On the flip side!

Well, I guess it has been quite some time since I last updated this blog. I suppose it's because I started training for a marathon back in May and it sucked up all of my spare time.

Back in May, I decided that I was sick of being openly criticized by the Germans for being "overweight". You see, a certain sterotype runs with being an American. According to most Europeans that I have met, we Americans don't know what is going on around the world because we care only about ourselves. We have an obsession with materialism and consume everything we can get our grubby little hands on. We are loud, errogant, rude, prude and over religious. We Americans are ALL fat and lazy. At one point I said to a colleague that I had a headach. His response to me was that I needed more exercize. Another time I was sitting down for lunch in the breakroom at work. I had a sandwich in front of me with deli meat and veggies. A male colleague told me that I was making a poor choice in food and "needed to go on a diet". Though I admit that many of the stereotypes are true to some Americans, I always defend my country and try to explain the size of the country and the variety of people that live so many different lifestyles within.

Finally, fed up beyond belief for my constant efforts in defending myself, I decided that I would run a marathon. Not only did I want to regain descipline in my life, but I wanted to get back in shape and pull my life back together in honor of my father. With inspiriation brought on by my brother and his recent life changes, I decided that nothing was impossible. I needed to prove something to myself and hoped that I could shove the American stereotype right back in the face of the judegmental!

On October 10th I crossed the finish line of my first marathon. 26.2 miles through the streets of Munich, Germany. It was a lovely city and a lovely autumn day, though I can hardly say it was enjoyable, while I pushed my body far beyond my physical and mental pain thresholds. I admit that I actually cryed when I crossed the finish line. I had trained for 6 months and it was all over. A sense of relief and accomplishment poored over my body and soul and for the first time since the death of my father, I felt a sense of balance in my life. I am woman, hear me roar! I CAN do anything, "the only limitations in life are the ones you set for yourself".

So here I am...27 years old, college degree, house owner, working for a German satellite company, living in Europe, travelling every chance I get, marathoner and lover of life. Now i ask myself, what next?

Jetplanes and Volcanos

Volcano ash and a huge workload have left me grounded in Germany since early April. Since my last trip I have rediscovered my passion for running. I am finally back up to a solid 10 km distance for my weekend long runs, which leaves me feeling inspired to take on the world, ambitious beyond reason. I don’t know what it is about running, but it seems to bring my confidence out. It is also interesting to notice how my complacency toward mundane work tasks seems to dissipate and an aggressive side of my personality rises to the surface.

Pictured is a typical German weekend breakfast!

Next week my mother will come to visit. I am so excited for this upcoming vacation, maybe more so for her than for myself. My mom hasn’t taken a real vacation in 13 years and I am looking forward to spoiling her rotten. Assuming that her flight is not cancelled due to volcano ash or the British Airways strike, she will fly into Berlin and from here we will fly to Croatia together. I am taking two weeks off of work, and can hardly contain myself with the excitement of having so much free time. I don’t think I have had two consecutive weeks off of work since I graduated from University. I really do love the European lifestyle!

Sweden, Paris, Austria

It's been awhile! It is amazing how time slips by. I have been having so much fun working and traveling that I had hardly noticed how long it had been since I last wrote.

In February I traveled to Stockholm, Sweden. I found a travel deal called "blind booking" where you simply enter in your travel dates and it sends you someplace at random. Perhaps Stockholm was not the greatest place to go in the dead of winter, but an experience nonetheless.

I arrived in Stockholm and checked into my hostel, close to the center of town. I couldn't believe how cold it was. The weather had just started to warm up in Germany, so it was a real shock to my system. the worst thing about it is that it was windy and damp. I just couldn't get warm. I ended up spending my weekend indoors. I did a great deal of shopping and walking. I skipped the museums this trip, but rather decided to spend my money on a brunch cruise through the various islands. The ship had to break ice the whole way, but the scenery was breathtaking.

One weekend later, I returned to Paris by train with my flatmate Katharina. My dear friend Casey from high school was working there for a couple months, so I was able to meet up with her. This trip to Paris was far more enjoyable, seeing as I had such wonderful company. We enjoyed sitting in cafes, a second round at The Louvre and many other wonderful museums and walks around the city.

