Adventures of E

Moving on...

2011-05-26T16:16:00.000+02:00

So this blog was intended to be simply a reflection of my life in Switzerland. Expat life and that's it really. But over the past 1.5 years here I have settled into Swiss life, and really day-to-day things aren't that exciting to blog about. So...(drumroll please)...I have created a new blog that won't focus on any one thing, but multiple, reflecting the multiple interests and facets of my life. So if you care to read more about not only expat life, but cooking, knitting, travel and the day-to-day grind head on over to Expat Knits! Hope to see you there!

Thun

2010-04-30T15:07:00.000+02:00

Thun is a lovely trip from Bern (under 15 Francs round trip from Bern). It is only 20 minutes by train from Bern, so it makes a perfect last minute get-away. Last weekend I went with a friend for a few hours to enjoy the spring weather that has finally arrived here in Switzerland. Flowers galore. The walk along the lake on a sunny Sunday afternoon is peaceful and relaxed...the only drawback is that I did not wear sunblock, so I emerged a bit crispy by the end of the day. But not only does Thun have a lake that is an amazing color of blue (and amazingly cold this time of year), it also boasts a beautiful castle which hosts the historical museum and a small cathedral/large church that are perched above the town. Views from these spots show the variety of the Swiss countryside - Mountains, lakes and rolling farmland.

Frühling in Bern

2010-04-06T19:43:00.000+02:00

A couple of things about springtime in Bern:

The entire city smells like a dairy farm on warm days.
The mosquitoes are so Swiss that they are too polite to bite.
The birds have no such compulsion...rather they are EXTREMELY loud at horrid hours of the morning.
The Alps become visible again.
There are flowers everywhere.
It can snow at anytime.
And finally...you can actually get seats in the nice Indian restaurant at lunchtime on sunny days (a park bench is another matter though).

Where have I been?

2010-03-27T08:27:00.000+01:00

So obviously, I am terrible at keeping up a blog. Life in academia pretty much gobbles up time, and most days are the same (get up, go to lab, go to office, back to lab, home to crash...rinse and repeat). It will be 5 months Monday since I hopped on a plane with 2 suitcases and moved in the the great unknown. Sadly, in those five months I haven't gotten out as much as I should have. I mean, I do live in the heart of Europe after all! The list of places is rather short: Lausanne for the Christmas Market, Luzern, Grindelwald, Interlaken, Basel, Locarno and Italy (Firenze and Siena). Perhaps a couple other places - things have been a blur. But warm weather is upon us (sort of). And so, it really is time to start planning more trips!

Adjusting to Swiss life is not so much difficult as it is slow. Things creep up on you here, and only months later do you realize that you now say "Gruess" automatically instead of "hello" (for those who are not familiar with Bern, "Gruess" is what is said here instead of "greutzi" - and no, there is no "proper" way to spell it - Swiss German is a spoken language). But for the most part, if I keep my mouth shut, or at least speak a very minimal amount, I apparently can pass for Swiss. I can now push with the best of them to weigh my veggies at Migros, look horrified if I see litter on the ground, look pissed if the bus is 30 seconds late and never, never smile at strangers. Oh, and completely ignore queues. And so, I hope to pick up my reporting on Swiss life. I will leave you for now with a picture of Locarno, CH in February:

A room with a view

2009-11-14T16:26:00.000+01:00

The Sound of Silence

2009-11-09T17:58:00.003+01:00

Silence is something I thought I was used to. I mean, I’m from Maine – people are pretty quiet there in general and it was fairly easy to be in a place where it is completely silent. Woods, woods everywhere. If you wanted silence, and you lived in a town, all you had to do was drive for 5 minutes and you were in the middle of nowhere. Ok, so there would be birds chirping and a couple times a day there might be a plane flying overhead (a rich tourist taking in the views from a chartered plane), but in general it was pretty quiet. Mainers (I mean the native ones) are quiet too. They tend to talk quietly and slowly. Bangor is by no means a bustling metropolis, but it had its city sounds: engines rumbling, loud music from angsty teenagers, and occasionally someone would honk or a police or ambulance siren would sound.

The silence here in Switzerland (or at least Bern) is of a very different sort. Here I am in the capital of the country and on a weekend it is silent. Dead silent. Eerily so. Especially on Sundays. Now, I know weekends are days for shopping (Saturdays) and hiking (mostly Sunday), but you expect a certain amount of noise. On Saturday I went to the top of Gurten, the hill that overlooks the town, and there were plenty of people up there, but no noise. It took me until lunch today to figure out what makes this silence different. People here not only talk softer, but often times they don’t say anything at all. Lulls in conversation that would make any American hostess horrified are perfectly acceptable here. Our morning meetings and lunches out in a group often have long moments of silence. The Swiss don’t seem to have the need that Americans have of filling in the spaces of conversation with meaningless conversation. No, I am not saying the Swiss or the American way is better – just different. When waiting for a machine to start working in the lab, there isn’t any small chat about the weather, sports, etc. At lunch, sitting there drinking our espressos, there can be 5 whole minutes of silence. And it’s not uncomfortable. Oddly enough, I am feeling much more relaxed by this style of (non)conversation. It is going to take getting used to, but at least I don’t have to feel like I have to regale everyone with stories every moment.

