for the rest of the trip.

While we were there, Jim was on a mission to find a café that he spent a lot of time during his last visit. Around every corner he identified a café as that being THE ONE, and then would add, “No, this is really the one”. Of course it wasn’t until our third day in Annecy that he actually found it.

For dinner that night we got recommendations from the concierge. She recommended a place called Contrasens which we had seen on our walk. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a reservation until after 9:00. We hung out in the room before going over to a bar next door to the restaurant for a glass of wine. Dinner was good, but I wasn’t able to enjoy it as I should have. For some reason, earlier in the day I started feeling sick so had a bad fever by the time we sat down to dinner. Jim thought the food was very good, but I couldn’t really taste anything.

The next day, I still had a fever but was feeling better than I had the night before so I agreed to go skiing. We decided to go to Le Saises. According to the GPS it was only about 35 km away. I’m not so sure how they determined that measurement because it was a lot farther than that. It was raining in Annecy but it didn’t take long before that rain turned to snow. We started rising in elevation and in the span of about a mile there was suddenly 3-4 feet of snow along the road. We passed a bunch of people putting chains on their tires but figured they didn’t have all wheel drive. The road was pretty sketchy. For some reason all over Europe, they just love the hairpin turns. Jim loves to bike them in the summer, but driving them on steep, narrow roads in a blizzard is something else entirely.

We finally made it to Le Saises in one piece after considering bailing on a few instances. After a visit to the tourist center, we found the cross country trails which didn’t look very groomed. Jim asked a skate skier how the trails were and she didn’t give them a very glowing review. Since it was already late in the afternoon and the snow was still really coming down, we decided it might be safest to scrape skiing and get down before all the traffic from the ski hill got on the roads.

Five hours later with no skiing under our belt, we were safely back in Annecy albeit somewhat frustrated at how the day’s events had played out. We decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at L’atelier Gourmand. It was a great meal and made our earlier skiing debacle sting a bit less.I’d definitely recommend the restaurant. It was good service in a relaxed atmosphere. The restaurant chairs were big comfy leather ones that you just sunk into. I was reticent to leave after we had paid our bill.

The next day we headed back up to Le Seises and the roads were much better. It was a busy bunch of trails with a lot of skiers. I was hoping for some sun but it was completely cloudy all day. We both had a decent ski but it paled in comparison to our skiing the next day at Le Ferclaz. The trails were great there and they even had a small lodge which I’ve found is not all that common in Europe. Unfortunately, it was another cloudy, cold day but we both had a good ski on almost empty trails.

After our hard ski, we decided to pamper ourselves and got a couples massage. The hotel had a deal with the spa next door. It was Jim’s first professional massage so he was a bit uncomfortable and it was good that we did it together. It was incredibly relaxing and was a great way to end our trip.

French Alps - Samoëns

Due to a lack of planning combined with instability in the area, we decided to scrap our Egypt trip and plan a last minute trip to the Alps for some sunshine and shushing.

Our plan was to spend three days snowboarding and three days cross country skiing. After researching the areas to ski in Austria, Switzerland and France, we ended up picking the Gran Massif ski area. Our decision was based mainly on the fact that we prefer French food and because we had friends vacationing there and our trips would overlap for 2 days.

We arrived in Samoens 1600 at 9:30 pm after getting lost in Switzerland for a little while. For some reason the little English woman living in our GPS system has something against Switzerland.

We had reserved a room at a guesthouse right on the mountain called Chalet L'Aéro http://www.aero1607.com/. When we arrived, we were surprised to find the road to the Chalet completely snowed in. We made the smart decision to hike down rather than attempt to drive down to the Chalet. Since there was a bar and restaurant advertised on the website, I figured that our late arrival wouldn’t be a big deal. However, on a Wednesday night all the lights were off and the door was locked. While we were contemplating the unappealing option of sleeping in our car, we found someone on the balcony smokeing a cigarette and they alerted the owners we were there.

The family who owns the Chalet was incredibly friendly and welcoming. The husband had a snowmobile with an attached sled to help us cart our luggage and gear down to the Chalet while the wife put together a cheese plate and fruit soup for us to eat.

The next morning we rented a snowboard for me and got our lift tickets for two days. I couldn’t believe how cheap the skiing is in comparison to the cost at Colorado Ski Resorts. We paid 41euro for a full day of skiing. I think it is around $97 for a day of skiing at Vail in Colorado.