On Sunday, a wind storm crept into the city and nearly blew us over. I could lean into the wind and not fall to the ground. When we first left Casey's apartment, we stopped at a classic french open air market where we purchased fresh cheeses. We grabbed a couple bags of wine, then packed them for the journey home later that evening. We spent the whole day inside, then made our way to the train station to return to Berlin. We had planed to go straight to work in the morning, but we ended up getting stuck at the border of France and Germany due to the storm. After changing trains four times over the course of twenty-one hours, we finally made it back to Berlin. Though we had to call in sick to work that day, we were fortunate enough to have delicious french cheese, bread and wine to sustain us through the journey. I am not quite sure what I think of train travel at this point.

Over Easter break, my flatmates, three other individuals and I travelled to Austria to bike along the Danube valley. We had decided to bike 230 km (143 miles) from Linz to Vienna over the course of two and a half days. Having biked very little all winter and having never been much of a biker, I was pretty skeptical of my own capabilities. Fortunately, I discovered that it is a great deal like long distance running...mind over matter. When you push yourself beyond a certain threshold, it becomes easy to zone out and find a rhythm. It is somewhat meditative and gave me a chance to spend some time contemplating my life.

The worst part of the bike trip was my butt getting sore. At one point, my break started catching and I peddled about 20 km with the break on before discovering the cause of the problem. I was exhausted at the end of that day. The next day, I awoke with a cold and was terribly dehydrated. I didn't think I would be able to finish the trip, but I pushed myself beyond matter and was able to complete the next 80 km without fail. In fact, I had more energy at the end of that day than I had the night before. Now I wonder if my break hadn't been dragging for the entirety of the first day.

We woke up to pouring rain on the last morning of our trip. We had stayed in a bed and breakfast just 20 km outside of Vienna because it was cheaper than Vienna and we could be sure to find vacancies. However, we had not anticipated the rain. Nonetheless, we bundled ourselves in rain gear and completed the last short stretch into Vienna (Wien) where we returned out rented bikes. We spent the remainder of the day exploring the city, then caught a night train back to Berlin. Katharina and I went straight to work the next morning...a little sweaty and smelly I'm sure! What an experience...

Next trip is Croatia with my beautiful mother. She is coming to visit me in May. I am not only exited to see her, but I am thrilled that she will finally have a real vacation for the first time in years.

My Apologies

Sorry if I go for long stints of time without writting. Life has become so crazy that it is hard to find time to sit down and write. I just returned from Stockholm, Sweden yessterday, and I return to Paris on Thursday. What a life! I have lots of stories to tell and pictures to add. Check back soon!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Ahhhhhh what a trip! I called a cab at four in the morning. When the driver arrived, he opened his trunk to load my backpack. I caught a glimpse of his bag, embroidered with a swastika. I felt very uncomfortable getting into the cab with this individual, but nonetheless needed to catch my flight. Suddenly, I looked out the window and started to panic. I realized that I did not recognize where we were going. I started flashing on all the terrible things that were about to happen to me. Then... we were at the Haupbahnhof (main station). It turns out that he took me the most direct route and charged me about five Euros less than any other taxi driver had previously charged.

Leaving Germany in the dead of winter really leaves something to be desired. I spent a little extra money on a ticket with KLM Airlines to avoid flying with RyanAire. RyanAir is a cheap airline that has a nack for having planes catch on fire and charging for such things as using the toilet on board. However, flying on the more expensive airline did not eliminate the fact that I had to walk outside to board my plane. It was cold and windy when I boarded at seven in the morning. The airport did not seem to know how to deal with the cold weather in any efficient sort of manner, so the flight was delayed while I waited for the company to de-ice the wings. Finally, I was off to Scotland for a visit with Angela.

When I arrived in Edinburgh, I was met by strong winds and later snow. The temperature was about zero degrees C for my entire stay. However, it felt much colder with the damp climate and wind. the streets were all incredibly icy and it appears that there are no rules requiring anybody to shovel or de-ice sidewalks. It was like walking across a city made of ice. It was hard to look up and see the city when you're focusing on the ice beneath your shoes. I will certainly return for another visit in a slightly warmer season.