So while the capital of Switzerland still has its city noises, it lacks the constant loud chatter of a town 1/10^th its size. In this respect, I am finding Switzerland to be a much more relaxing and comforting place to be than even small town USA.

Of Visas and Trains

2009-11-06T18:33:00.001+01:00

It’s been a good mail day: my bank card, my SSB half fare card and my Swiss visa/ID card.

The Swiss visa isn’t as hard to obtain as I thought it would be. Simply, my employer wrote a letter, his secretary did some paperwork and then we waited (I waited in the States). After about 4 weeks, my employer was notified that I had the go-ahead to apply for a visa. The consulate in New York was the one in charge of people residing in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania (?). Once they received the paperwork sent to them from Switzerland, I had to fill out my application, send it in to NY with 2 passport photos, my passport (good idea to have it sent by registered mail!), my fee of $89.00 (money order) and a SASE. In less than a week, my passport was returned with a 90 day visa in it. 90 days???? I thought there was some sort of mistake...but no! This brings you to the next step: within 8 days of arriving in CH, you must register with the Visum Polizei in your canton. And 5 days later, voila! In the mail comes your yearly visa!

A super cool thing about the rail system here (SBB) is, other than its amazing network and efficiency, is the half fare card. For CHF 150 you get a card that lets you buy tickets on both rail and bus around CH for half the normal fare for one year. Talk about a sweet deal! In just 3 round trip journeys to Zurich from Bern, I will have made all of that money back!

As for my bank card...originally I was going to open an account at UBS...but as an American, I was practically escorted out the door. UBS will not open accounts for Americans. Nein. Credit Suisse does. So when I make my millions (ha ha) I will not be using UBS! So there!

Biking in Bern

2009-11-05T18:19:00.004+01:00

Well, there seems to be some sort of unwritten rule about bicycles in Bern. I am considering getting a bike (come spring), but each country has it's own road rules for bikes. Some observations about bikes here:

- You may never have both hands on the handles at once.

- There are two exceptions:

1) biking up hill.

2) pedaling super fast while you aim at the pedestrians in the cross walk.

-In one hand you must carry one of the following:

-A cell phone (actively talking, of course)

-An umbrella

-Grocery bag (full)

-A cigarette

-If for some reason you are not fulfilling the above requirements, you may bike with both hands in your pockets, and not steer at all. This is especially exciting at this time of year since the roads are slick with wet leaves and it is dark by 5:30.

-Also, you must dress in the height of fashion, and arrive without a hair out of place.

How I learned to love Rivella (a summary of the end of my German stay via Switzerland)

2009-11-02T18:36:00.005+01:00

Once again, it has been an age since I posted. As I had to go back to the US for my visa, I didn’t post anything for the entire month, as this is supposedly a travel blog. It doesn’t feel like traveling when I am staying in the house I grew up in, after all! So here is a brief summary of the last 30 or so days.

Firstly, I had to check out of my rooms in Freiburg by 8 am on the 24^th of September. Unfortunately, my flight from Zurich to Bangor wasn’t until the morning of the 25^th. So I had a couple of options: 1) spend a ton of Euros to stay in a hotel in Freiburg (the hostel was booked up), 2) spend a fortune in Francs to stay in a hostel in Zurich (everything is expensive in Switzerland...esp. in Zurich – even youth hostels) or 3) sleep in the Zurich airport. So I voted for the third option, which was by far the best.

So I left Freiburg by train around 8 am, and had a rather uneventful trip to Zurich (other than being pegged immediately as an American by a very nice man who helped by haul my luggage onto the train) with only 1 change in Olten. Ahh, the European train system. Bliss. The train goes directly into the airport...just go up the stairs and you can check into your flight. However, my flight wasn’t until the next day, so at the top of the escalators from the train tracks there are luggage lockers. For CHF 7, you can shove an amazing amount of stuff in there (backpacking backpack, large suitcase and stuffed book pack). Conveniently, across the hall is the SBB travel center, where I spoke with a very friendly agent (who looked amused when I asked her “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” with the reply “of course”) who printed out an itinerary for me for a train trip that would go to the French border through the Alps and then head back to Zurich. The trip in its entirety took nearly 11 hours – but that is what I wanted since I didn’t want to just wander around Zurich for the day. I had a train pass that had to be used, after all (never waste a rail pass in Switzerland, especially if it is first class!)! All in all, my route across Switzerland was the Golden Pass line which goes from Zurich to Luzern to Interlaken to Montreux. From Montreux I then went to Lausanne to Bern to Zurich. To describe the trip would take far too long, and I could never do it justice. Amazing. Astounding. Beautiful beyond belief. The entire time I felt like I was on a movie set. Do people actually live here? It’s too perfect! Unfortunately, by the time I got to Montreux, the sun had set, but even in the dark (looking across the lake to France) it was stunning (of course).