However, the French do have some interesting lifts which might contribute to the reduction of price in the lift ticket. One of the gondolas was a standing room only situation; they herded us in like cattle. Another was a two person lift that looked like those buckets used to fix power lines. And then you also have the complete chaos of the lift lines, which are less like a line and more like a heaving mass of people stepping all over each others' skis and boards.

We met up with Jim’s friends Andrew and Matz to ski. I had a bad feeling about skiing with these three adrenaline junkies who push every sport to the limit. Unfortunately, I pushed my hesitations aside and consequently had one of the worst days snowboarding. I had a bad fall on the first run and jammed my finger. It swelled up instantly, but I could bend it slightly so figured it wasn’t broken. The next run I tried to board in deep powder and ended up with a screwed up neck. I couldn’t turn my head without turning the rest of my body. Since I figured I’d be in pain no matter what I did, I kept snowboarding but took it easy.

When I finally decided I had enough, I realized that we had skied so far from our original starting point that we’d have to do another 3 runs and another 3 lifts. So after another hour of skiing in pain and negotiating the chaotic French lift "lines", I had myself a little mini breakdown. Skipping lunch might have been a contributing factor to the breakdown.

That night we had dinner with our friends from Paris at a traditional Savoie restaurant. I had read a lot about Tartiflette which is a traditional Savoyarde dish so was excited to try it. You had to place your order ahead of time so we ordered while still on the mountain. Jim ordered the Tartiflette while I went for the Raclette Fondue. The Tartiflette was disappointing. It ended up being very similar to ham and scalloped potatoes and was quite bland. The fondue however was delish. Although, how can you screw up melted cheese and bread?

The next day after not sleeping much the night before, I decided against snowboarding and watched a movie in the room while Jim snowboarded. Nothing is better than a few muscle relaxers and the Sound of Music. I thought being in the Alps that would be a fitting movie.

It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the ski so I couldn’t stay in the room very long and ventured out to walk around the resort in search of lunch. I ran into Jim just as I was about to sit down at a restaurant so we had lunch outside in the sun on the side of the mountain. The food was crap but the view was spectacular.

We went snowshoeing after lunch on a pretty short loop on the mountain. It wasn’t a great place to snowshoe but I needed to get some exercise and wanted to be outside so it worked.

Although my first trip to the Alps was a bit disappointing, it was a beautiful place and the ski resorts of the Alps are definitely more scenic than the Colorado Rockies. However, it did make me miss our life in Colorado.

Monschau, Germany

On Friday, I went to a little German town bordering Belgium called Monschau. A few of the wives at Jim's company organized the outing.

Monschau is located within the Eifel National Park and in the Hohe Eifel or High Eifel. So although there was no snow in Bonn, we were able to drive about 90 minutes to a quaint snow covered little town.

As it was a Friday and the middle of winter, the town was not really busy. However, in the spring, summer and fall this sleepy little town is packed with Belgian, French and German tourists.


Two rivers converge in the town so there are a number of canals running through the town. During the more temporate seasons, the canals are lined with flower boxes.

We basically walked around the small center of town and stopped for a bite to eat at a little bakery / cafe. I made the mistake of ordering Pfanne Kuchen which I though was Flamm Kuchen. I thought I was ordering the German version of the Tarte Flambee which is a thin crust pizza with fresh cheese and onions or bacon but instead got a bacon pancake, big difference!

There are a lot of hiking trails in the area so it would be a great little spot to stop for a Kaffee and Kuchen after a long hike. I'll have to come back with Jim sometime this spring.

There is also a good Christmas market here which I'll have to remember for next year.

Thai Massage (sans happy ending)

I have walked by a Thai massage place about 20 times and have been really curious as to what it would be like. Since I was in serious need of a massage and the price was right (only 28 euro for 60 minutes), I decided to give it a try.

I didn't exactly know how Thai massage would differ from the traditional Swedish massages I've had in spas. I had heard that they use more pressure points and use the weight of their bodies more. Of course, I've also heard about the happy endings but according to my German teacher you only have to worry about that if you go to someone advertising for erotic massage in the newspaper. He assured me that it is a legitimate massage place if they have an actual store front.

I would give the massage a 5 out of 10. The ambiance was definitely not there. I was told to undress in front of the older Asian lady and she put a thin blanket over me once I was laying on the futon. I couldn't help wonder how many other naked people had been under the same blanket. I'm sure they wash that stuff regularly, right?

