On the road....

The Hub and I are currently on a lengthy road trip...in Provence...be back soon, with tales from the road...

so.....come back again soon, ok?

It is not that I can't....

 

It is that I don't need to.  I am talking about driving.  It is sort of strange to think about it...in my old job in the US, driving to a location was a big part of my day.  It was not unusual to hop in the car and drive 2-2 1/2 hours to a location and then make the drive home at the end of the work day...heck, I even drove 4 hours to a location when absolutely necessary and then made that drive back the same night.  That happened very rarely, and did involve a cross in time zone.....and boy, did I drag the next day!

Since we moved here last year, I have acquainted myself with the city's public transit system and embraced riding the trains, trams and buses to get where I need to go.  At home, my parents are guarding my car and giving it the garage space that it only dreamed of while we lived in Atlanta. 

We do have a car here.....it is part of our ex-pat deal.  I suppose that we could have turned it down and taken a stipend instead, but having a car here has allowed us the opportunity to take fun road trips to Italy and France...and cart our visitors about when they come.  The Hub drives to work everyday...and he uses his car time to take conference calls, have one-on-ones with his team and listen to his German language instruction lessons...these are things you just can't do on the commuter train, so he takes the car everyday.  

I like the idea of living in a city with the option to take full advantage of the transit system.  I have lived in biggish cities in the US (Detroit, Cincinnati, Atlanta), but none of them had a subway or a suburban rail system like we have here in Munich, and as a result, felt like a smaller big city, not a for-real city like Chicago or NY.  Here, you definitely know that you are in the ranks of the city dwellers when you get to feel the crush of the other people on the train or feel the breeze that predicts the train's approach to the platform. Knowing whether or not your neighbor is a smoker or a daily bather is not necessarily a treat, but one of the things you get to do on mass transit.  You get to see who is reading an English text book, hear what is leaking out of their earphones, and glance over their bags to see where they have been shopping.  It is fun to observe what and who and where everyone is and where they have been that day.

When we moved, we were lucky to be able to turn in our US licenses for translation and come away several days later with a non-expiring German driver's license...no muss, no fuss, no test required.  But with no test, that also meant no instruction...and no learning about the different signs, rules and awareness about the millions of pedestrians and bikers here in the city.  Driving here doesn't scare me-I was raised in a Detroit suburb, where they want you in a car at 16, there is no mass transit to speak of and people do not carpool.  In Atlanta, I navigated my way along 6 lane (one way) highways full of SUVs and driving speeds and traffic that legends are made of and also no public transit to speak of.  So, no, driving doesn't scare me...it is just that I am enjoying living in a city where my monthly pass takes me from train to tram to bus...and seeing the city while someone else is at the wheel or controls suits me fine.

So, I have decided that unless one of these babies is in my future.....

I will be on the train or in the passenger seat of the Audi with the seat-warmers cranked high.....hey, a girl can dream, right?

Oktoberfest Preview

Just thought that you all might like to see the logo of this year's Oktoberfest.  It marks the 200th year, and I think it will be a whopper of a fest...most likely beating out the stats that I posted here last year regarding the consumption and other interesting facts for the 2007 Oktoberfest...I like the logo...whimsical, friendly, inviting.  We have table reservations with friends on two separate afternoons...more on that to come as it gets closer...but, as the Tracht shops are beginning to open here for the season, and the prices of traditional garb starts to climb, I thought that I would begin the enticing .....

The Food of Krakow

Watermelon slices in cold water on a hot day

The local brew

We ordered "a little ice cream"...

Pierogies

Kielbasa

 

Cheese filled blintzes with preserves

Golabki-stuffed cabbage

The last piece of Kremo'wka z Kremem, the favorite dessert of Pope John Paul II

Also known as the Pope Cake!

Paczek! Not just for Fat Tuesday!

Cheesecake at Ariel

The menu promised that the drinking chocolate would "take you to the land of joy and dreams"

Drinking Chocolate-it didn't disappoint

Our waitress gave us a little chocolate treat!

Ending with Zywiec-we drank a lot of this!

It was my turn...

So, as many of you may have read in an earlier post from Spring, the Hub's dream vacation pick was Thailand. We went in the spring and had a great time.  A week or so ago it was my turn...and I picked.....

Krakow!  It is one of those place that I have always wanted to visit...I really don't know why, beyond the fact that it is a city steeped in history, my Grandmother on my father's side was of Polish descent...and my dishes are from Poland and look something like these that were displayed in a market stall on the main square:

Poland isn't a place that I would have traveled to from the States as a primary destination.  Now that I have been there, I definitely see the error in my thinking and want to go back!  The country has such rich, interesting history-it has always remained a democracy, even with royalty...but Poland has suffered invasion from Sweden, Prussia, Russia and Germany to name a few, and was once a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  The people are proud and lovely and do a pretty good job of speaking English to the tourists.  This is not a must for our travel planning, but when you arrive somewhere, it certainly helps.