I arrived back to the Zurich airport around 11:30 pm, and like many a fellow traveler, crashed on one of the many couches in one of the Starbucks at the airport, where I slept a good 5 hours before the vacuuming started. My flight back was uneventful (though it got in late to Bangor) and my mother was waiting for me there (with a warm jacket, just in case – it was really cold out).

Oh, and as for the title of my post...well, Rivella is very popular in CH, but nowhere else. I hear most non-Swiss hate it...but personally, I think the stuff is amazing! Just don’t think about what it is made of.

The past week

2009-09-20T13:18:00.006+02:00

So it has been a while since I posted, but I have been busy. As I mentioned before, I now have to go back to the States to get my visa - so I will fly back this Friday from Zurich, and will fly back to Switzerland at the end of October (assuming my visa comes through in time). The two pictures I posted earlier this week are from various adventures I have been on. Yes...that picture really is of a man eating babies. Bern has several old fountains through the city of various things. One of them really is of a man eating a baby. Most tourist guides for Bern will tell you that the man is actually an ogre. In reality, the fountain was built in a time where anti-Semitism was running rampant, and the fountain is actually of a Jew eating the baby. Go figure. But the fountain remains in the Medieval town, and is quite an attraction. I mean, how many fountains have you seen like that????

Other activities included hiking from town to town around Schulsee in Schwarzwald. Beautiful walking. And cows were naturally everywhere. And yes, houses actually look like that. Everywhere. We walked for hours and hours, through small towns, fields and woods. The map we had with us turned out to be rather useless as it was only for bike paths, which are everywhere. But a map is not really necessary when walking around here. There are signs at every intersection pointing to all the towns with distances as well.

Not only are the distances posted (andthe color of the trail marker), but there are also small symbols next to the town names indicating whether there is a bus stop, train station, mountain peak or even a Gasthof to grab a bite to eat. So you see, you don’t actually need a map as long as you have a general idea of where you want to go. This country was made for walking (and biking). All trails are also very well maintained.

And finally, Oktoberfest. We left the Guesthouse here in Freiburg to walk to the bus (5 minutes) at 5:30 am yesterday. Driving toward Munich was going all ok until about what would normally be about an hour outside the city. Traffic came to a halt. Apparently there was an accident ahead, so instead of taking 4 hours to get to Munich, it took 8 hours, mostly sitting in traffic. But finally we arrived. We first went to the Hacker-Pschorr tent, but couldn’t fins a seat anywhere. And it was really, really hot and stuffy in the tents.

So we then decided to grab a Wurst and eat stading outside. Thus fortified, we headed back into the fray, but this time to the beer garden tables outside the Spaten tent. We found a couple seats against a wall in the middle of a group of tables. Guess how one gets there? There are absolutely no spaces between the benches, so you simply walk down the tables. Rather chaotic at first, but really it adds to the charm and Oktoberfest experience. We climbed over about 40 people and plopped down into our seats.

Then the hard part started. Getting the attention of the waiter. I honestly have no idea how those people do it. Hundreds of people (many drunk) yelling at you trying to get your attention so they can order beer and food. As the end of the table was very far way from us, it took a bit of standing on the bench and waving frantically. Finally, with a bit of sign language (signing drinking and waving 2 fingers to show that we wanted 2 beers), we placed our order. After another 20 minutes the beer arrived, and was passed down to us as we passed money to the waiter. And then the change was passed back to us. Bliss. Good beer. Good company. We wound up sitting next to a group of Spaniards wearing wigs and talking to them for a few hours (things do not move quickly at Oktoberfest). They spoke pretty much only Spanish, but a few words of other languages. So conversations with them were in

Spanish, English, French, German and of course a lot of sign language. All in all, I spoke with people from all around the world, which is one of my favorite things about Europe. Skipping ahead, we ended the evening talking to two women from Croatia and 2 men from Norway. The one man from France refused to talk to me after he found out I was American (this made me laugh hysterically). But mostly people were awesome, and the one odd thing was many people asked me if I was from München (odd because I do not really speak German at all and was not wearing a dirndl-though I want to next year).

Finally, I rode a rollercoaster for the first time. Yes, I am 28 years old and never have been on a real ride (other than a Ferris wheel years and years ago). Awesome. Amazing. So I then had to ride this other thing that spun you up 150 meters, flipped you upside-down and flung you back toward the ground. I loved every second of it. I think I am now an adrenaline junky. The only real downside of the trip was waiting in line for the women’s bathroom (think rugby scrum...I am not kidding) and getting run into by a man running at a full sprint. I didn’t even see him, I just felt like I was hit by a truck. But I was ok, so it’s all good!

All in all, Oktoberfest was amazing. I have lots of pictures of men in Lederhosen and women in dirndls (I’ll show you them when I get back to the States, Mum!), and I must buy a dirndl next year. We were supposed to meet our bus at 11 pm, but it wasn’t there. We wound up waiting 2 hours for it to arrive (grrrr...), and I walked into my room at 7 this morning, showered and passed out for another 4 hours.