The room was absolutely freezing which didn't help with the relaxation. Plus after massaging my back, the woman put Tiger Balm on me. It is just like Icy Hot so I was even colder than I had been.

A lot of the massaging was typical to Swedish massage but just a little faster. She did crack my back, fingers and toes which was definitely a departure from most of my massages. I'm not sure how much I enjoyed that.

I was pretty sore for a few days after the massage. I'm not sure if that was because she got a bunch of the knots out of my back or she just didn't know what she was doing.

I haven't decided yet if I'll go back or not. I might wait until the weather is warmer so I don't freeze. I don't think they heat the massage rooms.

Luxembourg's Little Switzerland

While I was researching Luxembourg City, I came across a website outlining the major hiking trails throughout all of Luxembourg - http://www.hiking-in-luxembourg.co.uk/. There are 5000km of trails throughout the small country of Luxembourg.

We decided to stop and hike in the Mullerthal region on our way home since it wasn’t very far out of our way and I was intrigued by the fact that they called the area “the Little Switzerland” of Luxembourg.

My biggest concern was that I didn’t have an address for any trail head on the 110 km trail. I didn’t want to repeat our cross country skiing experience, driving around for hours trying to find the trail. We were lucky enough to stumble across a trail near Berdorf after only an hour of searching.

Initially we planned to do the entire 33km loop of Trail #2, but the weather was just too cold and it was already 2:00 by the time we found the trail.

The trail was the best we have found in Europe. The landscape was really interesting. The trail started in a deep valley with rock formations on both sides and a stream running through the middle. The trail was so well marked that there was never any confusion as to the route. We will definitely be back to explore more.

At the six mile mark, we decided to go into Echternach for lunch to get one more French meal before heading home to the land of sausage, potatoes and cabbage. The waitress was so confused as to which language to speak in since we responded to her German questions but ordered in French. She kept flipping back and forth between the two. I think Luxembourgish is a combination between French and German so most people speak both as well as English.

Luxembourg City

Last Thursday we decided at the last minute to change our plans for the weekend and go to Luxembourg. Neither of us had ever been to Luxembourg and it is only 2 hours away. We had originally planned to go to Munster which is about 3 hours north of Bonn. I heard from a friend that the area has tons of moated castles. However, after thinking about how great the castles would look nestled in the forest with leaves, we decided to put that trip off until spring.

I was able to find a good deal on a really nice hotel as it is definitely the off season for visiting Luxembourg City. We stayed at the Albert Premier www.albertpremier.lu which was recently renovated. However, they still have some of their old English decorated rooms available at a discounted price. It was great to feel like such a high roller for a weekend. They even had a little lounge with free Champagne at night and tea during the day.

Of course after securing the hotel, I immediately dove into research on restaurants. Luxembourg has more Michelin rated restaurants per capita than any other city. I narrowed our Saturday night dinner options to 3 places; Clairfontaine www.clairfontaine.lu, Le Bouquet Garni www.lebouquetgarni.lu which are both French food and Michelin rated restaurants as well as Yves Radelet which is up and coming chef known for his fusion dishes and homemade cheeses.

We drove down on Friday night. Luckily there was no traffic by the time we left and we made it there in less than 2 hours. Although the great time we made was more likely attributable to the fact that there was a lot of unrestricted autobahn between Bonn and Luxembourg so my speed obsessed husband could drive really, really fast.

Saturday morning we set out for a run to explore the parks which surround the city. It was pretty frigid which helped us keep moving at a brisk pace. We discovered that Luxembourg is surrounded by a deep valley around half of the city and also that Luxembourg is a pretty small city. We kept finding ourselves saying the same thing on this trip as all of our other trips this winter which is – I bet this place is gorgeous in the summer when the leaves are on the trees.

After breakfast, we headed to the main part of town to wander around. We came across the tourist center and decided we would take a 2 hour walking tour of the city since neither of us knew anything about the history of Luxembourg. It didn’t start until 1:00 so we figured we should eat lunch before that. We had trouble finding just a quick, cheap lunch spot so we ended up going into a seafood place that seemed really popular. It was ok but nothing I’d recommend so I didn’t bother trying to remember the name of the place.

The city walking tour might have been good if the weather wasn’t so cold. I was thinking more about the loss of feeling in my extremities rather than the tour guides explanations of Luxembourg battles. The other issue was that the tour guide was so fluent in French, English and German that he would lapse into another language sometimes mid sentence. It wasn’t a problem for Jim since he can understand all three languages but I’m a little deficient on the French side.