(As I am writing and editing this post, I am finding that there is so much to share, more than one post can bear the weight of...so I will post some sights here....and then the food of Krakow (!) on the next post.... )

Rynek Glow'ny is the name of the main square in Krakow.  It houses the Old Cloth market which is  filled with souvenir booths, and other important landmarks including the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady as pictured above, the tower of the old city hall and some pieces of art.  The picture above was taken just outside our hotel, looking down Florianska Street toward the square.

Looking the opposite way down Florianska Street lead us to the remaining portion of the old city wall, and the Florian Gate.

During our long weekend, we had very hot weather the first 2 days and basically walked all over the city.  On the Sunday it rained~a lot, which was a perfect day to go down into the depths over 300 steps and take a tour of the Wielczka Salt Mine where you walk through the tunnels the miners used and see wonderful sculptures...all carved out of salt.  This mine was in operation until 1996-it has 9 levels...we only saw part of the top 3.

The Cathedral where Pope John Paul II was to have given a mass.

In our time in Krakow, we took  a few tours on these, the only way to really see the city.

 You can catch a tour to the Wawel Castle which the Nazi party members claimed for themselves to live in during their occupation...

 To the Jewish Quarter and Schindler Factory, which is now a museum...

 

But we spent most of our time walking around the city seeing a lot of old churches and beautiful buildings, stopping along the way for some refreshment...

Slices of watermelon in ice water....nice!

 

Here is the statue of Copernicus, with one of the many city birds on his head...

St Peter and Paul's Church with the statues of the 12 apostles to the left

And discovering that all roads lead back to the main square...

Church of St. Adalbert

The Old Cloth Hall

Limonade/Lemonade

With the 4th of July upon us, I went in search for some good old fashioned lemonade the other day...in Germany, not an easy task...Since moving here, I have noticed an unfortunate shortage of lemonade made in the way I am used to from home in the US.  You know, a bit cloudy, a little pulpy, with a perfect mixture of the tart and the sweet?

(I know lemonade is one of the easiest things in the world to make...but having someone else make it for you just increases the enjoyment factor don't you agree?)
  
Lemonade here in Germany, is, well, Sprite.  Yep, clear soda. There are no lemons harmed in the making of this drink.  Not exactly what I was hankerin' for on a hot July day.  Now the German variety does have it's pluses-it gets along very well inside a beer glass to make a Radler (with Helles) or a Russ'n (with Weissbier). And on trips to Italy I have sampled some of their lemon soda-often times had Schweppes Bitter Lemon which we can get here and is yummy. But again, not what I was craving.

I found myself sitting outside at one of my favorite neighborhood places...and saw "Hausgemacht Limonade" on the menu...hmmm...housemade lemonade?  Worth a try.  It was delicious and very refreshing!!!

It was the closest to the lemonade I was looking for...it actually had lemons squeezed into it!  Okay, the recipe was a little different, but I found myself enjoying it.  Real lemon juice, simple syrup, and sparkling water = YUM!  And ice cubes!  Real ice cubes!  (That is another blog post in and of itself-we Americans have a love-affair with ice that the Germans do not...)

I think that I will find myself at that local cafe a lot this summer...but for now, here is more information than you ever wanted to know about lemonade, thanks to the nice people at Wikipedia, with their help my work here is complete:

Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.

The term can refer to three different types of beverage:

• "Clear" lemonade: In many western European countries, the term limonade, from which the term "lemonade" is derived, originally applied to unsweetened water or carbonated soda water with lemon juice added, although several versions of sugar sweetened limonade have arrived on store shelves.
• "Cloudy" lemonade: In the U.S., Canada, India and Pakistan (Nimbu Paani), and Iran lemonade refers to a mixture of lemon juice, sugar, and uncarbonated water, although there are many versions which contain artificial flavors instead of actual lemon juice. In Pakistan and India, Nimbu Paani is a common household preparation, made using freshly squeezed lemons, granular sugar, salt, pepper (and other spices as per preferred taste) and is invariably consumed fresh.
• "Fizzy" lemonade: In France, the modern use of the term limonade refers to sweet carbonated lemon soft drinks (the uncarbonated version would be called citronade). In Germany the term Limonade is used for sweet carbonated citrus soft drinks. Likewise, in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand the term mainly refers to a colourless, carbonated, sweet soft drink containing either natural or artificial lemon flavor, such as Schweppes Lemonade.

The Powerful Herbal Liquor

The tag line on this billboard says something to the effect of "The powerful herbal liquor for the Football World Cup".  I am not sure why you would need a Bloodroot liquor that looks like a sausage to cheer the team on, especially with all of the good German beer around here...but here you go.  Everyone has caught World Cup mania!