50% of my DNA

Stuffed Squash

2011-12-02T01:36:00.006+01:00

pfffffffffffffffffffffff...

I am here. Alive and well. Although many of you already know this, I have a big announcement but will wait until I feel like blogging about it. Until then, I leave you with my favorite subject: FOOD.

I simply love this recipe. It is so flexible that I have cooked it in many countries. Kids as well as adults gobble it down. It can be as spicy or mild as you want. Leave the meat out if you want an amazing vegetarian main dish. You can make it ahead & leave it in the fridge overnight. Just remember to bring it to room temperature before you cook it. I don't know where I found this recipe but I found it scribbled in my personal recipe binder with no credit.

Stuffed Squash

Ingredients

- 6 small squashes (yellow) or 1 big squash (butternut or Hokkaido)
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 bell pepper diced, any color
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon aleppo or chili powder (you can find aleppo in Turkish grocery stores)
- 1/2 pound ground beef/tukey/lamb/kangaroo/bison -whatever your vice
- 1 cup peas, thawed
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese or Grana Padano
- Any other leftover vegetables left over (I have successfully used broccoli, spinach, and corn kernels)
- zest of 1 lemon (The Scientist prefers only 1/2 of a lemon)
- any fresh herbs
- (optional) brown rice/quinoa/millet
- (optional) toasted pine nuts or dried fruit
- Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Halve each squash lengthwise. Reserve 2 and chop. Leaving a small border, scoop out halves with a small spoon. Place squash halves, skin side down, in a shallow baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside. If you have a bigger squash, you need to prebake until fork tender but not mushy. Time will depend on how large squash is but usually ~15 min.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add reserved chopped squash, bell pepper, scallion whites, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and chili/aleppo powder; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add beef; cook until no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in peas, lemon zest, herbs (and any other veggies) and 1/4 cup Parmesan (I always add more!); season with salt and pepper. Add brown rice and almonds here.
Spoon mixture into squash halves. Sprinkle with leftover Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake until squash is tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, 7 to 10 minutes more. Garnish with scallion greens and more aleppo powder.

Guten Appetit!!!!!

RIP Knut...

2011-03-20T20:39:00.008+01:00

In case you are living under a rock, there was some sad news out of Berlin Zoo today.

Bird, Igel and I went to the Berlin Zoo today to pay our last respects to Knut, the polar bear. Knut captured the worlds attention and controversy when his mother rejected him and instead he bonded with his trainer, Thomas Dörflein. And by bonding, I mean doing everything that a parent does including sleeping next to the baby polar bear and staying with him round the clock.

picture from the Associated Press

Poor little Knut's life was unfortunately wrought with controversy. His rise to stardom happened when an animal activist suggested that if his mother rejected him, he should be left to die. Cries from around the world for his life luckily won over. After all, being born in an unnatural environment shouldn't mean you have to follow the harsh rules of nature.

His trainer and surrogate parent died suddenly at 44. Another trainer noticed that Knut was unable to handle life without a human audience as Knut wailed when no one was near his enclosure which prompted animal welfare activists to call for his removal. He ate 10 live carp out of his moat in front of horrified onblookers. Animal welfare activists (presumably the same ones) were again aghast. He even became the spokes-polar bear for global warming.

Bird and I visited him at least once a week since we moved here and I can honestly say I was moved to tears to see his empty enclosure this morning.

There was a small memorial for him outside the zoo which grew bigger as the day progressed.

Stuffed bears and candles added to the display.

Flowers, croissants (his favorite treat as a cub) and homemade sympathy cards started appearing in front of his empty pen.

A large group of people huddled in the front of his enclosure sobbing and looking very concerned.

Personally, Knut was a favorite of my 4-year-old, who was the same age as the bear. He was always active and doing something silly in his pen besides an added plus of being located next to the Zoo playground(which is really amazing.) Bird was fascinated by his white fur and piercing black eyes that always seemed to have something behind them more than the menacing stare of a predator.

There was lots of press there and Bird and I were even interviewed on camera although I forgot to ask what news organization they were from.

One of Bird's first toys in Berlin was something he picked out: a Schleich baby polar bear he called Knut. Poor Bird. His favorite polar bear died just as another of his favorite animals also kicked the bucket recently; the giant crocodile in the aquarium also went to that wild place in the sky.

We have had many experiences with Knut including the time Bird threw his trains at him and our first visit to the zoo which also ended up with some interesting questions concerning the elephants. (Ahhh, the Zoo-where all of life's uncomfortable questions are raised)

RIP Knut...I hope your tummy is full of fish and you have plenty of romping room wherever you are.

American views of Bavaria...

2011-02-10T22:52:00.005+01:00

Leavenworth, Washington (not Leavenworth, Kansas-no prisons here!) started off as a little town in dire need of tourism dollars during the Post-depression era. So, they did what any respectable little town would do - they decided to get a theme. After debating between "Cowboys and Indians" and "Bavarian Alps", the obvious choice won.

Fast forward to 2011, the town of Leavenworth is thriving due to its convenient location just a few hours from Seattle and a popular location for outdoor activities in the winter and summer.

And then came this...

Is Kielbasa really Bavarian?

Oh dear...There are some many things wrong with this, I don't even know where to begin...

Leavenworth is actually a nice little tourist town that we have visited many times due to its perfect location in the middle of the Cascade Mountain Range. We did a lot of this near there:

And just a little outside of Leavenworth was a perfect location for this:

So, please Leavenworth -DON"T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE & FIX YOUR PR FOR YOU!

I am officially old...

2011-01-09T08:03:00.001+01:00

I love DJ spin master at 2:37

Traveling with Children

2011-01-07T13:14:00.003+01:00

I see you. I see you cringing as I board the plane with...children.

Baby Bird on his first International plane ride

Should you travel with children?

The Scientist and I had been planning on living abroad for some time. When son #1 made an appearance, we briefly thought that having a child and trying to live abroad was a mistake.

Thankfully, that thought only lasted a second.

Baby Bird on his arrival in Berlin - what a trooper!

Since that time (2 1/2 years now!) we have traveled to many places in the US, Italy, the Czech Republic, the UK, Germany, Belgium and France. Although none of these vacations were spent like our travels before, such as spending time leisurely drinking wine till ~~the wee hours of the morning~~ eleven o'clock, we relish this time as a family.

The Scientist and Baby Bird at the Eiffel Tower

Which is why I was dismayed to read a post entitled "Traveling with Terrible Children." (originally found on Have Baby Will Travel Blog). Corinne covers a lot of what I already wanted to say but I wanted to add some other thoughts.

Runied Monastary in Belgium

In his article, Matt said:

If you’re traveling with kids like it or not, you are going to be held to a different standard. People will look at you and judge your parenting skills based on only a few moments of interactions. That’s why, as the brand ambassador for parents everywhere, you not only have to parent, you have to do it well.

Traveling with children is hard enough without the added stress of knowing you are responsible for every other parent and child on Earth!

I would ask those of you who heave great heavy sighs when children board the plane to rethink your attitude. Don't we want children to be exposed to new and unique situations? Don't we want more people around who have been out of their comfort zone? Don't we want to raise children who are well-rounded and not afraid of others who are different?

Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all people cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends. -Maya Angelo

Baby Bird Munich 2009

And what better time to start this when they are young and the world is their oyster?

Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand. – Chinese Saying

The Scientist and Baby Bird in Sardinia

So to anyone out there who has had their sleep interrupted for a couple of hours by a baby crying on an airplane...Take note... that the future leaders of this world all had to start somewhere.

Stonehenge England 2009

With the arrival of #2, we have already been on 2 trips. We can't wait to do more...

baby Igel, Baby Bird and I in Hamburg October 2010

My point is that travel with kids is tough, and, sure, it may bug the childless among us. But travel enriches all who partake, and only more so for children who are lucky enough to experience the wonderful world around us.

Funny Foto Freitag

2011-01-07T12:34:00.002+01:00

This picture pretty much sums up everything....

[Insert foreigner joke in Germany here]

Taken in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

Seasons Greetings!

2010-12-24T09:43:00.006+01:00

~~Season's Greetings~~...I mean...Merry Christmas everyone!

I wouldn't want the wrath of the "War against Christmas" folks upon this blog!!!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Gretch Who Saved the War on Christmas

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>

The Daily Show on Facebook

We are still here, still getting no sleep although starting on solid foods has helped little Igel sleep a little better. I am only waking up 4X a night instead of 6! And naps during the day? What are those? I am no baby sleep expert but don't babies need sleep???!?!?!?!?

Here are 2 pics we recently snapped while out and about 'round Berlin. A woman next to us told her partner (in a very southern German dialect I might add) "Nur in Berlin!"

I love the German flag on the back!

So... Happy Christmalhijrahanukwanzaakah !!!!!!

(maybe next year he will sing for us!!!)

One more reason to be jealous of iphone users...

2010-12-18T11:21:00.003+01:00

Although I can see the use for an iphone once awhile...this truly may tip the scales.

this is beyond cool.

Guess I just need an iphone now... :)

In the meanwhile...

2010-11-21T07:56:00.004+01:00

We have just gotten back from visiting family in the US and finally introducing Baby Bird and Igel to the phenomenon known as Halloween. More about that later...

However, while I am recovering from jet lag and trying to get the baby to sleep by himself for more than 10 min, please take a look at one of my favorite expat blogs, Keeping the Bear-Garden in the Background.

T writes this blog as an expat in Paris. This blog is everything that I want my blog to be; witty, well-written and chock full of hilariousness. The photography alone is stunning enough to merit a visit. If only...

Clarence, a hilarious segment exploring the culinary arts of Paris, includes a macaroon battle entitled"Hungerdome" to discovering Vietnamese Pho. And luckily for her readers, Clarance goes on vacation to give us insights into other places such as Corsica.

But it isn't only about food... (is there anything besides food?) There are also interesting sections on art and goings-on in Paris. Should you ever be lucky enough to find yourself in Paris, this is the blog to check out. And if you don't ever go to Paris? Well, you can still read it and enjoy how she casually does an in-depth character analysis of Mary McCarthy's The Group and turns it into a post about a Jewish deli in Paris and ends with a recipe for latkes.

So give this blog some love until I can start figuring out how to blog one-handed... :)

full disclosure: I am honored enough to call her a friend but I would still read this blog among blogs even if I didn't have an interest in expat life. :)F

Fahrradsport Wednesday - Pedestrians

2010-10-06T22:42:00.002+02:00

Well, it has been a little while since my last Fahrradsport post. I've been swamped with work that has crept into my nightly routine, which saps what little time and energy I have left after a long day at the lab followed by getting the boys into bed. But I felt inspired tonight (or maybe looking for an excuse to procrastinate on work I should be doing), so here we go...

I really enjoy taking my bike to work each day. It solves two problems: 1) I need to get myself and my laptop to and from work each day and 2) I need exercise. It is a cheap and efficient form of transportation. The amount of time it takes me to get to the lab is almost the same amount it takes to ride the U-Bahn (if you disregard the time getting my bike gear on and off). And the fact that the government here has accommodated cycling with relatively well-maintained bike lanes makes it quite enjoyable.

But if there is one thing I really don't enjoy about cycling in Berlin, it's pedestrians. It seems like at least once per day I need to ring my bell to let the dope walking along the bike path know to get the hell out of my way. Even scarier are the nutballs that are trying to cross the bike path who don't bother looking left or right before they cross. I actually considered not getting my bike serviced this summer because the fact that it sounded like a rusty chainsaw saved my sorry ass more than once. At least then people would hear me speeding along as they were meandering across the path. I haven't actually Schwinned any one yet, but I know that day is coming given how stupid the people walking the streets seem.

The clueless pedestrians stand in stark contrast to drivers here. I am regularly so impressed with the courtesy Berlin drivers show to cyclists. They almost always stop before coming to the bike lane before proceeding across it. And if they happen to be on the bike lane and they see me barreling through, then the move forward or back up to let me pass. And when they make a right-hand turn, which means they must cross over the bike lane to do, virtually every single one looks first to see if a bike is coming. The drivers here really do seem to pay close attention to the bike lanes; it's too bad the pedestrians don't!

There is one thing I don't like about the drivers here, but that's for a future post...

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-10-01T13:53:00.004+02:00

I don't pretend to understand (most) Germans obsession with Native Americans or der Indianer but Baby Bird (my 4 YO not the baby) often comes home with a ring of feathers around his head doing a pseudo-native American dance and chanting. His preschool teacher even asks me about cowboys. Cowboys? I visited Silverwood once but that hardly qualifies as a history lesson. (Update: Silverwood was at one time a Wild-West theme park complete with a Hold-up train ride by bandits. It appears to be just a theme park now...with Garfield?)

Which is why even this surprised me when I turned on the morning news here last week:

Why was she interviewing an Indianer? Why was der Indianer dressed in a bathrobe?

As far as I could tell (everything being in German and all) the conversation was pretty innocuous. Perhaps it had something to do with the most ridiculous of musicals, Der Shuh des Manitu about...you guessed it...

but as far as I can tell, der Shuh des Manitu's run in Berlin is over.

On another note, somehow I managed to give birth to the baby-that-doesn't-need-sleep. As soon as I figure out how to:

a)make him sleep longer
b) type with 1 hand

both of which are seemingly impossible goals, I will return to blogging. Until then, it will be a bit sporadic.

Happy Funny Foto Freitag!

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-08-13T13:44:00.005+02:00

It took me a minute to figure out what this hedgehog/porcupine was doing...

Maybe I need an eye check-up too!