While we were there, they were flying the Italian flag. They don’t get a lot of foreign dignitaries and heads of state visiting so when one comes they pull out all the stops. They fly that nation’s flag and the President get to stay at a remodeled castle in the center of the old town. Our guide made sure to tell us that an American President has never come and stayed in the castle. I think they are a little sensitive about it.

After freezing for two hours, we found a café to warm up with some tea and hot soup. The place was just like Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread) we found in Brussels. We decided to go back there for breakfast the next morning.

Back at the hotel, the concierge let us know that Clairfontaine was not open but didn’t elaborate on why it was closed on a Saturday night. So we decided on Le Bouquet Garni for dinner. We had walked past it on the walking tour so we knew where it was located.

The restaurant was amazing. I now know why only a few restaurants get rated with Michelin stars. The time of the service was almost choreographed. There is an art to being able to provide that kind of service. The food and wine was also just as amazing. The only catch was that the menu is in French and they don’t have an English menu. I am sure that the waiter would have helped us with the menu if Jim didn’t speak French. However, when you are spending that much money, you want to know exactly what you are getting. If I had a menu in English, I probably would have ordered differently.

Since Luxembourg City is only 2 hours away, I’m sure we will be back when I want a quick French food fix and Jim wants his French language fix.

Maria Laach

This past Saturday we thought it would be a good idea to combine our workout with a little sightseeing. We headed to Maria Laach which is a Romanesque church built in the 11th century. It is now a Benedictine abbey with 55 monks who earn a living by running the nearby hotel and selling their organic apples and houseplants along with other products produced by monks elsewhere in Europe.

The outside of the church was a gorgeous example of Romanesque architecture but the inside was surprisingly a little plain. It unfortunately had lost most of the original décor in the 1800s. However, I would expect it to have a lot less ornate decoration than a Catholic church, since it is run by monks. I think that is their thing, no bling.

The abbey is situated on a volcanic lake (Laacher See) and is nestled in the forest with hiking and horse trails all around the lake.

After we checked out the church, we decided to take a hike. Unlike most hiking areas in German, there was actually a main map that outlined 6 different trails of varying levels of length and difficulty. We, of course, went for the longest and most difficult trail – 21 kilometers.

We were hopeful that the trail would be well marked after seeing a central map. Ah, how naïve we are. Things started out well, but quickly disinigrated. We found ourselves at an intersection with three different trail options and a sign that had fallen off of the tree. Since we were unable to discern from which tree the sign had fallen, we figured we had a 1 in 3 chance of choosing the right path. Oddly a lot of the trails were marked when there wasn’t any intersecting trail but when you had a number of different options there was no sign to be found. However, it was better than any other hiking trails in the Bonn area. Although a few wrong turns and some back tracking ended up in a slightly longer hike.

During our hike, we couldn’t help notice how many hunting tree stands there were in the forest. It seems quite odd to have hunters set up along hiking trails. I’ll have to remember not to wear my antler hat and leather coat when hiking next fall.

I think these trails would be beautiful with the fall colors. We will have to go back to do some trail running in the fall or spring. Jim wants to do a marathon in the spring so we may be back soon to do some long runs there.

Nice Neighbors

When I got back from Colorado I was disappointed to find that our new downstairs neighbors had not yet moved in. I was looking forward to meeting some new people. However I didn't want to get my hopes up too high because Germans can be a bit reserved and not overly friendly to strangers so I wasn't sure what to expect.

On Sunday morning as Jim was leaving for his ride, he found a vase of flowers with a handwritten note (in German) just outside our door. Our neighbors had been at the house when we were not in and left the flowers for us. In their note they let us know that they wouldn't be moving in until the end of April or beginning of May but would be around now and then working on the apartment to get it just the way they want it. They gave us their contact information and even a website so we could see what they looked like. Of course, I had some difficulty reading the handwriting so took the note to my German teacher to make sure that I had everything right. I was quite proud that I was able to understand the generalities of the letter.

Then last night our neighbor rang our bell and came up to introduce himself in person. He was very nice but when pressed to speak German I struggled a bit so it was a short introduction.

Now I am even more motivated to take my German to the next level. I want to be able to have a meaningful conversation with our nice new neighbors.