Bern

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

Ok...quick update as I have to get to class. Went down to Bern on Tuesday. I found out that I have to fly back to the States, so I am trying to book a ticket for that (ouch!). But I do start in Bern on Nov. 1 (assuming I have my visa). And my future co-workers are really awesome people. Anyway:

In Bern:Not in Bern...or even Switzerland. From a hike last weekend (this one is for you, Mum):

Food???

2009-09-09T10:56:00.003+02:00

First off, a disclaimer: I have switched mz keyboard over to the German on, so while the keys look the same, things are actually in a different position. And I'm trying to get used to it. For example, the Y and Z keys are switched. That's a hard habit to change!

Lunch at the University Mensa yesterday provided some interesting insight into American culture. On the left is a picture of my lunch yesterday. So this is what Germans think they eat in Texas. "Texaspfanne mit Country Potatoes". Mushy veggies (it took a while to realize that there were peapods AND broccoli), corn, kidney beans and bits of turkey. Or what they claim to be turkey. I think it was the beans and corn that made it "Texas", but I'm not sure about that. The "Country Potatoes" were simpley wedges that were either fried or baked in a lot of oil after being coated with paprika. The pale blob on the side is "Paprika dip". Sour cream? Mayo? Not sure. So far, this has been the worst meal by far, but for 2.65 Euro I cannot complain too much.

I have also made it a mission that each time I go to the store I buz something new to eat. This happens fairlz often, since I stop by the store on the way home every day. Refrigerators are small, space is limited, and bread is best eaten fresh from the bakery. So, below you can see my Thai crisps (interesting...I ate only a couple...) and a selection of sweets. All yummy. And before I hear any comments on the stuff I am eating (Mom), I actually am eating very healthily. (I even bought the gummy bears at the pharmacy).

Although I have never eaten this much meat in my life on a daily basis. AND...After 1.5 weeks I have already gone down a notch on my belt. So there. It's all the walking I am doing. I walk EVERYWHERE. And this weekend (if I do not go down to CH) my roommate and I are thinking of either heading to Titisee to go hiking, or perhaps over to France for a bike ride.

Weekend Adventures

2009-09-07T09:46:00.007+02:00

Let's start out with Saturday. Saturday was supposed to be a relaxing, restful day. Instead I went shopping, something I normally hate doing. I mean, really, really hate. But two things prompted me: the first was it is getting pretty darn cold at night and I didn't bring a jacket with me to Europe (space limitations). The second was the fact that I really only own black clothes. No color. And you know...it's time to expand my wardrobe to include some color. Mind you, this is going to be a gradual process. And so, here I am rearranging my new purchases. Not much, but it looks like a lot since the jacket takes up a ton of room. And of course I had to purchase a new bag, because I need to haul stuff around with me, and pockets just won't cut it. As for adding color, 2 new scarves (everyone wears them everywhere here. EVERYWHERE. I saw women wearing fancy scarves out hiking...) and a pink shirt. Yes, pink. Anyway...adding a bit of color, et voila: The new E:

After hauling all of our stuff back to our room across town, we decided on going for a stroll about the Alt Stadt, as well has climbing the bell town in the Freiburger Münster. What a view! The tower stairs are extreamly narrow and as they spiral up, they get smaller and smaller. Passing people on their way down is rather

intimate, shall we say. The construction of the building began in 1120 and its tower was completed in 1330. The tower, which is 116 meters high (something like 330 steps) survived the bombing in 1944 that completely destroyed the surrounding market. I guess it was a good landmark for the allied bombers to use (tall buildings were often left unharmed by the bombs so the pilots to use as guides). Anyway, more picures of Saturday can be found here.

On Sundays, the entire population of Germany does one of two things, it seems: hiking or biking. And we decided to go hiking. The Feldburg is the highest mountain in Schwarzwald at 1493 meters. And we did it, but it wasn't easy. The first problem was finding our way to St. Wilhelm. We took the train to Kirchzarten, and from there easily hopped on a bus toward St. Wilhelm. The small towns we passed through were like something out of a fairytale: adorable with their low roofs and windowboxes overflowing with geraniums.

Well, the bus driver apparently doesn't stop at every stop that the listing says he should. Including bypassing the entire town of St Wilhelm. So halfway up a mountain, we got off the bus and hiked a few miles back down. And down. And down. And then up. And up. Until we reached St. Wilhelm. Passing through this small village, we then found our trail. Our plan was to hike a loop that they guidbook claims is 17 km. As we had already hiked at least 5 km, we were quite warmed up and ready to go on our loop. The loop consisted on starting to hike in the opposite

direction that our ultimate goal was (Feldburg), but it put us on a ridge. After the first very painful accent of around 600 m, we then had rolling hills (an example seen below). We hiked and hiked and hiked. And then hiked some more. The last part of our trek was rather frantic as it was starting to get dark, and the wooded valleys get dark very quickly. But we made it. And I can (sort of) walk today, which is saying something since it was a hike of about 12.5 miles over very hilly terrain. And so, pictures with some commentary can be found here. The last picture is of a piece of cake that we had at a mountain Hutte (along with a glass of beer). Tons of pictures of cows for my Mum, as well as a few shots of a woman in a dirndl.