I always giggle at signs like this because I know I would NEVER see these in the US. Somehow, cries of "What about the children?" come to mind.

Oddly enough, German children exposed to these "horrors" turn into teens but don't seem to have the same "problems" as US teens face.

Oh well, Happy Foto Freitag!

Meatless Monday

2010-08-09T12:21:00.006+02:00

I have a lot of posts about my newborn but I am getting about 4 hours of interrupted sleep right now. So when I can manage a coherent thought in English or German, I will try to write those up.

So, I am going to talk about my other favorite topic. Food!

The Scientist and I are good corn-fed Mid-westerners. We both grew up with meat-and-potato families for the most part. However, we are both trying to be health and ecologically minded so we switched in the recent years to more vegetarian dishes. I often thought of vegetarian dishes as sides and was having trouble coming up with ideas. Over the years, we have incorporated our favorite dishes into our rotation and at this point, I can say, we eat vegetarian about 4X a week.

For this first installment, I thought I would talk about one of our favorite go-to dishes that is in season right now; Sour cherry couscous and zucchini. The recipe is below with a few very minor changes.

I know my food-tography skillz could use some work... :) (Maybe Snooker can give me some tips??)

Grilled zucchini with sour cherry couscous
serves 4 as a light meal

1 large zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups dried couscous
1/2 cup sour cherries
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped

1. Thinly slice the zucchini length ways into strips with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Cook on a griddle pan or BBQ for 2 minutes each side or until tender then transfer to a plate and drizzle with good quality olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

2. Place the couscous in a medium heatproof bowl and add one cup of boiling water, a handful of dried sour cherries, the juice and zest of half a lemon and stir.

3. Cover with lid 10 minutes until all the liquid has been soaked up. Fluff with a fork and add a tablespoon of olive oil, a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Serve with the zucchini strips.

As far as tips go, we usually use fresh sour cherries, as they are in season right now, but we have also used the jarred variety with much success in the off season (make sure to put some of the juice in too!). As the basic recipe stands above, it is fresh but a bit bland, so we often spice it up with dill, cumin, or even a bit of hot sauce. Really, this recipe is very adaptable. Try whatever you like and let us know in the comments if you find something that really works!

If you are interested in learning more about why vegetarian lifestyles are important, I would recommend as interesting, introductory books, Micheal Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma or Grescoe's Bottomfeeder .

Funny Foto Freitag - NSFW edition

2010-07-30T20:52:00.006+02:00

The Omi is visiting and giving us some much needed help with little 50%. We decided to amuse ourselves and went to the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Volksfest. Among the many booths of delightful stuffed animals and plastic ~~crap~~ toys, we found this prize to be the most coveted.

BEHOLD...the GIANT CUBE OF NAUGHTINESS!

Hard to imagine one might find something like this at a US fair for kids but...

Happy Foto Freitag!

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-07-23T08:34:00.006+02:00

To cool off on a hot day recently (33C or 95F!) The Scientist took Baby Bird to the beach. They saw this lovely bear statue.

Here is the view from behind...

as seen on statue at Jungfernheide

Evidently, Berlin graffiti artists have gotten quite juvenile recently OR they are 4 years old...

Happy Funny Foto Freitag!

Late Night Funnies

2010-07-21T23:19:00.002+02:00

I am averaging about 2 hours of sleep here and there so I needed to watch something...shall we say...non-intellectually stimulating.

This does the trick and was even hilarious when I getting enough sleep at night!

If you like these videos, there are a lot more on You Tube. Just search Mike Rowe and QVC.

Excuses, excuses...

2010-07-04T20:52:00.003+02:00

but I've got a good reason for not blogging lately...

more to come after I catch some ZZZZZZ's...

Update on Skype

2010-06-22T11:35:00.003+02:00

still here, still pregnant...Hoping the Berlin summer stays a Berlin summer (in other words-cold!)

As there are a few expats who read my blog, I thought I would update everyone on the Skype problem we had.

It turns out, we had a nasty little virus that inserted itself into our skype files. I am guessing that is the culprit of our hacked account. Why our nice anti-virus program didn't find it but this FREE one did (you also have to download Clam) is still a mystery to me.

I am still upset at the fact that their customer service is so poor but it seems to be the way things are going around here lately. I hope more companies don't fall into this business model. I know we will be looking to change when our contract expires soon.

And yes, I still blame Skype for leaving their software open enough to hacking & viruses. We can't be reasonable all of the time can we? :)

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-06-18T12:16:00.003+02:00

Because..you know...someone might think that you might be hoping for the other team to win if you only had 1 flag...

Go Deutschland! Go USA!

Greece beats Germany!

2010-06-16T13:07:00.004+02:00

The only world where Greece actually defeats Germany in the World Cup.

WM Schadenfreude

2010-06-15T21:59:00.004+02:00

Schadenfreude is one of those delicious German words that has been gobbled up by the English language. I got to see it in action first hand last night.

Last night Yelli had a pregnancy-induced craving for Ginger Ale. So as a good husband, I headed out to get her some. We were about to watch the Italy vs Paraguay game with our SlingBox but put it on pause till I got back (one very nice feature of the SlingBox). While I was walking back, at about 9:10, which was about 40 min into the game, I heard a roar of applause coming from the many open windows in my neighborhood.

Having seen more than just a smattering of Italian flags hanging from balconies in my neighborhood, and recognizing that I don't live in the Paraguayan district of Berlin, I guessed that the Italians must have scored.

So we got home and turned on the game, expecting an Italian goal at about 40 min. Much to my surprise, in was the Paraguayans that scored! The Berliners were cheering AGAINST the Italians, one of the most despised teams in the world.

I've never been prouder of Berlin...

10 Days...

2010-06-01T18:51:00.010+02:00

10 Days...

I am actually a big soccer fan, despite being American. In fact, much to other Germans great surprise, I used to play soccer. A lot. In fact, I think I played on 3 teams before son #1 was born which doesn't even include all of the extra weekend tournaments. Note: this doesn't mean I am any good but I do play enthusiastically...

Maybe I will go into this in another post but I get the feeling that women don't usually play soccer here despite the fact that the German National Womens' team has won the World Cup 2 times since it began in 1991.

I was often teased that I had a baby in 2006 so that I could use my maternity leave as an excuse to watch the World Cup. Perhaps it is no accident that Baby #2 will be born in 2010, just in time for more maternity leave to watch the World Cup.

Me and Baby Bird in World Cup Watching Position with ~~his~~ my favorite book

We have been to one World Cup already. In 2003, the Women's World Cup was abruptly moved to the US due to the SARS outbreak in China. Luckily for us, we were able to score tickets to the games near our city. We even managed to see the semi-finals where the US lost to Germany 0-3. (The US Women came in 3rd place overall with Germany winning in '03)

I even got to see Mia Hamm play and was lucky I did as she retired in 2004.

However, nothing has prepared me for Germany's reaction to the World Cup coming up in 10 days...

Flags, candy, necklaces, candles, etc...Let's just say I would like to challenge you to find a product NOT associated with the World Cup 2010, most decked out in red, yellow and black. Here are a couple of my favs...

Sausages

I actually saw these at LIDL but didn't have my camera with me

Toilet Paper

Isn't this more insulting than anything?

So I guess it should be no surprise that Germans would rather watch the World Cup than have sex.

Need I say more? They have got the Fevah! just not the one you think...

On another note, I have been moderating the comments due to the inordinate amount of spam in Mandarin Chinese I have been receiving. I am not sure why anyone would think that advertising comments on my blog would help sell anything as I am pretty sure that less than 1% of anyone who comes here can actually speak Mandarin Chinese. The spammers are even getting pretty clever. Leaving remarks like "I like you blog" linking to some website in Chinese. Luckily, I am smart enough to spot their bad English. :) Watch out spammers! I am moderating you!

However, the comment moderation will stay on until I can figure out a different way to filter.

An Open Letter to the Residents of Berlin

2010-05-17T12:17:00.007+02:00

Dear Berliners,

I have lived here for almost 2 years now and have come to love this adopted city of mine. I have even come to accept and find somewhat endearing the Berliner Schnauze. What would I do if my cashier at the grocery store didn't find something wrong with what I did and holler at me? (Note to Germans reading this blog: cashiers in Berlin don't differentiate among foreigners or Germans - be prepared)

However, you and I need to have a serious talk. I rode on public transportation a total of about 6 times this past weekend. Public Transport happened to be crowded. Do you realize that not a single person offered their seat to a woman who is 9 months pregnant?

In fact, during my whole pregnancy, I can only think of 2 times when someone offered me their seat when trains/bus/trams were crowded. (and to be honest, I suspect these 2 people were not Berliners from their German accent)

I don't think I am asking too much. I don't usually have a sense of entitlement but it is REALLY uncomfortable to travel standing up at this point not to mention possibly dangerous when the train/bus/trams slam to a stop occasionally. My balance isn't what it used to be.

And to think, you even act surprised when data suggests that your population is decreasing, even more so than most EU countries? If that is how you treat people in your capital city, I am not at all surprised.

Come on, it is not as if I don't appear pregnant!

So, do us a favor.

GET THE *&%^# OFF OF YOUR SEATS WHEN YOU SEE A PREGNANT LADY!!!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Yelli

UPDATE: An article from the BBC on why people don't give up their seats for pregnant women - they can't tell if they are pregnant or just plain overweight. {{shakes head}} Don't read the comments unless you want you be even more enraged.

American Week

2010-05-13T20:01:00.008+02:00

One of the fun things about living in Germany is that many of the major grocery stores regularly sponsor "themed-food" weeks, namely Aldi and Lidl. For example, Greek week often features feta, British week has cheddar cheese, & Indian week sells pre-made samosas...all at good prices.

Of course, these are less of what we think of as authentic food and more often what Germans think Country A eats (with much hilarity I might add.)

Now it is our turn.

Starting May 20th, Lidl is celebrating American week! There will be many favorites and more than a few surprises.

Peanut Butter (of course)

Marshmallows

Doritos for only .99€ ~~(Yuk but the Scientist seems excited)~~(Edit: The Scientist informed me that what I interpreted as his look of excitement was his mixed look of surprise & disgust)

Amerikanos which I think are cornflake-crusted chicken nuggets and curry dipping sauce. ummm...okay...

American Pasta Dream™ including BBQ noodles (egads!)

Yogurt...seems pretty normal until you look carefully at the flavors. Caramel-popcorn flavored yogurt? Discuss amongst yourselves.

At the very least, I guess you could choke it down with some nice California Petite Sirah for only 5.99€.

Happy American week! I know how I will be celebrating!

Happy Riot Day..I mean May Day

2010-05-01T14:58:00.003+02:00

Living in Berlin has many advantages...It is a major capital European city and always has something to do.

Today is May Day - a celebration similar to the US's Labor Day. However, we are in Germany and because Berlin is "not" Germany, here is how some celebrate "International Worker's Day."

May Day Berlin 2009 from the Exberliner Magazine

You can read an interesting article about the history of May Day here. Of course, what would riots and car-burning be without an anti-fascist counter-demonstration planned?

Of course, we will be staying far away from any extremists, although I do like what John Cleese has to say about it.

We are invited to a BBQ at a friend's house but will be home in plenty of time before dark. Guess that makes us lame...but we are ok with that!

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-04-23T05:09:00.007+02:00

The Harz Mountain Region had witches EVERYWHERE! We were quite confused until we saw signs advertising the upcoming Walpurgis Nacht (April 29-May 1). Think "Night on Bald Mountain" to get an idea of what this holiday is all about... (I love the dancing fire ballerinas at 3:40)

Given the proximity of the Brocken Mountain, it was no surprise that there were witches in every shape and form.

We stumbled upon many witch-themed things from potholders to keychains to dolls.

However, the best was below. Walpurgis Night fans can drink to their hearts content with a local Harz Mountain liquor they have called Geile Hexe. Don't know what Geile means?

I think you can figure it out from the bottle picture....

Happy Foto Freitag!

Celebrate

2010-04-20T14:05:00.012+02:00

It is hard to believe but my little Baby Bird has a special day today...

It seems like just yesterday we were 2 unsuspecting parents bringing home our sweet baby with thoughts of what parenting is like...

marveling at some of his first smiles...

BB 12.5 weeks

Now marveling at his goofy smiles...

BB Pfaueninsel April 2010

And knowing better that parenting is not at all what you expect...

Did I really think my child's face would always be free of dirt, sand, chocolate and boogers at one point?

Regardless, I hope you have a wonderful, fun-filled day!

Happy Birthday Baby Bird!

Celebrating Easter... with fire

2010-04-09T12:00:00.000+02:00

We made a last minute decision to head out of town for the Easter holiday. The train tickets, at that point, were too expensive so we decided to rent a car for the long weekend (For US readers, Good Friday and the Monday after Easter are both considered holidays).

I am not sure what made us decide to head to the Harz Mountains but proximity was definitely a factor. It was only about a 2 1/2 hour car ride and got quite beautiful the closer we got to our destination.

We decided to stay in Braunlage. We noticed on their tourism website that they had a number of things to do including a Egg hunt (or schnitzeljagd), Osterfeuer (Easter bonfire), and even a Seilbahn.

I honestly had no idea what an Osterfeuer is and so I asked a few of my German friends. They all mentioned that it isn't normally done in Berlin. I still can't quite figure out their cultural significance of them (even Wikipedia seemed confused) so if you have information, leave it below in the comments.

I wasn't sure what to expect but thought that some kind of rituals purging Winter and welcoming Spring would be in order.