On my first day, Angela and I grabbed lunch at a pie shop. It was a real treat since pie doesn't really exist in Germany. I was sick with a terrible cough (which I ended up giving to poor Angela) and so we rested for a great deal more of the day, then met up with her friend Nick for the start of Hogmanay. We walked to the center of town and met a large parade of thousands of people carrying torches. We followed the torches up the hill where a giant X was burned in tradition, accompanied by the sound of bagpipes and men in Kilts. After the bonfire, a fireworks show was displayed over the city. It was something far more impressive than any fourth of July fireworks display I had ever seen. After that, each night seemed to focus around some sort of fire burning ritual. I suppose that this was a display of old Pagan traditions carried on.

Over the next few days, Angela and I visited Roslyn Chapel, took a ghost tour, walked around much of the city center, had a nice Scottish breakfast and hiked to the castle. We also ate a great deal. It was such a treat after having been living in Germany where the Menus are in German and almost every meal consists f potatoes and pork. Roslyn Chapel was truly a work of art. I was mesmerised by the detailed stone carvings throughout the entire structure. The ghost tour was freezing, though an interesting opportunity to go to the famous haunted Grey Friars Graveyard.

For New Years, I joined Angela and her friends at a traditional Scottish Ceilidh. For those of you who don't know, this is like a Celtic "square dance". A huge group of strangers and friends joined each other to dance traditional group dances with live Scottish music. The music was great and the whole experience was a real hoot. I really hate any sort of dancing that requires choreography because I am far to discombobulated to remember left from right while putting my feet down in certain directions. Watching everyone was slightly more entertaining for me, but I managed to get lost from the group by doing this. I stood in the same place the majority of the night, knowing right where everyone was. However, they moved while looking for me and I couldn't find them anymore. I knew that one of them had seen me standing (at the highest point in area), so I assumed they all knew where I was. Apparently they had walked right by me and we had not seen each other. Anyway, after frightening Angela to death, we watched the fireworks at midnight, danced a bit more and walked back home.

Overall, the trip was fantastic. I wish it had been warmer, but Angela was a great tour guide and her friend Nick was a great pub guide. Nick took us to all sorts of interesting pubs across Edinburgh. One place called Jackyl and Hide was even equipped with a secret bookshelf passage into the bathrooms. He also took us to two fantastic live Celtic music pubs. The first one we entered was tiny inside. The music was varied and the people were jolly. We moved on to a place with more space called the Black Oak. They had a group of ten or more fiddlers and other accompaniments playing Scottish reels and jigs. Being a fiddler myself, I nearly melted in enjoyment. Here I tasted a bit of Scotch and some great hard apple cider.

It was three thirty in the morning when I left for the airport to return home. Angela and Nick stayed up with me since it seemed pointless to try sleeping for such a short time. The taxi driver thanked me for not being another drunk customer and ended up giving me a discount on my cab fare, then I checked in for my flight and had some breakfast. I boarded my flight, then fell asleep instantly. I woke up to hear the announcement for takeoff, and realized that the flight had been delayed and I had slept through the hour wait on the plane. I arrived in Berlin nearly two hours late and made it home to crash into my lovely, warm bed.

Rocking the Boat

Papa always told me that "the only limitations in life are the ones you set for yourself". Although I have always taken this heart, I think that I have just now realized what he meant. After having been stuck in a rut for the last four years of my life, I feel as though I have wiggled myself loose from a net cowardice.

Some have called these last few years of my life the "quarter life crisis". You know, the time in your life that nobody warns you about. The time when you graduate college, feeling as though you are at the top of your game. Feeling invincible and ready to take on the world. You start to apply for your dream jobs, only to find that nobody will hire you because you don't have real work experience. You find yourself lost and frustrated, just waiting for somebody to recognize your potential. Slowly you let go of your expectations and accept the fact that you have to work someplace that you never wanted to work...you have to pay your dues!

When I least expected it, someone entered my life and finally recognized my potential. A door opened that has allowed me to travel the world and see life for what it really has to offer. The boat has been rocked so-to-speak! I feel as though my view of the world has shifted and the possibilities in life are endless. Now I know, "the only limitations in life are the ones you set for yourself".

Happy New Year to all! I am in Edinburgh, Scotland, visiting my dear friend Angela. Good friends are hard to come by and I feel very privileged to have Angela as a part of my life.

I will post pictures and write again about my trip to Scotland upon my return to Germany.