Daytripping in Dusseldorf

After discovering Robert's Bistro on our last trip to Dusseldorf, I have been jonesing for another great dinner and to see Dusseldorf by day.

We decided Saturday would be a good day to go so that we could do a little shopping, sightseeing and eating. We started out visiting our friend's bike shop to catch up with them and check out their store. Shockingly, we left the store without any major purchases. Although I think Jim was trying to figure out a way to justify buying a new helmet, but even he couldn't work out a logical argument so knew it was futile to try to convince me.

We decided to park the car near Robert's Bistro which is located along the Rhine river in the Medienhafen (harbor) area. This area has recently changed from an industrial looking harbor to a more modern warehouse district with some very cool architecture. Frank Gehry is the architect of a number of buildings in the Medienhafen but my favorite was the Neuer Zollhof building to the left.

I originally wanted to visit a few museums and check out the Schloss Benrath which is about 10k from Dusseldorf. However, our late start to the day altered our plans a bit so we decided to just explore the Altstadt and then head over to the high end shopping street of Koenigsallee.

After walking for about 30 minutes and seeing the area get increasingly more industrial, we discovered that we had been walking in the wrong direction. It was rainy and a bit chilly so I had been in a hurry to get moving and didn't take the time to orient myself. We were making great time though, just in the wrong direction. Luckily, the city is quite compact so we were still able to see a lot of the city in the 2 hours of daylight that we had left after getting lost.

We visited St. Lambertuskirche and Andreaskirche in the altstadt. Both churches had elaborate nativity scenes surrounded by evergreens. Each church probably had at least 20-30 trees around the nativity. Andreaskirche reminded me a lot of the Frauenkirche in Munich with its white ornate stucco ceilings but on a much smaller scale.

After wandering around the Alstadt and having a currywurst at the market, we decided to head over to Koenigsallee. Koenigsallee is a gorgeous street with a canal, lined with trees running through the middle of it. It has all of the glitz and glamour of high end shopping in Paris or London. Dusseldorf is now my favorite place to get my big city, urban living fix.

We headed back to Robert's Bistro around 6:30, hoping to miss the crowds. It was still packed with people but we were lucky enough to get one of the last 2 spots at a long table.Unfortunately, the restaurant hadn't acquired any more ambiance since our last visit. It still had cafeteria seating, florescent lighting and the non-existent decor that I remembered, but the lamb was just as delicious as the last time.

I am excited to come back to Dusseldorf when the leaves are back on the trees and the sun has decided to come out of hibernation. I think it will be a beautiful city in the spring and can't wait to go back.

Skiing (or more appropriately not skiing) in Sauerland

I am finally back from my escapades State side, and it is so nice to be back in my own home. While I had a great trip visiting friends and family, living out of a suitcase for three weeks starts to get a bit old.

I was lucky enough to come home to 3 sunny days right in a row, which really made the transition from sunny Denver, Colorado to Bonn, Germany a little easier. I also came home to snow on the ground which is unusual for Bonn. According to Jim's coworkers, this has been the coldest winter Europe has seen in a very long time.

Since we didn't know when we'd see snow again, we decided on Sunday to investigate some cross country skiing areas in Sauerland about 2 hours west of Bonn. Of course, to get me to agree to go, Jim told me it was only an hour from here (a bit sneaky of him).

The drive to the ski area in the morning was absolutely beautiful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun made the snow covered trees and hills sparkle. The drive took us through some small towns which made it much more pleasant than driving up I-70 in Colorado.

We arrived in Schmallenberg around 12:00, and it looked like a perfect day to ski. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that the ski pass was only 5 euro. Unfortunately, it didn't take too long to find out why it was so cheap. The skate skiing area was a 2k track, crowded with inexperienced skiers. All of the other trails were for classic cross country skiing only. After about 4 times around the track, Jim and I were both ready to find a different place to ski. Jim had done some research on Nordic skiing in the area and thought there was another place not too far.

So we loaded up the car and continued on our quest to find a good skate skiing spot. We decided to go to Willigen. We didn't have an address to plug into the GPS for the ski area, but we figured that once we got to the town, we would see some signs. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. We finally decided to go to the tourist area to see if there was an address there. As it was Sunday, the tourist office was of course closed, but we were able to pick up some maps of the ski trails.