How wrong I was!

We started off the night feeding ourselves with the standard Wurst and beer (water for me!). They even had currywurst which I thought was a Berlin thing. There was one food stand and three beer stands if that gives you an idea of what was to come...

Behind us stood a big pile of trimmings and old Christmas trees just begging to be ignited. The pile was surprisingly long. The picture below is just the front.

The atmosphere was festive with ~~very bad~~ live music.

Finally the igniting of the Easter Bonfire began with very little fanfare. One person had a large blow torch to torch the trees and the other used a leaf blower to blow the flames around.

Soon, to Baby Bird's ~~horror~~ eventual delight, it was a raging fire. He kept exclaiming it was a "Big Fire" with his eyes as wide as saucers.

This was a serious fire folks.

Luckily for us, these two fine gentlemen were ~~enjoying their beer~~ controlling the fire.

We weren't able to stay the whole night but as it got darker, the crowd turned from older people drinking schnapps to younger people drinking schnapps.

And yes, I am 7 months pregnant in the pics above but poofy jackets are easy ways to disguise baby bumps... :)

More to come about our adventures in the Harz Mountains...

Frohe Ostern!

2010-04-02T23:02:00.004+02:00

Frohe Ostern or Happy Easter!

(translation in comments)

We are off to a little town in the Harz Mountains to experience our first Osterfeuer or Easter Bonfire. Hopefully, I will be able to post at least some pictures and maybe some video when we return.

Baby Bird is just hoping that the Easter Bunny can find him all the way there. I have a feeling it won't be a problem. :)

And what about the wine?

2010-03-26T13:04:00.003+01:00

Dr: Congratulations on your pregnancy! You can make a new appointment with my assistant.
Me: Ok. ummm... I have a couple of questions first.
Dr: Yes...
Me: Is there any foods I should avoid?
Dr: ...
Me: like cheese? Especially from France?
Dr: And why would you avoid cheese from France?
Me: I think because it is unpasteurized.
Dr: French women don't give up cheese. Do you eat a lot of it?
Me: A lot? Not really.
Dr: Well, then you should be fine.
Me: Ok. No warnings about wine or beer either?
Dr: Do you drink a lot of alcohol?
Me: No. Well, maybe an occasional glass of wine at dinner.
Dr: Well, as long as you are not drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, you should be fine! Anything else?
Me: I don't think so.
Me (walking away muttering under breath): Europeans
Dr (shaking head): Americans

(while the people are real and this conversation did take place, all events and sayings are paraphrased. Believe word for word at your own risk)

Playing chicken...in Berlin

2010-03-23T12:55:00.005+01:00

Erntefest 2008

No, not that kind of chicken!

One of the interesting cultural phenomenons I have found in Berlin is that giving-way-on-sidewalk-body-language is quite different than what I am used to in the US. This has become of those expat experiences that one takes for granted in their home country because it happens so naturally that one no longer has to think about it.

I can't even count how many times I (or even my small preschooler!) have been knocked over while walking on the sidewalks. The same cues that work in the US don't seem to work here and hence, I have muttered undesirable words like Q-bert under my breath numerous times while being bumped around.

me after walking around Berlin for a few ~~hours~~ minutes

I decided to do a little investigative work and pay close attention to what the people around me do. If you don't want to get bumped on the sidewalk, you can follow my rules but a better bet would be to Ask-A-Berliner!

Don't make eye contact! Eye contact seems to signify you are weak and will give the right of way.
Decide at the last minute. In the US, we step out of the way much earlier to decide who will ~~win~~ have the right-of-way. Don't be fooled by people who you think aren't paying attention! If you watch closely, they never bump anyone!
Only take a small step out of the way at the last minute. No one makes any real effort to move. Everyone only moves the bare minimum just to slip on by.
The old grannies will never move out of the way so just step aside young whipper snapper!

Hopefully, this will keep you free of bumps and bruises but I don't make any guarantees.

Is this the case in the rest of Germany? I could easily see this being just a Berlin thing as they seem that they would (mostly) enjoy bumping into poor unsuspecting foreigners!

What about other countries?

Fahrradsport Wednesday - Tights

2010-03-17T22:32:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since my last cycling post, and that's because a sheet of ice has covered Berlin for the last two months. Well, the ice is gone and I'm cycling again. I don't have tons of time, but I feel the need to procrastinate and a blog post will do nicely for the moment.

I bought some cycling tights while we were in the States over Xmas. A really nice pair of Pearl Izumi tights from REI. They have kept me warm on sub-zero days and kept me dry (and warm) on just-above-zero days with nasty drizzly rain. So far I'm quite impressed.

When I cycle to the lab, I'm usually the first one there and one of the last ones to leave, so no one really has had a chance to see me in my fancy new tights. Today, though, I had to pick up Baby Bird from kita and thus had to leave at 15:00. Well, let's just say that Germans apparently seem to be perfectly at ease with cat calling with exuberant vigor. Enough to make me blush.

The Politics of Nations must read

2010-03-10T07:39:00.001+01:00

I noticed that Ezra Klein at the Washington Post was profiling different countries for a series called "The Politics of Nations."

The have already profiled Germany (complete with beer drinking Angela Merkel pic) including rankings, political elections, and even a little bit about health care. They have also added a few paragraphs about how the U.S. political system compares and what the U.S. could add to their existing system from Germany. (of course they added that last bit in there)

They have also profiled France, Denmark and Great Britain. Political-Junkie-must reads.

Your thoughts?

Germany and the real girl...

2010-03-09T13:00:00.000+01:00

While we don't use the slingbox as often as we like, we sat down a few weeks ago and saw a great movie called Lars and the Real Girl. Lars is a lonely man who decides to order a life-size plastic doll and pass it off as his real girlfriend.

Although the premise of the movie sounds utterly ridiculous, we noticed Rotten Tomatoes scored it positively at 81% so we decided, "what the heck-can't be that bad right?!"

It really was a wonderful movie and if you have an opportunity to see it, do it. now.

However, (stay with me folks) it got me thinking a lot about expat life in general. See, the premise isn't so far off from what I experience everyday. Strange person does something weird and the locals wonder how to socially interact with the strange person. In this case, Lars takes his blow up doll with him everywhere and treats her like a real person.

While I freely admit being an American in Berlin is nothing special and I am exaggerating for the purpose of an interesting post, I live in a very German neighborhood and most of the people I interact with on a daily basis, such as neighbors and BB's preschool parents, don't often interact with foreigners, especially ones with no German connections (such as a spouse or parent).

I was reminded of this when some new preschool kids joined BB's preschool. The parents were at first observing the other parents to see how they acted towards us. Since the other kita parents just treat us like any normal folk with occasional quirks (your son doesn't wear tights? but he must be cold!), the other new kita parents continued along the same lines until listening to me forever confusing my der's, dies, das's, den's and dem's become a normal part of their life.

Although I can be fairly certain that should I decide to start carrying a blow up doll around with me everywhere, even in Berlin, it might be a little more difficult to blend in but don't we all have a little bit of Lars in us?

Skype drama cont...

2010-03-07T10:38:00.004+01:00

And we are now working on day 10 or something of our phone problem. For background info, please see this post.

Skype has contacted us (1 week later) and told us our account was hacked. (Ehrlich?) Our history shows that over a period of 2 days, someone called multiple Taiwanese mobile phones over 100 times talking no more than 2 minutes and most less than that (very curious indeed). Our account is drained (although thankfully we didn't have that much) and we still can't use a service we are paying for since we have a subscription.

Now our account is blocked (AFTER THE FACT!) and with the great (snort) customer service we have received so far, I am expecting it to be fully functional in May 2017.

In addition, I am very skeptical about the circumstances. The Scientist and I are fairly tech-savvy. We can't figure out any way that the hackers got into our account and changed our email. Our password was not 12345, we can't find any viruses, spyware etc. on any of our computers and we are very careful about clicking on weird links or responding to 419 scams for Uncle Herbert's lost money (god bless him). That being said, obviously, we may be at fault here but the amount of videos on youtube that can tell you how to hack a password, the sheer amount of people complaining on skype's owns forums and the knowledge that it takes weeks, if not months to get any reply from customer service, it should be obvious to any user to use at your own risk. IMHO, this is a back-end job.

I have to admit, we were very happy with the service before all of this happened. If you pay to use skype and don't want to get rid of it, I HIGHLY recommend stopping auto-recharge. We are thanking our lucky lucky stars right now that I didn't have auto-recharge. I would be out for probably 100's of euros instead of around ~20.

ok. rant over.

You have been warned...

motivation to blog

2010-02-27T20:15:00.007+01:00

Even though I have turned into a primitive species of homo sapien, doing nothing but sleeping and a little eating while nurturing life within, I have found motivation to blog.

First of all, I am awake beyond my 3-year-old's bedtime. This is a unique situation in itself that I wasn't awakened by Baby Bird insisting that I "sing 4 songs not 3" and "why was I sleeping in his room?" But what better reason to blog than pure unadulterated...anger?

In order to solve our "being in another country while most family and friends are in the US" problem, we started using skype. But as any addict can testify, skype's free service wasn't enough. We eventually bought skype credit and then a subscription and even a US phone number (all through skype) so that even our most technologically-impaired family members could still manage to call us. (it helped. somewhat.) We even began to like wearing our McDonald's "take-your-order" headphone and microphone.

We were happy with the service and the price until we had a problem. (I will try to make this short)

The first problem occurred when I decided to change our subscription plan to something that fit us better. I just had one teensy little question about interruption of service. Due to a very ill family member, we didn't want our service to be interrupted. I went to their customer service and didn't see a phone number so I decided to online chat with a customer service representative. (online chat has now been eliminated). This was the first indication that I should give up on skype. It took between 6 and 23 minutes for each response for the rep to reply. Some online "chat". 3 emails and 1.5 weeks later, my question was finally answered. Outraged yet?

Earlier this week, I was unable to log on to skype. My password didn't work. The Scientist insisted he hadn't changed our password. I typed in my email so that I could retrieve the password thinking that perhaps pregnancy-induced memory loss was responsible for the changed password.

Turns out Skype did not recognize my email address either. Uh-Oh. Even with pregnancy-induced memory loss, I am POSITIVE I did not change my email address. I don't even have any other email addresses!

I frantically looked around for some way to contact customer service so they could immediately suspend service in case my account was hacked. Although I don't think we did, most people have sensitive information such as stored credit cards and links to their paypal account.

No such luck. I found someone on twitter, a forum where you can contact moderators, and a way to email customer support which suggests a turn around time of 72 hours. Working hours that is.

We used all of these to no avail. The moderator told us to fill out a customer service email and that we should hear from them by next Thursday (Yup-one week for a hacked account) and then flagged us for contacting more than one moderator. (If you were going to lose a bunch of money-wouldn't you contact more than one mod? And where did it state to only contact one mod???) We also received an email back from customer support for more information that was ALREADY LISTED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE EMAIL THEY SENT BACK TO ME THAT I HAD ORIGINALLY SENT TO THEM!

The fact remains, this very same scenario happened recently and skype made no effort to fix the problem or even acknowledge it as far as I can tell. Thousands of people seemed to be hacked through no fault of their own. So here I am, with no hope of regaining the remaining credit I had in the account and no phone service. (I won't tell you about the real emergency that happened last night when I really, really needed to call the US)

The moral of the story? Use skype at your own risk. They are the Ryanair of VOIP.

Guess we'll be looking for a new VOIP service....any suggestions?

WWaGD?

2010-02-16T12:05:00.008+01:00

Since living in Germany, the Scientist and I have encountered many new situations. To deal with these new experiences, we have a little game we play called "What would a German do" or WWaGD?

We have had many conversations with our German colleagues and friends when we wish to deal with something like a local. We have also consulted WWaGD aka Toytown, an entire website devoted to this concept.

One of the most common things I ~~bother~~ ask my German friends about is medicine questions. Often, things that I would go to a Dr for in the US, a German might choose to go to the Apotheke or Pharmacist instead. (Besides, you always get free pocket tissue samples!)

Another example we encountered recently was hosting a dinner party for some friends. One is a vegetarian. What should our menu be?

a. Tofu stir-fry
b. One meat dish and one veggie dish
c. just let the veggie person eat side dishes

If you answered c, you might be German. :) Choice "a" is unacceptable because as we all know, even well traveled Germans wrinkle their nose at the thought of eating tofu.

Another incident happened this morning which required me to ponder WWaGD. The bakery in our apartment building has been playing loud music very early in the morning breaking noise regulations called Ruhezeit. I don't know about you but I don't particularly like being woken up at 5:00am and I definitely don't like dealing with cranky-preschooler-who-is-skipping-naps anyways.

Before I give you my options, let me take a side track to explain something my American readers won't understand. Ruhezeit or Quiet Time is from 13 until 15 in the afternoon and from 22 until 7 at night. They take Mittagsruhe (link only in German) very seriously here, even prohibiting vacuuming in your own apartment during this time. I have written about this before or rather wrote about it and THEN found out from a helpful commenter what this was.

When I asked around this morning to my German colleagues, it seems my options are:

call my Hausmeister or Apartment Manager
Call the police
***Confront the offenders and ask them to be quiet in the morning***

***I added option 3 just because these others seemed a little extreme to me.

I decided to be American about this and confront the bakery downstairs and warn them that next time they are loud, they will be reported!

And what happened??? They denied having any music on! Lesson learned. When in Rome, do as the Romans do...or Andere Länder, andere Sitten.