Deceptively good

2009-09-04T20:49:00.003+02:00

Sticker shock!

2009-09-04T09:39:00.010+02:00

I've been in Freiburg for 5 days now, and one thing that I have experienced was sticker shock. Of a good kind! Pictured to the left is just an example of my shopping the other day: 1 bottle of good Italian Chianti (I've seen the same vintage in US for around $20), a bottle of South African wine and some German bubbly (yes, I know it is rose). Added to that, dish soap and sponges (ever practical), instant coffee (something is better than nothing...and cheaper than going to the coffee shop every morning) and 2 bars of really yummy chocolate. How much did I spend? 12 Euro. Yes, that is right: 12 Euro...about $18 USD. Meat, cheese, bread...all cheap. All good.

I have been settling in rather well here. Mornings I get up, sometimes I go for a walk, other times I just check my email and work on my homework for class. Around noon, my roommate and I head over to the University Mensa for lunch (Essen 1 oder Essen 2, which are full meals, or

like yesterday since the line was too long, Der Schneller Teller). After that it is an easy stroll back to the Institut for class. The classes are rather easy - I probably should be in a higher level class, but basic grammar is useful too, since I haven't had any in 3 years.

After 4.5 hours of classes, we head back to the dorms, usually stopping at a store on the way to pick up food for supper. The best thing I have found are Envirosax. Amazing things. I got one when I was in the States and have been using it constantly here. It's just a very sturdy nylon bag that rolls up to a tiny little thing and fits in my purse. I cary it everywhere, and whenever I go shopping, voila! I unroll it and I can easily carry a few bottles of wine/beer and all my other purchases. I Eventually want to get another one, of a different color. The one I have now is BRIGHT red. I'm thinking something more subdued...But as it is, it is extreamly useful.

Other things I have been doing: The other morning I walked over to the Freiburger Münster for the daily market (Mo-Sa). It's a beautiful walk through the Alt Stadt and exactly a mile away from my rooms, so an easy walk. The market is amazing...and I need to take pictures next time. The flowers, fruits, veggies, meats, breads, cheeses and crafts are beautiful and bountiful.

Well, off to study for a bit and plan a hiking trip for this weekend. My roommate and I have decided to go hiking, but we're having a hard time deciding where, as there are many beautiful places in this area!

2009-08-31T21:01:00.003+02:00

So I can't stay away from Munich. There is something about that city that draws me in. I can't resist. So that's where I was last night, at Wombat's Hostel. Extremely clean. Nice staff. Pretty quiet dorm rooms, and a good bar (which I did not hang out in this time). I stayed there a year and a half ago for a couple nights. We enjoyed it, but had to move after a couple nights there to another hostel that was even more quiet, right next door. The hostel has the added bonus of being extreamly well located: on a street right across from the Hbf, and easy walking distance to the Altstadt, and any other sights you might want to see. I arrived after a very pleasant trip on the ICE (1st class, too!!!), checked in and took a nap (more on that in a mo). I then ambled to Pschorr to relive an experience I had the last time I was in Munich: the schnitzel. Beyond words good. Tender veal. Crisp breadding. Lemon juice. Some incredible berry sauce (cranberry? current?). Bliss. Oh yes, and let's not forget the beer. Even more bliss. After dinner I was extreamly sleepy, so I ambled back to the hostel, took a shower and went straight to bed.

So why was I so sleepy? Well, it has to do with that festival along the river in Frankfurt. I

resisted the invitation to go on a bup crawl with some Aussies, but instead wound up with a group of Canadians and a couple other Americans. We headed to the festival, listed to music, wandered around and really the next thing I know it is 5 am, and I need to shower, get breakfast and catch my train to Munich. Good times.

So skipping forward again, I arrived in Freiburg at the Goethe Insitut around 2:30 this afternoon. Took my placement test, got all the paperwork done and then headed to the guest house, which is where I am now. After I got to my room, unpacked and made my bed, I headed out for a walk and in search of dinner as it was nearly 6 by that time. I had

schnitzel once again, this time in front of the Muenster. More schitzel, I know, but it was really good...and so was the beer, of course.

I then meandered my way back through small alleys and larger, beautiful streets. And now I am in one of the common rooms (the only place for internet access). It appears to be full of late teens/early twenties kids. Loud. I feel old.

Frankfurt, part 2

2009-08-29T15:38:00.008+02:00

Friday night I went to bed exhausted. I didn't even hear the 4 Canadians come in, which if they were as loud last night going to bed as they were this morning, that is saying something. But I did wake up around 3 am. I am not sure why, as it was a quiet as it ever gets. Well...that's not really quiet. Did I mention what it is actually like next to the hostel? No? Well, looking to the left, quite nice. Starbucks, other cafes, etc. Look to the right. Not bad at first glance. Especially during the day. Come night however, the prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers come out. In abundance. In fact, if you look carefully, you can usually see a junkie propped up against the building across from me at all hours. And sometimes they get freaked out. And loud. Joy. But it could be worse. No one has been killed out there while I have been here. Yet. Honestly, I do feel safe, however. Anyway...back to waking up at 3 am. Light streams into the window from the street. And it is roasting hot in there. No air circulation, even with the 1 window open. But from the light of my ipod (as I checked the time) I saw movement. "I'm seeing thing" I tell myself. And close my eyes. And open them again. Nope. Not dreaming. Bugs. Bedbugs. Try going to sleep after you see those puppies in your bed. Logically, I know I have slept with worse things in my bed...hiking and all. But all I can think about are bugs crawling on me. And that is all I can feel, even if it is not true. Needless to say, I didn't sleep for the next 4 hours.