Even with the maps of the trails it wasn't very clear where the ski center was. We saw a sign for a Craft (skiing and cycling clothing brand) shop so decided to stop there and ask someone where the ski area was. After driving up a narrow, residential road, we found the shop which was part of some one's house. The door was wide open so we walked in but there was no one there. I'm not sure why the door was open especially because the shop had an open door right into their home so anyone could have walked in and walked off with a lot of expensive clothing and gear.

Back in the car again, we put the ski jump address into the GPS since one of the starting points looked like it was in that vicinity. After parking the car and hiking up a hill for 30 minutes, we were able to find the ski jump and what looked like some groomed trails, with hikers on them but no skiers. From the top of the hill at the ski jump we saw some skiers below on the trails so decided to get back in the car to drive around in that area.

Finally, after about 3 hours since the last ski area, we found the entrance to the ski trails. There was no center and apparently no cost to get on the trails. By this point, it was 4:00 and I had given up on skiing. I wanted to get on the road because we had heard traffic would be bad, and I was also concerned about the fact that it would be dark soon. My experience in Germany with hiking trails is that they aren't marked so figured the same would be true of skiing trails. Jim, however, was not dissuaded and wanted to check out the trails to see if it made sense to come back here.

The plan was to meet back at the car in 45 minutes. I decided that hanging out in the cold car wasn't appealing so went for a hike on some of the trails which weren't groomed for skiing. When I got back to the car 45 minutes later, Jim wasn't there. After about 40 more minutes, I started to get quite worried as it was getting dark and much colder. I figured that Jim's aversion to back tracking had caused him to get lost. When Jim finally arrived at the car, he was pretty shaken up. He had gotten lost and somehow had found the ski jump. He figured his only option was to take off his skis and walk down the jump. That proved to be more difficult than he anticipated in his ski boots on an icy, slick staircase. After falling about 100 feet down the jump, and possibly ruining his skis, he finally got back to the car. At that point, he was more than ready to hang up his skies for the season. We'll see how long that lasts. I'm not convinced.

Christmas Homecoming

Well, tomorrow morning I am off to Colorado. I won't be able to post any blogs while I'm there, but I'll make sure to start up again when I return on Jan. 10th.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

A Canadian Moose Singing Spanish Christmas Songs in German?

Now that I have been to about 4 different Christmas Markets - Koln, Bonn, Siegburg and Bad Honnef, I feel that they are all pretty similar with regard to what they offer. Typically one can find Christmas ornaments, carved wooden handicrafts, felt hats and bags, pottery and blown glass, your typical craft fair items with a little Christmas flair. All of the markets also have dozens of stands which sell gingerbread cookies with messages written on them. I’ve seen people wearing these big cookies around their necks. I’m not sure why they wear them. Maybe they are trying to make sure everyone knows that there is someone who loves them enough to buy them a stale cookie for 5 Euro.

I think the Christmas market is mostly about the food and the drinking though, much like your typical State Fair which has rides for the kids and beer and lots of fried food for the adults. At the Christmas Market, the food generally includes your brotwurst of course but also reibekucken (fried potato pancakes), flammkuchen (flatbread pizza with ham and onions), waffles, and some strange sweet dumpling with hot berries which I haven’t been brave enough to try yet. I have tried to like the Gluhwein, but I haven’t yet warmed up to the idea of steaming hot slightly sweet red wine.

My favorite part of the Bonn Christmas Market is a big fake moose on one of the Gluhwein stands. He talks and sings Christmas songs. I love how he tells you he’s from Canada and then proceeds to sing Feliz Navidad in Deutsch.

The thing about old houses is . . .

They are old! So like our aging bodies lots of things start going wrong after about 30 - 40 years. I am starting to think our 110 year old building in Bonn might need a little more work other than its recent plastic surgery.

Last week I looked up from the dining room table and noticed a large water stain on the ceiling. There must be a leak in the roof which is causing the water damage. That same day I was searching for some misplaced contacts and discovered mold growing all over a wall in our sun room (or winter garden as they call it in Germany because there is no sun here).
To top it all off, this morning we awoke to freezing cold radiators. So we had to have breakfast in hats, scarves, gloves and winter coats. I felt a little like I was camping but without the warm campfire.

Thankfully our landlord is very responsive so he had someone here to survey the damage today. I almost feel sorry for him. I think he is regretting his foray into the real estate market. He must feel a bit like Tom Hanks in The Money Pit.