The Scientist, in the spirit of when in Rome, do as the Romans do,
eating Sülze or leftover meat in unflavored gelatin.

I hope to have other installments of WWaGD on the blog in the future. I think there is a LOT of fodder here!

Outnumbered

2010-02-14T20:39:00.004+01:00

As you can see from the "creepy" (The Scientist's words-not mine) countdown on the right, I am currently 5 months pregnant. And yes, you read the title correctly....I will soon be outnumbered 3:1.

I am currently working part-time and even though I worked full time during my first pregnancy, I am, by far, more exhausted and sick than I ever was with Baby Bird. How in the world did I work full-time? (until I went into labor at work - more on that later) I will never remember! Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come after the birth.

One of the most frequent questions I have received lately is, "Are you flying back to the US to have your baby?" Really? People would actually fly back to the US to have their child? Besides all of the obvious concerns, how does one get insurance for multi-country pregnancy care?

Because I had a baby in the US and will have my 2nd in Germany, I feel I am in a unique position to talk about the pre-natal care differences between the US and Germany and hope to elaborate on the differences in the following weeks.

In the meantime, I will be eating Vanilla Roasted Pears (the smell alone is about to make me faint!) which the Scientist made me for Valentine's Day. Score major points for the hubby since I completely forgot about this holiday!

Where to buy Unique items online

2010-02-06T07:35:00.006+01:00

Being a busy working mother, I don't often have the time that my lovely single friends have to leisurely stroll through Berlin searching for the next hippest store which sells lovely unique items. Although I have found a toy store and a children's clothing store I absolutely love, most of what I encounter on a day-to-day basis are chain stores which will suffice but definitely take the fun out of shopping. (you can see where my priorities are!)

In the US, I was completely addicted to Etsy. Although I enjoyed a good romp around, Target when I got back to the States, nothing could compare to the adorable handmade items that I found for ~~gifts~~ myself on Etsy.

Due to import taxes and the Zollamt (Evil tax office on imported goods) office being so far away, I found out you could click on "advanced search" and find only items made in Germany. (or other EU countries which also don't make me go to the dreaded Zollamt). I don't mind using this function but I have also found another alternative.

Yet another adorable website which sells wonderful handmade crafts is called DaWanda. I guess you could think of it like the Etsy of Europe. For some reason, I can't figure out if they are related or not but they also sell adorable handmade items in a similar format. It seems as though it is limited to Germany, UK and France right now.

I have been using DaWanda in German but you can use it in English. However, some sellers only appear to have their items listed in English or in German. Being barely bi-lingual, I have searched in both languages. For example, searching for "luck mushrooms" only gives you 19 results but "Glückspilz" gives you a completely different 15 results! (Really only 15?) Also, when you search, at the very bottom, it will ask you if you want to see results in other languages. I always check all of the boxes.

The only biff I have with DaWanda is that I always have to set the search function to "All Products" instead of the default which is "Unique and limited Edition."

Otherwise, I have found some very cute items like these "Liebe Schweine" earrings for a love-themed kitsch party. (not for me but as a gift!) Or how about this wurst shaped neck pillow for long plane rides?

Besides, where else am I going to find Baby Bird this new shirt?

Do you have a favorite store, online or else?

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-02-05T12:23:00.003+01:00

One of the great things about living in Berlin is that almost every time I step outside my house, I encounter something strange, bizarre, and/or wonderful.

taken by a friend GP

This snowman Protest is in front of the Lustgarten. What are they protesting?

The sign says "We don't want to eat your shit!

They were protesting SPRING!!!!

I think this says "Don't just stare-do something!

Although I think some of them were confused.

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-01-29T10:47:00.003+01:00

While we were in the Midwest over Christmas, it snowed. a lot. We had between 20-30 inches total (that is over 50 cm for my metric friendly readers!) In one day alone, we received over 18 inches! And it just kept coming and coming...

I happened to spot these palm trees looking a bit out of place but what were they doing there?

carwash decorations of course!

If you regularly read my blog (All 3 of you-Hi Mom!), you might think I really like car washes. Maybe I do?

Although I don't know anyone personally who owns a car wash, I would have to admit that they must be quite characters. Come on, have you ever seen a normal car wash? (WARNING: Clicking on link will be inside Pacific Northwest Joke that you will probably not get if you haven't visited/lived there)

Funny Foto Freitag - Angebote!

2010-01-22T08:24:00.004+01:00

ATTENTION - ANGEBOT! SPECIAL OFFER!

Free coffee or specialty coffee...

with a booking at a brothel! This deal is too hot to miss!

We found this in the German version of the Yellow Pages called Gelbe Seiten.

The Scientist has decided he loves Germany!

Kultur at the Workplace - Opinions

2010-01-12T12:30:00.008+01:00

I know I saw I was going to do Interviews next but I am inspired by the following clip to write up my experience with German culture and opinions a little early.

This video is obviously an exaggeration but some truth lies within.

One day at work, this picture came up on my screen saver.

This is Baby Bird when he was about 1.5 for what most of you reading would assume is a Halloween picture. (Dumbo the Elephant if you need further clarification)

This was not so clear to my colleagues.

"Halloween is for scary costumes!" they exclaimed. "You can't dress up like elephants for Halloween!" they continued.

Let me stop you here for a second. They all know I am American. They all know I lived in America for most of my life. Why in the world are they arguing with me????? (Just to clarify-these were German nationals who have visited the US once or twice or who have never visited)

I tried explaining to them that besides the 10-15 year age range of mostly Y chromosomes, most people in the US don't dress up scary in America. Not to mention, 2-year-olds are just too cute to dress up anyway else!!!

"But I saw an American movie about Halloween and everyone was dressed up scary!" they still continued.

What can I say to that? {{throws up arms}}

I wish I could tell you I was exaggerating for this post but this was a real conversation between many educated people. I spoke with a few of them privately later and most freely admitted that Germans are an opinionated bunch. I also frequently see this attitude in meetings and until this conversation, I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was going on.

I have had to change the way I speak. Now, I basically just cut to the chase. They seem to appreciate it and I don't have to explain myself again ~~anymore~~ as often.

Although in the US, this attitude would come off as arrogant, it is seen as being confident and sure of yourself. Acting apologetic or prefacing sentences with contradictory arguments like I often do, is not a good way to get ahead in Germany as far as I can tell. Do your experiences mirror mine?

And I still don't think I convinced them that Americans don't have to dress up as vampires, witches and other scary creatures of the night. I dare not show them other Baby Bird's pictures of Halloween's Past.

After all, I am 25% German. :)

Our beloved Prez

2010-01-11T19:18:00.006+01:00

Like many people all over the world, the Germans have a love affair with Obama. This was especially clear to me last year when his speech here in Berlin where the # of Germans far outweighed the # of excited Americans. They have gone as far as naming breaded chicken fingers after the poor guy.

Although they are normally reserved, I have had perfect strangers hear me speaking English or hear my lovely American accent while speaking German and immediately smile and say "Obama!" even if that is the only work they can utter auf Englisch.

This is taking it a little far though...even for Americans!

image taken from Der Spiegel

German producers have recently funded a new musical entitled "Hope." The premise? You guessed it - Obama! The cast of characters is all there-Obama, Mrs. Obama, John McCain...

image taken from Der Spiegel

and even Sarah Palin complete with her own scantily clad dancing troupe!

Too bad I don't live in Frankfurt! :(

Sometimes these posts just write themselves...

Our Geschenk to ourselves

2010-01-10T21:36:00.006+01:00

For many reasons, (some of which will be revealed later), we decided to invest in a Slingbox on our recent trip to the States.

What is a slingbox you might ask (as the clerks did when we asked if they were in stock)? Our Slingbox allows us to watch American television in our own home here in Berlin. Our Slingbox is actually hooked up in my parents house (thanks Mom & Dad!) to a receiver AND the Internet. At our end in Berlin, it streams through our laptop once we have signed in to our account and downloaded the Slingbox Player (you can also watch it through the Internet without the player).

It is perfectly legal through some kind of loophole about having only one stream per cable box/satellite receiver/DVR etc. Anywhere we have Internet, we can theoretically use our Slingbox. We can even watch it on our TV by hooking up a cable from our laptop to the TV. Here is a (slightly blurry) photo of what we see on our computer.

As Emeril Lagasse and Mario Batali battle it out on Iron Chef America, you can see a guide on the right side. This guide helps navigate through the many cable channels. It substitutes (a bit poorly) for a channel changer. You can also hide the guide and make your show full-screen by the simple click of a button.

There are some cons.

the picture is not perfect and can occasionally look pixelated depending on Internet connection speeds on both ends.
The box itself runs from $170 (for SD)-$300 (for HD). There are no other charges involved except Internet service at both ends.
The Slingbox Solo can have conflicts if someone uses the cable box at its homebase. Two people can not watch the same show at the same time which means possible angry webcam calls that start with "Hey - I was watching that!" We had my parents install an extra cable box that they will probably rarely use to solve this. At an extra $5-$7 a month, I think we can handle this. :)
We had to plug in the Slingbox in the US directly to the Internet router. This was a bit of a pain as the router and the cable box were not in the same room.
The Slingbox does not change time zones just because you do. We watch all of our TV 7 hours ahead. You can attach it to a DVR but we will wait and see if the investment is worth it.

The Scientist and I feel a bit like kids in a candy store. We aren't normally big TV watchers and haven't had cable in our house for, well....ever. Going from 10 channels - 700 is a bit of a surprise. Mythbusters, Daily Show, Colbert and even Rick Steves to help us decide our next destination...we can't get enough! Baby Bird even found a new show to watch besides his occasional Thomas the Tank Engine DVD's - Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train. (don't knock it until you have seen it - I even enjoy this and well, Dr. S is kind of a cute) There are a few surprises too. When did Discovery Channel diverge into 80 different shows. Do we really need Discovery Apocalypse?

However, after I saw television shows with names such as "Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura" and "The Hoarders" I am possibly regretting this purchase... :)

Gotta go....Dr. Who is beckoning!

Funny Foto Freitag

2010-01-08T09:57:00.003+01:00

Like the Scientist said, we are still adjusting to the time zone and back to Berlin but I thought I would throw up a cute picture taken in the States.

Baby Bird did not know what to make of Santa Claus. It was a total A Christmas Story moment (but with no mean elves or slides) with Baby Bird freezing on his lap when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas. When BB didn't say anything, Santa asked him "How about a nice train?" BB of course nodded enthusiastically.

I make light of this but Santa was actually a very nice and very good with the kids. Even Mrs. Claus was there to help things run smoothly.

They don't do the Santa sitting on the lap thing here in Germany and in my humble opinion, a lot of Germans resent Santa invading their cultural traditions which did NOT include Santa but St. Nicklaus on December 6th. More on that later...

Frohes Neues Jahr to everyone!!!

Fahrradsport Wednesday - Snow

2010-01-06T23:08:00.003+01:00

Well, yelli and I are still recovering from jetlag, so this will be quick.

But that's just as well, because Snow + Berlin = crappy bicycle conditions. When we got back, there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground. And given that most of the bike paths are bricks and cobblestone, needless to say, they have not been cleared. So there just ain't much to write about cycling right now, other than all that snow looks really sad on my bike downstairs in the courtyard (why didn't I bring it up into the apartment before I left!?!)

More next week after my schedule gets more or less back to normal.

Internet Radio

2009-12-13T11:26:00.003+01:00

Since the loss of my beloved Pandora which doesn't work outside of the US, I have been searching for a suitable replacement. Many of the Internet Radio stations I am familiar with either don't work outside the US or just plain don't stream well.

I was recently directed to Blip from another blog and have been using this for the past few days. It is feeding me the much needed Christmas music life blood (yes - I will admit freely that I could happily listen to Xmas music all year long) that I need such as Linus and Lucy and Elvis Presley's rendition of Blue Christmas.

Cons: This site streams from everywhere including YouTube which can make the music very choppy. I try to avoid streaming from videos which you can check off as a setting once you set up your DJ account.

I also think the diversity of music is a little less than Pandora. They seem to have a pretty good mix with only 1 song that I couldn't find. Again, I have only been playing with this for a few days so your experience may be different.

There are other things that Blip enables you to do such as "giving props" to other DJ's. I don't totally understand these features and haven't really used them. If you use them, let me know what you think. I barely have time to update my blog much less "blip" or "give props."

What do you think of Blip? Are there other Internet Radio stations you use that you like?

Kultur Shock at the Workplace - Job applications

2009-12-12T08:42:00.006+01:00

Now that I have a job that actually requires that I work from somewhere other than home, I thought I would write a few posts about German working environment versus the US.

I will qualify everything I say first by saying that I have only worked at 2 places. Both of them are "International" - but probably only by about 10%. Anything I say should not be construed as blanketing the entire German system or the US system. I am in Berlin currently and my perspective in the US is from a Midwest/Pacific Northwest. Keep that in mind. :)

I wanted to start off talking about Job applications. There seem to be a few major differences between the US and Germany.

For those of you who don't know, a US job application consists of a cover letter explaining why you want the job and how it is a perfect fit for you and a CV. Your references contact information are printed at the end in case your employer wants to contact them. It is usually no more than 2 pages. Simple right?

Here in Germany, you send in an application that is easily sometimes an inch thick. You need a picture, diplomas and any other certificates you received from training courses or even kindergarten (ok -maybe I exaggerate), and work certificates (see below). All of this will eventually get put into an application folder.