Breakfast was the typcial fare: bread, cheese, meat along with tomatoes and cukes, which reminds me of Turkey. After breakfast I headed across the street to the Hbf. Guess where I am going tomorrow? I had to reserve my seats for the ICE since I am travelling 1st class. So I will be at the mystery location tomorrow night, and then leave from there to Freiburg to begin my class on Monday.

Anyway...After reserving my seats I decided to wander and I lucked out. There is a festival going on in Frankfurt! I walked a loop on either side of the river about 3 times, checking out the vendors. Lots of craft-type stuff, but the real interest is the food. Loads of Asian foods as well as a good selection of various African

and Middle Eastern cuisines. And of course, German. Which oddly enough I haven't had any German food since arriving. Lunch today consisted of sushi. Yum! And then I discovered something divine.

Have you ever had a Bowle? No, not that type. The German type. An Erdbeer Bowle. Some kind of drink that has strawberries in it (obviously), and something else. Who knows what. Some kind of booze. So good. They also have all sorts of other flavors, from Mojito to Lychee. The drink was

so tasty that I had to also try the Waldenbeer Bowle. Mixed berry. Raspberries, blackberries, currents and some other kind that I can't think of the name right now...small, round and yellowish. Tasty. After several

hours I decided to head back to the hostel as my knee was really bothering me (and still is). I might head back to the festival tonight for more food, but I must watch my budget (I'm trying to stay under 30 Euro a day, including all expenses such as the 10 Euro to reserve

my seats for 2 days on the train).

One other thing...talking to various people from everywhere, they have all commented on what they find horribly shocking to them when they visited America: the number of homeless people. And how we don't take care of the citizens. Something to think about...

Flying out

2009-08-28T15:06:00.002+02:00

Well, here I am. In Europe. Germany. Frankfurt, to be precise. Let's start with Wednesday, the day I flew out. I decided to take Rte 1 to Brunswick. Rte 1 is a long, winding road that is jammed with tourists in RVs during the summer with very few opportunities to pass. The advantage of Rte 1 (and why it is packed) is that it is a beautiful drive. The road stays near the coast and winds through smaller towns, some of which are quite beautiful (like Camden) and others that are not so pleasing to the eye (like Thomaston - where the Maine State Prison is located). I decided to take this road however since it would most likely be the last time I am in the area for quite some time. And though I grew up in the area and have spent much time in all the towns along the way, I don't think I ever drove through them consecutively - there are faster ways to get to each town than to drive along that road. But the sun was shining, and the ocean gleamed, and I putted along in my car and enjoyed it imensely. Passing through Wiscasset, the tide was low and I breathed in the smell deeply. Some may not like the smell of a tidal flat, as it can be quite pungent, but the smell of the mud, salt and seaweed were savored as I did not know when I would smell them again.

Boston, even mid-afternoon midweek, is not something that I recommend driving through. People are bumper to bumper and change lanes with reckless abandon. Nerve-wracking. But I arrived in one piece, parked the car and texted my ex to let him know where to pick it up. I had arrived with penty of time to spare and hauled my bags to check in. Only 2 bags, but both were heavy. And it was hot. So by the time I trudged up to the Aer Lingus check-in counter I was sweating like a pig, and apparently it was rather amusing to the nice Irish boy at the counter.

One thing amazed me: I have never gone through security so quickly in my life. I barely had time to take off my sandles and take my laptop out before I was walking through the checkpoint. I grabbed my stuff and then headed to the bar as I had 3 hours until I was due to board. I would up talking to two very nice women for a couple hours, and then I proceded to board the flight.

The flight was uneventful, other than the nice Irish guy next to me bought me wine and insisted that I kept pace with him. Yes, I kept pace drinking with an Irishman. And I could actually still walk straight after 6 hours. Barely. I transferred in Dublin, and could barely stay awake for my layover as I hadn't slept on the flight over.

Frankfurt airport is huge. But being German, it is well planned, organized and efficient. At immigration they didn't even ask me any questions when I handed over my passport. The guy flipped through it, stamped it and handed it back without saying a word to me. Then it was to baggage claim and out the door to find the S-bahn. Fortunately I knew what ticket I needed ahead of time, so a plopped a few Euros into the machine, got my ticket and hopped onto the train. I was a bit worried about finding the hostel from the station since Frankfurt Hbf is extreamly large and chaotic. So as I trudged up the stairs onto the street I was frantically checking the map and directions. No need. When on the website they say they are located right by the enterence, they mean it. At the top of the stairs is the entryway. Easy peasy.