Sundays in Germany

In Germany Sunday is by law a day of rest. No retail or grocery stores are open on Sunday which obviously make Saturday shopping a nightmare. There are even rules about what you can even do in your own home on Sunday.

The quiet time law covers Monday through Saturday at 1:00pm to 3:00pm and then again between 10:00pm to 7:00am and all day Sunday. So during these times you are prohibited from doing things like playing loud music or tv, vacuuming or mowing your lawn. It has taken some time to get used to having essentially a free pass on errands and housework, but I've started to embrace lazy Sundays.

So far, we haven't needed to be too careful about our Sunday activities because we have no one else living in our building. However, next month our new downstairs neighbor will be moving in. Hopefully, he will be an early riser as I hate to give up my French aerobics show at 6:30 am.

Baby Pute

I decided to make a proper Thanksgiving meal for just Jim and me. Although my friend Erin sent me home with plenty of leftovers to satisfy his Thanksgiving cravings, I thought I should do a Thanksgiving trial run as I will most likely be hosting Thanksgiving next year. Considering that I had never made a turkey, gravy or stuffing, I thought that this might be an opportune time to try my hand at a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Since it was just the two of us, I tried to find just a turkey breast. After visiting about 4 different grocery stores and not finding a turkey breast, I broke down and bought a whole turkey. I figured that I could eat turkey sandwiches for a week if we had a lot left over. I was able to find a small turkey which was only about 5 1/2 pounds. It was labeled as a "Baby Pute". I'm not sure if they were using the word baby as a diminutive and it was just a small turkey or it was actually a baby turkey.

After searching on the Internet about how to properly thaw and cook a turkey, I realized that we weren't having our little friend for dinner on Sunday as I had planned because the turkey wouldn't be thawed in time. I didn't realize that you have to thaw the turkey in the fridge. Since I don't cook meat very often, I was a little bit freaked out about the potential for bacteria.

I calculated that I would need a little over 2 hours to cook the turkey. I didn't have a roasting pan so simply put the turkey along with some veggies into a Pyrex pan. I hate dried out turkey so I put tin foil over the breast to prevent it from drying out. Unfortunately the tin foil doesn't really matter when you cook the crap out of the turkey.

My plan was to remove the tin foil after an hour and a half to let the skin get crispy. However, when I checked the temperature at an hour and a half, I realized the turkey was already done. My turkey looked awfully unappetizing with its pasty white and raw looking skin so I figured I'd take off the foil and cook it for a little longer to crisp up the skin. That didn't seem to work so I put the broiler on for a little bit. Finally I resigned myself to taking the turkey out and getting rid of the unappealing skin.

Now on to the gravy. I tried to boil up the giblets and make a nice turkey broth, but after an hour of boiling with some veggies and herbs it still had a funky smell to it. So I dumped that and used a gravy package. That didn't taste all that great so I added some red wine to it and herbs along with the turkey drippings. After adding a roux, it wasn't half bad but didn't particularly taste like turkey gravy.

I figured I had enough to worry about with the turkey and gravy so I kept the rest of the meal pretty simple - dressing and roasted root vegetables. The dressing was actually the star of the show. It turned out incredibly well. Jim said it was the best stuffing he's ever eaten. Although compared to the dry, chewy turkey, anything would probably taste good.

I didn't even attempt to make any sort of a pie or dessert. Since I'm not really a baker, that poses another challenge for the perfect Thanksgiving meal.

I am starting to think that the answer to Thanksgiving might be to start a new tradition - going out to eat. I think I'd be ok with a nice rack of lamb at a good French restaurant. Who needs turkey on Thanksgiving? The Pilgrims probably didn't even eat turkey.

Winter Wonderland

On Sunday, Jim and I went to Hohe Acht, the highest mountain in the Eifel National Park, for a hike. Jim recently biked through the area and thought it would be a great place for a hike.

In Bonn, the weather wasn’t particularly good, overcast and wet so I wasn’t too excited about hiking through the mud. However, as we drove into the Eifel, the rain turned to sleet and then finally snow. By the time we arrived at Hohe Acht the ground was covered in snow.

When we first arrived in Germany, my Nordic skiing obsessed husband asked everyone he knew about the winter and whether or not there was snow. The answer was always the same – it rains most of the winter and snows a few times but doesn’t collect on the ground.

So far our experience has been quite different. I’ve seen it snow in Bonn three times already and last Sunday, while it rained in Bonn, we enjoyed a winter wonderland only an hour away.