You must attach a picture to your application. The pictures can be passport photos but I was told not to use those photo machines but to use a professional photographer. Otherwise, you would not be considered professional enough. I am fairly certain the same rules apply about age, sex, weight etc. discrimination here in Germany as in the US but are more difficult to enforce if a picture is right on the top of your application!

The second major difference I noticed is that they want to see your actual diplomas. In the US, I was often required to provide transcripts, even from high school, but I have never been asked for a diploma. The interviews I went on here wouldn't even take my transcript and so I had to order a new diploma because mine is somewhere stuck in boxes in my parents basement.

I don't know this for sure but I would guess that people in the US believe that papers like diplomas could be easily forged. My diploma also had to be stamped and then eventually copied. (I got back the original) The Germans seem to like official documents to be stamped.

On a side note, I had a Canadian friend tell me a story that the German government wouldn't recognize her Canadian marriage certificate from a government office because it wasn't stamped. However, the church certificate was stamped and so they accepted that.

The CV's are basically the same although the subject headings seem to be in slightly different positions. CV's also usually include more personal information than was normal for me - health status, married status, profession of spouse, profession of parents, children, nationality, high school experiences etc... I have been told that some of this is going out of style but it depends on the company you are applying for. Oh, and make sure you sign and date your CV at the bottom of every page.

The work certificates are basically letters of reference. Every German will receive one upon leaving their jobs. As in the US, a vague letter of reference stating that you are honest, hardworking and punctual is probably a bad sign for future employer. These must be attached in German applications as opposed to "when asked for" in the US.

I have to make a confession that I started to use this formula to apply but when I got my job, I hadn't finished assembling everything together. I am still surprised I got the job as I had a half German/half American job application. I assume they didn't ask for more since they knew I was a foreigner. For example, I didn't have any work certificates included because I hadn't had much time to ask my former employers to write something for me. I did however, include a picture and any diplomas and special certificates I had.

If you had a different experience, please let me know in the comment section below. I am sure job apps are different for different types of job specialties.

Coming up next....the Interviews

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-12-11T08:17:00.006+01:00

What is this you might ask?

I will give you a hint. This is what it usually looks like.

Adorable white tents with stars on top filled with the scent of roasted nuts and decorated Christmas trees...

I think someone better talk to the people who designed the setup for the Wilmersdorfer "Winter Dreams" Christmas Market. And I am still scratching my head on what smashed up cars have to do with "Winter Dreams"...(their words-not mine)

Oddly enough, the website makes no mention of the Christmas "Art."

Happy Holidays everyone! (no matter what your interpretation!)

Fahrradsport Wednesday - Hand Signals

2009-12-09T22:48:00.005+01:00

Growing up in the US, I learned that there are certain hand signals that you need to use in order to indicate to other cyclists and vehicles that you intend to turn. The way I was taught is that you always use your left hand, even when turning right. You are supposed to use your left hand because no one is going to see your right hand, given that most likely you have a line of parked cars on your right.

But since I've moved to Germany, I have never, ever seen anyone use their left hand at a 90 degree angle to go right. Instead, if they signal (and in all honestly the majority of cyclists do, though not the vast majority), they always use their right hand.

This may seem really minor, but it's thrown me for a total loop. I understand that it seems counter-intuitive to use your left hand to go right, but there are many situations where no one can see your right hand if your signaling. And of course there are plenty of people that use their right hand in the US, but I would say the majority used their left hand (at least in Seattle).

I did a little googling, and I found that it's perfectly legal in many places in the US to use your right hand to signal, apparently, though using your right hand is consider an alternative it seems. But do they just not do this in Germany? I am continuing to use my left hand to signal, but I feel like it is a bit like the QWERTY keyboard situation. Sure, a QWERTY keyboard gets the job done, but the fact that a better layout exists will never catch on because everyone is already using a QWERTY keyboard. I can only imagine what German cyclists and drivers are thinking when they see me with my left hand at 90 degrees taking a right hand turns. I guess I'm a lone soldier in my own personal war for left-hand based cycling turn signals.

Also, what about in the UK, given that they drive on the wrong side of the street? Do they use their right hand for all turns like Americans do?

Fahrradsport Wednesday - Smoking

2009-12-02T21:17:00.002+01:00

About a month ago I was cruising along the bike path on my way to work. Up ahead, I noticed an old codger slowly pedaling along (not wearing a helmet, of course!). I caught up to him in no time. As I passed him, I noticed that there was a particular reason this old fart was going so slow. He was busy puffing on a cigarette while riding his bike!

But actually, this isn't the first time I've seen this since I've moved to Berlin. I wouldn't say it's common, but I probably see it once or twice a month. I have never, ever seen it before moving here from the US though. I chalk that fact up to a few factors 1) the rate of smoking is much higher here than in the US 2) There are a lot more people on bikes here and a LOT more using their bike to commute. 3) Smokers who are commuting to and from work tend to smoke (Lord knows I saw plenty of people in the US smoking on their way to work while in their cars). Thus, logically, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to see people smoking while biking.

But it really is surprising. After all, cycling is inherently a healthy activity. Why would you ruin it with smoking? But it's not that; I know plenty of smokers cycle (and good for them). But it's the act of smoking while cycling that throws me for a loop. It's like spitting in the face of any benefit you might be getting from the exercise itself. But that's just it; none of the people I've seen smoking while cycling seemed to be cycling for the exercise; they were just wearing street clothes meandering along just like Gramps I mentioned above. I guess they're just getting from point A to point B and taking a nicotine hit while doing it. I guess it's the contrast of it more than anything...

2009-11-28T09:04:00.002+01:00

Remember me? The one who actually started the blog? Still no real content yet but in the meanwhile, check out this amazing video showing the Rise and Fall of the Maritime Empires. You can read more about it here if you are interested. The comments are pretty interesting.

Visualizing empires decline from Pedro M Cruz on Vimeo.

I would LOVE to see this starting with the Roman (or even earlier!) Empires....

Fahrradsport Wednesday - Helmets

2009-11-25T22:03:00.002+01:00

As a neuroscientist, I know that the gunk (technical term) in your head is kinda important. Thus, when you're riding a bike, it's a damn good idea to wear a bike helmet.

Since I've been riding in Berlin, I've noticed a few things about bike helmets. First, just about every kid on a bike is wearing a helmet. This is true for little ones riding in a kindersitz or little bigger ones riding on their own bikes. I have only seen rare exceptions to this, including two very little kids (one couldn't have been much older than 8 months old!), but with so many people riding bikes, you're bound to find some knuckleheads.

The situation with adults, however, is a completely different story. The vast majority of adults do not wear a helmet. Younger and older alike, I would say only about 20% of the adults I see are wearing a helmet. This is nuts. Many of the bike lanes in Berlin are simply just dashed lines running along the side of the road. And with so many uncontrolled intersections and clueless pedestrians, serious accidents must abound. And a bike offers no protection what so ever, and you can really get going at a very fast pace. AND the most likely part of your body to hit the pavement during a head-on collision (the most likely kind) is your HEAD.

I'm glad that many of the kids here wear helmets. But it's depressing that many of the adults do not. I can't imagine anything worse than a serious brain injury. Really, I think I would rather lose a foot or a hand than lose a part of my cortex. But maybe this is a Berlin thing. Are people in other parts of Germany more likely to wear helmets?

Travel insurance for travel back to the US

2009-11-21T10:07:00.003+01:00

Yelli and I are going back to the US for Xmas for 2 weeks. We've recently been added to the public insurance rolls here in Germany. Unfortunately, that insurance will not cover us while we're in the US. Presumably we'll need travel insurance, which our public insurance provider offers and is sending in the mail. But maybe an American insurance company is a better way to go?

Another sticking point is that we may need coverage for a pre-existing condition. Hmmm...

Does anyone have experience in dealing with this? Any advice? Please leave any helpful info in comments or if you prefer you can email the address in the profile for yelli.

PR in the 60's

2009-11-19T09:51:00.005+01:00

Although this is usually more of Honeyhorsepie's thing, I am also interested in climate change legislation and scientific facts.

See anything significant about this oil ad from the 1960's?

Really? 7 million tons of glaciers??? Mission accomplished...

Fahrradsport Wednesday - Dynamos

2009-11-18T07:40:00.004+01:00

Berlin is way far North, which means it gets very dark very early in the winter. Thus, anyone riding a bike must have lights for his/her bike. A nice old lady made this perfectly clear to me a few weeks ago when she screamed at me "Mann muss Lichter haben!!!" Ach so, alles klar...

The thing is, I had a light on my bike. It just happened that at the time it decided to stop working. This is because my bike has a dynamo on it. For those of you not in the know, a dynamo is a little generator that is powered by running along your tire. The idea seems nice; with a dynamo, you are self sufficient and not dependent upon batteries that will run out, so you should have a light that always works. But guess what? Dynamos are a pain in the ass. Let me explain.

Dynamos essentially require degrees in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering in order to be properly maintained. Mechanically they must be in exactly the right position against the tire so that it is optimally turning as the tire turns. Otherwise it doesn't turn and instead rubs a hole in the side of your tire. Also, your tire pressure has to be exactly right. And then the dynamo can't be too dirty, otherwise it won't turn properly. Which is so easy to do on the ultra-clean streets of Berlin.

Then these things require a wire from the dynamo to the back and front lights. To complete the circuit, electricity then runs through the frame of the bike itself! So, here you have an electrical circuit running over the whole of your bike through a flimsy wire and the bike frame exposed to the elements. Sure, nothing could go wrong there!

If it's working, great! You get a nice bright light (except only when you're peddling). But if it's not, then how do you figure out what's wrong? Is it the light bulb? Is the wire broken someplace? Is the dynamo working properly and making good contact with the tire? Has the rain shorted out the bike? At the time when the nice old lady was informing me that my light wasn't working, it would work (temporarily) if I bounced up and down on my bike. So what the heck could be wrong to explain that?

Guess what? I don't want to find out. A light with a battery is just much easier to figure out, and it's not distributed over the whole bike. And LED technology has made batteries go for much, much longer without compromising brightness. I've noticed that nearly all the old bikes in Berlin have dynamos, but that many of the newer bikes have battery-powered lights. So even the slow-to-adopt-new-technology Germans are catching on.

Do yourself a favor: ditch the dynamo!

The Solution

2009-11-17T22:43:00.004+01:00

I am not going to bore you with details about why I haven't blogged but a choir trip to Dunblane and...let's just say that being sick sucks. You know what sucks even more? A toddler that is sick. Poor little guy. We are all recovered (for the most part) but falling asleep before my head hits the pillow every night is not entirely conducive to blogging.

back to regularly scheduled blogging...

Have you ever been hungry AND your feet were bare? Well, look no further!

Introducing...BROTSCHUH!

And only 62 Euros! Imagine that! Hurry before they are all sold out!

Thanks to my friend J for the heads up!

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-11-06T06:22:00.005+01:00

I was just thinking that I needed to find Micheal Jackson, Elvis and Barack Obama matryoshka dolls for Christmas presents. Thank you Prague. All my Christmas shopping is now done! (Don't look Mom and Dad!)

seen in a souvenir shop in Prague

I think I also see Montel Williams as the small one.

Does anyone know who the woman is? Madonna maybe? (I think that is what is written.)

If you want to play along, please leave me a comment. Happy Funny Foto Freitag!

2009-11-05T16:09:00.000+01:00

The World is eagerly awaiting the fall of the Berlin Wall's 20th Anniversary this coming Monday 9 November. There will be many activities and celebrations. Even U2 is coming to sing a free concert at the famous Brandenburger Gate tonight.

However, in total complete ironic hilarity, the concert organizers are building a ~~wall~~ 20ft high barrier around the free concert so only people who have tickets (which were free BTW) can see!

You can't make this stuff up folks!

Fahrradsport Wednesday

2009-11-04T09:15:00.002+01:00

I've been given permission to have a regular feature on 50%, and I need an outlet to vent about a recent "hobby" I have taken up. I speak of Fahrradsport or cycling. Every Wednesday, you'll hear about my musings on riding a bike in Berlin.

Over the last year yelli and I had year tickets for riding the local public transit system. We could ride them any time to any place. Very nice and very convenient. But at nearly 700 euros a pop, we decided to let them expire and try to cycle more. So I've been cycling to work, there and back, 40 min each way.

I would say cycling in Berlin is pretty easy, overall. Many streets have dedicated bike lanes. And I don't mean just a lane painted on the side of the road. In many places, they actually have a lane, running along the sidewalk what is laid with bricks! And at many busy intersections, there are streetlights dedicated just to cyclists. They have paid attention to the fact that cycling is an important way to get around, much more than any place I've seen in the US.

One drawback (I'll will be coming back to many other drawbacks in future posts; after all, a blog is often just an outlet for ranting more than anything) is that Berlin is more or less a city that has a prominent East-West Axis, given that a major rail line runs in the middle of the city in this direction. In general, at least where I am in West Berlin, there are lots of nice bike lanes running east and west. But there are hardly any that are dedicated to running north and south. This sucks for me because that is the direction of my commute. So I end up taking a silly route that goes on streets along with traffic with little turns onto small bike lanes, back onto the street, and back.

More next week!

Flying in the sky...

2009-11-02T17:52:00.005+01:00

As expats, we are no strangers to flying, especially international travel but I never knew it could be this beautiful.

I love watching the dark and light patterns shift with the number of flights. Where everyone is going and why I can't help but wonder...

In which I post adorable photos of Halloween...