The staff when I arrived was extreamly coureous, but I still had a few hours until I could go to my room as the cleaning staff weren't done yet. I read while I waited and tried desperately to stay away. Finally, after 3 hours, the room was ready. I immediately passed out for a couple hours and then got up feeling famished.

I decided to go looking for food, but as I had no map of the city (and the hostel was out of them), I tried to stay on the street that the hostel is located, Kaiserstrasse. All too soon I had wandered away, and was actually lost. Streets curve every which way, I was surrounded my skyscrapers, and the sun was setting. I was tired and honestly I was beginning to flight down panic. I had no idea where I was and couldn't remember which way I came from. Fortunately, I finally found a roadsign pointing to the Hbf, and I was soon back on Kaiserstrasse. Dinner was from a Turkish stand.

Friday I did absolutely nothing. I slept. And read. And it felt great. I also had wrenched my right knee at some point while lugging the bags around, so resting it was beneficial.

My roommates in the hostel were all great, but Friday night after I was done talking to one of them some guy came up and talked to me and invited me over to talk to the rest of the Americans. No way to politely refuse, as it was far to early to go to bed. So I spent the evening drinking beer and talking to Americans and Aussies. And not just any Americans...one of them was in the Army. Let's just avoid talking politics, shall we?

And we're off!

2009-08-26T14:57:00.003+02:00

Well, the day has arrived. Yesterday consisted of saying good-bye to everyone (I hate doing that) up on campus, and then spending the afternoon doing laundry. The sun was shining, so I sat outside and read while the clothes were in the wash. A weak, late afternoon sun. And I now have a very impressive farmer's tan. Granted, it was the first time I have been outside in...how long? Months, I think. But worth it. Anyway...then the packing began. First stuff was easy: passport, books, laptop, important papers, etc, etc. All those things crammed into my day pack. No problem. Clothes are the real issue for me. I like European fashion, and I want to blend in while I am there. So logically, I should pack very few clothes and buy everything on the other side of the pond. Except I am doing this on the cheap, remember? So really, I cannot afford much in the way of clothes. Hence me deciding very carefully what to pack. Jeans. No problem...universal. And a nice pair of black slacks. Black t-shirts (a few...those who know me, know I have a TON). Underthings. A few pairs on socks. Hmmm....well, hiking pants and yes, shorts. I like to hike in shorts. So there. And I do plan on hiking, especially right away in the Black Forest. So hiking boots. I decided on the low-cut Merrel's that I purchased last month in Prague since I do not plan on doing any serious backpacking right away. I packed a couple dresses (and shawls) since part of the program promises opera/symphony. OK...so pumps to go with them. Comfortable shoes for walking are a must. And I will travel in sandals (as usual - makes security easier). Toiletries. Knitting, both in my day pack and in my back pack.

And who knows what else...I wound up doing a lot of the packing at 3 a.m. since I went to sleep with only my carry-on packed...and woke up terrified. Mostly afraid that I won't be good enough for t he PhD program. Other things I can handle as they come. But in case you haven't noticed (ha ha) I really am a terrible writer. And that's that research is really about: writing. Practice makes perfect, eh?

And so now I need to grab my stuff and go. I plan on taking the scenic route down to Boston, as I have allowed plenty of time to get there and I don't know when I will be back in Maine again.

One week to go!

2009-08-19T14:03:00.003+02:00

One week to go and then the expat life begins...sort of. What do I mean by "sort of" you may ask? Well, my next couple months look like this:

26 August: Fly to Frankfurt, DE

30 August - 24 September: Class at the Goethe Institut in Freiburg, DE

24 September -???: ???

Yes, it is all those question marks that make me nervous. Ideally, I will have my visa by then and I will start my position in Bern, CH. But I may not by that time. And I am still unclear if I need to come back to the States before I can actually live in CH. My supervisor's secretary, who handles all the immigration stuff, is on vacation now. What I am hoping for is that I can do everything from Germany.

Speaking of which, I am looking for things to do when I get there. I have a couple days in Frankfurt (flying in to Hahn...whoops...had no idea until after I booked the flight that it is actually WAY out and not in Frankfurt at all). What shall I do and see when I am there? But before I even go, there are a million things I need to get done over the next couple days. Today I need to call STA Travel and figure out where on Earth are my Eurail passes. They have always been so good about getting everything to me before, but I don't have my train tickets yet. And I leave in 7 days!!!! Also on the to do list for today: bank (address change and let them know I will be using my card overseas), post office for passport photos (for my visa), CV, pack more of my office up, call STA Travel about my tickets and, oh yeah, write my manuscript for the journal. Technically, the submission deadline is in November, but I wanted to write up what I have now while it is still fresh.

Anyway, a lot to do...and I am procrastinating...as usual.

UPDATE to STA Travel:

Very nice customer service rep. Apparently if you purchase tickets that are over $200 they will mail them only to the billing address. As I had just moved the day I ordered them, they were not shipped to anywhere since my old place was empty. I called FedEx and they will be delivering them to my work (hopefully) by Monday.

