Christmas in Germany

Wow! Christmas in Germany makes me feel like I'm living in an enchanted fairy tale. It is fridgedly cold, the ground is covered in white powder, and every main street is filled with holiday markets full of Gluewein (hot wine), brautwurst and sweets. Most every house is decorated in delicate, beautiful lights and stars. Many of the decorations remind me of my childhood at teh Waldorf Schule...school.

Picture is from the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall

event at the Brandendburger Tuer. We are standing in front of the fallen "Dominoes". I am standing with two coworkers...Lilit from Armania and Maria from Italy.

I went for a jog yesterday through the snow. I live near the Neue Garten park and the famous Holy Lake. As I jogged along, I looked to the right and passed the last castle that was built in Germany. To the left, I saw the bridge that seperated the GDR (east) from Western Germany. At the halfway mark, Soviet and American troops would pass back and forth between the east and west. The Berlin Wall once stood along the trail that I ran. My roomate who grew up in the house I am living in, and told me that he used to pass through the guards and walk along tanks and barbed wire to enter the city center for groceries.

I will be here alone for Christmas, but on the 29th will fly to Edinburgh, Scotland to visit my dear friend Angela. After I return I will work four days and then fly to Paris for a weekend. Life is rough!

GREECE

Well...I have wanted to visit Greece for most of my life. With a week and a half of vacation time, I decided to take my first trip to Greece. Receiving a paycheck in Euros is certainly helpful when it comes to traveling. Greece was VERY expensive, but amazing nonetheless. I spent around 40 Euros per day on food alone!

I arrived in Athens on a Sunday evening. The taxi ride to my hotel was terrifying. The Greeks drive like crazy people and consider the speed limit to be a suggestion rather than a law. Somehow, I made it to my hotel alive, dropped off my bags, then headed into the Plaka to find some dinner. The food was amazing, but expensive nonetheless.

Later I ventured into the Peloponnese mountains and on to Olympia, cradle of the Olympic Games. I travelled to Delphi where I hiked to the Temple of Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi. I ventured through the site where Leonidas and the Spartans were defeated and killed by the Persians, then on to the Monasteries of Meteora. Meteora was certainly one of the highlights of my adventure. The geography seemed somewhat surreal, but then again, so does my life right now.

After my adventures through the Peloponnese, I went back into Athens. I returned to the same hotel where I had spent my first night. This time however, I found myself getting eaten by bedbugs! Athens is a very dirty city filled with dirty old men, hagglers and bed bugs! I could have skipped Athens all together, but then again, I was at least able to experience it. I hiked up to the Parthenon and found myself sorely disappointed. The temple was hidden by scaffolding and many parts had been refurbished in recent times. However, the view of Athens from the top of this hill was outstanding.

For my last three days in Greece, I decided that I needed to experience the Greek Islands. I took a ferry to Santorini, where I rented an apartment on the water with a westward view. Although I would have liked to explore the island, I was so exhausted that I decided to spend my time sitting on the patio/porch/veranda…whatever you call it…and read my book. I cannot remember the last time I sat and watched the sun set. It was amazing and rejuvenating and made my vacation everything that a vacation should be. I sat outside each day with a glass of wine, the new Dan Brown book and some Greek h’ordeurves and soaked in all the sun I could take.

I could write for days about the ancient ruins and geography that I encountered on my journey, but I will spare you all the details and let the pictures speak for themselves!

Now I am back in Deutschland where it gets dark at 4 PM and stays dark until 8 in the morning. It doesn’t seem to bother me yet, but it was nice to soak in a bit of sunlight over my holiday.

Last night I moved into my new home. I am now living in a Vegan commune in a city called Potsdam. My rent is very cheap here and the company is great. Hopefully I will learn German faster while living here.