2009-11-01T22:16:00.010+01:00

Although Halloween is not traditionally celebrated in Germany, it is increasing in popularity in the last few years. In saying that, trick or treating has not really seemed to catch on and Germans think that one can only wear spooky costumes (think white faces with blood dripping), but you can still find things to do here.

Our English language playgroup decided to have a little party which we attended. We got to dress up and hear Room on a Broom besides lots of spooky treats!

We also carved pumpkins. I saw that "Halloween pumpkins" were being sold at a few fruit stands.

Bode's look is priceless here.

He got the hang of it eventually!

Contemplating what to draw...

It turns out that we didn't really have a choice and if you look really carefully at the Scientist's hand above, you will see who we carved! (Props to the Scientist for his rendition of Baby Bird's ~~obsession~~ favorite character.)

The pumpkin on the right is ours and the pumpkin on the left was carved by some South African friends of ours. They made a spider face. Watch out for their mad pumpkin carving skillz! This was their first one! Super gemacht!

All in all, the feeling wasn't the same and I definitely missed the US at this time but we still managed to sneak a few American traditions in.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-10-30T07:30:00.003+01:00

Many people think that the Czech Republic is renowned for their beer but maybe people just haven't tried the "whine wine" - (ala Sailor style of course)!

Taking at a restaurant in Prague in the Jewish Quarter.

If you want to play along, please leave me a comment with your blog post in the comments. Happy Foto Freitag!

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-10-23T07:14:00.005+02:00

Lübbenau is an adorable little city with a big port and a little port (but don't blink or you might miss them both.) It made for a nice day trip for the Scientist and his parents while they were visiting.

The region, called Spreewald, is famous for pickles and they picked up many jars of gherkins while they were there.

While walking around this quaint little town, they stumbled onto this idyllic mural. Serene and peaceful....

Until you get to the horned frog!!!!

Leave me a comment below if you want to play along.

We are headed to Prague for a few days so I hope to have some tips for everyone from this beautiful city when we return.

Happy Foto Freitag!

Airfare: buy now or wait?

2009-10-21T23:23:00.002+02:00

That time of year is here for expats to decide where they are going to spend their holidays. I usually hate traveling over the holidays and have avoided it successfully for many years but having a young child complicates things...

For those of you wanting to travel over the holidays, I recommend reading the following 2 pieces.

The first one tells you to buy if you see a deal but really you should wait because last year prices went down...

The second article tells us prices are not going down this time around. They are going up as airlines have reduced the number of flights.

It feels like a bit of a chicken and egg argument though, doesn't it? (oder?) Did they increase because the NYtimes said the were going to increase causing panic for all of those who were waiting? Not exactly a hard science is it?

We recently bought a ticket back to the States for Christmas and will be heading back for the first time since we moved here. I am sure we will let you know all about our culture shock once we arrive. I am just excited to have access to these...

I am happy to share with you the price we got. Just leave me a comment below.

I am boundin!

2009-10-20T17:00:00.000+02:00

If you need a pick-me-up...

I found this while searching for the short film about birds for Baby Bird. Pixar is so brilliant...

Banned

2009-10-20T11:58:00.004+02:00

The scenario: Me innocently downloading recent pics from my camera.

The evidence:

Princess Axe Murderer and her angry mob indeed!

The verdict: The Scientist and Baby Bird are never allowed to play with Playmobil ever again!

Think of the children!

And just for kicks, check out Playmobil reviews.

Looking down on us...

2009-10-18T16:16:00.006+02:00

My grandfather passed away last week.

I was very lucky growing up. My grandparents were healthy and enjoyed every second of their grandchildren. As a child, I could do no wrong in their eyes. When I brought them a rock, they thought it was the most special rock they ever saw. Whatever I did, I felt that unconditional love that every child should have from their grandparents.

My grandfather himself was a very special person. My parents ~~to get us out of their hair~~ let us visit our grandparents every summer. One summer when I was 11 or 12, I found this "perfect" walking stick that I used to hike around their large farm with in Michigan. My grandpa saved this walking stick for me to this day. He was just that type of person.

Another year, at age 9 or 10, we were driving in the car together. I noticed a sign that said "Pennsylvania". I immediately made a commotion about heading in the wrong direction! He stopped the car and turned around, so thankful that I caught it before we ended up in Pennslyvania. He thanked me for helping him for many years to come. Years later, traveling down the same road as a driver myself, I noticed that that the "road to Pennslyvania" was the correct direction to where we were headed. How we got home that day I will never know!

I could tell you a million stories like this about him and he never once showed that he himself did not have an easy life. His father passed away when he was young and thus he became the breadwinner for the family. He somehow held a job and went to high school at the same time.

When he met my grandmother, who was a recent British immigrant at the time, he was immediately smitten. They got married on her birthday soon after they met much to the chagrin of my proper British grandmother's parents.

I am so happy he got to meet my son. He took so much pride in becoming a great-grandparent. He would carry him around and sing to him like any proud grandparent. He truly was a "Grand Father" in every sense of that word.

He and my grandmother are both gone now but their lessons of never ending patience will not be forgotten.

I apologize in advance if the blog remains blank for a bit more...

Can you say Massachusetts?

2009-10-15T22:09:00.004+02:00

I found this very clever commercial for the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie; what the Germans refer to as the MIT of Deutschland. I guess I never really thought about it but Massachusetts is kind of a difficult word to pronounce!

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-10-09T08:11:00.004+02:00

We all remember the kiddie -pooper scooper incident, but I didn't realize that anyone would immortalize this action in a statue! At least this kid has a chamber pot underneath...

Seen at Oktoberfest

You know the drill. If you want to play along, please leave me a note in the comment section!

Happy Funny Foto Freitag!

My 1st Oktoberfest

2009-10-08T20:42:00.001+02:00

Recently, The Scientist had a work-related event in Regensburg so I tagged along with him. Meanwhile, the Oma and Opa were visiting and insisted they spend some time alone with Baby Bird.

If they insist...

So, we took advantage of free-babysitting and headed south. While there, we hung out with the fabulous Euchre-playing Regensburgers & even lunched with AmiExpat. I can't say enough nice things about either of these fine folks who write just as superbly as they appear in real-life.

We also took a side trip to Wies'n on Saturday night where my Bavarian friends had a table reservation. So, I donned my dirndl and set off to see the spectacle.

Although this is a pretty horrible picture, Oktoberfest is essentially a big giant state fair complete with ferris wheels and silly rides.

The tents are the main attraction though. Only breweries in Bavaria are allowed to host a tent and if I am correct, the tents are the only place one can consume beer. We were in one of the mid-size tents that seats only ~5,000 people.

I can't really ~~remember~~ tell you much about the atmosphere about the tent except that for the most part people were drinking and/or singing. The Germans, at least in this tent, seemed to have a strange fascination with "Country Roads," "Sweet Home Alabama" and a children's song called Das Fliegerleid. Every German in the tent stopped what they were doing and sang all of the words to this song...and performed all of the movements. You can learn this too. Just follow along with the video below.

Who the f*** is Alice was also a big hit...You can't make this stuff up folks.

So, after a few rounds...

The beer is only sold in 1 Liter glasses called die Maß. They are heavy as evidenced by the muscles in our server's arms! She let me lift them but I am not sure I could do this all night.

Don't drink too much though...This is the line to the girl's bathroom.

a good time...

was had by all...

If you want more information about attending Oktoberfest or Wies'n as it is called by the locals (literally means field), please visit Zurika with her post "Oktoberfest Answers you have been searching for or 25,000 drunks a day by Deutschland über Elvis.

Prost!

All about Berlin...

2009-10-05T14:52:00.003+02:00

I am neglecting my poor little blog lately but between visiting Regensburg, family visitors, and a sick little toddler, I don't have much time left for anything but sleeping! Hopefully I will get some pictures downloaded and more bloggy stories to come...

I didn't intend to be so involved with stories about Berlin but I came upon all of these recently quite by chance. I thought maybe some of you out there might be interested in stories about Berlin, especially post-war.

I enjoyed everything listed here and would recommend all of them with the caveat that I don't usually read historical fiction.

What I am Reading:

Stasiland: True stories from behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder - The Australian born Anna Funder documented many strange cases that happened while living in the former GDR. I really enjoyed this and feel I have a greater understanding of some of the difficulties of everyday life under constant watch by the Stasi. Anna Funder's style is somewhat dreamlike and very compatible to her subject matter.
The Luminious Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin. Despite the award for "Stupidest Title which makes everyone think you still read Sweet Valley High books", this book was quite brilliant. Set in post-World War I in Berlin, it follows a girl who struggles to survive. Great character development and well researched.
Mr. Norris changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood - These 2 books were supposed to be part of a larger collection called "The Berlin Stories." Published in 1935, this chronicles the author's travels in Berlin. Although fiction, he uses his own experiences to capture a good snapshot of post-war Berlin.
Good-bye Berlin by Christopher Isherwood - considered among the most significant political novels of the 20th century by many, I felt I had to read this. I enjoyed both of these books for his amazing writing style and interesting characters. However, I am not sure that I follow the "greatest book of all time crowd." Worth a read - yes. Worth

What I am Watching:

The Lives of Others (Des Leben der Anderen) - the 2007 Academy Award winning film for Best Foreign Language about a Stasi officer and attachment to his human subjects. We watched it in German with English subtitles (though I tried pretty successfully not to look at them). Although many people doubt the authenticity of a Stasi officer working alone so often, it was a wonderful storyline and the acting was fantastic. I was sad that it ended.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions along these lines or enjoyed something I recommended above!

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-10-02T09:39:00.004+02:00

I walk by this place often and never thought how funny the name sounds in English until the Scientist's Dad, Capt K came to visit this past week. Capt K wants all of you to know that despite its name, this place had very good döner kebab.

For those of you non-German speakers, a Rathaus is the city hall with Rat meaning Advice. This Imbiss is across the street from a Rathaus.

You know the drill. Leave me a comment if you want to play along!

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-09-25T06:43:00.002+02:00

Special Guest Edition Funny Foto Freitag today from our friends in Belgium.

D & I found this lovely little stand at a fair in Leuven, Belgium. They had a tough choice to make to eat for lunch: snails or hamburgers???

As usual, if you want to play along, please leave a comment below. I will post them when I return on Sunday!

How many Germans want the Wall back?

2009-09-24T22:12:00.006+02:00

A recent poll taken in Germany found 1 in 7 Germans want the Berlin Wall back. With the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall looming in the near future, some resentment still remains among the formerly separated sides.

One of the most interesting things about living in Berlin is that both Easties and Westies still live together in one city. Although I usually don't give much of a thought to whether a German is from the former East or West, as far as I can tell, there are immediate signs evident to Germans that give them away.

For example, we invited our German neighbors over for some dinner. They noticed we had this brand of mustard on our table.

Much to our disbelief, they wrinkled their nose at our choice of mustard from the former East Germany. I didn't realize that we needed 2 different types of mustard at our house for different guests!

Of course, I do this for for other Americans I meet- dialects and choice of words often give origins easily away. And almost every American I meet knows where I hail from as my still occasionally strong and distinctive accent gives me away.

There are other products as this article from the BBC points out. Vita Cola seems to be making a comeback for the nostalgic for Eastern bloc types. Good bye Lenin was a fantastic movie about this very subject.

There is even a political party that pokes fun at this surprising attitude. Die Partei promises to change the national symbol from a eagle into a bunny and turn the former East Germany into a wildlife refuge and populate it with pensioners.

I have felt comfortable enough with a few of my German friends to ask if whether an East German and a West German could marry easily. The answer I get is usually "yes but..." I don't think the South and the North in the U.S. are so different that it would be difficult to marry but come to think of it, I can't think of anyone that fits that label. Anyone else out there have any experience with any of these scenarios?

Well, if naked hiking was your thing, I might too, be skeptical of reuniting. :)

Special thanks to D & I for pointing this article to me! Maybe they should too start a blog??? in their spare time of course! hint hint!

Bird composer

2009-09-19T13:00:00.005+02:00

This has nothing to do with anything but most of you will remember my bird obsession & my shameless self-promotion. This combines both of my passions!

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-09-18T09:55:00.003+02:00

I know that some of you already saw my post on Jugger but I still can't get over these trophies.

Someone, somewhere created these. They are supposed to be dog skulls. I was told they are fashioned out of pool noodles.

Want to join in on the Funny Foto Freitag Fun? Leave me a comment and I will add your blog to the list!

Other Contributors:

Life and Loves of a Dutch Girl shows us what rabbits do in Budapest.

and yet more Shameless Self-Promotion

2009-09-17T11:32:00.003+02:00

My choir has a couple of concerts coming up.

The first concert is next Wednesday night, September 23rd at 6:30pm.

We are singing Elizabethan songs (think madrigal songs with lots of nymphs, wine and bonnie lasses) in the British Embassy near the Brandenburg Gate. Special guests include Sir Michael Arthur, British Ambassador to Germany playing the Viola and Kate Davenport on the violin. Tickets are free but because it is in the embassy, you need to send them your name and email address ahead of time.

You can find more information including how to get tickets from here.

The second concert will be held in Dunblane, Scotland on November 8th, at 8:30pm. We will be singing Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. This concert will bring together German and British choirs to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII. Tickets are 12-15 Euros.

More information can be found here on the host choir's website.

Airfare Sale to Europe

2009-09-15T18:32:00.002+02:00

British Airways is having a sale. For some weird reason, it seems you have to fly through Chicago but for my relatives, that wouldn't a problem (hint, hint). The travel is valid from October 22, 2009 through March 28, 2010

These aren't the cheapest tickets I have ever seen but they are definitely on the low side. These tickets seem around $200 per leg. We have flown British Airways a couple of times and had a pretty nice flight.