Time...

2009-08-06T14:19:00.002+02:00

Flies. And I realize that if I do not update the blog right away, it will not be updated at all.

And so...any remaining pictures from the trip can be found here.

Prague, Day 1 with photos

2009-07-21T20:39:00.002+02:00

Disclaimer: suffering severely from jet lag, but I need to stay awake for another 6 hours at least. Ugh.
Day one: as I already mentioned, I had plenty of time at the airport to look around. My favorite ad was for Budweiser (the real stuff):

Much wandering, where I saw:

And had my first Czech:

And looked across the river:

And I walked, and walked and walked. And I cannot be articulate, so the rest of the photos must wait.

Still without proper internet

2009-07-16T14:28:00.001+02:00

Well. Still without proper Internet. Once I can upload pictures it
will all be clearer. And not having to type on this blasted thing.
But to summarize. First night was spent in Frankenberg, DE. Then off
to explore the saxony graulites and see the granulite type locality as
well as the prismatine locality. Way cool. Second night just over
the czech border to stay at a ski resort. Must go back during the
winter. Third night of field trip was in Cesky krumlov (will post
proper spelling later). Beautiful. Then off to hruba skala to the
castle for the conference. Loads of fun. And I learned a lot too.
And now in Prague. Staying at a hotel instead of a hostel so I can get
work done.

Sent from my iPod

2009-07-15T02:31:00.000+02:00

Czech republic kicks ass. Still lacking connection for my laptop
but I have quite a few stories and pictures when I do. Mostly I
wanted to point out how awesome dancing on eastern Europe is.

Sent from my iPod

Btw

2009-07-09T12:14:00.000+02:00

My new hiking boots are colored "beluga lilac".

Sent from my iPod

Prague day 1

2009-07-09T12:04:00.001+02:00

First off, sending this from my ipod so cannot be eloquent

Well. Well. Well. The flight was long (Bangor to NYC to Prague). But
the woman next to me was nice. But here's a word of advice: if
flying Czech air do not sit near the front. They put families there.
8 children under 5 in the first 2 rows. Needless to say I did not get
much sleep.

And then we get to Prague. They don't ask ANY questions. Just stamp
my passport. And on to baggage claim. Where I wait. And wait. And
wait. Turns out that two hours is too short of a layover to get my
bags transferred. So they will deliver my bag (when they find it) to
me in a couple of days. And so I went shopping. A new shirt,
sweatshirt, hiking boots (merrel) and socks. And delta will get the
bill. I loveshopping here. Same stores as Germany but with eastern
European prices!!!

And so now I am drinking beer and eating lunch. Pictures will follow
when (if) I get my connector back.

Sent from my iPod

Acadia

2009-07-01T22:56:00.008+02:00

So yesterday was the second to last class for ERS101 (Intro to Geology), and come rain or shine, we were going on a field trip! I decided to choose mid-week to go because of course there would not be any tourists about. And ya know, with all this rain there certainly wouldn't be anyone about. Right.

So the trip was to MDI (Mount Desert Island) which is the usual place to take the students - great geology, easy to get around and very convenient location. Besides, everyone should visit Acadia at least once.

Well, the day started off foggy and warm, which is typical for the weather we have been having. We caught the tide just right (I would love to claim that I had it all planned, but I cannot) and I decided to pop down to a beach that we were driving past and check it out. I told them to write down some observations while I quickly came up with a plausible story for what we were looking at. I actually chose rather well with this random stop, as there was an awesome contact between the diorite and the Bar Harbor Formation. Beautiful baked contact that I could show them. Made me look like I knew what I was doing!!!

After that stop, down to Bar Harbor we went to fight the crowds. I think we procured the last 2 parking spots in the entire town. But they go to look at more contacts, sea stacks, glacial striations and bedding.

Then off to Sand Beach to have lunch and look at the shatter zone. Otter Cliffs. And finally Cadillac. Ah yes, and while we were eating lunch the sun did come out, and I am very, very burnt right now. But it did turn out to be a beautiful day (even if it did take an HOUR to get off the island because of traffic - bloody tourists!!!)

The beginning

2009-06-27T16:48:00.004+02:00

Well, I'm mainly creating this blog for friends and family to keep track of me. Over the next couple months I will be traveling and moving around a lot. In a couple weeks I am off to the Czech Republic for a conference and then a bit of travel around the country right after that. My itinerary has yet to be finalized for that trip. Between now and then I need to finish my Master's thesis and create my poster presentation for the conference. After I get back I have under a week to create my presentation for my thesis defense and pack up my apartment.

Maine has been terribly rainy over the past few weeks and I am getting tired of feeling damp constantly. But there have been moments where it is quite beautiful. The photos are of the Stillwater River near campus when there was a couple hours break in the clouds last Wednesday.

This morning consisted of more packing (mostly knitting books today) and sorting through my CDs, DVDs and clothes and bringing them to Goodwill. And now, in my office, I sit here procrastinating. Hmmmm...wonder what's on Huffington Post...?