Jugger: American Gladiator meets Medieval Times

2009-09-15T05:33:00.003+02:00

On one fine recent Saturday morning, we ran into about 100 of these folks on the train.

Our curiosity overcame our need to act like Germans and say nothing on the train to them so we asked them what they were doing.

They were members of a Jugger team competing in a tournament in Berlin.

for this ultimate trophy...

I didn't know they made trophies with dog skulls on them

What is Jugger one might ask?

Well, you use these weapons:

to try to score with the dog skull "ball."

that gray spot in the center is a dog skull made out of pool noodles according to our sources

As you reach your opponents, ~~you fight to the death~~ get poked and have to sit down for 5 "stones." Each stone is represented by one beat of a drum.

Think American Gladiator meets Medieval Times.

There were chains tangled with weapons everywhere. This got to be rather comical.

There were not very many women playing but this girl with the ball and chain kicked ass. As long as I was watching her, she never got hit. Here she is defending her Qwik or Läufer (the only person who can score). Notice the Qwik has the dog skull in her arms about to make a goal.

It isn't all fun and games. This enforcer or Pompfer had blood running down his cheek...like a real warrior.

It is all worth the trophy at the end.

What is the origin of this sport? Interestingly (or perhaps comically) the inspiration comes from a little known 1989 post-apocalyptic Australian film entitled "The Blood of Heroes."

Needless this to say, this sport is very popular in Germany. And Costa Rica.

If you are still interested, here is a good link and an explanatory video to get you pumped up.

The 2nd German Open in Berlin for 2010 has been announced. Let me know if you are in town. ;)

Unplug Your Kids - Sound

2009-09-14T13:49:00.006+02:00

This week's theme was Sound. I found this awesome Sound Memory Game and knew we had to make it.

First, we assembled all of the materials.
Then we took the different "sounds" and put them into 2 cups. For one of our sounds, we used old Deutsche Marks, pfennings, that we found in an abandoned elephant piggybank at work. The colleagues said we could take them.

We then put each "sound" into 2 cups. I didn't take a picture of the next events but let's just say I spent the next few minutes cleaning up oats.

Here is what we ended up with:

paper clips
dried noodles
dried soy beans
oats
pennies

Then we tested them. They sounded too similar!!! The pennies, noodles and paperclips sounded too much alike to us, so we replaced the paper clips with wine corks & added more pennies.

To make the lids, we used 2 shades of colored paper. For older kids, one color is probably more challenging. I found something with a large diameter and traced it.

I traced the plastic cup in the center of the circles so that I had a point of reference in where I should fold.

I then cut slits around the circle in the center.

After I folded the tabs over, I used scotch tape to secure the lids. This worked better than I expected as even Baby Bird shook it as hard as he could, it did not seem to make it move an inch. Baby Bird finished it off by putting matching stickers on matching sound cups. We used Thomas the Tank Engine stickers which made my Thomas-obsessed son even more excited to play.

The finished game!

Is it a match?

A match!

We had a lot of fun playing the game. In fact, the first thing Baby Bird did this morning was ask to play it again (after playing it non-stop for 1 1/2 hours last night). He likes the shaking more than the matching part but... {{shrugs}}

For more projects about sound, please see Unplug Your Kids.

Denglish

2009-09-14T13:21:00.003+02:00

Now that I have this off my chest, back to my regularly scheduled blogging of hilariousness. A friend pointed me to this funny video about Denglish. (Deutsch + English = Denglish)

This will only be funny to you if you meet certain criteria:

you speak German
you speak English

Maybe someone could clue me in kleinweich? I am not sure I get that last little bit.

What if your favorite Denglish word?

Another friend sent me this video. Real uses of English words in Germany! Hilarious!

And the time is right and I decide to weigh in...

2009-09-11T09:01:00.011+02:00

I know today is Funny Foto Freitag but I am not feeling so funny today.

I haven't blogged in awhile due to many things. I recently got a job which has been wonderful. It is stressful to figure out everything at first, especially because most information is in German but I am chugging through it. I have really enjoyed getting to know Germans in another light; the work environment. This is another 100 blog posts in itself.

We have also been dealing with a medical issue in our close family. I don't usually like getting so personal in my blog but I feel I have to weigh in. Stop reading now if you don't want me to get political.

This said person, I will call this said person A for "Any American", is sick. A had a job but lost the job eventually because A was sick and unable to work. Yes, A was on disability for awhile but it runs out and A did not get better. Medicaid & Medicare can take a long time to qualify for, in this case, almost 2 years with 1 year being a "waiting period." (WTF?!?!) That is 2 years of being very sick without insurance. That is 2 years of being so sick that it is too difficult to fill out pages and pages of paperwork and tell relatives where papers like the old heating bills might be. Guess who takes care and pays for everything?

I don't want to get into the details (you can ask specifics if you would like) but this is a real story.

A could be anyone's parent, child, grandparent, sister, brother, etc...I would have NEVER thought that this could happen to someone until it happened. to us. and it SUCKS.

Don't get me wrong. I would do anything to help A and we have. But we do it from far away and it required everyone in the family to pull together their resources and time and devote all attention to this matter.

I keep wondering though, about what would have happened to A if family was not able to step in and help manage everything?

A would have surely lost her housing. A, a kind and giving person but sick with a common illness, would have been homeless. {shiver}

Americans deserve better. Fight for progressive health care change. I don't have the energy right now to go over all of the details but luckily for me, more articulate people than I have already discussed it.

If you want more stats and information, see (and make sure you read the comments):

The US already has a Public Option that works in San Fransisco (courtesy of the NYT)
Blogging Mama & the big health care speech
Ami Expat's Health Care Posts about German vs US healthcare (& see posts 2, 3, 4, & 5)
PhD in Parenting (A Canadian perspective and dispelling myths)
Our Feet Are the Same on A is for Are you Kidding?
How ridiculous our health care system is : from $12,600 to $700

Heck, even Keifer Sutherland has weighed in with some surprising statistics (he is a Canadian and grandson of a health care reformer from Canada) It is only 30 sec. You have time to watch it.

If you do decide to leave a comment, I just ask that you be respectful. This isn't easy for me to write about and any crazy derogatory comment will just look bad for your cause anyways. I am happy to dig up any stats to defend my case because like most things in my life: I make opinions based on research. You are forewarned. :)

Controversial Aids ad in Germany

2009-09-09T07:53:00.005+02:00

I don't even know where to begin with this. It definitely catches your attention but then again mixing Aids and Hitler is a surefire way to create controversy.

You can see the video below. The actual commercial starts at 0.36 and ends at 0.58min. (I couldn't find it anywhere else but on a Young Turks episode.)

Original Source from Time.

You have been warned. Watch at your own risk.

German music

2009-08-31T06:48:00.006+02:00

I won't pretend that I usually like German music. Most of the music I hear on the radio is American (or at least popular in America also). The German music is usually very pop sounding, which I am not fond of.

However, when I first heard this song at the Munich wedding I attended recently, I had to buy it. All of the Germans seemed to know it and sang along eagerly. The song is called "Ein Kompliment" and it is sang by a very good German band called Sportfreunde Stiller. Now it can be your favorite song! How can you not love a song that sings about the "foam crown on the wave of enthusiasm?"

Here are the German lyrics.

Wenn man so will , bist du das Ziel einer langen Reise ,
die Perfektion der Besten Art und Weise ,
in Stillen Momenten leise,
die Schaumkrone , der Woge der Begeisterung,
Bergauf , mein Antrieb und Schwung

Ich wollte dir nur mal eben sagen,
dass du das Grösste für mich bist,
und sichergehn ob du denn das selbe für mich fühlst,für mich fühlst.

Wenn man so will bist du meine Chill-Out Area,
meine Feiertage in jedem Jahr,
meine Süsswarenabteilung im Supermarkt,
die Lösung wenn mal was hakt,
so wertvoll , dass man es sich gerne auf spart,
und so schön , dasss man nie darauf verzichten mag,

Ich wollte dir nur mal eben sagen,
dass du das Grösste für mich bist ,
und sicheregehen ob du denn das selbe für mich fühlst,
für mich fühlst!

Here are the lyrics roughly translated into English. (some of it very rough -please correct me if you can!)

If one so wants, you are the goal of a long journey, the perfection in the best way, in quiet moments, the foam crown of the wave of the enthusiasm, my uphill, my drive and my momentum

I just wanted to say to you at times, that you are the one for me. And it goes reliably, whether you feel the same for me, feel the same for me.

If one so wants, you are my Chill Out AREA, my holidays in each year, my candy section in the supermarket, the solution, when times hooks, so valuable that one in itself gladly do a part, and so beautifully that one may never do without it. (? I am not sure I get this part)

I just wanted to say to you at times, that you are the one for me. And it goes reliably, whether you feel the same for me, feel the same for me.

I just wanted to say to you at times, that you are the one for me. And it goes reliably, whether you feel the same for me, feel the same for me.

Any other recommendations for German music out there?

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-08-28T07:21:00.005+02:00

One thing that my I didn't-know-I-was-prudish American self had to get used to seeing was the frequency of nekkid sunbathers on sunny days, usually around lakes and in parks.

However, during my sister's visit last week, we visited a cemetery that had a remnant of the Berlin Wall.

What does this have to do with (almost) naked sunbathers?

Yes, those are headstones (Grabstein) around him.

Bring out 'yer dead!

As usual, if you want to play along, please leave leave a comment for me in the comment section.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS:

You are first!

A Delicious & Easy Lunch

2009-08-22T10:34:00.006+02:00

I have been trying to eat more vegetarian and expand my grain consumption (besides couscous) and found this delicious recipe which is easily modifiable. This is incredibly easy and quick. All ingredients can be found at normal grocery stores or at turkish stores. The best pita I found was at my local turkish store although I even found pida at Plus/Netto (though I can't vouch for how good it was). The bulgur was found in the Bio section of my normal grocery store although it was not labeled Bio.

Here is my modified recipe below. You can use parsley, cilantro or even basil for the mint. I left out the red onion due to my son's aversion to the onion taste. This is definitely toddler approved! Enjoy! It tastes even better the next day!

Bulgur Salad with chickpeas and roasted red peppers

1 1/2 cups fine-grain bulgur
3 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper
a few black olives sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 or 5 drained jarred roasted red peppers, diced (about 1 -1/1/2 cups)
1/4 cup minced fresh mint
splash of red wine vinegar
~3 TBSP toasted pine nuts
1 medium head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated
4 pita breads, warmed and cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Place the bulgur in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and set aside, stirring occasionally, until the bulgur has softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the bulgur, shaking the strainer and gently pressing out excess moisture. Return the bulgur to the bowl.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice, honey, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil until the dressing is smooth.

3. Heat a pan to medium (no oil). Throw pine nuts in and shake pan every 10 seconds until golden. This only takes 1-2 min. Toasted pine nuts have a distinctive wonderful smell.

4. Add the chickpeas, roasted peppers, olives, pine nuts and mint to the bowl with the drained bulgur and stir to combine. Drizzle the dressing and a splash of vinegar over the bulgur mixture and toss to combine.

5. Line each individual plate with several lettuce leaves. Mound some bulgur salad over the lettuce and tuck some pita wedges into the salad at several places around the plate. Serve.

Funny Foto Freitag - special heat edition

2009-08-21T00:01:00.005+02:00

With the heat wave that swept most of Germany yesterday, (Berlin was 32C or 90 F!), I am sure most of you wanted to sit back and drink some delicious fruity beer. A Radler maybe? (sparkling lemonade or Sprite/7-Up and beer-don't knock it till you try it!)

Well, here is what I found while perusing the beer section.

Yes folks, that is banana and beer. together. I wonder if this makes any Germans still upset about the recent appeal of the Reinheitsgebot or Germany Beer Purity Law from 1516.

Still thirsty? (And no my minions, I will not try this-not even for you!)

As usual, if you folks want to play along, please leave me a comment in the comment section below!

Other Contributors:

Fiona @ Living the land of chocolate shows us some princess jewels a bit inappropriately labeled!

What to bring to Germany Part II

2009-08-20T10:01:00.003+02:00

Are you moving to Germany? Since my first post on this failed and I ended up just confusing everyone, I thought I would try this again after a conversation recently with some other expats including the lovely Snooker.

First, I will qualify this by saying that you can find almost everything in Germany. I myself moved here with my son and hubby and 6 suitcases. We didn't bring anything else over. We tried to adapt as much as possible.

I know that we can substitute and often find things that are better. Contact lens solution was one thing I found that I love here and is a bit cheaper. (I use the DM generic brand) However, we are on a budget, we both work and take care of a little one. Sometimes, we don't feel very "adventurous."

And once in awhile, I just want to be comforted by things that I am familiar with especially when I am sick. I am living in a country where many things are unfamiliar to me not at the least, the language.

Here is my new and improved list after one year of living that I have not found suitable substitutions for. Please remember folks, I am in Berlin with no car. I don't have access to stores like Real or Kaufland (and most of the time, I am glad that I don't!)

Drugs - No, not that kind my silly readers (that is plentiful here as far as I have smelled!) Tylenol, NyQuil, Ibuprofen, Sudafed and even things like witch hazel (hydrogen peroxide) and isopropyl alcohol are not to be found here as easily or as cheaply. To give you an example, I recently had emergency but minor surgery which left me in enormous pain. They gave me 6 Paracetamol (tylenol for the NA folks reading) and told me I could get more from my Dr if I needed them. I usually refrain from using medicine (unlike a lot of American stereotypes) but I really wanted to be able to sleep fairly pain free. I don't even think the dosage was as strong as the OTC in the US.
Baking Powder - they sell backpulver here but it doesn't work the same as the double reactive baking powder found in North America. You can add more but eventually your food items begin tasting more like backpulver and don't ever achieve that wonderful fluffiness we love. You can find baking soda (Natriumbicarbonat or Natron) here but they sell it in small packets instead of big boxes.
Chocolate Chips - You can occasionally find a small 2 oz bag of Schokolade Tropfen that cost an arm and a leg but unless you want to chop up chocolate by yourself, you will be choco chip cookieless for your time here.
Fig cookies. Ok, so maybe you aren't a big fan of these as I am (My name is Yelli and I am addicted) but you can not find them anywhere. (PCC had the most delicious whole wheat fig cookies-Yummy!)
Pillows - see my post here to see what monstrosities-they-call-pillows one is most likely to find here. If you can't deal with these, BYOP.
Craft supplies - If you like to do crafts with kids or just yourself, it can be quite difficult to find even simple things like ~~pipe cleaners~~ chenille strips, googly eyes, wax paper, felt etc...
Vanilla - You can make your own (vanilla beans are super cheap on ebay.de) but it takes while so bring a few small bottles to tie you over.
Hot sauce - 'nuff said
BBQ sauce - I have seen Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce here a few times but if you like BBQ sauce without high fructose syrup in it, bring your own!
Calender - If you are like me and can't remember US holidays, bring a calender with you. We made a calender at Snapfish and put pictures of our family members on there as well.
Clothes especially Jeans - I have not had much luck finding jeans that fit me as well as the jeans brand I like in the States. Also, if you are going to end up buying American brand jeans anyways, (i.e. Levis) prepare for sticker shock. The H & M jeans I found fell apart after a few weeks so I also do not recommend buying poor quality jeans here as a substitute. I have to admit, it really annoys me to pay 3X more for cheap clothes that fall apart.
measuring spoons - I am now a digital scale convert instead of measuring cups so I didn't bother to put those on the list but I do occasionally use my old recipes and measuring spoons are invaluable to me.
pie pans - you can't find pie pans here. There isn't even really a word to translate the word pie and the Germans think you are nuts when you try to describe it to them. They do however, eat them up as fast as you can make them!
English books and movies - You can find them here in Berlin and I am sure elsewhere. St. George's will order almost anything for you but again, they are expensive. Amazon.de also has a good selection. In addition, if you plan on watching German or British movies, remember that they are a different region code than the US and will not play unless you have a region free DVD player (including laptops)
Specialty spices - taco seasoning (which you can make), cream of tartar, etc. If you think it is strange, bring it along!
Ceaser Salad Dressing - I don't know if I recommend bringing this over but I certainly have not found this dinner staple of mine. in Germany anywhere.

Remember:

"You adapt. You innovate. You overcome diversity."

- unknown author

Anything important I miss?

Stay tuned for what NOT to bring when moving to Germany...

The Idiot Tax

2009-08-19T15:15:00.008+02:00

The Scientist and I sometimes joke about something we call "The Idiot Tax." We have paid the idiot tax more times than I can count here in Germany and maybe by writing this post, I can help poor unfortunate expats like yourself (or those planning on being expats) avoid this.

The idiot tax happens when you pay extra for something that you don't need to pay extra for. Of course this can happen in your own country but but I can assure you that is was less often. Since I don't have the luck to have married a German, we bungle through this society together with only colleagues and friends to ask.

Let me give you some examples. I am sure I can come up with many more but in preservation of my fragile ego, I will give you a few that either I or other expat friends have paid for.

For example, what does this clean?

Did you guess laundry detergent whitener? This is actually a curtain cleaner and not meant to be put on clothes at all. This is what happens when you forget your German-English dictionary at home when you go shopping. An expat friend of mine bought this and asked me later if I needed any curtain cleaner as she couldn't use it. Neither of us have white curtains. :)

The idiot tax can come in all forms. Recently, our washing machine broke. We have a guarantee on it but some little munchkin must have put some change (a pfennig actually!) in his pants that I didn't catch.

There were all sorts of broken parts that we had to pay for. After I paid the repairmen 55 Euros, I just realized that I have no idea if I was being scammed or not. I must admit I don't know anything about fixing washing machines much less in German.

In my home country, I would at least know how to read the very technical washing machine manual or look at the Internet for our washing machine model or even call a technical friend to look at it or even find a cheap store where they might sell parts. I know where the boundaries are when repairmen completely miss appointments!

Here, I just acted as though I would normally act. I did call the shop and ask them pointedly why no one showed up but I didn't get a good answer. I even got to use a good "Das ist Quatsch!" (That is a crock!)

Was that acceptable? I don't know but I know I probably could have saved myself a good 55 euros!

I could go on and will probably post more Idiot Tax stories but just know, if you intend oin moving to a foreign country, make sure you save enough for the Idiot Tax!

Have you paid the idiot tax?

How to blend in...

2009-08-17T12:53:00.009+02:00

My favorite thing a German has said to me so far:

"Oh, you're American! I love Americans. They wear jogging pants & flip flops everywhere but they smell so nice and have such nice white teeth - very hygienic."

She then asked me to name my favorite smelly lotion stores. I will give her the dental card but lotion stores? People give me lotion for Christmas who don't know me very well. I probably still have some "Raspberry Reluctance" or "Thin Mint Passion" somwhere. I don't have anything against (midnight) pomegranates or oatmeal cookies and I have never personally wanted to smell like them but they even have scents for these too. Unless they start selling magic smelly hiking lotion that bugs aren't attracted too, I am not interested.

I am not claiming I don't ever use these products or even occasionally secretly enjoy them but my reasons might be another blog post in itself.

I will admit it does seem rather easy for me to pick Americans out of the crowds of tourists here in Berlin (but not usually by their smell.) Baseball caps, baggy shorts, flip flops, & white tennis shoes. Louder than normal voices. I doubt I always blend in. I am, much to my chagrin, still a product of my culture.

However, being in such a large city, one of my favorite things to do is play "Guess the Origin of the Tourist?" when ~~my Ipod battieries are run out which is almost always~~ I forget my Ipod. I can even pick German tourists out now when I am on vacation. Look for "the paw." (They will deny this and even claim this isn't a German company but don't believe them)

I was chatting with a British and German friend the other day and they both admitted to being embarrassed by their own respective tourists.

The funny thing is we probably miss those who do blend in.

My point being here that blend in as much as you can if you are a tourist but if you can't, don't worry. If you live here, one should probably make more of a consorted effort to "when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

If, however, you want to blend in with Germans, here are some pointers.

If you are female, wear skirts.
If you are male, manpris are totally in!
Don't try so hard to match your bag to your socks to your belt to your necklace. Germans don't care so why should you?
Flip flops are completely out unless you are 17.
Naked kids on beach = acceptable
Naked people on beach/grass/park = acceptable (Don't stare!)
Wear a scarf. It doesn't matter what color. The way you tie it, however, does matter.
If you are a little boy, wool tights are a mandatory winter clothing item.

Anything I missed?

Maybe this should have gone with the Random Tuesday Thoughts! ☺

Unplug Your Kids - Pocket Paper Plate Frogs

2009-08-17T10:15:00.006+02:00

We haven't recently participated in Unplug Your Kids for awhile due to many things notwithstanding Unplug's recent French vacation and the beautiful weather that leaves Mommy and Baby Bird with the complete inability to do anything inside when the weather is beautiful. Since we had a couple of hours left over last night after swimming all day, (read exhausted) we decided it is time to get back in the swing! This week's theme was pocket.

I bookmarked these adorable pocket frogs awhile ago and decided with all of the recent frog sightings we have had, this would be a great project.

I got the idea from a couple of websites here and here. We then just modified as we saw fit and according to what supplies we had.

Paint one side of a paper plate green.

Flip to the other side after letting the first side dry. We let Baby Bird decide what the color of inside the mouth was. He chose black.

Then we painted the eyes. I used green egg cartons which are common here.

We painted them white and then told him to make a black speck in the middle.

The Scientist helped attach the eyes with tape since we don't have a glue gun here nor would we know how to find one.

We aren't done yet Baby Bird! It needs a nice froggie tongue!

To attach the froggie tongue, we used a white strip of paper colored red with crayon and attached a chenille strip underneath with tape. I think a Popsicle stick would work well but I also have not found these at a craft store yet. And I never think of saving them when we occasionally indulge. :)

Me: Baby Bird-what does your frog say?
Baby Bird: I have a long tongue - ribbit!

We attempted to sing the following song but Baby Bird just used his frog to eat things. If your child is more cooperative, we sang this to the tune of 5 little Ducks.

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

Five green and speckled frogs, sat on a speckled log, eating some most delicious bugs.

One jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool, now there are four green & speckled frogs.

Four green and speckled frogs…….now there are three green speckled frogs.

Three green and speckled frogs……now there are two green speckled frogs.

Two green and speckled frogs……now there is one green speckled frog.

One green and speckled frog……now there are no green speckled frogs.

For other projects around the theme pocket, please check out Unplug Your Kids!

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-08-14T11:02:00.005+02:00

On our whirlwind trip to the UK, we ended up in Edinburgh and visited our Scientist Family Doppelgangers in Scotland. They took us to a wonderful gem called The Scottish Seabird Centre. (more on this later) As we were walking by, we saw this dog topiary that the kids really enjoyed. Baby Bird even barked at it.

Then, if you happen to be curious how they made this plant dog, they thoughtfully provided directions. You know, just in case you had a pen and paper laying around and could take notes so you too could have your very own dog plant topiary in your yard or balcony. Just let me know if you need a better quality picture in case you also need directions. :)

If you want to play along, leave me a message in the comments. Happy Foto Freitag!

And you thought the US campaigns were bad?

2009-08-12T09:31:00.007+02:00

Speaking of poor taste in political ads, this ad is currently being run in Berlin by a CDU (Christian Democratic) conservative candidate. It says (roughly translated) "We have more to offer" which is running across a controversial photograph of Angela Merkel from a recent night out at the Opera. (controversial because of the plunging neckline)

original source: SZ online

So I ask, will the Berliners be persuaded by "who has more to offer?" Stay tuned until Sept. 27th when voters will decide which ~~breasts~~ candidates are better.

I'm Back!

2009-08-10T23:28:00.005+02:00

After a trip to Munich for a wedding, home for a couple of days and then off on a whirlwind trip around the UK with my parents and my sis, we are finally home!

Of course, I have been home for a few days but Baby Bird decided to play Dare Devil on some playground equipment and has been limping around which means no time for Mommy to blog...

I have a lot to blog about but there is only one reason for my post today.

Happy Birthday Dad! We miss you!!!!!

taken at the Edinburgh Castle Cannon

Funny Foto Freitag

2009-07-24T08:24:00.002+02:00

We were innocently wandering through the Englisher Garten in München on a peaceful bridge when we heard a commotion.

When what to our wondering eyes should appear but four bobbing heads in the water, so near!

I spared you the nekkid photos folks...it wasn't pretty!

If you have a funny photo and want to play along, please put leave a comment in this post.

Happy Funny Foto Freitag!

80's beware: LASRS!

2009-07-23T15:18:00.004+02:00

Anyone remember these?

Of course, I have a few moments to spare while Baby Bird naps and instead of being productive, I am on the Internet. I found this website where lasered photos have taken their rightful place on the Internet for all to see.

Was this only an American thing? What were we thinking?

Go now my minions and submit ~~brother's/sister's~~ your photo!

Home from München

2009-07-23T09:05:00.003+02:00

Home from München...I didn't eat doughy Pretzels, obatzda, Weißwurst (take the skin off!) and 1L beer for breakfast this morning but I am still glad to be home.

We saw the "Tower of Dancing Robots" (according to BB) aka Glockenspiel.

Drank beer at the Chineschiser Turm (well, the better question is "Where didn't we drink beer?)

The wedding was wonderful and beautiful albeit a little rainy.

Baby Bird wore Tracht for the wedding.

There will be more blogging to be done but I will have to stay awake longer than 21:00 to get it done! (That is 9pm for you US people!)

Baby Bird's kita is closed for 2 weeks right now (no blogging during the day for me!) and we leave on Saturday to meet my parents in the UK with no Internet access so I will otherwise will see you in August!

Eine Deutsche Hochzeit

2009-07-15T11:35:00.001+02:00

Not me of course! I just celebrated 5 years with my favorite Scientist. However, we are flying to München on Thursday to celebrate my friend V's wedding!

V is a good (German) friend of mine who I met while doing an exchange outside of München in the 11th grade. We have kept in touch (albeit barely) over the years but now that I am in Germany, we have seen each other twice!

I was so honored that she invited me to her wedding. However, that happiness soon changed into anxiety!

What will I wear? What to expect? What is an appropriate gift? How will I understand anything in Bayerisch (the local southern German dialect)? Do I really have to wear Tracht? (Tracht is dirndl & lederhosen)

I am very excited about experiencing more German culture. I have asked around and been told that Germans play a lot of games at their weddings. The games seemed similar to games played at wedding showers in the States.

I have also heard German couples saw wood together. I don't know anything about this and the only thing I could find was this picture on Google Picture Search.

If you have any tips for me, please leave them in the comments. I won't be back until next Tuesday but will be excited to report back what I saw!

Until then, Pfiati!